“I don’t need help,” Ethan Bke said firmly. “I can handle it.”

  “R-Really?” Aria Lane didn’t look convinced.

  “Really. I’ve got some savings—birthday money, New Year’s, stuff like that. It’ll be fine.”

  Another lie.

  But this time, Ethan delivered it well. Calm. Confident. No nervous eye ticks. No voice cracks.

  Just a steady, collected expression.

  From a few paces away, Damien Westbrook watched them in silence, arms folded casually as the corner of his mouth curled.

  Ah, so you’re pnning to cheat your way into money using that little X-ray trick again…

  He stepped into view, making it seem like he’d just stumbled upon them.

  “Oh?” he said casually, hands in his pockets. “Aria, what are you two chatting about?”

  “Ethan’s got to pay for those medical fees,” Aria answered, clearly trying to be honest. “I just wanted to see if he needed help. I mean… this whole thing kind of happened because of me.”

  Her tone was genuine—and soft.

  Her favorability toward Damien had improved, so she didn’t feel the need to hide anything.

  “I see,” Damien said, nodding once. “Well, if that’s the case, I can pitch in too.”

  “No need,” Ethan snapped, his eyes hard. “Save the fake sympathy.”

  “Hey, that’s not fair,” Aria cut in, frowning. “He’s just trying to help.”

  “Seems like you’ve got me all wrong,” Damien replied with a calm sigh. Then he turned to Ethan, speaking slowly:

  “You really think I told Colt and the others to go after you because I was jealous? Over Aria?”

  “Didn’t you?” Ethan shot back.

  Damien chuckled. “Tell me, Ethan—what exactly do you think makes you competition?”

  “Is it your grades? No. Your looks? Be honest with yourself. Your family background? Don’t make me ugh.”

  He stepped forward, just enough to make Ethan feel it.

  “If you and I both chased after Aria, do you seriously think you’d win? Where’s this wild confidence coming from?”

  “You—!”

  Ethan opened his mouth… and then closed it.

  Because deep down?

  He knew it was true.

  Every single word.

  Damien didn’t gloat. He just tilted his head slightly, like a teacher waiting for a student to answer a question they already knew they failed.

  “See?” he said simply. “You can’t even argue. So why would I waste my time setting up an ambush? What’s the point?”

  Ethan’s face turned red—not just from anger, but from the bitter taste of humiliation.

  [Ding! Host successfully dealt a blow to Protagonist Ethan Bke’s confidence. Protagonist Aura -10. Vilin Aura +10.]

  Damien blinked, momentarily surprised.

  Wait… I got points for that?

  He hadn’t even pnned on triggering a system reward. He was just telling the truth—brutally.

  Nice bonus.

  He turned back to Aria.

  She looked a little flushed now, her expression caught somewhere between confused, impressed, and flustered.

  “Aria,” Damien said gently, “don’t read too much into what I just said. It was all hypothetical.”

  He smiled, warm and disarming.

  “You remember, right? I told you before—less than a hundred days until college exams. Right now, I’m focused on one thing: academics. I don’t have time for drama. Or dating.”

  Then, with just enough pyfulness to sound casual, he added:

  “And besides, you’re not the only beautiful girl in this school. If I were interested in someone, I wouldn’t choose from my own css.”

  He leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a near-whisper.

  “Even rabbits don’t eat the grass near their own den… ever heard that one?”

  Then he gave her the final blow:

  “More importantly… I just don’t see you that way.”

  Truth?

  Not even close.

  He was simply managing her perception—keeping her off-bance, engaged, emotionally confused.

  It was the perfect strategy.

  And with Peach Blossom Eyes and a Charm stat of 268, this kind of subtle manipution?

  It was effortless.

  Sure enough, Aria didn’t question a thing.

  She just gave a slow, dazed nod—expression unreadable.

  Aria Lane didn’t say a word.

  She simply stared at Damien Westbrook, lips gently pressed together.

