After successfully "capturing" the villain and faking my own death to escape, I’ve somehow been resurrected. When my name comes up, Julian Thorne looks cold, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Why would she think I’d throw my life away for her again?" "I'm not that pathetic." I get it. Message received. I start keeping my distance. But not long after, I receive a video of a very drunk Julian. In the video, he’s screaming his heart out, teary-eyed and desperate. "She’s ignoring me again." "I don't want to live anymore." "I'm just going to drop dead right here." 1 It took me a year to capture Julian’s heart. And for 300 of those days, I was totally slacking off. Mostly, I just sent him cheesy pickup lines from the internet every now and then. Called him "Hubby" a couple of times. And boom, mission accomplished. When the System congratulated me, showing me Julian’s affection meter soaring way past the target, I stood there dumbfounded. In my head, it asked if I wanted to stay. I zoned out for a second and didn't answer. The System took my silence as a "no" and defaulted to ejecting me from that world, cooking up some random "death" scenario for my exit. After being "dead" for a year. It came knocking again. [Help! Host! We lost the data from the previous mission!] I asked, unconcerned, "So?" [So you might need to go back and do it again.] What? I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Can I refuse?" [You can, but the sports cars, villa, and money you have now might be revoked.] It took me 0.01 seconds to react: "Quick! Send me back!" Before I could finish speaking, a wave of dizziness hit, and I was transported to a strange place. I looked up and found myself face-to-face with Julian, who was in the middle of scolding someone. He was wearing a suit and gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze fierce. He froze when he saw me, the corner of his mouth curving into a mocking smile. He kicked the person in front of him. "Who told you to bring a fake here?" Seeing him like this, I started to get cold feet. I can tease a puppy, but a wolf? I really can't handle a wolf. I weighed the probability of a successful escape. Before I could put any plan into action, Julian’s gaze shifted to me. "You. Get over here." My brain went into overdrive, and I decided to strike first. I pinched my thigh hard, squeezing out a tear. I turned to look at him with utter resentment. "Julian! You dare yell at me!" "Is this the attitude you have seeing me now?" "Do you know how much I suffered just to come back to see you!" Julian froze at my words, the glass in his hand trembling. He looked at me, disbelief in his voice: "Serena?" "Serena?" I pretended to be heartbroken, repeating the name. "You used to call me Serena-baby or Honey. Now you're using my full name." "Julian, have you changed?" Julian scoffed, as if hearing a joke. "Changed?" "I recall we broke up a long time ago, didn't we?" I really wanted to ask shamelessly when exactly we broke up. But I didn't have the moral high ground. Damn System. I cursed it out in my head. Seeing my silence, Julian’s eyes darkened, and his grip on the glass tightened. I was about to make up some excuse when a voice interrupted. Someone walked in, greeting Julian familiarly. I didn't see his face clearly at first. After saying a few words, the newcomer finally realized the atmosphere was off and turned to look at me. The moment our eyes met, we both saw shock in each other's gaze. Can someone please tell me... Why is the male lead here? And why is he so chummy with the main villain, Julian? Chase Sterling looked at me like he’d seen a ghost. He thought for a few seconds, then realization dawned. He looked at Julian with an indescribable expression. "Bro, seriously? Read too many romance novels? You're doing the whole 'replacement' trope?" "But where did you find her? She looks exactly like Serena." "Holy crap! You didn't get someone plastic surgery to look like her, did you?" I felt like he might have lost his mind. Chase felt my gaze, and his voice unconsciously got louder. "Holy cow, even the look in her eyes is identical! Serena loved looking at me like I was an idiot." I couldn't help it; I cursed at him. Chase’s shock only grew. "You... you came back from the dead?" Two years later, and I still haven't figured out how Chase became the male lead of a sweet romance novel. After confirming I was real, Chase’s eyes darted between Julian and me. Finally, he frowned and asked Julian, "Don't tell me you're going to forgive her just because she said a few words?" Julian coughed to cover up, acting tough: "Impossible." Chase obviously didn't buy it and started lecturing him. "You have to be ruthless this time. What if she plays you again?" "Things easily obtained are not cherished. You absolutely cannot agree to her so easily this time." Julian's expression didn't change. He fingered his glass, looking at me with a playful glint in his eye. "Agree to her?" "Did I say I wanted to get back together with her?" Chase was caught off guard by this. He took a few seconds to react, then asked tentatively, "You mean no matter what she does, you won't forgive her?" Julian’s Adam's apple bobbed as he squeezed out two words through his teeth. "Of course." My heart sank. My expression froze. My fingers unconsciously gripped the hem of my shirt. My nose started to sting. Before a tear could fall, the System’s voice popped up. [What is this guy pretending for?] [If I didn't detect an affection level of 80, I'd actually believe him.] [What a poser.] Me, who had just mustered up the emotions: "..." 