Chapter 4

My stomach dropped.

I didn't even stop to unfold it and read the details. I just turned and raced for the hospital.

Her father's surgery had gone well tonight. But Cecilia was nowhere to be found.

I searched every corner of the hospital, and finally found her at the edge of the rooftop.

She sat there, drunk, the hem of her clothes whipping in the night wind.

When she saw me arrive out of breath, she turned her head and gave me a smile, her face streaked with tears.

【Cicely Cooley. You came.】

I reached out my hand, crying as I apologized.

【I'm sorry. I'll never accuse you falsely again, and I won't try to take Melvin Sanchez from you either. Just come down!】

She didn't move. She only shook her head, still crying.

【I don't blame you. I just really can't hold on anymore.】

【You paid my father's surgery fee. I thought the hard times were finally over.】

【But my brother went gambling to scrape the surgery money together, and in two days he racked up a million in debt.】

She paused, then, with hollow eyes, confessed a secret to me.

【That rainy night, a system awakened inside me. It gave me two choices...】

My heart jumped. That familiar setup—wasn't that exactly the same system as mine?

So I pressed her, thrilled.

【Did you pick the second one? The take-the-harm, get-a-reward one?】

Cecilia looked at me, startled, and nodded.

【How did you know?】

I couldn't be bothered with anything else and just spilled it all out.

【Isn't that the best news imaginable! Because I have a system too!】

【All these days I've been framing you and then taking your punishment for you, just to earn the rewards!】

I thought this could be solved. But Cecilia's expression didn't improve at all.

Her tears struck the ground as she shook her head and told me we weren't the same.

【It's this reward that ruined me.】

【That day, when Mrs. Sanchez slapped me, the system gave me a random inflation voucher. It said it could inflate anything.】

【I thought I'd give it a try. I figured if I inflated my assets, I could pay off the debt.】

【But I forgot my assets were all negative.】

【That one million in debt got inflated into thirty million...】

【Cicely, even if I sold myself to you in my next life, I could never pay it back.】

I stared, wide-eyed, in disbelief. 【Your reward... is a randomly dropped inflation voucher?】

Cecilia nodded hard.

My heart pounded. I summoned my system at once and pressed it.

【System, Cecilia's inflation voucher—can it inflate my bonus?】

The system interface flickered, then quickly a cold reply popped up.

【Yes.】