Chapter 1Three Kings on My Leash

The big three campus heartthrobs were currently putting a notorious "cheater" on blast on the student forum—a girl who had supposedly been two-timing all three of them simultaneously.

I was sitting in the dining hall, casually sipping my iced latte and enjoying the spectacle, when a stream of glowing, transparent bullet comments suddenly began floating right across my field of vision.

[The female lead is so delightfully real! Who else would think to steal her three childhood besties’ forum accounts just to prank her annoying roommate?]

[I mean, yeah, the roommate ends up getting expelled later when things blow out of proportion, but it’s not like Ivy did it on purpose!]

[Whatever, let Ivy baby have her fun for now! In a few weeks, when she realizes all three of her childhood friends fell in love with the roommate at first sight, she’s going to cry her eyes out.]

[Can you blame them? It’s a classic angst-fest novel. The guys are going to suffer so bad during the groveling arc later. At least the roommate didn't give them the time of day, so our girl’s men are still totally pure.]

The very "Ivy baby" those comments were crying over was currently standing right in front of me, thrusting her phone directly into my face.

"Shirley," Ivy sneered, her voice dripping with artificial outrage. "This shameless slut on the forum... it's you, isn't it?"

On her phone screen was a collage: three ridiculously handsome male faces surrounding a single, candid photo of a girl from behind.

I blinked, contemplating my options for a brief second.

I’d always considered myself a quiet, law-abiding student. But if three literal golden retrievers—or rather, three well-trained attack dogs—were walking right up to my porch, it would be a shame not to break out the leash.

* * *

Ivy had intentionally raised her voice.

It was peak lunch hour, and half the dining hall paused, their eyes swiveling toward our table.

Meeting Ivy’s malice-filled glare, I kept my expression entirely placid. "It’s a picture of the back of someone's head, Ivy. What on earth makes you so sure it's me?"

I paused, letting a cool smile touch my lips. "Unless, of course, your own conscience is dirty, and you're just trying to frame me first."

[Ivy is just young and mischievous, she doesn't actually mean any harm to her roommate!]

[Right? She only posted a blurry side-profile photo later on! If people recognized the roommate, it’s only because the girl dresses way too flashily.]

[Ivy was so heartbroken when the three male leads scolded her for this the first time... Poor baby.]

Ivy offered me a triumphant, nasty little grin. "Oh, so you think the back of your head isn't enough proof? Fine. I’ll just have the three of them post the slut’s full-face photo right now, and we'll see who the real shameless liar is!"

Sensing immediate drama, the surrounding crowd started hooting, chanting for her to do it.

Under the table, my hands clenched into tight fists.

A flash of annoyance washed over me. I shouldn't have let those stupid floating text boxes rile me up into calling Ivy out without a backup plan. If I stood up right now and accidentally "knocked" her phone out of her hand, would it look too deliberate?