Melody Summers felt her skin crawl under his greasy stare. A wave of disgust washed over her, and she frowned, about to snap back at him.

But just as she was about to speak, the woman in stockings standing to the side walked over.

She reached out, intimately linking her arm with Ivan Warren’s and pressing herself against him, looking as if she wanted to melt into his body.

Then, she glanced at Melody Summers and spoke in a strangely arrogant tone, "Long time no see. I didn’t expect to run into you here, what a coincidence... You should still remember me, right? I’m Maisie Lynch."

Seeing this, Ivan Warren suddenly slapped his forehead and said with a laugh, "Look at my memory! I almost forgot, you two were roommates back then! Haha!"

Hearing the familiar name, Melody Summers remained expressionless, silently cursing her rotten luck.

’To think I’d be so unlucky today as to run into Ivan Warren and Maisie Lynch here.’

Maisie Lynch had been Melody Summers’s university roommate. Like Melody, she came from a rural area and a modest background. Through sheer hard work and grueling study, she had managed to get into a Top 2 university.

Because of their similar origins, when university first started, Maisie naturally gravitated toward Melody over their other roommates from well-off city families.

Whether it was for meals or classes, Maisie always liked to ask Melody to go with her. Over time, Melody came to consider her a friend.

Later, Austin Hale fell for Melody Summers at first sight and began to pursue her relentlessly.

To win Melody over, Austin also tried to curry favor with her roommates, including Maisie. He often brought along his own roommate and friend, Ivan Warren, to treat Melody’s roommates to dinner.

That was when Maisie Lynch met Ivan Warren.

Ivan felt that compared to girls from the city, a girl like Maisie from a poor background was more gentle, virtuous, docile, and pure, and also better at taking care of people. So, he began to pursue her, hoping she would be his girlfriend.

Although Ivan Warren wasn’t as handsome as Austin Hale, nor did his family have as much money, his family still owned a car and an apartment in the city. He was far wealthier than Maisie, who came from the countryside.

Maisie felt that, for her, Ivan was already a very good option.

So, when Austin Hale and Melody Summers started dating, Maisie and Ivan Warren also became a couple.

But what no one expected was that before long, Maisie got pregnant!

Ivan Warren told Maisie to drop out of university, rest, and have the baby.

Torn between the university she had worked so hard to get into and her relationship with Ivan, Maisie hesitated and asked Melody Summers for her opinion.

Melody Summers was stunned when she heard the news.

’She couldn’t believe Maisie was pregnant at a time like this!’

Melody advised Maisie to think it through carefully. After all, it wasn’t easy to get from a rural village into one of the country’s Top 2 universities. It was a top institution that students nationwide dreamed of attending. Melody hoped Maisie wouldn’t so easily throw away her future or do something foolish.

Maisie told Ivan Warren what Melody had said, and he was furious when he heard it.

Ivan told Maisie not to listen to Melody’s nonsense, claiming that Melody was just jealous of her!

Coincidentally, two days later, Melody caught Austin Hale and Joanne White in a compromising situation, so she broke up with Austin.

After learning that Melody and Austin had broken up, Maisie thought back on Melody’s advice and came to believe that Melody really was jealous of her.

’Melody got dumped by Austin, so now she doesn’t want me to have a happy ending either!’

Persuaded by Ivan Warren, Maisie ultimately chose to go through the procedures to withdraw from the university and go home to prepare for childbirth.

At the time, Melody just thought Maisie was out of her mind to actually give up her education and future for the sake of having a baby.

Melody had genuinely considered Maisie a friend, so she sent several more messages trying to convince her not to give up her studies. But Maisie never replied, as if she hadn’t seen them at all.

Later still, Joanne White, playing the victim like a thief crying "stop thief!", posted online, slandering Melody Summers and claiming she was the "other woman" who had interfered in her relationship with Austin Hale.

Ivan Warren naturally supported his good friend Austin Hale. He also stepped forward, insisting that Melody was the other woman and declaring that Joanne White was his one and only "sister-in-law."

And Maisie, for reasons unknown, also came out in support of Joanne White.

It was because of these people that netizens almost unanimously believed Joanne, subjecting Melody Summers to a vicious campaign of cyberbullying...

...

Melody Summers’s thoughts returned to the present. Looking at Ivan Warren and Maisie Lynch standing before her, she found it impossible to put on a pleasant face.

So Melody replied coolly, "I remember. But I wouldn’t really call us roommates, considering your wife dropped out so early."

Hearing the two words "dropped out," an embarrassed look flashed across Maisie’s face. She could no longer maintain her arrogant facade and glared at Melody with annoyance.

Ivan Warren noticed the hostility in Melody’s eyes and tried to laugh it off. "Hey now, beautiful, you’re not still mad about all that, are you? No need for that, haha. What happened in the past, let’s just let it go! We were all just kids back then, too young, bound to make mistakes."

Melody couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

’Let it go?’

’They say let it go, and I’m supposed to just let it go?’

’Easy for them to say. They weren’t the ones who got cyberbullied!’

’The shamelessness of these perpetrators!’

As if he hadn’t seen Melody’s cold laugh, Ivan Warren shamelessly continued, "By the way, do you live here too? In that case, we’ll be neighbors! If you need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to come find me!"

The moment Ivan’s words fell, Maisie froze for a second.

She looked up at Ivan with an aggrieved expression and called out softly, "Ivan..."

But Ivan Warren paid Maisie no mind, his eyes fixed on Melody Summers with an eager gaze.

Meeting Ivan’s gaze, Melody’s brows furrowed in disgust.

She replied icily, "No need. Stay away from me, and maybe you should manage your own wife and child!"

Then she turned around and left, heading straight back to 1606.

Watching Melody Summers walk through the door to 1606, Maisie was a little surprised.

She hadn’t expected Melody to be living in 1606...

You have to understand, 1606 and 1605 were the large units!

Whereas 1601, 1602, 1603, and 1604 were all small units.

Maisie knew that her and Ivan’s apartment, 1602, was only half the size of 1606!

Seeing Melody living twice as well as her, Maisie muttered resentfully, "Sh-she must be renting... Right, she’s renting... We bought our place..."

Maisie had always believed that by giving up her studies and choosing Ivan Warren, she would definitely have a better life than Melody Summers.

After all, in her view, no matter how hard a woman worked, she could never be as successful as a man.

That was just how society was. All the resources were skewed toward men, and most professions prioritized men.

Under these rules, a woman relying on her own efforts was far inferior to a woman relying on a man.

With this mentality, Maisie had given up her spot at a Top 2 university to be with Ivan Warren.

And reality had seemed to confirm her beliefs.

After the Cataclysm, the unemployment rate reached an unprecedented level, yet Ivan Warren had managed to find a respectable job and buy an apartment in a first-tier city like Anworth on his own merits.

Maisie had always felt her choice was the right one!

Now, being told that Melody Summers was doing better than her, living in a bigger apartment than hers—how could she possibly accept that!