Three Systems Made the Fake Heiress Unstoppable

"Yes. Let’s prepare some nice parting gifts for them to take home later, especially for York."

"Right. The others’ gifts should be fairly nice, too. After all, the last friend our daughter got attached to didn’t have any of her own friends."

At this, the two exchanged a look and sighed. They didn’t understand why Zoe Roland had turned out this way.

The reason Zoe had never had many friends growing up was her extreme possessiveness.

Whenever she decided she wanted to be friends with someone, things were fine if that person had no other friends—Zoe would just forbid them from making any. However, if the person already had friends, their daughter would go after them, systematically driving them away until that person had no one left to hang out with but her.

They had even taken Zoe to the hospital to see a psychologist about this. The doctor said she needed to be guided and counseled through her issues.

They blamed themselves. They had often neglected her for their work when she was a child, and they felt this lack of attention had led to her current personality.

"Chloe, how’s the cake?"

"It’s delicious! Sweet but not too rich. And the fruit you paired it with is perfect—I love these kinds of fruit." This wasn’t just Chloe York trying to flatter Zoe.

It really was that good. The cake even had chestnuts in it, giving it a wonderful texture.

Hearing Chloe praise the cake she’d made, Zoe was overjoyed. Her smile was radiant, making her two dimples stand out.

Although Stella was wary of Zoe, she had to admit the cake was delicious—even better than the custom-ordered ones her parents usually bought.

’If she doesn’t get into a good university, opening a cake shop wouldn’t be a bad idea,’ she thought.

Everyone ate their cake quietly. While it was delicious, Ethan Prescott and Evan Shaw weren’t big fans of sweets, so they only picked at their slices.

After they finished the cake, Roger Roland and Mrs. Roland turned on the living room TV and brought out a few microphones for karaoke.

Having no interest in singing, Chloe York just sat on the sofa and watched the others.

They soon discovered that the best singers were, surprisingly, Ethan Prescott and Evan Shaw. Both of them had great voices.

’Looks like it’s fate that those two are arch-rivals for the "school stud" title. They’re even good at the same things.’

After spending two hours at Zoe’s house, Chloe York decided to go home. She had to get back to studying, as the second mock exam was just around the corner.

"Zoe, I’m heading out. Let’s hang out again some time," Chloe said, getting to her feet. Stella Winters quickly stood up as well.

Only Ethan Prescott and Evan Shaw, lost in their competitive singing, failed to notice.

"So soon? Why don’t you stay for dinner before you go?" Zoe said, scrambling for a reason to make Chloe stay.

"I can’t. The second mock exam is almost here, and I have to go study!"

Coming out today had already cost her some time. When it came to unplanned events, she always tried to cut them as short as possible.

’If I stay here all day, I know I won’t feel like studying until tomorrow. Today would basically be a wash, and that thought makes me antsy.’

Zoe also knew about Chloe’s bet with her homeroom teacher. She didn’t want Chloe to lose, so she couldn’t hold her back from studying, no matter how much she hated to see her go.

"Okay, then. Chloe, make sure you get some rest and don’t get too worn out. I believe you can definitely score above fifty in every subject on the second mock exam."

"Thanks. I believe I can do it, too."

Zoe nodded emphatically. "You definitely can."

"Well, I’m off. Goodbye!"

"I’ll see you out."

Zoe walked Chloe out, and Stella followed quietly.

Only after the three girls had left the living room did Ethan Prescott and Evan Shaw realize they were gone.

Evan Shaw, sitting by the song selection screen, shut off the background music and stood up to head outside. Ethan Prescott saw him and followed.

Sure enough, they reached the front door just in time to see Zoe saying goodbye to Chloe and Stella.

"Bye! You have to come visit again when you have time," Zoe said with a wave.

"Okay."

Ethan Prescott and Evan Shaw hurried to catch up and leave as well. They called out to Zoe in unison, "Goodbye! We’ll come hang out again sometime."

The smile on Zoe’s face vanished. ’Who said they could come hang out again?’ she thought.

"Zoe."

Hearing the call, Zoe turned to face her parents, her smile instantly reappearing, sweet as ever. "What is it?"

"You really like being friends with York?"

"I do. Is there a problem with that?"

Roger Roland and Mrs. Roland exchanged a look, then both turned their gaze back to Zoe. Roger spoke first. "Zoe, a good friend will have other friends. That’s normal. And what’s more, you can have several good friends at the same time."

Mrs. Roland nodded. "That’s right. Look, you and York are friends, but you could also become good friends with the other three from today. Then you’d have four friends at once! You’d always have good friends around. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?"

When they finished, they looked at Zoe with hopeful expectation. They wanted her to accept Chloe’s other friends and maybe even befriend them herself. That way, the past wouldn’t repeat itself. More importantly, they feared Zoe couldn’t bear another rebuke from someone she considered her best and closest friend.

"But I only want to be friends with Chloe. I don’t want to be friends with anyone else," Zoe said, her tone innocent, as if she couldn’t fathom why her parents would think otherwise. ’How could it be fun to hang out with people you don’t want as friends?’

"But isn’t it more fun to have more friends? It’s livelier! Besides, if one friend is busy on a certain day, you can just go hang out with another one!"

"That’s wrong. A friend should only have me as their friend, and I should only have them. If she has other friends, she’s not my truest friend. If I like her this much, she should hang out with me, not with other people."

With that, Zoe went back inside, clearly done with the conversation.

"We can’t get through to her at all. What are we going to do?" Mrs. Roland’s heart ached seeing her daughter like this.

"Sigh... We just have to take it slow," Roger Roland sighed. There was nothing else he could do.

"Chloe, that Zoe Roland really seems to like you," Stella said tentatively, wanting to see if Chloe had sensed it.

"Probably because I saved her," Chloe answered simply. ’Zoe is a first-year, after all, so she’s two or three years younger than this body’s original owner. Plus, I saved her life. It makes sense that she’d be a little dependent on me and see me as a big sister.’

Seeing this, Stella didn’t say anything more. ’Anyway,’ she resolved, ’Chloe said I’m her most important friend. I’ll just have to be on guard against Zoe and not let her drive a wedge between us.’