Chapter 3

That afternoon, Chloe did indeed take me to the place that had haunted my nightmares in my previous life: the dilapidated West Side district, earmarked for future development. The air stank of rot. A few homeless men crouched under the bridge, just shadows in the dark.

"Cassidy, look, these homeless people are so pathetic!"

Chloe held up her phone, seemingly taking pictures of the scenery, but her lens kept drifting towards me. "They're all homeless. We should help them, shouldn't we?"

"Mmm," I replied absently, my gaze vigilantly scanning our surroundings. I knew the homeless man she'd bribed would appear soon.

Sure enough, we hadn't walked far when a disheveled middle-aged man reeking of body odor shambled toward us. His eyes were cloudy, but his target was clear.

"Oops!" Chloe suddenly "slipped," crying out as she lunged directly into me!

In my previous life, it was this bump that threw me off balance, making me fall towards the homeless man. She then seized the chance to snap that staged photo of me seemingly falling into his arms.

But this time, I was ready.

The moment she lurched at me, I subtly shifted my body, deftly avoiding the main force of her push. At the same time, I flicked my wrist, aiming the camera in my collar directly at her.

"Chloe! Watch out!" I gasped, reaching out to grab her, but my fingertips just happened to hook onto the phone charm hanging from her chest.

"Ah!" she shrieked. To steady herself, her hand instinctively pushed against the homeless man who had just approached us!

"Click!" "Click!"

I clearly heard her phone rapidly taking pictures. From her angle, the photos would definitely look like *she* was actively falling into the homeless man! And my button camera perfectly recorded everything—including how Chloe accidentally bumped into me, and how she unexpectedly pushed the homeless man.

"Get off me! You stink!"

After Chloe steadied herself, she immediately shoved the still-dazed homeless man away with disgust, frantically checking her phone. When she saw the photos on the screen, a look of satisfaction spread across her face. She didn't notice at all that she was the real star of that little accident.

"Cassidy, are you okay? You scared me just now!"

She put away her phone and immediately adopted a concerned expression. "This place is too chaotic. Let's go quickly!"

"Okay."

I lowered my head, hiding the cold sneer at the corner of my lips.

The evidence was in my hands.