If someone ever asked Chloe Summers how she died, she’d probably die of frustration all over again.

Because, well… she literally died of being broke.

So when Chloe suddenly woke up inside some novel as the stand‑in for a domineering CEO’s precious first love, she almost wanted to look up at the sky and howl.

Finally, the universe was cutting her a break. The jackpot had landed right on her head.

Right then, the cold‑faced CEO, Ethan Wellington, flicked a check her way like it weighed nothing. “Fifty thousand a month. You’ll live here from now on.”

Chloe grabbed the check with trembling fingers before it hit the floor, her eyes already misting with joy. She lifted her face, speaking with earnest seriousness. “What do you want me to do? Laundry? Cooking? Cleaning? I’m totally fine with all that.”

“Also, I actually trained in acupuncture, massage therapy, and dietary care. Top‑tier housekeeper material right here! I can even take care of postpartum recovery. Trust me, that fifty grand will be worth every cent!”

Oh god, who would understand this feeling?

In her last life, she worked her butt off like a terrified office drone, making only thirty‑five hundred a month—and that stupid boss didn’t even give her basic benefits.

Thinking of that, Chloe cautiously added, “Uh… do you offer social insurance here?”

Ethan paused mid‑breath, staring at her like she’d grown an extra head. “I’m not hiring a maid. Chloe Summers, be grateful your face looks like hers. Otherwise, I wouldn’t spare you a second glance.”

“Just stay put and act like a proper little canary. And cut those ridiculous fantasies out.”

Chloe hesitated. So… that means there’s no insurance?

Forget it. With a salary this high, who needs benefits?

Cheered up again, she tucked the check away with delight. “As long as you pay on time, it’s all good. Ethan, how exactly do I ‘be’ a canary? Do you have like… a handbook? Don’t worry, I’m a fast learner. I’ll totally meet your standards.”

Ethan let out a short, mocking laugh, clearly assuming she was trying to get his attention. “Learn? No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be even half of Winona. Don’t get any ideas. When Winona comes back from overseas, you leave immediately. I’ll give you a ten‑million payout…”

“Okay, okay, okay—”

Chloe was already tearing up again, wiping away her emotional little droplets. “We’re agreeing here, right? Ten million *after tax*. Whoever backs out is the loser.”

Ethan froze for a moment, then laughed under his breath. “Chloe Summers, that trick is way too childish.”

Chloe carefully tucked away the fifty‑thousand check, beaming. “Yes, yes, you’re totally right.”

Ethan Wellington looked good—honestly, he had that classic old‑school CEO vibe from those vintage romance novels. Especially those phoenix eyes of his; whenever he glanced over, there was this built‑in chill, like warmth was simply not in his settings.

He swept his gaze over Chloe Summers from head to toe and said, voice cold enough to make air‑conditioning jealous, “From now on, don’t wear red dresses. Winona only liked white.”

Work uniforms too?

Chloe hesitated for a moment. “Then… would a white shirt work? Like the ones bank staff wear. I saw some on Moudodo—three for a hundred bucks, and they even give a five‑yuan cashback. The quality’s so‑so, but the stitching looks decent…”

Ethan’s face instantly darkened. “Stop talking. Winona would never wear that kind of cheap stuff. I’ll have someone send clothes over later. And remember—don’t do anything I dislike.”

Nice. Zero expenses!

Chloe happily agreed and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees. “Thank you, Mr. Wellington!”

Ethan once again wondered if he had hired an idiot. He inhaled sharply, trying to calm himself as he sank onto the sofa.

The girl stared at him with bright, expectant eyes. Her small face was pale and soft, her big eyes fluttering with innocent curiosity. Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on her like some filter‑induced halo. For a second, he genuinely thought he was seeing an angel.

His expression loosened a little. He tapped the sofa beside him. “Come here.”

Chloe immediately rushed over like some overly eager puppy. “Mr. Wellington, are you hungry? Should I make you something?”

“There’s a housekeeper. You don’t need to do that.”

Ethan leaned back lazily, looking up at her. “Sit.”

