My roommate stole my online persona to go on a reallife blind date with our campus heartthrob.

When she came back, her face was flushed with triumphant pride. "Dylan told me that compared to the online version of me, he vastly prefers the real thing." She started dating Dylan right then and there while guarding him against me like I was a biohazard.

What she didn't realize was I had never intended to meet Dylan in real life in the first place. I’m just a nerdy, overworked STEM student.

The only reason I was venting on that forum was because my graduate coursework was crushing my soul. Our chat history wasn't just 90% fake; it was 90% unhinged and inappropriate.

Meeting in person wasn't a romance it was a total social execution. 1. Stepping out of the science building, I ran straight into Dylan and Kendra.

Dylan was decked out in headtotoe designer drip. Tall, broadshouldered, with pale skin and sharp, handsome features.

I had to give it to him as campus royalty went, he was undeniably eye candy. The moment Kendra saw me, her face drained of color, panicking as if facing a mortal threat.

Honestly, she was overreacting. She was wearing a tailored designer sundress with flawless makeup.

On a beautyrating forum where Zendaya scored an eight out of ten, Kendra had managed a solid 5.8.

Meanwhile, in the tagged photo she posted of me in the comments, I had earned a generous 3.8.

At this exact moment, I was wearing a faded, oversized thrift tee, hair thrown back in a scrapedtogether bun, face glistening with a sheen of lab grease.

I couldn't be bothered to care, but after hours of suffering through corrupted research data, my brain desperately needed a distraction.

So, I deliberately waved and smiled. "Oh, hey! What a coincidence. You guys here to study...?" "Do you mind backing off, student?" Before I could finish, Dylan cut me off cold.

He instinctively pulled Kendra behind him, shielding her like a bodyguard while casting a hostile glare my way.

Kendra leaned up and whispered a couple of hurried sentences into his ear.

Instantly, Dylan’s expression shifted to pure disdain. "So you're the one who's been isolating Kendra in the dorm just because you have an unrequited crush on me?" "I don't know when you started stalking me or when you developed this little obsession " He scowled, his tone dripping with icy impatience. "But let me make one thing crystal clear: Kendra is the only person I care about." "If I catch you picking on her again, I'll make sure you regret it." "Get lost." Kendra peeked over his shoulder, throwing me a smug, victorious smirk.

I curled my toes inside my peeling flipflops. The secondhand embarrassment was unbearable.

I cleared my throat and tried to explain. "Uh, look, if I told you that 'Married10TimesToGetLove' was actually " Dylan let out a harsh laugh. "Kendra called it," he sneered. "You really would do anything to get to me, wouldn't you?

Even impersonating her." Annoyed, I pulled out my phone and shot a quick message to my online buddy [D]: "Did you get dropped on your head as a infant?" A bright red exclamation mark popped up. "Message failed to send." Dylan had blocked me.

Right in front of me, he pulled out his phone and nonchalantly waved the screen at my face. "Stealing Kendra's handle won't work anymore.

I already added her new account." I snapped back to reality, instantly chilling to the bone. "What was I doing?" If Kendra hadn't covered my tracks so thoroughly, I would have been completely exposed right here!

Having delivered his grand speech, Dylan dismissed me entirely and pulled Kendra by the wrist. "Let's go, babe.

I booked us a table at a Michelinstar spot." Kendra beamed, pouring on the enthusiastic praise. "You're so generous, babe!

Taking me to such a highend place!" Dylan frowned in slight confusion. "Didn't you tell me you've eaten exclusively at Michelin restaurants since you were a kid?

And that you always order two tables one to eat at, and one purely for photo ops?" Kendra's face turned white. "Huh? Oh! Right, right, of course!" 2.

Dylan and I met when I was trying to sell off some old gear online. I had posted on the campus market board: "Anyone interested in a cute little bear?

Looking for someone to take care of it!" Dylan assumed I was illegally rehoming an exotic bear cub and added me.

It turned out I was just trying to get rid of a Bearbrand mini rice cooker.

Once I realized his intellectual capacity was... adorable, I started using him as my personal void to shout into. I told him everything, confident he wouldn't get it anyway.

