My First Love Tossed Me into a Happy Ending

After the college entrance exam results are released, my childhood best friend, Lucille Kirk, and I celebrate with our families at a five-star hotel. Over dinner, our parents talk about how nice it would be if we applied to the same university. That way, we can continue looking out for each other, just as we have while growing up. I glance across the table at Lucille and ask politely, "Lucille, which university are you planning to apply to?" The moment the words leave my mouth, a flood of comments suddenly flashes before my eyes. "Oh, here we go again. I bet this pathetic second male lead is planning to follow the female lead to the same university." "I feel so bad for the female lead. She's had to put up with this guy clinging to her for three whole years just to keep the peace between their families." "Don't worry. The female lead has already agreed to attend Aurelia University with the male lead, Sawyer Spencer. She's definitely going to name some school on the other side of the country just to get this guy off her back. I can't wait to see his face when she does!" Lucille stares at me, her brows furrowed. Then she lets out a cold, dismissive laugh. "Clement Carnegie, where I go has nothing to do with you. I'm applying to South Coast University, all the way across the country. That place isn't suitable for you." I meet her gaze and nod, as if I couldn't care less. Then I turn to the girl standing quietly in the corner of the private dining room, silently holding the Kirk family's coats and car keys. "Mabel, which university do you want to apply to?" I ask. "I want to go to the same one as you." The sneer on Lucille's face instantly freezes. Both our families stare at us in shock. None of them knows that the timid girl with the cheap hearing aid—the one Lucille constantly calls "dummy"—is actually the long-lost daughter of Aurelia's wealthiest family. They have been searching for her for 18 years. And all these years, the reason I keep showing up at the Kirk Manor has never been because I'm chasing Lucille. I only go there so I can see that "dummy" a little more often. Chapter 1 Lucille Kirk let out a scornful laugh. "Clement, what kind of stunt are you trying to pull this time?" She gave Mabel a dismissive glance. "What? Are you really so desperate to play hard to get that you're using a girl with a hearing impairment as a prop just to get under my skin?" My father's expression darkened as he turned to me. "Clement, don't say things you don't mean just because you're upset," he said in a low voice. "Be the bigger person." My mother quickly rose to her feet and forced a smile at Lucille's parents. "The kids just had a little disagreement," she said. "Clement is only acting out because he's upset. Lucille, please don't hold it against him. We'll talk some sense into him when we get home." Lucille's mother, Melissa Williams, immediately chimed in. "They're still young. It's normal for them to have disagreements," she said. "Besides, it's only natural for a boy to be a little more accommodating toward a girl." She said it casually, but the satisfaction in her eyes was impossible to miss. As far as Melissa was concerned, the more hopelessly devoted I was to Lucille, the easier it would be for the Kirks to keep my family under their thumb. The comments continued to flash wildly before my eyes. "Wasn't that a little too obvious?" "He's just lashing out because he can't have her. Now he's completely losing it. How pathetic." "Mabel is the real victim here. She got dragged into this mess and humiliated just because he needed a prop." "Lucille has already made herself clear. Why won't he just give up?" I watched the words drift past without feeling the slightest ripple of emotion. Ever since we were kids, everyone had assumed I was in love with Lucille. After all, I was always at Kirk Manor. I brought her breakfast on the way to school. When she skipped class to go street racing, I helped her father, Bryce Kirk, track her down. Whenever Lucille got herself into trouble, I was the one who stepped in to clean up the mess. Even when she started spending her nights at bars to escape the pressure and expectations of her family, I covered for her again and again. Then I did everything I could to help her get her life back on track. To everyone else, I was pathetic. They saw me as nothing more than Lucille's loyal lapdog, always following her around and cleaning up after her. But none of them knew that the only reason I had agreed to grow close to Lucille, as our parents had arranged, was never because I had feelings for her. The person I really wanted to see was the girl standing quietly behind her—Mabel Harris. She wore a faded white shirt and stood there holding the Kirk family's car keys and the women's coats. A cheap