Mr. Carter was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, while Mrs. Carter was peeling an apple in a wheelchair beside him. Both of them looked perfectly normal, without a trace of worry.

Could it be that her body had already woken up?

Alice Carter grew anxious, wanting to see more clearly. She had only taken a few steps forward when suddenly, with a click, the door opened from inside, and out came a man in slippers carrying a bag of trash.

Seeing a shadow lurking suspiciously in the flowerbed by the door, he immediately grew alert and said, "Who is it?"

Alice Carter was startled. Before she could answer, the man had already stormed over and grabbed her arm. His grip was so strong that Alice Carter screamed, "William Carter, you're hurting me!"

It was her brother.

Hearing her call his name, as if they were familiar, William Carter did let go, looked her over a few times, and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing at my door so late?"

Alice Carter's mind raced as she organized her words: "I'm Alice Carter's classmate. I heard she was in a car accident today and wanted to check on her."

She had already guessed what William Carter would ask next:

— You're Olivia Carter's classmate, so why didn't you call or knock on the door?

She had also thought of how to respond:

— Because I previously spoke badly about her idol Henry Clark, Alice Carter blocked me, so I only dared to come secretly.

Alice Carter gave herself a mental thumbs-up for her cleverness.

But unexpectedly, William Carter looked her over a few times and asked strangely, "Who's Alice Carter?"

Alice Carter almost jumped up. "Your sister!"

William Carter said, "Why are you insulting people?"

"No, no, I mean, Alice Carter is your sister!"

As soon as she finished, the wariness that had disappeared from William Carter's eyes returned. "I don't have a sister. Tell me, who are you really?"

The commotion at the door had already alerted Mr. Carter and Mrs. Carter inside. Mr. Carter came out and called from the doorway, "Little William, what's going on?"

William Carter kept his eyes on Alice Carter, not turning his head. "Caught a thief."

Alice Carter was frantic. "I'm not a thief! I came to visit Alice Carter!"

Mr. Carter saw she was a young woman, thin and slight, and didn't look like a thief at all. He said gently, "Did you come to the wrong place? There's no one named Alice Carter here."

Alice Carter felt as if she'd been struck on the head, barely able to stand. She instinctively reached for William Carter's hand. But William Carter dodged aside, and Alice Carter, off balance, stumbled and fell to the ground.

Her head buzzed. She grabbed onto William Carter's pant leg, looked up, and struggled to speak: "Olivia Carter, Little Olivia, the one you always call an idiot for being a fangirl, your sister..."

William Carter frowned, and Mr. Carter had already come closer. "Little William, help her up quickly, see if she needs to go to the hospital."

William Carter crouched down, tilting his head to look her over a few times. He thought her face looked familiar. Just as he was thinking, Mr. Carter smacked him on the back of the head. "You brat! Hurry up and help her up!"

William Carter had just reached out when, unexpectedly, the person in front of him suddenly started crying and yelling, "I don't want you to help me! You're pretending not to know me! Don't touch me!"

Where did this crazy person come from in the middle of the night?

William Carter said helplessly to Mr. Carter, "We'd better call the police. Something's not right here." He tapped his head.

Mr. Carter nodded and was just pulling out his phone to call the police when a calm voice came from the edge of the tree-lined path: "She's my friend."

William Carter and Mr. Carter turned to look at the same time. A young man in sportswear, out for a night run, walked over slowly, lifted the brim of his cap, and revealed a pair of indifferent eyes.

William Carter recognized him at once. "Henry Clark?!"

He nodded, glanced at Alice Carter still sitting on the ground crying, and said, "She came to see me. Sorry to bother you." With that, he crouched down and helped Alice Carter up by the arm. "Let's go."

Alice Carter was crying her heart out, her tear-filled eyes suddenly seeing the most familiar yet distant face appear before her. Her sobs caught in her throat.

Henry Clark took the opportunity to help her up and led the still-dazed Alice Carter away.

It wasn't until the two figures disappeared down the tree-lined path that William Carter finally realized—the girl... seemed to be Emily Bennett?

Author's note:

For readers unfamiliar with fan community jargon, here are some explanations:

1. Frontline site-jie: Participates in all activities to support their idol, often carrying a camera to fight for front-row spots, taking, editing, and posting photos.

2. Site: An unofficial fan support organization for a celebrity; its members are called site-jie.

Chapter 2

Henry Clark brought Alice Carter home, poured her a cup of hot water, and then sat down across from her.

She was still crying, her shoulders shaking, glancing around as she sobbed, until finally her gaze landed on Henry Clark across from her. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and then, in disbelief, called out softly, "Henry Clark..."

He propped his head on one hand and looked at her, his tone unreadable: "Emily Bennett, what are you trying to do now?"

Hearing herself called Emily Bennett, she immediately burst into tears again.

Henry Clark: "..."

She cried for a long while, then as if remembering something, looked up and asked, "Henry Clark, did you close the curtains? Make sure no one takes photos."

Henry Clark: "..."

After a long time, she finally finished crying and choked out, "Henry Clark, I'm so happy to see you. But something happened to me today, something unbelievable, and I can't even enjoy being happy."