Yeri turned her head toward Jj. Thankfully, her brother was already asleep. She quickly drew the curtain divider between their beds, as if that flimsy fabric could somehow muffle her voice.
"Then this might be your last chance to get an autograph from me," Yeri quipped lightly.
Nina snorted. "Pfft. Please, I'll sell it online for millions once you become a legend. Don't forget me when you're strutting down red carpets."
The two shared a quiet laugh, but Yeri's gaze inevitably drifted back to her phone screen.
Sensing her silence, Nina's tone softened. "Ignore them, Yeri. People online… they'll twist anything for attention. You know who you are. Don't worry, I won't let anyone talk bad about you here at school."
Yeri smiled faintly. "Thanks. But that's not what worries me. It feels like I'm gaining enemies without even doing anything. Strange, isn't it?"
"It's the ugly side of being drop-dead gorgeous," Nina teased. "You could probably cause the downfall of a nation without lifting a finger. Stop overthinking. Some people just hate others for existing, that's all."
They talked for a while longer, and at one point Yeri casually mentioned that she and Shin Keir had gotten back together.
Nina squealed with delight.
---
The next morning, Yeri woke to an even bigger scandal. Marketing accounts had latched onto her name, fanning the flames and making the issue explode further.
Nina had been right, she was getting more attention than most celebrities. People were quick to blame, judge, and condemn without a second thought.
As she scrolled, the person who slandered her yesterday updated with another post, gaining more attention and repost.
"Yeri likes to put on a pitiful act to trigger men's instinct to protect her. Because of her, a friend of mine broke up with her boyfriend just coz he wanted to chase after Yeri instead. I mean, what girl causes that unless she was hinting something? No man breaks up just because he saw a pretty face."
Yeri couldn't help but laugh. A friend of mine? Boyfriend?
No, there was no doubt this was Tiffany Rhian. Probably one of her fake accounts. Knowing Tiffany's grudge, there was no way she'd pass up such a chance to slander her.
Yeri had her suspicions last night but now she was almost certain that this person claiming to know her at school while slandering her was Tiffany.
Yesterday, Shin had wanted to remove Lucia Hera's post, but Yeri refused. Of course, with his connections he could easily do it. But if someone really was behind Lucia, Yeri wanted to drag that person out.
Since Lucia's post had been a public apology, they couldn't sue her outright. It was a clever move, after all, whatever the netizens chose to believe wasn't Lucia's responsibility.
That same day, Zhi Corporation released another official statement, supported by a police confirmation that the surveillance footage was neither fake nor tampered with. They warned that any further slander or false accusations against Yeri Zhi would be dealt with legally.
Still, ugly comments persisted:
"Lucia might be wrong, but this Yeri Zhi isn't innocent either. Everyone knows plenty of socialites are after Shin Keir. For her age, she's already scheming."
"Zhi Corporation is nothing compared to KGG. Of course she'd want to climb higher. Nothing wrong with that."
"Why drag Shin Keir into this? It's just two women fighting for his attention, not like he cares about either."
"Yeri Zhi is a bully at school, arrogant and cold."
"Isn't she the only daughter of Zhi Corporation? Why was she working as a server? Maybe that's how rich families train their kids. Honestly, she doesn't seem that bad."
"I don't care. She's gorgeous. Anyone have more photos of her? Send them."
Just as Yeri was about to close her phone, she noticed that the harshest accusations had been deleted.
Even the marketing accounts releasing her personal information received sharp replies, each accompanied by a legal notice from A&K Imperial Law Firm.
Yeri blinked, dumbfounded. This level of immediate action wasn't something her family could have done so quickly.
It had to be Shin Keir.
"Ready to leave?" Jj's voice pulled her back from her thoughts.
She looked up to see him packing. "You're leaving today?"
"Not just me, you too. Didn't you hear me earlier? The doctor cleared you to rest at home since all your results came back normal."
Yeri blinked in surprise. She had been so absorbed in scrolling that she hadn't heard a word. "Really? I can leave?"
Her face lit up. She nearly jumped out of bed in excitement and dashed to the restroom.
Jj shook his head helplessly.
At that moment, Madam Zhi arrived, though her tired face worried Yeri.
"Mom, I'm not bothered by what people are saying online. You shouldn't be either," Yeri said gently.
