When the instructor called Matt over, he gave Aurora one more look before he had to leave reluctantly.

Aurora used this chance to ask me, "Wendy, I heard you and Matt went to high school together. Can I get his number?"

Another of our roommates rolled her eyes. "Everyone in class knows Matt is Wendy's boyfriend. You're asking her right to her face? Are you trying to steal him right in front of her?"

Aurora frowned a little as her eyes reddened. "That's not what I'm trying to say. I just heard Matt was the temporary class leader, so I wanted to..."

"I'll send it to you," I said.

Aurora's eyes lit up and she quickly took out her phone.

After I sent her his contact info, she smiled and took my arm. "Thank you, Wendy. You're so nice. We're good friends from now on."

The tickle in my nose made me uncomfortable, and I pulled my arm away on instinct.

Aurora was ready to act like she was hurt again, so I forced down my disgust and called out to Matt, who was walking up behind her. "Matt, let's all have lunch together!"

-

On the way to where we would have our lunch, Matt kept staring at Aurora. He was completely captivated by her, as he looked at the exposed skin that was as smooth as marble, together with that sweet fragrance on her.

I silently moved to the side.

Matt and I had gotten together after the SAT, and only three months had passed.

In my last life, I really was jealous of the attention he gave Aurora. But after living through it once, I finally understood that he was already rotten inside. He and Aurora pretty much deserved each other.

In the cafeteria, Matt got a call from our faculty advisor. After hanging up, he looked at me hesitantly. I knew what he was about to say.

Tomorrow, each class had to choose one representative to give a speech onstage.

In my last life, I had been chosen by the class advisor herself since I was the top scorer. However, Aurora had waited until I went onstage before quietly sobbing and hinting repeatedly that I had stolen her chance.

All the guys had gathered around to comfort her and no one bothered listening to my speech. Even Matt glared viciously at me. After it ended, he dragged me into a corner, and we had the worst fight since we had met.

From then on, no matter what event came up, Aurora became the obvious choice.

Even though I was the top scorer, the scholarships, awards, and even outstanding thesis honors all went to her. I had studied so hard to get into my dream university and my dream major. I never imagined I would lose everything to Aurora.

When I came back to myself, Matt was still trying to figure out how to bring it up.

I coughed. "My throat isn't feeling well lately. I think I'm catching a cold."

He immediately straightened his back and said, "Then you should rest. But there's a speech tomorrow, and the faculty advisor specifically asked for you..."

"I can't go. Let Aurora do it," I said.

Aurora looked delighted. "Really? Thank you!"

I smiled faintly. "Of course. We're best friends, after all. Speaking of which, your sunscreen works really well. Remember to put on more when the time comes. The podium gets a lot of sun."

Aurora's eyes flickered with thought, and she nodded hard. Matt sighed in relief. His eyes swept over me for a second, then turned to Aurora's face again.

-

At the first schoolwide event after freshman boot camp began, Aurora became famous overnight.

From the moment she stepped onto the podium, not one male student looked away from her.

I sat in the crowd, and mention of her name came from every direction.

"Aurora's sunscreen works so well... It's so hot today, and everyone else has gotten tanner, but she's the only one who still looks so fair! She can probably reflect the sunlight!"

"If she can make sunscreen herself, it means Aurora's family must be pretty well off. Is she rich too?"

"No wonder Matt says she's the school's beauty queen! She's perfect from all angles!"

After Aurora finished her speech, she bowed to everyone. The movement made her collar fall open, revealing her ample cleavage.

Last night, while the rest of us slept, she stayed up and modified the fragrance into perfume.

The speech event started at ten. Before then, she had applied sunscreen three times and sprayed half a bottle of perfume all over herself. Even the breeze carried her fragrance through the wind now, and all the guys near the podium were blushing.

Some of them were even reacting to that…

I watched Matt crane his neck for a better look while trying to shield his manhood with one hand, and my disgust deepened.

A few hours later, a video of Aurora's speech was uploaded to the school message board and she went viral across campus. Everyone called her the school's beauty queen and the video was downloaded countless times, and a full-body photo of her was put on the homepage, right beside my top scorer photo.

In the photo, she wore a white spaghetti-strap mini dress that exposed almost every bit of skin she wanted to show. She looked so fair and gentle, it was almost unreal. Meanwhile, I wore an ordinary white T-shirt and jeans. It was so glaring that we did not even seem to belong in the same league.

Someone on the forum immediately started comparing us.

[When school started, I thought Wendy was quite pretty. But next to Aurora, she looks so tan and ugly.]

[They're in the same dorm. Why can't she learn from Aurora and use sunscreen properly?]

[A girl who doesn't even use sunscreen. I can't believe Matt didn't mind someone like her.]

Soon, Matt sent me a message: [Wendy, I don't think we're right for each other. Let's break up.]

The day I had been waiting for was finally here. I held back my excitement and sent him a few simple texts asking him not to break up.

Then I wrote: [Forget it. I'll be honest, I think you and Aurora are a better match. If she's the one you like, I wish you both well.]

A few days later, Aurora showed up arm in arm with Matt. The moment they appeared, everyone applauded. Aurora covered her mouth and laughed shyly on purpose, but I noticed the sunscreen on her body looked even thicker than before.

She had become even more dependent on it over the past few days. She had even set an alarm to apply it all over her body every two hours.

At this rate, there would be no need to wait until the end of the school year like in my last life. Her skin would start ulcerating before freshman boot camp was even over.

The two of them walked over like celebrities surrounded by admirers, and I smiled. "Aurora, you look even more beautiful lately."

