The Conments Said Take Him

My roommate thinks her online boyfriend is a control freak and wants to transfer him to me.

He's always checking my location and even tells me what to wear. You never had a dad, so maybe you'd actually like that kind of controlling older guy.

I was about to slap her across the face when a line of floating text appeared before my eyes:

Stella is so clueless. This older guy is hot, loaded, and has more stamina than college boys. Just act cute a little and he'd give you his life!

Older men do like to be controlling, but they control you by dressing you, cooking for you, buying you mansions, transferring you to good school districts, and making you go from community college to Harvard.

Don't worry, Claire is just a tool. Once the older guy realizes he's talking to someone else, he'll come back to find Stella, and then we'll get the forced romance storyline we love.

My raised hand gently fell, stroking my roommate's face instead.

Thank you. I'll take good care of this relationship.

Money or not doesn't matterwhat I really want is to get into Harvard.

After getting Stella's alternate account, I immediately changed the password.

As soon as I logged in, I was overwhelmed by the flood of messages.

You there? Why aren't you replying?

Skipping class now? Why has your location been stuck at the dorm?

Answer the phone.

The last message was from two hours ago:

I've already bought a ticket back to the States. You'd better give me an explanation.

Seeing this, I quickly scrolled through their chat history.

Just as Stella had said, this was an older man who lived abroad year-round. They didn't chat much.

But whenever they did, he'd ask what Stella did that day, whether she'd eaten, and if she was studying.

He also urged her to transfer schools, go to grad school, get a doctorate.

Of course, it wasn't just lectureshe'd transfer money too. Five thousand at a time.

For ordinary college students, that wasn't bad, but for Stella, it wouldn't even buy one handbag.

Stella had tried asking the older man for more, but he refused.

I've looked into it. Most students' living expenses don't exceed two thousand. Five thousand is more than enough.

Don't flaunt your wealth. You shouldn't be too flashy at school, or you'll attract jealousy.

Those two sentences probably convinced Stella he was a cheap, preachy old manlucky for me.

It had been two days since their last conversation. Stella hadn't replied to any of his messages, which must have driven him crazy.

I quickly opened the text box and apologized.

I'm so sorry! I've had a fever these past two days, been completely out of it, and my phone broke.

Less than three seconds after I sent it, he called.

I took a deep breath, declined the call, and typed: My throat's hoarse, I can't talk...

This time he was silent for a few seconds, then sent a transfer.

100,000.

Is it because I didn't give you enough spending money last time? Are you angry?

I counted the zeros on the screen, my fingers trembling slightly.

A hundred thousand, just like that.

Who said this old man was stingy? He's incredibly generous!

I didn't accept the money and typed: I don't want money.

The older man: Then what do you want?

I stared at that line, my heart pounding.

I don't want to go to school anymore.

After I sent the message, the chat went quiet.

At the same time, floating text appeared:

Claire has such a big appetite, trying to become a sugar baby right after hooking up

Too bad the male lead hates gold diggers like this. He likes ambitious people

Just wait, he won't reply. Older men despise this type the most

My heart tightened, and I quickly added another message:

I mean, I want to drop out and retake the SAT. Can you help me?

Time ticked by second by second.

I stared at the screen, palms sweating.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Just when I suspected he'd figured out I wasn't the original person and wouldn't reply anymore, a new message popped up in the chat box.

Okay.

The day after receiving that message, I got a phone call.

The caller said he was Mr. Quinn's assistant and asked me to bring my ID documents to a caf outside school. He wanted to discuss the SAT retake with me.

Although Stella had never revealed her identity information while chatting with the older man, I was still nervous when I went.

Fortunately, Assistant Lewis didn't say anything after reviewing my documents. He just asked if I had a target university.

I felt a bit embarrassed. I want to go to Harvard.

Assistant Lewis seemed surprised.

The floating text exploded too.

Claire, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about Harvard? Is that somewhere you can get into just by dropping out?

This girl doesn't actually think the older man can buy her a Harvard acceptance letter, does she?

You're community college level at best, just stick with your community college

I knew this sounded absurd.

The reason I ended up at community college was because I had a fever and missed one section during the SAT.

