My brain went white with static.

“Nora, table eight's up! Hurry, get off the phone!”

A voice barked from the other end of the line.

“Coming, I'm coming.”

She answered quickly, her voice small and frantic.

“Nora, take care of yourself. Don't lose sight of what matters.”

The line went dead.

I stood where I was, cold all the way through.

Five years from now, I was a waitress.

Cedric had destroyed my career, destroyed my body, destroyed my life.

My nails dug into my palms, and the sting pulled me back.

My phone rang again.

This time it was Cedric.

“Norie, where are you? Are you at home?”

His voice was urgent, threaded with a tension he was trying to hide.

He was worried about the laptop.

Worried I'd seen everything on it.

I forced my voice steady.

“No, I'm almost there.”

He exhaled, and the strain drained out of his tone instantly.

“I'm craving rice noodles. Can you go grab some for me? That place from last time.”

That place was two bus stops away.

He was sending me on an errand to get me out of the apartment.

I made a sound of agreement.

“Sure.”

I ducked into the stairwell alcove on the first floor.

Five minutes later, Cedric climbed out of a cab.

He sprinted for the elevator and disappeared inside.

I turned around and went to buy the noodles.

Now wasn't the time to blow things up.

I had the bag in hand and was heading back when my phone rang again.

“Norie, Judy came in third. She's really upset, she won't stop crying……”

“I'm going to go be with her for a bit. You eat without me, okay? I'll take you out to celebrate tomorrow.”

His voice was gentle, careful.

I kept mine flat.

“Okay.”

He didn't catch anything off, and hung up.

I looked down at the rice noodles.

After all this time, he still hadn't remembered: he loved these noodles, but I didn't touch the stuff.

I was about to toss the bag when something across the street caught my eye. A bakery.

Judy Galloway was walking out the door, a boxed cake swinging from one hand.

She was on the phone, laughing so hard her eyes crinkled into crescents. Not exactly the picture of someone “really upset.”

I stepped back to stay out of her line of sight.

She was too excited to notice me, still talking.

“You can't put all your eggs in one basket. What if his complaint against Nora doesn't go through? Then I'd have nothing.”

Whoever was on the other end said something, and she let out a smug little hum.

“I've got dirt on Cedric. His thesis was ghostwritten. I already have the complaint letter drafted.”

Everything went sharp.

Judy was going to report Cedric.

She'd pushed him to report me, and all along she'd been preparing to report him too.

No matter which one of us went down, she'd fill the vacancy.

If both of us went down, she'd be sitting pretty.

“Mad at me?”

Judy laughed out loud.

“His family's loaded. He doesn't need a civil-service job to land on his feet. Besides, he's so obsessed with me he'd never stay angry.”

She glanced at a notification on her phone.

“Gotta go. Cedric's coming over to cook for me. I need to get home.”

She hung up, humming a song as she walked away.

My head was still buzzing.

So Cedric could cook.

Three years together, and he had never once cooked a meal for me.

It wasn't that he couldn't. He just didn't want to. Not for me.

I looked down at the rice noodles in my hand, then dropped the whole bag into the trash can beside me.

Back at the apartment, the laptop in the study was already shut.

Of course.

He'd come back for one reason: to close that laptop.

I dialed the number from the future again.

“The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and try again.”

So I could only wait for the call. There was no way to reach my future self on my own.

I leaned back against the couch and stared at the ceiling.

Future me hadn't mentioned what happened to Cedric in the end.

God, I wanted to know what his face looked like after Judy played him.

Never mind. I had more important things to do.

Prepare my counter-evidence early.

This time, I wasn't leaving a single thing to chance.

The next morning, Cedric called.

“Norie, let me take your whole family out to dinner tonight. We should celebrate you getting first place.”

His voice was warm and attentive, exactly the way a perfect boyfriend should sound.

“Sure.”

A trap dressed up as a celebration.

But I wasn't afraid.

Private dining room. My parents sat across from us.

Cedric stayed glued to my side, pouring tea, serving dishes, toasting with every round.

Three rounds of drinks in, he started “casually” steering the conversation.

“Sir, you were in business when you were younger, right?”

My dad waved that off.

“Business? Nah, just a street stall. Small-time stuff.”

“Then later, how did you……”

Cedric trailed off, putting on a look like he felt awkward bringing it up.

“I think Norie mentioned it once. You were away from home for a few years?”

My dad's smile stiffened for a second.

“That's all in the past.”

He raised his glass, trying to close the topic.

Cedric didn't let him.

“Were you sentenced?”

His tone was light, like it was nothing.

“Several years, wasn't it?”

My dad was quiet for two seconds.

“Three years.”

“Let's not get into all that.”

My mom jumped in to smooth things over.

“It's all in the past. Come on, eat up.”

