Chapter 3

The cramped apartment was cluttered with junk.

Ronnie, uncharacteristically, suggested she and Liam go take out the trash.

In my previous life, I might not have seen through her intentions.

She was clearly using the excuse of taking out the trash to quickly appease Liam.

I sneered.

Now with only one pass left, I was waiting for them to become enemies!

I pulled out my phone and quickly added Sterling’s contact information.

In my past life, I was too kind, always letting my guard down around them.

Ronnie had just been laid off, and Liam hadn’t found a job after graduation.

I was barely supporting all three of us on my meager salary.

They weren't grateful at all; they were so audacious that when the emergency supply advisory was issued, they immediately used all our savings to hoard supplies.

When I lugged back over a dozen bags of supplies, breathless and exhausted, they wouldn’t even help.

They just kept blaming me for wasting money.

“We have three mouths to feed; how can you spend money so irrationally! You wasted all our money; how are we supposed to get through this month?!”

“I haven’t even bought my suit yet! If this delays my interview, you’ll regret it!”

Liam grumbled, not bothering to consider that he was spending *my* money.

Ronnie rolled her eyes.

“That’s what happens when you’ve always had it easy, never thinking about the consequences.”

“I told him I wanted to buy a gaming keyboard this month; it was only a few thousand, and he wouldn’t buy it! Instead, he wasted money on this useless junk!”

I was deeply hurt.

For the first time, I lost my temper and argued with them.

To salvage her ego, Ronnie pulled out Sterling's contact info and flaunted it right in front of me.

“If it weren’t for you, why would I compromise myself like this?”

“Now that I’ve finally buttered him up, maybe Sterling will give me a leg up, and I’ll strike it rich soon!”

“If even you look down on me and think I can’t do it, then I’ll jump off a building right now!”

Ronnie looked so wronged that my heart broke.

I apologized profusely, once again letting her manipulate me.

But because of that, I remembered Sterling's contact information.

Seeing the “friend request accepted” notification, I felt a slight relief.

When they returned, Liam had completely changed his slouchy demeanor. He took my hand and looked at Ronnie.

“There’s only one pass left. I thought about it, and I think we should give it to Ronnie.”

“You’re right, we’ll have each other for company, and we won’t be too lonely in the end.”

I was a little surprised, not expecting Liam to be so generous.

But I just smiled, not handing over the pass.

“I need to think about it more. After all, I’m the one who drew it, so I have to be responsible for this ticket, and for both of you.”

Ronnie immediately grew anxious.

Just as I saw her about to snatch it, I looked at Liam.

“I’m used to being so careless. Liam is more detail-oriented, so maybe he should keep it safe.”

Now, both of them were stunned.

Liam glanced at Ronnie, then cautiously took the pass.

As night fell, the temperature plummeted.

Ronnie had already bundled herself up.

I stopped Liam, who was about to go find something to stay warm.

“Liam, you deserve this pass more than Ronnie.”