Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

Inside the villa, a little snow-white kitten, its belly full, was fast asleep on its back. It was clearly well-cared for.

In the air, a faint blue light paused for a moment, as if searching for something, before quickly vanishing. The little kitten’s ears twitched, and it went right back to sleep.

*

["I recall you mentioning that advanced systems have the ability to reverse emotions and perform plot corrections,"] Charles Jennings said unhurriedly, as if he had found his opening.

Reversing emotions, a system ability that defied human nature, was initially intended to help systems correct the plot at any time. However, many hosts later developed ulterior motives, attempting to use the system to manipulate the protagonists’ thoughts.

After numerous incidents, this ability was disabled, and only a handful of advanced systems knew how to use it.

The system hadn’t expected him to bring this up. Its cold, mechanical voice issued a stern warning: ["Violating the rules of the world will cause irreversible damage."]

["Since this ability was granted, it means it can be used,"] Charles Jennings persisted, goading it. ["Or do you really want to be sent back to headquarters for destruction?"]

The system fell silent.

’Of course it didn’t want that.’

Systems themselves have no emotions, but advanced systems can develop their own independent consciousness. It was afraid of death.

It was wavering.

["...Reversing emotions is equivalent to changing the rules. It’s not something a system can use just because it wants to. Moreover, it’s very harmful to both the user and the system. If discovered, it results in direct annihilation."]

’Not something that can be used just because one wants to... That means it *can* be used, it just requires certain preconditions.’

His phone was still buzzing incessantly with messages from company executives and shareholders. Several of the Jennings Group’s partners had been cut off at the source by the Southland Group.

It was the exact same kind of malicious business competition. Before long, the Jennings Company would become the next Kennedy Group.

Charles Jennings had no time for further consideration.

As for how much damage it would cause, that wasn’t his concern. If there was no escaping his own demise, then he refused to let anyone else have a happy ending.

’Things are already this bad. Everyone might as well be miserable together.’

Charles Jennings asked, ["What do I need to do?"]

["The ability’s permissions can only be unlocked by borrowing the protagonist’s energy,"] the system said, having made its decision and no longer holding anything back.

’Simon Lockwood is definitely out of the question.’

’Fortunately, this world doesn’t just have a male protagonist; there’s a female protagonist, too.’

Serena Sutton.

Charles Jennings’s eyes narrowed, a glint flashing in their depths.

In the hotel room, the bathroom door opened with a CLICK. Simon Lockwood emerged, fully dressed. His short, black hair, still wet, dripped onto his forehead, giving him a surprisingly boyish look.

Seeing him like this made Joanna Kennedy’s mind go blank for a moment. She propped herself up on the edge of the bed, her gaze unabashedly following his movements.

When Simon Lockwood drew near, she noticed something. Her hand touched his arm, and she frowned in displeasure, blurting out, "Why are you so cold?"

Simon Lockwood picked up a nearby towel and draped it over his short, black hair. Hearing her, he paused for a moment, his tone light as he said, "The hot water ran out."

Joanna Kennedy: "?"

She grew angry. "How could that happen? This is a five-star hotel! I’m going to go ask—"

"Don’t go." Simon Lockwood quickly grabbed her. Meeting her confused gaze, he pinched the bridge of his nose, looking mentally exhausted. "...It’s probably a problem with the water heater. It’ll be fine in a little while."

"Oh, oh, okay." Joanna Kennedy sat back down.

Seeing that she wasn’t suspicious, Simon Lockwood relaxed a little and asked, "Was filming tiring today?"

His eyes were downcast, a hint of fatigue showing beneath them. She had no idea how long he had been driving, yet his first concern was whether she was tired.

Joanna Kennedy pressed her lips together and shook her head, her voice a little subdued. "Not tired..."

She sounded a little unhappy. Simon Lockwood’s expression tensed, and just as he was about to ask what was wrong,

Joanna Kennedy suddenly reached for the towel in his hand. Simon Lockwood froze for a second, then obediently let go, paying no mind to his still-dripping black hair.

He watched as she took a hair dryer from a nearby drawer. The warm air blew through his chilled hair, accompanied by the touch of her soft, warm fingers.

Simon Lockwood stiffened, a little uncomfortable. "I can do it myself..."

"No." Joanna Kennedy pulled the hand holding the hair dryer back slightly, chiding him, "You’ll just do a sloppy job. You’ll catch a cold."

Joanna Kennedy then remembered the past. Simon Lockwood hadn’t owned a hair dryer, so every time he washed his hair, he would just rub it carelessly with a towel—even in the dead of winter.

Later, when Joanna Kennedy moved in, her hair was long and always took a long time to dry. The very next day, a brand-new, pink hair dryer appeared in the bathroom.

Simon Lockwood still wouldn’t use it. Even when Joanna Kennedy forced him to, he would just give his hair a quick, careless blast of air and call it done.

Simon Lockwood had clearly recalled the past as well and remained silent.

The night was quiet outside, while the room was warm and bright, filled only with the rhythmic WHIR of the hair dryer.

Joanna Kennedy could smell the pleasant scent on him, lingering at the tip of her nose.

’It’s strange,’ she thought. ’We use the same shampoo and body wash, but somehow, he smells better.’

She sniffed at him like a little puppy, but her chin was suddenly caught by a large hand.

Joanna Kennedy: "?"

His eyes were dark and unreadable, his voice slightly strained. "Stop nuzzling."

Joanna Kennedy shook her head like a little pup, breaking free from his grip. Her eyes were full of innocence as she retorted, "I wasn’t nuzzling you."

Simon Lockwood: "..."

He sounded utterly helpless as he softened his voice. "What’s really wrong?"

He could tell that Joanna Kennedy had something on her mind.

Hearing him ask, Joanna Kennedy’s eyelids drooped. The video she had seen on his phone played over and over in her mind like a movie.

Simon Lockwood’s phone, just like the man himself, was straightforward and cool. Aside from work and necessary social apps, there was almost nothing superfluous on it.

The photo album contained only a few pictures and a single video.

A video that was completely out of place.

The video was simple and blurry. The moonlight was dim, the roses were vibrant, and a young, headstrong girl was bossily telling the boy holding the phone to take a better picture...

It was an old video; you could tell the image quality was poor even when it was first filmed.

The old phone from back then was long gone, but he had still carefully preserved the video...

Joanna Kennedy didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t control herself.

Whenever she thought about Simon Lockwood spending all those years in a foreign country, watching this video over and over through the nights, she couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sorrow. Her chest ached with a suffocating pain.

Feeling her warm forehead bump gently against his shoulder, Simon Lockwood felt as if his own heart had been struck by something, and he froze for a moment.

The girl’s muffled voice sounded by his ear. "Simon Lockwood... You’ve had it tough."

Simon Lockwood thought she was referring to company matters. He was silent for a moment before consoling her, "It’s just normal work. I rarely work overtime anymore."

The girl didn’t say anything, just buried her head in his shoulder and nuzzled him, her voice choked with faint sobs. "Mmm..."

She knew that it was all in the past now.