“Huh?”

Chloe blinked in confusion, but still obediently sat beside him, staring at him with full anticipation. “What do you want me to do?”

Cute. Dumb, but cute.

Ethan let out a faint laugh and hooked a finger under her chin. “Don’t you know how to please a man?”

Please?

Chloe froze, her dewy eyes turning completely blank.

Her lips parted slightly, like a silent question hanging in the air.

Ethan Wellington’s Adam’s apple moved, his gaze dropping a shade darker. “Playing hard to get?”

He let out a small, almost amused curve of his lips. One hand slid over her eyes, the other clasped her waist, pulling her straight into his arms. He dipped his head, clearly about to kiss her.

That sudden mix of his breath and cologne crashed into her.

Chloe Summers freaked out. Her hand jerked—and she smacked him. Hard.

A sharp crack echoed.

Ethan was stunned. Chloe was just as stunned.

“I didn’t—”

“Um… I mean…”

Chloe hugged her shoulders, trembling a little as she whispered, “That… costs extra…”

Fifty thousand a month was already a dream come true, but that didn’t mean he could just kiss her for free!

If he’d mentioned earlier that she had to… offer that kind of service, she… she—

Okay, fine. If he’d said it upfront, she probably wouldn’t have turned it down.

I mean—fifty thousand. Not fifty bucks.

Ethan turned his face away. The slap had been serious; the sharp red print on his normally pale, handsome face flared up fast. The cold air around him was enough to freeze someone solid.

“Chloe Summers.”

He squeezed the words out through clenched teeth, eyes sharp enough to slice. “Do you have a death wish?”

Chloe panicked instantly. The money-induced fog finally cleared, and she remembered the original plot of this story…

The original Chloe Summers had a miserable life. Her scummy dad gambled and beat his wife. Her mom ran off right after giving birth and remarried, never caring about her, only showing up to demand money with the excuse, “I suffered to give birth to you.”

Her grandma—the only person who ever truly loved her—fell severely ill.

With no way to scrape together even a hundred thousand for the medical bills, Chloe had cried alone in the hospital hallway… right when Ethan Wellington was there getting treated for his chronic stomach issues.

The dim hallway wrapped around them like a bad dream, and the girl standing there with tears hanging at a perfect forty‑five‑degree angle looked so much like the Winona Hartley he’d once loved but could never have—off chasing her studies abroad—that Ethan Wellington’s heart slipped for a beat before he even realized it.

That was why he stepped in. Not only paid her medical bills on the spot, but even brought her back to his own villa, letting the idea of turning her into Winona’s stand‑in take root in his mind.

In the original story, Chloe Summers was kind but painfully soft. Just for that hundred thousand, she treated Ethan like he was the only light in her whole messed‑up life, willingly giving up her pride to be his substitute. Before leaving, she even returned every cent.

Yet Ethan, blinded by that same money, stubbornly convinced himself she was nothing but a girl obsessed with cash, someone cheap and shallow.

Even though Chloe loved him with everything she had—cooking for him, making soup, warming his bed, swallowing all sorts of unfair treatment without a word…

Even when the real white moonlight came back, humiliating her, framing her at every turn…

Ethan was like a straight‑up NPC with no intelligence stat, missing every clue and doing nothing but hurting her more.

In the end, Chloe got pregnant but was forced to go through a miscarriage, completely broken, leaving him behind with nothing but silence.

And after that…

There was no after that, because the remaining chapters were VIP‑locked. Chloe had cursed at the paywall for a full minute before ditching the novel for another one.

Thinking about all this now, Chloe felt a knot twist in her stomach.

Selling her body? Well… not ideal, but she could probably grit her teeth and survive it. But being forced into a miscarriage? That was next‑level tragic.

Watching Ethan’s expression get darker by the second, flames practically sparking in his eyes, she panicked for half a beat before suddenly switching into survival mode. With a look of deep, tragic sincerity, she blurted, “Mr. Wellington, what you’re doing right now… it’s basically ruining the purity of your great love, you know?”