Do I Kneel Too?

My bestie was a hopeless romantic. “If we give him money, he’ll surely reconcile with me!” “Do I need to give him money too?” “Yes. If he doesn’t say yes, we’ll kneel downstairs in his block to beg him!” “Do I kneel, too?” “Yes. That’ll look more sincere. If he still doesn’t say yes, we’ll both die before him!” “Must I die as well?” “Yes, you must. He hates your guts the most!” Huh? Did the truth about my bestie meeting my online boyfriend in my stead and him unwittingly ending up being a trap dad get discovered? Chapter 1 My legs were sore after kneeling with my bestie, Scarlett Fox, for two hours, but the ache in my heart felt even worse. Amid the cars coming and going in the villa district, I could even hear people mocking us for being gold diggers. I had mixed feelings about that. On one hand, I was glad that someone finally recognized my hobby of being a gold digger. That made me happy. On the other hand, my secret was going to be out of the bag even before I managed to dig any gold. That felt terrible. Scarlett’s ex-boyfriend was in fact my ex-online boyfriend whom I had never met. He certainly didn’t need the pittance we were offering. Although he was no elite prince of the capital, he used to be a big shot in our street kids circle. Too bad he had since cleaned up his act. Dressed head-to-toe in designer clothes, he now exuded an air of unapproachable nobility. I met this hunk on a livestream. Since neither of us had a dime to our name, both of us turned to the internet to beg and hustle for money. I didn’t show my face, but he asked whether I was attached, attracted by my decent figure. That was way too casual, and I rejected him outright. He sent over a photo of his abs, and I was fascinated by it. If only I could touch his abs... I didn’t dare to ask. I just felt that he was too sacred, almost untouchable. “May I have your number?” “I can’t even begin to imagine how happy we’d be dancing together after meeting in real life!” I huddled under my thin blanket, listening to the noise outside my thatched hut and self-consciously declined his invitation to join his livestream. “Silly, didn’t you just let your imagination run wild?” He gave out a low chuckle which turned my bones into mush. We eventually never met up in real life because one of his lackeys knocked into Scarlett while riding his Ghost Fire—a loud, heavily modified electric scooter. Our chief, Dannie, was notoriously protective of her own and commanded absolute authority in our countryside. She immediately rallied all the ladies, and we walked for over four hours, climbing over mountains and crossing valleys, ready to throw hands. If you make my girl depressed, the police can take me away while you’ll be taken away in an ambulance! I’ll make the news, while you’ll be disowned by your family! There’ll be a whole new episode on Criminal Minds! Chapter 2 I charged in headfirst and immediately got into a massive brawl with their chief. He was all dressed in black—black top, black pants, and even a black face mask. Who was he trying to act cool for? What a joke! This guy dressed in that try-hard, badass edgy street style was even carrying a bag of eggs and fruit. Was he expecting to lose? Was he thinking of throwing eggs at us if he couldn’t win us at the fight? What a dirty and underhanded tactic! I launched a preemptive attack and smashed all the eggs right then and there. Their chief tried to snatch them away, but with my sheer brute strength, was I going to let him? I ripped the bag to shreds, and fruit scattered all over the ground. Their chief glared at me, his face already bruised. He grabbed my shoe, pinning me down so I couldn’t get up. I panicked. If he exposed my big toe sticking out of my sock, I’d be completely mortified! If I had known, I wouldn’t have been so cheap and would’ve simply thrown away that sock with a hole! In the middle of the chaos, one of the lackeys stepped in to break up the fight. “Chief, it’s a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!” Thank goodness. As it turned out, one of their boys knew one of our girls. It was a case of friendly fire, and we were fighting our own people. Everyone exchanged glances. What did our four-hour trek even count for now? It counted as cardio! There was a reason no one in our group was fat! I finally rescued my shoe and preserved my dignity. In a way, I had avenged Scarlett! Dannie said, “Mr. Charles Leighton, consider our friendship forged in battle. Today marks the official alliance between us. We’re all brothers and sisters from now on.” So their chief was called Charles Leighton. It sounded rather suave. “Dannie is right. We’re one big family now. Our chief caught a cold and lost his voice, so I’m calling the shots. Let’s treat you beautiful ladies to a meal! Even better, let’s film a fashion collab video together!” Charles’ second-in-command stepped forward and flashed