My name was scrawled on a card and tossed into the dating draw.
Suddenly, I, Asher Stone, a scholarship student at A-list University,became the latest prey in the most exclusive social scene on campus.
The one tasked with playing me was Lucy Vance, the Student Council President.
She was gentle, thoughtful, and generous, everything everyone imagined a perfect girlfriend to be.
Everyone whispered I’d snagged myself a sugar mama, skipping a decade of grinding.
They placed bets behind my back, wagering on how miserably I’d cry on the final day of the one-month challenge.
But what they didn’t know?
The most cunning predators often disguise themselves as their unsuspecting prey.
My sole purpose for coming to this university was to assess the true character of my intended fiancée for an arranged marriage.
Now, the assessment was complete.
My name is Asher Stone.
According to the university’s records, I was a student on full financial aid, no doubt about it.
On the first day of school, my roommate, Liam Carter, pulled me aside, secretively filling me in on A-list University’s unwritten rules of survival.
“Asher, listen up, there are two kinds of people at our school.”
He lowered his voice, nodding towards a pink Porsche zooming away outside the window.
“There are regular folks like us, who worked our butts off to get in.”
“And then there are the heirs, rolling up in luxury cars.”
“Especially Lucy Vance’s crowd, the Student Council President. You absolutely, positively, have to stay clear of them!”
Liam’s expression was dead serious.
“They’re devils!”
“They love playing this disgusting game called the ‘Love Lottery’!”
My hand, holding a water cup, froze mid-air. I looked at him.
“What game?”
Liam saw I wasn’t taking it seriously and his voice trembled with urgency.
“They collect the names of handsome guys with normal family backgrounds, write them on cards, and put them in a box.”
“Whichever rich girl draws a guy’s name, she has one month to make him fall head over heels for her. To make him completely devoted.”
Liam’s face was filled with disgust and fear.
“Then, on the last day of that month, they dump the guy in the most humiliating way possible, right in front of everyone.”
“They call it ‘taming the prey.’ Whoever makes their prey cry the hardest during the breakup wins.”
Liam gripped my arm tightly.
“Last semester, a senior from our department got picked. That rich girl sweet-talked him, made him think it was true love.”
“But when she got bored, she not only publicly humiliated him, she also spread rumors that he was a pervert trying to extort money.”
“The senior couldn’t defend himself, got disciplined by the school, and then the rich girl’s fiancé broke his leg.”
“He couldn’t cope, fell into severe depression, and ended up dropping out!”
“So, Asher, you’re so good-looking, you absolutely have to be careful not to get targeted!”
I raised a hand and patted Liam’s tense shoulder.
“Don’t worry. I just want to focus on my studies.”
I offered him a reassuring smile.
Liam looked into my eyes and inexplicably shivered.
That same evening, at a private club.
Bailey Reed playfully shook a box.
“Lucy, it’s your turn to draw! Let’s see which lucky guy gets to bask in your favor?”
Lucy Vance lounged on the sofa, sipping red wine, looking effortlessly chic and bored.
She glanced at the box, completely uninterested.
Bailey, not giving up, practically shoved the box in her face, smiling obsequiously.
“Come on, Lucy, just draw one! I put a real gem in there this time!”
“A scholarship student from the Arts department, Asher Stone. He’s drop-dead gorgeous, almost otherworldly. Chasing him down and then dumping him will be an ultimate thrill!”
At that, Lucy reached out and drew a card from the box.
Asher was emblazoned on the card.
Lucy stared at the card, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
“Alright,” she said.
“Then this month, I’ll play with him.”
From that day on, my university life suddenly became… exciting.
No matter where I went, I’d “accidentally” run into Lucy, the Student Council President.
At the dining hall, while waiting in line, she’d stand behind me, insisting on paying for my meal: “Hey, we keep bumping into each other, it must be fate. Dinner’s on me.”
In the library, she’d sit across from me, and whenever I’d furrow my brow in faux concentration, she’d slide over a note full of problem-solving steps, accompanied by a radiant smile.
I went to the coffee shop my dad had opened for me near campus, feeling a sudden urge to learn how to make lattes.
She thought I was working a side job, and promptly bought out my entire shift’s stock, practically shutting down the shop so I could leave early.
“Don’t work so hard. I can help you lighten the load.”
I was practically rolling my eyes into the back of my skull!
In just one week, the entire university was buzzing. The Student Council President was reportedly chasing Asher, the scholarship student, like crazy.
I became the object of every guy’s envy and resentment.
Every time I returned to the dorm, Liam would look at me with that “my brother’s gone over to the dark side” look.
“Asher, didn’t I tell you to stay away from her?!”
I shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, she just keeps showing up.”
“Don’t you dare fall for it!” Liam exclaimed, his voice laced with that ‘why can’t you see this?!’ frustration. “They’re just playing games!”
I nodded. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Of course, I knew what I was doing.
Every time Lucy would put on one of her dramatic, heartfelt displays for me,
my peripheral vision would catch Bailey Reed and his buddies not far off, phones recording.
Let them record. My face was perfect from every angle.
That day, Bailey was throwing a birthday party at The Sovereign Club.
Lucy texted me, asking me to be her date.
I intentionally replied, “That place is too fancy. I don’t have a suit for it.”
