I was a bad person.

On the night my boyfriend was stolen by my half-sister, the campus belle, I got drunk and found a phone next to a trash can.

There was only one app on it, with a black screen and a single line of white text.

[Take three photos with a certain person on this phone within a month, and you can swap souls with them.]

Whether it was real or not, the only person I wanted to swap with at that moment was Yvette.

We were both daughters of the Chad's family, so why should she receive all the love while I was forced to hide in the shadows?

It was time for you to experience what it was like to live in the gutter.

1

"Plan Name. Soul Exchange."

"Task loading, random task assignment in progress, random task sent, activating photo task."

"Current task completion, 0/3"

"Please click OK or Cancel to execute or exit this plan."

Without hesitation, I clicked confirm and entered Yvette's name.

Yvette.

The recognized campus belle of our university, excelling in both academics and beauty. More importantly, she had a rich father, rumored to have donated the school's library.

That man was also my father.

But compared to Yvette's glamorous life, I was like a rat scurrying through the stinking sewers, despised by all.

Yvette knew about my identity. Her sycophantic followers would covertly and openly torture me. They forced me to eat food mixed with cockroaches, spat in my water glass, shredded my clothes and threw them in the toilet, and poured super glue into my shampoo.

Her admirers would rub their feet against my legs during class, wait for me at the end of the day to drag me into the woods, and grope and pinch me. Only after I screamed for help would they scatter.

No one cared. My mere existence tarnished Yvette's perfect life. That was my original sin.

No one cared about my dignity or survival.

Except for Ryker.

Ryker was a year ahead of me, and we didn't know each other at first.

During my sophomore year, in the dead of winter, someone dumped a bucket of cold water over me. Ryker happened to walk by and, unable to stand the sight, took off his down jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

I recognized him. He was Yvette's secret crush, a boy from the south, gentle, pale, and shy.

Yvette was too timid to confess her feelings, even after a year. But I wasn't like that. Maybe I didn't inherit my mother's virtuousness, but I certainly activated the rebellious genes deep within me.

I told him my roommates had thrown my coat into the river and locked me out of the dorm, with the keys inside.

Ryker couldn't bear to see me shivering, so he took me to a hotel to warm up and even thoughtfully bought me a new outfit.

Such a good man—missing out on him would be a crime. So when I came out of the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel, I deliberately slipped and fell softly into Ryker's arms.

I admit I wanted revenge.

But Ryker was different.

He was sincere, honest, and passionate. From that day on, he treated me like a treasure, picking me up for classes, teaching the boys who bullied me a lesson, and even called me during the New Year's fireworks to say, "Sadie, I've told my family about you. We'll get married after graduation."

I didn't want to get my hopes up, but he promised me a family.

I just didn't expect him to change at the start of the new semester.

On Yvette's birthday, she blushingly gave him an invitation. That night, Ryker confessed to her amidst roses and candlelight.

I was unwilling to let go.

The first day I got the phone, to get Yvette to take a photo with me, I shamelessly went to her dorm, my attitude extremely humble. "Could you take a picture with me? I just want to see what's different between me and Ryker's perfect match."

Yvette didn't agree, but she didn't refuse either.

Instead, a few of her roommates, who were also her sycophants, shoved me aside and cursed at me, saying I had no shame.

"Get lost! You, an illegitimate child who can't even show her face in public, dare to ask for a photo with our Yvette? I'm afraid you'll pollute the air around her."

"Can't keep an eye on your own boyfriend? Go back and reflect on yourself. Ryker must have been blind to have been with you. Now that he's with Yvette, a perfect match, why would he be stuck with someone like you, clinging on like a leech?"

"I heard she was the one who took the initiative back then, even stripping to chase after him. Just like her mother, cheap and disgusting, making people lose their appetite. My takeaway, which costs dozens of dollars, might as well be fed to the dogs."

I kept my lips tightly sealed, saying nothing. Enduring humiliation was a heavy burden.

Suddenly, I thought of my mom.

My mom was once a clean, respectable college graduate from a scholarly family. After graduation, she became an English teacher at a local elementary school.

Later, somehow, she crossed paths with Yvette's father, and maybe she was deceived because she got pregnant after just one night. She was stubborn and refused to have an abortion.

At that time, I didn't understand why she could endure so much—severing ties with my grandfather, enduring the scorn of neighbors, and raising me alone.

Now I understand. As long as there's a glimmer of hope, you can endure anything.

Now, I was thinking that even if Yvette hit me, insulted me, or humiliated me, I could bear it.

Yvette looked at me with a gentle smile on her face, calm and serene. She didn't even scold me and she just extended her soft hand and took the phone.

"Sure."

The first photo was taken.

It was so simple and smooth that I couldn't believe it. I didn't even have time to say the words I had prepared.

I had expected her to refuse, to humiliate me, and I had prepared for all sorts of responses. But I never imagined it would be this easy.

Maybe she was very proud. After all, would a person care about the screams of an ant?

Whatever, the first photo was taken, and I even had a bold idea. Why not say the photo didn't turn out well and ask for a few more?

Wouldn't the three photos be easily obtained?

But those sycophants chased me out, saying that Yvette didn't want to stoop to my level and that I shouldn't push my luck.

The second photo got delayed because of that.

On my way downstairs, I ran into Ryker. He stormed up to me and gave me a hard shove.

I lost my balance and fell to the ground, looking up at him.

He had changed so much and so quickly that he was unrecognizable from the person he used to be.

"Sadie, what were you doing with Yvette? What were you planning to do to her?" He glared at me angrily.

I dusted off the dirt from my pants and stood up.

"You are doing this and that, just like what you used to say to me in bed."

Ryker froze.

Maybe he didn't expect me to say that. Yes, I was different from Yvette. I was crude, lowly, and disgusting.

"I'm warning you, Yvette is my girlfriend now. Stay away from her. As for us, just consider."

"I'll treat you as if you were dead."

I waved my hand and showed him the group photo on my phone again.

"Look, Yvette didn't ask me to stay away. She even took a photo with me. Surprising, right?"

Ryker's expression changed, and his eyes turned red as he lunged at me to grab my phone. I didn't give it to him. He grabbed me by the throat and pinned me against the wall, breathing heavily.

"Delete it. Delete it right now. Do you hear me?"

At that time, I couldn't figure it out. I just thought Ryker felt insulted, seeing me take a photo with the pure and kind Yvette.

But actually, that wasn't it. If I had been more perceptive back then, I would have noticed that besides anger, there was also a hint of fear in his eyes.

What was I doing at that moment?

Oh, I remembered. I was just reaching out to hook my arm around his neck, my high heel rubbing against his leg.

"Ryker, if I delete it, will you come back to me?"