Chapter 3

"Haylee, why are you dressed so plainly? Now that you're not with Rhys, are you only able to buy cheap stuff from a discount shopping app? You look so pitiful."

I rolled my eyes at her, not even bothering to respond.

"I'm not like you, dressing up to show off every day."

"You!"

Lorraine was momentarily speechless, her face turning pale with anger. But then she seemed to think of something and smiled.

"All talk and no action. I heard you've been going on blind dates?"

"Let me guess, was your date a delivery guy or a courier? Or maybe a poor factory worker tightening screws?"

"A delivery guy earns so little per trip. Can he even afford to buy you expensive things? Hahaha..."

I blinked, feigning ignorance.

"I can buy whatever I want myself. Unlike you, who needs a man to buy things for her."

Lorraine always thought she was something special, which left me speechless. I didn't even want to talk to her anymore.

"Lorraine, Rhys must be out of his mind to treat someone like you, who disdains others, as a treasure."

"Those delivery and courier guys haven't done anything to you. Why do you disdain them? What makes you so great?"

"Haylee, you!" Lorraine was so angry her face turned pale, her hand shaking as she pointed at me.

I swatted her hand away. "Don't point at me. It's quite intimidating."

I waved my phone in front of her. "I've recorded everything you just said.

You're a famous celebrity. If your fans find out you bully delivery guys, won't your public persona be ruined?"

Seeing she couldn't win against me, Lorraine turned to Rhys for help, shaking his arm and using her usual coquettish tactics.

"Rhys, look how overboard Haylee is. I didn't say much, and she accused me of looking down on delivery guys and threatened me."

I noticed Rhys looking at me, but I ignored him.

He always acted so superior, thinking I'd cling to him like before.

Now that he was no longer my savior, I didn't want to look at him at all.

After a while, since I hadn't spoken to him, his expression turned sour.

He glared at me so fiercely I thought he might stand up for Lorraine. Instead, he suddenly asked, "Did you go on a blind date?"

I replied, "Huh? Yeah."

Rhys's face darkened further. "You actually dared to go on a blind date?"

I was confused. "Why wouldn't I dare? Besides, he's my boyfriend now."

Rhys glared at me, his eyes blazing with anger. "Haylee, you're something else. You're really something."

I smiled back. "Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Kirk."

I continued, "Oh, sorry to disappoint you all. My boyfriend isn't a delivery guy or a courier. He's Rhys's cousin."

"So, Rhys, you should call me sister-in-law."

"Calling me by my name directly seems a bit impolite, doesn't it?"

Rhys's face turned even darker.

Lorraine burst into laughter.

"Let me think, Rhys's cousin, isn't that Austin? Hahaha, Haylee, are you saying your boyfriend is that Oblary's young master, Austin?"

I nodded. "That's right, you guessed it."

Lorraine laughed so hard she cried, as if she'd heard the funniest joke.

"Rhys, look, has Haylee gone crazy wanting a man?"

"Everyone in Oblary knows Austin, the young master of the elite circle, is aloof and celibate, never involved in scandals. How could he possibly be interested in you? Haylee, what kind of fantasy are you having?"

I shrugged, not bothering to explain.

"Believe it or not."

I was about to leave, but Lorraine wouldn't let me go.

"Haylee, you just said your boyfriend is Oblary's young master. Do you have any proof?"

I answered honestly, "No proof at all."

Lorraine laughed, strutting like a peacock. "No proof, and you're just making things up? Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue?"

Unexpectedly, karma hit swiftly. While Lorraine was still gloating, Austin strode over to me.

Lorraine's smug expression froze instantly.

Austin suddenly took my arm, and Lorraine's eyes widened in shock, as if her eyeballs were about to pop out.

Austin, having been in the business world for years, exuded an aura that made people afraid to look at him.

In front of Lorraine and Rhys, they behaved like obedient little chicks.

Austin raised his voice, sounding fierce, "Did you bully my girlfriend while I was away?"

Lorraine, having been in the entertainment industry for a long time, quickly changed her demeanor, smiling at Austin. "No, no, we wouldn't dare."

I had heard before that Rhys disliked his cousin Austin the most because Austin was always better than him.

So when Rhys found out I was Austin's girlfriend, his face turned sour.

But he still forced himself to greet Austin, calling him "Cousin."

Austin nodded and introduced me to Rhys. "This is my girlfriend, your sister-in-law, Haylee."

Although Rhys was unhappy, he had no choice but to greet me politely. "Hello, sister-in-law." His voice sounded like his teeth were clashing.

I smiled back. "Hello, cousin."

Rhys's gaze could have devoured me.

But Austin, with his arm around my shoulder, looked at me with nothing but affection. "Let's go, to your favorite hot pot place."

And just like that, the drama ended.

Austin publicly announced our relationship, and the internet exploded. Within minutes, our story was trending.

There were all sorts of rumors about my relationship with Austin, with various versions flying around.

The buzz was like a rocket, shooting up and unstoppable.

Some enthusiastic netizens even dug up a three-year-old photo Austin posted on Twitter, comparing it to a photo of my back from last night. Surprisingly, they looked quite similar!

Then the online chatter began: "Could this girl be the one Austin has always held in his heart?"

"Oh my, how lucky is she to be with Oblary's young master! My heart is breaking, sob..."

Reading these comments, I couldn't help but wonder: Am I really the one Austin has always cared about?

I heard that on the day Austin and I went public, Rhys was so furious he smashed everything he could at home.

That day, Tony, Rhys's buddy, called me.

"SuSu, Rhys got into a fight and is all bruised up. He refuses to go to the hospital. You should come and talk to him."

"And while you were away, his stomach problems flared up again, and he even vomited blood. It was serious. You should come back."

At that time, I was comfortably lying on a beach, sunbathing, with Austin thoughtfully handing me fruit.