"Wuwu…"
Lily Yu curled herself into a tight ball on the leather sofa, shoulders trembling dramatically as she cried. Her wide almond eyes were red and glossy with tears, her tiny face scrunched up pitifully—like a bullied kitten waiting for rescue.
She sniffed loudly.
"Husband… Jason… do you really want a divorce?"
Across from her, Jason Ren sat in his wheelchair—white bandage on his forehead, shirt crisp, posture cold and straight. He looked like one of those CEOs from the finance section of a magazine—except currently severely injured and even more severely annoyed.
"Sign it."
His voice was clipped. Impatient.
Lily's face crumpled.
"No! I won't!"
Her lips quivered with perfectly calibrated sorrow—because she was an actress, and crying scenes were her specialty. She launched herself forward in a blur of dramatic motion and landed on Jason's legs, clutching his thighs as if they were the pillars holding up her dying world.
"Jason, please—I know I was wrong—just give me another chance!"
Jason's jaw tightened.
"Lily. Shut up. And sign it."
She sniffed even harder. "Tell me what I did wrong! I can change!"
"You don't need to know." His tone was ice. "If you refuse, I'll file a unilateral divorce."
Lily froze. Her tears stopped instantly. Then she slowly stood up, wiping her cheeks with trembling fingers. Her tear-soaked lashes fluttered like a fragile butterfly.
Then she ripped the divorce papers into confetti.
"You want to leave me for Molly Yu, don't you? Hah! Over my dead body!"
Jason's eyes narrowed with disdain. "You don't have the right to disagree."
He turned his wheelchair, ready to leave.
And then—
A cheerful, unrestrained voice burst through the room like a firecracker.
"OH YEAH~! FREEDOM IS COMING! Little puppies, big sister is READY!"
Jason's hands froze mid-push.
Slowly—very slowly—his head turned back toward Lily.
She blinked at him with teary confusion.
"Jason… are you… hesitating?"
She looked so pitiful.
Her thoughts were not.
"Did my acting just now look fake? Ugh~ whatever. Once he divorces me, I'm going to PARTY! Pop champagne! Dance with some hot men!"
Jason's eyes trembled.
He stared at her as if she had grown a second head.
Lily sniffed dramatically. "Jason… don't be mad…"
"Come on, hurry up and divorce me already! I have so many better things to do than cry in front of this iceberg!"
Jason's breath hitched.
Was this… her inner voice?
He massaged his temple, thinking he was hallucinating from exhaustion.
Until—
"Also, OMG! I have to accept that mentor offer before someone else steals it! I'm not letting that male trainee group slip away!"
Jason's fingers dug into the wheelchair's armrest.
Lily looked up innocently. "Jason? You look pale. Are you okay?"
"He must be mad because I look too pretty even when crying. Ugh, my beauty is such a curse~"
Jason: "…"
For the first time in his elite, controlled life, he had the urge to flip the wheelchair over.
But he kept himself composed.
Barely.
He turned away. "Tomorrow, come with me to the old house."
"Huh?"
"Grandpa wants to see you."
He wheeled away without waiting for her response.
"Huh?" Lily blinked. "Aren't you divorcing me—"
"You should rest well."
He wheeled away before she could finish.
Lily stood frozen for a full ten seconds.
Then her temper exploded.
"What do you MEAN you're not leaving?! I cried for nothing?!" She stomped her foot. "Is he insane? Did the truck crash break his brain instead of his leg?"
Silence.
"The system, quit acting dead. What went wrong?! My acting was flawless!"
A glowing blue screen flickered in her mind.
[New Scapegoat System: …]
"Say something!" Lily snapped.
The system finally answered lazily:
[I am only responsible for sending you back once the task is complete. Everything else is your problem.]
Lily gritted her teeth. Useless, lazy, shameless thing.
But it was the reason she was alive.
She had been Lily Yu, internationally acclaimed best actress, the youngest woman to win the highest award in her industry. A plane crash should have killed her—yet she woke in another person's body with a system attached.
She was now the villainess of a romantic dog-blood novel.
