The Internet is shocked when Peyton Grant, an award-winning actor takes his life. His final tweet before his death is short and simple. "I like you so, so much, Ri. But you're too bright—you burn me whenever I get close to you."

Everyone knows Rita York's character in her new show is called Rina.

That's when I learn that the person I've had a crush on for a decade has someone that he loves but can't have.

When I wake up one day, I find that I've traveled back three years in time.

This time, I'm going to help Peyton make his wish come true.

"Riley, you've been asked to join the filming for 'You're My Joy'!" my manager, Monica Jones, cried.

Her words pulled me out of my confusion and sorrow. I hurriedly checked the trending topics to see that everything was peaceful on the Internet. There weren't any hurtful words.

It looked like… I'd been reborn. I'd traveled three years back in time, and Peyton Grant was still alive.

My nose prickled at that thought, and my tears started flowing. I'd spent ten years of my youth pining after him, but he would probably never know that he'd once had a wallflower deskmate who'd crushed on him. Back then, my heart would race if he were to say even one thing to me.

I knew that he would take his life for someone in three years, but I never would've expected him to have such a lowly side.

I thought about the love letter Peyton had written to Rita York, which she'd disclosed after his death in my past life. It had been written in such a cautious tone that my heart had ached after reading it.

"Wait, are you crying? Are you that excited? I told you you would make it big one day, right? Here's your chance!" Monica teased. She was the only one who knew how hard I'd worked over the years and couldn't help feeling relieved that things were finally looking up for me.

In my past life, I'd turned down the opportunity to be on You're My Joy, a romance reality show, due to various reasons. Meanwhile, Peyton had dropped out of the show after only one episode, but no one knew why. Later, some people said it was because Rita had to leave filming halfway due to schedule clashes.

It looked like the answers to my questions had long since been revealed.

I took a deep breath at the thought of that. "Let's get ready, Monica. I'm going on that show!"

This time, I would help Peyton make his dream come true!

…

That night, the production crew of You're My Joy officially announced the cast. Peyton retweeted the announcement and wrote, "You're my joy."

Rita quickly did the same. She retweeted his tweet and wrote, "I'm coming to you with a heart full of joy."

One of the dramas they'd filmed together was currently being aired, and it was a hit. Fans of the show immediately started shipping them.

"Oh, my God. I love this!"

"Shipping everything makes me a happy woman!"

"Did they fall for each other during filming? Even their retweets look like they discussed what to write beforehand."

I scrolled through the comments. Amid my bitterness, I couldn't help wondering why Peyton and Rita had missed out on each other when they'd had so many chances to spend time with each other.

I thought about Peyton's ice-cold gaze as I pondered the situation. Then, I came to a conclusion—he was probably too shy to take action when facing the woman he liked.

So, I had to help them create more opportunities to be together. Peyton would only be able to win Rita's heart if he could tell her how he felt.

…

On the day filming for You're My Joy started, I ignored Monica's reminders to show my beauty before the cameras. I deliberately made myself look plain and drab, even putting on a baseball cap to cover my face. That way, I wouldn't take the attention off Peyton and Rita.

And so, when Rita arrived in a white dress, looking innocent and elegant, she mistook me for a staff member. I didn't want her to feel awkward when she handed me her luggage, so I took it wordlessly and helped to move it.

Thank God I wasn't too weak to lift her suitcases.

However, I didn't expect the other celebrities to also mistake me for a staff member. For some reason, the director didn't unravel the misunderstanding.

I was quite tired after helping the other guests move their suitcases. Fortunately, Peyton was the only one left. He only had one small suitcase.

I approached him, wanting to take it from him. However, he dodged me. Then, he looked down at me and took my baseball cap off. "You're not a staff member, are you?"

My heart sank. I saw Rita's gentle smile stiffen. "Aren't you… Riley South?"

She hurriedly came to stand between Peyton and me. "Why were you pretending to be a staff member? I can't believe I even gave you my luggage. I'm sorry about that. Also, Peyton is a germaphobe. He doesn't like others touching his stuff."

