Chapter 1

Liam, Kingsley University's undisputed campus heartthrob, had just landed himself in a massive mess.

The Prom Queen had gone live across every platform, calling him out for using her and throwing her away — and now millions of viewers were demanding he get kicked out of Kingsley University.

The thing was, he and the Prom Queen had only ever crossed paths once. He hadn't said a single word to her the entire time.

Just as Liam was settling in to watch the drama unfold from a safe distance, a hundred helicopters suddenly descended on the campus quad. Black-suited bodyguards from the Hayes family — the wealthiest family in the country — dropped to their knees in unison: "Welcome home, Young Master!"

Turns out he was the long-lost heir of the Hayes family, missing for eighteen years.

Great. So it was finally his turn to have absurd wealth fall out of the sky.

But there was one thing he'd never quite gotten around to mentioning:

That "fuckboy" everyone was calling out? Was a girl.

The quad at Kingsley University was today's hottest entertainment.

In a livestream pulling tens of millions of viewers, the chat was absolutely flooded with "die, you player." On camera, Blair — the campus sweetheart from the Dance Department — was sobbing her eyes out, holding up what she called a "certified psychological trauma assessment."

"Guys, I literally can't even! I am so done! Liam isn't just a fuckboy—he's emotionally manipulating me! Waaah, didn't you promise I was your only one? Now you're not only cheating, but you're letting your new girl cyberbully me! You are completely heartless! I'm going to expose your true colors to the entire internet!"

Every word Blair spoke dripped with raw pain, and the bullet comments erupted.

【OMG?? LIAM?? The guy who's so hot it should be illegal??】

【I'm literally shaking rn. He looks so cold and untouchable but he's out here doing THIS??】

【DUMP HIM. DUMP HIM. DUMP HIM. Fuckboys don't deserve rights. Get OUT of Kingsley University!!】

Out on the quad, at the center of all that fury, the so-called "villain" of the story — Liam — was leaning against the basketball hoop, face completely blank, grinding ranked matches on his phone.

Here's the thing about Kingsley's legendary campus heartthrob: she — Liam — was actually a girl.

She'd been raised as a boy by her mother since childhood, after their family was targeted by enemies who wanted them dead.

Watching Blair's spectacularly bad acting, Liam felt absolutely nothing. If anything, she kind of wanted to laugh.

Emotionally manipulating? Cheating?

Girl, do you have some fundamental misunderstanding about my sexuality?

She and Blair had crossed paths exactly once — and that was when Blair had deliberately walked into her and spilled a bubble tea all over her, trying to start something. Liam hadn't spared her a single word in response.

And from that... she'd spun an entire award-worthy tragic romance? Honestly, the talent. She was wasting it not being a screenwriter.

"Liam, you are so done for. You're basically public enemy number one right now," her pudgy roommate said beside her, sweating bullets.

Liam calmly secured a pentakill. "Hm."

"They're saying you only look good on the outside and there's nothing worth seeing underneath!"

Liam put her phone away. "Sure."

Just as Blair was gearing up for her grand emotional finale — rallying the entire campus to boycott Liam — a deafening roar split the sky.

The wind surged. Dirt and debris went flying everywhere.

Every student and faculty member on campus looked up in stunned disbelief as ten massive helicopters — each one bearing the Hayes family crest — circled overhead like a storm rolling in.

The cabin doors swung open. Dozens of men in black, fully armed and wearing dark sunglasses, rappelled down on ropes, radiating pure authority — straight out of a Hollywood action film.

At the front was a man with a deep scar cutting across his face. He swept his gaze across the crowd, and it locked onto Liam with laser precision.

Then, with tens of millions of livestream viewers watching in stunned silence, the entire group of suited-up enforcers dropped to one knee in unison.

"Young Master! We're here to bring you home!"

The words rang out like thunder.

Every student and teacher on campus: ???

Blair: ???

Liam: ...

Scarface pulled out a yellowed photograph. "By order of the head of the family — the missing young master bears a crescent-shaped scar on the collarbone. We confirmed your identity through the DNA from your school enrollment physical. You are the Hayes family's long-lost heir — missing for eighteen years!"

The Hayes family？ The richest family in the country.

Those two phrases hit the livestream chat like depth charges. The whole thing crashed.

Blair's expression froze solid. The grief on her face dissolved into barely-concealed ecstasy in an instant. She'd started this trying to take down the campus heartthrob — and she'd accidentally stumbled into the heir to the most powerful family in the country?

She lunged forward, putting on her most pitiful face. "L... Dorian, I didn't know you were — I didn't mean any of this—"

Scarface didn't even glance at her. He raised one hand. "Young Master, this way, please."

Liam — a combat prodigy with ten years of boxing under her belt — was nevertheless "escorted" onto the helicopter by two of the men.

She looked down at the crowd below, every single one of them standing there completely dumbstruck.

One thought ran through her mind:

This world has officially lost the plot in a way I no longer recognize.