I pursued a boy for five years but never succeeded. Then one day, while I was at KTV spending seven hundred yuan on drinks, I ran into him.
I had been chasing after a guy for five years, but never managed to catch him.
Then, one day, while I was at a karaoke bar, spending seven hundred on drinks, I ran into him.
1
Actually, that day was my friend Gwen Thomas's single release party, celebrating that she'd finally shaken off her toxic ex and was embracing her golden singlehood at 25. By the time our group arrived at the karaoke bar, it was already the second round, and I was pretty much drunk out of my mind.
"Fuck it, let's spend it all tonight!" Gwen kicked the table and, holding a bottle of booze in her hand, shouted with a slur, "Everyone, order a bottle. Davina, you get two!"
"Isn't that a bit much...?" I was already so drunk I couldn't tell how much I had in me. "How much does this even cost?"
"One bottle is seven hundred, or you can get two for a bundled deal at fifteen hundred!"
I didn't even process the discount logic before I saw a guy walking in with the drinks. He was so good-looking that I immediately pointed at him. "I'll have a bottle, but make him open it for me."
Just then, the lights in the room dimmed, and a handsome young man stood beside everyone. But the guy I'd pointed out seemed particularly aloof – he wasn't even saying anything.
Handsome guys always have their moods. His cold attitude was somehow... so charming.
"Hey, you're really good-looking," I decided to be a little more forward, grinning as I reached out to touch his face. "You look just like someone I liked back in college... his name was... oh, Cory Sharpe."
"I am Cory Sharpe."
Well, shit.
2
"So, you... slept with Cory?"
"No," I muttered, feeling a little defeated as I fiddled with the fabric pattern on the blanket. "He said that would cost extra, then mocked me for being so poor that I had to scrape together enough money just to pay."
"..." Gwen fell silent for a moment, chewing on her lips as she asked cautiously, "You don't even have two thousand? Surely you have that, right?"
"Forget two thousand, I had to scrape together seven hundred from several of my cards." I sniffled, my head spinning. "I was already heartbroken thinking, Cory Sharpe, this hot guy, is only worth seven hundred now, and then he gave me this disgusted look, calling me a worthless girl who couldn't even scrape together seven hundred..."
"...Stop, you're making me want to cry too."
I'd just finished talking to Gwen on the phone and was about to get out of bed to grab some breakfast when a message popped up from someone saved as "Top Creditor" in my contacts. It was a picture.
I opened it to find a dry-cleaning bill for two hundred bucks.
"Davina, you threw up on me. You're paying."
I felt my vision blur, and just as I was processing the shock, a voice message came through that startled me so much I almost dropped my phone.
"Cory, what the hell? You're just going to say I threw up? You're extorting me! I'll report you to the cops."
"If you call the cops, I'll tell your dad you were out drinking at the karaoke bar."
"..."
Oh, by the way, Cory was my childhood friend.
"I don't have any money," I admitted, completely broke. "I'm broke. I've got nothing to my name. Go ahead and report me."
A few minutes later, the situation took an unexpected turn.
Who got arrested? Oh, it was me.
Cory sneered, his voice calm but dripping with amusement. "Well then, how about you pay with... something else?"
"...What the hell, Cory, I've liked you for five years, but you really can't look down on me like this. You think I'm worth only two hundred? What the hell do you think I am?"
"...You're going to come over to my place and cook for me," Cory snapped, clearly irritated. "Davina, what the hell is going on in that head of yours?"
The moment he mentioned "cooking," all the fight in me deflated. I held my phone, kneeling at the edge of the bed, listening to Cory's lectures in earnest. I accidentally bumped my head on the bedboard and yelped.
"Davina, what the hell are you doing?"
"...I hit my head..."
"Did all the alcohol go straight to your head?"
3
I woke up still half-drunk, only to find out I owed Cory two hundred bucks.
I was planning on asking Gwen for a loan, but then I remembered how she'd carelessly racked up a five thousand bill on drinks yesterday. I felt a pang for her and swallowed the words before they could leave my mouth.
Following the address Cory had given me, I made my way quickly to his fancy apartment.
A 70-square-meter loft, fully furnished with smart home features, and the view of the bustling city through the floor-to-ceiling windows screamed one thing: Cory Sharpe was rich.
