I had been ready to throw away that godamn reward just to fire back insults about their insults about my husband.
But the system’s last words made me decide to trust it and play along.
I straightened my back, picked up the coffees from the barista, and walked past them as if they were nothing more than empty chairs.
“Oh my god, are you fucking deaf?” The smile on Audrey’s face finally cracked as I kept ignoring her.
Every silent step I took seemed to fuel their rage, making them hungrier for the reaction I refused to give.
[Good job, Host.
Keep walking.
The door is just a little farther.]
“Eliana!”
Audrey shoved my back.
The push wasn’t even that strong, but the system’s voice rang in my head.
[Host, Fall now!]
I let my knees buckle and my balance gave way.
The cups in my hands tilted, and coffee splashed all over my clothes as I crashed to the floor.
Gasps erupted from every corner of the café, the sound of chairs scraping back and phones clicking into recording mode filling the air.
Oh …
I finally understood why the system told me to keep ignoring them and act as pitiful as possible.
It seemed I still needed to use my acting skills today.
[Now cry, Host.
You’re a good actor, make yourself look as pitiful as possible.]
With shaking hands, I brushed at my face, smearing nothing but making it seem like tears.
My shoulders trembled, and I let out a soft sob from my lips.
“Miss, are you alright?!” A woman from a nearby table rushed over to me, trying to help me up.
I kept my eyes on the coffee spilled across the floor, silent for a beat, before lifting my head slowly.
My crocodile tears fell down my cheeks as I started, “She–she pushed me on purpose.” My finger pointed weakly at Audrey.
“I didn’t even do anything to her.” I bit my lip as lightly as possible while still making it look real, letting my sobs grow louder.
“I just wanted to drink some coffee.”
The system had told me not to interact with Audrey or Isabella, but it hadn’t said I couldn’t do so with other people in the café.
Therefore, I could use it to gain pity from others.
On the other side, the woman looked at me with pity.
She helped me to my feet, then shot Audrey a furious glare.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!
Do you have a screw loose or something?
Why would you push this poor girl?!”
Audrey froze, clearly not expecting anyone to defend me.
“But…I-i didn’t even push her that hard!”
“Liar!” a teenage girl shouted from another table.
“I saw her push the lady really hard!”
“She’s my sister!”
Audrey clearly hadn’t thought that her words would make the situation worse.
Murmured gasps filled the whole café.
Even the barista, who looked like she had been about to call the police a minute ago, stopped moving, probably more interested in witnessing a real-life family drama unfold.
“The hell?
That’s even worse!” someone else shouted.
“Why are you bullying your own sister, in the first place?!”
As insults began flying toward Audrey, I leaned closer to the young woman beside me and whispered weakly, “It’s alright …
maybe I deserve it.”
Without waiting for her reply, I bolted out of the café like a victim who had just been bullied, which, well in this case, wasn’t too far from the truth.
[Congratulations, Host!
You have successfully completed your quest: Completely ignore Audrey and her cousin until you leave the café.]
[Reward Distributed: 50 Experience Points, 20 System Points, $6,000]
I looked down at my coffee drenched outfits and let out a sigh, these clothes were expensive.
“Haa…Fucking bullshit, hey system if you ever pull something like this again, I won’t forgive you, okay?”
[Understood, Host]
“Great, now show me my status screen.”
[Host Profile]
[Host: Eliana Whitmore]
[Age: 21]
[Experience Points: 150/800]
[Face-Slapping Points: 0/100]
[Charm Points: 28/100]
[Face points: 60/100]
[Figure points: 55/100]
[Revenge points: 0/100]
[Fame: 5/100]
[System points: 45]
[Balance: $11,025]
[Main Quest:
Become the Nation’s treasure.
Time Limit: 3 years] (0.1%)
“What the actual fuck?!
Why is there practically no progress towards my main quest, 0.1?!
Are you mocking me?”
“…Fine,” As I turned and started walking toward Mr.
Bubba, he looked at me in shock, as if he had just seen a kitten get hit by a car.
“Young Madam, what happened to you?!” he exclaimed, his eyes wide as he hurried over to me.
I gently wiped away my Crocodile tears and smiled at him.
“It’s nothing Mr.
Bubba.
Just a little accident!”
“Then …
then why are you crying?” Mr.
Bubba’s voice softened, his worry written all over his face.
“Did someone bully you?”
I opened my mouth to answer but hesitated.
This was pretty much the perfect chance to gain Damien’s sympathy because Mr.
Bubba would surely tell him what happened.
But …
was it really alright to lie to him too?
[Host, you were actually bullied by your sister and cousin, so this doesn’t count as lying.]
Oh, that’s right.
Maybe I didn’t need to feel guilty about it.
“I …
I just ran into my sister and cousin at the café.” I lowered my head slightly and whispered, “That’s all.”
I didn’t explain the details to Mr.
Bubba, but his dark expression was enough proof that he understood that I had been bullied by Audrey and Isabella.
“Can we go home now?” I asked softly.
“My clothes are a mess ….”
“Alright, let’s go home.” Mr.
Bubba opened the car door for me and gently guided me inside.
The ride back felt a little awkward and quiet, probably because Mr.
Bubba didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t have the energy to break the silence either.
Facing people like this was nothing short of exhausting.
It felt like they had sucked the life out of me, leaving me empty and weak.
Thankfully, I wasn’t the real Eliana.
If I had been, I probably would’ve had a full-blown panic attack the moment I saw Audrey or Isabella.
Just as I thought, even though I possessed Eliana’s body and had her memories as well, that didn’t mean I inherited all of her feelings toward the ones who had hurt her.
Sure, I felt angry for her.
But I wasn’t the one who had endured their cruelty for years, so I didn’t carry the same deep trauma she did.
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