Chapter 1 — The Call from Another Me

On the night before the final deadline for university applications, just as I was preparing to go out and set off fireworks with my boyfriend, Chu Chen, a sudden phone call cut through the air. The voice on the other end was frantic, screaming until it grew hoarse:

"Do not go out, and do not trust Chu Chen. Your applications for the top-tier universities have been altered by him and Trinh Oanh; they have changed them to vocational colleges instead."

"They have been seeing each other behind your back for a long time. They intentionally used your future as a wager in their little game. Chu Chen cannot stand the fact that you are more talented than he is, and Trinh Oanh has always been deeply jealous of you."

"Go and change your preferences immediately; there is still time. Do not end up like me, with my entire life buried and ruined! Hurry!"

The call ended abruptly, and my hand, mid-reach toward the door handle, froze in the air. Outside, the impatient sound of Chu Chen rapping on the wood continued.

"Little Thanh, are you ready yet? Oanh Oanh is arriving soon."

I looked down at the time on my phone. Eleven forty-five. Only fifteen minutes remained before the system closed for good.

1

I slowly withdrew my hand from the door. My heart began to race, an erratic rhythm of panic and confusion. I did not know whether to believe the strange, desperate call. After all, Chu Chen and Trinh Oanh were my boyfriend and my closest friend. Both had been my companions since childhood, growing up together in this remote town. When it came to these applications, they were the ones who helped me analyze the majors. On the day of submission, Chu Chen had double-checked the entries four or five times, more concerned with my success than his own, before finally submitting them. How could they have deliberately sabotaged my future? Besides, my home lacked a computer. If I wanted to verify anything, I would have to go to the only internet cafe in town. As I stood there, paralyzed by indecision, Chu Chen knocked again.

"Shen Thanh, hurry up. Oanh Oanh is waiting downstairs."

"Didn't we agree to go set off fireworks at midnight?"

The agonized, screaming voice of the woman from the phone echoed in my mind. I pressed my lips together and finally sent a text to Chu Chen:

"I am not feeling well, so I won't be going. You and Oanh Oanh go enjoy the fireworks."

Chu Chen replied instantly:

"If you aren't going, then we aren't going either. Open the door, and we will come in and stay with you."

"Do you have a fever? Do you need medicine? I will come over and make you some ginger tea in a moment."

My fingers stalled over the screen. He and Trinh Oanh had always been this way—constantly showering me with care. In the past, when I was ill during mock exams, they took turns meticulously copying notes and coming to my house to tutor me, afraid I would fall behind. But…

"No need, I have already gone to sleep."

I sent the message and immediately reached out to turn off the light. As expected, Chu Chen stopped messaging. The hallway fell silent. The clock on my phone ticked away the seconds. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. I bit my lower lip. The unease in my chest grew heavier by the second. Throughout our final year, the three of us had always supported each other. During our most stressful moments, we had even held one another and wept. And yet now, based on a single anonymous call, I was doubting them? No, that was not the right way to treat people. I took a deep breath, reaching for the light switch, when Trinh Oanh’s voice drifted through the door.

"What’s wrong? I’ve been waiting downstairs for ages. Is Shen Thanh not ready yet?"

I paused, pressing my ear against the door. Chu Chen’s voice sounded hesitant:

"She said she isn't coming out; she’s already in bed."

"Is that so?"

Trinh Oanh stopped, then remained quiet. I breathed a sigh of relief, about to step away from the door, when she suddenly let out a soft, coy laugh, filled with an unmistakable, triumphant malice.

"I don't care. Since it’s past midnight, I win."

"She definitely won't find out. You lost, so you owe me those ten kisses."

Chu Chen chuckled softly, his tone dripping with indulgent affection:

"What is it, haven't you had enough of kissing me?"

"That’s not the same. This is my prize."

Outside, the sound of fabric rustling and the two of them laughing together in hushed, conspiratorial tones drifted through the wood. Inside the room, I stood frozen, unable to process the betrayal for a long, agonizing moment.

2

Chu Chen had liked me since we were children. Even when we played house, we were a couple, and Trinh Oanh played the mother-in-law. After entering high school, he had confessed to me in front of Trinh Oanh. Over the years, he had kept a respectable distance from her—except for that winter in our sophomore year when Trinh Oanh complained her hands were cold, and Chu Chen naturally gave her his hand warmer, not noticing that my own hands had been red and numb for ages. Or the rainy day last year, when we shared an umbrella, and Chu Chen leaned it entirely toward Trinh Oanh, ignoring that my shoulder was soaked through. Or the time after class when he shared his earphones with her, never noticing I had been waiting for them at the classroom door for an eternity. The memories snapped together like a puzzle. I realized the caller was right; they had been together for a long time. Everything I had dismissed as my own overthinking, everything I excused as mere childhood closeness, was actually a hidden, twisted affair.

