Zea's POV

Not only did Sheila lie, but she also doubled down, claiming the money I showed was actually scraped together from her living expenses. She even said I didn’t know how to be grateful.

And everyone believed her.

The moment those words left her mouth, I was branded a gold-digger, a social climber, a heartless freeloader.

I was shunned and gossiped about constantly.

Even worse, people started whispering that my dad and brother weren’t actually my family, but my sugar daddies.

After that, misfortune came crashing down on my entire family.

One by one, our companies went bankrupt. Then came the car accidents, one after another, until none of them were left.

Thinking back now, I remembered that strange “system” Sheila had. And just remembering it, a chill ran down my spine.

This time, I wouldn't make any rash moves. Not until I fully understand what that system was and how it worked. I have to be smart and cautious.

I thought that by staying quiet and not standing up to challenge her, Sheila would be pleased.

But instead, her expression turned sour. She stared at me with a strange intensity, like she was waiting for me to speak up and expose her.

But why? Why would she want me to call her out?

The teacher and students had been clapping politely for a while, clearly getting tired of her little performance. Soon, the teacher gestured for her to step down.

But Sheila just stared into space, like she was talking to someone only she could see.

Just when the whole room was getting restless, she suddenly spoke up again.

“Miss, why don’t we have Zea come up to introduce herself?”

Hearing my name come out of her mouth made everyone sit up straighter. Since she had just claimed to be the daughter of the city’s richest man, people assumed I must come from some elite background, too.

“I’ve seen Zea’s skincare. It’s La Mer. Her bag looks like a luxury brand, too. I bet she’s some wealthy heiress.”

“Yeah, someone told me she even had a private maid help her make her bed on the first day of school. I knew she wasn’t just some regular student!”

But the mood instantly shifted as Sheila added, “She’s a student I’m sponsoring. I wanted her to go next.”

The room went dead silent. Then came the whispers.

“Wait, what? She’s on financial aid? Then how is she affording all that stuff?”

“Maybe all of that belongs to Sheila, and she just borrowed it? That’s so shameless if it’s true.”

“Ugh, that’s disgusting. Acting rich when you’re not? What a fake.”

And just like that, Sheila’s trap was clear.

If I didn’t defend myself, I’d be stuck with the label of a fraud pretending to be poor.

But if I did speak up, she’d just humiliate me again with “evidence” like last time.

But that was the part I couldn’t figure out.

Why was she so desperate for me to slap her with the truth? Why did she want to be exposed just so she could expose me back?

Then it hit me.

Back then, the downfall of my entire family started right after I tried to reveal her lies and got publicly humiliated in return.

Could the two events be connected?

Instead of playing into her hands again, I made a choice.

I stood up calmly and walked to the front of the class.

“My clothes and bags are knockoffs, and it was my mom who helped me settle in on day one, not a maid. I'm a financial aid student, sure, but having a bit of vanity isn’t a crime, is it?”

Most of my classmates weren’t exactly rich themselves. As such, they just nodded with a neutral expression. Seeing me admit it so openly, they only thought I was proud and maybe a little image-conscious, but nothing worth judging harshly.

But Sheila, on the other hand, looked stunned.

She clearly didn’t expect me to accept the label so easily, and her expression slowly turned from confusion to frustration.

It was like I had just messed up her entire plan.

And at that moment, I knew I’d guessed right.

If I were going to play the part of a financial aid student, I might as well go all in.

As soon as I stepped off stage, I pulled out my phone and sent a message to the family group chat.

[Starting today, no one is allowed to send me a single cent. Not even a buck. If anyone sends me money, I’ll hold a grudge toward them and never talk to them again.]

Of course, my family objected. They were totally against it.

But I kept pushing, nagging, pleading, guilt-tripping, until they finally gave in.

Just to make sure no one caved later on, I even made them all sign a written agreement about it.

Zea's POV

Back at the dorm, I gathered up all my luxury clothes and designer bags and took them to a secondhand shop to sell them.

With the cash, I bought a few plain outfits that cost less than ten bucks each and switched to basic skincare products worth nothing over twenty bucks.

Once I was done, I transferred all the money in my account to my mom, leaving only $200 for myself as my living expenses.

But just as the transfer went through, my phone started ringing.