Dysfunctional family baggage. Crushed dreams. Brutal academic pressure. Nightmare lab partners. Trashtalking men. ... Then Dylan suddenly insisted on meeting up in person.

Kendra had caught a glimpse of our chat log on my laptop in the dorm once.

Back then, she had mocked me for cyberflirting, completely unaware that the guy behind the screen was the campus golden boy.

And then, she inadvertently saved me from total social death. While I was slaving away in the research lab, their romance escalated at lightspeed.

Half the campus witnessed their highprofile courtship. Kendra, the finance major, had successfully bagged the brooding art school heartthrob.

Dylan waited on her hand and foot, driving his sports car all the way to the suburbs just to buy her favorite artisanal boba.

Both came from wealthy backgrounds a match made in highsociety heaven. A pictureperfect romance of the elite.

When I got back to the dorm, our other two roommates were crowded around Kendra, hungrily digging for details on her love life.

The moment I walked through the door, the room went dead silent, followed by an even louder burst of performative chatter.

One of the roommates raised her voice deliberately: "Some girls from broke families should stick to studying instead of eyeing other people's boyfriends." "Being poor isn't a crime, but stealing someone else's man sure is!" She was referring to something that happened a while back.

Kendra had misplaced a bottle of luxury perfume. Since I was the only one in the room at the time, she immediately accused me of stealing it. I had been completely defenseless.

Once the two roommates were done making their point, Kendra stepped in with her usual gentle tone. "Alright, guys, we all live together." She turned to me. "Cecilia, I know things are tight for your family.

Next time you want to borrow something, just ask me." I nodded smoothly. "Sure." "I actually have a blind date tomorrow. Mind lending me that new bag you just bought?

You're so generous, I'm sure you won't mind, right?" Kendra’s smile stiffened. I knew for a fact she had just bought a preowned Hermès Kelly.

Dylan had casually asked her why she wasn't carrying the Hermès her mother supposedly bought her, sending Kendra into a frantic panic to buy one secondhand.

What she didn't know was that my mom had actually bought a cheap knockoff, a detail I had never bothered correcting Dylan about.

Kendra stared at me, her eyes narrowing with heavy subtext. "It's always better to be authentic, Cecilia.

Don't blow things out of proportion just to save face whether it's for a blind date or chatting with random people online." "Your date probably isn't highclass anyway.

You wouldn't need a bag this expensive." The other two jumped in to agree. Yeah, definitely lowclass. Word was he was some bleachblonde fuckboy.

But the sweet older couple setting it up promised me a bonus allowance if I behaved on the date.

I ignored them and grabbed my washbag, but Kendra called after me again. "Oh, by the way, my boyfriend is treating us all to dinner tonight." "Cecilia, you should come too." Free food before a long night of studying? "Sure thing." The moment the words left my mouth, snarky comments floated from behind me. "A place that highend... if it weren't for Kendra's boyfriend, she probably wouldn't step foot in one her entire life." "Kendra, aren't you worried she's still lingering around your man?" Kendra tilted her chin up, offering a poised, delicate smile. "What's there to be afraid of?" "Dylan would have to be blind to choose her over me." 3.

I splashed some water on my face and headed to the restaurant. I pushed open the door to the private room. Only Dylan was sitting there. I glanced at my watch. I wasn't early.

The moment Dylan saw me, the smile on his face vanished, replaced by an unmistakable flicker of disgust. My gaze settled on his face.

Say what you will, the guy might lack brain cells, but his face was undeniably pretty. A shame, really. He knew far too much about my dirty laundry; we were fundamentally doomed.

Fragments of our old chat history flashed through my mind "I'm so lonely." "I'm actually a deeply romantic person. Generous to a fault with my friends.

Even though I'm only twentyfour, I think things through carefully.

I'd argue I'm more mature than most fortytwoyearolds, though I act like a total baby in private..." "By the way." "How big are you?

I mean your age." "I only date pure, untouched boys with their Vcards intact." ... Along with a mountain of unhinged, trashtalking rants. It was utterly unwatchable.

As my mind wandered, my gaze lingered blankly on Dylan’s face. He caught me staring and defensively shifted his chair backward. "Stop looking at me. It's gross." "Oh.

