32

Leyla got discharged from the hospital two days later. During these two days, she was incredibly well-behaved and had never once sought trouble with the system.

The system informed her that it would go for monthly maintenance and hoped its host to behave lest she gets punished again for causing trouble.

(I will be back in an hour. Be a good girl, host. You don't want to get electrocuted again, would you?)

Leyla clenched her hands before going out as the system sent out its 'harmless' reminder.

"I know. Don't worry." She gritted her teeth.

Her family pampered her, shielding her from any trouble outside since her young.

Leyla had never faced any difficulty, and her life was smooth-sailing even in the apocalypse world.

Her skin was as smooth as jade and unblemished as she had never worked. She hated pain more than anything, and even the slightest prick on her finger could lead to her maniac episode. Hence, she cannot forgive the system for electrocuting her.

But, she was nothing in the eyes of the system, so she wouldn't dare show her resentment at it. Therefore, she pushed the blame on Xie Winchester and transferred all of her grievances and resentment to him instead. All the suffering she experienced was that man's fault! She would make him fall into his rightful place; beneath her feet. A cannon fodder should be forever underneath the protagonist's halo and be their shadow. Their light should never outshine the main's character's light!

She left the hospital without looking back.

Leyla returned to her small, cramped house that afternoon. She stumbled upon her neighbors on her way back but ignored their pale faces. Seeing her return made them hasten their paces and rush into their own houses as if they had seen a ghost.

Once Leyla entered her house, taking in the sight of her miserable living condition, Leyla could no longer suppress her emotion and angrily threw her bag onto the wooden floor.

All the pent-up emotion that bubbled inside her had exploded. In a fit of rage, she thrashed everything inside her house. The sounds of crashing, slamming, and screaming were intermittent in the dilapidated low-cost flat.

The neighbors hurriedly went inside and locked their doors. They were terrified. That crazy girl went into maniac again, was all the residents thought. From this, one could conclude that such things were a daily occurrence in their place.

An hour later.

Leyla had finally calmed down and dully swept her eyes on her surroundings.

As if a tornado had ransacked her house and turned everything inside upside down. Everywhere was a mess and shambled.

Leyla kicked the broken chair beside her feet and went to the balcony window. She sat on the window sill, took out a cigarette, and lit it up.

She casually puffed out a hazy, grey smoke, and her eyes stared vacantly into the horizon.

She summoned her system in her mind.

[System] Her voice was far too calm even though she was still seething in anger. [Are you there?]

A loud static sound appeared within her head. At first, it was faint, but later, the statics became incoherently loud.

Leyla frowned in displeasure. Her head throbbed in headache, causing her to massage her temples to reduce the dizzying pain. Then, a familiar voice answered her summon.

(Present, host. Anything you want?) The cold, monotone voice belongs to the system, replied.

[Why did the capture target side with that Xie Winchester? He brazenly ignored me as if I were an invisible person. And that Isaac Killian was unusually protective of that Xie Winchester.]

The system beeped for a while.

(From this system's observation, he might do that because of his affection toward Xie Winchester. He had been beginning to love him.)

[Excuse me?] Leyla spluttered. She almost choked on the smoke due to the shock she received a moment ago! It's kind of ironic to hear the word love from the system.

(Based on the quick scan I took several hours ago, Isaac Killian's favourability value over Xie Winchester had passed the midpoint, around 75%. The good feeling he bore for this Xie Winchester had turned into an affection between close friends.

Once it reached 80%, it would undoubtedly lead to the feeling of love. His fawning and over-indulgence toward that man had become uninterchangeable and can no longer be stopped. I'm afraid, host, even with the plot's help, there's nothing we could do to make him hate Xie Winchester. Isaac Killian is prone to be our enemy instead of an ally.)

Leyla groaned.

[Please speak in a human language. You made me dizzy. Why would you care if Isaac becomes our enemy? I only need to conquer him, not fight him.]

(I'm sorry, host. But I do say these sentences in a human's language.)

[Talk straight to the point!] Leyla glowered.

