Blurb：
After a cold war breakup with arrogant billionaire heir Chase Sterling, I was ready to swallow my pride and reconcile. But just as I planned to win back Chase, the scholarship student Ethan Foster confessed to me. Comments flashing before my eyes revealed the shocking truth – Ethan is actually the long-lost heir to the Northwood Fosters, the wealthiest family surpassing even the Sterlings! The comments predicted he’d become a billionaire once recognized by his true family. Forget Chase Sterling and his controlling ways. I might be a gold-digger, but I’m a strategic one. My new target? The seemingly poor scholarship student Ethan Foster, who’s actually the ultimate billionaire catch. Watch as I navigate this unexpected romance with hidden identities, wealthy families, and my own ambitious agenda.
Content：
It had been two months since Chase Sterling and I broke up after our cold war.
He hadn’t sent me a single text.
I couldn’t hold out anymore and was about to cave in first.
But that very day, Ethan Foster, the scholarship kid, suddenly confessed to me.
I was about to reject him when lines of comments flashed before my eyes.
“LMAO, she actually thinks Ethan likes her?”
“He lost a bet playing Truth or Dare with the Female Lead and had to confess, that’s all.”
“Poor Ethan just realized the girl he likes is pushing him away, now he’s gonna get rejected by this gold-digging snob.”
“How heartbreaking!”
“Relax! Once he gets recognized by the Foster family in Northwood and becomes a billionaire, the Female Lead will make up with him!”
…What?
The Northwood Fosters?
The super-duper rich billionaires?
No making up with Chase.
This scholarship kid? I’ll take him!
I’m a gold-digger.
But I’m good at hiding it. I treat all my classmates equally and seem super friendly.
It’s only when it comes to dating that my ironclad rule kicks in –
My man has to be rich.
Well, obviously.
And good-looking.
Chase was the most eligible guy I’d encountered in my eighteen years of schooling.
His family had a huge business, long-established wealthy.
Rumor was they were second only to the Fosters in Northwood.
Of course.
A family like the Fosters was way out of my league.
Chase was arrogant, cold, and ridiculously high-maintenance.
I chased him for months before he finally agreed to be my boyfriend.
But once we were together, he often complained I wasn’t clingy or attentive enough.
He threatened to break up all the time.
“Let’s just end this. You only chased me for my money anyway.
“Last time I saw you talking to the basketball captain. Interested?
“Don’t be fooled by his McLaren. It’s second-hand, worth peanuts.
“Block his number right now, and I’ll forgive you!”
Situations like that were endless.
Now, almost every good-looking guy in my social media was under his surveillance.
Two months ago, Chase fought with me again.
The reason? I was twenty minutes late to his birthday party.
“This proves you don’t care about me!
“You were never late for assembly! The Dean ranks higher than me in your heart!
“We’re done. Let’s cool off!”
That old tune again.
Was this comparable?
I wasn’t some trust-fund kid like him. Could I just piss off the Dean?
Honestly, I was a bit fed up then, so I went along with it.
“Fine, we’re done.
“Then don’t contact me.”
That day, Chase went pale.
He glared at me for what felt like forever,
then smashed down a bottle of wine worth over a hundred grand.
True to his word, he never contacted me again.
Two months passed.
I’d cooled down.
Chase was the best I could realistically land.
Who doesn’t love money?
My family’s just average.
My parents favored my brother, all the good stuff went to him.
I wanted out of that environment.
But I wasn’t that smart.
Even studying my hardest, my grades were only mid-range in our grade.
My biggest asset… was just this face…
So, using my looks to gain some advantage, satisfy my ambition –
what’s wrong with that?
Thinking that made me feel better.
Chase had been playing basketball every afternoon lately.
I packed my bag and headed to the basketball court.
Planning to soften him up, smooth things over, and move on.
But just as I reached the gym entrance,
Someone unexpected called my name –
Ethan Foster.
Ethan Foster.
Our school’s famous academic god.
Always top of the class.
Six-foot-two, incredibly handsome.
He’d even beaten Chase by a hair in the school hottie poll –
One of those votes was mine.
No special reason.
His face just perfectly matched my type.
My sense of fairness kicked in.
But otherwise, we had almost zero interaction.
He was always alone, barely speaking to anyone.
Rumors said someone saw his mom collecting veggies at the market.
Others said his dad died young, his grandma had a serious illness costing hundreds of thousands a year in hospital bills.
In short, Ethan’s family had it tough.
He applied for need-based scholarships every year, worked part-time at a bubble tea shop and a convenience store.
In the cafeteria, he only got the cheapest dishes.
Even a girl wouldn’t be full on that.
Let alone a guy his size.
At my kindest, I once slipped five hundred bucks into his bag from my allowance.
No name.
Now.
At the gym entrance.
