I couldn't help rubbing at the wound. Blood and fluid seeped out together.
I'd barely wiped it clean when Chloe's disgusted voice cut through the room.
"Rebecca, what's that on your hand? That's disgusting." She covered her mouth dramatically. "It won't drip into the food, will it? How's anyone supposed to eat now?"
Jack set down his chopsticks. "Chloe's right. Don't sit at the table."
He pointed to a wooden rack in the corner—where the dog bowl sat. "Eat over there."
I went still for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."
I squatted on the floor and started shoveling food into my mouth.
Chloe gasped in mock horror. "Rebecca, how did you become so… so pathetic you'll eat anything? You're even stealing Wangzai's spot?" She laughed. "When he comes back and finds someone took his place—God, just imagining it is hilarious. Looks like we'll need two racks there from now on."
Every word dripped with humiliation.
How could I not hate it?
But I had to complete the system's mission. So I endured.
Jack said nothing.
My mind drifted back. Five years ago, I'd been bound to the Affection System. It forcibly dropped me into this world and told me I could only return home if I successfully won Jack's heart.
I fawned over him for so long that everyone said I was beyond saving. There's a saying—if you want to fool others, you have to fool yourself first.
I couldn't even tell anymore what I actually felt for him.
Finally, three years ago, his affection value hit 98%.
I was ecstatic. The mission was almost complete.
Then Chloe appeared.
She started hovering around Jack constantly. I watched in horror as his affection value began to drop.
Every single point lost triggered the system's punishment—electric shocks that ripped through my body.
So for the sake of my mission, I tried everything to drive her away.
It was useless. Every time, Jack brought her back.
When Chloe broke her leg in a fall, everyone blamed me. Including Jack.
As for her system—I never sensed it at all. Maybe mine blocked it.
Because of her, the misunderstandings between us piled higher and higher.
Even as his affection kept dropping, Jack proposed to me.
I was shocked. Terrified.
On our wedding day, they exposed the fact that I had a system.
At the time, I genuinely thought they'd uncovered the truth.
Chloe sobbed like her heart was breaking. "So that's how it is. Now I finally understand why you hated me so much—why it cost me my leg. Rebecca, you're truly selfish."
Jack was the same then as he was now. Silent. He watched coldly as his friends threw me out.
The system's voice rang in my head.
[Warning! Affection value below 50%. Mission failed.]
I snapped back to the present. Chloe was still mocking me relentlessly.
Jack's brow furrowed deeper. "Enough."
He walked over and stopped in front of me. "You really are as obedient as a dog now. Where'd that rebellious streak go?"
I smiled bitterly. "When survival's on the line, nothing else matters."
[Ding. Affection value: 80%.]
Jack's jaw tightened. "What exactly are you being so sarcastic about? Didn't I already bring you back?" His voice hardened. "If you hadn't always bullied Chloe back then, I wouldn't have needed to teach you a lesson. I'm warning you—if you don't want to go back to how things were before, don't hurt her again."
The injustice of it burned.
I never hurt her at all.
