As the stage curtain lifted, it revealed Madison standing there. The makeup that had hidden her beauty was now completely removed, showing her true face, Her previously dull, freckled skin was now fair and delicate as snow, like fine jade even without a trace of cosmetics.
Her eyes now truly sparkled and held a captivating light. With just a slight lift of her head on stage, the entire auditorium fell silent.
A stunned silence fell over the auditorium, then erupted into a wave of overlapping chatter. “Wait, is she from the advertising department? Since when do we have someone that stunning?”
“I thought Chloe Grant was our poster girl. This changes everything.”
From the back, someone’s voice cut through, loud enough for their livestream viewers to hear, “Are you getting this? Zoom in! The chat is blowing up, they’re saying she could be campus royalty!”
A freshman near the aisle was practically vibrating. “My viewer count just tripled! This isn’t me going viral… it’s her!”
The murmurs rose to a steady hum, everyone leaning in or lifting their phones higher, until one
voice summed up the collective disbelief, “Okay, seriously… did we just witness a real–life Cinderella moment? WHO IS SHE?!”
Amidst the shocked exclamations, some desperately tried to get a clear photo of Madison’s face,
while others tried to figure out her identity.
Only the advertising department students at the back of the auditorium were dumbfounded.
Especially the girls who had
forced Madison backstage, their eyes were wide open, thinking there was something wrong with their vision! It took them a long moment to recover.
“This… this is Madison? No way!”
They instinctively wanted to deny it, but they were the ones who had personally put Madison on stage. The clothes, the hairstyle, even the small stain on the hem they had accidentally made…They
were all identical!
Not to mention, upon closer look, while the beauty on stage was leagues apart from Madison in terms of looks, you could still see a resemblance in her eyes and brows.
A hush fell, sharp and sudden, as the reality clicked into place for every single person in the
auditorium.
The scattered whispers, the nervous laughter, it all died into a stunned silence. The breathtaking
Chapter 8
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vision on stage, the one holding the entire room in the palm of her hand, wasn’t a stranger.
It was the girl they’d overlooked, mocked, and underestimated for years. It was Madison.
“So…” someone murmured, coming to their senses, “Madison… was intentionally making herself look ugly all along?” As they said this, they looked at Ethan, as if hoping her “boyfriend” could
provide an answer.
But at this moment, Ethan was speechless. He just stared fixedly at Madison on stage, utterly
shocked.
This… was Madison?
Unlike everyone else’s amazement, he felt something else, A strange feeling of unfamiliarity, and also… a sense of loss. It actually left him momentarily at a loss.
The performance on stage continued. Madison had actually written the script for this Snow White
adaptation.
But she never expected she’d end up playing the lead herself.
She knew all the lines by heart and didn’t need much acting, just being beautiful was enough.
The stage play ended.
The applause from the audience was thunderous, more enthusiastic than for any previous performance.
Ethan, finally snapping out of his daze downstairs, pushed aside the people around him and strode
towards the backstage.
But Madison didn’t go backstage. She didn’t even change her clothes, leaving directly through the
back door.
By the time Ethan caught up, all he saw was that blue princess dress disappearing into a black
Bentley.
Ethan was taken aback. Whose car was that?
He was about to give chase when someone suddenly grabbed him. Looking up, he saw it was his
usual crew of friends.
They were even more excited than he was. “Ethan, finally found you! Spill it, man! How come your little ‘Freckles‘ is actually a stunning beauty?”
“Yeah! Tell the truth, did you know all along? Is that why you dated her?”
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“I knew it! Our Ethan has never dated anyone who wasn’t a beauty. Even if it was just for fun, he wouldn’t pick someone ugly…”
39
His friends chattered on. But before one of them could finish his sentence, Ethan grabbed him by
the collar.
The guy looked up into Ethan’s icy eyes. Ethan said coldly, “Who told you I was just playing around
with Madison?”
The whole group of friends fell silent. But Ethan had already released the guy, turned, got into his
Lamborghini, and sped off after the departing black Bentley.
Just then, Ethan’s phone rang. Ethan answered and heard the doctor’s panicked voice.
“Mr. Quinn, it’s bad! Ms. Grant is threatening suicide again!”
Ethan’s hands on the steering wheel tightened abruptly. In that split second of hesitation, the black Bentley ahead passed through the intersection.
The traffic light turned red, and the distance between the two cars grew. Ethan’s hand ultimately fell. He said in a low voice, “I’m on my way.”
The black Lamborghini swerved sharply and headed towards the hospital.
***
Chloe’s condition was very unstable.
Her physical wounds weren’t serious, but her emotional state was terrible. She refused to sleep.
Ethan had no choice but to stay at the hospital the whole time. He couldn’t sleep, and he couldn’t even take out his phone to check it.
Two days later, Chloe finally couldn’t hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep after being given
a sedative.
Exhausted, Ethan left the hospital. He opened his phone and saw several messages from his friends. But there was nothing. Not a single message from Madison.
Ethan rubbed his temples irritably. After a moment’s hesitation, he still drove to the Northwood University dorms.
But when he entered Madison’s dorm, he was told she had already moved out.
“Moved out?” Ethan was stunned. “Moved where?”
“Who knows?” Madison’s roommate, a girl named Sophia Lewis, said with a sarcastic tone.
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“She just came back once to get her things, then got into a luxury car! If you ask me, after breaking
up with you, Mr. Quinn, she must have found herself another sugar daddy…”
Before Sophia could finish her jealous rant, she met Ethan’s icy gaze.
