The System came back online right as I was slapping the face of the psycho second male lead. His face was pale, his eyes dark and predatory. The System screamed in my head: [WTF? Host, have you lost your mind?] [The Villain’s corruption level is at 99%! Do you want to be locked in a cage?!] I looked at my stepbrother, whose eyes were filled with murderous intent. I explained innocently, "But he ruined the Hero's family! I'm just standing up for the Hero!" Just as I was patting myself on the back, the System let out a sound of despair. [What 'Hero'? Are you insane?] [Your capture target IS the psycho stepbrother!] 1 I was grounded by Julian Sterling again. This time, it was because he found a hickey on my neck. In the dim, low light of the basement bedroom, I was confined to the bed, a thin, silver chain around my ankle. The man knelt on one knee before me. His face was breathtakingly cold, tainted with a frantic rage. "Our Sienna has grown up. She dares to hide things from her big brother. She dares to be intimate with other men." "Tell me. What is that bastard's name?" His hand glided up my calf. With every inch he moved higher, he repeated the question with paranoid obsession. My breathing grew ragged. But I bit my lip hard, refusing to yield. The livestream comments in my vision scrolled by faster than I could read: [Omg, why is the heroine so dumb? Ignoring the hot, rich villain to simp for the loser hero?] [She’s got ‘love-brain.’ She’d die to protect that scumbag Gavin.] [Whatever, let her suffer. Once the villain snaps completely and drags her off to Siberia, she’ll learn.] Watching the comments, I sighed silently. I had no choice. Julian Sterling was the book's villainous second lead, my nominal stepbrother. He was beautiful, gloomy, and totally my type. Unfortunately, I thought my mission target was someone else. "Julian..." I feigned obedience, wrapping my arms around his waist. My soft body pressed against his rigid form. "You misunderstood. It's not a hickey. It's just a mosquito bite." "Is that so?" Julian’s expression didn't change. He lowered his head and bit down hard on the sensitive cartilage of my ear. Ouch! Tears welled up in my eyes. Like a puppy, I kissed his cheek, pleading. "It's true! Why would I lie to you?" The corner of Julian's mouth twitched. He stared at my flushed face, his gaze darkening. "Fine. I believe you're a good girl. Unless—" He paused, a suffocating silence filling the room. "—Unless you want me to kill that mongrel." I shivered. Julian wasn't exaggerating. His possessiveness was pathological. In the nineteen years since I transmigrated into this book, every member of the opposite sex who got too close to me ended up dead or insane. Until I completed the mission, I absolutely could not let him know about the "Hero's" existence. To lower his guard, I drank the milk he offered and fell into a deep sleep in his arms. When I woke up the next day, the sun was high. It was already noon. I walked into the bathroom and nearly screamed. In the mirror, my lips were swollen. Underneath my silk pajamas, my skin was covered in a shocking array of red marks. Strange... 2 Were there really that many mosquitoes last night? Rubbing my aching waist, I pushed open the door to Julian's study. "Julian?" I called out, my voice raspy. No answer. I looked around in shock. The massive villa was empty. Julian was gone. There was only a note on the desk: Urgent business trip abroad. Be good and wait for me. What? I couldn't believe my eyes. Usually, whenever Julian left the country, he surrounded me with spies. This time, he took all the bodyguards with him? This was... a miracle! Blinded by joy, I didn't question it. As soon as Julian’s private jet supposedly took off, I packed a bag and moved into the university dorms. My roommate, Lisa, was sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. She grumbled while helping me haul my suitcase up the stairs. "I don't get you. You have a palace to live in, but you insist on squeezing into this shoebox dorm." I smiled and handed her a small gift. "Thanks for the help! By the way, do you know where Gavin is?" Gavin. The supposed Hero of this book. The man I thought I had to romance. Nineteen years ago, I was born into this melodramatic novel. The System dropped one line—"Your target is the male lead"—and then crashed. Based on the chat comments, I identified Gavin. He was brilliant but poor. He only got into this elite university because of the Sterling family's scholarship fund. Because of this, Gavin had a twisted inferiority complex. He held a strange hostility toward me, the Sterling heiress. "If you want to date me, stop looking down on me from your high horse. Show some sincerity," he had sneered. "Don't you agree, Princess Sienna?" To complete the mission, I had to humble myself and become his doormat. When he booked a hotel room with his childhood sweetheart, I paid for the protection. When he wanted a limited-edition sports car, I wrote the check without blinking. I had spent four million dollars on him behind Julian's back. Only yesterday did Gavin finally relent and agree to "give us a try." "Gavin?" Lisa thought for a moment. "He has a basketball game today. He should be at the gym." My eyes lit up. "Perfect. I'll go cheer him on!" As I turned around, the floating text scrolled frantically: [Oh god, she’s done for.] [Does the heroine not realize her roommate was bought off years ago? Lisa is Julian's spy!] [Shh, nobody tell her. Let’s just wait until her eyes go vacant and she’s crying for mercy. She’ll regret this.] The game wasn't a big one. When I arrived, it was already over. Gavin's teammates saw me first and