The plot was simple:
Jason Ren and Molly Yu had been a sweet campus couple. But Molly's stepmother wanted to marry off her own daughter, Lily, to Jason's wealthy family. Manipulation. Lies. Forced marriage.
After that, the villainess Lily constantly caused trouble, while the heroine Molly grew brighter and more popular, protected by powerful admirers.
Eventually Jason divorced Lily, married Molly, and Lily was disgraced and destroyed by public opinion.
The system told Lily:
Complete the task → earn the chance to go back.
Fail → instant death.
Her mind buzzed again:
"Tsk, he almost held onto that divorce agreement. What an idiot."
Inside her head, a faint mechanical voice sighed:
System: Host, please remember to follow the scenario…
"Oh shut up."
Her thoughts snapped back.
"If you hadn't saved me from that plane crash, I'd be minced meat. Let me enjoy life a little!"
Sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the kitchen a warm golden glow.
Jason maneuvered his wheelchair quietly down the hall, following the faint humming drifting from the kitchen.
He stopped at the doorway.
Lily stood at the stove, wearing a soft pastel apron—a painfully cute one with a cartoon bunny holding a frying pan. Her hair was tied into a messy bun, her slender figure swaying slightly as she cooked.
Her face was calm. Peaceful.
Her thoughts were anything but.
"Let's see… Jason hates peanuts. Perfect. Add LOTS of peanuts. Let's give him a stomachache. Hehehehe~"
Jason's eye twitched.
Hard.
He rolled forward slowly. "Good morning."
Lily turned, startled.
"O-Oh! Jason, you're awake."
Her smile was sweet and soft.
"Why is he up so early? Doesn't he have a company to run? Oh right—he can't. My bad~ hehehe."
Jason inhaled deeply through his nose.
He had never wanted to throw someone out of a window more in his life.
Lily placed a plate in front of him. "I made breakfast for you. Eat well so you can recover."
"Recover faster so you can sign the divorce already, bro! "
Jason stared at the plate.
Then at Lily.
She tilted her head innocently. "Is something wrong?"
Inside:
"Oh my god, Jason, if you glare any harder you'll wrinkle. Those aren't cheap to fix, you know. Botox costs money."
He pressed his fingers to his brow.
This woman.
This sweet-faced, doe-eyed, award-winning actress—
Was a complete gremlin on the inside.
"I'm not hungry," he muttered.
Lily gasped dramatically. "Jason… you have to eat!"
"Please starve a little. Lose some weight. A skinny ML will make me look better on camera."
Jason exhaled sharply.
Jason pushed the plate away gently. "Lily. Sit."
She blinked, confused.
Inside her head:
"Sit? Why? Are we going to argue again? Ugh, can he stop? I'm busy planning my freedom party."
Jason's pulse jumped.
His voice came out low. "I want to talk about yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Lily tilted her head.
"Which part? The crying? The divorce shredding? Or the part where I almost called him a man-child?"
Jason's jaw clenched.
He had lived in boardrooms full of sharks.
He had negotiated billion-dollar mergers.
He had handled hostile takeovers without blinking.
None of that prepared him for—
This.
"Lily," he said slowly, "yesterday… did you say something?"
"Say something?" Lily blinked. Then she smiled, soft and fragile. "Jason, I only begged you not to divorce me."
Her thoughts screamed:
"I literally begged him to LEAVE ME. God, he has the hearing of a dead goat."
Jason stiffened.
He swallowed. "We're still going to the old house today."
Her smile froze.
"…What?"
Inside:
"Why!? I don't want to see Grandpa Ren! The old man is sharp—he'll see through my acting in one second! Abort mission! Abort! Abort!"
Jason's lips twitched.
"You seem… unwilling," he said.
"Me? No, not at all!" Lily waved her hands frantically.
"YES I'M UNWILLING, YOU BLOCK OF WOOD!"
Jason nodded slowly.
"I thought so."
"JASON!"
He stood (or wheeled) firm. "Be ready in an hour."
Lily stomped her foot. "But—!"
"If that old man asks why his grandson is divorcing me, I'll have to act pitiful again! My tear glands are TIRED!"