a cheap, overly eager grin. In the end, our group of over a dozen people gathered at a local eatery, where we were packed like sardines in the tiny restaurant. Together, we ordered a grand total of two bowls of meatballs and even took a massive group photo. I sat next to Charles, feeling uneasy. I glanced down at my heavily modded phone and saw that my bae had texted me. [Do you happen to know someone by the name of Dannie or something? I remember you live in Greenville, too.] It was too bad he hadn’t been feeling well these few days. I really missed that deep, raspy voice of his. [Of course, bae. We hang out all the time!] [Then do you know this girl? (photo)] What girl? Wait a minute! Wasn’t that me? I suddenly went on high alert. Wasn’t this the group photo the boss of the restaurant had just taken for us? Brilliant as I was, I keenly sniffed out the murderous intent hidden between the lines. My head snapped up. Besides me, Charles was still wearing his face mask, silently fiddling with his phone. He exuded an air of icy unapproachability that made me shiver. A bold yet tragic thought sprouted in my mind. [This… might be one of our girls. The photo is kinda blurry, so I can’t really tell.] [It's fine. I’ll take another one for you.] I didn’t dare move an inch, only daring to look at Charles right next to me from the corner of my eyes. He was holding up his phone, pointing it straight at me. My online boyfriend was… Charles? I even scratched his face during our fight, and I almost let my online boyfriend see my holey sock! Hey! But he had poor character! His lackey hit someone with his scooter, and he had the nerve to show up and fight us! The standards for street kid circles nowadays were seriously dipping. Any random nobody could barge in and declare themselves the king. Discovering his true colors before actually meeting him in person? I considered that a reason for celebration. Goodbye, heartthrob. Goodbye, deep, raspy voice. Perhaps parting and regret were just a part of life… The day’s gloom began to settle in. Chapter 3 I didn’t block him. Since we were now in an official alliance, I couldn’t do anything to go against my group. But then again, how was I supposed to look Scarlett in the eye? I finally decided to meet Scarlett anyway, because Charles suddenly had a stroke of conscience and delivered a peace offering which he paid for out of his own pocket, and I wanted to eat my share of the peace offering. Honestly, after rolling with Dannie and the gang for so long, I still hadn’t gotten used to the lifestyle of being broke as a joke. I ate an apple in my left hand and took a bite of an egg that Scarlett had fried for me with my right hand. She hugged me tight, bawling her eyes out like a banshee. “Bestie! I heard all about it! Charles and his lackeys actually came to make peace and apologize, but you charged right in and beat up their chief for my sake! You wouldn’t even accept their peace offering! Girl, you’re a real one! So badass!” In reality, Scarlett had only gotten a tiny scrape on her leg. She barely even bled, and if she had walked home any slower, the wound would probably have healed on its own. I was stunned. No wonder that bag of fruit I saw when I entered the room looked so familiar. Wasn’t it the exact same one that I had ripped into shreds just now? Wait, what apology? Why didn’t I hear about it? I forgot that my dumb bae’s throat had acted up. Damn it. Did no one else have a mouth that could speak? I felt rather thankful I didn’t chuck the eggs right at his head back then. Otherwise, my lover would have turned into my mortal enemy. Though to be fair, we weren’t exactly far from being enemies right now, either. Just then, a text from my bae popped up on my screen. [Honey? Talk to me! When shall we meet in real life? Can I come find you in Greenville?] No, not at all. [Did something happen to you? You haven’t replied to me for 24 hours. I’m so worried about you. I’ll go to Greenville tomorrow.] [Uh, my dad is in confinement, while my grandmother is getting released from school…] I hesitated, readying myself to confess and prepared for the worst. Just then, another new text popped up. [I’ll take the chance to find that girl and settle scores with her.] [That’s not a problem at all. I’ll accompany your father during his confinement and pick your grandmother up from school.] I didn’t dare to text him back. I looked helplessly at Scarlett. “Save my wretched life, Scarlett.” She readily agreed. Scarlett had officially climbed the social ladder. Thanks to her, we were all living the high life now. We no longer needed to split two bowls of meatballs between a dozen people. Scarlett even transferred me $2,600 because she received $5,200. Talk about a loyal sister. But wait. Did my online boyfriend turn into Mr. Moneybags? I was grinding my teeth out of sheer jealousy now. We were all doing perfectly fine being