Chapter 3: The brilliant game designer and her foster father 1

In a blink, all the memories of this body's owner washed over Ernesta, filling her mind. From the everyday routines to the major life changes, everything played out vividly in her head. Seventeen years of life were absorbed in just a few seconds. Ernesta was amazed by the system's incredible power.

Once Ernesta had processed all the data, 001 spoke up,

“This body's owner just wanted to live, to keep designing games. Simple as that. So, on the day of the accident, all you had to do was stay off the road, and you would have been safe. Mission accomplished! Easy, right?”

Ernesta couldn't help but laugh.

“001, is this your first time on a mission?” she asked.

“How did you know?”

Because your inexperience is practically shouting from every number. Of course, Ernesta wouldn't say that. Until she understood the system's true purpose, she wouldn't turn against it.

She tried to avoid the question, changing the topic.

“Don't you think this whole story is kind of weird?”

001 went silent for a few seconds, processing the data. Then, it just froze and asked Ernesta back,

“Weird how?”

“Don't you think it's kind of illogical?”

After checking its system data, 001 came up with an answer,

“Did you forget, master? This is a romance novel world, and romance novels don't need to make too much sense. All the stuff that happens is just meant to make the main characters fall in love.”

Ernesta had never read a romance novel, so she didn't get it. But she had a completely different explanation than 001.

“But we're actually in this world now, it's real, so illogical things shouldn't exist in a real world. Plus, novels are written from the main characters' point of view, so they're bound to be biased and not tell the whole story,” Ernesta paused before continuing, “Look, the male lead adopts the female lead when she's 12, and he's 27. What reason would a young guy, who's single and successful, with tons of women around him, have to adopt a kid who's only 15 years younger than him?”

001 didn't answer right away. It was busy processing all the data, trying to figure out the best answer. But literature, you know, it's all about feelings and creativity, and that's kind of its weakness.

Before it could say anything, Ernesta pointed out another thing,

“The female lead is dying, and the male lead doesn't even try to help her. Instead, he finds her twin sister and adopts her. He says it's for company, but if you were the female lead, wouldn't you feel like your dad is ditching you and getting ready to raise someone else? So, logically, the female lead should be mad, suspicious of her sister, not loving and forgiving her bad habits. And then, why does the sister get in a car accident right when the female lead gets sick? And then her heart gets put into the female lead without any histocompatibility testing to see if it's a match?”

“Beep... beep... beep... Sorry, master, the system can't answer your question.”

Ernesta smiled. “If I just do nothing and stay home on the day of the accident like you said, I wouldn't have enough lives to finish this mission.”

“Master, what's the plan now?” the system asked.

“We're gonna check each one, see if it makes sense or not,” Ernesta said, a big smile spreading across her face. She was starting to get into this game.

After soaking up the story and the character's memories, Ernesta left the restroom.

At the sink, she took a good look at herself in the mirror and noticed something cool: she looked exactly like her 17-year-old self. Same golden hair, shining like the morning sun, same big, blue eyes like a summer sky. Her face was small and oval, with pretty features that were totally captivating. Her skin was smooth and flawless, like porcelain, making her high cheekbones stand out, which were lightly flushed pink. Her full, heart-shaped lips added to her irresistible beauty. This was Ernesta at seventeen, like a perfectly ripe peach, still with a little bit of that teenage innocence. But looking at her overall features, you could tell she was going to be a woman who would make a lot of guys go crazy.

Ernesta was totally stoked about it. Using her own face would make it way easier to get used to things than having a totally different one.

After washing her hands and fixing a few strands of hair, Ernesta pushed open the restroom door. She had no idea that some drama was waiting for her outside.

“Who's this? Oh, it's the little girl from the ghetto.”

“With a face like that, she must have been messed around with by all the older guys in the ghetto.”

“Of course, a cat is still a cat. Even though she was adopted by the Harolds, she still smells like poverty, like the rats in the sewers.”

A group of four girls surrounded Ernesta, pushing her against the wall, constantly making fun of her and being mean. But they weren't wrong. This body’s owner had been adopted as a kid, but then her family lost everything and ended up in the city's poor district.

Ernesta felt a connection with the girl, like they were kind of the same. It made her feel even closer to her.

Ernesta pressed herself against the wall, her eyes scanning the area as she asked,

“What do you want?”

The girl with reddish-brown hair, the leader of the group, laughed and said,

“We don't like you. We just want to see how you're doing, okay?”

The meanness in her voice was obvious, she wasn't even trying to hide it. It was clear that Ernesta was being bullied.

She had only been living with Ralph for two months, and she had just switched from a public school to a fancy private school. Most of the kids there were from rich families, and having a girl from the slums like her showed up made her stand out. It was no surprise that people would pick on her.

Ernesta knew she was outmatched. One against four, she didn't stand a chance. Fighting back was pointless, she just had to get out of there.

Suddenly, she ducked down and shouted,

“Hello, Mr. Principal!”

The four girls jumped and turned around to see who she was talking to. Ernesta took advantage of their distraction and bolted.

“She's getting away! Get her!”

The girl with brown hair realized she'd been tricked and yelled in anger. The other three girls ran after her.

Ernesta ran as fast as she could, and when she reached the corner of the hallway, she slammed right into a solid body. She looked up, startled, and her eyes met a pair of clear, stunning amber eyes.