Madam Zhi paused, then forced a small smile. "Of course I'm not. Your father will handle everything."
An hour later, as they prepared to leave, Madam Zhi suddenly remembered Venice. The doctor had said she would need to remain hospitalized for a few more days.
Not wanting to trouble her mother, Yeri decided to check in on Venice herself. But when she reached her room, Venice wasn't there. As Yeri turned to leave, she caught sight of her cousin in the hallway.
Venice had just come from the direction of the VIP ward.
Raising a brow, Yeri asked, "Jj and I are being discharged today. What about you?"
Venice stiffened, clearly not expecting to see her. "Oh. That's good news. Unfortunately, I still need to stay."
"Really? Are you being moved to the psychiatric ward? I heard you've been banging your head from unbearable headaches. Are the walls in the VIP ward special enough for you to bang your head over there?" Yeri asked meaningfully.
Venice flinched. Realizing the sarcasm, she glared. "What are you implying? Don't talk nonsense."
Yeri only stared back, saying nothing.
Though they had never gotten along and Venice had schemed against her more than once, Yeri had never wished her cousin actual demise.
But if even she knew that Tristan Felan and Shin Keir were the only bachelors in the Keir family, then surely Venice did too.
Venice scowled. "Is there something else you want to say?"
Yeri sighed softly, turning to leave. "Don't be so eager to follow your mother's footsteps. If anyone should understand what that leads to, it's you."
It was as if Yeri had reached straight into her chest and exposed her heart. Venice's face twisted with indignation. "Yeri Zhi, what do you mean? You think you're so perfect? You just got lucky to be born into a wealthy family."
Yeri halted mid-step and looked back. "Yes, I'm lucky. And I'm proud of it. But what about you? Don't you want your future children to feel the same? Or do you want them to feel the same way like you are now?"
Venice froze, speechless, as Yeri disappeared down the hall.
---
Back at school, Tiffany was back to her smug self. Her cast was off, her face healed. Only Rita was with her, Cherry hadn't returned.
"Isn't it karma? Look at Yeri...of all places, she just happened to be at the night market during that incident. What was she doing there? Dating some guy, probably."
A classmate frowned. "Tiffany, don't joke about that night market. A lot of people suffered. The case is still open."
Tiffany rolled her eyes. "I think Yeri is cursed. Even death follows her around."
"Say that again?"
Nina's voice cut through the air, sharp as a blade. She stood behind Tiffany, her expression menacing.
Tiffany paled. Of all people, she hadn't expected Nina. "N-nothing! Just joking."
"Oh? Because it sounded to me like you're dying too," Nina sneered. "Since from now on, I'll be following you around."
Tiffany almost choked. She knew Nina well enough if angered, she wouldn't hesitate to get physical. Worse, her parents had warned her not to provoke the Geun family.
"If I find out you're slandering Yeri online," Nina warned coldly, "I'll reset your face back to its original form."
Confident she wouldn't be caught, Tiffany scoffed. "Nina, are you blind? Can't you see Yeri isn't who you think she is? Otherwise, why is Lucia Hera so miserable? With the Zhis' power, a commoner could be crushed easily."
"At least the person I'm defending is someone I've known for years," Nina shot back. "But you? You've never even seen that livestreamer, and yet you couldn't wait to take her side. All she did was apologize, and you twisted it into something else. The real sinister one here is you. Everyone knows you've been bitter ever since your boyfriend dumped you."
At the word boyfriend, Tiffany snapped, pointing at Nina. "Who said he dumped me? Don't spread lies! Yeri seduced him, but he wasn't fooled. He was kind, and Yeri used that to ruin his reputation!"
Nina stared, then burst into laughter. "So it's true, you really are a lovestruck fool. Kind? Everyone saw him confess to Yeri and get rejected. Are you saying he was forced to confess?"
The argument was escalating when Rita, who had been pretending to stay out of it, suddenly screamed.
Tiffany spun around, glaring at her. "What now? Can't you hear me? Say something! You were there when Brother Marco told us his side."
But Rita stood frozen, staring at her phone like it had grown teeth.
Nina noticed the shifting gazes of the other students, all fixed on Tiffany. Without hesitation, she snatched Rita's phone.
Only then did Tiffany sense something was terribly wrong. She looked down at her own phone—
And her face drained of color.