My childhood best friend died saving me from a fire. Soon after, a "System" appeared. It told me that if I could knock the school’s golden boy, Sebastian Thorne, off his pedestal, I could bring my best friend back to life. So, I did what I had to do. I approached the aloof, untouchable genius. I became the only girl he let into his life. Two weeks before our final exams—the SATs—I suddenly saw floating comments scroll across my vision like a live stream. [This villainess is so dumb. She doesn't even know Tyler is the illegitimate son of the Thorne family. Faking his death and pretending to be a System just to drive the genius crazy...] [Poor Sebastian. He's been secretly in love with the villainess for seven years. He's going to skip the SATs for her, only to find out the truth at his 18th birthday party. His mom jumps off a building from the shock, and he’s traumatized for life.] [Hurry up, Heroine! Our male lead needs you to save him!] I froze. I stared at Sebastian, who was currently kneeling on one knee, tying my shoelace. "Sebastian," I whispered. "Let's get into MIT together, okay?" Chapter 1 The floating comments paused for a second. Then they scrolled furiously. [Did I hear that right? The villainess wants to go to MIT with the male lead? What about our precious Heroine?] [What is she doing? Isn't she obsessed with Tyler? Is this some new manipulation tactic?] Sebastian looked just as surprised. He looked up, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. "MIT? But Cece, you said you hated nerds..." Guilt washed over me. Sebastian was brilliant, elegant, and kind. He was anything but a stereotypical nerd. I had only said that to manipulate him, to make him give up on his academic future. Seeing my silence, a shadow crossed his eyes, but he quickly replaced it with a gentle smile. "Is this another test? Don't worry, Cece. I won't take the SATs." "I promised you. I never break a promise." The comments exploded again. [This villainess is evil! Look at how she's gaslighting him! He feels like he has to prove himself constantly.] [Thank god the male lead is smart. He saw right through her. Not gonna lie, I almost believed her.] [My poor boy. Giving up his future for her... being a good kid his whole life and now this...] Lines of text flashed before my eyes. I pushed down the panic rising in my chest and looked Sebastian straight in the eye. "It's not a test, Sebastian. I want to go to MIT." "With you." "So, starting today, let's study properly, okay?" The comments were in chaos. Sebastian looked equally confused. Shock mixed with a glimmer of hope. He opened his mouth, closed it, and just looked at me, unsure. I must have been so cruel before that he didn't dare believe me now. I sighed, feeling helpless and guilty. I reached out and cupped his face. "Sebastian, really. Not a test." "I swear. If I'm lying to you this time, I'll..." He put a finger to my lips, silencing me. "Don't swear. I believe you." Chapter 2 After sending Sebastian home, I collapsed onto my sofa, exhausted. My phone buzzed relentlessly in my pocket. I pulled it out. Messages from "The System" flooded the screen. [Cecilia, why haven't you completed the mission?] [Don't you want to bring Tyler back?] [Don't forget, he died saving YOU! Being passive with your tasks... how can you face Tyler?] Tyler. My childhood friend. A year ago, my house caught fire. My parents were working late, and I was a heavy sleeper. I almost didn't wake up. Tyler rushed into the flames alone and carried me out. But he was exhausted. A falling beam trapped him inside. When I woke up in the hospital, he was just a jar of ashes. After Tyler died, my family's life fell apart. Our home was gone. The fire spread to the neighbors, and the compensation wiped out my parents' savings and buried them in debt. Tyler's mom hated us. She even tried to run my mom over with her car. That's when "The System" found me. I received an anonymous package containing an old smartphone and a note. [Want to resurrect Tyler?] [Unlock this.] The moment I unlocked it, anonymous texts started appearing. The sender claimed to be a System trapped in the phone due to some cosmic rule. It said if I successfully completed the "Conquest Mission"—knocking the golden boy Sebastian Thorne off his pedestal—I could revive Tyler and erase everything the fire destroyed. I believed it. I desperately wanted Tyler back. I wanted my life back. So I clung to that hope. I did everything "The System" asked. Get close to Sebastian. Seduce Sebastian. Destroy Sebastian. Until an hour ago, when I saw those strange comments. Chapter 3 The phone was still buzzing. [Cecilia! Answer