Everyone cheered on the most handsome student in our elective class, Jack Anderson, to reveal his ideal type.

“My future wife has to be at least five feet five inches tall, and her parents must be professors. She also has to be beautiful and a top student in her field…”

While everyone cheered, I immediately looked up.

Why did the description… sound like my girlfriend, Cindy Swift?

The next second, the professor standing next to the podium, Liam Swift, immediately smiled obsequiously. “That’s great! If Cindy hears this, she’ll be very happy!

“You should meet her so that she wouldn’t go overseas over some silly guy.”

Our classmates were roaring with laughter. I lowered my eyes and stared at the text message my parents had sent me. [You rascal! Are you sure you want to accompany your girlfriend overseas? No one will take over our family business, then!]

I turned my phone off, and my grip on the exchange program form tightened.

It crumpled as a result.

Meanwhile, my classmates continued their discussion, “Wow, Jack really knows how handsome and capable he is. I heard that dating agencies are recruiting him!”

“Well, that’s not surprising. He just returned from his studies overseas. He has a car and a house… He’s the whole package!”

“Quick, look at Professor Swift’s eyes! He’s looking at Jack as if he’s his future son-in-law!”

My classmates kept praising Jack Anderson, and Liam Swift, the professor standing behind the podium, was smiling ear to ear.

He then concluded in satisfaction, “That’s good. You’re my best student, and you have a clear plan for your future, Jack.

“God will definitely bless your marriage to—”

“Wait!” I suddenly voiced out.

Standing up before the entire class, I stared directly at Jack and smiled coldly.

“Jack, what a coincidence. We have the same ideal type.

“Fortunately for me, I’ve found my girlfriend. Her name is Cindy.”

I sounded increasingly cold as I spoke.

“Why don’t I ask Cindy later if she has a friend like her? We’ll introduce that friend to you instead.”

My words angered someone, but it was not Jack.

As if trying to protect me from his daughter, Liam threw a box of chalks at me.

The chalks left a lot of powder in my clean hair, and he started yelling at me, “Ben, keep your private matters to yourself. Do you really think you’re worthy of Cindy?

“You should break up with her if you have even an ounce of self-awareness!”

Everyone was staring at me.

I suppressed the fury in me and glared at him.

All this time, I had treated Liam with a lot of respect, as though he were already my father-in-law. So, why…?

Just then, the bell rang and temporarily de-escalated the situation.

Liam realized that he had lost his composure, so he looked away uncomfortably.

“That’s all for today. Class is dismissed.

“Oh, Jack, there’s a surprise waiting for you in the office! While we’re there, you can show me how much scholarship money you’ve racked up over the years!”

“Surprise?” I repeated with a sneer.

I had known Liam for a few years, but he never gave me any surprise.

He would hint at me to not act too close with him in class, just because I would be his future son-in-law.

I tolerated all his antics, but he would step over the lines.

Every time Cindy and I went on a date, he would find some excuse to interrupt the date without fail.

A headache, dizziness, missing his daughter… He had used every single possible excuse.

I put up with it because Cindy wanted to join an exchange program after graduation, and she wanted me to accompany her.

So, I only had to bear with Liam for a short while before graduation.

However, today…

I took a deep breath and ruffled my hair to get rid of the chalk powder. Then, I looked at my phone that had buzzed earlier.

Half an hour ago, Cindy had sent me a text message. [Ben, today’s your birthday. Let’s have a good meal at our usual spot!]

[Alright, I’m coming over.]

After I calmed down, I slid the form into my bag and went to our usual spot.

I waited for a really long time, but Cindy did not appear.

I frowned as I felt uneasy.

The next second, my phone buzzed again.

There was a new thread on the campus forum.

[Shocking news! Two guys are fighting over a girl in an elective class!]

I immediately clicked on the link.

As expected, someone had posted the incident that happened during the class earlier.

People were arguing in the comments.

[Isn’t Cindy the lead cheerleader? It’s obvious who he’s referring to.]

[I remember that Cindy has a boyfriend. Isn’t this basically asking her to cheat? Who cares if he studied overseas?]

[Wait a minute. Why do I recall someone else getting the exchange program slot instead of Jack? Let me look into it…]

I gripped my phone as I narrowed my eyes.

Something felt off in class earlier.

Since I was applying for the exchange program, I had been talking to many seniors who had participated in it before.

I had never heard of Jack.

So, was he lying?

While my thoughts wandered, the comment section exploded under the post.

Then, there was a new comment.

It was from Jack.

[I just returned to the country, and now, I’m on the campus forum. Looks like I’m just that attractive.

[But everyone, please don’t simply accuse me of things I’ve never done before. It’s not like they’re getting married anyway.]

After pausing for a while, he typed, [Besides, how could Ben compare to me? He’s poor and average, but I’m fit and rich. I’m a huge catch!

[Dating agencies have reached out to me. They’ve arranged ten blind dates for me this Saturday and begged for me to attend!

[So, I’m not competing with Ben. No one can snatch anything from you if you’re actually excellent!]

His ridiculous statements kept appearing in the comment section.

I was furious as I replied to his comments, [Are you crazy?]

[Hey, are you actually mad over this? Do you really think I’m eyeing your girlfriend?]