"But seriously, when she finds out tomorrow, she’ll probably cry, right?"

"Let her cry."

Chu Chen’s tone was dismissive:

"I’ll just coax her a little later. So what if it’s a vocational college? I’m going to marry her anyway. If she can’t find a job, I’ll just support her."

"Psh, what if she makes a scene? What if she demands an explanation?"

"How much of a scene could she possibly make?"

Chu Chen laughed, brimming with confidence:

"She likes me so much; she won't have the heart to walk away. She’ll compromise eventually."

"Besides, she has always been competitive. If she had actually gone to a top university, she would have ended up looking down on me. Vocational school is fine; that way, she will have to rely on me even more."

"At the end of the day, I’m only doing this for the sake of our relationship."

Every word sent a jolt of ice through my veins; my hands tightened into fists. I recalled our final mock exam. Chu Chen had placed second. He had congratulated me with a smile, praising my intelligence, his sincerity so flawless I never found a crack in his mask. But once, passing by the staff office, I had seen him standing alone before the rankings, staring at my name with eyes dark and filled with complex, boiling resentment. At the time, I thought I had seen it wrong. It turned out I hadn't. Too many memories surged forward at once. In my panic, I took a step back, and a decorative ornament near the door fell with a loud crash. It was not a loud noise, but the voices outside went deathly silent.

"Shen Thanh?"

Chu Chen’s voice rose, laced with sudden vigilance:

"Are you not asleep?"

My breath hitched. The next second, my phone lit up. A message appeared on the screen:

"Shen Thanh, are you asleep? Can I call you?"

I dared not answer. The knocking started again, each strike heavier than the last. I retreated step by step. In that moment, I believed the anonymous caller completely. I had to change my application. I had to reach the capital. I had to get into a top university. I had to change my fate!

3

I gripped my phone, my palms slick with sweat. But the application website on the screen merely cycled, failing to load. My home had no Wi-Fi, and the cellular signal was too weak to sustain the connection. Outside, the two of them kept watch. Time slipped away. My heart hammered against my ribs. Just then, a voice from outside made me jump:

"Little Chu, Oanh, what are you doing standing out here?"

It was my grandfather, returning from a game of chess with the neighbor. Chu Chen immediately adopted a polite, obedient tone:

"Grandpa Shen, we were supposed to take Little Thanh to set off fireworks, but she suddenly felt unwell. We are both worried and wanted to make sure she was all right."

Grandpa frowned, his brow furrowed in confusion:

"Why is she suddenly unwell? When I left, she said she was going out with you both, and she even bought a bunch of fireworks."

"Is that so..."

Chu Chen’s gaze darkened; he sensed something was wrong. He spoke up:

"In that case, Oanh and I should go in and check on her. If something is really wrong, we should be there to help."

Grandpa nodded, not objecting. He pulled out the key. The sound of the lock turning pierced the air. They were coming in. I looked at the phone, gasping. Eleven fifty. Only ten minutes left. Editing on the phone was hopeless; I needed a computer. But they would never let me leave so easily. What to do… What to do… My hands trembled violently, my legs turning to jelly. The voice of the woman from the phone rang in my ears again:

"Hurry and change it! You still have time. Do not end up like me! Hurry!"

I looked toward the window. It was the third floor—a jump would not kill me. The moment the front door opened, the lights in the house flickered on. Chu Chen walked in quickly, his eyes scanning the living room; finding no one, he turned immediately toward my bedroom. The lock on my bedroom door had been broken since last month, and I had never repaired it. Seeing him about to push the door open, I shouted:

"Wait! I am changing, don't come in yet!"

His hand on the door handle paused. He let out a breath, seemingly relieved:

"Alright, take your time, just don't fall."

"We’ve already finished the exams; there’s no need to rush anymore."

"You don't need to be so exhausted in the future. Really, you don't need to be so brilliant, and you don't need to push yourself so hard. You can rely on me."

"I promise to treat you well for the rest of my life."

He spoke with such gentleness, his eyes brimming with false sincerity. Trinh Oanh laughed softly beside him.

"And you have me, too. Little Thanh, don't worry. Since Chu Chen and I are going to the same school, I will definitely help you keep an eye on him. If he dares to treat you badly, I will be the first one to never forgive him."

I sat on the windowsill, hearing every word. My nose stung with unshed tears. More than a decade of affection, a boyfriend and a best friend. One wanted to drag me down, and the other waited for me to suffer so she could mock me. I wanted to rush out and demand to know why. But I had no time left. I closed my eyes, let out one long, steady breath, grabbed the window frame with both hands, and slipped down into the darkness. A heavy thud echoed through the night.