me!] [Have you forgotten? You killed Tyler!] [You can't even do this one small thing? Do you deserve his sacrifice?] Every sentence was an accusation. But the floating comments were reacting even stronger than I was. [Honestly, the villainess is kind of pitiful. She’s carrying all this guilt for a death that wasn't her fault. Tyler is trash for gaslighting her like this.] [Wake up, girl! Tyler set the fire himself!] [In the original story, she finds out later and regrets everything. She's not evil, just manipulated. Later, when Tyler kidnaps the Heroine, the villainess saves her and dies taking Tyler down with her...] Tyler set the fire? My heart seized. As if proving the comments right, a video materialized in the air. Dim club lighting. Tyler, alive and well, with a girl on each arm, looking arrogant and cruel. It was a side of him I'd never seen. His friends were laughing, passing a phone around. "Ty, what's up with your little pet? Usually she replies instantly. It's been half an hour." "Maybe she figured it out?" Tyler smirked lazily. "Does she dare?" "True," someone laughed. "Last time she was two hours late, you had someone hit her dad with a car and blamed it on 'System Punishment.' She totally bought it. A dutiful daughter like her wouldn't gamble with her parents' lives." The car accident... I started trembling uncontrollably. Hatred, pure and cold, surged through me. I remembered that day. It was a "System Mission." I had to intercept Sebastian on his way home and convince him to give up his spot in an international competition. I waited on his route and ran into the road when I saw his license plate. The driver was skilled; he stopped inches from me. I was terrified. I looked up into Sebastian's worried eyes. "Sebastian, my head hurts." Just one sentence. He missed his flight to Europe. He stayed by my hospital bed for twenty-four hours until the doctors cleared me. When I got home, I met Tyler's mom downstairs. She said she was going to visit Tyler's grave and demanded I go buy his favorite pastries from a shop twenty miles away. The subway ride took exactly two hours. I rushed home, only to find a pool of blood downstairs. And my mother, weeping uncontrollably. Chapter 4 "The System" had given me an explanation then. [Cecilia, the Main System detected your passive attitude. Your father's accident is a punishment.] I couldn't accept it. The phone "The System" gave me was an old model with a terrible battery. It died before I got home, and the charger port was obsolete. If I hadn't gone to buy those pastries... "The System" paused for a few minutes after hearing my plea. [I will report this anomaly to the Main System. Don't worry, the System will arrange the best medical care for your father. But remember, never go silent for more than an hour again.] [Your excuse is accepted this time. Only this time.] My thoughts snapped back to the video floating in the air. "Ty really went hard that time. Almost killed the old man. Hahaha! If her dad died, she might stop listening to you." Tyler smirked. "What's there to be afraid of? I sent him to the hospital, didn't I? He won't die. Besides, if her dad dies, she still has a mom, right?" I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw ached. The laughter in the video grated on my nerves. In that moment, I wanted to kill Tyler with my own hands. The comments scrolled by: [Screw this guy. How can a human being be this disgusting?] [Tyler grew up in Cecilia's house because his parents ignored him. Her parents treated him like a son. He's an animal.] [Ahhhh I can't take it! Villainess, please wake up!] I forced down the hate. My hands shaking, I typed a reply to Tyler. [No.] [Something came up. I didn't have time.] He replied instantly. [Fine. New mission.] [Within 24 hours, use any method necessary to make Sebastian break ties with his mother.] [Cecilia, this is your last chance.] [Your parents' lives, and Tyler's life, are in your hands.] I froze. Before I could reply, the comments went wild. [OMG! This is it! The turning point! The male lead fights with his mom about quitting school and runs away. His mom faints from anger, and his scumbag dad feeds her the wrong medicine—nerve-damaging drugs!] [Don't remind me... Sebastian's mom is a powerhouse, super cautious. If she hadn't been heartbroken over her son, the dad never would have had the chance.] [Then the dad tricks her into signing over her assets and brings Tyler to Sebastian's 18th birthday party...] [Villainess, I'm begging you, don't do it!] I stared at the text. I decided to go find Sebastian.
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