poor together, so what in the world was this? According to Scarlett though, he was actually the biological heir in a real vs. fake baby scandal who was switched at birth back in the day. Now, the fake heir’s family was living happily ever after, while he was being treated like a total outsider. I heaved a sigh of relief. That scared me for a second. Even if he were doing well, I would be happy for him. I managed to pay up my credit card bill this month. Not by relying on myself or my parents, but by relying on… my bestie and our shared boyfriend? I feel so utterly mortified that I just wanted to mince myself into ground meat. I didn’t dare to face this world anymore. I wondered how his throat was doing, though. Chapter 4 Scarlett and Charles broke up. I should be heaving a huge sigh of relief, as it was a good thing. “Ah… he caught me asking other guys for their contact numbers on social media. He said I’ve changed.” Scarlett looked completely soulless. We could have been sitting at a high-end cafe for this conversation, but now, we miserable sisters could only squeeze in this tiny ice cream stall. This was what social class was, effortlessly crushing a young person’s spirit. Capitalism, you win. “You!” I was rendered speechless. Everyone understood the logic of preferring to cry in a high-end cafe than to laugh in a tiny ice cream stall. “But I wouldn’t dare to actually touch my bestie’s man! Seeing him prance around before me did make me crave so badly that I had to go online to find some guy with abs to engage in some dirty talk with to satisfy the craving.” I heaved a true sigh of relief. “Goodness, a few days ago, he literally told me to go home and take care of my dad in his confinement. I think he has a screw loose somewhere,” Scarlett said, pointing at her forehead. “I got a bit too comfortable at home and got careless and forgot to delete my chat history.” Yes, we practiced pure love here, even linking our accounts. To keep up the act all the way, I even let Scarlett use my account that I occasionally used for livestreaming. Who would’ve known that it would give him the perfect opportunity? Thankfully, I didn’t give her my chat account. Otherwise, what would I even use? I’d just have to claim that my account was hacked, and that I was now the new owner. We were doomed. Two gold diggers digging for gold, only to end up with absolutely nothing. It was hard to go from luxury back to poverty. I started missing the days when my sisters and I could each afford a whole bowl of meatballs to ourselves. “Sigh. Out with the old, in with the new. Don’t be too upset. To be honest, I’ve noticed that Charles is actually a bit of a mama’s boy.” I perked up my ears. What else was there about Charles that I didn’t know about? “Whenever we went out on dates and for meals, he would take photos and report everything to his mom! I saw it with my own two eyes!” My heart fell with a thud. That sounded dead familiar. My online boyfriend seemed to be in a very specific kind of circle. He looked incredibly cold and aloof on the outside, but he would always lose all self-control when we chatted at night. [Seeking dominant roleplay, okay?] [Sure.] [Mommy.] [Son.] [Call me ‘puppy’! Do you even know how to roleplay?] I was all out of moves. This was completely out of my league, and my heart was pounding so hard I couldn’t even type. It was too thrilling. Would that proud, aristocratic man save my contact number as… that? I hadn’t dared to log into that account for the longest time, terrified that I’d be so mentally weak that I’d confess right on the spot. But wasn’t Scarlett right in front of him? What did he mean by sending me this message? I didn’t dare to think any further. After sharing a single cup of lemonade with Scarlett and splitting the bill, she dragged me over to kneel down again. “Bestie, I’m getting a little scared. I want to leave." The owners of the luxury cars driving past were still calling me a gold digger. However, I no longer felt the joy of finding a kindred spirit in my heart. “You brat! Don’t forget how well we’ve been eating this month. Even the new socks we bought are 100% pure cotton!” Scarlett pinned me down, dashing all my hopes of chickening out at the very last minute. Chapter 5 Charles showed up, not from inside the mansion, but from outside the main gates. Had we been kneeling for nobody all along? He wasn’t even home this afternoon. The night wind howled as he approached, clad in a sleek black suit that made him look tall and well-built. I knew all too well exactly how massive his muscles beneath that dress shirt was. After all, he was relentlessly seducing me through his phone. The scar on his face had faded, and he was looking coldly at me. I didn’t know which of my sins was most severe: Hitting him in the face, falsely accusing him, and ruining his kind intentions? Or was it deception, by letting Scarlett take my