He's My Uncle, Not My Sugar Daddy

School's varsity football star Liam Davis was away for an away game on his very first day when Chloe Bennett, the school's IT girl and cheer captain, barged into his apartment with a group of her girls. And there I was, lounging on his couch in my pajamas, looking like a total couch potato. Chloe instantly lost her mind and posted my photos directly onto the campus forum. "Aria Vance is not only hooking up with my boyfriend, but she's also a total gold digger!" "Look, everyone. Here's the proof." Along with the post, she attached screenshots of my SnapChat history with Liam: 【My birthday is next month. What are you getting me?】 【Don't even think about cheaping out on me!】 【Otherwise, I'll leak your private photos to your fangirls!】 Overnight, I became the most hated gold digger on campus. I let out a helpless sigh. Sure, Liam was only three years older than me, but he was my maternal uncle! On top of that, I had never even heard of him having a girlfriend. How on earth did Chloe become his girlfriend? Liam never allowed me to call him "uncle" at school. "I'm only three years older than you. If you call me uncle, how am I supposed to explain that to my friends?" He had turned on his heel to leave. I yelled after him. "Then aren't you going to pay me some hush money? I need to buy paint and canvases." Without even looking back, he tossed a debit card at me. "Let me know when it's empty." Since then, we acted like casual acquaintances at school. He was the quarterback and captain of the varsity football team, the dream guy of every girl on campus. I was just a freshman art major, practically living in the studio. That was until Chloe Bennett, the head cheerleader, fell hard for Liam. She immediately painted a target on my back. Somehow, she got her hands on my SnapChat history with Liam. She found out he transferred money to me every month, and that I frequented his apartment. And with that, she completely snapped. She personally led her squad of cheerleaders to raid Liam's dorm to catch me in the act. Once the scandal blew up on the campus forum, Mrs. Gable, my academic advisor, called me into her office. Mrs. Gable sat behind her desk, looking like she had just swallowed a whole box of chalk. "Aria, care to explain these chat logs?" I said, "That's just a normal conversation between me and my family." "Family?" Mrs. Gable frowned. "Liam Davis's emergency contact files don't list you." "He's my..." But before I could explain, Mrs. Gable cut me off. "Are you about to tell me he's your boyfriend?" I didn't realize Chloe had slipped into the office too. She sat down, her eyes rimmed with red. "Mrs. Gable, a gold digger like her doesn't deserve to study at our university. She definitely doesn't deserve the President's Scholarship." "We tried to warn her, but she wouldn't listen." Mrs. Gable looked at her, then back at me. "Aria, Chloe is the cheer captain. She has no reason to make things up to frame you." "Go back and write a formal statement explaining this." "Your scholarship is frozen until further notice." I walked out of the office, and my phone was already blowing up. The top post on the campus forum read: 【Shocking! Honors student exposed as a gold digger harassing football star. Chat logs inside!】 The top-voted comment was: 【No wonder she can afford those expensive designer bags. So that's how she gets her money.】 I sent Liam a SnapChat. 【Liam, we have a situation. One of your fangirls put our chat logs on blast for the whole school.】 The message sent, only to bounce back with a red exclamation mark. His phone had been confiscated for game week. He was currently completely off the grid. My uncle was missing in action. His niece was facing social execution. Our family was falling apart.The next morning, an A4 paper was taped to my dorm door. 【Stay away from Liam. Stop embarrassing the Art Department.】 It was signed: "All Girls of the Art Department." I ripped the paper off and flipped it over. The back was completely blank. Perfect for sketching. During the morning lecture, I sat in the very last row of the lecture hall. The students in front of me collectively moved up three rows. As if I were radioactive. Chloe's sidekick, Mia Harper, went out of her way to walk over and slam a cup of boba tea on my desk. "Chloe bought this for you." "No, thanks." "She also said," Mia lowered her voice. "If you post an apology on the campus forum today, she'll help you squash the drama." "Apologize for what?" "Admitting that your behavior toward Liam was inappropriate." "It's normal socializing. What's inappropriate about it?" Mia sighed. "Those chat logs are out there for the whole school to see." "No one is going to believe anything you say now." "You might as well swallow your pride." I pushed the boba tea back. "I can swallow my pride." "But give me back my Outstanding Student Award nomination first." Mia picked up the boba tea and walked away. At lunchtime, I went to the cafeteria, but the card reader chimed: "Insufficient Funds." Liam's debit card had been handed over to the Student Council by Chloe as "evidence." And on my personal card, I only had forty-seven dollars left. There were nineteen days left in the month. Which meant my daily budget was about two dollars and fifty cents. I took a bowl of plain white rice and sat in a quiet corner. My roommate, Olivia Reed, slid half of her plate over to me. She thought I was completely broke and couldn't afford food. Well, she wasn't wrong. "Eat some of mine." "No, I'm on a diet." "You're barely ninety pounds. What diet?" "Fasting so the wind can blow me away, far from this school." In the