Carl watched as Alex perused the contracts and documents of his artist. If he didn’t know this person, he would’ve been pissed with his half-assed attitude. 

“If you really hate it, why don’t you complain and refuse like what you’ve always been doing.”

A mysterious look flashed past Alex’s eyes. 

“How can I pass up the opportunity of managing Brother Carl’s treasure? With her looks and abilities, it wouldn’t be a loss for me for sure,” he playfully said.

If not for the lazy look he had, Carl would have almost believed it. He internally rolled his eyes.

“You’re i-don’t-give-a-f**k face betrayed your sweet mouth.”

Alex shrugged in response. He, obviously, wasn’t keen on divulging his reasons. And Carl wasn’t also too nosy to pry information out of him. He respected his choice.

They discussed all the relevant materials. Carl stood up to leave and took his coat that he had left on the armchair. 

He walked toward Alex and placed a hand on his shoulders. “Please take care of Lilian.”

That enthusiastic and honest kid has been under his wing for a couple of years. He felt like a father entrusting his daughter to her husband. He was reluctant—bitterly reluctant. 

Alex was aware of how Carl valued Lilian. 

He raised his head and stared at him straight in the eyes. Alex wanted him to see his resolve. He promised. “Leave her to me.”

He chose this. Of course he needed to take responsibility. 

Carl was relieved by his reassuring words and laughed. “Good, good. As always, you never disappoint.”

He was worried that Lilian would be wronged. He trusted Alex, but his fatherly affection couldn’t sit still when he knew that this man in front of him was notorious for rejecting other artists. Maybe in the place where he couldn’t see, Lilian would suffer.

But with Alex giving his word, he could now rest his worries. 

He was just three years older than Alex, but managing Lilian made him feel more mature than his age. Heh, should he now start worrying about his hair turning gray?

 

***

 

Alex was left alone. He put down the papers he had been holding and stretched his arms up. The stiffness slowly subsided. After a long day of work, he could now take a breather.

He wasn’t in a hurry to go home as he hummed softly and swiveled in his chair a couple of times.

Under a dim light in the spacious room, an upbeat tone could be heard from the man. His eyes were closed, and his mouth was shut. He was lost in his thoughts; no one knew what he was thinking. The only hint was the sorrowful smile that didn’t fit him at all.

 

***

 

The sunlight fell upon Irene’s cheek. 

Sleeping for over eight hours invigorated her. She stared dazedly at the white ceiling and released a long sigh. 

“I’ll save you.” Irene smiled. 

She had already come to terms with everything during the couple of minutes that she was awake. At present, she was ready to feed her rumbling stomach. 

Before she could lift herself up, the mechanical sound reappeared.

Her temple twitched. She was getting ticked off by the system’s way of communicating.  

[Good morning, host. I see that you’ve totally assimilated.]

Irene had guessed that she would have to find ways to talk to this system again; she didn’t expect that it would contact her by itself this soon, especially after leaving her like that yesterday. 

A little irritated, she responded, “What do I have to do?”

The system had previously given her information regarding the protagonist and the male lead of this world. She had seen Lilian. What was left was the male lead. Aside from those two, no other character was mentioned. 

According to the monotonous voice of the system, [They’re irrelevant.]

If this system had a physical body, Irene would surely punch it squarely in the face.

002: [I’ll be now integrating myself to you.]

In the next moment, a sharp pain stabbed Irene’s temple, spreading throughout her head. The excruciating pain made her curl up in a ball, trembling.

A few minutes later, it didn’t hurt as much anymore and Irene was left with a game-like panel occupying her mind.

002: [Integration complete.]

What a heartless robot. It didn’t even wait for the sudden sting to settle before it spoke further. [Do your tasks perfectly and you’ll have your sister back.] Its voice was like a blaring megaphone, prolonging her pain.

Irene gritted her teeth. 

“I assure you, you’re doing a stellar job. You’ll get that employee of the month with no problem at all,” she sarcastically stated, full of indignation. She knew it was a system, but couldn’t it be more sympathetic to her? Just look at her situation!

Not to disappoint, the system kept quiet. 

002: [...]