She made it sound like I'd done this to secretly get close to Peyton. As expected, Peyton's expression turned ugly at her words.

The live stream viewers were aggravated by this.

"Who's this chick? She's so scheming!"

"Some D-lister. I bet she wants to use Pey to climb the ladder!"

"Man, I can see through her tricks from here!"

I was taken aback. I sensed Rita's hostility, so I hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry. I wasn't aware."

Peyton handed me a packet of tissues. His gaze was so sharp that I felt oppressed even though he wasn't looking at me. "It's fine. You should wipe your sweat."

This time, Rita's expression was the one that became ugly.

I felt a headache coming on. Couldn't Peyton tell that Rita was mad?

I ran the risk of being labeled a diva and pushed the tissues back to him. However, my fingers accidentally brushed against his cool ones.

"Uh, it's okay. I'm going to tidy my room!" I fled after that, leaving Peyton and Rita alone.

Everyone had arrived. There were four male and female guests each. After a round of introductions, a popular singer named Shane Brown suggested we play truth or dare.

When it was my turn, I picked truth. Rita immediately leaned forward and looked at me. "You're so pretty, Riley. I bet you must've dated many guys in the past. How many ex-boyfriends do you have?"

I could sense everyone's eyes on me. Even Peyton straightened up, making the atmosphere a little tense. I couldn't understand this, but I still answered honestly. "N-None."

Shane was so surprised that his voice went up an octave. "Not even one? You must have quite high standards."

I smiled politely. I had a crush on someone who was so outstanding, after all.

When it was Peyton's turn, he was asked whether he had feelings for anyone. His gaze suddenly warmed, and his tone softened. "Yes, I do. She's right here, too."

His words set everyone abuzz. Rita was the only other celebrity present who'd interacted with him in the past. Who else could he be talking about?

Her face turned red as everyone watched. She cleared her throat and said, "Oh, stop being so loud, you guys."

I looked at her and Peyton—they made a good match. I blinked away the tears that threatened to form in my eyes. I didn't expect Peyton to be so proactive now when he'd always been the strong and silent type in school.

I felt like something was eating away at my heart, seemingly mocking me for being so pathetic. I could only sit by and watch as the person I liked fell for someone else.

Before becoming deskmates with Peyton, I'd always been the invisible person in the group. I always had thick, black-framed glasses on, and my school uniform never fit me well. My long hair was always tied in boring plaits.

That was why none of the other female students had considered me a threat when Peyton chose to sit beside me in class. They knew there was no way a swan like him would be interested in an ugly duckling like me.

To me, Peyton was so outstanding and gentle that he was like an addictive drug. His presence almost smothered me.

I could still remember the day he'd helped me chase away some hooligans who wanted to bully me. There were so many of them, and they'd been nasty. Yet Peyton had still helped me despite us barely speaking to each other in the week since we'd become deskmates.

He was regal and graceful yet also brave and righteous. That moment when I'd met his gaze as he'd pulled me up from the ground was what kept me so stubbornly in love with him.

That was why I'd been in such disbelief upon learning that he'd taken his life in my past life. I couldn't accept that someone as outstanding as him had died in such a lonely manner and for such a suffocating reason.

That was also why it didn't matter to me if people thought I was a scheming bitch with a hidden agenda. I also didn't mind if he got the wrong idea of me. All I wanted was for him to be happy.

…

Monica called me that night. "It's clear that Peyton and Rita are going to end up together, so don't you dare fantasize about being with him. Their fans will rip you to shreds!"

I felt downtrodden and lied through my teeth. "I'm not interested in him that way."

Besides, he already had someone he liked, and she didn't like me.

When I woke up the following morning, I blearily wandered to the kitchen to get breakfast. To my surprise, I saw Peyton there. He was cooking bacon and eggs.

He wore an apron, which only served to show off his excellent figure. He even looked good as he sprinkled salt and pepper on the eggs.

My eyes lit up when I smelled the eggs. "Good morning, Mr. Grant!"

Peyton turned to look at me. His gaze had been unfathomable, but it cleared up and brightened when he saw me. "Morning."