When Ethan called my name,
My brow furrowed –
Had he found out about the money I gave him months ago?
Based on those novels, poor scholarship kids were usually proud with fragile egos.
He’d probably think I was trying to humiliate him.
Him confronting me now… was he here to fight?
Before I could plan my defense,
Ethan’s next words stunned me.
“Skylar.
“I like you.
“Will you be my girlfriend?”
I was dumbfounded.
People streamed past the gym entrance.
I glanced towards the basketball courts.
Somehow, Chase had already come out.
He must have just finished playing basketball, sweat dripped from his forehead.
A bunch of his buddies surrounded him, watching us with keen interest.
They discussed it openly, no attempt to lower their voices.
“Hey, isn’t that Chase’s girl?”
“What girl? Get it right – ex-girlfriend!”
“Alright! Ex! But wow, Skylar’s got backbone this time. Two whole months! Before, she’d be chasing him already.”
“Maybe she found the next target?”
“Huh, Ethan? The scholarship nerd?”
“Chase, you think Skylar’ll actually accept?”
Listening to them, I felt awkward.
Instinctively, I looked towards Chase.
Wanting to signal him not to misunderstand.
But he never once glanced my way.
Just bounced his basketball, a sneer playing on his lips.
Like he’d stumbled on something completely irrelevant.
“Huh? Whether she accepts or not, what’s it to me?
“Ethan is brilliant. Skylar dating him? It was she who got the benefits.”
My heart sank.
Honestly, Chase never really liked me, did he?
It was only because I pursued him so closely that he reluctantly accepted.
Breaking up was probably a relief for him.
That was fine.
Not trying to get back together at least saved me some dignity.
Even though I wasn’t getting back with Chase, I wasn’t planning to accept Ethan either.
During three years of high school, we’d probably spoken less than twenty times.
Getting together out of the blue like this?
Didn’t seem fair to either of us.
I was about to refuse.
Suddenly, a massive wave of comments appeared before my eyes.
“Here we go! The book’s drama! Ethan confessing to Skylar!”
“Hahaha look at her face! Does she really think Ethan likes her?”
“He lost a bet playing Truth or Dare with the Female Lead, had to confess!”
“Poor Ethan. Just realized the girl he likes doesn’t want him, and now he’ll get rejected by this gold-digging snob.”
“How heartbreaking!”
“Don’t worry! Once he’s recognized by the Fosters in Northwood and becomes a billionaire, our Female Lead will make up with him!”
…What?
The Northwood Fosters?
The super-duper rich billionaires?
My heart leaped into my throat.
I’d heard some Fosters’ gossip.
Rumors said Mrs. Foster was frail, only had one child.
But due to business rivalries, that child was kidnapped around age four or five.
Lost.
Never heard from again.
For over a decade, even as their empire grew, the Fosters never stopped searching him.
The comments kept rolling.
“Soon! Ethan gets found in three months!”
“The Fosters are overseas on business. When they run into the kidnapper who escaped in the UK, they’ll get the info and fly back immediately…”
“Our Ethan won’t have to suffer like this anymore!”
Just three months?
Hmm.
Thank goodness I hadn’t refused yet.
Someone as money-loving as me.
How could I pass up a chance to get close to wealth like that?
I curved my lips into a near-perfect smile.
“Okay.
“I accept, Ethan.”
I was so shocked by the comments, completely missed Chase behind me.
His face went ghostly pale when I nodded.
His fingers trembled uncontrollably.
“What? Skylar accepted?!”
“Impossible! She’s the biggest gold-digger!!!”
“She only dated Chase for his money! Truly snob.”
“The script said she’d regret it like crazy after Ethan got rich!”
“Exactly!”
“Plus, what about Chloe now?”
Chloe Evans.
Ethan’s childhood friend.
The Female Lead the comments mentioned.
They said Chloe made the bet, forcing Ethan to confess to me.
Because she had a crush on Chase, and wanted to shut down any chance of me getting back with him.
In the original story,
I rejected Ethan, and Chase didn’t take me back.
Instead, the pure-hearted childhood friend rushed to comfort Ethan.
Ethan didn’t have feelings for me beyond classmates.
But confessing in the gym, publicly?
Being rejected was still awkward and embarrassing.
Chloe, the instigator, played the sweet, innocent role then.
Stringing Ethan along, comforting him, soothing his ego.
While spreading rumors about me, calling me a gold-digger who looked down on poor guys’ feelings.
But she was secretly pursuing Chase.
Only when Ethan was recognized by his wealthy family did she finally accept his feelings.
The novel reached its happy ending.
Gotta admit, Chloe was pretty slick.
If she hadn’t dragged me into this stupid bet and later spread rumors about me,
Maybe we could’ve even been friends.
Not now, though.
