“How’s Sophie?”
“She took a sum of money from me and went off to travel the world,” Aidan said flatly.
My System had just filled me in. While I was sleeping, Sophie had demanded to see Aidan. Since she could no longer leave the
book, he was her last hope in this world.
I nodded, a teasing smile on my face. “CEO Sterling is quite generous with his breakup fees.”
“It wasn’t a breakup fee.” Aidan looked at me seriously. “There was never anything real between us. It was a mutually beneficial
arrangement. A partnership.”
“A partnership?”
“Her goal in this world was the same as yours: to redeem me. I adjusted my Darkness Value to help her complete her mission, and
she stayed to play a part for me.”
I was silent for a moment. “Aidan.”
He turned his head slightly to look at me, his voice a soft hum of acknowledgment.
“My return to this book… was that your doing?”
“It was.” He didn’t try to hide it. “For the sake of a good story, the System needs my life to be full of twists and turns. The moment I
found any kind of peaceful, happy life, it was bound to interfere.”
I frowned. “Then how did you know the System would choose me?” It could have sent a Tasker even more professional than Soph-
- ie. It didn’t have to be me.
slow smile spread across Aidan’s face. “Because the System and I both know one thing for certain ”
Chapter 2
20 44
A slow smile spread across Aidan’s face. “Because the System and I both know one thing for certain.”
“Only you can truly mess with my emotions.”
24
I rested my head on Aidan’s shoulder and told him everything. About our past, about the real world. The man holding me listened. quietly, his lips occasionally curling into a smile, his eyes sometimes darkening with thought.
After a long while, he gently pulled me up to sit straight and asked me seriously, “What are your plans for the future? You still have
such a long life ahead of you.”
“Lina,” he said, his voice soft and tinged with a strange melancholy, “are you going to live in this shadow for the rest of your life?”
His tone was so gentle. It was strange. It wasn’t something the Aidan from the book would say.
I thought for a moment, then whispered, “I owe it to him.”
Aidan’s fingers tensed. He frowned at me. “Why would you say that?”
Looking into those familiar eyes, my own eyes burned.
It was my fault. I had ruined Aidan. My feelings for him were never as pure as his were for me.
11
From our very first meeting at the orphanage, I had actively sought his attention. When he bent down and reached out to touch my
hair, I had leaned into his touch, my eyes shining. I had watched him turn to his mother and say, “Mom, look, it’s like she and I were
destined to meet.”
What destiny?
He was just my ladder out of hell.
I never believed I could be loved, and I certainly didn’t believe he would unconditionally love a sister he wasn’t related to by blood. So I deliberately got close to him.
It was me.
I was the one who silently lured him across the line between brother and sister.
In their home, I used him to secure my place. After his parents left, I played the victim, making him willingly lift me onto his should-
ers. Even offering to quit school and work… that was just a calculated move on my part.
As I spoke, I broke down into sobs.
Aidan pressed my head into the crook of his neck, comforting me. “Shh, it’s okay. What else?”
And that impulsive kiss. It wasn’t the result of overwhelming emotion. I was just too greedy. I wanted to embed myself so deeply in his life that he could never leave. Aidan had wanted to wait until I was a little older to marry me, but I was too insecure. I was
terrified that if I didn’t have him tied to me, even for a second, he would disappear.
So I used every trick I could think of to force him to marry me right away.
If Aidan knew how I had schemed against him back then… he would probably regret dying to save me, wouldn’t he?
“He wouldn’t regret it.”
His calm voice pulled me from my thoughts.
Aidan held me tighter and repeated, “It’s okay. Even if he knew… he would never have blamed you.”
25
The mission was a success.
25 44
The mission was a success.
The System transferred five million dollars into my account.
“Host, you once again have the choice to stay or leave,” the System said in a coaxing tone. “If you stay, we can sign the agreement right now. Don’t you want to be with him forever? This is your chance.”
It was the same choice I’d had three years ago.
I was torn.