2 Julian ended up driving me home. Before I got out, he said this was the last time. The System cursed him out again for being pretentious. I found my old phone at home. As soon as I turned it on... A flood of messages popped up. All from Julian. The most recent one was from yesterday. [Serena, you're something else. Disappeared for a year.] [You don't think I'm still waiting for you, do you? Don't be ridiculous. I've almost forgotten you.] [Did you never actually like me?] [Was saying goodbye properly that hard?] He sent me huge paragraphs almost every few days. From the panic of first learning I was gone, gradually turning into sadness, anger, and finally calm, looking like acceptance. Reading paragraph after paragraph made my chest tight. After thinking it over, I sent him a cheesy pickup line. He didn't reply instantly. After ten minutes, just when I lost hope, his message popped up. [Serena, you still have the nerve to copy this trash from the internet and send it to me?] [If I hadn't seen this online, I might have actually believed your nonsense.] [I'm not the idiot I was before. This trick doesn't work on me anymore!] I could feel his anger through the screen. Before I could say anything, the System notification sounded. [Congratulations Host, Affection +2. Current Affection: 82. Keep up the good work.] "..." Talk about stubborn. I explained a few things to him. Julian didn't seem to believe me and didn't reply again. I don't know who leaked the news of my resurrection. A bunch of people, acquaintances and strangers alike, came asking me. The most surprised was Holly. My only friend in this world. [Girl? You're alive?] [So you didn't die.] [Then what was all that paper money I burned for you this past year?] I smiled. [Consider it a donation.] Holly replied instantly. [Well, I still didn't burn as much as your Julian.] [Last Tomb Sweeping Day, he cleared out several shops. The scene was jaw-dropping.] [Pity I couldn't take a picture, otherwise I'd definitely show you.] Thanks, but no thanks. I don't have a fetish for watching people mourn my grave. Mentioning Julian opened the floodgates for Holly. [You don't know, when you disappeared, he drank all day long. Drank himself into stomach bleeding and the ICU.] My heart skipped a beat. Suddenly my throat felt tight. Julian's message popped up right then. It was a medical report for gastritis. Before I could look closely, he recalled it. [Sorry, wrong person.] [You probably didn't see it, right? I really sent it to the wrong person.] [Actually, that report isn't mine, don't overthink it.] [Okay, fine, it is mine.] After Julian sent these messages, his affection value fluctuated wildly. The notification sound didn't stop. I didn't know how to reply for a moment. After thinking about it, I decided to send a polite message of concern. But my hand slipped, and I sent the cheesy pickup line I hadn't deleted from the text box. I hurriedly tried to recall it, but accidentally clicked delete for myself instead. "..." Julian didn't reply, but the affection value plummeted. The notification sounds were getting annoying. Finally, the affection value stopped at 70. [Serena, you are ruthless.] I could almost imagine Julian gritting his teeth when he sent that. I tried to salvage the situation. Futile. Julian seemed genuinely hurt this time. No matter what I said, he didn't react. I sighed, feeling like my mission career was looking bleak. 3 After learning I really wasn't dead, Holly insisted on throwing me a birthday party. I refused at first. But she said Julian would be there, so I had to bite the bullet and agree. In the end, twenty or thirty people came, most of whom I had crossed paths with. Everyone who saw me had to mention Julian. The protagonist of their conversations walked in at the very last minute of the agreed time. Everyone tacitly left the seat next to me for Julian. He hesitated for a few seconds, then sat down. Holly was great at warming up the crowd. After a few sentences, everyone was chatting enthusiastically. Only Julian and I remained silent. He seemed to find the atmosphere unbearable too, reaching for a wine glass. But I raised my hand to stop him. Julian turned his head, looking at me with confusion in his eyes. I whispered to him, "Didn't you say your stomach is bad? Better not drink." Julian stared at me quietly, as if evaluating or probing. Finally, he curled his lips. "Serena, you should know why my stomach is bad, right?" "Didn't Holly tell you I drank until my stomach bled?" "Guess because of whom?" He was a bit aggressive. I slowly moved my hand away. "Because of me?" Julian chuckled again. "No." "Because I have no self-respect." Saying self-deprecating words, he downed a mouthful of wine. My chest felt tight, so