Chapter 3

As I lay in a hazy state, there was a knock on the dorm door, and the thing in my arms pulled away.

I woke up in the middle of the night to a cool fever patch on my forehead.

Only one girl was in the room, on a video call, not wearing any clothes.

I blushed as I listened to her sweet talk her boyfriend.

When I heard her walking towards me, I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

She was the one who poured cold water on me, making me sick, and now she was changing my fever patch.

She was muttering to herself, “Why isn’t she waking up? If she doesn’t, she won’t be able to leave.”

“What exactly do you want?” I suddenly opened my eyes.

The girl jumped.

“Hmph, do you even know what kind of place this is? If you get a chance, run.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What? Isn’t this an advertising agency?”

I heard footsteps outside the door.

The girl instantly reverted to her previous cold demeanor. “Don’t think you can play sick and slack off just because you’re new!”

The door opened, and Jason walked in, anxiously feeling my forehead.

“Skylar, why did you suddenly get sick? Did one of them bully you?”

I shook my head. “No, I just suddenly got sick. Jason, I want to go out and get an IV drip.”

Jason glanced at Derek by the door.

Then he picked me up and carried me out.

That night, I was hooked up to an IV in the infirmary, and Jason stayed by my bedside, his eyes filled with worry that didn't seem fake.

So, when he asked me again who had bullied me,

I told him, “There’s a bald, heavy-set man around Derek. He almost… harassed me.”

Jason’s eyes widened in fear for a split second when he heard about him, then he said, “That bastard! I’ll teach him a lesson!”

I wondered if I’d seen wrong, so I just went back to sleep.

When I woke up again, Jason asked me, “Skylar, do you still want to be a model?”

Seeing my hesitation, he didn’t say anything.

But soon after, I ran into Brittany, my high school arch-nemesis, the former queen bee.

She had become a model and started dating the company’s owner.

They fell in love at first sight, got married, and had kids.

When she saw me again, she sneered, “Oh, still cramped in a tiny apartment with your poor boyfriend, I bet.”

A surge of anger immediately burned through me.

I immediately told my boyfriend, “I’m still going to be a model, and I’m going to make a name for myself!”

My boyfriend hugged me tightly. “Skylar, you’ll definitely become an amazing model!”

Fueled by determination, my recovery from this illness was faster than ever.

After only half a day on the IV, I voluntarily asked to return to work at the agency.

That afternoon, when Ashley saw me, she looked surprised.

“You’re back?” she blurted out.

Seeing everyone looking at her disapprovingly, she quickly tried to cover it up. “I mean, you got better so fast.”

I walked up to Derek. “Derek, I’ve thought it through this time. I won’t leave until I make something of myself!”

Derek’s plump face beamed with joy. He held my hand, stroking it repeatedly. “Good, it’s good you’ve come around.”

I promptly said, “Please assign me some work!”

Derek happily assigned me a trainer. “Go find Lenny. He’s been here forever, and he’s excellent at what he does. Just listen to him.”

I smiled and turned to greet Lenny. “Lenny, you… it’s you!”

It turned out to be the man who had harassed me that night.

Derek’s eyes swept over us. “What’s wrong?”

I quickly walked over to Lenny. “Oh, Lenny was the one who brought me back when I fainted that day. Thank you, Lenny.”

Jason, seeing my swift change in attitude, left feeling completely reassured.

Ashley couldn’t understand why I had suddenly returned and why my attitude had changed so drastically.

That evening, while I was showering, she squeezed into the bathroom.

She turned on the faucet and started talking to me. “Why did you come back?”

I smiled as I undressed. “To be a model and make a ton of money, of course.”

“You… forget it, you’re hopeless.” Ashley left.

Of course, I knew what she meant.

She wanted to tell me, “This place is a deep hole; once you’re in, it’s nearly impossible to get out.”

She probably wanted to tell me even more: “Your boyfriend, Jason, sold you out.”

I knew that too.

That day, bored in the infirmary, I went to look for Jason.

He was smoking in a corner.

Talking on the phone.

I planned to sneak up and surprise him.

But then I heard Derek’s voice on the phone. “How could you take the girl away after you took the money?”

Jason said casually, “You don’t get it. I have a plan. Later, get her high school classmate to provoke her. Skylar has strong self-esteem; she needs to make the decision herself.”

“A hundred thousand is too much? Fifty thousand came from her card, we split that. The other fifty thousand is for her services. Aren’t I being a loyal brother, bringing in such a prize?”

So, that was the truth.

My burning heart instantly plummeted into an ice-cold abyss.

I don’t know how I made it back to the infirmary.

While he was buying me food, I finally made up my mind and dialed a number:

“I’m willing to work with you…”

The next morning, I woke up early to practice my catwalk.

Derek saw me as he was leaving. “Come on, stop practicing. Let’s go make some money.”

Behind him were three or four girls I didn’t recognize.