Everyone Thinks I'm My Brother's Lapdog

Sawyer Lund is my brother, and I've been his wingman since we were kids. Growing up, my absolute favorite thing to do was serving him—bringing him his drinks, getting his food, even lighting his cigarettes. I do it happily and never complain. When Sawyer gets accepted into Javon University, I waste no time skipping grades and following him there. On the first day of the semester, Sawyer walks into our dorm room with eight bodyguards. Our roommates greet him enthusiastically while I busy myself cleaning up his desk. Harvey Warren is the only roommate who mocks me pointedly for it. "You're not Sawyer's roommate," he says. "You're clearly his lackey." I just smile and stay silent. One day, Sawyer carelessly tosses his newly purchased Patek Philippe to me and says, "The colorway suits your style better. You should wear it instead." Harvey happens to walk past the door just as I accept the watch with a smile. Over the weekend, with Sawyer away on a business trip abroad, Harvey and I are the only ones left in the dorm. "Do you know what everyone in class calls you behind your back, Felix?" he says. "Sawyer's lapdog." The next day, Ruby Sutton, the campus belle who happens to be my girlfriend, tells me to meet her out on the field. She furrows her brow deeply the moment she sees me. "Do you have to be this pathetic, Felix? How could you throw away your dignity and become someone's lapdog just for a watch? Harvey's family isn't well-off, but even he lives with more dignity than you do." She pauses, then delivers another crushing blow. "Harvey takes the top spot in our major yet again in this term's finals. What do you have to show for yourself? You spend all your time acting as a glorified goon while your grades sit at rock bottom. Do you not feel ashamed, Felix?" Harvey tugs gently at her sleeve and lowers his head. "Please stop arguing with him, Ruby. You know how much I dislike this kind of thing." Ruby's expression immediately softens. I watch her rub his shoulder and smirk. Has nobody noticed that Sawyer and I have the same last name—Lund? Chapter 1 I flashed the Patek Philippe on my wrist and laughed. "You've been holding that in for a while, haven't you, Harvey? Do you want this watch, too? Shame you can't afford one." Harvey Warren, my roommate, flushed and took a step back. That movement was subtle, as if I'd hit a sore spot, but also as if he were deliberately putting on a performance of "being hurt". Just as expected, Ruby Sutton, my girlfriend, took the bait. She stepped in front of Harvey to shield him, brow furrowed. "I didn't expect you to be this kind of person, Felix Lund!" she snapped, voice dripping with disappointment. I tilted my head slightly and asked, "What kind of person am I, Ruby?" She glared at me with open disgust. "When did you get so arrogant and overbearing, Felix? Harvey comes from a poor family, yet you use money to mock him. Do you even have a conscience?" I was stunned after hearing that I was arrogant and overbearing. Suddenly, I remembered an incident that happened a year ago, the day Ruby cornered me outside the library. She'd been the prettiest girl on campus then, with two of her best friends trailing behind like her personal cheer squad. She'd blocked my path on the library steps, tilted her chin proudly, and said, "Be my boyfriend, Felix." I stood there stunned for a solid three seconds before asking why. Ruby grinned, not the least bit embarrassed, and replied, "You're the most good-looking guy I've ever seen, and have a really sunny smile too. You're just easy on the eyes." Ruby's reason was just as simple as that. I thought she was pretty interesting back then—direct and completely unpretentious. Now, a year later, that same face regarded me with undisguised contempt, as though I were beneath her. I couldn't care less about her at that point. Harvey pushed the broken frame of his glasses higher on his nose, his voice gentle and seemingly understanding. "Don't be too hard on Felix, Ruby. He's probably just scared of being poor. Someone finally gave him a watch, so it makes sense he can't bear to take it off. "I'm poor too, but at least I know better than to trade away my dignity." Harvey's voice gradually dropped, and the last few words were almost dragged out from his throat, with just the right amount of trembling emotion to make him appear pitiful. Ruby's savior complex instantly kicked in. Her eyes were filled with pity and sympathy as she reached out to comfort him. "You shouldn't say that, Harvey. Some people simply have no talent. All they can do is grovel to get what they want. "You might come from nothing, but at least you're honest and upright. You come in first on