Right." First time I'd seen someone selfdeprecate so accurately. Just then, Kendra arrived, flanked by our roommates.

Her eyes caught mine, and she forced a look of polite surprise. "Cecilia, you came?" I raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you invite me?" One of the roommates sneered. "Kendra was just being polite.

I can't believe you actually had the nerve to show up.

Arriving so early just to get alone time with Dylan, huh?" Kendra smoothed things over with a sweet smile. "It's fine, the more the merrier." Dylan took her hand warmly. "You're just too innocent, babe.

Online you were like a feisty little kitten, but in real life, you're so kind and sweet." Kendra blushed delicately and ducked into his chest. I felt a sudden wave of goosebumps.

Truth be told, Dylan had zero banter online and couldn't catch my jokes to save his life. If he hadn't occasionally sent handsome selfies, I would have blocked him months ago.

Dylan handed the menu to Kendra. She pointed to a few dishes, stopping at the mango foie gras. Dylan’s expression visibly froze. Oh, right.

I had told Dylan online that I was deathly allergic to mangoes. 4. Dylan stared at Kendra as she happily ate her mango starter, his eyes clouded with utter bewilderment.

Noticing his intense gaze, Kendra blushed and offered him a tender glance, placing a piece of panseared fish onto his plate. Dylan didn't move his fork. He hated seafood.

He had explicitly told "Married10TimesToGetLove" about it. When he was a kid, his mother favored his younger brother, giving all the seafood to the brother first.

In a fit of petty rage, Dylan swore he would never touch seafood again for the rest of his life. What a tragic childhood. What traumatic family baggage.

At the time, "Married10TimesToGetLove" had comforted him: "If it were me, I'd pee in the seafood dish so nobody gets to eat it!" How could Kendra forget something like that?

Dylan’s hand holding the chopsticks went rigid, his eyes growing increasingly lost. I took the opportunity to check my phone.

The information about my blind date tomorrow had been updated. Good news: He wasn't a bleachblonde fuckboy; he had silver hair. Better news: His photo was stunning.

Easily three points hotter than Dylan. Bad news: Complicated family structure, complete with an illegitimate older brother.

I looked at the dish on the table and sighed thoughtfully. "Wow, that's actually fish?

It's so tender, I almost mistook it for tofu." Kendra snapped back to reality, frantically trying to cover her track. "Oh, right, right, of course..." Having skimmed my chat logs before, my subtle reminder sparked her memory.

She looked at Dylan with a face full of selfreproach. "Babe, it's all my fault, I forgot..." Dylan let out a long sigh of relief.

He patted her head gently. "How could I ever blame you?" They embraced tenderly. A mutual, passionate connection. How sweet. I only hoped my thesis defense would go this smoothly.

After dinner, Dylan went to settle the bill. Kendra wiped her lips elegantly with a napkin. "You guys go ahead back to the dorm.

Dylan and I are going somewhere else." The two roommates squealed and teased her. She offered a coy scold. "Stop it, we're just going to see a movie.

He said the first time needs proper romance; he won't rush things." My hand wiping my mouth paused. I opened my mouth, then shut it.

Kendra pulled me aside after dismissing the other two. "I was going to tell Dylan the truth, but as you can see, he's totally head over heels for me." "If you had met him instead, he wouldn't even look at you." "You have no idea what kind of background Dylan comes from.

He's the eldest heir to a multibilliondollar corporate empire. He doesn't have time to play around with a broke girl from the slums." I was temporarily rendered speechless.

Kendra continued, "Thanks for helping me out back there, though I would've remembered on my own anyway." "I'll let the whole perfume stealing incident slide.

We're even now." Just as she finished, Dylan returned to pick her up. Kendra shot me one last pitying look before walking away, completely satisfied. 5. The next day.

I arrived early at the restaurant for the blind date. My date showed up fifteen minutes late, bearing fresh bruises on his face.

I paused my phone game and took a couple of seconds to inspect him. I decided to grant him a temporary pardon for his tardiness. Sensational silver hair.

A silver cross necklace, black tee, black jeans. His style leaned a bit edgyedgy, but his face was exquisitely breathtaking better looking than any plastic surgery could achieve.

