On my wedding day, I jumped from the 38th floor of the hotel.

It all started when I got together with my first love, Colin Frey. My best friend, Alice Manning, came to me and said she had bound herself to some kind of love system. She claimed that every guy I dated would fall for her and dump me.

I thought she was just messing around and did not believe her. However, just a few days later, Colin came to me and confessed that he wanted to break up because he had fallen in love with Alice.

After that, I got smart about it. I stopped telling anyone about my relationships and did not even post anything on social media. Yet, somehow Alice always knew. It was as if she had installed some kind of tracking device on me.

No matter who I dated, she would find out. Then, within days, they would all fall head over heels for her and leave me behind.

I was completely heartbroken, so I moved back to my hometown to get as far away from Alice as possible.

Through my parents' arrangement, I was set to marry a guy through a blind date setup. Yet, on the actual wedding day, he stood up in front of everyone and confessed his love to Alice, saying he wanted to marry her instead.

My parents, who were sitting in the audience, were so furious and devastated that they collapsed on the spot. They were rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. They were gone.

Meanwhile, Alice was wearing the ring that was supposed to be mine, looking absolutely smug as she boasted, "A man this amazing? As if you deserve him. Now he's mine, so why don't you just step aside like a good girl?"

I could not take the blow, so I climbed to the hotel rooftop and leapt off without hesitation.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the very moment before Alice had ever mentioned that so-called system.

"Lauren, how are things going with that guy you've been seeing lately?"

The moment I heard that familiar voice by my ear, my eyes snapped open. Alice Manning, my so-called best friend, was leaning toward me, her face full of nosy curiosity.

I was so startled that I shoved her away, unable to hide the hatred in my eyes.

"Hey, why are you pushing me? I'm just asking! This is your first time dating someone, so I need to look out for you and make sure he's good enough."

First time? What a joke! I have dated several times in my past life, but the woman in front of me sabotaged every single relationship without fail.

I pulled out my phone and checked the time. After seeing the date clearly, I finally confirmed that I was actually reborn.

When she saw that I was not responding to her, Alice brushed the dust off her clothes and sat back down next to me. She had a mysterious look on her face, like she was about to say something important.

My stomach knotted. I already knew that she was going to talk about the system binding.

Sure enough, she started speaking with what looked like guilt, and her eyes even turned red. "Lauren, there's something I have to confess to you. Last night I accidentally bonded with a love system.

"That stupid thing told me that all your boyfriends will fall in love with me and break up with you. I don't want this to happen either, but it said that if I try to unbind from it, I'll die. You're my best friend, so you wouldn't want to see me die, right?"

In my last life, when I first heard those words, I did not believe her at all. I thought she was just messing with me. After all, I only saw system binding in novels, and there was no way something like that could exist in real life.

Besides, human emotions were incredibly complex, so how could a simple system control them?

If all the men I dated ended up falling for Alice, then it just meant I had terrible taste and was only attracted to scumbags.

Noticing that I did not believe her, Alice said she would prove it to me in a few days. I did not take her words seriously at all.

But then, just a few days later, my boyfriend, Colin Frey, actually came to me. He told me he wanted to break up and even said he was in love with Alice.

I could not believe what I was hearing and even started to doubt whether the system Alice mentioned was actually real.

I was heartbroken for quite a while, but I also learned my lesson. I stopped telling anyone about my relationships and did not post anything on social media either. Besides me and whoever I was dating, nobody else knew about my love life.

Even so, every man I dated would want to break up with me without fail. They would claim they fell in love with Alice.

Even though I really did not want to believe in that system, I had no choice but to accept it now. With my own power alone, I probably had no way to fight against Alice.

Feeling completely defeated, I returned to my hometown, cut off all contact with Alice, and even deleted every way she could reach me.

Later, my parents introduced me to a guy, and we decided to get married.

Even then, Alice would not leave me alone. She suddenly showed up at my wedding and destroyed everything, even causing my parents' deaths.

I lost everything and had no idea how to fight against that so-called system. In my despair, I chose to end it all.

Maybe because I died such a pathetic death, heaven gave me a chance to figure all this out. This time, I was determined to find out exactly what that damned system of hers really was.

I took several deep breaths and slowly calmed myself down. Then, I looked at Alice indifferently and asked, "What system? You've been reading too many novels, Alice. I really never thought you'd be someone who steals your best friend's boyfriend!"

Everyone around us heard our voices and turned to look. Their eyes were filled with disdain as they glared at Alice.

"No, it's not like that. I don't want this either. I'm being controlled! You have to believe me!" Alice's eyes filled with tears as she kept trying to defend herself.

I immediately cut her off. "Enough! I was so wrong about you! From now on, I don't have a friend like you."

With that, I turned around and walked away, pulling out my phone to delete Alice's contact information as I left. This time, I made a clean break and cut ties with her completely. There was no way she could find out who I was dating or use the so-called system on me again.

When I got home, Colin was in the kitchen making dinner.

I met him at work, and since this was my first real relationship, I was extremely cautious. I spent a long time getting to know him before deciding to date him. From what I could see, he was always sincere and reliable.