every exam, and all the professors praise you, saying you have a bright future. You're so much better than a spineless guy like him." She cast a casual glance at me as she said so. The contempt within that fleeting glance was sharp enough to cut. In that instant, the surrounding students gathered around in small groups, curious about what was happening. Some recognized the Patek Philippe on my wrist, while others recognized Harvey. "Isn't that Sawyer's lackey? What's he doing wearing a Patek Philippe?" "That lackey gets a handout and suddenly thinks he's moved up in the world!" "You guys should keep it down. You can't just insult the lackey without pissing off whoever they work for." "Please. Sawyer has gone abroad, so he has nobody watching his back right now." Their sharp words landed one after another, as if they had planned it. Their voices were neither loud nor soft, but exactly clear enough for me to catch. A few people laughed behind their hands, while others gave me a thorough once-over, sizing me up. Ruby just stood there, listening to what those people were saying without even trying to defend me. If anything, she looked at me with the same contempt as everyone else. Harvey buried his face in Ruby's shoulder, like he was hiding from something. But I caught his little smirk—the satisfied smile of a hunter watching his prey take the bait. I almost laughed. It was merely a Patek Philippe; I had a drawer full of them. I didn't want the attention or any special treatment, so I usually never brought up my family background with anyone. But somehow, I ended up being mistaken for Sawyer Lund's—my brother's—lackey. Sawyer felt sorry for me, so he practically forced me into his dorm room, saying we'd be able to look out for each other if we lived together. I took a deep breath, then said, "I'll wear whatever watch I want to wear. It's none of your business." Chapter 2 Those words seemed to strike a nerve with Harvey. His head snapped up from Ruby's shoulder, his voice rising sharply. "What makes you think you can speak to me like that, Felix?" He stubbornly lifted his chin, still wearing that pitiful expression, yet his gaze had transformed. The previous helplessness was gone, replaced by a cold, biting sharpness. "I'm poor, my family circumstances are bad, and I've never even touched a Patek Philippe in my life. But no matter how poor I am, I won't grovel for scraps the way you do." "What else can you do besides sucking up to rich people, Felix? You failed three classes last semester and got a 43 in calculus. Do you even deserve to be called a real man? Do you know what I got in calculus? A 98—the highest in the whole department." There was an unmistakable note of triumph in his voice, as if he had finally dropped the poor, helpless victim act and revealed his true, sharp-edged nature. The surrounding students' glares shot toward me in unison. I laughed out of sheer exasperation. I hadn't even gone after him yet, but he was already playing the victim. I took a step forward, staring down at him. "What makes you think I can't afford it, Harvey?" Harvey's lips parted, but before he could speak, Ruby scoffed. She crossed her arms, looking completely annoyed. "Why are you putting on airs, Felix? Some people might not know your situation, but I certainly do. "You rotate the same few clothes all the time, you always buy the cheapest meals at the dining hall, and last month, you spent ages doing math just to save 50 dollars on your phone bill. "Harvey at least doesn't put on an act. He wins scholarships left and right, and the professors all say he has a bright future. But what about you? You're ranked last in the major, you lack a man's basic dignity, and you've somehow developed an ego from being someone else's lackey." She then shrugged dismissively, her voice dripping with contempt. "Any designer watch you wear will only look like a fake, Felix. You actually took something someone else gave you and used it to embarrass Harvey. Do you not feel ashamed?" She turned to look at Harvey after saying that, her expression radiating the smug satisfaction of a woman convinced of her own generosity. Harvey lowered his head right on cue, adjusting his glasses as if embarrassed. "You shouldn't say that, Ruby," he said softly. "Felix might be a failure, but he still has his pride." It sounded like he was defending me, but in reality, he had actually labeled me a failure. A wave of low laughter broke out from the crowd. I suddenly felt a sharp pang in my heart. It was Ruby's birthday last month. Someone on her feed had posted a limited-edition lipstick set their boyfriend had gifted, and she'd forwarded it to me with an envious emoji. I wanted to give her a decent gift earned