Shin's gaze sharpened.
"I didn't know you used to be neighbors with that homewrecker, Xian Song," he said, the words carrying a trace of something darker. "And now this. So what else? Does anyone else know you can hack?"
Yeri blinked, answering without hesitation, "Of course. Brother Jj and Levi know, maybe Nina too..."
She stopped, catching onto his earlier words.
"Wait… what do you mean by homewrecker?"
She truly didn't understand what had set him off.
Shin didn't answer. Instead, he set the laptop box aside on the table with a quiet thud, then reached for her.
In one smooth motion, he pulled her closer until she landed on his lap, the sudden shift stealing her balance.
Before she could protest his arm tightened around her.
"I don't like it," he said.
Simple words. Possessive, yes but laced with something almost boyishly unreasonable.
His gaze locked onto hers, unwavering.
"I want to be the person who knows you the most."
There it was, not a demand but not a request either.
Yeri didn't quite know how to respond.
Shin's expression was too serious, too intent, as if he had just uncovered a secret passage in a house he thought he already owned.
So she did what she did best, dodged.
"Don't you think I did a good job?" she said instead, her tone brightening as she leaned slightly back to look at him. "Your… ex dragged me into that competition to embarrass me, but she didn't see it coming."
A small, satisfied smile curved on her lips.
"You should've seen their faces. And your 'ex-brother? He looked absolutely livid."
"I don't care about those two," Shin replied flatly. "And that woman isn't my ex."
Yeri gave a noncommittal shrug. "That's not what everyone else says. But what if I couldn't program? What if I embarrassed you instead? Would you have been okay with that?"
Shin's arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer, firm and unyielding.
"I didn't even know you could do it in the first place," he said. "If their plan was to ruin me through you… then such method is really disappointing."
There was disdain in his voice, quiet but sharp.
Yeri hummed, unconvinced. "Still, your ex seems to hold quite a grudge against me. Do you think she still has feelings for you?"
A flicker of amusement crossed Shin's face, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"You keep calling her my ex," he said slowly. "Are you that bothered? Jealous?"
Yeri: "…"
That was not where she intended this conversation to go.
Was she…? No, absolutely not.
"Come to think of it, there's a better way to get to know you."
Yeri's instincts immediately perked up.
"What way?" she asked cautiously, already sensing trouble brewing.
Shin's gaze deepened, the corners of his lips lifting just enough to be suspicious.
"At the same time," he added, "I can comfort my jealous fiancée."
Yeri "???"
Before she could process that, she was suddenly lifted off the ground.
"Shin Keir!" she yelped, startled as he carried her effortlessly. "Put me down! I still have to unbox my prize!"
Shin, however, clearly had different priorities.
"It's just a laptop," he said dismissively. "I can buy you as many as you want."
That night… Yeri learned that some conversations didn't end with words.
By the time she collapsed into the sheets, utterly exhausted, a single thought drifted through her mind like a defeated whisper,
"Is he just holding back…?" Yeri murmured to herself, staring at the ceiling, limbs still heavy from the night before. "Will it be worse once we're married?"
----
The next day, the internet was nothing short of a battlefield.
Without any statement from Yeri or Shin, the narrative had already rewritten itself.
Netizens split cleanly into two camps, clashing like rival kingdoms armed with keyboards instead of swords.
On one side, Calin's supporters.
On the other, Yeri's rising army.
With Yeri's competition footage going viral, all previous black materials tied to her were buried almost overnight, like footprints erased by a sudden tide with comparisons flooding every platform.
"Calin's programming skills are clearly mediocre."
"How do you know that was her best? She wasn't even trying! She was just there to support her fiancé!"
"Yeri is still a student and already this good, imagine her in a few years!"
"Calin has actual achievements in the entertainment industry!"
"Yeri hasn't even started yet, give her time!"
Then Calin's past controversies resurfaced.
From bullying allegations, paparazzi photos and former relationships dragged back into the spotlight like skeletons unwilling to stay buried.
Despite everything, Calin still had a strong fanbase given she's a celebrity.
---
Inside Bryce's villa, the storm had followed them home.
"Why didn't you tell me Yeri Zhi had that level of programming knowledge?" Bryce demanded, his patience worn thin, frustration evident in every step he took.
The aftermath of the event was already rippling outward. Investors who had once been eager were now hesitant, their confidence shaken.
Calin had been crying since they left yesterday.
"How could you blame me?" she snapped, her voice trembling with both anger and grievance. "I don't know much about her! How was I supposed to know she's actually skilled? Didn't you investigate her? Even you didn't find out!"
Bryce's glare sharpened. They had been arguing since the car ride last night, tension stretching thin.