Turns out he was the real deal – an actual rich kid, while I was just a broke wannabe socialite.
"What are you staring at? You here to cook?" Cory, wearing a navy-blue loungewear set, leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping coffee. He adjusted his glasses with his long fingers, and despite his handsome face, his words were cold as ice. "Two hundred bucks, a hundred per meal – four dishes and a soup. The fridge has ingredients. Help yourself."
"...Okay."
His kitchen was fully stocked, and I managed to finish cooking just in time for dinner.
"Cory, dinner's ready." I carefully peeked my head around the door, trying to look as meek as possible.
Cory closed the book in his hand and put his glasses away.
Apparently, even people working at karaoke bar were reading books now. The competition was getting real.
"What are you thinking?"
"Nothing... nothing at all."
He glanced at me sideways.
I stood up straight, trailing behind Cory as he went downstairs. The four dishes and soup on the table looked delicious. Cory sat down on his own, and before I could ask him why he didn't invite me to sit down and eat with him, my stomach growled loudly.
Silence. A brief, uncomfortable silence.
"Go eat."
Just as Cory spoke, I got up to serve myself some food. Before I even reached the table, I heard him lazily add from behind me, "You can go eat out."
I turned around and shot him a glare, but my lips trembled and I almost burst into tears.
"No crying." Cory looked up, gesturing at the food in front of him. "You can eat, but the food's mine. Two hundred a meal."
"Two hundred for this?" I pointed at the eggs and vegetables on the table. "You're ripping me off."
"It's priced fair, market price, take it or leave it." Cory leaned back, eyeing me lazily. "Or you can go eat out. There's nothing here you can afford."
I wanted to cry.
So, basically, I had come all the way here, slaving away to cook for Cory, and now I owed him an additional hundred bucks.
"Are you eating or not?"
"I'll eat."
I rushed into the kitchen, found the largest plate I could find, and served myself a heaping portion of food. I sat down opposite Cory.
Cory was so good-looking, and like most beautiful people, he didn't have much of an appetite. The food on the table was almost entirely finished by me.
"Wash the dishes."
"Dishwashing is two hundred." I leaned back in my chair, certain Cory – looking all neat and polished – wouldn't wash the dishes. I held up two fingers and waved them. "If it's any less, I'm not washing."
"... I have a dishwasher."
"Still two hundred." I quickly adapted to Cory's pricing style. "If you haggle, it'll be three hundred."
"...Fine, you win."
4
Lucia Balstone thought she had chosen the right man to spend the rest of her life with, but he was the one who ended her life. Their ten-year marriage seemed like a joke when her husband stabbed her with a dagger. Fortunately, God is never blind to people's tears. Lucia got a second chance. She was reborn at the age of 22, before all the terrible things had happened. This time, she was determined to avenge herself and let those who hurt her pay! She made an elaborate list of her goals, and the first thing on her list was to marry her ex-husband's enemy, Alonso Callen!
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
She thought she was the love of his life, and he became the love of her life that fateful day she had seen him at the pack's party. Selene Grace was only a replica of Alpha Leo's real mate, and when he spotted her, Leo immediately claimed her as his Luna in order to suppress the rumors of him being mateless. Being unable to conceive turns Selene's marriage into a nightmare, and as if that wasn't enough, Alpha Leo finally reunites with his long time lover and mate, rejecting a pregnant Selene as a result. 5 years later, Selene, a now successful doctor, receives an invitation to the moon shadow pack in order to rid the pack of a deadly disease which has struck it. Will Selene return back to the pack which had caused her so much pain, and what would she do when she realizes that she is mated to the Alpha who had betrayed her in the past?
Madisyn was stunned to discover that she was not her parents' biological child. Due to the real daughter's scheming, she was kicked out and became a laughingstock. Thought to be born to peasants, Madisyn was shocked to find that her real father was the richest man in the city, and her brothers were renowned figures in their respective fields. They showered her with love, only to learn that Madisyn had a thriving business of her own. "Stop pestering me!" said her ex-boyfriend. "My heart only belongs to Jenna." "How dare you think that my woman has feelings for you?" claimed a mysterious bigwig.
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."