(Fine. Let me summarize it so that my host can understand my simple explanation.) System 0-9 spoke in a dry tone while rolling its eyes. (Basically, that man's affection had steadily progressed to the feeling of love. It's impossible to change his affection once he reaches the 85% mark. Even if the plot makes sure to use its influence to fix the crooked storyline, Isaac Killian will be there to interrupt us. Whatever he does will be the opposite of what the story stated. The most important thing you need to prioritize above anything else is that Xie Winchester must stay as a spiteful cannon fodder character, harvesting hatred from his surrounding, especially from the male leads. Likewise, there's a bar you need to fill and a quota you need to reach. Once the story gets interrupted, we will never have our desirable ending, and neither me nor you, the host, will get our reward.)

Leyla's jaw dropped, and she almost slipped from the windowsills.

She had a terrible hunch.

(Should I remind you, my dearest host, of the consequence of failing your mission?) The system gave her an eerie chuckle.

[You...! Didn't you say the plot armor is omnipotent? As long as I have it as a backup, I can finish my mission with ease?!] Leyla felt a sense of crisis.

There will be a punishment worse than death if she fails to end the story per the script.

(Please don't forget that the capture targets are individual characters with their own supreme golden finger. They are the ones who made the plot ongoing and the most crucial pieces in the story needed for the ending.

A single hypnosis spell is all it takes to mend everything for any character in the story, but it does not apply to the captured targets. Did you want to erase their memory or change their feeling? It would be impossible. The spell might be working the first time, but the effect varied for each person, and the time shortened if you used it again on them.

Imagine if the other capture targets also behaved the same as Isaac Killian? What a disaster! We must finish the story according to the plotline. The beginning might be different, but the ending must be the same as stated!

You could not bear the consequence if you failed the mission, host. Thus, I altered your priority. You need to make sure the capture target's favourability value on you all reaches 85% as soon as possible. If you could make the three of them favor you, you have a bigger chance of finishing your mission.

If we cannot budge Isaac Killian, abandon him. Change your target to Arthur Vie Vermillion, the first male lead. His hatred toward Xie Winchester was well-known, and it is hard to erase it since it was in his character setting.

Even if he has the slightest affection toward his wife, the plot can alter the degree of his favorability to some extent and manually control his emotion because of this unusual setting. Although, the plot armor couldn't force him to love you.

The plot can only help you to a certain degree, like making as many as it can, coincidental encounters to increase your sense of presence before his eyes. However, you are the one who needs to nurture that feeling by yourself.)

Leyla groaned. How troublesome! She needs to act fast.

She cast aside her unfinished cigarette butt and walked to her bed.

Leyla had smashed everything else but not her bed. It was a deliberate action. After all, she was unwilling to sleep on the cold floor, so she restrained her impulse and destroyed her cupboard instead.

The poor, miserable cupboard was nothing but mere debris now. Alas, Leyla always had a bad temper, but recently, it became worse. That's why she needed another breakthrough to restrain her haywire emotion. Rather than self-harming, she chose to destroy something to appease her terrible mood, or she might become crazy due to suppressing her anger.

Leyla slumped her body onto her small bed. She scowled.

To think she needed to curl her body to fit on her bed. For her, Leyla Moore, to be reduced to this pitiful state, how laughable!

[Don't worry. I applied to work as an intern in his company. With my ability that I managed to manifest, I can seduce any man to do my bidding.]

(You have an ability, host?) The system asked indifferently.

Leyla gave the system a stink eye. [You knew, so why bother asking?]

(I think your ability is useless in this world.)

[Shut up.]

(You can also buy something from the system's store.)

Leyla glared at the system, which gave her an innocent look.

[I don't have money right now!]

(You can buy them in installments.) The system eloquently persuaded her. (Just for you, my dearest host, I would not charge any interest. And I can extend the payment period.)

Leyla's ears perked up. Her interest got piqued by those tempting words. No interest? Extend the payment time? Seriously?

She almost lost herself in the tempting offer. Leyla shook her head and glared at her system again.

[Don't tempt me!]

System: I almost got her. Damn it.

---------

Xie was wonderstruck. That emerald eyes sparkled with unconcealed excitement, equally matched to the one pair of eyes beside him. Two fluffy heads huddled together, staying side by side on the left car's window, gasped in awe as they passed the main checkpoint gate.

They finally arrived at the first town. It was another two and half hour drive, and the car had crossed the border between the Clarines Kingdom and the Leon Kingdom late in the evening.

