Behind the Crazy Phone

I was a bad person.

On the night my boyfriend was stolen by my half-sister, the campus belle, I got drunk and found a phone next to a trash can.

There was only one app on it, with a black screen and a single line of white text.

[Take three photos with a certain person on this phone within a month, and you can swap souls with them.]

Whether it was real or not, the only person I wanted to swap with at that moment was Yvette.

We were both daughters of the Chad's family, so why should she receive all the love while I was forced to hide in the shadows?

It was time for you to experience what it was like to live in the gutter.

1

"Plan Name. Soul Exchange."

"Task loading, random task assignment in progress, random task sent, activating photo task."

"Current task completion, 0/3"

"Please click OK or Cancel to execute or exit this plan."

Without hesitation, I clicked confirm and entered Yvette's name.

Yvette.

The recognized campus belle of our university, excelling in both academics and beauty. More importantly, she had a rich father, rumored to have donated the school's library.

That man was also my father.

But compared to Yvette's glamorous life, I was like a rat scurrying through the stinking sewers, despised by all.

Yvette knew about my identity. Her sycophantic followers would covertly and openly torture me. They forced me to eat food mixed with cockroaches, spat in my water glass, shredded my clothes and threw them in the toilet, and poured super glue into my shampoo.

Her admirers would rub their feet against my legs during class, wait for me at the end of the day to drag me into the woods, and grope and pinch me. Only after I screamed for help would they scatter.

No one cared. My mere existence tarnished Yvette's perfect life. That was my original sin.

No one cared about my dignity or survival.

Except for Ryker.

Ryker was a year ahead of me, and we didn't know each other at first.

During my sophomore year, in the dead of winter, someone dumped a bucket of cold water over me. Ryker happened to walk by and, unable to stand the sight, took off his down jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

I recognized him. He was Yvette's secret crush, a boy from the south, gentle, pale, and shy.

Yvette was too timid to confess her feelings, even after a year. But I wasn't like that. Maybe I didn't inherit my mother's virtuousness, but I certainly activated the rebellious genes deep within me.

I told him my roommates had thrown my coat into the river and locked me out of the dorm, with the keys inside.

Ryker couldn't bear to see me shivering, so he took me to a hotel to warm up and even thoughtfully bought me a new outfit.

Such a good man—missing out on him would be a crime. So when I came out of the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel, I deliberately slipped and fell softly into Ryker's arms.

I admit I wanted revenge.

But Ryker was different.

He was sincere, honest, and passionate. From that day on, he treated me like a treasure, picking me up for classes, teaching the boys who bullied me a lesson, and even called me during the New Year's fireworks to say, "Sadie, I've told my family about you. We'll get married after graduation."

I didn't want to get my hopes up, but he promised me a family.

I just didn't expect him to change at the start of the new semester.

On Yvette's birthday, she blushingly gave him an invitation. That night, Ryker confessed to her amidst roses and candlelight.

I was unwilling to let go.

The first day I got the phone, to get Yvette to take a photo with me, I shamelessly went to her dorm, my attitude extremely humble. "Could you take a picture with me? I just want to see what's different between me and Ryker's perfect match."