Chapter 1The Live-Streamed Love Story: When the Tsundere Billionaire Stops Pretending

The day before I was set to study abroad, I went to say goodbye to my aloof childhood best friend.

His face remained entirely expressionless. He merely asked which university I was attending, then turned to leave.

I pressed my lips together and eventually hid the confession gift I had prepared behind my back.

Suddenly, lines of text began to float in the air right in front of me, like a live-stream comment section.

[Female Lead, hurry up and confess! He's absolutely crazy about you!]

[He's playing so hard to get. Pretending to be all cold and indifferent to her face, but secretly crying his eyes out at home all night.]

[Wait, wasn't it because the female lead was leaving him that the male lead snapped, followed her abroad, and then locked her up in a basement?]

[OMG! Are we jumping straight from pure romance to forced confinement?!]

* * *

Startled by the floating text, I instinctively called out his name: "Ethan, wait a second."

The figure walking away stopped. He slowly turned around and asked, "Is there something else?"

He looked completely indifferent.

On the continuously scrolling text above him, the word [Confess] kept appearing, making me dizzy with a sudden burst of courage.

I brought the gift hidden behind my back out to him. "Ethan, I like you. I have for a long time."

Ethan's expression froze, and the scrolling text halted as well.

"Your birthday was a few days ago, and I had this gift picked out ages ago, but..." My smile was tinged with bitterness. "If I don't give it to you now, I might never get another chance."

Ethan's face was hidden in the shadows, his expression unreadable.

I lowered my head, staring at the ground, feeling a burning heat spread across my ears.

On the ground, as if thawed, the comments started scrolling frantically again.

[Wait, did my internet lag? Did I miss a crucial plot point? Why does the female lead suddenly have a mouth and know how to use it?!]

[I'm just as confused. O_O]

[Something's wrong! Something's very wrong! Based on how hard the male lead simps for her, shouldn't he be thrilled she confessed? He should be announcing he's buying out the whole airport today! But look at his face...]

[To the person above, do you remember what happened on Ethan's birthday? The female lead ran off early with the second male lead!]

[Oh, I remember! The male lead wanted the female lead to blow out the candles with him, but he couldn't find her. He got so mad his heart condition almost flared up!]

His birthday!

Reminded by the comments, the memory suddenly clicked into place. That day, I had stuck close to Ethan, chatting and trying to make him smile. But he seemed completely distracted, like something very important was weighing heavily on his mind.

I got so mad that I deliberately dragged an upperclassman outside to get some fresh air. By the time I cooled down and went back inside, the private room was completely empty.

So, he had gone looking for me later.

[Actually, based on my years of reading web novels, Ethan was probably planning to confess that day, but the main character ran off with some random guy halfway through!]

[The commenter above is right. I saw Ethan secretly blowing up heart-shaped balloons. He blew up twenty of them all by himself, and stuffed a ring inside every single one.]

[Tsk, so pure and innocent!]

Rings? I snapped my head up, looking at Ethan.

He was staring at me expressionlessly.

After a long time, he let out a mocking chuckle. "You like me? How do you plan to prove it?

"Hmm? Chloe, how exactly do you plan to prove that you like me?"