Ethan Sutton had told Sylvia Lancaster to go out less. Plus, she had no desire to go out and face the nasty rumors, so Sylvia had been a good girl and stayed home for over a month.

She felt like she was going stir-crazy!

Finally, Ethan Sutton was leaving for a business trip. Seizing the opportunity, Sylvia secretly invited her good friends, Wendy Sheffield and Clara Hayes, over for a small get-together.

Clara Hayes was the first to arrive. The moment Sylvia saw her, she started tearfully complaining about all the grievances she had suffered lately.

After hearing her out, Clara said indignantly, "That Melody Summers is such a scheming bitch! She must have spread all these rumors herself!"

Just as they were talking, Wendy Sheffield arrived.

Wendy hadn’t come alone; a girl with delicate features followed behind her. Wendy smiled and introduced her to Clara and Sylvia. "This is my friend, Nina Walsh. Nina’s father works for the city’s police department, and her mother is the old chief’s only daughter."

Clara and Sylvia gave Nina a dismissive glance. Noticing her plain clothes, they offered only a slight nod before falling silent.

Wendy herself was just a hanger-on in their circle, and now she had brought another one. Clara and Sylvia had no interest in making small talk with someone who wasn’t part of their social class.

Nina’s expression grew awkward when she saw the two barely acknowledging her. Wendy, however, was unfazed; she never let such trivialities bother her.

’In Wendy’s view, you should do everything you can to cling to useful people. As for embarrassment? She didn’t think she had much of an audience.’

Nina’s father, Caleb Summers, was a trusted subordinate of Wendy’s father. Furthermore, Wendy’s grandfather and Nina’s maternal grandfather were old acquaintances.

Nina was currently dating Wendy’s brother, Winston Sheffield. She was very good at winning over the Sheffields, so the family largely approved of her. Wendy was also rather pleased with Nina, which was why she wanted to introduce her to her social circle.

Clara turned back to Sylvia. "Sylvia, Melody Summers is only bullying you because she knows you’re too nice. We have to find a way to teach her a lesson!"

"Melody Summers?!" Nina Walsh blurted out in surprise.

Everyone looked at Nina in confusion. Seeing her shocked expression, Clara raised an eyebrow. "What? You know her?"

"I... I have a cousin named Melody Summers, too." Seeing everyone staring at her, Nina added nervously, "She’s my mother’s older sister’s daughter. But it must just be a coincidence—the same name."

’In Nina’s eyes, Melody was just an ordinary person. How could she possibly have any connection to this group of high-society young women?’

Hearing this, Sylvia immediately grabbed her phone, pulled up a photo, and showed it to Nina. "Is this her?"

Nina froze when she saw the photo. It really was the Melody Summers she knew. Confused, she nonetheless gave a small nod. "Yes, that’s her."

At that, Clara’s eyes glinted. "Then do you know where she lives?"

"I do." Nina nodded. "She lives in one of the villas at The Metropolis Residences. My parents and I even visited her family there."

The corner of Clara’s mouth curved into an unreadable smile. She slowly leaned in toward Nina. "So, can you figure out a way to get her to come out?"

Looking at Clara standing before her, staring directly at her, Nina felt a strange knot of nervousness in her stomach. She stammered, "I—I don’t know her that well. Besides, we got into an argument last time, and she even hit my dad. If I ask her to meet, she probably won’t show up."

Clara chuckled softly. "Don’t worry. I’ll tell you what to do."

With that, Clara grabbed Nina’s wrist, her voice taking on a seductive tone. "Just do as I say and get her to meet you, and I’ll give you the latest handbag from Levalier."

A jolt of alarm went through Nina. Clara’s hand on her wrist felt like a cold snake, but she didn’t dare pull away. All she could do was nod numbly.

A triumphant smile spread across Clara’s face. She released Nina and turned to Sylvia. "Sylvia, don’t you worry. I’ll make sure you get your revenge this time!"

Sylvia, however, seemed hesitant. "Claire, let’s not blow this out of proportion. I’m afraid it’ll be hard to explain to my parents if they find out..."

Lately, because the Sutton Group had refused to invest in the Lancaster Group, Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes were deeply disappointed in Sylvia. She didn’t want to cause them any more trouble at a time like this.

"Relax," Clara said confidently. "I’ll have someone do it on the sly. And... I guarantee that bitch won’t dare to say a thing!"

