Chapter 2

The moment the message went out, the group chat exploded.

【No wonder Crystal's been so weird today, what did you do to her, Ferdinand?】

【You shameless piece of work, could you get any lower?】

I thought Ferdinand would panic, that he'd lift whatever he'd done to me.

Instead, he typed back, unhurried:

【I'm controlling her speech, controlling her into wiping my spit, and I can control her into standing in line to buy me a breakfast sandwich too?】

【Bunch of idiots. She's just scared you simps will stop chasing her later, so she's putting on this two-faced act.】

【Watch how she treats me in a minute and you'll know.】

The class group chat went quiet.

I pulled in a deep breath and messaged my mom, telling her everything.

Mom knew a lot of people. She had to have some way…

By the time I got back with the breakfast sandwich, the teacher was already at the front lecturing.

"What time do you call this? Stand outside the door!"

But I rushed into the classroom like I'd lost my mind, my mouth still going.

"That won't do, the sandwich won't be any good once it's cold!"

"Ferdie, eat it while it's hot."

Ferdinand took the sandwich and stuck his foot out in front of me.

"My shoelace is undone. Tie it for me."

His shoes had long since lost their original color, and they gave off a rank stench.

I wanted to smash the shoe into that greasy face of his, but my knee was already bending.

My hands even moved with a kind of devotion, carefully working that mud-caked lace into a pretty bow.

The classroom was terrifyingly silent.

I heard my own voice, sugary to the point of nausea: "All tied, Ferdie."

The teacher charged down from the front, grabbed my clothes, and threw me out of the classroom.

I stumbled back a couple of steps from the pull, and even as I backed toward the door I was still calling out to Ferdinand,

"How was I today? Can you be my boyfriend now?"

The classmates who'd just been defending me in the group chat now looked at me with nothing but contempt.

My face burned scarlet. It felt worse than death.

The bell rang, and I went back into the classroom.

Everyone gave me a wide berth, not sparing me a single glance.

Back at my seat, Vivien was packing up her things.

I grabbed her. "You're changing seats?"

She pushed my hand off with a look of disgust.

"Don't touch me with the hands you used to cup a stinking foot."

"Crystal, I don't want to meddle in your private life. If you've got some eating disorder, that's your business."

"But your behavior is just too vile…"

"Vivien, I think you want to chase Ferdinand but don't have the guts, so you're jealous of me, aren't you?!"

That was what came shouting out of my mouth.

Vivien's face looked like she'd swallowed a fly.

The others couldn't even be bothered to laugh at me.

They chose to ignore me, to ignore the crazy girl.

On the school forum, Ferdinand uploaded the video of me tying his laces and wiping his spit.

【The class beauty insists on being my simp, but I'm not into her type, so annoying.】

The forum instantly boiled over.

【So all that ice-queen act before was fake? Deep down she's just a slut?】

【Is Crystal blind, falling for a short, ugly guy like that? Every time I walk past him I can smell the sweat. What is she thinking?】

【You girls don't know squat. Ferdinand's definitely got his "big" advantage, and the way Crystal's acting, you can tell she got worn out in bed.】

Ferdinand replied smugly: 【She wishes. I haven't even said yes yet.】

【Can't help it, I'm really not into her type. You all think she's the class beauty, but to me she's just a plain country girl.】

【I'm actually thinking, maybe on my birthday I'll take pity and say yes, call it a good deed.】

【Want to see how your goddess performs in bed? I can livestream it for you.】

Someone started egging him on.

【Support Ferdie. Always knew Crystal was a closet freak, let everyone see her true face.】

Someone warned Ferdinand: 【You'd better be careful, though, secret filming is illegal. If she changes her mind and calls the cops, you'll have your hands full.】

Ferdinand replied: 【Why would I need to film in secret? By then she won't just refuse to fight it, she'll be the one going along with me on her own. You believe me?】