A cool, sweet boy. He opened his mouth and dropped a megaton bomb: "My mom said you're her childhood friend's daughter and forced me to marry you." Whoa.

A mama's boy. "I didn't agree, so I got into a fistfight with her before coming here." Oh. Never mind then. I hadn't eaten breakfast, so I ordered a few extra dishes.

The silverhaired boy, Felix, raised an eyebrow. "What, expecting another date?" The meal lasted an hour, filled with random banter and casual roasting. Zero romantic sparks.

I checked my watch, preparing to make a polite exit, when the waiter walked over. "Sir, since you ordered the couple's set menu, if you post an intimate photo of the two of you on social media, you can get twelve percent off!" Felix turned to look at me, confusion in his eyes. "The set menu was cheaper," I explained, adding offhandedly, "I can pose for a picture with you, but I'm not posting it.

You post it if you want." Surely the young master of the wealthy Kerwin family didn't care about a twelve percent discount.

To my surprise, the moment the words left my mouth, Felix whipped out his phone. "Snap." "Again, you blinked." "Snap." "Again, is your mouth glued shut?" "Snap." Felix reviewed the photos, nodded in satisfaction, and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

The waiter and I exchanged a bewildered look. The waiter kindly reminded him, "Sir, it needs to be posted on social media like Instagram or TikTok." Felix shook his head. "Nah.

Do I look like I care about your twelve percent off?" Me: ... "Then why did you take the photos?" Felix spoke with absolute seriousness: "It's my first blind date.

Keeping a souvenir." "Who knows, might be my last." 6. Felix walked me back to campus. Don't get the wrong idea he didn't drive.

He took an Uber here and decided to ride the subway back with me. He was actually pretty nice, managing to snatch a subway seat for me during rush hour.

For a second, I almost felt like I was pregnant. After an hour on the subway, we finally arrived at the campus gates. Felix accompanied me all the way.

I didn't have a car, but I had acquired a dedicated escort.

As we reached the gates, I saw Dylan and Kendra holding each other in a sweet embrace from a distance. "Tsk." A sound of intense disgust came from right above my head.

I was a bit confused. Honestly, setting aside everything else, purely as an aesthetic visual, the two of them looked quite striking together.

Felix pointed at Dylan. "That's my brother." I was stunned. "Full brother?" "No. Illegitimate." What a small world. I turned to Felix. "Don't you have places to be?

Why aren't you leaving?" He shook his head. "My time isn't that valuable." "Come on, let's go eavesdrop and see if we can catch some dramatic tea." Saying that, he dragged me closer to Dylan and Kendra, creeping around like a stealthy stray dog.

We heard Dylan saying in a dead serious tone: "Babe, you're just too naive.

Make sure you stay far away from that Palmer girl." "She looks like she still hasn't given up on me." Kendra replied softly: "Don't be like that.

Cecilia is just jealous that I have such a great boyfriend, which is why she targets me everywhere." "I saw her spending hours dressing up early this morning.

Apparently, she went on a blind date with some offcampus guy... probably some shady loser." Her tone dripped with fake concern, as if deeply worried I'd be scammed.

The shady loser standing next to me, Felix, rolled his eyes. "Gross. I'm nauseous." Dylan fell silent for a moment, appearing to ponder something.

A second later, he let out a cold snort. "I could actually introduce her to a few decent guys, though they might not even look down at her level!" Kendra froze, hurriedly saying, "No need, really, she knows plenty of guys..." Ignoring her, Dylan continued selfimportantly, "I have a cousin who just broke up with his girlfriend.

He's more than enough for her." "When the time comes, she'll owe you a favor and be utterly grateful to you.

It'll also finally sever her lingering feelings for me!" Seeing how set he was, Kendra could only nod along.

And just like that, without my knowledge or consent as the actual subject, my next blind date was officially locked in. A second later, my phone buzzed with a text from Kendra.

She was inviting me for coffee tomorrow, claiming she wanted to introduce me to a guy. I had zero interest.

I was just about to text back a refusal when I turned my head and caught Felix staring intensely at my phone screen, radiating an aura of tragic longing out of nowhere.

Spooked by his expression, my fingers glitched. I sent back a single word [Sure].