Chapter 2

He was probably dying for these guys to tear me apart, just so he could play the heartbroken, devoted childhood friend and rush to comfort his precious little angel, Mabel.

Too bad for him. He was still way too noob to finish me off.

Max clearly wasn't buying it. He shot me a vicious glare. "Cut the crap, girl! We're just filming. What's it to you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then why did you stop me just now? And this guy..." I swung the camera over to Dylan, who looked like a deer in headlights.

I snapped, "Dylan, my so-called childhood friend, told me to take this alley, said there was a surprise waiting for me. You're all in on this, right? Teaming up to trap me? You know what that's called? Joint liability. Twice the payout, got it?"

Dylan's face went pale. He probably never thought I'd not only see through their little scheme but also turn the tables and pull him into the mess too.

Just then, the sound of police sirens started blaring in the distance.

Max and his crew freaked out, ditched me completely, grabbed their cameras, and escaped.

I gave a cold laugh. "Run all you want, but you can't escape. I've got your faces and your accounts on video. Get ready for a letter from my lawyer."

With that, I took my time putting my phone away. I didn't even spare Dylan a glance and walked off in the opposite direction.

Behind me, Dylan growled angrily, "Chloe! Stop right there!"

I stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Dylan, from now on, we're finished," I said.

When the cops showed up, Max and his crew got hauled off.

They tried to play innocent, claiming they were filming scenery. But my video caught everything, from the blond guy hitting on me to Max trying to snatch my phone.

The best part? I even got Dylan's furious "Stop right there!" on tape.

The cop glanced at the video and saw the handsome guy with a twisted expression. He then looked at me and said, "Watch out who you hang with, kid."

I nodded. "Thanks, officer. Lesson learned."

Dylan, the so-called key witness, got dragged in to give his statement, too.

When I walked out of the police station, he was waiting for me with a stormy face.

"Chloe, what the hell are you trying to pull?" he demanded, stepping right up to me.

I smoothed down my wind-tousled hair, finding the whole thing pretty funny. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? Dylan, what exactly are you trying to do? Ruin my reputation so your precious Mabel can shine?"

[Here we go! The showdown is on!]

[Dylan is seriously shameless. After everything, he still has the guts to grill Chloe.]

[Does he really think the streamer is still that gullible fool who used to believe every word he said?]

Dylan was caught off guard, then immediately switched to a hurt puppy look. "Chloe, how could you think that of me? We've been friends for twenty years. Does our relationship mean less to you than all those wild suspicions? I wanted to give you a surprise..."

I cut him off, my voice cold as ice. "A surprise? You mean getting mobbed and humiliated by a bunch of people, then having the whole thing blow up online? That's one hell of a surprise. I don't think I can take it. Dylan, save the performance. It makes me sick."

He'd never seen me like this before. He was left speechless, frozen for a moment.

I didn't bother saying another word. I turned and walked away.

"Chloe! Mabel is innocent. Don't take it out on her!" he called after me.

He immediately tried to protect his precious Mabel again.

I stopped, turned back to him, and gave a cold smile. "Relax. I won't do anything to her. She is only a tool and doesn't even realize it. She isn't even worth my effort."

With that, I gave a carefree wave, hopped into a cab, and left without a second thought.

Dylan was left standing there, his face turned red from rage.

[Haha, what a fool! Chloe really burned him!]

[Mabel is probably blissfully clueless at home, thinking Dylan has already handled all her troubles for her.]

[Can't wait for the showdown between Dylan and Mabel tomorrow!]

Back home, I let the hot water rinse away all the exhaustion.

Lying in bed, I started replaying everything that had happened today in my mind.

The stream comments were like unlocking god mode. Suddenly, I could see it all from above. Dylan's come back to life, his schemes, Mabel's fate... Everything was suddenly so obvious, right in front of my eyes.

In my last life, I really was an absolute sucker.

Whatever Dylan said, I bought it. If he told me to go east, west wasn't even an option for me.

He claimed Mabel was fragile and needed someone to protect her, so I went all out as her backup, taking all the hits for her like some clueless sidekick.

In the end, Dylan and Mabel got together without a hitch. As for me? I couldn't stand the way Dylan acted sometimes, so we ended up fighting. He schemed against me, accused me of cheating on a major exam, and I almost got expelled.

Even though the truth finally came out, my reputation was already trashed.