After my scores came out, I'd considered retaking it.

But my parents refused, saying I should start college early so they could support my brother sooner.

Even so, my SAT score was over a hundred points higher than Stella and her friends.

Just when I thought Assistant Lewis would tell me not to daydream like the floating text suggested, he simply nodded. That's fine. We'll create a plan for Claire based on getting into Harvard.

I asked him what kind of plan.

Assistant Lewis said they'd first help me drop out. Since the state I was in had too much competition, they'd help me transfer to Massachusetts and handle local enrollment procedures, then hire professional one-on-one tutors for me.

Hearing all this left me stunned.

Transfer to Massachusetts? Did that mean I could apply to Harvard as a Massachusetts resident?

The educational resources in my previous state compared to Massachusetts were worlds apart!

And one-on-one tutors?

If I'd had one-on-one tutoring before, would I have had to randomly guess the last physics problem?

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice calm. Assistant Lewis, how much will all this cost?

Assistant Lewis said, Claire doesn't need to worry about money. Mr. Quinn will handle it.

After discussing this, Assistant Lewis took me to the mall. He said Mr. Quinn had instructed him to buy me some clothes and a new phone.

During this process, I learned the older man's name was Cyrus Quinn. He started his own business, opened a small company, and was currently expanding overseas, unable to return for a year or more.

I secretly looked up the name Cyrus Quinn online.

Assistant Lewis had downplayed it, but seeing the words Quinn Group, I was still shocked.

This is called a small company?

Oh my goodness.

Cyrus's net worth was more than all the rich second-generation guys in Stella's dating pool combined.

Especially that facemore handsome than any celebrity.

It's over, now that Claire knows the older man's real identity she'll never let go

Claire, get lost! The older man belongs to Stella

Don't worry everyone, once the older man discovers Claire isn't Stella, he'll dump her immediately

Seeing the word dump, I instantly sobered up.

Cyrus would come back looking for Stella eventually.

But before that happened, I had to play the role of online girlfriend perfectly and treat Cyrus like my own father.

So I immediately pulled out my phone and sent Cyrus a bunch of thanks and sweet nothings.

I typed so fast that I accidentally sent:

Thank you for supporting my education. When I make money I'll definitely repay you.

By the time I realized what I'd sent, it was too late to retract it.

Oh no.

I'm going to blow my cover.

He'll figure me out before I even take the SAT and I'll fail before I start.

Just as I was panicking, Cyrus sent a voice message.

Okay.

His tone was low.

But I knew I had pleased Cyrus.

I had just returned to the dorm carrying bags of stuff when Stella came over and asked:

Claire, who was that man who dropped you off this afternoon? Did he buy you all this?

I paused. That's the online boyfriend you gave me.

Stella frowned, looking unhappy.

What did you do? When I was with him, he only gave me five thousand a month. Today he bought you so much?

Good thing I had the foresight.

I quickly opened the bags to show her the contents. Look, there's a lot of stuff, but it's all cheap. This T-shirt was only 99 dollars, the jeans 139. Everything added up is less than two thousand.

Stella's expression softened slightly, but she still pressed: Are you lying to me? I saw the car he was driving. That car costs at least over a million.

My heart skipped a beat, but my face remained calm. That's the company car. He's just an assistant for someone, a high-level employee. He occasionally borrows the boss's car for errands.

Only then did Stella relax. I thought he was so rich.

She laughed mockingly. But even an assistantwith your background, you'd have a hard time finding someone like that. He spent so much money on you, shouldn't you thank me? Buy me dinner.

I pretended not to hear her passive-aggressiveness and said I should, asking what she wanted to eat.

Stella: Let me think about it. I'll bring a few friends. You don't mind, right?

I nodded.

Within two hours, the news that I was being kept by a stingy older man had spread throughout the girls' dorm.

I didn't bother with the gossip since I'd be dropping out soon anyway.

I had just relaxed when I took out the clothes from the bags, picked a few to try on, and took a photo in the mirror.

I sent the photo to Cyrus, hesitated, then added a line:

I love all the clothes Assistant Lewis bought me today. Which outfit do you want me to wear tomorrow?