Currently, they were inside the bustling city of the Leon Kingdom, called Golden Town.

Golden light covered the entire town.

Every nook and cranny of the town shone with a blink, blink glows.

Xie almost got blinded by such a bright and brilliant light.

Since it was almost dusk when they arrived at their destination, where the sun had set on the horizon and darkness had started to envelop the earth, the town became lively and shrouded the surroundings with a festive atmosphere.

It is supposed to be dark as night. Instead of that, those beautiful lights and decorative lanterns awoke the town.

The residents crowd the busy plaza and excitedly seeking for entertainment outside. Stepping their feet here gives them the impression of entering a luxurious cruise ship.

Xie clasped Alaric's hand tightly, afraid that they get separated in this sea of humans.

They took a stroll around the area. Alaric was excited. It was the first time the child went on a vacation. He tirelessly took photos of anything eye-catching in his eyes, dragged Xie everywhere without stopping, and only paused once in a while after Xie threw a tantrum.

---------

They went for dinner in the hotel which Isaac booked.

The sumptuous feast served in front of his eyes made Xie drool. He consciously gulped down his saliva and unashamedly wiped the corner of his mouth.

Wow. The amount of the food on the table was more than enough to feed twenty people!

He almost got blinded by the bright light from the food on the table. Those sparkling lights incessantly tempted his hunger.

Alaric nudged his elbow and reprimanded him about his manner. He resembled a hungry beggar rather than a sophisticated noble. Truly unbefitting of his prim and proper look.

They spent a blissful dinner together.

Xie was happy. It was the first time he had many companions during dinner.

Before, he would eat alone, either for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Upon waking up in this world, he gets to eat dinner once or twice with Alaric after he coerced the boy to eat together.

One of his dreams plans on his bucket list; check!

To eat dinner together.

He wouldn't care about the detail. Strangers are sometimes much better than acquaintances.

Isaac stayed true to his words.

He took care of Xie the whole day without him saying anything, and a smile adorned his frosty face. Like a boyfriend taking care of his girlfriend. Whatever, whenever, and wherever Xie wanted, he would be there to cater to him.

If Xie wanted to try any dish, Isaac would gladly take the plate and place it in front of his eyes regardless of Richard's grievances.

If Xie wanted to eat shrimps, Isaac would expressionlessly peel the shells and put them directly on Xie's plate.

Xie hesitated only for a moment before shamelessly eating them.

If Xie wanted to order something, but he was too shy to voice it out, he would blink his eyes at Isaac, and the man miraculously understood him and called the waiter straight away to order the food. Their tacit understanding makes the two light bulbs feel uncomfortable.

Alaric was flabbergasted. He looked at the two of them with a skeptical look. These two had become even closer than before! Was it because familiarity bred fondness? They had spent an entire day together, and the good feeling between them had borne a splendid result?

Was Madam truly wanting to abandon Master Arthur for Isaac?

------

A tall man with blue hair bypassed the restaurant with his friends. While chatting, he seemed to spot a familiar face.

He paused his step. The unbelief expression plastered on his handsome face.

Isn't that-

"Xiya?"

What is he doing here? Is he with Arthur?

The man scoffed at his word. As if Arthur will follow Xiya around. He would be happy if he could cast away Xiya to somewhere out of his sight.

Hmm? Xiya is with someone? Who is that man? He had never seen the man before...on second thought, though, he seemed familiar?

Where did he see the man before?

They seemed close enough to be regarded as acquaintances, sitting together side by side, and the man catered to his needs like a loyal servant. Xiya, who rarely smiles as his smile is only exclusive to Arthur, has a heartfelt laugh with someone else.

The man's expression turned to gloom as a sense of unprecedented crisis dawned over him. He clenched his hands tightly, turning his knuckles white.

He had another love rival?! How?!

At this moment, he thought nothing except wanting to rush to them and steal Xiya away. One of his feet had entered the restaurant, but someone stopped him.

"What are you doing?" His friend patted his shoulder. "Is there someone you knew?"

"..."

His friend raised his eyebrows, expecting an answer.

The blue hair man bit his lips and kept silent for a moment before helplessly shaking his head.

"No. No one."