I Rewrote My Fate in This Novel World

I've always been the sensitive, suspicious type, so after finally getting together with the guy I grew up with, a knot of anxiety was always coiled in my stomach.

One day, I happened to see his phone screen light up. A new message notification popped onto the screen: I'm not trying to be the other woman. I just want to be your puppy.

Beneath the message was a photo. In it, a girl was wearing a very distinctive collar around her neck.

Coincidentally, not long after, I found the exact same collar in the trash can of my rich, "it-girl" roommate.

I immediately snapped a picture and found the contact info for her mega-wealthy fianc. I sent him the photo with a simple message: "We're both being played."

He replied almost instantly, with just one sentence: "Yeah, today's definitely green."

He then sent a screenshot from a stock trading app. I looked closer and saw the total profit figure was followed by eight zeros.

A comment scrolled across my vision, visible only to me: Look at this shady side character, thinking the main female lead wants to steal her boyfriend. Her fianc is a freaking billionaire, okay?

Another one popped up: The male lead is into that bad-girl vibe. The side character running to tattle is just embarrassing herself. Pathetic and poor, and it'll never change!

I completely lost it. I furiously typed back at him: "Are you blind?! I'm telling you your fiance is cheating with my boyfriend! Why are you flexing your money at me?!"

He was silent for a long moment before he replied: "...How about I offer myself as compensation?"

The comments section in my head exploded with question marks.

1.

My roommate, Julia, was a trust-fund princess.

She once offered me a thousand dollars a month to be her personal gofer. I turned her down.

But my childhood sweetheart, Liam, took the job.

Julia sent me a text: [Hey babe, I'm going on a trip. Borrowing your bf to carry my bags for me.]

[Don't worry, I know your birthday is in three days. I'll have him back before then, promise.]

So disgusting.

She called everyone "babe."

Including my boyfriend.

On the first day of school, she asked me to carry her bags for fifty bucks.

Then, under the pretense of paying me, she got Liam's number instead.

I turned to Liam and couldn't stop myself from kicking his shin.

"You're my boyfriend now. Can you please stop being her errand boy?"

I tried to keep my voice steady. "I'm making enough from my part-time jobs now."

Liam's explanation was infuriatingly calm. "Julia has a fianc. She's not interested in me."

"Sienna, don't be so selfish. The little money you make barely covers your mom's medical bills each month. She can't afford to wait."

He kissed my cheek, a placating gesture. "We're going to get married and have kids one day. Julia will have her own life. Don't make a scene."

A comment flickered to life:

[Poor people are always so paranoid. Always imagining the rich girl wants to steal their boyfriend. So obsessed with romance.]

[Poor Liam. He doesn't even like the side character. He's only with her out of a sense of obligation.]

I stared coldly at the comments.

Of course, I knew Liam didn't love me.

But I was born selfish, and just seeing his face made me happy.

He was handsome, he'd always been good to me, and my mom had raised him like her own son. After his parents died young, our family was all he had.

Therefore, he could only be with me.

After our argument, I went back to my dorm. I opened up my social media and started stalking Julia's account.

She loved to show off.

She'd just posted a new update: [So happy! Getting engaged to the love of my life soon! @AX]

The comments were flooded with congratulations.

At that moment, the darkness in my heart reached its peak.

Why did she get to be so happy?

She was such a fake.

A comment appeared:

[Ugh, stop lurking in the shadows, side character. No amount of stalking will make the male lead yours.]

[The female lead has strong... appetites. She and the male lead are a perfect match. She doesn't need to go looking for service from a side piece.]

I latched onto two pieces of information.

The female lead was cheating.

And the male lead didn't know yet.

My eyes lit up. I casually followed the male lead's account.

Time to throw a wrench in the main characters' perfect love story.

[LMAO, did the dumb side character not realize his account is private? He has to approve follows.]

[That's why the female lead is so confident tagging her fianc on social media. In this world, there are plenty of girls willing to be the other woman for money.]

[Alexander Segel only follows the female lead. Give it up, side character.]

2.

A private account?

I stared at the screen.

A wicked idea took root. I scrolled back to one of Julia's earliest posts bragging about her relationship.

Alexander Segel rarely replied to her.

His one and only comment had been upvoted by their couple-shippers to the top spot.

AX: [It's a business arrangement.]

He had posted a picture of the engagement rings. The comments said the woman's ring cost over thirty thousand dollars.

This male lead had never shown his face.

Julia had never shown us a picture, either.

For someone who loved to show off as much as she did, the lack of photos was suspicious. Maybe he looked like a toad!

My dark speculation began.

Julia had replied to a fan in the comments: [Guys, please don't follow my fianc. He made his account private because he's afraid of girls trying to add him.]

[He's just so handsome, you know? A lot of girls in our circle were after him, but I was the one who won his heart.]

