When fate plays its hand
hand 443

Chapter 0443

This summer felt unusually hot.

From Monday to Friday, classrooms, labs, and the library all had their air conditioning turned on. The weekends were just as nice, with the cool breeze from the air conditioner at home and chilled watermelon to enjoy.

Sitting in the cool air, eating watermelon, and reading papers–if there was ever a moment to describe as peaceful and fulfilling, this was it for Miranda.

“Miranda, it’s Saturday. There are no classes today, are you sure you don’t want to go out?” Winter’s voice came through the phone.

Miranda replied, “Winter, please spare me. With this heat… I can’t even think about stepping outside.”

Winter sighed. “Don’t you want to go shopping, buy yourself some pretty clothes?”

“I can shop online,” Miranda answered.

“What about skin care? You need to test products at the counter to know if they suit you, right?” Winter pressed on.

“I don’t need to test anything. I always use the same brand,” Miranda replied.

Winter’s tone was growing frustrated. “You must at least want some good food, maybe fresh fruits and veggies? Surely you need to hit the supermarket, right?”

Miranda’s voice lowered, “Actually… home delivery is pretty great.

“There was a long silence on Winter’s end. Then, Miranda sighed deeply. “Have you been bored with work lately and feeling lonely by yourself?”

Winter let out a long sigh–her best friend really knew her too well.

Miranda, however, frowned. Something felt off. “What about those contacts in your phone–Kevin, David, or those others like Flynn, Kay, Howie… where did they all go?”

Normally, Winter wouldn’t be so free as to suggest shopping during this hot summer, especially since she hated the sun more than Miranda did.

Miranda knew something was wrong as soon as Winter suggested it.

“Don’t even bring that up…” Winter’s tone was filled with despair. Just mentioning it made her heart ache. Zach, the idiot, had gotten her phone’s lock screen password from her, only to use it to browse inappropriate websites.

The result? Her phone was hit with a virus, and the entire system crashed.

Zach swore he could fix it, and Winter believed him. She even went off to do another spa treatment while he worked on it.

But by the time she returned, disaster had struck. Not only had Zach failed to fix the system, but he had also ruined her SIM card.

Chapter 0443

+25 BONUS

Now, not only were all her chat records lost, but all her stored contacts were erased as well. Even if she replaced the card, the numbers were gone for good.

“Sorry, I really thought I could fix it! But this virus was too strong, it even threw me off. I’ll buy you a new phone, okay?”

“Okay?” Winter thought. Absolutely not! She really wanted to throw a punch at him or at least hurl her ruined phone at his face.

But then she remembered where she was–the Graham Estate.

Zach’s mother had just gifted her a valuable jade bracelet and treated her to a luxurious spa and anti- aging treatment. When someone treated you so well, it was hard to bite the hand that feeds you.

So, Winter bit her tongue and kept quiet.

“Just stop talking.” Winter said through gritted teeth. The more he talked, the more she wanted him.

Zach, who was still apologizing, hovered nearby. “I’m really sorry, Winter. I didn’t expect things to get worse. If I’d known, I would’ve just taken it to a professional repair shop.”

10

throttle

Zach, ever the clueless one, continued, “Winter, this is all my fault. I won’t make this mistake again. I’ll go buy you a new phone tomorrow.”

“I said stop talking,” Winter growled, her patience wearing thin.

“No. I just have to express how deeply sorry I am! I know no number of new phones can make up for it, especially with all those contacts and chat records lost…”

Winter’s fists were already clenched. She was trying so hard to contain her frustration.

“And what about those little boy toys of yours? The cute ones, the wild ones–can you still reach them?”