Chapter 2

Rain lashed down on me, quickly soaking through my thin dress.

I hugged my knees, crouching by the hotel entrance, like a stray dog abandoned by its owner.

I wanted to leave, to escape this humiliating place immediately.

But the system started screaming in my head.

【You can't leave! Host, now is the crucial moment for the male lead to test your sincerity!】

【He was just angry before. When he’s done and comes out to see you still waiting in the rain, all his anger will turn into heartache!】

【Haven't you read those classic romance novels? It’s called 'love in the rain,' meant to seal your destiny forever! This storm today is meant to elevate your love!】

I looked up at the sky. The rain was coming down so hard, it felt like the heavens had broken.

My lips started turning purple, and my teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"I... I'm so cold."

【Being cold is perfect! The more pathetic you look, the more heartbroken he’ll be! Trust me, he’s definitely restless in that room right now, with his mind full of you!】

I chose to believe it again. To go home, I had no other choice.

I just stayed there, huddled under the hotel’s eaves, watching luxury cars drive in and couples intimately leave under their umbrellas.

No one spared me a second glance.

Time ticked by, minute by agonizing minute. My consciousness began to blur, and my body turned from icy cold to burning hot.

【Host, hold on! Every minute you wait now is another minute of heartache you cause him!】

【When he comes out and sees you, sick and collapsed because of him, that guilt will send his affection meter through the roof!】

The system’s voice still echoed in my mind.

I leaned against the cold wall, my body starting to slide down uncontrollably.

In a haze, I almost thought I saw Blake's anxious face rushing towards me.

I foolishly imagined he would hold me, wrap me in his warm coat, and take me home.

But none of it happened.

The sky had turned from pitch black to the soft, grey light of dawn. The rain finally lessened.

The hotel’s revolving doors moved. I used every ounce of strength to lift my head.

It was Blake.

He looked refreshed, his hair perfectly combed, clearly having enjoyed a very pleasant night.

Beside him, still in a thin dress, was his 'white moonlight'—his idealized first love, Serena.

My heart, in that moment, sank to the very bottom.

Blake’s gaze swept over me without the slightest pause. He even frowned.

Serena shivered, complaining, "Blake, it's a bit cold."

Blake immediately took off his own jacket and draped it over Serena’s shoulders.

Then, he embraced her and got into the car already waiting at the entrance, speeding away without a backward glance.

Not once did he look at me properly.

The car wheels splashed through a puddle, splattering me with mud.

I couldn’t hold on any longer and completely lost consciousness.

I woke up again in a hospital.

A kind stranger had brought me here.

The doctor said I had a high fever and exposure to the rain; any later, and I might have developed pneumonia.

I lay in the hospital bed, the light illuminating my pale face.

The system was finally quiet.

I opened the system panel. The affection meter in the top right corner still read 5%.

For three years, that number had never changed.

Late at night, in my feverish state, I kept dreaming of going home.

In my dreams, there was my mom’s homemade apple pie and warm mashed potatoes, and my cozy little bed.

I woke up crying, finding my pillow soaked.

The system popped up just then.

【Host, I’m so sorry. I underestimated the male lead’s ability to conceal his true feelings.】

【He didn't show it then because he needed to maintain his cold demeanor in front of his 'white moonlight.' I detected that he tossed and turned all night, unable to rest.】

I listened numbly.

It continued: 【But it’s okay. Even though it didn't succeed this time, it showed him your determination. We’ll try a different strategy.】

What other strategy could I have?

Except to be an even more obedient dog.