[His grandfather even gave me an heirloom bracelet.]

The comment section filled with envy: [That sounds like a serious family heirloom, probably worth enough to buy a house.]

[She's the officially approved daughter-in-law of the Segel family.]

[A match made in heaven!]

I scrolled to the bottom and gleefully started typing: [Hey cuckold, your fiance's running around on you, you know that?]

[Get a leash on your girl. Stop her from calling other people's boyfriends "babe"!]

[A cuckold and a cheater. Perfect for each other!]

[F***ing losers, both of you!]

After my tirade, I immediately blocked Julia.

That way, she wouldn't see my replies to Alexander.

My only regret was that my most creative insults were censored by the platform's filter, so the male lead wouldn't be able to see exactly what I'd called him.

Alexander hadn't paid much attention to the notification bubble that popped up.

His account was usually dead quiet.

Since he'd gone private, he might get a few follow requests a month, at most.

So, when a rapid-fire series of notifications appeared, he was a little confused.

After reading the messages, his face turned livid.

In his entire life, he had never been insulted like this.

3.

Alexander Segel approved my follow request.

His upper-class upbringing prevented him from firing back with profanities.

So, he simply asked: [I think you have the wrong person.]

I replied instantly: [Nope. I'm talking to you, Alexander Segel. And about Julia.]

The comments were merciless: [This side character has zero class! No manners at all!]

[The male lead must have been furious to actually follow her back.]

[The female lead has always maintained this prim and proper rich-girl image. Without proof, the male lead will never believe she's a cheater.]

[And even if he did know, so what? He's rich and powerful. He likes a bad girl. He'll just marry her and tame her.]

Alexander sent me a message, demanding I send him proof of Julia's cheating.

He added that if I couldn't produce it within a month, he'd sue me for slander.

I shot back: [That's not fair. What if I can prove you're a cuckold? I can't sue you.]

Alexander: [...]

I scowled: [What's with the ellipses? So pretentious.]

Alexander stared at the ID: [CottonCandy].

A sweet name.

Her profile was full of dance videos. She was a small-time streamer who never showed her face, but her replies to her fans were always polite.

He clicked through the videos, one by one.

From her clothes, he could tell her family wasn't well-off.

But she had a great figure and, based on one post, was a student at a good university, so she had a small but dedicated fanbase.

Her pinned video was a screenshot of her university admission, followed by a long, profane rant against people who had doubted her.

Alexander watched it, a strange expression on his face.

In his world, he rarely encountered people with... such a split personality.

The background of CottonCandy's dance videos was a college dorm room.

He paused the video.

Julia had sent him pictures of her dorm before.

This streamer's bed curtains, and the cute cartoon cotton candy charm hanging from them, were identical to the ones in Julia's photo.

At the time, he'd assumed they were Julia's and had casually complimented them.

Julia had then launched into a long complaint about her roommate.

She said one of her roommates was incredibly jealous of her.

And that this roommate was always spreading rumors that Julia was trying to steal her boyfriend.

It seemed Julia's roommate was this "CottonCandy."

"CottonCandy" appeared to be desperate for money.

Alexander didn't want those insulting comments seen by anyone else, where they might spread and cause a PR problem.

So he replied: [Delete the comments you just posted. If you can prove you're right, I'll give you fifteen thousand dollars.]

I laughed out loud.

[Nice try. Anyone can make empty promises.]

[When school started, your fiance asked me to carry her bags and said she'd pay me fifty bucks.]

[And guess what? The money went straight to my boyfriend's account!]

[F***ing losers!]

I immediately sent him a screenshot of the chat log.

To make sure he didn't think I'd faked it, I even took a screen recording and sent it again.

Alexander watched in weary fascination as CottonCandy sent another string of furious, censored curses.

A moment later, the text was replaced by a sixty-second voice memo.

A comment drifted by, exasperated: [This girl is something else. When her curses get censored, she just sends a voice memo.]

Alexander: [Send me your account number.]

My tirade paused. My guard went up instantly.

But when I saw the comments warning me not to give him my info...

My rebellious streak took over. I sent him my bank account number.

Ping!

A transfer of 0-0,500.

Whoa, he was a real-life money fountain!

[Gold digger! You really lucked out!]

Alexander: [Stop swearing. I'll add another fifteen hundred.]

Alexander stared at his phone. He just wanted the barrage of filth polluting his ears to stop.

This was the easiest way to solve the problem.

CottonCandy sent a new voice memo.

He opened it.

Unlike the sharp, grating insults from before, this time her voice was soft, with a hint of hesitation.

[Really?]

If he didn't know her true nature, he might have thought "CottonCandy" was a shy, sweet girl.

He replied with a single, concise word: [Yes.]

CottonCandy: [Thank you.]

This time, my thanks were genuine.

