Chapter 2: Revenge, PS5, and Greasy Karma

Three days after the "Sam" incident, the PS5 I bought arrived at the package lockers.

Unboxing, organizing, taking close-up photos.

I made sure the lighting was just right, the box pristine, everything staged to look like a Craigslist ad gone pro. I even wiped the console down with a microfiber cloth, just to twist the knife a little deeper.

After all that, I went to my ex’s post looking to buy a PS5 and sent him the pics.

"How much?" He replied instantly.

I quoted him a price just below his budget: "Something came up at home, need cash fast. Just arrived, selling cheap."

He must’ve thought he’d struck gold—didn’t even bother to check if I was a scammer, just kept urging me to post a direct buy link.

"I’ll buy it right now." I could practically see him grinning like an idiot on the other end.

He was probably already bragging to his equally clueless, pathetic friends.

I knew he was a student at our school—after all, we’d been online dating for a while, and I’d bought him plenty of Starbucks and snacks—but the name he gave me was fake. No such person in our school’s records.

If I wanted to hit him where it hurt, I needed his real name.

"Shipping today."

After sending that to keep him busy, I went straight to his shipping info: three names—Chase Landon Miller.

Of course his Marketplace shipping note had his real name.

How did I know? Because the name Chase Landon Miller was all too familiar to me.

—He was that supposedly honest, even awkward guy in student government who’d greeted me so warmly as "freshman" when I started school.

And the shoes he wore that day were the exact pair now listed as "barely worn Nikes" on Marketplace.

...You really never know what people are truly like.

I slowly opened DoorDash and ordered an extremely greasy dish—the one he’d asked me to order for him several times before.

While waiting for delivery, I found out his dorm number.

He didn’t have class that morning, so he’d definitely be in his room.

After getting the food from the delivery guy, I checked it—nice, the restaurant really did use the not-so-fresh ingredients I’d requested in the notes.

"Perfect."

With the last touch of lipstick, I stood outside the door of dorm 302, PS5 in one hand, DoorDash bag in the other.

Behind me, the dorm manager Ms. Patty eyed me warily.

She’d just failed to catch up with me, and probably thought I was nuts, so she didn’t dare come closer.

So I calmly knocked on the door.

"Chase, you in?"

There was the sound of a chair scraping, and a few seconds later, Chase appeared wearing an ingratiating grin: "Hey, what are you doing in the guys’ dorm?"

"Delivering your PS5. And some food."

I pressed my lips together, holding back an eye roll and forcing a sweet smile instead: "Funny thing, I only realized you were the buyer when I saw your shipping info."

"?!"

He was shocked. I had no idea what was going through his mind, but it couldn’t be anything good.

"Thanks... but since this is the guys’ dorm, just give it to me here. I’ll confirm delivery later."

His greasy face twisted into a disgusting grin.

A perfect match for his favorite dish.

So as he reached out for the food, I dumped the entire plate onto his face.

He froze.

I grinned.

"What are you doing..." he stared blankly at the greasy mess. "Is it April Fools’ Day or something?"

"Nope." I kept up my sweet-girl act, even making my voice sugary: "It’s your free Starbucks delivery simp, bringing your order in person."

After dropping off the PS5, I left the dorm and realized the console was still useless to me.

Just then, a super handsome guy walked by. I grabbed him and shoved the whole PS5 box into his hands: "It’s yours."

"?"

He stood there, stunned: "Um... do we know each other?"

"Nope. You’re just good-looking, so I’m giving it to you."

I smiled, making sure he couldn’t give it back: "Honestly, you can call me Sam. My favorite thing is doing good deeds. This PS5 is just today’s achievement. Please, take it."

—After all, every time I saw it, I’d remember the humiliation of being labeled a simp on Marketplace for everyone to laugh at.

The guy gave me a tight-lipped, skeptical smile: "You ever heard of the Law of Conservation of Luck? If I take this PS5, I’ll probably get hit by a bus today."

I paused, then grinned wider. "I don’t do losing deals."

First time I’d seen someone not just refuse a freebie, but act like it was definitely poisoned.

"Alright, never mind."

—Turning down a free PS5 just because you’re good-looking. What a waste of a face on such a clueless brain.

I gave him a pitying look.

When God handed out looks, He forgot to include brains.