It was Jericho Hampton, sounding frantic.

“Zea! What happened? Why’d you transfer all the money out? You can’t just do something like this without talking to me first. That’s our joint account, you know. You emptied it without even saying a word!”

He called it a “joint” account, but I was the only one putting money into it. Jericho had never deposited a single cent.

He was a student my family sponsored, barely scraping by on his allowance. But he had a massive ego and was obsessed with appearances. He loved playing the rich guy, constantly treating his roommates to meals. And when the money ran out, he just dipped into mine. Worse, he always made up some excuse, pretending he didn’t love me enough to accept my money, like I was forcing it on him.

Blood boiling, I let out a cold laugh. “Jericho, do you even hear yourself? Yeah, it’s a joint account, but how much have you ever put in? Do you seriously think my money is just part of your personal assets now?”

After saying that, there was a rare moment of silence on the line. He probably didn’t expect me to say that.

Ever since he saved me from a few thugs two years ago, I’d practically treated him like royalty—whatever he asked for, I'd given it without hesitation.

But now? I wasn’t having it.

When I didn’t say anything else, he tried to soften his tone.

“Zea, come on. You know I didn’t mean it that way. I just... I was worried you wouldn’t have any money left. If you—”

But, fed up, I cut him in, “Oh, you’re worried I won’t have money? Great. In that case, why don’t you return all the money I spent on you? My family won’t be sending me big transfers anymore, so I could really use it.”

At that moment, he started panicking. I could hear the panic pitch his voice higher.

“But that was your gift to me! You can’t just take it back. Zea, your family can’t just cut you off like that. Why don’t you try sweet-talking them into sending more?”

“Are you deaf? I said, give the money back. Or I’ll tell my family exactly how you’ve been living off me,” I threatened.

Right after I said that, I got a transfer notification of $40,000

Then Jericho’s voice came back on, forced and bitter, though he was clearly trying to sound nice.

“That’s everything I have right now. I’ll start picking up work in the next few days and pay back the rest as soon as I can.”

If this had been before, the thought of him working part-time would’ve broken my heart.

But now? I felt nothing.

I even gave him a gentle reminder. “Make sure to get more than one job. If you’re late on payments and I happen to get annoyed, I might just slip up and let something ‘accidentally’ reach my family.”

As soon as I hung up, I couldn’t help but imagine how he looked right now and shout, “That felt amazing!”

That scumbag thought he could take everything from me? No way. Whatever he took, I’ll make him spit it back out every last bit.

With only a little money left for living expenses, I decided to get a part-time job. So I went to look for Anastasia Mitchell, our class rep, who was known for working while studying.

She happened to share a dorm with Sheila, and sure enough, Sheila was there when I arrived.

When Anastasia heard I was looking for work, she kindly offered to introduce me to her boss at the BBQ shop where she worked.

But Sheila wasn’t having it.

“Zea, part-time jobs are exhausting. You might not be able to handle that. I really think you shouldn’t go. I’ll talk to my parents and get them to send you more money.”

Even so, I didn’t even spare a glance at her. I was too busy scanning the BBQ shop owner’s WhatsApp QR code.

But that must’ve rattled her because she suddenly lunged at me and tried to grab my phone.

“I told you not to take on a job! I’ll give you money! Don’t you understand plain language?”

Only then did I look at her, and then I said, “Sure. I need forty grand. You giving me that?”

She froze, so I snatched my phone back.

Zea's POV

“See? You can’t support me forever, can you? What do you expect me to do, shamelessly mooch off you for the rest of my life? What kind of freeloader do you think I am?” I coldly said.

I said the last sentence with a bite in my tone.

At that, Sheila flinched. Guilt flashed in her eyes, and she mumbled something under her breath, “Some people just don't appreciate kindness,” before climbing into bed, pretending to sleep.

As things got a little awkward, the others in the dorm quickly tried to smooth it over.

“I think it’s great that Zea is earning her own money,” one girl said. “It just shows she’s got ambition.”

“Yeah, even if she’s on financial aid, she doesn't want to live off others forever. Because if you're that shameless, then you might as well be a leech on society, right?”

Something in that last comment must’ve hit a nerve, because suddenly Sheila exploded, “Enough! Shut the hell up already! You're so noisy!”

