“Once I pay off the 300K debt, I’ll marry Sophie. Life’s finally gonna get better.”

Michael Carter stared at his phone, smiling softly at his girlfriend’s photo. He looked exhausted, having just finished another long day at work.

Six months ago, Sophie was diagnosed with a serious illness. Desperate to help her, Michael juggled a full-time office job during the day and delivered food at night. He scraped together 300,000 yuan, but even that wasn’t enough—they needed 600,000 for the surgery.

So he borrowed another 300,000.

Now Sophie had recovered and was ready to be discharged soon. Today was her birthday, and Michael had cut out early from work to buy her a new phone—3,000 yuan's worth of hard-earned sincerity.

“Heh, Sophie’s gonna love this.”

He headed to her hospital room, ready to give her a surprise.

“Happy birthday!” he called out cheerfully as he opened the door.

But what he saw froze him on the spot.

Sophie was curled up in another man’s arms. That man’s hands weren’t exactly behaving, sliding all over her.

Michael recognized him instantly—Nathaniel Coleman, the notorious rich kid back from their college days.

Both looked startled when he walked in. Nathaniel raised a brow. “Sophie, why’s Michael here? Didn’t you break things off with him yet?”

Sophie’s expression turned awkward. She hadn’t expected Michael to show up—shouldn’t he be out delivering orders right now?

Thinking fast, she pasted on a fake smile. “Don’t overthink. We broke up ages ago. I just ordered some food—didn’t expect him to be the one delivering it.”

Nathaniel nodded, buying the excuse. Michael was still wearing his delivery uniform, after all.

Sophie felt uneasy. "Honey, I’ll be right back, okay? Just wait for me here."

“Sure, but kiss me first, or I’m not letting you go,” Nathaniel said with a mischievous grin.

Sophie’s face flushed. She glanced at Michael standing by the door and hesitated. “Stop it, someone’s watching…”

Nathaniel scoffed. “He’s just a delivery guy. Just pretend he’s invisible.”

Sophie stiffened.

She looked at Michael, then at the worn-out delivery outfit he had on. Then back at Nathaniel, pristine clothes, flashy watch probably worth more than everything Michael owned.

She leaned in and kissed Nathaniel on the cheek.

“Don’t take too long,” Nathaniel chuckled, giving her butt a playful slap.

“You’re so annoying~” Sophie pouted, cheeks red.

Michael saw it all.

Every second felt like a dagger stabbing straight through his chest.

He stood frozen, heart torn apart, realizing that the woman he had planned to spend his life with—wasn’t who he thought she was.Out in the hallway, Sophie Lawrence spoke flatly, her tone void of emotion. “Well, you’ve seen it, so there’s nothing more to hide. Let’s just break up.”

“Reason? You’re neck-deep in debt, and I’m not about to spend my life paying that off with you. Simple as that.”

She said it calm and straightforward, not a hint of hesitation.

Michael Carter stood frozen, red-eyed.

He’d done everything for her—maxed out his credit, buried under three hundred thousand in debt just to cover her treatment during the darkest moments of her illness.

But now she was better, and this is what he got in return—a cold, one-line breakup.

Talk about being used and tossed aside.

Michael clenched his jaw. “You think I racked up that debt for fun? It was to save you!”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Don't kid yourself. I never begged you to. You chose to throw money at me—you deal with the consequences.”

“What, did you think I’d be touched by your little act of kindness? Please. That useless kind of ‘nice’ doesn’t mean crap.”

She added, almost like she was humoring him, “Michael, get real. You and I were never going to last.”

“Nathaniel gave me a bag worth thirty grand without blinking. He promised me a house, a car. What do you have to offer? The few gifts you’ve given—you call those presents?”

She glanced at the phone in his hand and let out a sharp, disdainful laugh. “Seriously? You gave me this cheap phone? What is this, a joke? I’d be embarrassed to show this in public.”

Snorting in contempt, she slapped the phone out of his hand.

Michael didn’t answer. He just bent down, picked it up quietly.

No, he hadn’t bought her anything fancy—not because he didn’t want to, but because every cent had gone to her medical bills.

That phone? He’d worked night after night delivering food, scraping money together for a month just to get it.

But he was done explaining.

Fine. Breaking up was probably the best thing—at least now he saw her for who she really was.

Even so, after everything, he didn’t want to see her fall into a trap.

With a tired sigh, he warned softly, “Nathaniel’s not the guy you think he is. Back in college, his reputation was trash. Lots of girls got fooled—ended up pregnant and abandoned.”

Sophie snorted. “Oh, please. Jealous much? You just can't stand that he's rich and you're not, so you start throwing dirt.”

“And even if he is that kind of guy, I’d still rather be hurt by someone like him than waste another second on a broke guy like you. Delivering food at night? So embarrassing.”

“Think whatever you want.” Michael had nothing more to say.

Right then, Nathaniel Coleman walked out of the hospital room.

“What’s going on? Picking up a delivery takes this long?” he asked lazily.

Sophie’s expression shifted. She stiffened up, clearly nervous he might get the wrong idea.With a smile, she said, “I was just clearing things up with him, making sure he won’t bother me anymore.”

“Did you make it clear?” Nathaniel Coleman asked.

Sophie Lawrence quickly tugged his arm, heading back toward the room. “I did, babe. Let’s go back.”

“Hold up,” Nathaniel said, his tone turning smug. “Let me say a few words to this broke delivery guy first.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you in the room,” Sophie replied without much care.

Michael Carter stood still, eyes narrowed. “What do you want? If you’re here hoping to see me devastated or something, hate to break it to you, that’s not gonna happen.”

“I’m not the kind of guy to give up just because of a girl.”

Yeah, getting betrayed like this hit him hard. His chest felt like it was being crushed, but he wasn’t about to put on a show for someone like Nathaniel.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Nathaniel said, lips curled into a mocking smile. “I just came to say thanks. Appreciate you taking such good care of Sophie—got her healthy again and even saved her first time for me. Nice taste, by the way. She’s tight.”

“Oh, and guess what? You know how we got together? I stopped by to see her, just so happened to flash my watch. Next thing I know, she added me and started hitting me up. We were in a hotel the very next day. Pretty sure she used your money too.”

Nathaniel burst out laughing and walked off without waiting for a reply.

Michael’s whole body trembled, fists clenched so tight his nails dug into his palms. Rage and humiliation mixed inside him until he punched the wall hard—blood dripped down his knuckles.

The Sophie he knew used to be shy and innocent. She used to get flustered if he even held her hand too long.

And now, Nathaniel had her in bed within two days.

This world doesn’t mock promiscuity—it mocks poverty.

She dumped him simply because he didn’t have money. Then ran straight into Nathaniel’s arms.

Michael clenched his fist tighter. He swore to himself—he’d make money. He'd prove himself.

He was going to make them all eat their words.

Stepping out of the hospital, the first thought that hit him was to return his phone the next day.

A 3,000 yuan phone? Way too expensive for someone like him.

Wait… didn’t Sophie throw it just now?

What if it broke?

That worry ate at him. He silently prayed the phone was okay.

But the screen stayed black. It wouldn't turn on at all.

Michael tapped on it gently. “Please don’t die on me now…”

Just then, the phone vibrated, and the screen lit up slowly.

He did a quick check—thankfully, everything still worked.

Huge relief.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Just as the screen came back, a stream of news bulletins popped up.

Michael was about to swipe them away, but when he glanced at the headlines, he froze.