through my own hard work, so I took a job at the milk tea shop near the campus entrance, pulling eight-hour shifts on my feet until they swelled so much I couldn't get my shoes on. I also tutored high school kids, riding the bus for two hours round-trip and talking until my voice was completely shot. Finally, I saved up enough money to buy the lipstick set. But on the day she opened the present, she only gave it a single glance before rushing out to go shopping with her roommates. I doubted she even remembered it. I took a deep breath and forced the bitterness in my heart back down. Staring straight at Ruby, I asked, "Are you done? Whether I can afford it or not is my business. What does that have to do with any of you?" I then turned on my heel and walked away. "Excuse me." The crowd parted to make way for me. I had only taken two steps when Ruby yelled, sounding absolutely furious. I then heard footsteps behind me as she ran up and grabbed me by the arm. "Hold it right there, Felix! Harvey was kind enough to let me talk some sense into you, yet you still have the nerve to give me attitude. Who the hell do you think you are?" I forcefully shook off her hand. Ruby looked even more furious. "You'd better apologize to Harvey and return that watch!" I was baffled by her demand. The watch belonged to my family, so I had no one to return it to. I said nothing, turned, and kept walking. "You'd better stop right there, Felix!" Ruby shrieked, as if she couldn't believe I had publicly humiliated her. "If you take another step, we're breaking up!" The whispering among the crowd died down, and everyone stood there waiting to see if I'd turn back and apologize to Harvey. I paused for a split second. Then, without looking back, I took another step forward. Chapter 3 I returned to the dorm, crouched down, and took out the laundry basin from under the bed. Sawyer was returning the day after tomorrow, so his bedsheets needed changing. I stripped the sheets off his bed and dunked them into the basin with some detergent. Squatting on the floor, I start to scrub. The cool foam washed over the backs of my hands. It was then that the door swung open. Harvey saw me squatting on the floor washing the sheets. He smirked faintly, walked over to me in a few strides, and dumped his pile of dirty laundry straight into my basin. Foam splashed up into my face. I glared at him. "What the hell are you doing?" Harvey stood over me with his arms crossed, his chin raised ever so slightly. His eyes were colder than I'd ever seen them as he looked at me through the crack in his glasses. "What's the difference between washing bedsheets and underwear? You're already doing the laundry, so you might as well do mine while you're at it. You're always so eager to wash other people's laundry, right? We're roommates too. Why does Sawyer get special treatment?" He smirked slightly, his eyes brimming with smug satisfaction. "What's the matter? Is this beneath you? You'd willingly lick Sawyer's boots, but washing my underwear is where you draw the line? "You're a typical bootlicker who only bows down to money. Poor people like me don't even deserve to ask you to wash a pair of socks, huh?" He heavily emphasized the words "poor people", as if intentionally taking a jab at himself, yet also using that identity as a weapon. I stood up slowly, wiping the suds from my hands onto my pants. I looked down at the stinky pile of socks and underwear in the basin. After fishing them out, I walked over to him and shoved them back into his arms. "Do your own laundry." Then I turned, squatted down again, and went back to scrubbing Sawyer's bedsheets. Harvey's shirt was soaked through from his wet laundry. He stood there in stunned silence for a heartbeat before snapping, his voice turning extremely shrill. "What's that supposed to mean, Felix? You look down on me because I'm poor, don't you? You only do laundry for rich people, right? Go ahead and keep sucking up to the rich, then. Let's see how far that gets you!" His chest was heaving. His eyes bore into me from behind his cracked glasses with a cold, vicious hostility, like he'd been struck and was about to strike back. I ignored him. That was when my other roommates stepped in to speak up for me. "Your socks and underwear are so filthy, Harvey. Felix isn't your personal maid." "Seriously. What gives you the right to make Felix do your laundry?" Harvey's face went pale, then flushed with anger. He bit his lip, threw his laundry violently into the basin, and stormed out of the dorm room, slamming the door behind him. About 20 minutes later, my phone buzzed three times in my pocket. I took it out and saw a message from an unknown number. "Do you really have to be