Everyone froze at her sudden outburst because none of us had ever seen her lose it like that.

Realizing she’d gone too far, Sheila quickly backpedaled. “Sorry… my head just hurts. I’m not feeling well.”

With a simple excuse like that, everyone bought it. But I didn’t.

She was clearly rattled. And I had a gut feeling my part-time job had something to do with her “system.”

I just didn’t know how yet.

That week, after hustling nonstop, I finally pocketed $140. I was ready to treat myself to a good meal until I turned a corner and caught sight of something unexpected.

There, in a quiet spot, I saw Jericho and Sheila whispering heatedly.

“Jericho,” Sheila was saying, practically begging, “my system only multiplies tenfold when Zea accepts money from her family. But if she deposits money she earned herself, it reverses. I'll owe a hundred times the amount. Now, I’m already due to repay fourteen grand. If I don’t, the system will punish me! Please, you have to help me!”

Jericho sounded irritated. “Fourteen grand?! Where the hell am I supposed to get that? You think I’m not struggling? I’m working part-time too, you know! And Zea’s been breathing down my neck, asking for all the money I spent from her account. If she tells her family, I’m screwed. I’ll lose the job they promised me after graduation! Sheila, you’ll have to figure this out yourself.”

Sheila looked like she was on the verge of tears. “I can’t! I don’t even qualify for a credit card, but you do. Just get an advance or something!”

“No way! I’ve got plans for that money. What happened to those millions your system gave you before? Why not use that?”

Upon mentioning that, Sheila’s expression twisted into rage.

“That money’s locked! I can’t use it unless I completely ruin Zea’s life and take everything from her, including her fate as the ‘rich daughter’ of the Smiths. That’s how the system works! And I was so close! At the opening ceremony, she should’ve exposed me for stealing her identity. I had all the evidence ready to humiliate her. But no! She actually went along with the poor-student label. Now my plan is useless!”

Yet, Jericho just smirked and commented, "Easy! I have an idea."

He then leaned in close and whispered something in her ear.

I couldn’t make out what they were plotting, but I knew one thing—it wasn’t anything good.

Anyway, I had bought a few mini spy cameras to keep on me just in case.

That night, right before bed, the class group chat suddenly blew up.

Despite not having a lot of money, Sheila was inviting everyone to a karaoke party the next day on her dime.

To make sure I showed up, she even tagged me in our group chat directly.

Since I had a bad feeling about it, I initially didn't want to go, but I changed my mind in the next second and replied, “Sure, I’ll be there.”

I was curious. I wanted to see exactly what they were planning.

The next day, after finishing our part-time shifts, Anastasia and I headed to the karaoke bar. Most of our classmates were already there, gathered around Sheila, fawning over the necklace she was wearing.

Sheila grinned proudly and said, “Of course it’s beautiful! My parents gave it to me. That pink diamond alone costs over seven hundred grand. The whole thing’s worth at least three million.”

I glanced at her necklace under the lights, but it didn’t even sparkle properly. Compared to the real pieces my parents had gifted me, it was clearly fake.

But of course, the other students didn’t know any better.

“Wow, no wonder it looked so stunning. I should’ve known it was that expensive!”

“Yeah, you better hold on tight to that thing. Losing it would be a nightmare.”

Sheila responded with a few casual replies, then warmly invited me to sit beside her. She even helped move my bag to a chair in the corner, saying it would be more comfortable there.

I stayed alert, watching her every move. But aside from stepping out to use the restroom once, she didn’t leave her seat the entire time.

Eventually, the night came to an end, and everyone was getting ready to head home. Yet, Sheila still hadn’t done anything suspicious, so I started thinking maybe I was overreacting.

But just then, she suddenly pointed to her now bare wrist and shouted, “My bracelet! Where is it? My parents gave it to me!”

Hearing that her expensive bracelet was gone, the whole room started helping her search. We checked every corner of the karaoke room, even under the couches, but it was nowhere to be found.

As such, Sheila said, crying, “Has anyone taken interest in it? Please, I’m begging you, return it. It was a gift from my parents. I’ll just give you something else as a thank-you.”

Then she turned to me, eyes wide with sorrow.

“Zea, you were sitting closest to me. Are you sure you didn’t see where my pink diamond bracelet went?”