Joyce Stone, the beautiful and rich campus belle, often puts the tab on my account whenever she uses her card on any transactions.

When she helps a low-income student with their financial problems, the money I save up from thrifting and working part-time jobs for the month is instantly depleted.

When she treats the whole class to lunch, the prize money I won from my physics competition is drained right away.

I try to argue with Joyce, only to hear the whole class calling me jealous of her beauty and kindness.

Only my boyfriend, Lucas Zimmer, still trusts me. We work together to come up with all sorts of solutions to stop Joyce from using my money.

But no matter what I do, my money keeps getting funneled from my account.

Before the final exams, Joyce suddenly suggests that we all attend an auction and buy whatever we want there.

The million-dollar funds that I've gathered from selling my house in order to treat my mom's illness vanishes from my account immediately.

Mom ends up dying from her illness. Since I no longer have money in my account, my life force is the one getting depleted when Joyce keeps spending with her card. In the end, I've died as well.

Before I close my eyes, I notice a video of Lucas and Joyce kissing on my phone.

He looks at Joyce lovingly before saying, "Melanie gets jealous far too easily. If I don't pretend to trust her, I'm worried that she might go berserk and hurt you."

When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Joyce is about to use her card to pay for everyone's expenses.

Before she can open her mouth, I dig out my bank card right away.

"Let me treat all of you to whatever you want today."

"Joyce, it's blazing hot out, and ice cream prices are through the roof, yet you're treating the entire class and letting everyone grab whatever they want. Figures that the campus belle would be this generous."

As Lucas Zimmer's voice rang out beside me, my phone buzzed nonstop with bank charge alerts.

The suffocating panic of my previous life, the feeling of being drained dry, still clung to me.

Lucas, my boyfriend, shoved me lightly, snapping me back to reality. "Melanie, I picked the cheapest ice cream for you. You're not used to the good stuff anyway. Buying anything expensive would be a waste. Might as well help Joyce save some money."

Joyce Stone smiled and said it was no big deal, casually patting Lucas on the shoulder.

Lucas beamed, practically glowing.

He praised Joyce for being generous, unlike me, who nickel-and-dimed everything.

My phone kept vibrating. When I checked, it was filled with charges ranging from three dollars to 30 dollars.

The 1,500 dollars I had just earned from my work-study job had dropped to a thousand dollars in moments, and the charges were still coming in.

My classmates crowded around Joyce, while I was edged out of the circle.

The memory of my mother's suffering before her death flashed through my mind, and my anger surged.

I pulled out my phone and confronted Joyce in front of everyone. "If you're treating everyone, why is my card getting charged?"

Joyce shook her head, confusion written all over her face.

My classmates were stunned for a second before breaking into laughter.

"Melanie, have you lost your mind? Why would Joyce, someone who is rich and beautiful, use your money? Everyone knows you're the stingiest one in class, and you barely have enough to feed yourself. You expect us to believe you'd treat everyone to ice cream?"

I was about to show them my phone when Lucas snatched it from my hand and apologized to everyone on my behalf.

"Melanie comes from a poor family. It's normal for her to be petty and jealous. She just lost control for a moment. Please don't mind her."

With that, he dragged me out of the supermarket, as if I were one sentence away from humiliating him.

He was strong, and my wrist quickly bruised, causing pain to lance through me and making it hard to even breathe.

It had been the same in my previous life.

Before a class gathering, Lucas had pulled me away from everyone and branded me as jealous.

I became the class weirdo, and no one ever believed me again.

In this life, I wasn't going down that path again.

I bit down hard on Lucas' wrist. He yelped and loosened his grip, and I seized the chance to snatch my phone back.

He tried to stop me from going back inside, saying, "Melanie, your family's poor. You never have extra money. All you gave me for Valentine's Day was a belt and some clothes, and I didn't even complain.

"Joyce is used to being pampered, and I won't let you slander an innocent and kind person just because you're jealous."

I tightened my grip on my phone.

If I exposed Joyce right now, everything would play out exactly the same again.

So, instead, I smiled.

"We're going out to eat later, right? Joyce is kind. I can't keep taking advantage of her. Lucas, you pulled me out here so quickly. What, you're afraid I'll treat everyone? Don't be such a cheapskate. Today's my treat!"

My last sentence carried over as my classmates stepped out of the supermarket.

In my previous life, after Lucas pulled me away, Joyce had charged everything to my bank account when she treated the class. I lost my money and reputation, and everyone thought I was petty, jealous, and stingy.

She spent my money and became known as the rich and beautiful student on campus.

After that, no matter what I did to stop it, the money kept disappearing from my bank account.

My family wasn't wealthy. My mother was sick, and to pay for her medical bills, I worked four part-time jobs. I barely had time to eat.

Yet my phone kept lighting up, notifying me of massive charges on my bank account.

I went to the police, but they couldn't find anything. Everyone called me crazy.

Only Lucas stayed by my side, and I thought he believed me.

It wasn't until the day I died that I realized the truth. He stayed only because he was afraid that his crazy girlfriend might hurt the lady he worshipped.

This time, I would find a way to stop it.

As soon as we reached the restaurant, I rushed in and dumped all eight hundred dollars I had on the cashier's counter.

If Joyce swiped her bank card, my bank account would get charged. So if I were the one paying, maybe she'd be the one who got charged instead.

I was going to lose the money anyway. I might as well try.

I expected Joyce to panic, to rush over and swipe the card.

But she didn't. Calmly and elegantly, she approached me and said, "Melanie, your family isn't wealthy. You probably haven't eaten at a proper restaurant before, so you don't know the prices. You have to spend at least three thousand dollars here. Your eight hundred dollars isn't enough."