The long–dormant comments suddenly reappeared:
“Don’t do it! If you stay, you’ll die! The System will get that five million in the end!”
“Aidan is no longer under the System’s control. They’ve sent people to erase him. If you stay, you’ll be destroyed along with him!”
“Damn it! If only someone could take down the corporation behind the System! It’s all these capitalists pulling the strings!”
“Exactly! They use his business genius and research skills to boost their own GDP, enjoying the benefits from the shadows, and then they just get rid of him when he’s no longer useful.”
“The System is so evil! Lina, you have to leave! Take the five million and go live your own life…”
I stared at the comments, stunned. My mind went blank,
If the Aidan in the book died, his soul would dissipate completely. And the Aidan lying in the ICU… would be no different from a dead man.
I scrambled out of bed in a panic, searching the entire apartment, but there was no sign of Aidan.
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the city center.
A towering skyscraper was engulfed in flames, the entire building glowing like a red–hot poker.
“It’s over, Aidan’s still in there.”
“I can’t believe the System moved so fast. They used a bomb, didn’t they? They’re really going all out to kill him.”
“Lina, just exit the world already… wait, where are you going?”
26
I ran out onto the street, barefoot.
The fire was spreading with terrifying speed. The air around me was a roaring, scorching wind.
I remembered the oil tanker, just before it exploded. It was the same all–consuming sea of fire.
I stared up at the burning building, my body numb.
My love was in there.
Tears streamed down my face, evaporating on my hot cheeks almost as soon as they fell. Through the shimmering waves of heat,
I thought I could see Aidan’s wavering silhouette. The fire was too intense, and his figure was already becoming indistinct.
“Oh no, the main entrance collapsed. It’s too late.”
“He could have escaped. He stayed behind to save that kid, and now he’s trapped.”
“He’s on the first floor. He could get out through the back exit. If only he knew…”
The back exit.
I pushed through the crowd and burst into the building, running like a headless chicken through the smoke–filled corridors.
20 44
The comments lit up, guiding me:
Yes, yes, turn left! The fire isn’t as bad over there!”
He’s at the end of the hallway, around the corner!”
This is it! My ship is finally sailing!”
The moment the back exit collapsed in a shower of sparks and debris, I grabbed the corner of Aidan’s shirt.
He saw me, and his eyes darkened with a flash of anger. The fist at his side clenched, then slowly relaxed.
(threw myself into his arms. He caught me, held me steady, and said coldly, “And here I was, always calling you my sweet girl. You‘
re not sweet at all. You’re reckless.”
27
My sweet girl.
My mind went blank.
Thugged his waist tighter, my arms trembling as I looked up at him.
He knew?
When did he find out?
Suddenly, I remembered waking up that day, the way Aidan had been looking at me.
It was Sophie.
She had told him.
So he had remembered everything back then.
28
“Lina, have I not taught you to stay out of danger?” Aidan scolded me, his face stern. “I’ve been dead for years. How can you still be
so foolish? Do you have any idea how much it hurts to be burned alive?”
A wave of fire rolled down the hallway toward us. He frowned, shielding me as he pulled me into a room and slammed the door
shut.
We were finally in a space with breathable air.
But I still buried my face in his chest, refusing to let go.
Aidan expressionlessly pulled me away. “We need to talk.”
“Why did you come in here?” he asked, his eyes downcast. “To save me? Or to die with me?”
I bit my lip, my hands clutching his.
When I didn’t answer, a small frown creased his handsome brow. After a moment, his tone softened. “Lina,” he said gently, “I have never blamed you.”
“You were never a burden in my eyes. You were a treasure.”
“If it weren’t for you,” he paused, as if lost in thought, then shook his head. “If I had never met someone to love, my life would never have been happy.”
“But I used you,” I whispered, looking down, my voice choked with sobs. “I don’t deserve any of this.”
“But do you love me?”
20-44
“What
Aidan repeated the question “All these years, have you loved me?”
It was a question he already knew the answer to
love you,” I said softly. “But
There are no buts. That’s enough.”