I picked up my glass and drank a few mouthfuls too. Feeling it wasn't enough, I started drinking straight from the bottle. Everyone cast surprised glances at me. Julian reached out to stop me. My alcohol tolerance is actually very good. But Julian didn't know that. When I was capturing his heart before, I often used the "pretending to be drunk" trick. I repeated the old trick, falling into Julian's arms. I felt his body stiffen instantly. The thundering heartbeat stimulated my eardrums. Julian's deep voice came from above: "How many times are you going to use this drunk act?" "You really think I can't tell?" I was startled. Only a year has passed, how come this guy Julian not only got smarter but also sharper-eyed? I leaned my head further into his arms, trying to struggle a bit more. But he remained unresponsive. So I awkwardly prepared to get up, but a pair of hands wrapped around my waist without warning. At the same time, the affection value went up by 5 points. Julian picked me up and walked out. Whispering in my ear: "Throwing yourself at me while sober? I have no reason to refuse." As soon as we walked out, we bumped into the latecomer Chase. He took one look at me in Julian's arms and exploded. "I knew it! You were just being stubborn before. It's only been a few days, and you forgave her?" If I wasn't still acting. I would have stood up and fought Chase. This guy holds a grudge too much. Just because I accidentally tripped him up while he was chasing his girl, does he have to take revenge now? Julian didn't answer him directly, just said a seemingly random sentence: "She's drunk." "Drunk?" Chase's tone was full of disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" "She drank me under the table several times before. You might not know her tolerance, but don't you know mine?" "Unless she's been drinking for hours, she is definitely lying to you." Is Chase living too good a life recently? Thinking just because he's the male lead and married the female lead, he can sit back and relax? Wait until the female lead's first love comes back in a few months, he'll suffer. Thinking of that scene, I couldn't help but chuckle. Julian looked down at me. His tone was somewhat serious. "If you're going to act, act seriously." My mouth twitched. Chase looked dumbfounded. 4 Julian carried me all the way to the car. But he didn't start the engine. He propped his head on one hand against the window looking at me, the other hand tapping the steering wheel rhythmically. Even with my eyes closed. I could still feel him watching me. I held on for a few minutes. Finally, I couldn't hold it anymore. I glared at him in exasperation. Julian's mouth curled up slightly, looking at me leisurely. "I thought you could act all night." He really has gone bad. Before when I pretended to be drunk, he would be flustered, ears red as blood. Not calm and breezy like now. "You did it on purpose." I accused him. Julian found it funny, the curve of his mouth rising even more. "Are you referring to this time, or before?" I snapped at him: "You saw through it before, why didn't you expose me? Just watching me make a fool of myself?" "Before, I called it... playful romance." Julian's tone was overly serious. So serious my cheeks burned. I flusteredly pressed the window button. Cold wind poured in, sobering me up for a moment. Anyone knows his next sentence won't be good, so I deliberately didn't ask. Julian continued on his own. "Played by you repeatedly, even Hello Kitty would get angry." "It's just that you've used this trick too many times; there's no novelty left." I pouted, unwilling to show weakness. "That's because I only used it on you. If I use this trick on others now, it will be fresh." [Congratulations Host, Affection +5. Current Affection: 80. Keep up the good work.] Going in circles for days, right back to where we started. Julian suppressed a smile, silent for a few seconds before saying: "You'd better not use it on others." "After all, not everyone is a gentleman like me." The nerve of him. Don't know who stole a kiss from me before. Kissed and then acted like the whole world didn't know, face blushing like crazy, walking with same arm and leg. Thinking of this, I couldn't help laughing out loud. Seeing my sly smile, Julian became a bit angry from embarrassment. "What nonsense are you thinking about?" My smile didn't fade. "Haven't seen you for a year, you've become so domineering, controlling heaven and earth and now controlling my thoughts?" Julian couldn't out-talk me, reached out to start the car to divert attention. Just turned the key, suddenly remembered he drank, had to give up and call a designated driver. Julian and I sat on each side of the back seat. Far enough to fit another person. Watching the scenery flash by outside the window, my eyelids slowly became heavy. My whole body tilted crookedly towards that side. Finally leaning on someone's shoulder. In my haze, I seemed to hear the system's affection increase notification. And Julian's voice. "Pretty good acting this time." After he finished, he slowly lowered his head. And placed a kiss on my forehead.
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