Under the scrutiny of millions, Kiki finally broke. All pretense of composure gone, she began to babble, trying desperately to save herself. “It wasn’t me! I didn’t steal it! It was Leo! He gave it to me!”
“Leo stole Nina’s ticket for me! I swear, I didn’t know anything about it!”
Faced with total public humiliation, she didn’t hesitate to throw the boy who had just been her biggest cheer-
leader under the bus.
With her finger pointed at him, Leo instantly became the villain of the story. Every camera, every eye in the house swung to him.
He stood there, mouth agape, his face ashen. He couldn’t say a word. What could he say? That he had proud- ly stolen his own girlfriend’s ticket to impress another girl?
Asher’s gaze was like a knife, pinning the pathetic figure in the stands. “Oh? Leo Shen?”
He turned to me, as if clarifying a minor detail, and asked deliberately, in front of everyone, “Nina, is this the boyfriend you told me about?”
I took the second microphone from the host. I looked down at the man in the rafters, the man I had once truly loved, the man who now looked small and utterly humiliated.
And I announced to the world, my voice clear and calm, “As of right now, he’s not.”
Instantly, hashtags like #AsherChangSister, #TicketThiefLeo, and #KikiLinExposed didn’t just trend, they detonated across every social media platform. The clip of Kiki’s on–stage implosion and memes of Leo’s dumbstruck face went globally viral, becoming the biggest joke of the year.
Asher’s fans, especially those who had been duped into attacking me, were now incandescent with rage. Kiki’s friend, the fan club admin who had started the rumors, was doxxed within minutes. Boycotts were organized, and every misdeed the pair had ever posted online was dug up and put on display.
Kiki was escorted off the stage by security. I heard she collapsed backstage, crying hysterically, her makeup a ruined mess, screaming that Leo had destroyed her life.
And Leo, under a hail of boos and laughter, covered his face and fled the stadium like a beaten dog. His phone was blowing up with furious messages from classmates and friends.
On stage, to soothe the crowd and make up for my ruined surprise, Asher announced he was adding a spec- ial song to the setlist–my favorite from when we were kids. He said it was a belated gift for me. The entire stadium lit up with phone flashlights, a galaxy of stars, as they sang along with him. It was beautiful.
After the show, my parents called. They had seen the whole thing on the livestream. They fussed over me,
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then gave their full support for my decision to “take out the trash.”
1621
Wang informed me that Kiki’s friend had been permanently blacklisted from all official fan organizations, and the company’s legal team was already drafting a lawsuit for slander and defamation.
My phone was vibrating in my pocket. It was Leo. He had sent hundreds of messages, starting with shocked questions (“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?“), devolving into rambling excuses, and finally ending with pathetic, groveling apologies.
“Nina I was wrong, I swear I didn’t know, Kiki tricked me, that bitch lied about everything!”
“Please forgive me, I really do love you!”
I didn’t bother to read them all. I just blocked his number and every account he had. I saw on a security mon- itor that as Kiki was being led away, she was still clutching the bracelet I had made for Leo. The irony was staggering. Everything she had schemed and fought for had turned into a public farce. And the prize she treasured so dearly was just the trash I had thrown away.
The next day, the university acted faster than I expected. My academic advisor called me in, expressed the school’s deepest sympathies, and assured me that both Leo and Kiki would be dealt with severely. That afte- rnoon, the university published an official statement. Due to “serious misconduct, including deception and slander, which has brought severe disrepute to the institution,” both students were given a major demerit on their permanent records and were disqualified from all academic awards and honors for the year.
It was a death sentence for their academic careers.
Kiki was socially crucified. Everywhere she went, people whispered and pointed. She couldn’t handle the pressure. A week later, she officially withdrew from the university and was never seen on campus again.
Leo didn’t leave, but his existence was a special kind of hell. He had lost his girlfriend, his reputation, and his status as an admired campus figure. Overnight, he became the school’s biggest laughingstock. He tried desperately to win me back, waiting for me for an entire day outside my dorm. When I finally appeared, he looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot as he rushed forward and grabbed my wrist.