It was still early in the morning, and Irene was unwilling to let her blood pressure go through the roof. She took deep breaths. Inhale. Exhale. Once she tempered down. She coolly stated, “That’s it?”

002: [Yes.]

For Irene, this type of mission was comparable to acting, though longer. A couple of months or maybe years of non-stop filming. Perhaps this would become her magnum opus. 

Not an hour into the conversation, Irene had found another thing she disliked about the system. She begrudgingly determined that this system was way too casual, far from the ones she’d read before. She needed clarification. It was too vague.

She narrowed her eyes and said, “Do I have to do something specific to accomplish the tasks?”

[As long as the main purpose is achieved, your completion rate will naturally grow. The cause doesn’t matter. But of course, once something needs to be explicitly done, a prompt will turn up.]

Irene was relieved to hear that she had the freedom to make choices about how she could approach the situations. She expected the latter part of its explanation, so she didn’t bother with that. She continued, “And how would I know my progress?”

[In front of you is your progress bar, and it will appear and disappear on the upper right side of your field of vision when you picture it.]

Irene listened and practiced. She pictured the progress bar disappearing. True to its words, it was gone. Still, she was worried something might get out of hand later.

These handfuls of interactions she had with it proved that she must not place her trust in this lousy system, appearing whenever it wanted. Or else she would be driven mad by it even before maxing out the bar. So she spoke further. “How can I contact you?”

It would be a nightmare if she couldn’t reach the system when she needed to. The status quo had to change.

The system was silent for a few seconds, then it monotonously said, [I am already a part of you. You can just call my name.]

“You do know that Villainess System 002 is a handful to say, right? How about just 002 (two)?”

“Sure.” It didn’t care.

Irene was glad that she wouldn’t become a headless chicken in the days that followed.

After that, she was once again alone. 

002’s appearance interrupted her stomach’s protest. Now that it left, it didn’t think twice to raise its hand to grab her attention. 

She wasn’t able to have dinner last night. No wonder that it was making itself known. Continuing what she was about to do before, Irene got out of bed. Her feet finally touched her fluffy slippers.

Irene entered the bathroom to wash up before going to the kitchen. 

Inheriting the previous owner’s memory, she familiarly fetched the pan inside the cabinet and fried herself a plate of sunny side-up and bacon. While doing so, she noticed a picture frame hanging on the wall. 

In it was a beaming Irene surrounded by children ranging from toddlers to teenagers. 

It was a photo taken when the original visited the orphanage where she grew up. The kids there loved her, and each visit of hers would put a smile on their faces. She would also donate a large sum of money every year. 

The once dilapidated orphanage flourished under the care of the original. More were helped as the years went on, and for every child in there, the owner became their favorite. 

Irene decided to continue donating. It was the least she could do for the original. 

But she shouldn’t go there now.

No matter how similar she was to the former Irene, the fact stood that she was bad at dealing with kids. Her experience with her sister didn’t count since that kid was too sensible. That trait made her adore Liz more, but it also made her nervous when facing such lively children. She didn’t know if she could handle them. 

She needed some buffer time. 

Irene convinced herself that it was wise to go a few months later. The original already went there before she took her place, so a couple more months without seeing them was normal. 

She wasn’t intimidated. Nuh uh. Those cute and lively kids were angels. 

I’m not intimidated… at.. all… 

Well, it remained to be seen. Her last faltering words were doubtful. 

Besides, all that mattered was the end goal. How she would walk all depended on her. 

Out of all she did, Irene was glad she carried out this choice today. At least she made some people happy.

Irene lived in a three-bedroom apartment, featuring a panoramic view of the roaring B City.  

After eating her breakfast, she moved to the couch in the living room and laid there. If nothing happened, she would happily laze here for the duration of her “vacation”. It was not bad ah! 

Irene dangled her feet on the arm of the couch, moving it leisurely. She picked up the remote and turned the tv on, hoping to catch up with the latest happenings in this world.

She found a news channel, just what she was looking for.

[Anchor: As of this moment, the airplane where Vince Ball is in has landed. Vince just came back after winning the Best Director award at the International Film Festival in Country M.]

What a coincidence. The male lead was as brilliant as ever. 