The first-line treatment for my mother wasn't working.

The second-line treatment cost several thousand dollars a day.

The three thousand from Alexander, combined with my savings, was just enough to cover the immediate need.

I quickly transferred the money to my mom.

[Mom, I'm coming home for the holiday weekend. Tell the doctors to start the second-line treatment. Don't wait any longer.]

[Money isn't an issue!]

If it weren't for my and Liam's tuition, our family's finances wouldn't be this tight.

I ignored the hateful comments and Alexander's messages.

I had to get ready for my live stream to earn more money.

[She's just obsessed with money. She'd do anything for it.]

[So high-and-mighty, yet so desperate for cash. Doing suggestive dances but too scared to show her face. No wonder people say she must be ugly.]

Alexander saw that CottonCandy's profile picture now indicated she was live.

He clicked on it.

And then, his brow furrowed.

The chat was filled with vile comments.

Most of them were from men.

They would curse at her, then send a gift worth a few cents and demand she make a heart gesture with her hands.

He expected "CottonCandy" to lash out.

But he watched as the person on screen did exactly as they asked, even saying in a sweet voice, "Thank you for the gift, boss."

Was she really that desperate for money?

She would debase herself for such a tiny amount?

4.

DragonSlayer_Bro: [Shake that ass a little more. Put on the tail from yesterday and do it. I'll send you ten hearts.]

I stared at the shared screen on my stream, suppressing the nausea rising in my throat.

I was about to put on my usual high-pitched voice to reply when I saw Alexander's username pop up in the viewer list.

My face fell.

Damn it!

I forgot to block him before I went live!

There was nothing worse than your enemy seeing you at your most pathetic.

Alexander hadn't planned on getting involved.

But the vulgar "DragonSlayer" and his own name, Alexander, both contained a "dragon" sound in their original language.

He felt a strange sense of injustice.

Why was he the only one getting insulted today?

[AX: Tell him off.]

[DragonSlayer_Bro: Who the hell are you? A private account with a level-one badge acting tough? sends 10x Hearts]

[Anonymous_User: Dragon Bro is the best!]

[AX: sends 10x Rockets]

I stared at the gift animation taking over my screen, a bizarre expression on my face.

For the first time in my life, a jackpot had fallen from the sky.

Five thousand dollars, just like that.

The male lead was so rich. I was so jealous.

A comment cursed: [Is she trying to play the victim? Don't let her find out the male lead has a bit of a white knight complex. He loves saving damsels in distress.]

[Otherwise, he wouldn't still feel sorry for the female lead later, even after finding out she's messing around with someone else.]

[On the surface, she's a pampered princess, but deep down, the female lead is starved for love.]

I blinked, processing the new information.

No wonder the male lead could tolerate being cheated on. The guy had issues.

I rolled my eyes.

The female lead was "starved for love"? What about me, starved for both money and love?

Julia had two loving, wealthy parents.

She was always bragging to me about how amazing they were. How was she starved for love?

Being around people like her for too long...

I felt like my whole body was sprouting dark, envious mushrooms.

Alexander watched the stream, satisfied as he listened to a new string of curses erupt from my end.

DragonSlayer_Bro, thoroughly humiliated, left the stream.

Thanks to the huge gifts, my stream's popularity had skyrocketed.

Before I signed off, I saw that Alexander was still there.

Remembering his "white knight complex," an idea sparked. I spoke into the mic, my voice deliberately soft. "Thank you all for the gifts tonight. I have to go to work now, bye-bye!"

The comments: [??? Side character, what's with the sob story? You've never mentioned working at night before.]

Alexander glanced at the time.

It was ten p.m.

Alexander: [You're that short on cash?]

His question hit a nerve.

I glared at the screen, my fingers flying across the keyboard: [Super short, you evil capitalist pig!]

[Next time you want me to curse someone out, just transfer me the money directly. Don't send gifts on the stream. The platform takes a huge cut.]

[Someone reported my stream. It's banned for seven days.]

I then sent him a meme I had just made: [I'm very pitiful. Give me money.]

He sent another transfer for a thousand dollars.

With the note: [Damages.]

I replied: [I will find proof of your fiance's cheating ASAP and end your cuckold career!]

Alexander chuckled and didn't reply.

It was just a cheating fiance; he didn't really care.

After all, his own parents had separate lovers after they married.

He was only concerned about the potential negative impact on his family's reputation, which was why he'd paid "CottonCandy" to delete the comments.

Now, he was simply finding it amusing to tease her.

She had a bad temper, but she was easily placated with money.

As for his arranged marriage, it didn't matter who the person was. He just needed to perform the role of a dutiful husband.

Alexander saw that Julia had sent him another flurry of video links. He found it incredibly boring but replied to each one.

Then, he called his secretary. "Look into Julia's recent activities. I want to know who she's been with."