  [Ding! You’ve triggered jealousy in one of the heroines: Aria Lane. Vilin Points +200. Protagonist Aura -10. Vilin Aura +10.]

  The system chime made Damien raise a brow in pleasant surprise.

  Jealousy? Really?

  But when he thought about it—it made perfect sense.

  Aria was the undisputed beauty of the css. Everyone knew it. Everyone treated her like it.

  And he—the css heartthrob—had just said, to her face, that there were prettier girls outside their css.

  It wasn’t about romance.

  It was about pride.

  That subtle competitive fire every girl had. Nobody wanted to be told they weren’t the best. Especially not in front of the guy they secretly liked—or at least thought liked them.

  And for Damien?

  That little detour was turning into a Vilin Point jackpot.

  He casually opened his system panel:

  [Host: Damien Westbrook]

  [Combat Power: 89]

  [Charm: 268]

  [Vilin Aura: 149]

  [Vilin Points: 300]

  [Skills: None]

  He’d started with a base of 99.

  Now he was almost at 150—and this was just the early game.

  At this rate, Ethan’s protagonist aura is gonna colpse way ahead of schedule.

  Step by step…

  His halo’s going to crack.

  —

  Lunch break.

  The cssroom was a scattered mess of low energy.

  A few students were passed out at their desks.

  Others whispered in hushed clusters, while a handful actually opened textbooks—pretending to care about schoolwork.

  Ethan, of course, was among the tter.

  He held a math book open, posture perfect—but his eyes kept drifting.

  Every few seconds, they flicked toward Aria Lane, who sat just a few rows away, deep in concentration.

  He waited.

  Watched.

  Finally—she put her pen down.

  Ethan’s eyes lit up. A break?

  He stood, ready to casually stroll over and ask about the st problem set. A cssic proximity py. Low-risk, high-reward.

  But just as he rose from his seat—

  Whump.

  He dropped right back down.

  His face stiffened.

  Damn it, Damien Westbrook…

  Just a few steps away, the man himself made his move.

  “Hey,” Damien said casually, turning to the girl seated beside Aria. “Mind if we switch seats for a bit?”

  He hesitated slightly before speaking.

  Not because he was shy—but because he couldn’t remember her name.

  All he recalled was that it started with “Wen.”

  In the original character’s memory bank, she wasn’t anyone special. Just a quiet, diligent student. Not a heroine. Not relevant.

  Naturally, even after inheriting the guy’s life, Damien hadn’t memorized her name.

  But upon closer look… she was surprisingly pretty.

  If Aria was a 95 out of 100, this girl—Wen Something—was easily a 90.

  The girl, startled by his voice, gnced up.

  There he was. Damien Westbrook. Cool. Composed. Smiling faintly.

  Her breath caught.

  Eyes wide, she immediately looked back down, cheeks pink.

  “M-My name’s Wen Jing,” she whispered, quickly gathering her books and sliding out of the way.

  “Oh? Wen Jing?” Damien said smoothly. “I’ll remember that.”

  Then he sat down next to Aria—without giving Wen Jing another gnce.

  Because as far as the system was concerned?

  She wasn’t a heroine.

  And if she wasn’t coded into the story’s main plotline…

  She couldn’t give him Vilin Points.

  No payoff, no interest.

  But what Damien didn’t realize was how those five casual words—

  “I’ll remember that.”

  —lit up Wen Jing’s entire world.

  As she returned to his old seat, she hugged her books to her chest, cheeks glowing with emotion.

  She gnced at his desk.

  Then—delicately—she reached out and began straightening his scattered notes.

  Carefully aligning each paper.

  Admiring the neat, confident strokes of his handwriting.

  Then… she leaned forward, just slightly.

  Breathing in the faint, clean scent he’d left behind.

  So clean… so calm… this is what he smells like?

  Wen Jing closed her eyes for a moment.

  And smiled.