hearing aid rested behind her ear, its edges worn smooth from years of use. Lucille loved calling her "dummy". But I knew something no one else did. Mabel hadn't been born deaf. Ten years ago, Mabel was injured while saving me from an attacker. He struck her in the ear with an iron bar, leaving her face covered in blood. Even then, she refused to let go. She clung to him and shielded me with her body. Afterward, she was taken in by the Kirk family's chauffeur and eventually began working for the Kirks as a servant. And if I wanted to stay close to her, I had no choice but to play along with my parents' arrangement and spend my days orbiting Lucille. Mabel couldn't always hear what I said, but she always watched my lips carefully. Her eyes were quiet but steady, nothing like the spoiled, headstrong Lucille. I reached for the college application materials on the table, ready to explain myself, when the door to the private dining room suddenly swung open. Sawyer Spencer walked in. He wore a perfectly tailored suit that struck the right balance between polished and casual. In one hand, he carried a box of expensive imported pastries, looking completely at ease. Lucille's eyes immediately lit up, and she stood to greet him. "Sawyer, you're finally here." Sawyer gave her a faint smile, his manner polished and self-assured. "Traffic was pretty bad. Sorry I'm late." Lucille took the pastries from him and slipped her arm through his. Then she shot me a pointed, almost challenging look. "Mom, Dad, I want you to meet someone. This is Sawyer, my boyfriend." The private dining room fell silent. Melissa's smile froze, while my parents exchanged stunned glances. Then, one by one, everyone turned to look at me. I found their reaction a little strange. It wasn't as if he was my boyfriend. The comments, however, exploded all at once. "Here we go! The classic love-triangle showdown!" "The second male lead is about to completely lose it, isn't he?" "The female lead is finally introducing the male lead she was always destined to meet!" "Come on, Clement! Hurry up and lose your mind! Give us the humiliation scene we've been waiting for!" Sawyer gently patted Lucille's hand, signaling for her to let go, then walked over to me. His voice was calm and reasonable, but there was an unmistakable note of condescension underneath it. "Clement, we're all adults here. I know how you feel about Lucille, and I know our parents have always hoped the two of you would end up together. "But feelings can't be forced. Lucille has always seen you as a friend. The only reason she never made things clear was that she didn't want to damage the relationship between your families." He adjusted his cuff and looked down at me. "I hope you can handle this with some dignity. Let Lucille and me be together, and try to keep whatever pride you have left." Chapter 2 Lucille looked at Sawyer with undisguised admiration. "Sawyer, why are you even wasting your breath trying to reason with him?" Then she turned to me, her expression cold. "Clement, haven't you made enough of a scene already? "We may have grown up together, but nothing ever happened between us. You're the one who got the wrong idea. Sawyer is my boyfriend now. How much longer are you planning to keep chasing after me?" Finally, I understood what was really going on. Lucille had deliberately invited Sawyer here today so that, in front of both our families, they could put on a show of "adult maturity", make me look like the lovesick fool who couldn't take a hint, and humiliate me once and for all. Too bad they'd picked the wrong person. I gave Sawyer a cold look, ignored him completely, and slid the college application materials across the table toward Mabel. Then I asked again, "Which university are you planning to apply to?" Mabel looked completely caught off guard. The indicator light on her hearing aid blinked twice. She studied my lips carefully, making sure she hadn't misunderstood me. Then she pressed her lips together for a moment before answering quietly, "Aurelia University." Her pronunciation wasn't clear, and there was a slight rasp at the end of her words, but her voice was steady and firm. Someone in the room let out a quiet snort. It was Lucille. "What did you say? Aurelia University?" She looked at Mabel as if she'd just heard the funniest joke of the year. "You? Someone who can barely hear what's going on in class thinks you can get into Aurelia University? Do you even know what kind of school that is? With grades like yours, you'd be lucky to get into a decent college." Mabel's fingers slowly curled into fists. I looked at Lucille and said calmly, "I'm applying to Aurelia University too." The moment I said that, my father shot to his feet. "Clement, stop being ridiculous! Lucille is applying to South Coast University. How can