My teacher thought I was crying tears of joy. “Mandy, you’ve worked so hard! This is a reward for your hard work. Don’t worry, it’ll be smooth sailing from now on.”

She hugged me, patted my back, and comforted me like a mother.

I had been living alone and staying strong for many years. The sudden warmth of long-lost care overwhelmed me. I could not help but cling to her and cry.

I cried for the life I had missed in my previous life.

I hated Fiona for her cruelty.

My teacher was right. This was a reward for me.

From this day on, it would be smooth sailing for me.

After lunch, my teacher and her husband accompanied me home to get my ID.

The moment we entered the village, I heard gossip in my house.

The village chief and his family refused to leave my house. Their son insisted on marrying Fiona.

I lowered my head. I could not help but smirk.

Before we even got close, the commotion reached our ears. I was so nervous that I grabbed my teacher’s arm.

My teacher knew I did not come from a decent family, but even she had not expected such chaos either.

Fiona burst out in tears as she charged out of the house. The cripple grabbed her hand and tried to grope her.

“Mandy, you’re back! Come here! You’re the one they want to marry off!”

The instant Fiona saw me, it was like she had spotted a lifeline. She reached for me to try to pull me into the exchange.

I took a step back, hid behind my teacher, and sobbed.

I had already explained to my teacher how my father had lost everything gambling and intended to sell his daughter.

My teacher was kind. She could not bear to watch me suffer. Similarly, she could not bear to watch Fiona being treated like that. That was why she had her husband step in and rescue Fiona.

My teacher entered the house.

The village chief recognized her and immediately became polite.

“Mr. David, no matter what, you shouldn’t sell your daughter. It’s illegal!”

As my teacher reasoned with everyone, Fiona glared at me in hatred. I kept my head down in silence.

The village chief’s son recounted the morning’s event. “She let me touch her, so she has to marry me!”

Fiona tried to explain again in resignation as tears streamed down her face. “That wasn’t me! The one you touched was Mandy!”

She pointed at me.

My hair was messy, and my eyes were swollen from crying. I was nowhere near as pretty as my vain sister.

The village chief glanced at me before looking away without interest. He then took out Fiona’s ID. “Don’t try to fool me! I can read just fine!”

Fiona tried to snatch her ID away but failed.

She glanced at me and stomped her foot. She bitterly recounted the events of last night. She said she tried to help me but did not realize she had given her own ID instead.

I clutched to my teacher’s arm and whispered to her, “When I heard my dad wanted to sell me last night, I ran to your house immediately and only returned to the village just now.”

A woman outside who had watched the drama unfold chimed in, “I saw Mandy run out of the village around 10 p.m. last night.”

My teacher confirmed it with a nod as she had promised. “Yes, Mandy was with me the whole time.”

Luckily, there were no surveillance cameras in the village.

No one believed Fiona’s words.

My teacher cited the school and the law, then argued relentlessly until she finally thwarted the village chief’s plan to use the incident to force Fiona into a marriage.

Fiona narrowly escaped disaster.

I went to my father and retrieved my ID.

“Fiona, my teacher said I got accepted into a university. Did you see my admission letter?

“It’s fine if you didn’t. I can always get a replacement letter.”

Fiona reluctantly gave me the admission letter.

After that, she dragged me into a corner behind the house. She dug her fingers into my arm. “Mandy, you came back, didn’t you?”

I rubbed my swollen eyes and asked in confusion, “I didn’t. My teacher brought me back here in the afternoon.”

“Stop acting dumb in front of me! I’m talking about five years from now!

“You were supposed to stay far away from me. You weren’t supposed to return and frame me!

“You know exactly whose ID that really is!”

I stopped pretending. I let out a cold snort. “Yeah. And you know exactly whose it is as well.”

Even though we were sisters, there was not a trace of warmth between us. There was only hostility.

I grabbed her arm in return. “All my life, I let you have everything! I fed your greed, and you tried to steal my university admission!

“Fiona, you’re not taking anything from me this time.”

I shoved her hard without any mercy.