I wasn’t about to cozy up to someone who meant me harm.
I glanced towards a corner.
Chloe looked surprised too when I accepted.
She froze for a second.
Then quickly looked pleased as she glanced towards Chase.
Rumors flew around school.
That I’d hounded Chase until he dated me, that he’d been secretly sick of me.
Now he was finally free, he must be thrilled, right?
But when I stepped forward and took Ethan’s hand,
A gasp rippled through the crowd –
Chase slammed his basketball onto the floor.
Face blank, he pushed through the crowd and walked out without a word.
His buddies chased after him, apologizing to people he shoved aside.
“Sorry, sorry! Just urgent stuff!”
“Nah, he’s not angry! Chase is fine!”
“He looked pissed? Probably just didn’t get enough game time…”
“Stop asking! We gotta catch him! Bye!”
…
“Sk… Skylar… You really mean it? You accept?”
As the male lead of this whole thing, Ethan looked utterly bewildered.
When I grabbed his wrist and pulled him from the gawking crowd, he seemed stunned.
He muttered, almost unconsciously, needing to confirm,
“We barely talk.
“I always thought… you didn’t even know who I was.”
Ethan bit his lip, his gaze dropping self-consciously.
I got why he thought that.
Every class has its cliques.
Because I dated Chase, my friends were mostly rich kids.
Ethan always sat in the back of class, quiet.
The only person he really talked to was Chloe, his childhood friend since elementary school.
Comments lamented,
“Yeah, Skylar and Ethan are from different worlds.”
“Ethan didn’t even want to confess. He felt joking with a dare was rude, whether she accepted or not…”
“Chloe kept insisting, joking about cutting ties. He had no choice.”
“What’s that mean? Blaming Chloe? It’s Skylar’s fault for saying yes out of nowhere!”
“Ugh, annoying! Just clear things up already! I’m here for sweet love! Don’t let Skylar steal Ethan!”
…
Ethan looked down, clenching his fists.
Finally, he’d made a decision.
“Skylar.”
He sighed softly, looking at me apologetically.
“Actually.
“About the confession today… you might not know why… I was…”
He didn’t finish, but I knew.
Ethan was about to spill the dare.
If the misunderstanding cleared, how could the plot continue?
As cunning as I am, I couldn’t let that happen.
I put on a look of sudden realization, cutting him off.
“Huh? You thought I hadn’t heard of you?
“Ethan, what are you even thinking?
“Do you know how famous you are at this school?”
That shut him up.
He coughed, repeating dully,
“Me?
“…Famous?”
For a genius, Ethan was so self-abasement.
Why so clueless about his own status?
I nodded gently, stepping closer.
Taking his hand.
Saying very seriously,
“Yes.
“Ethan, you’re amazing.
“You know how many people in class admire your grades? Want to be your friend?
“Like me. I work hard but only get halfway to where you are…”
I looked down, pretending to suddenly remember something.
“Oh!
“Come to think of it, I once left some money in your bag.
“Not much. Five hundred bucks.
“Back then, you ate so little in the cafeteria. I hoped you could buy yourself snacks.
“Ethan… you’re not mad, are you?
“I swear, I meant no harm!”
From these few minutes, and the rapid, real-time comments, I sensed it.
Ethan wasn’t what I’d first imagined.
He wasn’t petty, touchy, afraid people looked down on him.
If I told him about the five hundred,
He probably wouldn’t be angry. It might even bring us closer.
Sure enough.
Hearing this,
He froze, then his eyes lit up.
“It was you?!
“That money was from you, Skylar?!
“You saved my life! Seriously! Back then… my grandma had a bad flare-up. Medical bills were thousands.
“Might not sound like much, but we were really poor.
“Your five hundred was exactly what we needed!”
That surprised me –
A small, random kindness had such a big impact?
Seeing Ethan and me chatting happily, the comments freaked out.
“WTF? Skylar mentioned the $500?!”
“Ethan looked for who helped him for ages! He’d already given up! Annoying.”
“She was supposed to be the villain! Now she’s acting like the pure-hearted savior?”
“Chill! Chloe is the real savior!”
“Chloe told Ethan no one liked him, drove away anyone who tried to help him, stayed by his side alone. Isn’t THAT the savior?”
Ethan, oblivious to this, visibly relaxed.
He gave me a small, shy smile.
His voice was soft.
“I’m really grateful, Skylar.
“Maybe it sounds useless.
“But… is there anything I can do for you?”
I looked at him and smiled back.
“If I didn’t know why I put that money in your bag before…
“When you confessed today, I think I figured it out –
“I think… I probably liked you already.
“Since we’re together now, Ethan, don’t call me ‘Skylar’ anymore.
“Call me ‘sweetie’.”
Ethan’s face flushed bright red instantly.
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