Chapter 2 — Step by Step Take Me to Hell

4 The ball took place in the evening. The next day, I deliberately lay in bed until noon before getting up. Lam Than Duong texted me asking what time I would go to school, and finally "accidentally" asked another question: "Is Cao Tieu Vi coming with you?" I smiled coldly and replied that we would both come. When Cao Tieu Vi saw that I had finally come downstairs, he immediately jumped up from the sofa, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Chi Chi, can we still go together? Your eyes are very sharp, my evening dress and my makeup need your help to look at it a little." I smiled softly. “Looking at it” was just an excuse — wanting me to pay was the real purpose. I don't refuse. After eating, I told the driver to take us both. I am a regular customer of designer stores, so the waiters are respectful when they see me. As for Cao Tieu Vi, wearing the brand name clothes given to her by me, she is also automatically considered a rich lady. I put together a tuxedo for her — the listed price was nearly a hundred thousand yuan. Her eyes were bright and she happily shouted: "Chi Chi, you still have real taste!" I smiled and told her to quickly go try on clothes. The evening gown was quite cumbersome, while Cao Tieu Vi went into the dressing room, I took the opportunity to say to the staff: "I have something urgent to do, I have to go first, let my sister choose more slowly." The staff did not suspect anything and respectfully saw me out the door. I took my clothes and left. Half an hour later, my phone rang — it was Cao Tieu Vi. “Chi Chi, when are you coming back?” "I'm too busy to come home. Have you made your choice yet? Or we can meet at school. The driver is waiting outside the door, don't worry." Hearing me say I wouldn't come back, Cao Tieu Vi started to panic. “But…” She said “but” for half a day, but in the end she still couldn't say the words "go back and pay". I looked like I suddenly remembered something: "Oh my god, I was really absent-minded, I forgot to pay for you." Cao Tieu Vi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard I reached the main topic, then silently waited for the next sentence. “How about this, just swipe your card first, I'm really busy, I can't get through.” I didn't give her time to react and decisively hung up. Does she think I don't know? Over the past few years, she has secretly sold a lot of valuable items given to me by my parents. Her personal vault is bigger than her mother's. I don't feel bad about using my family's money, but spending money in my pocket is very painful. Just keep hurting. This is just the beginning. That evening, Cao Tieu Vi rode in my car and appeared on time at the prom hall. 5 Just like her previous life, Cao Tieu Vi dressed like a princess coming out of a fairy tale, like a beautiful female lead appearing at the end of an idol movie. As soon as she entered, she immediately attracted all eyes in the hall. In the end, she still gritted her teeth and bought that dress. Lam Than Duong looked stunned. "Chi Chi, Cao Tieu Vi is really your cousin. With makeup, she looks really charismatic!" “That's right, that's right, you two sisters are truly the representative faces of our school!” “It's just a shame that her achievements are far behind Chi Chi.” "What are you worried about? People wear brand-name clothes, shoes, and bags. It's okay for rich girls to study poorly." Cao Tieu Vi was almost immersed in flattery, flying around all evening like a brilliant butterfly. Every time she passes someone, she whispers a few words to that person turned to look at me with strange eyes. I know, she's started secretly saying bad things about me. Cao Tieu Vi knows the relationships around me so well, just by skillfully changing the narrative, he can instantly turn white into black. For example, to those who were kicked out of the radio station, she would say that I deliberately took her spot as "revenge". Or for those who aim to go to school 985, she will say that I refused direct admission because I criticized the school as trash, only choosing trash. … I quietly watched her act. No problem. The higher you fly, the more painful the fall. Wait until I expose Cao Tieu Vi, all the rumors will collapse on their own. At that time, those who have been deceived by her will be even more angry and vent their anger on her. At the end of the prom, someone spilled a glass of juice on my dress. Cao Tieu Vi screamed in panic and ran over to apologize with tears in her eyes. I just smiled: "It's okay, it's almost over anyway. I'll just change into something else." She offered to go with me, but like in my previous life, I refused: "No need, just keep playing." I carried my dress alone and walked towards the dressing room. Waiting until no one was paying attention, I pulled out my phone and made a call. “Brother Huy, you can come now.” 6 The dressing room is essentially a small conference room, with a long oval conference table placed close to the wall, leaving enough space for a person to crawl in and hide. When Mr. Huy pulled out a skinny man from under the table, eyes wandering like a mouse, he was so scared that he almost peed his pants. He is Cao Tieu Vi's cousin, a small-time scoundrel, who specifically hid here to secretly take nude photos of me. In my previous life, I was completely unaware, allowing him to take pictures. After that, Cao Tieu Vi used those photos to completely destroy my reputation. Cao Tieu Vi's cousin cried and begged me not to call the police. I looked at him coldly: "Since you like taking sneaky photos so much, I'll give you a chance. If you don't want to, I don't mind taking you to the station right now." Twenty minutes later, I finished changing my clothes and returned to the hall. Neither Cao Tieu Vi nor Lam Than Duong were there. A few more minutes passed, the MC announced that the final round of lucky draw was about to begin, and Cao Tieu Vi turned back, her cheeks red. I pretended not to know anything: "Tieu Vi, where are you going?" “The hall is so stuffy, I'm going out to get some air.” I nodded and said softly as if muttering: "Lam Than Duong is nowhere to be seen, he's about to miss the lottery..." Cao Tieu Vi stood next to me, his eyes filled with pride and arrogance: "Probably just going to the bathroom." The form of drawing is to show everyone's photos one by one on the big screen, from third prize to first prize, and finally the special prize. In my previous life, when it was time to draw the special prize, what appeared on the screen was not a photo of a lucky person, but my photo. Because the dress I wore was off-the-shoulder, when I took it off, I looked almost half-naked. My cousin Cao Tieu Vi even intentionally showed his hand in some corners of the photo, making people look at me and think I was doing something shady with a man in the dressing room. The first prize had just been announced when Lam Than Duong leisurely returned. Cao Tieu Vi shyly glanced at him, then excitedly glued her eyes to the screen. Her eyes sparkled with madness, her clenched hands trembled slightly with excitement. Life Before, I thought she was just too nervous because she was waiting for the special prize. The MC stirred up the atmosphere, the whole hall focused their eyes on the screen, counting down: "3, 2, 1, stop!" The cheers did not ring out. Instead, there was a dead silence. On my left is Lam Than Duong. On the right is Cao Tieu Vi. Both... changed color at the same time.