such a bully, Felix? Is it really that hard for you to help Harvey do his laundry? Didn't you know his hand is injured?" More messages followed, one after another. "I never realized you were this heartless. It's just a small favor, and you still refused to help. I'm so disappointed in you. "What kind of man does that make you? Harvey may come from nothing, but at least he knows how to show gratitude. You only know how to latch onto rich people. Is there anything else you're capable of? "I must have been blind to date you, Felix. Harvey ranks first in the department despite his hardships, while you just waste your days away. How do you even have the nerve to wear a watch that expensive?" I burst out laughing while reading the messages. Ruby would never know that Harvey's "hand injury" was just a band-aid covering unbroken skin. She would never know about the smirk on his face when he dumped his underwear in my basin in front of everyone in the dorm room. She only knew that her darling Harvey was a pitiful, hardworking student, while I was just a spineless coward. I opened the message thread with that unknown number and typed out a reply. "If you want to wash his underwear so badly, come do it yourself. I wouldn't even mind if you chose to lick it clean instead. "Also, we broke up, so you have no right to be disappointed in me. It's also none of your business whether or not I'm a man." I sent the message, blocked the number, and went back to scrubbing the sheets. … I was jolted awake by the constant vibration of my phone the following morning, going off more than a dozen times straight. I opened it groggily and saw a long list of messages from my roommate. The first one was a link to a post titled, "Shocking Revelation! Javon University's Wealthy Heir's Lackey Exposed: That Young Man by Sawyer Lund's Side Is a Plaything for the Wealthy." I was wide awake now. I clicked the post and saw that it had gone up on the campus forum at 3:00 am. "Remember Felix, the guy who's been glued to Sawyer's side every day and has been catering to his every need since day one? "You all thought he was just Sawyer's roommate? How naive! The Lund family basically owns him. He's there to wait on people! You all know what I mean by that, right?" What followed was a detailed list of all my supposed crimes since the semester began. "All this guy does is suck up to the wealthy and look down on the rest of us. I honestly feel embarrassed to be in the same class as him." There was even a comment left by an "insider" at the very bottom of the post. "I'm actually his roommate. He never talks to any of us. He probably looks down on us because we're poor. After all, with the heir of the Lund family backing him, why would he care about people like us?" I could recognize that tone and wording anywhere. The post had already reached the trending section, and the comments kept piling up without an end in sight. "I knew there was something behind it. I mean, no one would willingly become that submissive unless they'd been trained for it. It turns out the training happened in bed." "He's the worst kind of person imaginable. He's merely a lapdog for the rich, yet he somehow acts like he's better than the rest of us." "Isn't he Ruby's boyfriend? How could a spineless guy like that be a match for the campus belle? What a joke." "He ranks dead last in the major and spends all day carrying bags for the wealthy. Can you even call him a man?" I then found out that someone had deliberately tagged an account, which turned out to be Ruby's. She had already written her reply. "Felix and I broke up. He was the one who kept pestering me from the start. He's got no character, he's a spineless coward, and his grades are an absolute disaster. I cut my losses just in time." Ruby's comment quickly attracted a wave of likes, with everyone praising her for "cutting her losses". Someone else tagged her and asked, "Then what's actually going on between you and Harvey?" She replied with a blushing emoji and wrote, "Harvey might not come from a wealthy family, but he's a great guy. He has good grades, good character, and real integrity. He's so much better than certain people who get by just by sucking up to others." I compared how Ruby described me with how she described Harvey, staring at those contrasting phrases for a long time. I was completely unperturbed by it at this point. I locked my phone and sat there on the bed, staring absentmindedly at the gray sky outside. Before I even had the time to react to the whole situation, I received a call from my student affairs officer, Felicity Jones. "Please come to my office this instant, Felix." Chapter 4 Ms. Jones slid the stack of papers toward me. It was a printout of