you suddenly decide to apply to Aurelia University instead?" My mother lowered her voice, clearly trying to keep me from making things worse. "Do you even realize what you're saying?" I lowered my gaze, too irritated to argue with either of them. But Melissa suddenly waved toward the door. "Excuse me," she called to a server. "Please escort Mabel outside. This dinner is for our two families. It's inappropriate for a servant to be sitting in on a private family gathering." Mabel's face went pale. Still clutching the coats, she turned toward the door. I immediately caught her by the wrist and stopped her. "I invited her here. I don't think you have the right to ask her to leave." Melissa's expression darkened at my words. "Clement, don't be ridiculous. Mabel is just the chauffeur's daughter." She gave Mabel a dismissive look before turning back to me. "You're the heir to your family's business. Aren't you embarrassed to be seen associating with someone like her?" I looked at her and laughed. "Melissa, if you really think she's beneath you, then why have you kept her by Lucille's side all these years, making her run errands and wait on your daughter?" My voice turned cold. "Is it because, in your eyes, the chauffeur's daughter is only good enough to serve your family? Because you don't think she deserves a life of her own?" Melissa's face darkened. Lucille stepped in front of me and lowered her voice. "Clement, you'd better know when to stop." She glared at me. "You really think paying attention to another girl is going to make me jealous? "Let me make this clear: even if you were the last man on Earth, I still wouldn't want you." I didn't hesitate to refute her. "Don't worry. Even if you were the last woman on Earth, I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life than marry you." Lucille's expression instantly froze. I took Mabel by the hand and led her out of the private dining room. Behind us, Lucille angrily hurled a glass against the floor, but I didn't bother looking back. The comments, meanwhile, continued to follow me. "Why is the second male lead acting so tough?" "He has to be losing his mind with jealousy right now." "He deliberately took the other girl away just to provoke the female lead, but she doesn't even care." "Someone like Mabel actually thinks she can compete with the male lead for the female lead? Give me a break." I stopped and turned to Mabel. "Can you hear me?" She shook her head. I pointed to my mouth and asked again, "Is your hearing aid broken?" She nodded. "Did Lucille break it?" Mabel didn't answer. But her silence told me everything. My hand tightened into a fist as I led her toward the elevator. Chapter 3 On the day college admissions were announced, Lucille became a trending topic. The Kirk family spared no expense promoting their daughter's acceptance into a prestigious university, paying for news coverage and interviews across major media outlets. In every clip, Lucille appeared in a designer dress, smiling confidently for the cameras. When a reporter asked if there was anyone in particular she wanted to thank, she glanced at Sawyer standing beside her. "I'd like to thank my family—and my boyfriend." Sawyer had received early admission to Aurelia University's School of Finance. Standing side by side in front of the cameras, the two looked like the picture-perfect golden couple. The Kirk family even arranged an exclusive interview, and throughout the feature, one name kept coming up: Clement Carnegie, the eldest son of the Carnegie family, who had supposedly spent years chasing after Lucille, only to be publicly rejected after the college admissions results were announced. The comment section was flooded with mockery. "The simp finally got rejected." "Imagine spending years chasing after someone just to get rejected in the end. This is hilarious." "Lucille and Sawyer are the ones who were truly meant to be." I didn't react to any of it. Instead, I opened my laptop and sent my academic transcript and research materials to Aurelia University's Olympiad School. Less than ten minutes later, I received a reply. "Clement Carnegie, congratulations. After careful consideration by our admissions committee, we are pleased to offer you a place in Aurelia University's Algorithm Research Program." I looked at the message on my screen and smiled. They all thought I needed the Kirk family to secure my future. What they didn't know was that I had already built a company of my own—right under their noses. I had registered the anonymous company "Star Holdings" when I was a sophomore in high school. Through it, I took on projects, conducted research and development, and filed patents. By then, Star Holdings had grown into Kirk Holdings' largest overseas technology supplier. The Kirks, however, had no idea that I was the person