Only then did I notice the host's strained expression.

Laughter rippled through the group.

Lucas' face darkened. He reached for me again, ready to drag me away.

Seeing that Joyce was about to swipe her card, I quickly said, "Three thousand dollars? I'll pay. You guys go in and order your food first."

Impatience flashed across Lucas' eyes. "Melanie, no one's looking down on you for being poor. Why are you putting on a show just to compete with Joyce? I saw your bank account balance. You only have one thousand dollars left."

The looks from my classmates turned colder.

One of them said, "Joyce's family is rich, so she's treating us. Melanie can barely feed herself, and now she's trying to show off? Like we'd ever want to spend her money."

No matter what, I couldn't let Joyce swipe that bank card that day. Once my balance ran out, the next charge would take more than just money—it would take my life.

This wasn't just about me. My mother needed me, so I had to stay alive.

Right there in the middle of it, my phone buzzed. The physics competition scholarship had come through, and I had just received 30 thousand dollars.

I smiled and said, "Lucas, I'm not doing this to compete with anyone. I really see everyone here as family. I just want to share the good news. My physics competition scholarship came through."

With that, I tilted my phone and let the cashier charge me four thousand dollars.

I kept my eyes on Joyce's face, waiting to see whether that massive charge would take its toll on her.

Only after I died did I learn that Joyce was from an ordinary family. She wasn't rich at all. Without draining my account, she could never have maintained the image of being the wealthy campus belle.

Joyce's expression faltered slightly, but otherwise she seemed perfectly fine. As she brushed past me, I heard her murmur, "Melanie, you're done for."

Nothing was showing up on her phone screen, so it seemed that the money I had just paid hadn't been deducted from her bank account.

I froze, and she smirked.

When my classmates realized I was really paying, their attitude softened.

"Guess we had you wrong. We thought you were just jealous of Joyce. Turns out you really see us as friends."

Someone said, "Lucas, you're a lucky man. Not only is your girlfriend a top student, but she also knows when to spend and when to save. You'd better cherish her."

Lucas basked in the praise, visibly pleased with himself.

I'd fallen for him back then because I thought we were the same kind of person—someone practical who understood how to live within their means. I thought I'd found someone on my wavelength.

Turned out he was just vain and spineless, more than happy to live off others.

I deliberately sat farther away from him, but he kept drifting back, sticking close no matter what. When the meal ended, he even insisted on walking me back and asked to spend time alone together.

Joyce, meanwhile, grew increasingly unhappy as everyone crowded around me and ignored her.

She leaned toward Lucas and sneered, "Your girlfriend's pretty scheming, huh? She's plain-looking, but she sure knows how to throw money around. You're going to suffer for it sooner or later."

For once, Lucas only brushed Joyce off with a half-hearted response before insisting on taking me back to the dorm.

I knew it wasn't because he'd suddenly grown fond of me. He had his eye on the tens of thousands of dollars that had just landed in my bank account.

Back in the dorm, my thoughts were still a tangled mess.

Even though I'd survived this time around and avoided being ostracized, I still hadn't figured out how Joyce's curse worked.

She could drain my balance at any time. Worse, she could drain my life.

At least 30 thousand dollars had just come in. Joyce probably wouldn't burn through it that fast.

With that in mind, I grabbed my towel and stood to get ready for bed.

The moment I rose, a crushing tightness seized my throat. My legs gave out, and I dropped straight to my knees.

Instinctively, I glanced at my phone.

That was when I saw that my bank account had been emptied.

Before my roommates could help me up, Joyce had already rushed in. She told them to rest and insisted on taking me to the hospital herself.

I wanted to refuse, but the suffocating pressure in my throat left me unable to make a single sound.

My roommates thought Joyce was kind. Even the nurse remarked how fortunate I was to have such a beautiful, caring friend.

Listening to that, all I felt was fury.

Lucas arrived and immediately started yelling at me. "The doctor says there's nothing wrong with you! Why are you pretending to be sick? Do you have any idea how much a hospital visit costs?"

He stared at the bill, his brow deeply furrowed.

He had no intention of paying for me. As long as he could claim I was faking it, he could ask me for the money without shame.

Joyce gave him her card and said, "Take my card. We're classmates, so I can't possibly sit by and do nothing."

I reached out to stop him, but it was useless.

Lucas glared at me. "It's not even your money. What are you getting worked up for? Poor people really are nothing but trouble."

Soon, only Joyce and I were left in the ward.

She leaned down and whispered in my ear, "You shouldn't have stolen my spotlight. This is your punishment. Melanie, your family is really dirt poor.

"I just bought washing machines for every dorm and paid one thousand dollars in electricity for each. And that's enough to start draining your life? Don't panic. You're not dying yet, and what you're feeling is just temporary."

As soon as she finished speaking, the pressure around my throat eased.

I grabbed her by the collar. "What exactly is going on?"

Joyce smiled. "I thought you'd get on your knees and beg for mercy."

She pushed my hand away and straightened up, looking down at me with open disdain. "Melanie, you're destined to be nothing but a tool for me. Once you're ruined and dead, everything you have will be mine."

She left the ward, leaving me completely lost.

Once I was dead, there'd be nothing left to take.

So what exactly was she after?

With my bank balance wiped clean, my body was growing weaker by the minute. No matter how hard I worked, I couldn't earn money faster than Joyce could spend it.

I hated her so much that I wanted to kill her outright. But with my current condition, I wouldn't even be able to hurt her before she finished me off.

Just as I was at my wits' end, I spotted the registration for the closed-door Eddish competition.

During the competition, all participants would be confined together. If Joyce couldn't leave, she couldn't spend money.

And if I could win the prize money, I might finally make up what I'd lost.