Ten minutes later, she appeared outside my dorm, carrying a luxury shopping bag.
Inside was a custom, galaxy-blue suit that cost six figures.
“Put this on. Tonight, you’ll be a prince.”
Gasps erupted from below.
“Oh my god, isn’t that designer couture? That suit alone is more than our tuition for a year!”
“Asher is so lucky!”
I was so “moved” I almost cried.
Honestly, my socks probably cost more.
I changed into the suit and walked into the club with Lucy.
The Sovereign Club was my eighteenth birthday gift from my dad, one of the least conspicuous properties under my name.
The moment we walked in, the club manager saw me, his eyes lighting up. He hurried over, ready to bow.
I shot him a subtle look, and the sharp-eyed manager, catching my cue, smoothly redirected his attention to other guests.
The birthday boy, Bailey, saw me, and his jealousy was plain to see.
“Asher, you look really handsome today. Lucy certainly has good taste.”
He paused, lowering his voice.
“But be careful with that rented suit. You wouldn’t want to damage it, you know, you can’t afford to replace it.”
I just smiled, saying nothing.
At the party, Lucy was incredibly attentive.
She blocked drinks for me, cut my steak, and straightened my tie.
Every detail was perfect, like a scene ripped from a romance novel.
She led me to her friends, introducing me with a possessive air.
“This is my boyfriend, Asher.”
Her friends immediately started teasing, offering congratulations, but their eyes were full of contempt and amusement.
I felt like a puppet on strings, playing my part in her act.
Midway through, I went to the restroom.
Just as I turned the corner, I overheard Bailey and his friends talking.
“Bailey, Lucy’s really going all out this time, isn’t she? Giving him designer couture? Is she actually serious?”
Bailey scoffed.
“How could she be? That suit was my dad’s, Lucy just borrowed it from me.”
“Once she’s done with him, he’ll be stripped of that suit and forced to hand it back to me!”
“It’s all about the thrill of the hunt, right? The fancier the bait, the sweeter the catch.”
Another guy chimed in obsequiously:
“You’re brilliant, Bailey! Letting that broke kid wear a prince’s outfit, then personally ripping it off him – that’s pure evil!”
Bailey’s voice was filled with vicious glee.
“Just you wait, there are only a few days left in the month. Then, I’m going to make him cry in front of the entire campus as he strips off that suit!”
In the corner, I pressed the stop recording button on my phone.
After Bailey’s birthday party, Lucy’s pursuit of me intensified.
Every morning, she’d be downstairs promptly, holding a beautifully packaged breakfast.
She skipped her own major classes to accompany me to my incredibly boring general education lectures.
When I dozed off, she’d discreetly draw a tiny cartoon pig on my palm.
On a random birthday I’d casually made up, she presented me with a limited-edition luxury watch, right in front of my roommates.
Liam’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
He dragged me onto the balcony, his face full of worry.
“Asher, be honest with me, are you really falling for her?”
My fingertip traced the watch on my wrist. I gave him a reassuring smile.
“Why would I?”
“Then why are you accepting such expensive gifts from her?!”
Liam’s voice was sharp with urgency.
“People like them, anything they give you, you’ll have to pay back with interest later! How are you ever going to repay that?”
I patted Liam’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry.”
“Oh, she’s going to regret it, big time.”
The next day, Liam and I were eating in the dining hall.
Bailey, with a few other guys, passed by my table, trays in hand.
He angled his wrist, and a steaming bowl of spicy noodles tipped over, spilling onto me.
Even though I dodged quickly, some of the broth still splashed onto my arm.
“Ah!”
Liam shrieked, frantically pulling out napkins to wipe it.
Bailey looked down at me, sneering.
“Oops, my bad, my hand slipped.”
His gaze swept over my T-shirt.
“What, did you grab that shirt for ten bucks at a thrift store? Here, I’ll give you a hundred. That’s enough for ten more.”
God, he was infuriating!
This blind idiot! This ‘cheap’ tee alone could probably buy his entire outfit, car included!
I’d gone through my entire closet of custom-made clothes to pick out the most unassuming T-shirt, and he just ruined it.
He pulled three hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and threw them in front of me, like I was a beggar.
Dad, seriously, the things I do for your grand plan!
Just then, a figure rushed over.
Lucy shoved Bailey hard, sending him stumbling backward a few steps.
Her face was etched with concern as she scanned me from head to toe.
“Are you okay? Did you get burned? How bad is it?”
“Bailey, are you insane? Apologize to Asher!”
Bailey’s eyes instantly reddened.
“Lucy, I didn’t mean to.”
“I said apologize!”
Bailey, startled by her intensity, grudgingly mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
The words had barely left his mouth when Lucy, supporting me, quickly led me toward the campus clinic, all eyes in the dining hall on us.
“I’m so sorry, Asher.”
“I failed to protect you.”
I lowered my gaze, my shoulders trembling.
“It’s not your fault.”
My voice was thick with a feigned sob.
Lucy hugged me tighter.
“Asher, trust me, no one will ever dare to bully you again.”
I leaned against her, the overpowering perfume mixing with the spicy noodles was truly awful.
If my dad found out I’d gotten hurt putting on this act for them today, what would he say?
Good thing the assessment period was almost over.
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