I lost a dare.

Under the smug gaze of my best friend, I posted a moment on my social media.

"I'm just a dog on a leash for you!"

A minute later, my social media was bombarded with messages.

Headlines showed a screenshot of the latest Twitter post from the popular star Cruz.

"Please help find my girlfriend."

The post included two pictures.

One was a screenshot from my social media, and the other was a photo of me waking up at his place.

I magnified the screenshots several times, confirmed that the person in the pictures was indeed me, and was so startled that I fell off the sofa.

"What the hell!"

What was this guy trying to do?

My mind flashed with countless chaotic reasons.

Finally, the conclusion was that Cruz Owen wanted to kill me.

Why think that?

Because we've never gotten along since childhood.

How bad was it?

Just seeing him made me want to slap him a few times.

He hadn't seen me but already wanted to strangle me.

However, our parents have been close friends for over twenty years. Even though we've disliked each other for over a decade, we've maintained a facade of sibling affection.

So, now he finally couldn't hold back and wanted to have his fans kill me?

I recalled how a few years ago, other female celebrities had received razor blades from his fans, and I suddenly felt a chill on my neck.

I unconsciously touched the back of my neck, staring anxiously at the spinning website and clicking the mouse frantically.

Upon entering Twitter, this news was automatically pushed to me.

I clicked on it.

The photos were in high definition.

Even the crust in the corner of my eye was captured clearly!

This jerk not only took candid shots of me but also my unflattering ones!!!

Seeing the millions of views and nearly thirty thousand comments below, I felt dizzy with anger.

My image as a lady...was now ruined across the internet.

As expected, Cruz never holds back when it comes to slandering me!

At one point, he became my parents' favorite son by badmouthing me.

For a long time afterward, my parents even had me stay at his place for "correction."

During the last monthly exam in senior year, I was upset on the road due to a mistake in my test.

Suddenly, a boy appeared, offering me chocolates and confessing his love.

Cruz walked by, grim-faced, and threw the boy's gift into the trash. He then went home and reported to my parents that I was dating early.

Seeing my grades plummet, my parents immediately began lecturing me.

They accused me of early romance.

Finally, they sent me to his place for extra tutoring.

Even though our grades were similar and we often swapped first place, this time, I fell to eighth place due to poor performance.

I vowed to surpass him in the next city-wide mock exam to clear my name.

But that guy, whether he took a brain-enhancing pill or something, scored over twenty points more than me in the subsequent three mock exams and firmly remained in first place.

This cemented the accusation that my early romance had ruined my grades.

Meanwhile, in front of my parents, Cruz was a well-behaved little darling, sitting with his innocent amorous eyes and his exceptionally handsome and deceitful face. All my parents' nagging fell on me.

I angrily brought Cruz out of the Line blacklist.

When the video call connected, the boy praised as the nation hunk appeared before me.

He had just finished showering, draped in a bathrobe, his wet hair sticking to his scalp, giving his amorous eyes a deep and charming look.

I wish this man could just remain silent like a decoration, then I could truly admire his beauty. Being the most attractive person in four thousand years, he was impeccable from every perspective.

His magnetic, slightly hoarse voice was like a hook, tugging at every girl's heartstrings.

"Do you like it?"

If not for his dark history, with his looks and voice, I could obsessively watch his screen for a hundred years.

But there are no "ifs."

"Aren't you here to find me? Why haven't you come yet?"

I sneered. "If your fans knew you were lying, would they send you razor blades instead?"

I seriously considered this possibility and decided to expose this guy's lies under that Twitter post.

No sooner said than done.

I exited the video call and prepared to post on Twitter when a series of chaotic noises came from outside.

Cruz had ruined Twitter today; a comment took forever to send.

Just as I sent the post, the doorbell rang.

I thought my friend Rose Cook had come to ask about me and Cruz, so I eagerly opened the door.

To my surprise, standing outside was not Rose, but Cruz.

He was in pajamas, wearing sunglasses and a hat, with blue flip-flops on his feet, looking like a downtrodden young man kicked out by his landlord.

He was completely unrecognizable from the dazzling superstar on stage.

"What are you doing here?"

I scowled and tried to close the door with the lock.

He stepped forward, braced his hand against the door, spun around, and was now standing inside.

Throwing off his sunglasses and hat, he lazily flopped onto the sofa, his bright amorous eyes glowing seductively.

"Just came to see my girlfriend!"

I grabbed a cushion and threw it at him.

"Speak! Are you deliberately trying to get me killed!"

Thinking about the invasive fans I would need to guard against next, I felt like tearing Cruz apart right there.

I scrambled onto the sofa, straddling him, and twisted his ears.

"So, who do you want to be a dog for?"

Suddenly, there was a "click" from inside the door.

I turned around.

I didn't know when Rose had arrived at my place, her eyes wide as she watched us, honestly taking photos of us with her phone.

The door was slightly open, and a draft blew past me.

I shivered from the cold.

It was too shocking.

I quickly got off Cruz and hurriedly explained. "It's not what you think."

Rose looked at Cruz with starry eyes, covering my mouth with one hand.

"An explanation is just a cover-up; a cover-up is just not true. I only believe what I see. I'm Scarlet's best friend, and I approve of your marriage!"

What was going on?

She smiled widely, looking like a happy fool who had won a treasure.