Cedric smiled, nodded, and raised his glass for another toast.

I caught it from the corner of my eye.

His left hand was under the table. He pressed the pause button on a voice recorder, then slipped it back into his pocket like nothing had happened.

I didn't stop him.

Let it come.

Day four of the public announcement period. A new email popped up in my inbox.

I glanced at the subject line. HR Bureau.

My pulse spiked.

It was here.

【Ms. Nora Whitfield：A public complaint has been received alleging that your father has a criminal record and that you failed to truthfully disclose this information on your civil-service exam application. You are required to submit the following counter-evidence within 48 hours. Failure to respond within the deadline, or submission of false materials, will result in the revocation of your hiring eligibility.】

I took a deep breath and was about to reply.

Then came the sound of a key turning in the front door.

I closed the email instantly and switched the screen to a game.

Cedric walked in carrying a big bag of barbecue and a bottle of red wine.

I kept my face blank.

“I thought you said something came up at home and you weren't coming back tonight.”

“Missed you.”

He set everything on the table, his eyes sweeping across my laptop screen like he was checking for something.

“What are you up to?”

“Playing a game.”

I said it like it didn't matter.

He didn't push it. Just smiled and held up the wine.

“Drink with me?”

I frowned slightly.

“It's not a special occasion.”

He popped the cork anyway.

“Who cares? Every day with you is Valentine's Day.”

He poured my glass.

Filled it to the brim.

It was so cold-blooded I almost laughed.

He was afraid I'd have too much time alone to deal with the complaint email.

He wanted to get me drunk so I'd miss the 48-hour deadline.

Three years together, and now he couldn't even be bothered to pretend.

What he didn't know was that my counter-evidence was already done.

One last step. Hit send.

I picked up the wine glass, obedient as ever.

“Sure. Let's drink.”

Glass after glass.

My stomach burned, but my head was clearer than it had ever been.

He couldn't hold his liquor as well as I could.

I was still sharp when his eyes started glazing over, his head dipping lower and lower until it wouldn't come back up.

His phone lit up on the table.

A new email notification from his inbox.

I glanced at it.

Also from the HR Bureau.

He'd received a verification email too.

So Judy had made her move.

Cedric was already slumped on the couch, mumbling.

“Judy……Judy……”

I set his phone back down. Thought about it for a second. Didn't mark the email as “unread.”

I turned around, walked into the study, and opened my laptop.

Page by page. Item by item.

Scanned court verdict. Employer certification letter. Case agency statement. Personal statement of circumstances……

Everything checked out. I clicked send.

A line of text popped up on screen.

“Your materials have been submitted. Staff will complete their review within 3 business days.”

I leaned back in the chair and let out a long, slow breath.

The next morning, Cedric woke up in a panic.

“How did I fall asleep?”

He stared at me, tense.

“Nora, what did you do last night?”

His eyes were darting, his grip on my arm tightening, quiet and hard.

I smiled, easy and natural.

“It was the middle of the night. What would I do besides sleep?”

“Oh.”

He relaxed a little, but then pressed his hand against his temple.

“I feel terrible. Nora, come to the hospital with me.”

I checked my phone.

Thirty hours until the verification deadline.

“You're not that hungover. Some soup and you'll be fine.”

I was already heading toward the kitchen.

He grabbed my hand.

“No. The hospital.”

His brow furrowed, his voice pitched into deliberate weakness.

“My head is killing me. What if it's a brain hemorrhage?”

I looked at him.

His eyes were perfectly clear.

He was acting.

He still didn't trust me. He was afraid I'd go to the agencies for documentation, afraid I'd deal with that verification email.

I was quiet for a moment.

“Okay. I'll go with you.”

He smiled, and the corner of his mouth couldn't quite hide the satisfaction.

The ER doctor ran him through a full round of tests.

“Nothing wrong with you. Drink water, get some rest, you'll be fine.”

Cedric refused to leave.

“Doctor, I really don't feel well. Dizzy, nauseous. Can you admit me for observation?”

The doctor looked at him, clearly thinking this young man was being dramatic, but didn't refuse.

“Fine. Stay if you want.”

Cedric immediately turned to me.

“Stay with me.”

“I have things to take care of……”

I pretended to hesitate.

Agree too fast and it wouldn't look right.

“What could possibly be more important than taking care of me?”

He held my hand, his voice soft and wounded.

“Nora, I really need you.”

I lowered my head, pretending to reach for my phone.

He took it straight out of my hand.

“Just be here with me. Please?”

He slipped my phone into his own pocket.

Whatever was left of my feelings for him went cold.

“Cedric, aren't you worried about the civil-service exam? The public announcement period ends tomorrow.”

He laughed, relaxed.

“We're first and second place. What's there to worry about?”

“Oh? You're not afraid someone might file a bad-faith complaint?”