afternoon, I went to the Student Council office to get my card back. Chloe was organizing some files. She looked up and saw me, her face completely expressionless. "I can't give you the card yet." "That's my grocery money." "This card is registered under Liam Davis's name." She held the card up. "Until we get confirmation from him personally, we cannot hand it over to you." "You don't have the authority to hold it either." Chloe slid the card into her drawer. "This is to protect Liam's financial security." "What if you really are blackmailing him?" She said it in a flat tone, as if she were reading from a textbook. As if she were the victim here. And I was some dangerous criminal she needed to guard against. I reached out to pull the drawer open. Chloe slammed her hand down on mine. "Aria, are you trying to rob me now?" "There are three Student Council officers right outside the door." "Make a move, and you'll get suspended tomorrow." I pulled my hand back. Her nails had scratched a red mark onto the back of my hand. "Liam will be back from his game the day after tomorrow." "You can confront him then." "If he confirms this card was indeed given to you, I'll hand it over without another word." She opened the door with a sweet smile. "But if he doesn't..." "I will personally recommend that all your academic honors for this semester be revoked." Walking out of the Student Council office, I stood in the hallway, staring at the red scratch on my hand. When she grabbed me, the three officers outside saw everything. Not a single one of them thought anything was wrong. After all, in their eyes, I was a gold digger. Restraining a gold digger was just "justice" to them. I scrolled through my contacts. My parents were on a business trip abroad with a twelve-hour time difference. My grandmother didn't know how to use a smartphone. And Liam was still off the grid. Another new post popped up on the forum. 【Deep Dive into Gold Digger Aria: Using a Senior's Card for Luxury Goods Since Freshman Year, Spotted Sneaking into His Apartment regularly.】 The attached photo showed me last weekend wearing a coat Liam didn't want, walking out of his apartment building. The angle was tricky, the lighting dim. It really made me look like a gold-digging girl sneaking out of a high-end apartment in the middle of the night. The latest comment read: 【If the school doesn't expel her, what has our campus culture come to?】 I turned off my phone. Just last month, Grams called Liam and told him to take good care of me. He had agreed so enthusiastically. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll raise her like my own daughter." Well, your "daughter" can't even afford lunch right now, her card is locked up, and her reputation is in tatters. Liam, you sure did a stellar job taking care of me.The third day was Friday. Every Friday noon, the school held a "Student Voice" open-mic event in the central plaza where anyone could speak. I had planned to use this opportunity to clear my name. But when I arrived at my classroom in the morning, a letter was waiting on my desk. A formal document stamped by the department. 【Notice of Suspension of Aria Vance's Academic Honors Eligibility for the Semester.】 Reason: Severe moral controversy. Based on the Student Council's report, all honors eligibility is suspended. The date on the document was yesterday. Chloe worked faster than UberEats. From report to punishment, it took less than twenty-four hours. I took the document straight to Mrs. Gable's office. Mrs. Gable was eating a bagel. "Aria, this has blown up way too much." "The department is just trying to manage public relations." "Once Liam gets back and clears things up, I'll help you reinstate it." "He doesn't get back until tomorrow, but I'm already being punished today." "The protocol is fine." "Does the protocol give the Student Council the right to confiscate my debit card?" Mrs. Gable's hand froze mid-bite. "Well... you should negotiate that with the Student Council first." In the face of public opinion, protocol is like play-dough. Whoever screams loudest gets to shape it. At noon, I went to the plaza to sign up. But Chloe had already messed with the "Student Voice" sign-up sheet. My name had been crossed out. A note was scribbled next to it: *Student currently under moral controversy. Unfit for public speaking.* I stood at the edge of the plaza, watching Chloe deliver a speech on the stage. "We must have the courage to say no to inappropriate harassment." "Everyone has the right to refuse being harassed." Thunderous applause erupted from the crowd. A few people glanced over at me and began whispering. Chloe noticed me. She smiled gently into the microphone. "Of course, we must also give students who make mistakes a chance to correct themselves." "I hope certain individuals will truly reflect on their actions." Her gaze locked right onto me. Two thousand eyes followed her gaze. Standing under the bright sun, I felt like I was standing on an execution block. Olivia tugged at my sleeve, trying to pull me away. "Let's go. She's doing this on purpose." I pulled my arm back. "Take a picture for me." "Of what?" "The sign-up sheet on the plaza. The one where my name is crossed out." Olivia snapped the photo and sent it to me. I saved the photo and headed straight to the Registrar's Office. The administrative officer there told me that revoking honors eligibility required a formal board meeting. And no such meeting had occurred yesterday. In other words, that official-looking document was processed illegally. But the officer added: "The department said they will hold a retrospective meeting on Monday