Chapter 2 The System's Rules

I held up the key in my hand, my voice shaking. "Professor Hayes, didn't you give me this key last night and ask me to come over so we could discuss the data?"

Ryder frowned, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust. "When did I ever give you a key? Shannon, did you actually have a copy of my apartment key made just to get close to me? Have you no shame?"

Lucinda shrank into the couch and tugged at the hem of the oversized shirt, looking frightened and vulnerable. "Ryder, don't blame Shannon. Maybe she just likes you too much and did something impulsive."

Ryder walked over and handed Lucinda the hot milk, his voice so gentle that it was almost sickening. "Lucinda, you're too kind. That's why manipulative women like her take advantage of you."

Then, he turned to me and pointed at the door. "Get out, and don't you ever set foot in here again."

The floating comments flooded my vision once more.

"Hahaha, this is killing me. The evil supporting villainess really thought she could seduce Professor Hayes? Keep dreaming."

"The heroine's comeback is incredible. Did she really wear the male lead's shirt to establish dominance? I'm obsessed."

"This system is amazing. The affection transfer happened last night, and now the male lead already hates the supporting villainess."

I stared at Ryder's cold, merciless face as the last shred of hope inside me shattered.

So, this was the truth in its entirety. All my effort and sincerity had been nothing but a joke in the face of the system's powers.

…

I had no idea how I made it out of that apartment building.

The next few days at school were a living nightmare.

Ryder mocked me at every opportunity in class, tearing apart the lab reports I had worked myself sick to complete and dismissing them as worthless.

The day final grades were posted, I stared at the number on the student portal, my whole body trembling—59.

Ryder had failed me without a hint of mercy.

…

Meanwhile, Lucinda, who slept through class and couldn't tell a beaker from a graduated cylinder, had gotten a perfect score.

I clutched my grade report, my eyes burning as I stormed into Ryder's office. "Professor Hayes, I refuse to accept this. My experimental data was flawless, and I wrote that paper after reviewing over a hundred sources. Why did I fail?"

Ryder sat behind his desk without even looking up. "In academic research, character matters most. A student who would stoop to making a copy of her professor's apartment key to sleep her way to the top cannot be trusted to produce legitimate data."

I laughed in disbelief, fury boiling over. Then, I pointed at Lucinda's name on the grade sheet and snapped. "What about her? She can't even write a basic chemical equation correctly, so how did she get a perfect score?"

Ryder slammed his hand against the desk. His eyes were glacial.

"Lucinda is pure-hearted. Her fundamentals may be weak, but she possesses an intuitive brilliance in academia that most people could never hope to match. Unlike you, whose mind is full of schemes. Get out."

He threw me out of his office.

The moment I reached the academic building, a group blocked my path. My exes.

Arthur, the polished upperclassman. Julian, the untouchable campus king. William, the sweet younger guy who used to trail after me all the time. They stood with Lucinda, who they protected in the center, staring at me like I was garbage.

Arthur adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, disappointment written all over his face. "Shannon, how did I never realize you were this vicious? You're going after Professor Hayes and trying to frame Lucinda?"

Julian let out a cold laugh, flipping a lighter in his hand. "You're just some trash from the sticks. It doesn't matter how clean you dress. You can't hide the cheap filth underneath."

William actually took a step backward, as though getting too close to me might infect him. "Stay away from Lucinda from now on, Shannon. Don't try any of your disgusting tricks on us."

Lucinda hid behind them, biting her lip in poorly disguised fake distress. "Don't say that about Shannon. She's only acting like this because she's jealous of me…"

"Lucinda, don't defend her. Someone like that isn't worth your sympathy."

These so-called perfect men took turns grinding me into the dirt one after another.

"This is so satisfying! Three male leads are fiercely protecting their girl!"

"What a legendary showdown scene! I'm screaming!"

Students passing by pointed at me and whispered about me openly.

"Didn't Professor Hayes fail her? Serves her right."

"She always acted like such a pure academic genius when all she was really doing was trying to sleep with her professor."

"Lucinda's so much better. She's pretty and sweet. It's no wonder all those top-tier guys adore her."

As I stood in the middle of the crowd and listened to their twisted version of reality, I suddenly found the whole thing absurd.

Pretty? Sweet?

I looked coldly at Lucinda, who was standing there like she was the center of the universe.

She was wearing the limited-edition dress Ryder bought her, Arthur's diamond necklace, and the impossible-to-get designer bag Julian had apparently pulled strings to get. Yet, what was left after one stripped all of that away from her?

I turned and forced my way through the crowd without saying a word because I had suddenly realized something.

I didn't return to the dorm. Instead, I hid behind a pillar in the dining hall and quietly observed Lucinda from a distance.

She was having lunch with William.

William gazed at her with shameless devotion; he was even peeling shrimp for her.

And Lucinda? She chewed with her mouth open, loud enough for me to hear from across the room.

She spoke between bites, mumbling through a mouthful of food, "This shrimp is disgusting. The mudfish back in the nasty drainage ditch near my hometown tasted better. This is seriously making me lose my appetite."

William didn't find her rude in the slightest. Instead, he looked heartbroken for her. "The cafeteria food's just awful. You've suffered enough. I'll take you to a Michelin-starred restaurant tonight."

Lucinda rolled her eyes and wiped her greasy fingers directly on William's expensive shirt. "Now you're talking."

My stomach churned at the sight.

This was their so-called pure, kind, inspired dream girl?

She cursed casually, had no manners, chewed with her mouth open, and lacked even the most basic hygiene.

So, how had she completely enchanted these elite men who had spent their lives around polished socialites?

Just then, the floating comments appeared before my eyes once more.

"Aww, Lucinda's so real. She's adorable."

"Exactly. Way better than fake, try-hard Shannon. That's how you're supposed to eat."

"Thank the system. As long as Shannon keeps maintaining that perfect image while pursuing men, any affection those men develop for Shannon gets transferred and makes them completely obsessed with Lucinda."

"Right! The harder Shannon tries, the more perfect Lucinda looks to them. She could pick her nose, and they'd call it art."

I stared at those comments, my breathing stopping cold.

I finally believed their insanity. The system really could steal every man I fought so hard to win.