"Five million dollars and you'll see Keira through high school and into college. We'll cover all her expenses," Mrs. Gates said earnestly, holding my hand.

Money is a powerful motivator.

It can make you agree to something unrealistic without a second thought.

I nodded. "Sure, especially since even I can hardly tell myself and Keira apart."

Mrs. Gates thanked me profusely. I waved it off, changed out of my cheap clothes, and put on one of Keira's dresses.

My name is Elle Hart. Well, it was. Now, I'm Keira Gates.

I was just a high school dropout turned debt collector, spending my days collecting protection fees or roughing people up. Then, out of the blue, the Gates family showed up with a bunch of bodyguards, asking me to pose as their missing daughter, Keira.

I stared at Keira's photo for a long time, wondering how two people could look so alike.

I swear, I'm not from another world, nor have I lost my memory. I even asked my mom; she swears I'm her only child. This resemblance is purely coincidental.

Mrs. Gates promised me five million dollars if I graduated and got into college. Five million! That would be enough to set me up for life, no more scraping by on protection fees.

Of course, I agreed. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.

The Gates' driver dropped me off at school, and I headed to the dorms with my suitcase. I should have been unfamiliar with the campus, but I was very likable. Before I could even ask for directions, a striking girl with an impressive figure came up and led me toward the dorms.

"Hey, are we roommates? We seem to be close," I said.

The Gates family had already informed the school about my supposed memory loss from an accident, so I wouldn't recognize anyone.

She smiled, "Yeah, we're really close." But something about her smile felt off.

Our dorm was on the top floor, with four girls in a room. The girl who brought me here was one of my roommates. As soon as I rolled my suitcase inside, she shut the door with a click and quickly locked it.

"Keira, what's up with you? Forgetting who I am after just one summer? That's a joke."

She pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and propped her foot up on a chair, her tone just as aggressive as mine when I was collecting debts.

I got it now. She and I were in the same line of work.

Tough luck for her. I'm even tougher. I dealt with grown men in their thirties and forties; she just pushed around teenage girls.

I took the cigarette from her mouth and took a drag. "A mother would never forget her daughter, right? So, you need some pocket money?"

The girl was taken aback by my attitude and seemed ready to explode, but then the other three girls pulled her away, whispering among themselves.

One of them said, "Lea, could she have swapped souls with someone else? Her attitude is completely different."

Another added, "Maybe. In novels, the heroine dies, and someone else takes over her body, then takes revenge on those who bullied her."

The third roommate said, "Seriously, I've been reading this novel lately, and it's just like that. Lea, maybe we should get the money from someone else. If it's true, we could end up expelled or worse."

Lea sighed, "Enough with your novels already. Just leave me alone for half an hour, okay? You two bookworms are driving me nuts!"

I sat back, smoking, and watched them whisper, finding it amusing. They might as well have used a loudspeaker; it wasn't like I couldn't hear them.

After scolding them, Lea turned back to me.

"Keira, I don't care if you've lost your memory or swapped bodies or whatever. You still owe me money, and you're going to pay up."

I smirked and stood up, cigarette dangling from my lips, and kicked her hard in the knee. She wasn't expecting it and dropped to her knees with a thud.

I lightly slapped her face a few times, taunting her, "A good daughter should kneel when asking her mommy for money."

She was furious and tried to stand up, but I kicked her in the chest, sending her staggering back.

"Manners, everyone should have them. What kind of daughter hits her mother?"

Lea, the tough girl, suddenly looked pitiful. Then, a stylish woman appeared at the door, unlocking it with a click.

"Keira, are you bullying Lea again? Do you want me to call your parents?"

I looked at the woman at the door, confused. What was she talking about?

"Are you blind? She's the one bullying me," I pointed to Lea on the floor.

Then I looked around. Okay, it did look like I was the one bullying her.

I'm more of a fighter than a talker, and when it comes to anything other than swearing, I'm at a loss. So, I ended up going with the woman to the disciplinary office.

"Lea, were you bullied again? Poor thing," a sleazy-looking man hurried over to Lea as soon as we arrived, showing concern.

Lea tried to avoid him, but it was no use; he still pulled her into his arms.

I frowned, "Who the hell are you?"

Disgusting man.

I might be a brawler, but I couldn't stand guys like this. The whole scene screamed "not right".

The man straightened up. "This girl really has lost her memory. She's forgotten the disciplinary officer."

He pulled out a cane from the drawer. Before I could dodge, he whipped it across my shoulder blades twice, hard.

The pain made me curse loudly.

