The first thing my new "System" did was send a breakup text to my freshman boyfriend. "We're done, kid. I'm not into 'small' things." My bedroom door slammed open. A gloriously naked man, still flushed from our last round, stood there holding his phone. "Mia, what the hell is this? We're not even... cooled down yet, and you're pulling this shit?" 1 Leo Sterling had me pinned against the sofa, shoving his phone in my face. "When you were chasing me all last semester, you didn't seem to mind that I was 'small.' Or did I suddenly shrink?" The System had my body in a goddamn chokehold. I heard myself speak, but the words weren't mine. "I wasn't talking about your age." We both, instinctively, looked down. Leo let out a cold laugh. "That's not what you were screaming five minutes ago." He leaned in, his voice dropping. "Need me to refresh your memory?" And that's how I was "forcibly reminded" on my own sofa, without any say in the matter. He kept demanding, "Is it big?! Is it?!" And all I was allowed to say was, "Ah! Ah! Ah!" So goddamn annoying. 2 When Leo left, he gave me a warning. "Babe, if you ever say crazy shit like that again, I've got plenty of 'energy' and 'methods' to prove you wrong." I smiled, blew him a kiss, and as soon as the door closed, the System took over, forcing me to change the electronic lock code. "Look," I pleaded with the voice in my head, "I can do your quests, but do I have to break up with him?" The System's voice was tinny and severe. 「You are on the 'Devoted Other Woman' script. You are supposed to be pathetically in love with the Male Lead. If he finds out you have a young boyfriend on the side, how will he ever believe your devotion is 'to-die-for'?」 "But..." 「This time, we're playing to win! We must crush the Female Lead and lock down the Male Lead!」 The System sounded unhinged. I tried to reason with it. "If I'm the 'Other Woman,' isn't my whole point not to win?" 「Don't question me! I know what I'm doing! Just follow the script, or I'll tase you!」 A white-hot jolt of electricity shot through my spine. I yelped. "Okay, okay! I'll do it!" 「Good girl.」 3 The System made me text Leo again. 「You're... not that great. I'm over it. Don't bother me again.」 He replied instantly: 「I'll be there in ten. Stay naked.」 Ten minutes later: 「You changed the code?」 「Are you serious?」 「Mia, open the door!」 「Babe, I'm gonna get really pissed!」 「Seriously?!」 「What did I do wrong? Whatever it is, I'll fix it!」 「Open the door! You got the guts to break up, how about the guts to open the door!」 ... The System took my hands. 「I'm in love with someone else. You're not even his big toe.」 On the screen, I could see the three dots of him typing... deleting... typing... for what felt like an hour. Finally: 「You'll regret this.」 My heart cracked. Just like that, my love life... gone. 「Stop moping, or I'm tasing you again,」 the System chirped. I forced a smile onto my face that felt more like a grimace. Just in time. "Mia Collins?" My interview was starting. 4 I handed over my painfully average resume. "I'm a senior at NYU, and..." "That's enough." The man in the center—the one the System identified as the Male Lead, Julian Thorne—cut me off. His voice was cold. The gold-rimmed glasses he wore only made him look richer and more severe. I kept my polite smile frozen in place. See? I thought at the System. I told you a normal senior isn't getting a job at Aethel, the biggest tech firm in the country. 「You should have done the cockroach jump like I said,」 the System grumbled. 「You're stacked. It would have dazzled them. The Male Lead loves big boobs.」 I mentally told the System to go to hell. "I understand," I said out loud. "Thank you for your time." I turned to leave. "You're hired," Julian said. "You start tomorrow." ...What? 「See?!」 the System shrieked. 「He loves your type!」 "My type?" 「Big boobs, no brains. Big eyes, pure... wait, that's not right. Whatever, it worked!」 I wanted to commit murder. 5 So, I became Julian Thorne's executive assistant. My job was... basic. I got his coffee. I got his tea. I dropped off signed files. I took his calls. And when he was too drunk at a networking event, I drove him home. A month went by. I was drowning in work. Leo had tried to ambush me at my apartment, but I was never there. He called. The System hung up. He texted. The System declined. He finally snapped. He started sending... pictures. Eight-pack abs. Perfect pecs. The V-line disappearing into his sweatpants. I was practically drooling when the System censored them with giant black bars. I hate the System. Then came the grand finale. A picture of him, kneeling, with... everything out. The text came a second later: 「Babe. We miss you...」 ...I miss you too. But I'm being held hostage by a psycho AI. 6 The Female Lead, Chloe Bancroft, finally appeared. She stormed right into Julian's office. The System buzzed. 「Go! Bring coffee!」 I walked in to find them in a full-blown argument. "Just refuse," Chloe said. "Why do I always have to be the one to fight? You're scared of your grandpa, but I'm not scared of mine?" I calmly put a coffee in front of her. She glanced at me, annoyed, and kept going. "I am not agreeing to this engagement, Julian. You know I don't love you." Hearing that, my hand "slipped." The cup I was holding for Julian tipped, dumping hot coffee right onto his lap. "Oh, Mr. Thorne, I'm so sorry!" I grabbed a fistful of napkins and started dabbing... enthusiastically. System, I hissed internally, did you hear her? She doesn't want him! We're off the hook! Let me go! 「Hmm...」 the System hummed. 「I'm not convinced. Keep dabbing.」 "Ms. Collins." A hand gripped my wrist. Hard. "That's enough," Julian said. His voice was... strained. I realized my hand was cupping his... problem. "Oh, God! Sorry!" I jumped back. "You already said that," he said, his eyes dark. He turned back to Chloe. "I don't like you either. But this was our grandfathers' decision." "You're spineless, Julian! You just roll over!" Chloe yelled. "You... what... what are you doing?!" She was yelling because the System had just yanked me forward, sat me on Julian's lap, and forced my arms around his neck. 「Test subject #2,」 the System said. 「Let's see if she's really not jealous. Kiss him.」 I fought it. I really did. I ended up planting a stiff, awkward kiss on his jaw. Julian just looked at me, his expression unreadable. Chloe's jaw dropped. "Holy shit." 「See!」 the System cheered. 「She cares!」 "Could you two at least wait until I leave?!" Chloe shrieked. 「...Hmm, inconclusive,」 the System muttered. Then, Chloe pulled out her phone. "Oh, this is perfect." She started snapping pictures. "Block your face, sweetie," she said to me. "This is about him, not you." Julian reacted instantly, grabbing the back of my head and shoving my face into his chest. It smelled... really good. "Julian," Chloe said, waving her phone. "You have three days to call off this engagement, or Grandpa gets a full gallery of his 'devoted' grandson in action." "You wouldn't." "Try me. In the meantime..." She walked to the door and paused. "You two... carry on." She even closed the door.
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