“So what if there was a little deception mixed in with a lot of real love?” he said. “You were starved for affection your whole life. The
Let that you could love at all… that was amazing.”
You don’t owe me anything. And I don’t owe you anything. You don’t have to live with guilt and pain because of my death. You need
to live your life”
Tears finally broke through. I was so sad and so angry that I jumped up and started hitting him. “How can you say something so
heartless?”
He was telling me to give up on him. How could he be so cruel?
Aidan laughed, his clean–cut face animated and alive in the flickering firelight. He caught me and pulled me into his arms, patting my back gently. “You’re only twenty–six. You have so much money. You graduated from a top university. You’re beautiful… I raised you so well. Is this one small request really too much to ask?”
He sighed, his voice low. “I know you can’t bear to let me go. But I’m already dead. Accidents, tomorrow… no one knows which will
come first.”
“Lina,” he said, “everyone has people who pass through their lives.”
He touched my face one last time. “Let me be laid to rest. When you go back, bury me somewhere you can see me.”
29
I woke with a jolt, drenched in a cold sweat.
It was the first night I had been able to sleep since returning to the real world.
My phone chimed. It was a notification from my bank.
My eyes widened in disbelief.
Seventy million dollars.
The System’s voice, weary and faint, came through. “Hey. That’s the male lead’s inheritance. In the book, it was seven hundred billi- on, but this is all we could withdraw.”
Clutching my phone, I felt a sense of wrongness. Even if it was only seventy million, it shouldn’t have come to me.
“Whatever, I’m about to lose my job anyway, so I might as well tell you a bit more,” the System continued, its voice listless. “The male lead’s original plan was for you to stay in the book. To protect you and himself from the System’s interference, he spent the last few years secretly investigating us while pretending to expand his business empire. He even found our home base.”
“He had already planted the explosives. All he had to do was wait for the timer. He would have been completely free. But our bomb
went off first.”
“He really did try so hard to live, with you. He was so close.”
I sat silently in the sunlight.
So close.
2044
Twoke with a jolt, drenched in a cold sweat.
It was the first night I had been able to sleep since returning to the real world.
My phone chimed. It was a notification from my bank.
My eyes widened in disbelief.
Seventy million dollars.
The System’s voice, weary and faint, came through. “Hey. That’s the male lead’s inheritance. In the book, it was seven hundred billi- on, but this is all we could withdraw.”
Clutching my phone, I felt a sense of wrongness. Even if it was only seventy million, it shouldn’t have come to me.
“Whatever, I’m about to lose my job anyway, so I might as well tell you a bit more,” the System continued, its voice listless. “The male lead’s original plan was for you to stay in the book. To protect you and himself from the System’s interference, he spent the last few years secretly investigating us while pretending to expand his business empire. He even found our home base.*
“He had already planted the explosives. All he had to do was wait for the timer. He would have been completely free. But our bomb went off first.”
“He really did try so hard to live, with you. He was so close.”
I sat silently in the sunlight.
So close.
Aidan’s self–mocking eyes flashed in my mind.
Accidents, tomorrow… no one knows which will come first.
I was the one who personally disconnected Aidan from life support.
I buried him in the front yard of my home.
Every time I left the house, I would turn to the small mound of earth and say a proper goodbye. When I came home, I would crouch down and tell him all about my day.
After a while, I thought the mound of earth looked too bare and lonely. Aidan wouldn’t have liked it.
So I planted a loquat tree on his grave.
I went to England and studied art for three years. By the time I graduated, my paintings were already gaining some recognition. I didn’t just paint; I taught, sending off class after class of bright, energetic students. During school breaks, I traveled the world, sket- ching and painting. In every new place I visited, I would paint a portrait of Aidan.
As the years passed, the loquat tree grew from a tiny sapling into a tall, sprawling tree, its branches spreading out like a giant, protective hat.
“Aidan,” I whispered, looking up at the tree that seemed to want to embrace me. My eyes grew misty, but I smiled.
“You can rest easy now.”
“Look at me… I’m so happy.”
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