behind it all. As for Mabel, her college entrance exam scores looked fairly ordinary. But standardized tests had never been where her real strengths lay. I submitted her work to one of Aurelia University's research labs as well. Three days later, the lab replied with an invitation. "Ms. Hearst, we were extremely impressed by the signal recognition model you submitted. We would like to invite you to join our lab as a specially recruited researcher." When I showed Mabel a screenshot of the email, she stared at the screen for a long moment. "Is that really meant for me?" She hesitated. "Of course, it is," I confirmed. "But my grades…" I interrupted her. "Aurelia University cares about what you're capable of, not the labels other people have placed on you." She looked up at me. The red indicator light on her hearing aid blinked. "Why are you helping me?" I looked at her and said matter-of-factly, "Didn't you say you wanted to go to the same university as me?" The tips of Mabel's ears slowly turned red. … On the day of admission, we went to school together. The moment we reached the campus entrance, Lucille and Sawyer stepped in front of us. Sawyer stood with one hand in his pocket, wearing that same smug, self-satisfied expression. "Clement, I heard you and Mabel both got into Aurelia University. Well, well. Congratulations." Lucille looked us both up and down. "So, you really went through with it? Clement, have you completely lost your pride just to prove a point?" Then she turned to Mabel with a dismissive sneer. "And Mabel? Someone like you actually thinks you can get into Aurelia University?" I pulled up our admission emails on my phone and held the screen out to her. "Take a good look. I was personally recruited by the Olympiad School, and Mabel was invited to join one of the university's research labs as a specially recruited talent." I lowered my phone and looked at Lucille and Sawyer. "And as for the two of you…" I shot Sawyer a cold look. "One of you got in with a carefully manufactured resume, while the other bought her way into the business school." I gave them a pointed look. "So, tell me—who exactly got into this university because of connections?" Sawyer's expression finally stiffened. The fake smile vanished from his face, and his voice turned cold. "Clement, we're all going to be at the same university now. There's no need to say something like that just because you're jealous. You need to learn to be the bigger man." By then, a crowd of students had already gathered around us. Lucille immediately stepped in front of Sawyer, shielding him as a protective mother bear. "Clement, apologize to Sawyer!" "Why should I?" I shot back. "Because you're still trying to marry me!" I let out a short laugh. "What kind of fantasy world are you living in? I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life than marry someone like you." A ripple of quiet laughter spread through the crowd. Lucille's face flushed with embarrassment and anger. She took a step forward, but Mabel immediately moved between us. Though slender, Mabel stood her ground without hesitation, shielding me from Lucille. Lucille sneered at her. "What? You, of all people, think you can play the damsel in distress and swoop in to save the hero? You're nothing but a dummy. Do you even realize what you're doing?" Chapter 4 Mabel didn't respond. She couldn't hear Lucille. But Lucille suddenly seemed to find a target for her anger. She lunged forward and violently ripped the hearing aid from Mabel's ear. "Can't hear me? Fine. Then maybe you'll learn to listen!" The hearing aid came away with enough force to leave Mabel's ear slightly bleeding. Mabel staggered but quickly steadied herself. She clenched her teeth and refused to give Lucille the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Lucille tossed the hearing aid onto the floor and brought her heel down hard. The hearing aid Mabel had relied on for years shattered beneath her foot. And the comments section before my eyes exploded. "The female lead is finally putting the side character in her place! I love it!" "Good for Ms. Kirk! Maybe now she'll finally learn her place." "The male side character finally learned who he shouldn't mess with." My blood boiled at the sight. I strode forward and kicked the back of Lucille's knee. Caught completely off guard, she crumpled to the floor. Her knee landed on the shattered pieces of the hearing aid, and a small amount of blood immediately began to seep from the cut. The entire crowd fell silent. I looked down at her, my expression cold. "Stay on your knees. I'd hate for you to stand back up and forget your place again." Lucille stared up at me in disbelief. "Clement, did you really just do that?" "So what if I did?" Without hesitation, I kicked her again, sending her sprawling across the