Cruz slowly sat up from the sofa, deliberately showcasing the collarbone exposed during our physical contact, and extended his hand to Rose.

"Hello, I'm Cruz!"

The happy fool eagerly shook his hand.

"Scarlet often talks about you! She says she admires you greatly and would be content with a passionate romance with you."

"When did I..."

Before I could finish, Rose covered my mouth again.

She comfortingly patted my head. "Be good. Don't be shy! You're a locked couple, and I've swallowed the key! Continue!"

Like a puff of blue smoke, she disappeared.

I angrily kicked Cruz out of my house.

Best friends are surprisingly fragile when they turn fake.

I was about to warn her not to post random photos, but there were already tons of photos of Cruz and me flying around the group chat.

In less than a minute, my various social media platforms were bombarded with messages again.

I looked at my phone, still vibrating despite freezing...

Exhausted was I!

I dreamt all night about the scenes of me pinning Cruz to the ground and rubbing it in.

The next morning, my mom came over with Cruz.

"How could you do this to Cruz?"

I was startled.

Had my dream somehow been discovered?

Cruz sat quietly on a single sofa behind my mom, his charming amorous eyes clear and innocent.

He was wearing a gray sports outfit today, and his forehead bangs had been trimmed quite a bit, making him look even more innocent and cute.

But I knew this guy was just a white lotus.

"Mom..." I called out weakly.

"Get up!"

I immediately straightened my legs out of fear.

"Look at you, you don't even look like a girl! Your hair is messy, and your face isn't washed? It's a good thing Cruz doesn't mind you, or who would dare want you?"

I glanced outside at the sky.

The faint purple clouds mixed with green and yellow dawn, and the bright line on the horizon barely showed.

Checking the clock in the house, I found the second hand was ticking towards six o'clock.

"You did this to Cruz..." My mom moved her lips, awkwardly clasping her hands. "What are you planning to do about it?"

My pupils dilated suddenly, and I glared at Cruz. "When did I kiss you? What did you tell my mom?"

Cruz looked helpless. "I didn't say..."

"There's no wall that doesn't let wind through. Your photos with Cruz are all over your social circle!"

My mom glared at me with frustration, her index finger poking at my head as if it would explode.

"Since you've done something inappropriate, you need to take responsibility, or people will say our family has poor morals and that we abandoned Cruz!"

"Mom..."

I wanted to remind her that I was her daughter, and if anything really happened between us, I'd be the one who'd suffer.

My mom made a final decision.

"If I find out you've done anything wrong to Cruz, don't blame me for turning against you!"

That tone was just like a mother-in-law scolding a daughter-in-law.

I was speechless.

I quickly signaled Cruz with my eyes.

He slowly stood up from the sofa, looking regretful. "This is actually my fault."

"Yes, if he hadn't randomly said on Twitter that I was his girlfriend, I wouldn't have gotten so angry and hit him."

Cruz said, "Recently, the company arranged for me to be on a variety show with a celebrity who has a girlfriend. The other party was Jesse. Jesse had previously been pestering me several times. My agent was afraid she might exploit me later, so instead of rejecting her directly, he thought it best to have me bring Scarlet along.

"He thought that since Scarlet and I grew up together, knowing each other well, our interactions wouldn't be awkward, making it the best fit. So he announced Scarlet as my girlfriend without informing me.

"If Scarlet didn't want to, I'd have my agent cancel it."

My expression brightened.

My mom frowned. "How much compensation would there be for canceling?"

"Based on my worth, it would be around one hundred million."

"So much?"

"Actually, it's not just about the money. It could stain my acting career."

He spoke with a bit of heartache.

I felt a bit schadenfreude, struggling to hold back a laugh.

My mom looked at me.

I suddenly had a very bad feeling.

"Scarlet, Cruz is the best. If you dare to let him lose, I'll make you sleep on the streets!"

My mom gave me a fierce warning, then admired Cruz's good looks and left satisfied.

I was speechless.

I was on the verge of tears.

Mom!

Mom!!!

With my mom's approval, Cruz's manager went wild.

He built hype on various platforms.

Before the show even started recording, netizens had dug up all our details.

Including but not limited to our childhood together and our families being well-connected.

Literature enthusiasts started writing about our couple pairing.

Most of it depicted sweet, romantic love.

Every time I read it, I got goosebumps.

But my best friend and Cruz enjoyed reading it.

They'd describe all sorts of indescribable scenarios to me.

"Cruz grabbed Scarlet's chin and said coldly, 'Woman, don't think you can escape!' As he spoke, he lowered his head and kissed her tempting red lips..."

This was so disgusting.

"Can you stop being so boring?"

Under the guise of building rapport, my mom threw me to Cruz.

As she left, she cheerfully said, "Have fun!"

That look in her eyes was a glaring warning—don't cause trouble!

Cruz's amorous eyes shimmered, his alluring deep voice hitting my eardrums.

"Scarlet, you look so beautiful when you smile!"

My heart suddenly skipped a beat, then started pounding irregularly.

Knowing full well this guy was just reading, I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter.

I had to admit, Cruz's face was too mesmerizing. With such a gentle gaze, surrender seemed like the only option.

"You... you... you..."

My cheeks were burning, and my breath was hot.

But I didn't want him to notice anything unusual, so I went to the bathroom to wash my face.

From then on, before the show started recording, I barely appeared in front of him except for necessary rapport-building conversations.