*

Melody and Albus were in the Arcadian Space, sprinting through the final ten percent of their one-hundred-million-point goal, when a message suddenly popped up on her phone. Melody picked it up. The sender, surprisingly, was Nina Walsh.

Melody was completely baffled. She opened it.

"Cousin, what happened before was my fault. I’m so sorry, and I hope you can forgive me. I’m in a real bind right now and I need to ask you for a favor. Can you meet me at this location tonight at 7 PM? It’s something really important, and I really need your help. I won’t leave until you get here. I’m begging you, please come."

Melody frowned slightly. ’Cousin?’

Melody said, puzzled, "Nina’s always been so stuck-up. She’s never called me ’cousin’ in her life. Something’s definitely fishy." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

After a moment’s thought, Melody dug out the smoke bombs and crossbow she’d bought a few days earlier. She was going to see what kind of trouble Nina was stirring up.

Albus asked, puzzled:

*You know something’s wrong, yet you’re still going?*

Melody smiled. "I have to go see. Nina knows my address. If I don’t go, I’m afraid she’ll just show up at my door and stir up trouble."

Albus thought for a moment, then added:

*Host, if you’re really in danger, remember to pull your enemies into the space. Remember what I told you before? The Space System is bound to its owner.*

*If anyone enters the space without permission, their souls will be instantly obliterated by its defense mechanism.*

*Of course, to prevent friendly fire, you have to physically touch someone to pull them into the space.*

Melody couldn’t help but laugh. "It won’t come to that, White. Nina doesn’t deserve to die for this."

「That evening」

Melody told her family she had to pop out for a bit, then left with Albus for the meeting.

Melody had no idea what Nina was plotting, and she didn’t want to leave any tracks. Fortunately, the Arcadian Space had a teleportation range of over ten meters, so she avoided all the surveillance cameras along the way by ducking into the space.

Around 7 PM, Melody arrived at the location Nina had sent in the message. It turned out to be a small alley with no security cameras.

Melody stood at the mouth of the alley, looking around. There was no sign of Nina. She frowned. ’Did Nina really lure me out here just to play a prank on me?’

Just then, three figures emerged from the other end of the alley. The leader was a baby-faced young man of about eighteen or nineteen, flanked by two beefy, fierce-looking thugs.

This baby-faced young man was none other than Hugh Hayes. He smiled faintly at Melody. "I was wondering what idiot had the nerve to mess with my sister. I never thought it’d be you. Long time no see, you little slut."

The relationship between the siblings, Clara and Hugh Hayes, was quite good. That morning, Clara had told Hugh some bitch had bullied her and asked him to arrange for someone to teach her a lesson. Hugh agreed without a second thought. For them, this sort of thing was routine.

Clara then showed Hugh a photo of Melody. Hugh instantly recognized her as the woman who had snubbed him at a party. As it happened, his good friend Silas Lancaster also hated her. Hugh had grinned. This was perfect. He decided he would settle the score for all three of them today.

Recognizing her ambusher, Melody’s expression hardened.

"What do you want?" Melody asked, taking two steps back.

"Last time, I wanted to get to know you, but you weren’t interested. Since you don’t want to get to know me, I’ll just have to introduce you to a couple of other guys." Hugh smiled with faux innocence, gesturing with a finger toward the two thugs behind him. "Why don’t you let them play a little game with you?"

Melody’s brow furrowed at his words. "And Nina? What did you do to her?"

Hugh burst out laughing. "You’ve still got the energy to worry about someone else? Looks like you’re not just a slut, you’re an idiot. You’re actually worried about the person who sold you out."

Melody stared silently at Hugh, not saying a word. ’So Nina isn’t around,’ she thought. ’It’s just the three of them. And there are no cameras in this alley. Plus, I made sure to avoid all the cameras on my way here...’

Melody mentally reviewed the situation, realizing this was a rare opportunity. At the thought, her heart began to pound like a drum, her hands trembling with excitement.

Seeing Melody’s trembling hands, Hugh assumed she was terrified and let out a sneer. ’These sluts are all the same,’ he thought. ’No matter how high and mighty they act, one little scare and their cowardly true colors come right out.’

Hugh’s smile slowly faded. He snorted with contempt, his face hardening as he spoke to Melody. "You brought this on yourself. It’s your own damn fault for not knowing your place, you slut!"