to finalize the decision." "The meeting is on Monday, but the document was issued yesterday?" "Notify first, finalize the paperwork later. It's a special circumstance." Special circumstance. Translation: We'll punish you first and make up the paperwork later. As I walked out of the administration building, Mia blocked my path again. She handed me a printed apology statement. "Chloe said if you post this on the forum today, she'll get the department to withdraw the punishment." I took it and skimmed through it. An eight-hundred-word essay. The key paragraph read: "I admit that I have been inappropriately harassing Senior Liam Davis for a long time, causing severe distress to his academic and personal life." "I have deeply realized the error of my ways." I folded the paper and slipped it into my pocket. Mia let out a sigh of relief. "So, you're posting it tonight?" "No." "Then why did you take it?" "To keep as a souvenir." "Chloe had someone stay up all night writing this..." "The writing is actually quite good." I paused. "But I won't sign my name to something I didn't do. Not a single word." Mia's face soured. She whipped out her phone and sent a text. Ten seconds later, Chloe's reply flashed on the screen. I saw it clear as day. 【Then don't blame me. When Liam gets back tomorrow, I'll have him tell the whole school himself that he doesn't even know her.】 I stared at the text for three seconds. Doesn't know me? If he actually dares to say he doesn't know me tomorrow, I'll call Grams right in front of him. Let's see if he faces social death first, or get a beating from Grams' wooden spoon first.Saturday, 2:00 PM. The varsity football team's bus pulled up on campus. The news traveled faster than the school's Wi-Fi. Within ten minutes, over two hundred people had gathered in the plaza. Chloe wore a white sundress, holding a bouquet of flowers, standing right at the front of the crowd. Behind her, the Student Council had hung a massive banner. 【Welcome Back, Varsity Football Champions!】 They really rolled out the red carpet. I stood on the steps at the outer edge of the plaza. People were taking photos of me. Some were live-streaming. The chat comments probably read: *The gold digger is here.* Liam was the third one to step off the bus. He carried his duffel bag, his jersey sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Chloe immediately rushed forward. "Liam! Congratulations on the win!" She handed him the flowers and naturally stepped in close to his side. "While you were away, a few things happened on campus." "But don't worry, I took care of everything for you." She pulled out her phone and pulled up the forum posts for him. "A freshman girl has been using your debit card." "She's been telling everyone that you two have a... special relationship." "All the chat logs were exposed." She scrolled down. "Look. She asked you for five thousand dollars, and even threatened to sleep at your apartment and ruin your reputation if you didn't pay up." "I confiscated the card for you, and the department suspended her honors eligibility." "You don't have to worry, Liam. She won't be harassing you anymore." Chloe took a deep breath, looking up at him with wide, sincere eyes. "Liam, why don't we use this opportunity to clear things up? It'll save your reputation from being ruined by her." The plaza fell dead silent. Everyone stared at Liam. He lifted his head, his gaze bypassing Chloe entirely, looking straight toward the edge of the crowd. Looking straight at me. Across the crowd of two hundred people, our eyes locked. His expression shifted from calm to utter confusion. Then his gaze flicked downward, landing on the scabbed red scratch on the back of my hand. He took in my pale lips and how much weight I'd lost in just three days. His eyes grew incredibly dark. So dark that it turned into an expression I knew all too well. The last time he made that face, Grams had found out he was secretly raising a stray kitten and chased him down three blocks with a wooden spoon. Someone was about to get destroyed. Chloe followed his gaze, saw me, and her lips curled into a smug smile. She grabbed Liam's arm, facing the crowd, her voice sweet and ringing clear. "Liam, just tell her in front of everyone." "What exactly is your relationship?" Instantly, every phone in the plaza was raised. Two hundred cameras pointed at me. The live stream view count spiked past five thousand. Liam stuffed the flowers into his teammate's arms. He pushed through the crowd, walking straight toward me. Chloe followed closely behind, raising her voice. "Liam, you don't have to be polite." "She's been harassing you for so long. Everyone deserves to know the truth." Liam stopped right in front of me. He grabbed my hand, turning it over to look at the red scratch. "Who did this?" Standing behind him, Chloe was thrilled. She thought Liam was going to hold me accountable, so she eagerly stepped up to take credit. "You don't have to worry about it, Liam. It's my duty to keep our campus clean. Besides, she was harassing *you*..." Before she could finish, her face flushed red to her ears, and she bashfully lowered her head. The entire plaza leaned in, ears perked. Liam let go of my hand and slowly spun around to face Chloe. His expression was as cold as a December wind. "You said she was harassing me?" Chloe nodded vigorously. Liam looked around at the massive crowd and the sea of recording phones. Then, he spoke, his voice completely flat. "Aria Vance... is my biological niece. The money on that card... I practically had to beg her to spend. Who the hell do you think you are, trying to manage my family's finances?"