“Nina, please, just give me one more chance. I swear, I love you for you, not because of who you are…”
His words made me laugh. I looked at him calmly. “You love me?”
“You love me, so you gave away something I cherished to another girl?”
“You love me, so you tried to make me your personal assistant for her fan club?”
“You love me, so when she was slandering me, you stood with her and called me selfish?”
He was speechless, his face pale. He immediately started trying to shift the blame. “It was Kiki! It was all her fault! She was the one who kept whispering things about you, she manipulated me, she tricked me! I was just confused, Nina!”
Watching him try to squirm out of his responsibility, the last shred of pity I had for him evaporated.
Chapter 2
“You weren’t confused, Leo. You’re just selfish. You never loved me,” I said, pulling my arm free and taking a step back. “You loved the idea of me. The easy, convenient accessory who never caused you trouble and fed your pathetic ego.”
“You love playing the hero, saving the damsel in distress. Too bad for you, I’m not a damsel. And I don’t need saving. Girls like Kiki are your type. You two deserve each other.”
I left him with one final thought, his eyes wide with disbelief and despair.
“And by the way, don’t ever call yourself a fan of Asher Chang again. You’re not worthy.”
I walked past him and into my dorm without looking back, the sound of his choked, broken sobs following
- me.
Back in my room, I packed up everything that had to do with Leo–including a cheap necklace he’d given me that I had once treasured–and threw it all in the dumpster downstairs.
Asher sent me a picture from the Maldives, all blue skies and white sand. The caption read: “The world is toc big to waste a single second on people who don’t deserve you. I’ve booked the tickets for our world tour. We leave whenever you’re ready.”
Looking at the photo, my mood lifted instantly. With a brother like him, who needed the fake affection of a
boy like Leo? My roommates gathered around, offering their support.
“You’re so much better off without him, Nina!”
“Seriously! And that Kiki is a two–faced witch!”
“I propose we celebrate your glorious return to single life by going out for the spiciest hot pot in the city!”
“Yes! And the most expensive wine! Our Nina can afford it!”
Their words made me smile. They were right.
I looked out the window at the bright, clear sky. The heavy cloud that had been hanging over me for so long had finally disappeared. It was a messy, dramatic end to a toxic relationship, but the conclusion was imme-
nsely satisfying.
Later, I heard that Leo failed his grad school exams. The demerit on his record made it nearly impossible for him to find a decent job after graduation. He tried to contact me a few more times, even showing up at my brother’s company, but he was always turned away, permanently locked out of my world.
As for Kiki, she never returned to school. Her family was apparently mortified by the scandal, and she went from being the pride of the family to a cautionary tale.
I threw myself into my studies. In my junior year, I was accepted into an exchange program at a top–tier univ- ersity abroad with a full scholarship.
A year later, on a flight to New York, I ran into Leo again. He looked even more worn–down than when we had graduated, his skin weathered, wearing a faded t–shirt and carrying a tattered backpack. He was struggling
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to stuff his bag into an overhead bin in economy class.
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He saw me as I walked past him from the priority lane, on my way to my first–class seat. Our eyes met. His were a complex mix of regret, resentment, and the painful awareness of the vast distance between us.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something. But a girl next to him, wearing a tight tank top and heavy mak- eup, shoved him impatiently.
“What are you doing? Hurry up! You’re blocking the whole aisle!”
She looked vaguely like Kiki, but with a harder, more cynical edge.
Leo immediately ducked his head and finished stowing his bag. The girl shot me a disdainful look, then mut- tered to Leo, “What are you looking at? Oggling the rich people?”
“Instead of wasting time, maybe you should figure out how we’re going to pay next month’s rent!”
Leo’s face turned a deep, blotchy red. He didn’t dare look at me again, scurrying back to his seat in shame.
I looked away, put on my eye mask, and settled into my lie–flat seat. The plane’s engines roared to life, and we ascended smoothly into the sky. Behind me was the chaotic wreckage of the past. Ahead of me was a future that was bigger, brighter, and entirely my own.
(End of Story)