I could not help but think that maybe I really had bad judgment and misjudged people. Nonetheless, now that I have completely cut ties with Alice, maybe the things that happened in my past life would not repeat themselves this time.

A few days later, Colin and I went out to the mall together. However, we ran into Alice there. I instinctively tried to pull him away from her, but she walked straight up to us.

"So, this is your boyfriend? You actually broke off our friendship over him? Don't tell me you've gone full lovesick."

I kept a blank expression and did not say a word. However, cold sweat broke out across my back because I could clearly feel that Colin's expression had changed.

"Let's just go. I have nothing to say to her," I said as I grabbed Colin's hand and tried to leave.

He yanked his hand away from mine and replied, "Lauren, let's break up."

My eyes widened, and what I felt more than anything was fear. I was afraid that my past life was repeating itself.

"Why are we breaking up? This is way too sudden."

"I don't like you anymore. I realized I've fallen for your friend. It's love at first sight."

Alice had a triumphant smile on her face, though she pretended to reject him. "Don't say that! I'm Lauren's best friend. We can't do this."

Colin left the mall, while I stood there frozen, unable to move.

Alice leaned close to my ear. "I told you, I have a system. Now you believe me, right?"

I clenched my teeth and still did not say a word.

Alice could see the fear in my eyes, and her smile grew even brighter.

When I got home, I immediately went online to search for information about systems. Every source said the same thing: systems did not exist in real life. They were nothing more than fictional plot devices made up for novels.

I was not willing to give up, so I posted about it online. All the internet users just made fun of me, saying the breakup made me lose my mind and that instead of admitting I was not attractive enough, I was blaming Alice for having a system.

I kept researching until late at night. When my stomach started growling loudly, I realized I had not eaten all day.

Oddly, the breakup did not make me feel sad. Instead, I was only terrified of this unknown system.

I ordered some takeout for myself, and when I saw the delivery guy, an idea suddenly popped into my head.

Early the next morning, I ran downstairs to find David Rogers, the security guard.

David lost his wife over ten years ago and desperately wanted to find a new companion. So, he always targeted the older ladies who did their morning exercises in the neighborhood.

However, those ladies all had children, pensions, and comfortable lives. None of them was interested in the old security guard living on welfare, and they found him completely annoying.

I walked up to him and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "David, want me to set you up with a companion?"

His eyes lit up immediately. "Yes, of course! Who are you introducing me to?"

I smiled faintly and pointed at myself. "What do you think about me?"

David burst out laughing. "Hey now, you're pulling my leg! Get out of here! Stop messing around and let me work."

I chuckled. "I'm not joking with you at all. I really like men like you. You make me feel so safe and secure. I've always been attracted to older men."

I forced myself to say these disgusting words. Since Alice could use her system to steal all my boyfriends, I wanted to see if she would want this particular man.

Men were proud by nature. When he heard me say that, David straightened up with confidence. "Really? You're not playing me, are you?"

I insisted, "Really. My parents are pushing me hard to settle down. Let's just go ahead and give it a try."

With that, David and I exchanged contact information. He even tried to get a little handsy, but I dodged it by saying I had to rush to work.

As if finding a new lease on life, David sent me quite a few messages throughout the day. Naturally, I replied to every single one, making him fall into the illusion that we were in love.

During work, I could not focus on anything my employer said. I was just hoping Alice would not let me down.

When it was quitting time, I just walked out of the company entrance when Alice came charging out of some corner and slapped me across the face.

She hissed, "Lauren, are you out of your mind?! Why would you date that old man? Are you sick or something?!"

She looked completely unhinged as she climbed on top of me, pinning me down so I could not get up.

I quickly raised my hands to protect my face, but inside I felt absolutely thrilled. "Mind your own business! Who I date has nothing to do with you. I like older men. So what?"

My coworkers, who were also getting off work, saw me getting beaten up and immediately called the police.

Before long, the officers arrived and heard what happened between us. They did not really understand why I was dating an old man, but since it was not illegal, they could not say much about it. Instead, they turned to lecture Alice for attacking me.

"Who she dates isn't your business. You can't just put your hands on her like that!" one officer scolded.

Of course, Alice could not tell the police about her so-called system, so she had to make up excuses. "I was just worried about her! She's so young and doesn't know better. That's why she's dating an old man. As her friend, I was just trying to talk some sense into her."

I snapped, "I already cut ties with her, officer. She stole my boyfriend before, so we haven't been friends for a long time. And she just hit me. I feel really dizzy now and nauseous, and my teeth feel loose. I want her arrested!"

There were surveillance cameras right at the company entrance, so there was no way Alice could twist the truth. Facing the possibility of jail time, she finally got scared and started begging me to forgive her.

Seeing her like this made me feel incredibly satisfied. Finally, there was a day when she had to beg me. Nonetheless, I had no intention of forgiving her. In fact, I wished the police would lock her up forever.

Soon, the officers took her away.

Just before leaving, Alice dropped her pitiful act and glared at me viciously. "Don't think you can escape me. I told you, I have a system. You'll never get away."

The officers later informed me that she would be held for 15 days. Yet, I thought that was nowhere near enough.

After all, my entire life and work were rooted here. I was not about to abandon everything just because of some so-called system.