Chapter 1

"Let's break up, Lucas," I said and splashed an iced Americano right in Lucas Wynn's face, which every girl at school was obsessed with.

The dark brown liquid dripped down his sharp jawline, drenching the front of his pricey white shirt.

The crowd went dead silent.

Lucas didn't even flinch. He slowly lifted his hand, wiped the droplets from his cheek with his fingertips, and then locked his gaze on me.

Then he smirked, his smile chilling and dangerous.

"Chloe, what are you up to this time?" Lucas asked, his voice cool and dangerous. "Are you done? Let's go home."

*****

I said to the System, "Did you see that? I totally did it. This has got to count as a win, right? If not, I'm seriously about to lose my mind."

A chilling, robotic voice rang in my head, "Alert: Lucas Wynn's favorability has not dropped. His corruption level increased by 10%. Mission failed."

Failed? Are you kidding me? I literally splashed coffee all over his face. Was he nuts or something?

My name was Chloe Turner. Three months ago, I woke up transmigrated into a campus romance novel as the villainess who happened to share my exact name.

My mission was simple. I needed to follow the original plot and play the shallow, brainless, and materialistic beauty whose only real asset was her face.

After relentlessly pursuing the male lead, Lucas Wynn, I was callously abandoned, leading to my humiliating downfall and miserable withdrawal from school.

Once I finished the story, I could go home.

But the plot derailed from day one.

In the original novel, Lucas was a physics prodigy, who was cold, distant, and completely repulsed by any girl who dared get close.

So, sticking to my role, on the first day, I pulled up in a pink sports car, blocked the boys' dorm entrance, and held out a bouquet of roses in the most over-the-top confession people could imagine.

Lucas didn't even look at the flowers. His eyes went straight to me, and he said flatly, "Nice car. Wanna be my girlfriend?"

The System and I were caught off guard.

From that day on, I was forced to be Lucas's girlfriend.

To speed up the breakup, I went all out with my reckless antics and did everything I could to make Lucas hate me.

Whenever he went to the library, I'd tag along. I didn't study; instead, I painted my nails and demanded he tell me which one matched my hands best.

When he went to the lab, I'd follow him too. All I did was touch up my makeup and whine about how the formaldehyde stench was messing up my brand-new perfume.

When he played basketball with his friends, I'd sit on the sidelines. I didn't cheer him on, but bossed him around, making him go all the way across town to get me some hyped-up cake.

I thought he'd get annoyed, snap at me, and shut things down with a harsh "Get lost. Don't ever let me see you again," as he did in the original novel.

But he didn't.

He'd frown, but still pull my hand over and actually take the time to decide which nail polish color suited me best.

He'd take off his jacket and drape it over my shoulders, so I wouldn't have to deal with the lab's nasty chemical smell.

He'd pause the game, with all his buddies staring in disbelief, and drive halfway across the city to grab me a cake.

The nicer Lucas was to me, the more the System kept flagging my mission as failed, and honestly, the more I felt like I was about to lose my mind.

Today, the System gave an ultimatum to me, asking me to splash coffee on Lucas in the busiest cafeteria, packed with students, and dump him right then and there.

I did it, but it still didn't work.

Lucas's gaze was like an invisible web, trapping me with no way out.

When he said, "Let's go home," his voice was calm, but the command was unmistakable.

The students around us started gossiping in hushed voices.

"Oh, my god. Is Chloe out of her mind? Did she seriously do that to Lucas, the school genius?"

"Does she really think she can get away with anything because she's pretty?"

"Just wait. Lucas is totally going to kick her out. He hates girls who make a scene."

Suddenly, I saw hope and bragged to the System, "See? Everyone's watching. They all know he's about to kick me to the curb."

I straightened up, channeling my inner diva with every ounce of energy. "Lucas, are you deaf or something? I said I want to break up with you."

To really drive the point home, I hurled the empty cup at him for good measure.

Lucas's eyes sharpened. The instant I threw the cup, he closed the distance in a single stride, his long arm reaching out and sweeping me straight into his chest.

The cup landed behind him with a sharp crack, shattering into pieces.

I was pinned against his chest in a way that felt almost suffocating. His arm clamped around my waist like a steel trap, so tight that it was as if he wanted to fuse me into himself.

"I told you. Never say those two words," Lucas murmured, his voice dangerously low. His warm breath was against my ear, making me shudder.

What the hell? This plot was totally off. Wasn't he supposed to shove me away and glare at me, calling me a psycho?

"Let me go." I tried to break free, but he wouldn't even move. "Lucas, you're such a psycho."

"I am a psycho," he said with a low laugh, the vibration of his chest pressing through his shirt and into my back. "Chloe, if you keep acting up, I'll kiss you right here, in front of everyone."

My whole body went stiff.

Everyone was gasping all around us.

I could feel everyone staring at us like we were under a spotlight. I shouted to the System, "Help me. I feel mortified."

The System was totally ghosting me.

I was on the verge of tears. All I could do was barely squeeze out through clenched teeth, "I-I'll stop, okay?"