jeered, "Yo Gavin, your little ATM is here!" The boy on the bleachers looked up lazily. He was handsome in a scrappy way, surrounded by girls handing him water. He ignored them all, staring at me with impatience. "You're slow. What took you so long?" I gripped the mineral water in my hand, panting slightly. "Didn't you tell me to go to the track field?" It was ninety degrees out. I had been running around under the blazing sun for half an hour. I was drenched in sweat. If Lisa hadn't corrected me, I’d still be there. Gavin ran a hand through his hair, feigning realization. "Oh. Maybe I tapped the wrong location pin. My bad." He said "my bad," but his eyes danced with hidden malice. I took a deep breath. He did it on purpose. He loved seeing me beg. 3 The comments were furious on my behalf: [I can’t. Be a doormat, get treated like dirt.] [Please, baby girl, look at the psycho villain! He’s rich, hot, and obsessed with you!] [Don't bother. Her love-brain is terminal.] I ignored the text and forced a smile. "It's okay. You didn't mean it." Seeing I wasn't angry, the tension in Gavin's shoulders relaxed. He took my hand naturally. "Let's go. It's your birthday, right? You said you booked a hotel." I nodded, feeling awkward. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. A message from Julian. [Landed. Meeting partners now.] Recently, he’d been expanding into overseas markets. He must be truly busy. He had completely forgotten my birthday. My heart settled. I sent back a cute "puppy throwing flowers" sticker. [Rest well, Julian! I’ll be good and wait at home!] I was so focused on typing, I missed the flashing red text in my vision: [Girl, don't believe him! The villain never left the country! He’s tricking you!] [RIP. She’s getting caught cheating in the next chapter.] [Please, Julian, punish her hard! Let her know the price of lying!] Night fell abruptly. The hotel ballroom was blindingly bright under the crystal chandeliers. I sat obediently in the corner. Not far away, Gavin was leading a group of his frat bros, acting like he owned the place. "Eat whatever you want, take whatever you want!" he shouted, drunk on expensive wine and power. "Today is my wifey's birthday. What's hers is mine!" The room was a mess. The gifts on the table had been torn open and looted by his friends. Some girls nearby whispered, "I can't believe the Sterling heiress lowered herself to be a dog for a guy like that." I sipped my wine calmly. But Gavin heard them. His fragile ego shattered. "Sienna! Did you invite these people to humiliate me?" He smashed his wine glass at my feet, his eyes red with anger. "You say you like me, but deep down you look down on me, don't you?!" Here we go again. His bizarre insecurity. To soothe him, I walked over to the gossiping girls. I forced myself to say something disgusting. "You guys are just jealous sour grapes. Gavin lets me simp for him because he loves me. Why doesn't he ask you for money?" The girls turned red with anger. "You—" But before they could finish, they suddenly went silent. Their eyes widened in terror, looking behind me. I felt a chill. "What's wrong?" Before I could turn, Gavin’s face drained of blood. He stepped in front of me, bowing respectfully. "Mr... Mr. Sterling." Huh? Mr... who? I froze. Trembling, I turned my head. The first thing I saw was a pair of eyes, smiling yet utterly devoid of warmth. 4 The man was tall, his bespoke suit fitting perfectly, radiating an oppressive aura of authority. It was Julian. "Sienna." Julian smiled gently. He parted the crowd and walked toward me. I stiffened. "Brother..." "Mm." His voice was lazy, yet it carried a terrifying chill. "I leave for one day, and you let others bewitch you... What am I going to do with you?" The blood drained from my face. Only one word echoed in my mind: Doomed. I felt like I was already dead. But Gavin, the idiot, couldn't read the room. He was desperate to prove himself. He grabbed my hand and greeted Julian. "Mr. Sterling, hello. I'm your sister's boyfriend—" Thud. Gavin screamed as he was kicked flying several meters across the room. "Get your filthy hands off her." A polished leather shoe stomped down hard on Gavin's fingers. Julian looked down at him. His gaze was cold, like he was looking at a dead dog. "This boy has lost his mind. Throw him into the ocean to clear his head." Bodyguards swarmed in, tying Gavin up. This was bad. I panicked and blocked Julian's path. "Brother—" Julian didn't blink. "And pull out his tongue. Save him the trouble of speaking nonsense." I couldn't let this happen! If Gavin died, my mission failed! Desperate, I gritted my teeth and raised my right hand— Slap! A crisp sound echoed through the silent hall. I slapped Julian Sterling. Everyone stared in horror. Everyone knew the head of the Sterling Group was ruthless. No one dared to touch a scale on the dragon. I was the first with a death wish. "Brother! Gavin and I are in love! Let him go!" Julian tilted his head, saying nothing. He stared at me, his face pale, the violence in his eyes churning like a storm. After a long time, he laughed abruptly. "Sienna. For an outsider, you don't even want your brother anymore?" "Good... very good." Crap. He’s snapped. My heart pounded against my ribs. Just then, the System, which had been offline for years, finally rebooted. [Ding! Host, I'm back!] [Your mission is compl— AHHHHHH!!!] The chat comments vanished. Replaced by the System’s screeching breakdown. [WTF! Host, have you lost your mind?!] [The psycho villain’s corruption level just hit max! Do you want to be locked in a cage?!] I looked at Julian’s murderous eyes.
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