Prologue

****21.15 has just logged in****

[Kimberry]…:

s.l.u.t. She"s always fooling everyone with the good girl act.

[Natural Beauty]…:

Yeah, yeah! Plastic beauty! Has she no shame?

[Friend with good intentions]…:

Have you seen this topic on the forum? "The real ident.i.ty of the pretty girl is a fake. Plastic and whorish behaviors?!?" It has over a hundred comments.

[Kimberry]…:

I"ve seen it! So dramatic, our university"s forum…

[Natural Beauty]…:

Kick her out. I hate those who are beautiful from surgeries. Tch, tch. -*-

[Different Opinion]…:

Uh…are you going too far? Everyone"s doing it these days. =_="

[Commarts Kid]…:

Those who"re gossiping right now are naturally beautiful(hideous), right???

[Natural Beauty]…:

Why??? Ugly but honest is better than pretty but fake. -*-

[Kimberry]…:

I can"t accept this. It"s a contest, you need to show the real thing to win.

[Friend with good intentions]…:

Bye bye, Miss Hera Hysteria ^_^

[Kimberry]…:

Withdraw already, shoo shoo! (-*-)p

[APPLE]…:

How will this event end?

[APPLE]…:

Who will be the last one standing…?

[Rabbit Hole]…:

I am not expecting anything.

[Rabbit Hole]…:

This story…is just about women"s jealousy…

****21.35 has just logged out****

"She" is a "twisted beauty".

A beauty… that enchants…those who draws near will face tragedy.

The name of that beauty is "Lilith".

Chapter 1: Twisted Beauty

1

…A golden apple rolled into the ceremony, with an inscription that read:

"For the most beautiful"

The serene courtyard behind the Faculty of Medicine was surrounded by lush green trees flowering white and orange bells.

"Angel"s Trumpet" was planted all over because it was the faculty"s symbol flower. Because the place was surrounded by nature, college students occupy it as a place for studying, playing games, or talking. Once in a long while, the serenity of this place would be disrupted by someone"s blaring voice.

…A signal that trouble was coming.

"Hey, hey! Hey!!!"

A college student yelled and rushed in.

"Have you known? Kachamas, the second expected winner of the university"s star contest, has withdrawn!!!"

"Huh!? Are you for real?!?"

"That law student, the strict and short-tempered one?!"

"Yeah, she posted a status that she"s withdrawing. There are rumors that someone exposed an embarra.s.sing story from her past, and she got scared and bailed out."

The man showed his phone"s screen.

On it was a forum topic t.i.tled "Grand Exposure", a new culture of the internet world loved by readers, although the one being exposed did not find it so humorous.

"Let"s see what it says. A wh.o.r.e since high school, used her body in exchange for grades…that"s harsh! I won"t stay in the compet.i.tion being shamed like this. Still, this kind of s.h.i.tty background is unexpected of a law student."

"Whatever. We don"t know if it"s real, but we know there are only two candidates left for the University Star."

"Oh, Lady Praeva of the Communication Arts Faculty, majoring in acting, and…"

All eyes were on…

"The saint "Lilith", huh?"

"Um…even though there are only two of us, it"s not like I"m going to win."

Lilith told everyone awkwardly, but no one listened and announced that Lilith must be the winner. The young woman sighed.

"I kind of want to withdraw…"

"Too late for that."

Kanya, her best friend who was sitting adjacent to her, did not take her side.

"They are holding the contest tomorrow, aren"t they?"

"Hah, I didn"t even want to register in the first place. You know it, Kan…"

Lilith whined.

"Lilith is the vice president, so you have to do it for our faculty."

That was her friend"s excuse after sending her name into the contest.

Honestly, Lilith did not hope to win. On stage, compared to other contestants who were like brightly colored flowers, she was like a scentless and dull white flower.

Her parents separated when she was young, and her guardian is now her 60 years old grandmother who was very conservative. Makeup was prohibited, only a few creams were allowed. Curling or dyeing her hair was prohibited. Her university uniform had no accessory except for a simple knitted cardigan.

She wouldn"t win the contest.

But events took an "abnormal" turn.

An overwhelming amount of votes pushed Lilith into the finalist. An event that she joined on a whim became a compet.i.tion of social standing between the three contestants.

Moreover, the university"s magazine had bended facts to their will.

[…This University Star contest can be compared to Prince Paris and the Three G.o.ddesses" tale. When a golden apple rolled into the ceremony, with an inscription that read "For the most beautiful", the G.o.ddesses fought over ownership of this apple until only three were left: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. We do not know if the results will follow the myth, but now the battle is so heated there could be another Trojan War…]

Lilith blamed herself for being soft and not withdrawing when there was still chance.

"I think Praeva was the one who slandered Kachamas." Kanya theorized. "They graduated from the same school, and should know each other well enough."