My teacher had left. My father did not care about anything.

Fiona cried. But no one paid any attention to her.

I turned around and left.

Fiona screamed, “Mandy, just you wait! You won’t have the last laugh!”

I went to study at a university in Burkin. My teacher sponsored half of the tuition fees, and I applied to the university’s financial aid program for the rest. I earned my own living expenses by working part-time.

After a year, I visited my teacher’s home and paid off my tuition fees.

I heard that Fiona went out to work and never returned.

Other than that, there was no news about her.

In my second year of university, everyone was shocked to learn about my scandal on the campus network.

There were pictures as proof.

The whistleblower had clearly photographed me being intimate with men from different levels of society. There were photos of me getting in and out of various luxury cars.

There was also a photo of me seducing the student council president, Ashton Wood.

Every photo had a date. Nonetheless, it was a fact that I had not been present on campus on those days.

Within an hour, everyone in the university discussed fervently about how I had sold myself for money.

My advisor contacted me to verify if the rumor was true.

Although he said he was just confirming it, his tone of voice gave away the fact that he had already believed it to be true.

I denied it calmly. My advisor told me to prove it. He wanted an explanation in three days.

On the campus walkway, Ashton blocked my path.

He looked at me like he was confronting an enemy. Then, he pointed at the photos on the phone. “Is this true? How can you be so shameless?!”

He roared so loudly that even people down the street could hear him clearly.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to question me.”

I did not want to deal with his hysterics, so I walked away.

The person in the photos was definitely none other than my sister, who had supposedly disappeared.

I needed to confront her. Only if she showed up could I truly clear my name.

But Ashton grabbed my arm. He refused to let me go.

I looked up at him and saw that he was almost crying.

“I thought you liked me. Why would you throw yourself into the arms of other men?

“If it’s about money, I can give it to you!”

He acted like I had betrayed him. We became a laughingstock in the middle of the crowd.

I could not help but slap him across the face. “Shut up!

“Did I ever confess to you? Did I ever say I like you? How can you be so full of yourself?!

“Ashton, it’s illegal to spread rumors without consent! You need to apologize to me!”

In my previous life, Ashton was Fiona’s boyfriend.

He was like an overgrown child. In spite of his sunny and cheerful personality, he was incredibly immature.

I did not think much of him.

I held a position in the student council, so we had interacted a few times.

My attitude toward him had always been detached and polite. I had no idea he had misunderstood that.

Those so-called photos of me seducing him were no more than misleading angles.

Others might not know that, but I thought Ashton would.

Ashton looked so aggrieved and wanted to argue. I dragged him off the campus. “Come with me. I’ll explain.”

“Why did you bring me here? I-I’m not that kind of person!”

At the entrance of the apartment building, Ashton fidgeted as he trailed behind me.

Even though he said he despised this, he did not leave.

On the way, I asked him why he thought I liked him.

He said it was because I bought him coffee.

But I had bought coffee for all twenty members of the student council.

Then, he said it was because I dropped him home.

After the club dinner, I escorted three drunk guys back to their dorm.

He listed six or seven reasons, and I refuted each one. Even the driver in the front seat could not hold back his laughter.

This was ridiculous!

Why did I even need to argue with this little fool?

He had read too much into my words and actions. That was crazy!

It was no wonder Fiona had chosen him as her boyfriend back then. It was certainly a choice.

I opened the door and gestured for him to enter the apartment. “The answer you want is inside.”

“I-I’m saying this upfront! I’m only angry that you toyed with my feelings. There’s no way I’m not going to give in and sleep with you! You should stop sleeping with other men!” Ashton muttered as he took off his shoes.

The person inside the house heard the commotion and walked out. His cold voice startled Ashton so badly that he trembled.

“Who is it you want to sleep with?”

I looked at the man standing in the living room with his back against the light. I then ran to him excitedly.

The cold-faced man broke into a smile. He spread his arms and caught me. He said gently, “Class over? I prepared your favorite beef lasagna.”

Ashton stared at us in shock. He pointed at the man and blurted out in disbelief, “Thomas?!”