The disciplinary officer seemed shocked but clearly wasn't done. He prepared to hit me again.

I snatched the cane from his hands and snapped it in two.

"Old man, you want to die or something?"

He got angrier, grabbed his phone, and called Mrs. Gates, tattling on me. He gave me a piece of his mind before ending the call, during which I overheard Mrs. Gates say she'd pay Lea and the disciplinary officer $10,000 each for emotional distress.

After that, the female teacher and I were kicked out of the office.

Something felt off. Lea was still inside, but the woman stopped me from going back in.

"Keira, go to class and mind your own business."

Any doubts I had were gone now. That old man was definitely up to no good.

I turned around and kicked the office door open with a loud bang!

Lea, the frail girl on the couch, looked at me with tearful eyes while the old man's belt hung halfway down his hips.

"Coward, good timing," Lea muttered, quickly putting on her clothes. She shot me a fierce glare before storming out of the office and slamming the door behind her.

The disciplinary officer calmly adjusted his clothes and beckoned me over. I picked up a book and threw it at him.

"Get lost, you old creep. Don't disgust me."

What a scene to witness on my first day at school! No wonder Lea acted so arrogantly; she had some serious backup.

I didn't get it. The Gates family was supposed to be influential. How could Keira be pushed around like this?

But it didn't matter. I was Keira Gates now, the Gates family's daughter. Let's see who dares mess with me. I'll tear them apart if they try.

After the morning's chaos, my stomach growled with hunger. I asked a few students and finally found the cafeteria. I had to admit, the food at this private school was pretty good. I got some spicy chicken wings and a burger, sat down, and took a few bites.

Just as I was settling in, someone poured a drink over my head. I looked up to see it was Lea with her sidekicks from the dorm.

"Keira, did you grow a backbone? How dare you hit me?" Lea sneered, her tone arrogant. The cafeteria was crowded, and all eyes turned toward us.

I'm not one to back down. I picked up the plate of spicy chicken wings and smashed it into her face.

"Screw you!"

She screamed, clutching her face, which had turned as red as the spicy chicken wings.

"Keira, you're dead! That hurts!"

She started swearing up a storm, spouting curses that were definitely not fit for a minor.

I stood with my arms crossed, watching her thrash around. Her friends scrambled to clean her up.

One of her friends said, "Lea, I swear, Keira must be possessed. We should get out of here."

Another added, "Seriously, Lea, I'm scared. This is just like the novel I was reading. We're the villains who can't catch a break!"

The third one said, "Lea, we're like the evil side characters in those stories. We're never going to win. Wake up!"

Lea shouted, "Get lost."

I couldn't help but laugh. I actually agreed with her three friends. They were so stupid; it was like looking into the clear eyes of a confused child.

I couldn't stop laughing.

Within minutes, the cafeteria was packed with people, and soon enough, the disciplinary officer showed up again. He scolded me and gave me a disciplinary notice.

"Go home and reflect on your actions."

Fine, whatever. I was thinking of leaving this place anyway. I've always hated school.

I grabbed the burger from the table and walked past the disciplinary officer, strutting out of the cafeteria.

"Miss Hart, do you know how the Gates family made its fortune?" Mrs. Gates asked as soon as I arrived home and pulled me aside. There was something odd about her tone.

I was confused. Why ask something so obvious?

"Education, right?"

Everyone in the Gates family was either a top-notch professor at a prestigious university or the principal or shareholder of some school. At the very least, they owned countless chain bookstores and publishing houses.

Everybody knew the Gates family. Even the extracurricular reading materials at the school were printed in their factory.

Mrs. Gates nodded.

"So, Miss Hart, while you are using the name Keira Gates, you're getting into fights at school and receiving disciplinary actions, which seriously tarnishes the Gates family's reputation. What do you think should be done about this? Keira has always been obedient and well-behaved. I'm not offering you five million to trample on my family's reputation."

I was instantly enraged.

"Am I not allowed to fight back when I'm being bullied?"

In response to my outburst, Mrs. Gates remained as composed as ever.

"You, Elle Hart, can do that, but Keira cannot."

With that, she stood up and waved her hand. Two security guards in black suits came and dragged me by my arms to a small, dark room.

Damn, am I being put in solitary confinement?

I looked around. The place was pitch dark, without any internet—damn it.

The five million wasn't that easy to earn.

After cursing Mrs. Gates several times, a sliver of light appeared behind me. I held my breath and turned slowly, dispelling the thoughts of going out to beat up Mrs. Gates.

Then, I suddenly saw another "me" behind me.

"Keira?"

I called out tentatively.