Chapter 1

After my rebirth, the first thing I did was pull my phone out and search for Simone Hogg online. It just so happened that she had started a livestream.

"Hi, everyone! Welcome to the livestream for the second day of the semester. Do you guys want to see the way I train Andrea?"

She was talking about me, Andrea Lane.

Immediately, the people who had flooded her livestream started typing their comments.

"I'm here for it! I love seeing the way you put an heiress in her place, Simone."

"Hahahaha. All those rich people always act so high and mighty, but Simone manages to train them into anything she wants anyway."

"Don't let her put on any sunscreen today! No sunscreen for her!"

After reading the comments, Simone said, "Sure! I'll do as you guys suggested. Today, I'll forbid Andrea from putting on sunscreen!"

As I watched the way a bunch of flippant comments on the livestream ended up deciding my fate for the day, my eyes dimmed.

They were a bunch of people who amused themselves by toying with another person, and yet they smugly considered themselves superior, thinking they stood on a moral high ground. It was truly ironic.

Simone was my roommate.

When I moved into the dorm on the first day, my butler brought me up to my room. Simone had been all warm and friendly as she helped me with my luggage. She said she came from the rural countryside and had studied hard so that she could improve her circumstances.

I was moved by her strength and resilience. Plus, she seemed smart, humorous, and kind. In just a single day, we formed an unusually strong bond.

She loved preaching to me about how the ability to endure suffering was a blessing. She said I was too focused on enjoying life. A young person needed to survive hardships, and she was the only college student from her village because she could do just that.

Simone managed to brainwash me. From then onward, I walked around without wearing any makeup or sunscreen. I even stopped buying sweet drinks. I consumed nothing but plain water and bread.

Meanwhile, she dolled herself up immaculately and attempted to seduce my boyfriend, Jeremy Gardner.

She told me not to try and please a man. She claimed that women need to learn how to be independent and blamed my obsessive pursuit of enjoyment on my relationship with Jeremy. According to her, he had tricked me into becoming more and more spoiled. She told me to break up with him.

Yet, the first time she met Jeremy, she tried her best to fall into his arms.

She talked me into joining a dance competition, and when I ended up exposing myself after a wardrobe malfunction, the video of me went viral online. The cyberbullying was relentless, and it wasn't just the online comments. People even mocked me in person.

I became severely depressed. During my darkest hour, I found out she was a content creator with over a million fans—and she owed her fame to the fabricated videos she made of me.

Moreover, I even spotted her using several of my missing bags in her videos.

When I confronted Simone about this, she was afraid that her crimes would get exposed, so she pushed me off a building and made it seem like I took my own life due to my depression.

"I'm about to reach my dorm room now, friends, so I'll be streaming in silence soon. Remember to follow me and like my stream!" Simone said on her livestream.

Once I heard that, I quickly exited her livestream just as she opened the door.

"You're up, Andrea! It's almost time for class."

I studied Simone's clothing and finally spotted a button that looked different from the others. Recalling the angle I saw on her livestream, I figured that was where the camera was.

Rising to my feet, I picked up my sunscreen and was just about to spray it on when Simone approached me with a smile, saying, "Andrea, I heard that sunscreens are full of toxins. It's so much healthier to let your skin absorb as much of the sunlight as possible. Let's not put on any sunscreen today."

Once she finished speaking, she tried to take my sunscreen away. However, I sidestepped her and said, "Is that so? How do you explain the bottles of sunscreen on your desk then? It looks like you use them all the time."

I grabbed one of the nearly empty bottles of sunscreen on Simone's desk and gave it a shake.

Startled, Simone had a slight look of disbelief on her face.

From the moment she brainwashed me, I hung on her every word and believed everything she said. I bet no one was ever as foolish as I was.

Nevertheless, Simone swiftly recovered her composure and said, "Oh, Andrea. I had a rough life, so my skin is used to using things like these. I'm just worried that your tender, sensitive skin would get damaged by the toxins."

Sneering, I replied, "You don't need to worry about that. I've been using this brand for ages now. There are no side effects at all."

After a feeble chuckle, Simone continued to try and convince me. "Andrea, the sun is so bright right now. All those ultraviolet rays are good for you, you know. You should let your face soak up some. They'll help kill the germs on your skin."

"Oh? So you do know that the sun is shining brightly right now, huh? Well, Simone, you shouldn't put on any sunscreen either then. You should stand in the sun and let the ultraviolet rays kill the germs on your face!"

Simone seemed stupefied by my response.

"I'm just telling you this for your own good, Andrea! Why aren't you appreciating my gesture?"

I pushed her out onto the balcony and locked the door before remarking, "You look a little under the weather. Seems like you need to spend some time in the sun."

Ignoring Simone's shouts as she pounded on the door, I picked up my sunscreen and applied a generous amount before heading off to class with my backpack.