107

° Inside a luxurious office, Bing Shi, peeking her head from beside the monitor, asked with sparkles in her eyes, "Do you think I have Stockholm syndrome?"

° Silence...

° Mr. Jelly, whose face was hidden behind a computer, answered with a question, "Why do you ask?" There was a slight smile in the corner of his mouth.

° "Well, why do I not mind your extreme jealousy? Oh, and let's not forget about your obsessive obsessiveness!" She grinned while thinking about how he threw a small tantrum when she said that she found a new friend online. It was a girl. A girl, not a boy! And it was online!

° "Because I have power, money, and I am good in bed," he said proudly.

° "Like, really? You are such a narcissist. No, that's not the reason!" She shook and nodded her head. Nodded, because the previous statement was a truth.

° "Narcissist?" Standing up, he came to her and whispered to her ears in an alluring voice, "Did I say I'm handsome?" He didn't.

° Covering her ears, using the rolling chair, she pushed her leg against the floor to create a distance between them. Waving her hand, she expressed that he should continue answering.

° "Because there is no one who will pamper you as much as me," he answered with a sight but still, with a lingering smile.

° "Now, can you give me a hug?" He stretched his arm, waiting for her to come to him.

° "Aw, why do I love you so much?!" She ran to him and hugged him like a baby koala.

° She placed her hands on the back of his neck and shortened the distance between their lips, noticing his anticipating eyes, she stopped with a grin, stroking the dark circles underneath his eyes.

° He groaned in frustration but still waited patiently for her to continue.

° Finding her way inside his mouth, she felt how the tip of their tongues connected. Their engagement lasted for a good short while before she pulled away and teasingly bit his lower lip.

° He quickly captured her giggle with his mouth, softly biting her lips in response.

° "Sweetie, you're going too far," he seated her back at the chair, his lips arched up as he walked back behind his desk, "I only asked for a hug."

° "..." Blown away by his words, Bing Shi fainted on the chair, covering her unstable heartbeat, "There's definitely something wrong with the both of us."

Bing Shi looked at the big mirror behind the sink, she touched her full lips, smiling at her reflection. A young girl, not slim nor chubby, about sixteen years old. Her chestnut brown eyes skimmed to her dark, shoulder-length hair with an oval face. With a two years gap, Olivia's features were similar to Grace's.

░Olivia is so cuteee.░

There wasn't much about Olivia in the story. She was a quiet lady that was looked up to by her peers thanks to her elite background. As there weren't many conflicts in the family, both girls grew up spoiled in different ways. Olivia was pressured to inherit the family's fortune while Grace's life was only about Xavier.

Right now, Olivia was seventeen years old. She had one month of summer holiday left before school started again. And because her family was about to go on a luxurious vacation with Xavier's and Mark's family, Bing Shi thought about whether she should pretend to be ill like the previous Olivia or not. Yes, the previous Olivia was a closed-door otaku. But either way, she would be dragged along, no matter if she wanted or not.

[Side mission: Break the engagement between Grace Bacchus and Xavier Dalton. +1000p]

░Ah, there is too much to do.░

["System, what is Grace doing?"]

Reaching the main door of the mansion, Bing Shi stepped out and closed the door, trying to open it a few times. She had to make sure that it was locked from the outside. Oblivious, she went through the same routine as the one from her life before death.

Before leaving her house, she always had to look presentable.

Also, she always had to check the door if it was closed.

After a few steps, she went back to check the door again.

Habits, surely, were hard to change.

She was a bad, bad actress.

[She just woke up. She is on her way to your father's office.]

░Woah, she is acting pretty fast. But if she ends her engagement now, it will make the male lead more 'interested' in her.░

░How should I do it? Persuade Grace to wait?░

░Persuade Grace to act like her previous life?░

░We are not sure if she really wants to avoid Xavier. Grace might be acting like the previous heroine to gain his affection because that's how it looked to me from the outsider's point of view.░

["I need more time. We have to stop father from ending the engagement. Don't allow him to call anyone from Xavier's family."]

[Yes.]

Brushing her teeth with furrowed brows, Bing Shi mused about her next steps. She wasn't a hacker nor an IT expert. In her previous life, she got a master's degree in civil engineering. Her degree was not going to be of use. But who needed to be a hacker or an IT, when they had a system? She found it odd. What's the reason behind her becoming a host when the HQ had such powerful systems?

[What is your next step, Host?]

Bing Shi closed the doors to the bathroom and walked into her walk-in closet, thinking about her next step. She couldn't come up with a bulletproof plan in a matter of seconds, yet, the system continued to nag her to reveal her plans. She thought about the powerful female leads in her favorite stories. They were so cool! She wanted to be like them too!

░Ah, what do I do? What. Do. I do!?!░

░I don't want to sound stupid before my system.░

░I have to prevent Xavier from getting interested in Grace.░

░How?░

["System, should I bring Alisa along? Or... why don't we hijack Xavier's family? Let them go bankrupt, and let Xavier meet Alisa at his worst?"]

░But would they become interested in each other? I should not stray from the original story too much. The male and female lead fell in love with each other only when certain things were met. See Grace's case for example. It backlashed.░

[I don't know.]

░Bankrupting Xavier's family is like bankrupting half of the world. I don't want people to go full berserk mode against each other because a certain host with an OP system wanted to match up some teenagers.░

Bing Shi picked up the outfit of her choice. Instead of Olivia's flowery skirt and blouse, she decided on a black A-line dress with a peter pan shirt collar adorned with a black ribbon. For shoes, she chose black mary jane ones. She placed her wet tissues, cellphone, wallet, and keys into her black crossbody designer handbag. About to go out, she stopped abruptly. Something was missing.

["System, could you give me a pepper spray?"]

