Chapter 4

They watched me the whole way to get my bank card, then marched me back to the dorm entrance.

The three of them exchanged a look and set up a livestream rig right in front of me.

They fiddled with the equipment and gave me my orders.

"Juliana, your reputation's already trash, so we're helping you do a livestream to set the record straight."

"You'll pay back the money in front of everyone, hand over the estate, and prove you're doing it of your own free will. Then a sincere apology, and everyone will forgive you. Sound good?"

I nodded softly, my voice obedient.

"Okay. Whatever you say."

The livestream began.

Within three minutes, the viewer count shot past a hundred thousand.

The screen flooded with comments, all of them cursing me.

【God, this girl is disgusting. So pretty and no shame at all.】

【How does someone like this still have the nerve to be alive?】

【Get out of that school! You've wrecked the whole school's image!】

【Absolutely shameless. Her parents raised her for nothing.】

Rachel stood behind the screen, head lowered, both hands over her face.

Anyone who didn't know better would think she was crying.

Only I saw the smile leaking through the gaps between her fingers.

Angela pressed down hard on my shoulder so I couldn't get away.

And Virginia turned to the camera, brimming with righteous indignation as she made her accusation.

"As Juliana's roommate, I can testify. She's incredibly vain. Every day it's fruit that costs hundreds, skincare that runs into the thousands.

"She has zero respect for the dignity of people like us who clawed our way up from the countryside on our own! Every time she gave me something, she was humiliating me!"

My father stepped forward and threw the contract in my face.

"You're signing this contract today whether you want to or not! You've brought shame on the Gilbert name, and you're going to make it up to us!"

Scarface smirked off to the side and waggled the phone in his hand.

"Ten-second countdown. Pay up now, or I mass-send this to everyone with one tap."

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

Everyone was watching me, waiting for me to act.

One hand held the pen, the signature on the contract half done.

The other hovered over the payment screen, three digits of the password already entered.

"Six, five, four..."

The last second of the countdown.

I suddenly stopped everything.

I lifted my head, looked at the three of them, and pulled a very strange smile across my face.

"Do you really think the things I gave you are all just dead objects?"

"Juliana, what the hell are you smiling about! Sign it!"

My father roared, beside himself, and reached out to hit me.

This time, I didn't stand there and wait for the blow.

I whipped my hand back and slapped him hard across the face.

He cried out in pain, staring at me in disbelief.

He probably never imagined that the daughter he'd bullied at will would one day hit back.

"Dad, don't be in such a rush."

I spoke slowly, my voice carrying into the ears of a hundred thousand people in that livestream.

"Before I sign this contract, there are some things I've been holding in for a long time. I'd like you, and everyone watching, to hear them."

Rachel's face changed.

"Juliana... what are you talking about...?"

I fixed my eyes on the bracelet on her wrist.

Then I looked at the watch on Angela's wrist.

And finally at the phone Virginia was streaming with.

"You didn't actually think the things I spent all that money on were just ordinary junk, did you?"

Virginia was visibly panicking now. "Juliana, calm down. This is not the time for a little rich girl like you to be joking around!"

I pulled a remote out of my pocket.

One light press.

The hundred-thousand-viewer stream went black in an instant, the feed cut off by force.

The next second, the screen lit up again.

But what appeared was no longer my face. It was clip after clip of high-definition video, enough to scare the soul out of everyone there.