My ears almost melted at his deep baritone. I quickly tried to keep the conversation going to hide my embarrassment. "Uh, are you cooking bacon and eggs?"

I couldn't help thinking I was a fool for stating the obvious as soon as the words were out of my mouth. I sounded even more like I was trying to hit on him now.

To my surprise, he asked, "Do you want to join me? I've made enough for two."

This set the live stream's viewers abuzz again.

"Oh, come on. She has to know that Rita loves bacon for breakfast, right? Peyton has obviously made it for Rita!"

"He was just being polite, yet she's acting like she doesn't understand him. She's disgusting!"

"Peyton is too kind—he can't just ignore her, can he? Rita's going to lose her bacon!"

"Hurry up, Rita! A little vixen is trying to take your breakfast away!"

I was about to take Peyton up on his offer when a voice rang out behind me.

"Peyton, have you already cooked the bacon? I only mentioned in passing that I liked it last night." Rita appeared in a yellow dress; her footsteps light as she skipped toward Peyton. She giggled and smiled shyly.

That was when I realized I'd thought too much of myself. So, I hurried out of the kitchen, saying, "Uh, I just remembered that my manager told me to diet. I'm going to skip breakfast!"

I had to escape!

The live stream's viewers continued mocking me.

"Look at her. The little vixen still has to make way for the real deal, doesn't she?"

"Will Peyton cook bacon for Rita every day once they get together? Just thinking about it makes me happy!"

"Hey, is it just me, or does Peyton look a little disappointed?"

…

To ensure that my cover wasn't blown, I actually skipped breakfast. However, I was anemic. All I could do was head to the living room after having some candy. I prayed we wouldn't need to exert too much energy on our first day.

I supposed I should've known how horrible my luck was.

After we drew lots to pick our partners for the day, I was paired with a 35-year-old man. We even had to cycle to a nearby amusement park to take photos there.

When I saw that my partner wasn't exactly the fittest, I sighed and knew I would have to rely on myself. After we finally made it to the amusement park, I saw Peyton and Rita there, too.

That was odd. Was that where they were also supposed to be?

When I saw how well they got along, I wondered if my deduction about the situation was wrong. They were practically glued at the hip, and Rita looked like she was into Peyton. Why hadn't they gotten together in my past life?

My mind wasn't working properly after having skipped breakfast, though. I could only temporarily push thoughts of them aside.

I split up with my partner to search for where we needed to take photos. As I walked along, I sensed my energy depleting. There weren't any food stalls wherever I went, and I had to lament my bad luck.

I wanted to find a place to take a break when my head suddenly spun. I tripped and fell to the ground. In the next second, I heard frantic footsteps behind me. I was lifted from the ground, and a candy was stuffed into my mouth. The sugary sweetness spread through me.

"Are you an idiot, Riley? No one skips breakfast when they're dieting!" a man's voice snarled.

It was familiar and icy. It immediately cleared my head.

What was Peyton doing here? Shouldn't he be with Rita?

I wanted to tell him to put me down after composing myself, but he carried me to the amusement park's entrance without waiting for me to say anything. There was a bistro opposite the amusement park.

"Uh, you can put me down, Mr. Grant. I'm not dizzy anymore." I was nervous when I sensed the attention I was catching. I didn't want his or Rita's fans to criticize him for this.

He continued walking without saying a word, though. His handsome side profile seemed particularly severe as he walked under the sun.

I didn't know why, but he gave me the feeling that he would soon shout something ridiculous like, "Make sure she's okay, or I'll kill you!"

I couldn't help smiling as I imagined it. It made Peyton turn to look at me. "Is this funny to you?"

I immediately dropped my smile. I thought about his germaphobia and suspected that he probably felt horrible. Yet, he had no choice but to carry me because he was just that kind. It made me feel guilty.

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect this to happen," I said.

He sighed softly, sounding slightly helpless yet doting as he said, "Oh, you…"

I suddenly wanted to cry when I heard him sounding like he didn't know what to do with me. I even suspected he'd recognized me.