the forum thread, with clusters of comments circled in highlighter. She furrowed his brow and tapped her finger against the pages. "The whole campus is talking about this, Felix. Your behavior of flaunting wealth and bullying poor classmates has created a terrible impression—to the point that the department is actually inquiring about the whole situation. You should just apologize to Harvey to put this matter to rest." I thought about it for a moment before asking, "You want me to apologize to him? He's the one who threw his underwear into my basin, spread rumors about me online, and turned the whole campus against me. You're telling me to apologize?" Ms. Jones' expression hardened slightly. "Is that your attitude? Are you trying to blow this whole thing up?" I stood up, the chair legs screeching sharply against the tile. "You don't need to concern yourself with this, Ms. Jones. Once my parents return to Javon, you can speak with them directly." Ms. Jones's frown deepened. "You should call your parents then! I'd love to see exactly what kind of parents could possibly spoil their child this much!" I stared at her and said deliberately, "I'll be calling Timothy Lund. Do you really want me to put that call through, Ms. Jones?" Ms. Jones' pen dropped onto the desk. Her lips parted slightly as she suddenly looked down and began leafing through the directory on her desk. Her finger stopped on a single name. Her face went from livid to pale, then to a complicated look I couldn't quite describe. "Y-You're Mr. Lund's son? Why didn't you say so?" I left her question unanswered. I simply turned, pulled the door open, and walked out. I hadn't even made it back to the dorms when two figures appeared, walking toward me from the far end of the tree-lined walkway. Harvey was holding Ruby's arm, clinging almost entirely to her side. His eyes were red and swollen, like he'd just been crying. Ruby tilted her head slightly, whispering something to him with a gentle expression. They caught sight of me. Harvey faltered for a second before tightening his grip on her arm. Ruby's expression hardened, but Harvey spoke first. "I really didn't mean to, Felix. I really had no idea that the post would blow up like this. I only said 'he looks down on us for being poor' in the dorm group chat, and someone took a screenshot and posted it. I'm really sorry. Please don't be mad at me, Felix." Fear flashed in his eyes, and his fingers trembled slightly where they tightly gripped the hem of Ruby's sleeves. Ruby immediately pulled him behind her, glaring at me with the fierce, protective look of someone shielding what was hers. I suddenly felt my stomach churn at the sheer familiarity of that gesture. I then burst out laughing and asked, "Haven't you put on enough of a show, Harvey? You've had your eyes on Ruby for a long time, haven't you? "It's just a pity she was my girlfriend at the time, so all you could do was play the part of the poor, hard-working, good student in front of her." "Felix Lund!" Ruby snapped, shielding him behind her. I ignored her and kept my eyes on Harvey, still smiling. "Let me make things clear today, Harvey. Is trash like Ruby really worth all the trouble you're taking to steal her from me? "It's completely unnecessary. If you want a woman like her, she's all yours. Ruby is rotten, so I'll give her to you for free, Harvey." In that instant, the atmosphere fell deadly silent. Ruby's hand shot up, and before I had the chance to dodge, my ears started ringing. She actually struck me hard across the face. My left cheek burned, and a loud ringing filled my ears as flashing stars exploded across my vision. Ruby stood above me on the steps, her chest heaving. Her right hand was balled into a fist. "Don't think for a second that I wouldn't hit you, Felix. I've been way too patient with you. You'd better apologize to Harvey right now. Otherwise, don't blame me when I force you onto your knees to do it!" Behind her, Harvey bit his lip before whispering, "You should just let it go, Ruby. He really isn't worth it." He sounded like he was trying to break up a fight, but the eyes behind his cracked glasses were clearly full of gloating. I slowly looked up, glancing at her and then at him. It looked like I wasn't going to get out of it this time. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. "Dad, I got slapped by some woman. She also said she's going to force me to get on my knees and apologize." In that instant, mocking laughter erupted from the surrounding crowd. "Is that lowlife father of yours going to come over to get down on his knees with you too?" Just then, the sound of a helicopter landing echoed over the campus. "How dare you bully someone from the Lund family!"