"Fuck!"
A blonde woman with piercing blue eyes flinched as she stepped closer to the hospital bed. "You're actually still alive?!"
Who … who was this woman? No, wait, she did look a little familiar.
Unfortunately, the harder I tried to think, the more my head throbbed with unbearable pain. It felt like my skull had just been slammed onto the asphalt and crushed beneath a truck.
"Shit, I thought you were dead when I heard you got hit by a truck," she continued. "I had even asked my manager to buy me a cute black dress."
My jaw nearly dropped because her words matched the exact comparison I had just made.
But … I didn't remember being hit by a truck. The last thing I remembered was jumping off the third floor because I refused to film a porn movie, and before anyone judges me, it wasn't my fault! I didn't even realize the contract I signed was actually for a porn shoot!
All I knew was that my manager shoved a paper in my hands and told me it was for a bikini commercial. But when I arrived on set, they handed me see-through lingerie and told me to strip in front of the cameras.
Like hell I was going to do that.
If it hadn't been for the penalty fees hanging over my head, I never would've signed that stupid contract in the first place.
Poor me, I know.
I've told myself the same thing a thousand times.
The career I had built for years was destroyed because someone spread lies about me, saying I was a drug addict and a homewrecker who stole another woman's husband.
What a joke.
Drugs? I could literally sleep for an entire day just from taking a single sleeping pill.
As for stealing someone's husband? For heaven's sake, I barely had the energy to text men back, let alone steal one.
Anyway, why was this woman saying I was hit by a truck instead of falling from the third floor?
She eyed me from head to toe— well, maybe just down to my waist since my legs were covered by the blanket—and the way she looked at me carried no joy at all, only disgust and disappointment.
"Ew, Helcia, your face is disgusting." She pointed her finger at me as if she were pointing at dog shit. "You know what? if I saw my face covered in wounds like yours, I'd kill myself right away."
Helcia? Who the fuck was that? My name is Helena Moore, and I definitely don't remember ever having Helcia as a middle name or anything like that.
Was she mistaking me for someone else? Because my face felt like it was wrapped in a bandage.
But even if she did mistake me for another person, what gave her the right to insult someone lying half-dead in a hospital bed?
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have died in the most dramatic way possible!]
"Who's there?!" I flinched and immediately looked around to see who had just spoken to me. The voice sounded like a woman, but it was higher-pitched than the blonde woman's.
Yet, there was no one else around except her, the same woman who had just insulted me.
"Fuck, why are you acting so weird?" the blonde scoffed. "Did you get even dumber after your head smashed against the asphalt?"
She folded her arms, rolling her eyes. "If Daddy hadn't told me to show up and act like a good sister, I wouldn't have wasted a single second on you."
I narrowed my eyes. This woman was really testing my patience, and if my body weren't so weak right now, I would have already smashed her head with the IV stand.
"Who are you?" I finally asked.
"Oh my god, I can't believe you really got stupid." She slowly laughed, but it sounded more like mockery than amusement. "It's me, Madeline! Oh, but please don't call me by my name. I always feel disgusted whenever you do."
"Anyway, I don't plan on staying here because your face is ugly enough to make me puke." She pulled out her phone, leaned in, and snapped a selfie with me. "Say cheese."
Click!
I hissed as the flash stung my eyes, which hadn't seen light in what felt like forever.
"Oh, I look gorgeous." Her fingers danced across her screen as she mumbled, "My sister is finally awake. Please pray for her … hashtag bestsister, and post."
I blinked at her in disbelief.
Sister? Since when the hell did I ever have a sister like her?
I grew up in an orphanage, so I never had siblings. Beside that, I was damn sure none of the kids I grew up with had a mouth as rotten as this woman named Madeline.
"Alright, bye." Madeline slung her bag over her shoulder and strutted toward the door without even glancing back at me.
"Oh, wait!" She suddenly stopped and turned around, a nasty little smile curling on her lips. "Your crippled fiance is coming to see you next week, so you'd better do something about that ugly face. Honestly, even without the bandages, you already look disgusting."
Future husband?
Since when the hell did I ever have a future husband?! I couldn't even remember going on a proper date with a man, let alone being engaged!
But why did that bitch have to call him crippled of all things? I hadn't even met him yet, but hearing her spit out that word already made my blood boil!
Before I could snap back at her, Madeline was already gone. She slammed the door so hard it rattled, like she wanted to make sure I knew just how much she despised me.
[Host, you have been selected for a brand-new program designed especially for unlucky souls like you!]
Holy shit, that voice again!
Was I hearing a ghost? Or had I finally gone insane?!
[Don't panic, Host! The system is not a ghost, and you are definitely not crazy!]
"Then who … who are you?" I whispered.
When the voice spoke again, I finally realized it wasn't coming from the room, but it was inside my own head.
[Ding! Initializing the Money-Making System …]
[Loading … 10% ... 50% ... 100%.]
A glowing blue screen suddenly flickered into existence right in front of my eyes.
[System Notice]
[Host: Helcia Orszebet]
[Current Body Age: 24]
[Status: Alive (Barely)]
[Balance: $60]
[Debt: $1,000,000]
[Fame: 11 / 100 — Local Buzz]
[Public Favor: -12%]
[Acting Skill: S-Grade]
[Main Quest:
- Become the Nation's Treasure (0%)
- Earn 100% of Lando Brixton's Favor (0%)]
My jaw dropped. "What the actual hell is this?!"
[Congratulations, Host! You have officially been bound to the Money-Making System!]
"No, no, no. You've got the wrong person. My name is Helena Moore, not Helcia Orszebet!"
[You're currently in Helcia Orszebet's body, host.]
I nearly choked on my own breath. "What the hell do you mean?!"