Aurora leaned against Matt and smiled back at me. "Thank you for letting Matt and me be together."

I looked at the sunscreen smeared around Matt's lips and smiled sincerely too. "Of course. We're best friends, after all."

After that, Aurora and Matt took a few days off, and Aurora did not come back to the dorm either.

Judging from Aurora's social media posts, Matt often drove her around in luxury cars and took her to his family's businesses. The two of them were having lavish meals every now and then by the river and staying at five-star hotels.

That day, I was packing when my roommate muttered behind me.

"I wonder what Aurora added to that sunscreen of hers to make men lose their minds over her. Even you got bewitched enough to hand your boyfriend over to her just like that. I heard from students from other faculties that while Aurora is officially Matt's girlfriend, she's actually in a relationship with a lot of the other guys too. Since you two are so close, has she told you about it?"

I said nothing and simply continued to pack things into my suitcase.

My application to switch dorms had been approved. Once freshman boot camp was over, I would move out. I really could not stay another second in a place filled with that fragrance.

The day before the boot camp's performance day, the instructor had us all sit in a circle. Anyone with talent could volunteer to perform in addition to the march, where everyone would have to join.

Naturally, Aurora was the first to go.

She wore that white spaghetti-strap mini dress today, with white shorts beneath the skirt that left plenty to the imagination.

As she danced, I noticed that the fragrance was more than ten times stronger than before, and the watery sheen on her skin made the guys even more restless. Even the instructor blushed at her teasing.

I sat across from Matt and saw the sunscreen on his arms and face too.

But when I glanced to the side, another guy had some around his lips. Another had some on his arms. Even the tall, handsome guy in the back row had sunscreen smeared across his collarbone in plain sight.

Aurora had added too much fragrance into the sunscreen. Once it got on someone, it could no longer be washed off.

When the dance ended, the whole field erupted in cheers.

A dark light flashed inside Matt's eyes, as if he was upset that something that belonged to him was being coveted by others.

After thinking for two seconds, he walked over and dropped to one knee before holding out an expensive diamond ring.

"Aurora, will you marry me?" Matt asked Aurora on his knee with the ring extended. "I promise, I'll only love you for the rest of my life!"

Aurora trembled with excitement, and sweat seeped through her sunscreen, spreading the fragrance through the air. "Yes!"

The whole place went silent.

Soon, someone cheered. The others began clapping here and there, their faces full of reluctance. From the corner of my eye, I saw the instructor's face turn pale. There were clear traces of sunscreen on his neck too!

This was going to be fun.

After a long while, the instructor interrupted them. Probably because he could not stand watching anymore. "Have you chosen the lead for tomorrow's march for your group?"

"No need for that. Aurora is going to lead, obviously!" Once Matt said that, the other guys immediately agreed. Although they were all jealous that Aurora had accepted Matt's proposal, they were strangely united on this.

The instructor nodded in acknowledgment. "Then come with me. I'll go over the details of the performance and the march with you. Everyone else, rest where you are."

Aurora was still on cloud nine after the proposal. She nodded, exchanged an affectionate look with Matt, then followed the instructor.

Matt kept watching her until the two of them turned the corner toward another training ground. Only then did he give the other guys a smug look and sit down beside me.

The first words out of his mouth were a threat. "I'm warning you, Wendy. If my parents ask you about Aurora, think carefully before you answer. If you ruin what I have between me and Aurora, your family's fragrance business is finished too!"

So he still remembered that my family was in the fragrance business. Yet in my last life, he had not believed my judgment about the fragrance at all.

Love really did make people blind.

I had been like that in my last life, and… So had he. I then said, "I really do think you two are a match made in heaven. I hope you two can stay married for life. Aurora and I are best friends, too. How can you suspect me of doing something like that?"

My question made him choke. After a long while, he lowered his head awkwardly and said, "You better mean that."

Half an hour passed before the instructor and Aurora returned.

Matt quickly went over and took her hand. While Aurora leaned into Matt and acted all cute, the instructor turned around and I saw the large patches of sunscreen on his palms and arms. He kept rubbing and spreading it as he walked, worried others would notice the extra whiteness on his tan skin.

When our eyes suddenly met, the instructor looked away guiltily.

I felt much better. Then, I looked at Aurora, who was surrounded like a celebrity. The sunscreen on her body and face was one layer thinner than before, but she still looked fresh, and gentle.

Yet the sweet fragrance in the air now carried a faint rotten smell.

The time was about right.

-

On performance day, Aurora wore the camo mini dress Matt had customized for her instead of the standard boot camp uniform.

At that moment, she looked fairer and softer than ever. The second she appeared as she led our group's march, thunderous cheers and applause erupted across the entire field.

"The girl at the very front is Aurora! She looks like she's glowing!"

"Her skin is so soft and bouncy! If I could touch it just once, I could die happy!"

"Keep your voice down. Haven't you heard? Matt has already proposed to her. Keep talking and he might come after you!"

Matt was the sports representative, and as he followed her, he raised his chin arrogantly. Meanwhile, I stared at the back of Aurora's neck as it gradually grew damp with sweat, and my heartbeat quickened too.

Today, the temperature reached 107 degrees. The toxicity of the fragrance had already spread to its limit.

Just as we were about to reach the center as we marched in formation, Matt shouted, "March forward!"

Everyone looked toward the main stage. The moment our steps changed, Aurora suddenly stopped.

Everyone went wild.

"Why is Aurora's face bleeding?!"

"What is that on her leg?! Is that pus... That's so disgusting!"

"Look at the other guys... Matt's face is rotting too!"