Chapter 1

I had just sent the ninety-ninth sex toy to my online boyfriend,

teasing him over the phone until he was panting.

But just as I was basking in my little victory, the doorbell rang.

Curled inside the delivery box was a small, pitch-black snake.

I shrieked in terror, reflexively reaching out to dump the whole box into the trash.

But then, a stream of comments suddenly flickered across my vision.

[The male lead finally snapped. He sent the little snake he shares a sensory link with!]

[Ugh, too bad this side character hates snakes. She's going to toss him out any second.]

[And then our FL will pick him up. She's the snake whisperer—she's the only one who truly suits the ML.]

[If this girl hadn't kept dodging their first meeting, he wouldn't be looking for someone else.]

I froze.

I looked down at the little snake.

It had lifted its head, watching me with watery golden slit pupils.

After two silent seconds, I tentatively reached out and ran my fingers along its cool, sleek scales.

My phone rang abruptly.

As soon as I answered, his voice came through, strained and hoarse.

"You... aren't you afraid of snakes?

Then why are you touching it?"

My heart skipped a beat.

I suddenly remembered our past chats.

I used to trash-talk snakes constantly.

"Slimy, long, and gross."

Every time I said that, the line would go quiet for a long time.

Then, he would casually explain,

"Snakes are actually very clean. And smart."

Finally, he'd ask softly,

"If there was a snake that was very well-behaved and didn't bite... could you... try to like it?"

Back then, I just thought he had a peculiar hobby.

Now I realized—he was never talking about a snake.

A sharp ache flared in my chest.

I hurriedly scooped the little snake out of the box and held it tight against my chest.

"I love snakes! I love them so much!"

On the other end of the line, his breathing hitched violently.

His voice grew even huskier.

"Elowen... stop rubbing against it."

The comments exploded instantly.

[Disgusting. The supporting character is starting her act.]

[She definitely knows this is his final test. If she threw that snake away, the ML would have broken up with her for good.]

[She clearly hates it to death but is faking it. It makes me want to puke.]

[The real female lead is different—she genuinely loves snakes. She's the one meant to be with him.]

My eyes stung with heat.

That's not true!

I was terrified he would believe those comments.

In a fit of desperation, I leaned down and pressed a kiss onto the snake's head.

The creature went rigid instantly.

Its long body tensed up, and those golden slit pupils stared at me, unblinking.

I suddenly remembered what the comments said—they shared a sensory link.

Which meant...

My fingers trembled as I let them slide from its head down its cool scales.

The next second, he sounded like he'd hit his absolute limit.

He ground out a single word through gritted teeth.

"Stop."

I went still.

The snake shot out of my palm, sliding back into the deepest shadows of the box.

The line went silent for a few seconds.

When he spoke again, his tone was much more formal.

"Elowen, we agreed to meet last month. Why did you stand me up?"

I opened my mouth, but the words felt like they were stuck in my throat.

After a long pause, I managed to whisper,

"That day... something came up. And I wasn't ready."

"But we've been together for three years."

My nose stung.

"Just a little longer, please?"

The other end of the line went silent for a long time.

I expected him to say, 'Okay, I'll wait,' like he always did.

But this time, he only let out a soft, bitter laugh.

"If you're really that ashamed of me, then let's just break up."

The line went dead.

Tears hit the floor before I could stop them.

It wasn't that I was ashamed of him.

Quite the opposite.

The one who wasn't fit to be seen... was me.

We met on an anonymous forum three years ago.

At the time, we agreed to just talk about our lives—no family talk, and definitely no photo swaps.

Online, I could be bold, playful, and affectionate.

I'd tease him through the screen, listening as his breathing slowly grew ragged.

But in reality, I was just a timid little thing, too scared to even look people in the eye.

I had a birthmark on my right cheek that covered nearly half my face.

So I was terrified he'd see it and regret everything.

I was terrified he'd realize the bold Elowen online was just a girl who tugged at her hem to make eye contact.

On my first day at work, I had accidentally sent him my real ID photo.

By the time I realized, it was too late to unsend.

I stared at the chat box for three grueling hours.

Finally, he only replied with one sentence:

[Congrats on getting the job.]

Before I could type a response, another message came through:

[Elowen, I'm going abroad for business. I'll be very busy lately, so I might not reply quickly.]

[I owe you those bedtime stories. I'll make it up to you when I'm back, okay?]

He acted like nothing had happened.

But I knew—everything had changed.

Syl stopped initiating voice calls.

He stopped calling me "babe" in that husky, late-night whisper.

And he stopped dropping hints about wanting to finally see me.

I tried to tell myself not to care.

So I sent more gifts, flirted with him even harder, and pretended everything was normal.

Later, I couldn't take it anymore and lied to him:

[That ID photo was actually my coworker's. I sent the wrong file by accident.]

The moment I hit send, I regretted it.

Because for one lie, you need a thousand more to cover it up.