place to meet him in real life? I didn’t dare to let him know the truth. I’d rather smash my head into a bowl of marshmallows and pay for my sins with my life and end it all. “Charles, we were wrong. This is all the money we have. Please get back tougher with me!” Scarlett immediately pounced on him and kept shooting looks at me. I looked and stuffed a handful of loose change in his hand. Exactly $152.80 down to the cent. Scarlett had contributed a grand total of zero dollars. She said that she had been spending too much money recently and would split the cost with me once she had saved up enough. I prayed inwardly, “Charles, please don’t mind our measly few pennies. I’m practically on my knees now! “You can’t forget our past love! Does the friendship between our two groups mean nothing to you?!” His fingers brushed across the inside of my palm, and my face burned up. He stuffed the money into his pocket and smiled at me. “Mommy came, too.” The smile on his face sent chills down my spine. Scarlett looked skeptically at me. I forced a look of confusion on my face. “I’ll take you to see my mom.” He held Scarlett up, but his eyes remained deadlocked on me as he stood completely still. It felt as though all three of our feet had taken root in the ground as this meet-the-parents ceremony was held right at the front gates. It was extremely bizarre. I was so utterly terrified that my body felt like a stiff corpse. ‘Shut up!’ I yelled at myself. ‘Stop talking!’ “Does your bestie wanna come along?” he asked Scarlett, breaking eye contact with me and treating me like I was invisible. My lips twitched, and I was unable to bring myself to laugh. “Uh, I should probably go first. My dad wants… uh, my grandmother…I…” I shut up. No one was listening to me anyway. Charles was already dragging Scarlett inside. “Wait, this is too sudden. I didn’t even prepare a gift. Going empty-handed? Wait, no…” Scarlett was an absolute authority in this. Her ability to stay completely unfazed in the face of danger was something I could spend a lifetime learning. “It’s fine. I forgot that my mom had gone back just now.” As I walked away, my knees went weak, and I scraped the skin off my palm. Tears began streaming down my face uncontrollably. My palm felt burning hot, as if the temperature from his fingertips just moments ago had scalded me. Chapter 6 Scarlett sent over a victory report. [Indeed, he hates your guts, and seeing you on your knees appeased his anger right away.] [You’re a lifesaver! We can team up to hustle and earn money and live the high life again. He transferred me money again. Same old rules apply: Fifty-fifty split!] [He transferred you $2,860?] I just got $1,430. It was completely absurd. Although someone had secretly filmed me and Scarlett kneeling and posted it online, making us the laughingstock of the internet, I couldn’t believe we actually pulled it off. Maybe I should just laugh it off and forget about it, I thought. At least we managed to survive and needn’t both die at the same time. I had never won such an overwhelming and abundant victory in my entire life. I contemplated splurging on a hotdog for my dinner. However, I had no appetite whatsoever. In fact, I felt like throwing up. I logged into that account I hadn’t touched in ages, only to see Charles’ latest update on his account. [11=3] What did that mean? Did he think I was an unwelcome third wheel? Was I a deadweight bestie that shouldn’t have been there when their romance turned real? I had been too simplistic in my thinking. The very next update I saw was from Scarlett. [This little pregnant lady got poked by her loving hubby and got all knocked up. My stomach feels so big—it’s probably a boy. I swear, the doctor suddenly looked at me with so much respect after the ultrasound.] Her update came attached with a photo of a sonogram. Scarlett was pregnant? I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. Were we going to start hiring nannies for the house now? I couldn’t help but think back on the day we knelt there. She kept sitting back on her heels and leaning all her weight on me for support. She stopped adding ice to her lemonade, too. Look, we street kids would wear cropped pants even while snowing in the dead of winter! Yet now, she was dressed so thickly and warmly, the glory of her street-kid days all but gone. But, wait. Why didn’t I see this update when I was on my new account? I logged out and then back into my new account and finally confirmed that Scarlett had blocked me from seeing this post. Was she trying to secretly give birth to her child behind my back? I couldn’t stand it any longer. I took a screenshot and hurled it straight into her DM, demanding answers. [Are you messing with me right now?] She kept typing for a long time before finally admitting it outright. [I’m sorry, it’s true.] Wow, simply amazing. She wasn’t even bothering to put up an act now.