Chapter 1

After the semester began, all of my dorm mates wanted a part-time job.

To fit in, I said I wanted one too.

One by one, my dorm mates found part-time jobs, while I was still lazing around in the dorm.

My dorm mate sent me a message.

[How are you going to get by without a job?]

I remembered a meme I'd seen online and texted back,

"A kind middle-aged couple pays my bills, so I don't need a job right now."

I didn't think much of it, until I stumbled across a post on social media.

[My dorm mate said she wanted to get a part-time job, but all she does is lie around the dorm. When I asked how she could afford not to work, she said a married couple was paying all her bills. Should I report her for misconduct?]

I thought it was funny. The comments gave her all kinds of advice.

[Report her! What if she takes a scholarship spot from you?]

[Exactly, get her expelled!]

I still didn't think much of it until my academic advisor, Ethan Davis, showed up at my door.

"Chloe, someone reported you for misconduct. They claim you're a sugar baby. Is that true?"

第1章

I sat in Ethan's office, bewildered.

"I'm a sugar baby?"

He looked dead serious and slapped two sheets of paper on the desk in front of me.

One was a formal complaint letter. The other was a screenshot from our dorm group chat, showing the exact message where I'd joked about a kind middle-aged couple paying my bills.

The screenshot only showed my messages, with no way to tell who had reported me.

The complaint was handwritten, every word filled with righteous anger. It painted me as a sugar baby who openly bragged about it and called me a disgrace to the school.

The semester had just started, so I couldn't recognize the handwriting.

I studied it for a while, then set it down.

"Chloe, this is serious. It could affect your future, and it reflects badly on our school!"

I took a deep breath, pulled out my phone, and made a video call.

"Mr. Davis, I want you to meet the kind middle-aged couple paying my bills."

Ethan looked at the screen and found himself face-to-face with my mother, Victoria Harper. "Hmm..."

I flipped the camera around to face myself.

"Mom, someone at school said I'm a sugar baby because you and Dad pay for everything."

Mom blinked in surprise, then burst out laughing, though she looked a little embarrassed.

"You little brat! If your allowance isn't enough, just say so. Don't make me talk to your advisor over something like this!

"And also, I just talked to your department head last week about..."

I could tell she was about to say something she shouldn't, and I quickly stopped her.

"Mom, handle that yourself. Leave me out of it."

Then I hung up and turned to face Ethan, who looked thoroughly embarrassed.

"Mr. Davis, can you tell me who filed the complaint?"

"I can't really say."

My eyes drifted from the handwriting on the complaint letter to the stack of scholarship applications on his desk.

"Mr. Davis, could I see the other scholarship applications? I'd like to learn from them."

He cleared his throat and pushed the stack toward me.

I carefully compared the handwriting, then headed back to my dorm.

第2章

The moment I walked through the door, Natalie Brooks, the dorm mate who'd asked me in the group chat how I was going to get by, rushed right up to me.

"What did the advisor want with you?"

I thought back to the two samples of handwriting I'd just compared and let out a cold laugh.

"Someone reported me for being a sugar baby. Obviously, I went to clear my name."

Natalie's eyes darted around, her expression full of concern.

"That's awful! Maybe someone found out about the way you've been... living."

Looking into Natalie's seemingly sincere eyes, I found the whole thing absurd.

"Natalie, did you make up that story and report me because you're jealous that I don't need to work?"

The room fell dead silent. The other two dorm mates exchanged an awkward glance. The tension spread throughout the room.

Natalie froze, as if she hadn't expected me to come right out and ask.

Within seconds, tears welled up in her eyes.

"How could you think it was me? I would never make up lies about you!"

With that, Natalie turned to the other two dorm mates.

"Right? Tell her!"

The other two glanced at me and tried to brush it off.

"Our shift starts soon. We gotta go!"

Natalie's tears stopped instantly. Now that everyone else was gone, it was just the two of us in the room.

I had no interest in watching her performance.

"I'm warning you. Don't come after me again, or I'll post everything on the campus forum."

Natalie stormed out of the room, crying. The next day she transferred to a different dorm room. I was happy to see her go.

Before I could even think about posting on the forum, my other two dorm mates showed me that a post about me had already appeared.

"Chloe, look at this."

I took the phone. There on the screen was my ID photo.

[Freshman Chloe Harper hired an actress to pose as her mother and lied to her academic advisor. In reality, she's a sugar baby for a couple. When her dorm mate exposed her, Chloe bullied her and forced her out of the dorm.]

My grip on the phone tightened. In just minutes, the post had skyrocketed to the top of the forum. The comments were a disaster.

[I've seen her around. Thought she was pretty cute. Didn't know she was doing THAT on the side.]

[Well, you gotta be good-looking to do that, right? Swings both ways too.]

[No wonder she has that designer bag. Must've been a gift from her sugar daddy. I always wondered how she could be so loaded and so low-key about it.]

[Smart girl. She sleeps with both of them, so no one can even call her a homewrecker.]

[I saw her wearing tiny shorts the other day. Bet she's looking to hook some naive guy on campus.]

[Maybe the advisor wasn't fooled at all. Maybe he's already wrapped around her finger!]

[How much did the advisor pay? Asking for my dorm mate—he's a virgin!]

...

I scrolled through the flood of smug, self-righteous comments, gripping my phone so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

"Chloe, we know you're not like that, but..."

I looked up at the dorm mate holding the phone and managed a thin smile before handing it back.

"Thanks for telling me."

第3章

In the three minutes between when my dorm mates told me and when they left, the post had already been pushed to the top of the trending page with my name and photo.

Soon, an anonymous user posted my phone number. [Here's Chloe Harper's number. I think we should teach her a lesson.]