Jack was obviously taunting me.

[Too bad the person that you love the most is cutting my steak for me!]

Then, he uploaded a photo.

When I enlarged it, I saw Cindy’s face!

My mind immediately went blank.

Cold air seeped through the window cracks, and I felt goosebumps.

I enlarged the photo further with trembling fingers.

There was expensive food and wine on the table. In the middle, there was a ten-inch birthday cake.

[Welcome back, Professor Swift’s favorite student!]

My eyes turned cold as I gritted my teeth.

I was very familiar with that location.

It was Liam’s office desk, and he was even featured in the right corner. He was smiling ear-to-ear and holding a peace sign.

Previously, whenever I helped him to carry his documents to his office, he would always treat me coldly.

He would not offer me a drink or turn on the air-conditioning for me. He even pretended not to see me…

The stark comparison kept popping up in my mind.

After a long while, I smiled bitterly and put my phone away.

Then, I waved the waiter over.

“There’s no need to wait any longer. You can serve the meal now.”

The waiter then served a few bottles of alcohol.

My friends were wishing me a happy birthday over text.

My parents also transferred me some money for my birthday. They asked in concern, [Ben, are you still going abroad with Cindy?

[Before you go, could you pay us a visit? We miss you a lot…]

I paused in the middle of drinking.

Right then, I finally realized I had given up too much for this relationship.

Cindy was the one who wanted to experience a foreign country.

Yet, I had stayed up late to prepare for the submissions. But to Liam, I was the poor guy who pestered his daughter so that I could marry into their “prestigious” family.

I bore with it in the past, but I could no longer take it!

I tore that precious form into pieces.

As if it was fate, fireworks went off outside the window the next second. They seemed to be celebrating my new life.

Midnight rolled around, but Cindy never sent me a text message.

It was not until 3 a.m. that my phone buzzed.

It was a drunken voice message from Cindy.

“I’m sorry, Ben. My dad asked me to attend a dinner event tonight.

“Since we’re about to move overseas, I thought I wanted to spend some time with him…” she mumbled in the quiet night.

I kept replaying the voice messages.

After a long time, I coldly said, “Cindy, let’s break up.

“Since your dad likes Jack so much, you should go abroad with him instead!”

After that, I switched off my phone resolutely.

The next day, I switched my phone back on, and there were a dozen missed calls from Cindy.

It was obvious that she was anxious.

[Ben, hear me out. I really didn’t know Jack was fighting with you…

[I only cut that steak for him because my dad asked me to. Please don’t be angry with me over such trivial matters…]

Trivial?

I laughed angrily.

Throughout our entire relationship, Cindy had never done something like that for me.

During our three-year relationship, I had been the one who accommodated her.

I had been the only one putting in effort.

I did not want to do that anymore!

When I looked down, my phone started ringing again.

It was a video call from Cindy.

I answered it, and her nervous voice came through.

“Ben, didn’t we agree to travel abroad today?

“We’ve been together for so long. We’re used to each other’s presence. How can we…”

Then, I saw a figure running toward me—it was Cindy holding her phone.

I felt a force as she threw herself at me.

She hugged me tightly, and I could feel her breathing against my chest.

“Please don’t be angry. It’s all my fault, alright?”

I did not respond.

It would be a lie to say that I did not care about our three-year relationship.

However, I was really unhappy.

Why would I disrupt my life that I had planned out long ago over a third party?

Jack had been smugly taunting me and insulting me, as though I was nothing.

I should let him and Liam feel what I felt!

Taking a deep breath, I pushed Cindy away and pretended to coldly say, “Cindy, why don’t you move out? Let’s rent a place outside of campus.

“I need to see you live independently without your dad. If you can’t even move out of your dorm, how will I know if you’re able to live abroad?”

Cindy was dumbfounded, and she frowned.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.

“Ben, you know my dad’s staff quarters are very near my dorm. I want to spend some time with him before we leave.

“Besides, Dad has already agreed to go shopping with me this Saturday…”

The fake excuses kept pouring out of her mouth. I was disappointed.

“Forget it. Let’s just take a break.”

I did not want to deal with this any further, so I turned around in exhaustion and left Cindy behind.

She was upset and a little angry.

The few days that followed, we acted like a couple who had gotten into a fight.

She still waited for me at my dorm and passed me breakfast with a cold expression.

I felt exhausted from such a tense situation.

At the same time, I was secretly investigating Jack.

After I looked through every inch of his social media, I discovered that he was not sponsored to go on the exchange program. Instead, he had paid for a spot himself.

In his social media post a few years ago, I found a record of his previous marriage. His ex-wife looked like an older rich woman.

His latest status was clearly a complaint.

[My last marriage was absolutely horrible. I’m glad that it’s over.

[I’ll definitely find someone else when I return to the country!]

I frowned and laughed in anger.

No wonder Jack kept going to dating agencies after he returned to the country. He was trying to prove that he still had value after his rich ex-wife dumped him!

I was no longer upset. Instead, I felt a sense of glee.

If I was not mistaken, Jack’s blind date was on Saturday.

Saturday…

The deadline for the exchange program application was on the same day!

It seemed like everything had lined up perfectly for me.

I smirked.

I wanted to see if the Swift family could really handle someone like Jack.