Cyrus:

From that day on, I started reporting my daily life.

I had to ask what clothes to wear, where to go. I'd proactively send my location and even tell him when I drank water.

It turned out Cyrus really did have a strong need for control. Whenever I obeyed him, he'd become very pleased.

Assistant Lewis's efficiency was exceptional.

Within a week, my withdrawal paperwork was complete.

When the dorm found out I was dropping out, everyone gathered around asking what I planned to do.

In front of Stella, I naturally wouldn't tell the truth, so I said: My boyfriend says community college has no future. He told me to go home, said he can support me.

Seeing my lovesick appearance, my other two roommates strongly objected.

Claire, are you crazy? Madison, who slept across from me, widened her eyes. Even community college is still a degree. You'll need it when looking for jobs later.

Exactly. Another roommate, Tiffany, also tried to persuade me. Don't be foolish. Men can't be relied on. If you drop out for him now and he dumps you later, what will you do?

The two of them went back and forth, practically wanting to pin me back in my seat.

Before I could speak, Stella laughed mockingly. You two are going too far. Claire is clearly going to live the good life.

Madison frowned. Stella, how can you say that? She's doing this because of your online boyfriend...

Because of what? Stella rolled her eyes. Even if that man's a bit stingy, he's still more generous than most guys. Besides, Claire is willing. Why are you interfering so much? Don't you know what it means to respect others' choices? Mind your own business.

Madison and Tiffany were left speechless, their faces showing disbelief.

I said nothing and continued packing my luggage.

Stella was rightrespect others' choices.

She definitely couldn't imagine what my destiny actually was.

After leaving school, I moved into a mansion with dedicated housekeepers and servants, and a family doctor on call 24/7.

I only needed to have my meals prepared and clothes laid out for me.

But while enjoying this, I didn't forget to maintain my persona on social media.

I posted lots of lovesick housewife content, saying I spent every day washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning for my boyfriend.

My boyfriend also bought me gifts, though these were just stock images I found online, adding up to less than a hundred dollars total.

Stella commented how envious she was.

Then she turned around and told others in the dorm group chat:

Claire is so stupid. He's just using her as a free housekeeper. She actually thinks she can become a rich wife

The floating text turned bitter about my lifestyle.

Claire is so shameless, all this stuff clearly belongs to our Stella

She's even posting on social media to trick Stella, afraid Stella will find out the truth and come looking for the male lead

No matter how the floating text insulted me, I didn't get angry.

After all, they couldn't actually hurt me.

On the third day after moving into the mansion, Assistant Lewis came over with a document folder.

Claire, this is your Massachusetts residency certification. It's all processed.

Looking at that red booklet, my hands trembled.

My parents dreamed of getting Massachusetts residency for my brother, and it had just landed in my hands so easily.

Over the next week, Assistant Lewis brought several teachers.

The language arts teacher had participated in SAT question writing, the math teacher had published study guides, the English teacher had been a university professor...

I scheduled myself from 8 AM to 11 PM.

Cyrus was very unhappy seeing this and forced me to only study until 9 PM, saying studying like this would cause a mental breakdown.

I wanted to say this was nothing.

But I didn't dare contradict him. After all, this was my real sugar daddy.

Just like that, I studied while posting social media to maintain my housewife persona and chatted with Cyrus in my spare time.

In the blink of an eye, I was about to take the SAT.

The night before the SAT, I was preparing to get a good night's sleep when the floating text that hadn't appeared in a while suddenly exploded.

The older man is back!

He's here! The older man will soon discover Claire is fake and kick her out, then turn around to find Stella

Hahaha, just thinking about how Claire worked so hard but won't be able to take the SAT makes me happy

My heart dropped.

Cyrus was back?

And he'd prevent me from taking the SAT?

My hands moved faster than my brain. By the time I came to my senses, I was already at the door with my things.

I could lose anything, but I had to get into Harvard.

But as soon as I turned the doorknob, I crashed into a hard chest.

I stiffly raised my head to meet a face even more stern than in photos.

Cyrus looked down at me, his voice emotionless.

Where are you going?