Within a minute, my phone started ringing off the hook.

There was barely a pause between the calls, the notification sounds from every app piling on top of each other in an endless stream.

Someone knocked on the dorm room door. Ethan appeared, his face full of worry.

I put my phone on silent, and the constant notifications finally stopped.

"How did this happen?"

He looked worried, his voice rising without him realizing it.

I stared at my phone. The post now showed a photo of me getting out of my dad's car on the first day of school.

[That must be Chloe Harper's sugar daddy!]

[Wow, the original poster is thorough. How'd they even find this?]

[That car looks insanely expensive. I've heard people that rich have some... fetish. You think Chloe might...]

[Yikes, then you better not let your virgin dorm mate catch anything!]

The comments on the forum were getting worse and worse, as if these people had witnessed me doing those disgusting things with their own eyes.

I turned off the screen, my gaze landing on Natalie's empty bed.

I stood up to leave, but Ethan grabbed my arm.

"Don't do anything stupid!"

I gently pulled free from his grip and tucked a tablet under my arm. My steps didn't slow as I headed out.

I walked until I reached the lecture hall where student council recruitment was being held. Natalie had posted about wanting to join on Instagram just half an hour ago.

I shoved open the doors of the lecture hall. The old hinges groaned, and the noisy room fell instantly silent. Every pair of eyes turned to me.

Someone recognized me and shouted, "Isn't that Chloe, the sugar baby?"

The room went quiet for a beat, then erupted into even louder chatter.

"No way, she actually showed up here?"

"Someone with low morals like hers has no business being in student council!"

"Natalie, is this the one who bullied you? We'll give her hell for you!"

Catching the familiar name, my gaze zeroed in on the figure in the corner.

Natalie met my eyes. The corner of her mouth twitched up for a split second before she quickly rearranged her face into a look of fear.

Her new dorm mate charged over and jabbed a finger in my face in front of everyone.

"You're Chloe, right?"

Before I could speak, her sharp voice cut through the air again.

"You're the one playing sugar baby and bullying Natalie!"

Natalie stood up right on cue, her voice soft, just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

"I know Chloe has it rough. Crystal, don't blame her."

She sniffled for effect.

"After all, not everyone has the decency to work hard for a better life."

Natalie's words set off a wave of applause. Crystal Reed, her new dormmate, cheered loudest of all. Then she whirled back toward me and jabbed a finger in my face.

"See? Natalie is kind and decent. Unlike certain people who choose to throw their lives away!"

A senior, James Black, walked up and shoved me.

"What are you even doing here? We would never let someone with your character onto the student council!"

"Only someone like Natalie deserves to be here!"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

"Way to go!"

"He gets it! That's exactly how it should be!"

"Go cry to your sugar daddy!"

I met Natalie's eyes, glinting with barely concealed satisfaction. I pushed past James and walked straight to the podium.

第4章

The microphone gave a sharp squeal as I tapped it twice. The room quickly fell silent.

I looked straight at Natalie. My voice was flat.

"Natalie, I gave you one chance, then another. There won't be a third. Are you sure you want to stick to that story?

"Were you the one who posted that thread?"

People glanced at each other, then all eyes turned to Natalie.

Natalie hesitated for just a second before tears slid down her cheeks. Her voice cracked.

"How could I have posted that? Why would I post something like that about you?"

As if my words had hurt her even more, she buried her face in Crystal's shoulder, her muffled voice still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Everyone, please stop attacking Chloe. She has her reasons. We're still friends. If you keep saying these things, how are we supposed to get along?

"Chloe, I'm sorry on everyone's behalf. They were only trying to stand up for me."

The first person to explode was Crystal.

"Natalie, why are you apologizing to this slut? She does disgusting things and then has the nerve to threaten you!"

James marched over and pounded the desk with his palm.

"How dare you threaten Natalie in front of all of us!

"Throwing your weight around like this, I think it's time I reported you to the university president and had you expelled!"

My gaze swept past Natalie. I plugged my tablet into the lecture hall computer.

Once it connected, I pulled up the forum post on the projector.

I hovered my cursor over the original poster's avatar and scoffed.

"Natalie, what a waste that you're studying computer science."

The second I finished, lines of code flooded the projection screen, covering the original post.

My fingers flew across the keyboard.

Natalie heard my remark and froze for a long moment. I guessed she had no idea how to respond.

The room fell deathly silent along with her, nothing but the sound of my typing echoing off the walls.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and someone pushed through the door.

"Mrs. Harper, this is the student council recruitment event. Quite the turnout, isn't it!"

The voice died mid-sentence. University President Michael Walters had just walked in, and he and James were staring at each other.

"What is going on here?"

Michael froze, the words coming through clenched teeth.

James acted like he'd found his backer and raised his voice even more, slipping into an almost theatrical register.

"This student has no morals. She's a sugar baby, and now she's come here to bully her dorm mate in front of all these witnesses. It's disgraceful!

"Mr. Walters, I believe she should be expelled immediately!"

Michael looked at me, his brow furrowed deeply.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

James puffed out his chest, indignant, and pointed toward Natalie.

"That's the student who was bullied. You can ask her!"

Michael shifted his gaze from me, his voice low.

"Young lady, is any of this true?"

Natalie's face was pale, her voice choked.

"Mr. Walters, I didn't know what else to do. I just wanted Chloe to get back on the right track. I never expected her to..."

Michael paused.

"Who?"

Before Natalie could respond, I hit Enter. Two identical IP addresses appeared side by side on the projector screen.

"Natalie, if you didn't post that thread, then why does the poster's IP address trace back to your dorm room?"