"But there"s something off. Why would she slander Kachamas? The t.i.tle of University Star only lasts for a year, and the prize is just a set of makeup."

"Hoh…that makeup set costs almost ten thousand baht. Who knows? Women love things that make them prettier. Just look at the brands of those makeup. Sometimes, you can"t even get it with money." Kanya explained.

Then I"m one who"s off, Lilith thought.

"President! Wanna bet who will win!?!"

That shout was meant for the president of the first year medical students, who was not so far from where they were.

He looked naive and polite, and his lips had a small smile. However, he felt awkward because someone was urging him to do something not befitting of a top student.

"Um…I should not."

President, or "Ariya Aphisuriyakul", declined politely. Lilith was quite close to him because they had to do committee work together. He had a lot of small work to do, and had many little issues to solve daily, but he never complained.

"Ariya is such a good person."

That was the praise from everyone who knew him.

Lilith can rea.s.sure the fact, but…

Sometimes she felt strange.

It was a gut feeling hard to put into words. She felt that Ariya was drifting far away even though they were so close.

As if he was hiding in a bottomless hole.

Strange….like someone she knew…

"Don"t make Ariya feel uncomfortable."

Those words sounded like the speaker cared, but "his" voice was mocking. "Those b.i.t.c.hes aren"t his type."

A tall and slender man stepped in without a care for manners.

"Except…if they became corpses…"

He spoke nonchalantly, only those mocking eyes…that glared back at all stares of disgust.

"Vakin"s at it. Again." Kanya whispered. "What kind of guy is he? I feel the "eew" just by looking at him."

"He wasn"t like this before." Lilith defended calmly.

Compared to others, she had more immunity to this man called "Vakin Rattananurakwong", because she had seen situations like this since the beginning of highschool, over and over like a broken tape.

"During 9th grade he was away for a heart surgery. When he came back, he was a different man."

Vakin did not come to school for a few months, but it seemed like years, as if he had disappeared into another world humans do not belong.

Yes…like Ariya…

These two have something in common…

Not looks or personalities…but atmosphere…

"Lilith, you guys were in the same school?"

Kanya stared wide-eyed at Lilith. She knew Lilith in college, so it was not strange to not know.

"Yeah, but we didn"t know each other well."

Lilith"s mouth spoke, but her eyes followed as male students surrounded Vakin. The atmosphere went heavy, since they did not like Vakin to begin with.

…This doesn"t look good…

"Shut up! Who asked for your opinion?"

Someone started, and others followed.

"Don"t lump Ariya in with the likes of you!"

"Guys like you are called "maniacs" where I live!"

Suddenly, a hand sprang out and pushed Vakin to the ground. Laughters surrounded him, and the biggest guy in the group pulled up Vakin"s collar before drawing a fist.

"Stop! That"s going too far!!!"

Lilith did not wait for it to happen. She stood up and dashed in to stop the fight.

"Hey, Lilith, don"t act like a saint."

I"m not a saint…Lilith thought.

She just didn"t agree with using violence, no matter how disgusting the other party is, but every time she tried to stop her friends from beating Vakin up, she"s called "d.a.m.n goody-two-shoes" or the likes.

"If this reaches the administration office, I won"t say anything to protect you."

When Lilith pulled out the trump card, the bullies calmed down, but next second Lilith regretted it because Vakin wouldn"t stop.

"You think this contest is just fun and games, huh? Fool…"

"Vakin, stay quiet."

Lilith warned, but that did not do the job.

"Humans love compet.i.tion. No matter how small the matter is, they could always change it into a war. Accept it. Humans live by competing."

"This man is crazy…" People started to gossip.

"You too…."

Suddenly, Vakin met Lilith"s eye. The young woman took multiple steps back.

"Have you ever used your beauty to compete for something?"

"I…"

"Huh…you look so innocent yet you"re cunning."

An unfriendly voice floated along. Turning around, Praeva, the one most likely to win the compet.i.tion, was standing there asking for trouble. She walked straight towards Lilith, with four or five guys trailing after her like obedient slaves. She looked like real life Aphrodite.

"And you used dirty tricks to get Kachamas out."

Praeva spat the words into Lilith"s face.

"What are you talking about?" Lilith did not have a clue what was going on.

"Don"t act all innocent! Why was this letter sent to me!?!"

Praeva slammed an envelope on the table.

"Be careful of Lilith. She"s out to get you."

The one who s.n.a.t.c.hed the letter to read before others was Kanya. She crumpled it and threw it away, then pointed a finger at Praeva.

"Are you crazy!?! This evidence is s.h.i.t! Why would my friend be out to get you, huh!?!"

"Because the one who exposed Kachamas wasn"t me…" Praeve countered, her mascara-coated eyelashes batted at Lilith with scorn. "Then there can only be one culprit."

"You"re accusing Lilith for nothing. Someone like Lilith creating a dirty topic on the forums?" Kanya objected. "If it was you who graduated from the same school as Kachamas, it"s another story."