Vince Ball has already nabbed countless awards nationally and has now proved his brilliance worldwide.

Irene gave him her penetrating gaze, carefully analyzing his features. 

Those cold and magnetic eyes, tantalizing lips, and his inverted pyramid of a body—a perfect fit for the protagonist. 

It looked like completing her task would be more tough than she first thought.

Irene’s phone lit up. She received a litany of messages from Riley.

Riley: [Ireneeeeee] 

Riley: [Heard you're on a vacation, hehehe.]

Riley: [Go shopping with me? (人 •͈ᴗ•͈)]

Riley was the original’s best friend. They met each other during high school and since then became glued to one another.

She was, additionally, the princess of the entertainment mogul Michael Stan, who owned the Midnight Pictures Inc.. 

Through her, Irene managed to enter the industry.

She instantly replied. [Ok. Where?]

There was no reason for her to reject the invitation.

A few seconds later, a second barrage of alert tones were heard. 

Riley: [Awesome! ( ˘ ³˘)♥] 

Riley: [Today's destination, T Mall!]

Riley: [I’ll be there in a jiffy. ୧(＾ 〰 ＾)୨]

Irene: [Be careful on the road.]

It looked like her couch would again be left alone in this enormous apartment to itself. She stared at it with regret before she hoisted herself up to change clothes. 

Irene chose a simple outfit. She donned herself with a plaid skirt and a white shirt. She wore a sunglass and a mask to keep her identity from people. 

A couple of minutes passed, another notification popped up. [I'm here!!! (＾∇＾)ﾉ] 

Riley arrived in an inconspicuous BMW.

Both the current and the original Irene weren’t much of a talker. Despite how wild their thoughts became, they somehow managed to sport a distant look on the outside; hence, the people’s impression toward them. But it couldn’t be helped. Their environment stipulated them to be like this or else it was game over. 

Riley saw Irene walk out of the building. It was the same solemn manner that she got used to. She wasn’t sure what that worrywart Alex was referring to.

But, on a closer inspection, Irene was a little different. Her ambiance around her got more oomph. 

She was now a level higher than those actresses at the top of the hierarchy, domineering and powerful.

Riley gleefully greeted Irene when she sat on the copilot seat. “Hey, girl!” It’s safe to say who was the chatterbox between them.

Irene was amused by Riley’s greeting. Her lips crooked, and she replied to her back. 

Riley dejectedly said, “Your ‘vacation’ is too abrupt. I haven’t had time to organize a trip. So, as of the moment, we’re stuck at the mall.” Her pout transformed to a determined expression as she continued, “But don’t worry! I’ve already called my assistant to plan our itinerary. After our mall escapade, we’ll take off to make the best out of these three days!”

Irene couldn’t handle the transformation. Too adorable.

Moreover, it really didn’t matter to Irene where they were going. Since someone wanted to invite her, she would naturally go. 

“I’ll follow you,” Irene dotingly added with her cool tone.

They drove in the city and entered the enormous building housing a variety of shops; from foreign down to local brands.

Together, they walked into a luxury store and were respectfully approached by a staff member. “Hello, is there anything I can help you with?”

The staff saw the two of them at the entrance and was enthralled by their beauty. 

Looking at their attires, she was certain that she picked up a fat cow this time. Especially the young woman on the right. 

From the top to the accessories that decorated her, it all screamed money. 

The one on the left was more low-key. But her temperament spoke for her. Her long legs strut with immense precision and poise. She seemed slightly familiar. Wistfully, she couldn’t see her face.

Her co-worker had once snatched her customer, and she shouldn’t let that happen again. So, she earnestly welcomed them.

Irene casually glanced at the attendant and said, “We’ll just look around for now.”

Beside her, Like injected by some drug, Riley enthusiastically pulled Irene in. Apparently, they didn’t share the same sentiment. 

Riley was in her home court, and nobody could beat her.

They went to the dress section. Irene scanned the inside while Riley was picking her favorites, her eyes glowing in bliss. 

Like most luxury brands, they designed the store as elegantly as possible. 

The warm light looked over the clothes, highlighting their beauty to the customers’ sight without fail.

“Irene?”