floor. "Don't you love stepping on things? Now you know what it feels like to be on the receiving end." News of the incident reached the Kirk family almost immediately. Less than 20 minutes later, Lucille's parents, Bryce Kirk and Melissa, stormed into the school with several people in tow. The moment Melissa saw her daughter sitting on the ground, she shrieked at me. "Clement, have you lost your mind? How dare you lay a hand on Lucille!" Bryce's expression was just as grim. "Is this how your father raised you? Did he teach you to put your hands on a woman?" My parents arrived shortly after. The moment my mother saw the mess on the floor, she hurried over and grabbed my arm. "Clement, apologize to Lucille. Now!" I pulled my arm free and stood my ground. "Apologize for what? She was the one who started it." Lucille clutched her knee and glared at me before turning to Sawyer with a wounded expression. "Dad, Sawyer, you can't let him get away with this! He hurt me today. What's stopping him from walking all over the Kirk family tomorrow?" Bryce fixed me with a cold stare. "Clement, you'd better get on your knees and apologize right now. Otherwise, your family can forget about the South City project." I pulled a black card from the inside pocket of my suit and held it between two fingers. "The South City project? You mean the one that depends on overseas support for its core algorithms?" A flicker of unease crossed Bryce's face. I made a call and put it on speakerphone. "Notify Legal to terminate all of Star Holdings' business dealings with Kirk Holdings." A calm, professional voice came through the speaker. "Understood, Mr. Carnegie." Bryce's face turned ashen. He stared at me as though I'd completely lost my mind. I ended the call and turned around. Taking a clean tissue, I gently wiped the blood from beside Mabel's ear. Since she couldn't hear me, she could only watch my movements carefully. I slowed down my speech so she could clearly read my lips. "Does it hurt?" Mabel shook her head. I reached out and gently touched her cold earlobe. "Remember this," I said slowly. "I won't let anyone hurt the people I protect." Mabel's breath caught. A storm of emotions flickered across her eyes. Lucille, however, completely lost her composure when she heard that. "Clement, do you really think cutting ties with one supplier is enough to threaten the Kirk family?" she snapped. "You're nothing more than a spoiled rich kid living off your family's name. Who the hell do you think you are?" Before I could respond, my father's phone suddenly rang. After a brief pause, his face drained of color. When he finally spoke, his voice trembled with urgency. "Clement, look at what you've done! The Kirk family has made their move! Timothy's been fired, and they've joined forces with the Chamber of Commerce to freeze our company's funds!" My mother immediately turned to me. "You'd better apologize to Lucille. Right now!" Meanwhile, Bryce stood off to the side, looking completely at ease, a confident smile playing on his lips. With Sawyer's help, Lucille pushed herself to her feet and slowly turned to face me. "Clement, you have two choices." She held up one finger. "First, make Mabel get on her knees and bark like a dog." Then she raised a second finger. "Or you can spend the next month working as Sawyer's driver." Her smile widened. "Choose either one, and I'll leave your family alone." The comments immediately flooded my eyes again. "This is what real money and power look like!" "The male lead is completely screwed this time!" "Finally, the tables have turned! This is going to be so satisfying to watch." I was about to respond when a deep rumble suddenly echoed in the distance. Ten Rolls-Royce Phantoms came speeding toward us, all bearing matching license plates. The convoy pulled up in front of the school, completely blocking the entrance. Then, as if on cue, the doors opened simultaneously. Dozens of men in black suits stepped out and formed two perfectly straight lines on either side of the driveway. Finally, the door of the last car opened. An elderly man with silver hair stepped out. He wore an impeccably tailored black suit and carried a polished cane. Though he was well into his 60s, his presence was so commanding that everyone nearby seemed to instinctively hold their breath. The old man didn't look at Lucille. He didn't even spare the Kirk family a glance. Instead, he walked straight toward Mabel. Then, in front of the stunned crowd, he stopped in front of her and bowed his head deeply. His voice trembled with emotion, yet it carried clearly across the entire school entrance. "Ms. Hearst, we've finally found you." He slowly straightened. "Mr. Hearst Sr. is gravely ill. Please return home and take your rightful place as heir to the Hearst family's trillion-dollar fortune."