Bonnie lifted her chin. "I don't care if she's your employee. The one I don't want to see is you."
"Oh? And why's that?"
"Tell me, what woman wouldn't feel disgusted running into her ex?"
"…"
Derek replied calmly, "Then I don't mind becoming your current boyfriend."
Bonnie: "??? Are you dreaming? That's never going to happen!"
Derek chuckled softly, voice low and deep. "I'm making dinner. Come help me in the kitchen."
"I'd rather not!"
He didn't insist.
Bonnie stayed sulking in her room for a while, then suddenly realized something was off.
She rushed downstairs. "??? Derek Lee, give me back my bankbook!"
…
Downstairs, Derek had his sleeves rolled up as he chopped vegetables.
From afar, he looked refined and elegant, every movement exuding grace.
But…
Bonnie held out her hand. "Give me back the bankbook."
He didn't even look up. "Take it yourself."
She knew he'd stuffed it in his pocket. She held back, but her face still flushed red with anger. "Derek Lee, have you no shame?"
Derek: "?"
He arched an eyebrow. "Fine, then don't take it."
"…" Bonnie walked over, ready to reach into his pocket. His tone was lazy. "Don't go groping around now."
"Derek Lee, could you please act like a decent human being?"
His only response was a pleased chuckle.
…
Cathy had been doing quite well lately.
That dazzling livestream appearance gave her a surge of popularity. "Dimple Girl" became her new nickname, her fanbase steadily growing. A promising IP project even reached out to her, and she couldn't stop smiling.
That evening, Bonnie had made dinner plans with June and picked up Cathy on the way.
Cathy ran her fingers across the dashboard of Bonnie's car, swallowing hard. "Did you get a new car?"
Bonnie kept her eyes on the road and replied casually, "It's someone else's."
"Whose?"
"My damn ex."
Cathy: "…" These two definitely still had something going on.
She turned to June and grinned. "You must be June, right? You're so cool totally my idol!"
June laughed. "You're too kind. I'm no idol."
"You kicked a scumbag and shredded a fake friend that definitely makes you my idol! By the way, has Matt been bothering you lately?"
Bonnie couldn't help but sigh at Cathy's bluntness and shot June an apologetic glance.
June didn't mind at all. She said openly, "He comes by every day. I just ignore him."
"What's his deal with Mandy?"
"He says they never slept together, but honestly, whether they did or not makes no difference. He still cheated."
"Ugh, disgusting!"
"Exactly. Disgusting."
Bonnie listened to them go back and forth and could only shake her head helplessly.
While the three women happily headed off for dinner, meanwhile, online chatter had turned to Cathy's outfit.
A user posted on X:
Oh my god, that dimple girl who went viral a few days ago was wearing knockoffs… I'm devastated…
The replies rolled in:
[????]
[No way…]
[…Knew there'd be a twist.]
[She just got popular and already a scandal, lol.]
[You got proof? Don't make baseless claims.]
The poster replied to the last comment: Don't need proof. If what she's wearing is real, do you even know how much it costs?
The post quickly went viral, gaining over two thousand comments in less than half an hour.
Top comment: Just looked up the prices. That's it for me. Dimple girl is cancelled. Peace out.
[I looked up the price and I'm speechless. How did she even dare to wear that...?]
[She must be out of her mind. Does she really think netizens are that gullible?]
[Say no more. The fashion industry will blacklist her. She's not even famous yet and already ruined herself. Can't wait to see how she handles the PR.]
[Hahaha. Major crash for Dimples Girl!]
[Knew it. She was never going to stay popular for long. Honestly, she's not even that pretty.]
[Not pretty +1]
...
Cathy made it to the trending list for wearing fake designer items. By the time Bonnie and the others finished dinner, the negative hashtag had already climbed into the top ten.
Sitting in the car, Cathy habitually pulled out her phone to check X. Lately, she'd developed the habit of scrolling through compliments from fans whenever she had a moment. It always boosted her mood. But this time, the moment she opened her DMs, she was met with a storm of hate.
She froze.
[How does fake designer stuff feel? Aren't you ashamed?]
[Playing "Let It Go" for you right now.]
[I'm embarrassed for you. I became your fan with such high hopes. Was this vanity really necessary? If you can't afford haute couture, just wear an affordable gown. This is disgusting.]
[Unfollowed. Bye. I can't stand people like you.]
...
Bonnie noticed Cathy's pale expression in the rearview mirror and asked, "What's wrong? What did you see?"
June leaned over for a glance and her face instantly darkened.
Having spent years around Matt, she knew fake fashion scandals were one of the biggest taboos for female celebrities.
Cathy took a deep breath, exited the DMs, and clicked on the trending page. Right at the top was the original post accusing her of wearing knock-offs.
The user who posted it had gained attention and quickly doubled down. Listing the supposed prices of Cathy's dress and jewelry and even posting screenshots from the live stream, captioned: "Gotta say, it's a pretty good dupe. Just enjoying the drama."
Cathy was trembling with rage at first, but when she saw the price tags attached to the pieces. Her vision almost went black.
Up front, unaware of the situation, Bonnie asked, "What's going on? What happened?"
Cathy: "..."
She tossed her phone at Bonnie and slumped back into her seat, defeated.
After scanning through it, Bonnie couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously, why don't they just assume you're being kept by sugar daddy? Why jump straight to fakes?"
Cathy rolled her eyes. "Excuse me, what kind of sugar daddy casually gives their side piece a million-dollar gown? And don't even get me started on your high-end jewelry, daddy Bonnie!"
No wonder netizens were saying she was too bold. Honestly, her own first instinct would've been that it was fake too.
Bonnie chuckled, set the phone aside, and focused on driving. "Just wait. Daddy Bonnie is going to smack them all in the face real soon."
Meanwhile, the online frenzy kept growing.
[They've got no proof. Who says she wore fakes? Y'all just sound jealous.]
[Exactly. The outfit in the stream looks identical to the official product photos. Stop accusing her without reason.]
[What kind of middle-schooler are you, seriously? Stop watching the news and go do your homework. "Earned it herself"? You tell me how a low celeb made that kind of money.]
[Do Dimples Girl's fans even realize what kind of status she'd need to wear that whole outfit if it's real? Even someone like Daisy Baker once tried to borrow a gown from that brand for a magazine shoot and got rejected. You're telling me Dimples Girl is more influential than Daisy?]
[Hey, why are you dragging Daisy into this? Did she pay for a promo slot?]
[Since you brought up Daisy, let's plug her new movie while we're at it. "Her Silent World" hits theaters August 17. Don't miss it!]
Daisy Baker was currently one of the hottest stars in the industry. Hearing that even she couldn't secure that dress made the few remaining fans who still believed Cathy go completely silent.