[Yes, host.]

In her palm, a handy pepper spray appeared.

["Thank you,"] Smiling, Bing Shi looked at the snake on her shoulders, ["At times like this, you should respond with a 'You're welcome'."]

[You are welcome.]

["Aw, you're such a fast learner."]

[Thank You.]

░I am getting used to these magical things too fast...░

Reaching the main door of the mansion, Bing Shi stepped out and closed the door, trying to open it a few times. She had to make sure that it was locked from the outside. Oblivious, she went through the same routine as the one from her life before death.

Before leaving her house, she always had to look presentable.

Also, she always had to check the door if it was closed.

After a few steps, she went back to check the door again.

Habits, surely, were hard to change.

She was a bad, bad actress.

° Inside a luxurious office, Bing Shi, peeking her head from beside the monitor, asked with sparkles in her eyes, "Do you think I have Stockholm syndrome?"

° Silence...

° Mr. Jelly, whose face was hidden behind a computer, answered with a question, "Why do you ask?" There was a slight smile in the corner of his mouth.

° "Well, why do I not mind your extreme jealousy? Oh, and let's not forget about your obsessive obsessiveness!" She grinned while thinking about how he threw a small tantrum when she said that she found a new friend online. It was a girl. A girl, not a boy! And it was online!

° "Because I have power, money, and I am good in bed," he said proudly.

° "Like, really? You are such a narcissist. No, that's not the reason!" She shook and nodded her head. Nodded, because the previous statement was a truth.

° "Narcissist?" Standing up, he came to her and whispered to her ears in an alluring voice, "Did I say I'm handsome?" He didn't.

° Covering her ears, using the rolling chair, she pushed her leg against the floor to create a distance between them. Waving her hand, she expressed that he should continue answering.

° "Because there is no one who will pamper you as much as me," he answered with a sight but still, with a lingering smile.

° "Now, can you give me a hug?" He stretched his arm, waiting for her to come to him.

° "Aw, why do I love you so much?!" She ran to him and hugged him like a baby koala.

° She placed her hands on the back of his neck and shortened the distance between their lips, noticing his anticipating eyes, she stopped with a grin, stroking the dark circles underneath his eyes.

° He groaned in frustration but still waited patiently for her to continue.

° Finding her way inside his mouth, she felt how the tip of their tongues connected. Their engagement lasted for a good short while before she pulled away and teasingly bit his lower lip.

° He quickly captured her giggle with his mouth, softly biting her lips in response.

° "Sweetie, you're going too far," he seated her back at the chair, his lips arched up as he walked back behind his desk, "I only asked for a hug."

° "..." Blown away by his words, Bing Shi fainted on the chair, covering her unstable heartbeat, "There's definitely something wrong with the both of us."

Meanwhile...

*Slam* Grace slammed open the door to her father's office.

"Grace!? Where are your manners?! You have to knock first!!" Mr. Bacchus reprimanded his daughter.

"Father, I am sorry, but this is urgent!" Grace said with tears in her eyes. "I don't want to get married to Xavier! Father, I don't want to marry someone I don't love. I know it will be hard for your company but still... don't we have enough money already?"

Grace's request surprised him. He exclaimed in surprise, anger was evident in his eyes. "How? I thought you love Xavier. Did he do something to you?!"

"No, No! He didn't do anything! It's just... I think he doesn't love me. We shouldn't force his feelings on me," the teary-eyed Grace sat in front of her father delicately, quickly gaining his pity.

After long persuasion, Father Bacchus finally dialed his friend's contact info. Unfortunately, the phone call didn't go through.

Bing Shi put the pepper spray into her handbag and stepped out of her room, walking down the stairs, she reached the kitchen, eavesdropping on her family for a while before she raised her hand to show her presence, "Even though I don't know why you decided to break the engagement, you have my full support! I always thought that he doesn't deserve you."

░Nor do you deserve him.░

Thankful for their support, Grace started to cry, feeling sorry for her family's tragic past. They were pretty much innocent. 'It's all those two's fault!'

When Mrs. Bacchus saw her crying daughter, she panicked. Hurriedly, she ran around the table and hugged Grace, crying together, "Oh, dear! It's ok. Mum is here. We won't force you anymore. Mum and Dad are sorry."

Grace's eyes were looking at her knees, trying to silence the anger with her sobs. 'Olivia is right,' she thought, 'Xavier doesn't deserve my affection!' He was too cruel to bankrupt her family for a ...mere girl. No, not a mere girl, that girl was a heroine! She sure deserved that title. She was the one who changed Xavier! *Poof* Just like that! From the emotionless ice cube to the lovestruck ice cube, like magic!

"Don't worry. Father will take care of it. Right father?" asked Bing Shi, patting Grace's shoulder, thinking about how she should show her concern as a sister and daughter. For her, they were all outsiders. She didn't receive Olivia's memories. The system only gave her a short summary of Olivia's life.

░Stupid me! Why am I smiling?! I'm supposed to cry with them!░

While everyone's attention was focused on Grace, Bing Shi strived to drop a few tears, unsuccessfully.

░I can't... I look ugly when I cry.░

"Before the flight, I want to stop by LéCaffee to get some sweets," said Bing Shi, "Anyone wants to tag along?"

Everybody shook their heads, they just finished their breakfast. Because Olivia was famous for liking sweets and desserts, nobody found it strange.

Reaching the main door of the mansion, Bing Shi stepped out and closed the door, trying to open it a few times. She had to make sure that it was locked from the outside. Oblivious, she went through the same routine as the one from her life before death.

Before leaving her house, she always had to look presentable.

Also, she always had to check the door if it was closed.

After a few steps, she went back to check the door again.

Habits, surely, were hard to change.

She was a bad, bad actress.