"So what? You don"t have any evidence."

"Oh…?" Kanya did not believe it. "Then who was the one that posted a status saying "Serves you right, s.l.u.t!" huh? Want me to expose you right now, plastic woman!?"

Praeva"s face turned sour, and Kanya knew she hit the bull"s eye. Still, Praeva did not give up quite yet.

"W-Well, it did serve her right!" She held up her head. "She"s not pretty and doesn"t know it! She looked ugly…just like you!!!"

Praeva shoved the last words into Kanya"s face, and that was the last straw. She raised her palms meaning to lash out her anger.

But Lilith stopped it in time.

"No, Kan! Calm down!"

"Let me go, Lilith! A mouth like hers shouldn"t speak a second time!"

"Why? Can"t accept the truth? Ugly is a soft word. A face like that, I"d say…hideous!!!"

"Why you, b.i.t.c.h…!!!!"

The two women were at each other"s throats, and their friends had to stop them from fighting. Swear words were spat and echoed across the campus. The situation made a turn for the worse.

"Please, that is enough. Save your compet.i.tiveness for the stage tomorrow."

A sharp warning came from the president, and Ariya stepped in to stop the fighting. His eyes made Kanya retreat, but Praeva flipped her hair without an ounce of guilt.

The atmosphere was suffocating, but someone didn"t seem affected…

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Oh what fun! How will this contest turn out?"

A series of claps came from the faculty"s black sheep.

"Between Plastic Aphrodite and Foolish Athena, who will be the flower blooming on the execution ground?"

Vakin smirked, he spoke as if intending for "someone" to hear.

"What a fun struggle…don"t you think?"

The next day, it was time to start the contest.

There was a saying that one sigh equals one year of lifespan deducted. If so, today, Lilith"s lifespan would shorten by many decades.

"Are you not feeling well, Lilith?"

Ariya, who was a backstage crew, came to check the backroom. He saw Lilith"s unusual gloom and decided to reach out to her.

Lilith placed a finger on a thin newspaper on the table, made by the university"s journalism club.

[Star scandal! Two finalists reveal evidence of bullying Kachamas, before their catfight over the crown.]

Of course, no matter what the truth was, Thai media had a code of conduct to make it sound savage, exaggerate the stories without a care for those who were on the news. Even a small scale ma.s.s media like this university magazine was no exception.

"And now I"m in cahoots with Praeva to bully Kachamas, and after we are done, we apparently will have a catfight. I don"t how how it turned out this way."

Lilith was exhausted.

"Can I still withdraw…?"

"If you do, tomorrow"s news story would be even further from the truth."

"By the way, Ariya, you don"t look very interested."

Thinking carefully, she never recalled a time when Ariya talked about the contest. The only reason he became a staff was because an uppercla.s.sman asked him.

Ariya"s eyes wavered for a fraction of a second, as if he didn"t expect her to notice his disinterest.

"How do I say it…to me, these contests are just places for people to beg for attention."

"Beg for attention?"

"Yes. Humans have a need to belong or need to be noticed. It is embed into our subconscious. However, us humans do not possess extravagant feathers or antlers like animals, so we need to draw attention by other means, like intelligence, strength, or beauty. Of course, displaying behaviors that are different from social norms is also a form of attention seeking."

"Oh…"

Lilith remembered hearing something like that in psychology course, but when she listened to Ariya, it felt different from when she read it in a textbook…as if he was observing some insects or mice in a lab.

"Actually, I am not completely uninterested in this contest."

His words seemed to hint at some underlying intention.

…Like a dark shadow was casted on this man.

"Hera, the short-tempered queen, Athena, the wise princess, and Aphrodite, the icon of beauty…the three G.o.ddesses have their own strengths which were difficult to compare, but when the most beautiful one were to be decided, they need to lure Prince Paris in to be the judge. Do you know why?"

"Why…?"

Lilith asked, not really curious about the answer.

"Because if the three would wage war among themselves, there will be mountains of dead victims, and the three would eventually fall one after the other… They knew it well and avoided direct confrontation. What selfish G.o.ddesses they are…"

It seemed like the Greek myth was twisted and reinterpreted, Ariya-style, but Lilith could feel cold sweat on her forehead. Uneasiness roused by his words coursed through her veins.

"I was joking." Ariya broke into a cheeky smile.

Suddenly, the heavy atmosphere cleared as if nothing ever happened, like a light switch flipping in a dark room.

"Gee….Ariya! I almost believed you."

Lilith laughed, but…

Something uneasy was still in her gut, like black soot at the bottom of a lake.

She was afraid…

What kind of result was Ariya waiting for?

"Li…Lilith…bad news!"

Lilith"s thought was cut off when Kanya ran at full speed towards her.

"P-Praeva got splashed with acid!!!"

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