"Didn't you say you learned programming too?" he pressed. "Then why are you so—"
"So what?!" Calin exploded, her chest rose and fell sharply. "Are you regretting it now?People have different choices, different interests! Programming isn't my field!"
Bryce stopped mid-step on the stairs, his voice dropped, but far more dangerous.
"Are you saying… those IT certificates in your résumé…" he said slowly, "were all lies?"
Calin froze. The realization hit her a second too late, she had said too much.
Indeed, those certificates had never been her own merit, just carefully crafted, polished, and presented bait all for one purpose: To catch Shin Keir's attention.
Only, he had never even looked.
Calin's composure finally shattered.
"Yes, they're fake!" she snapped, no longer bothering to hide it. Spoiled by years of indulgence and past relationships that bent to her every whim, she couldn't care less what Bryce thought now.
"So what if they're fabricated? People do that all the time! Not just in the entertainment industry even in business. Don't act like you don't know that! And besides, you were the one who approached me first! You said you'd take care of me, give me everything I want but instead you made me memorize all that coding nonsense I barely understand!"
"It was your idea to humiliate Yeri in that competition," Bryce shot back coldly.
"And you agreed!" Calin fired back instantly. "Don't you dare put all the blame on me, you're just as responsible. Maybe your people just aren't capable enough if they couldn't even beat someone like Yeri Zhi!"
Bryce's expression darkened, veins bulging at his temples as anger surged through him. For a moment, it looked like he might explode.
But he forced it down, thinking she still had value.
"Fine," he said through clenched teeth. "Forget it. We've been arguing since last night, and I'm done."
He turned away. "It's the second day of the economic forum. Get some rest, we're leaving soon."
But Calin wasn't finished. Lifting her chin defiantly, she stormed out. "I'm not going!"
The door slammed behind her, heavy and suffocating.
Bryce stood still for a moment, his expression turning something darker and colder, almost venomous.
His assistant approached cautiously, as if stepping near a coiled snake. "Sir… should we bring her back?"
Bryce let out a low, humorless scoff.
"Leave her."
As he ascended the stairs, a single word slipped from his lips, "Bitch."
Moments later, the sound of something shattering echoed from upstairs.
The villa trembled with restrained fury finally given form.
---
Meanwhile, Calin drove off.
The road blurred past her as frustration churned in her chest. But beneath the anger something else stirred.
There used to be someone. Someone who would immediately coax her whenever she was upset. Someone who would never let her stay angry for long.
Without thinking, she pulled over by the roadside, her phone came out as she stared at one name on her blacklist.
Allen.
After a moment's hesitation, she removed it.
The line rang then an automated voice: The number you are trying to reach is unavailable.
Calin's expression stiffened, she quickly sent a message only to see the red exclamation mark.
"…He blocked me?"
The words felt foreign on her tongue.
For a long moment, she just stared at the screen, as if it might change if she looked hard enough.
Then, irritated, she dialed another number.
"Brother Serg—"
The call connected and immediately disconnected.
"...."
Calin let out a sharp curse, anger boiling over again. With nowhere to vent it, she opened her social media and posted a single emoji:
💔
Within minutes, her fans erupted.
They flooded the comments with sympathy, immediately assuming her heartbreak stemmed from the competition incident.
Fingers pointed, accusations flew. And, of course Yeri became the target of twisted logic and baseless blame.
Yet before the flames could fully spread another far more bigger replaced it.
News broke about Lianna's lawsuit, along with insider revelations about the drugging incident, naming Madam Neri and Lianna's own father as the primary culprits.
The internet shifted gears instantly.
----
Elsewhere, Venice stared at her phone, her expression darkening as Yeri's name dominated the headlines once again.
But not in the way she had hoped.
"A programming genius?" she muttered incredulously. "Since when?"
It made no sense.
She had never seen Yeri display such skills before. Never heard of it.
So when? Or was it Shin Keir who taught her?
Still lost in thought, she sat in the hospital lobby, waiting for her mother.
That was when a sharply dressed woman approached her.
"Are you Venice?"
Venice frowned, eyeing her from head to toe. "What about it?"
The woman didn't answer, instead she lunged at her.
Grabbing Venice by the hair, she yanked hard and began attacking her like a storm unleashed.
Venice froze for a split second, shock short-circuiting her reaction. It wasn't until two sharp slaps landed across her face that she snapped back to reality.
"You crazy-!"
She fought back immediately.
The two women tumbled to the floor, a chaotic whirlwind of screams, scratches, and flailing limbs.
"Venice!" Linda had just arrived.
Seeing her daughter being attacked, she didn't hesitate, diving straight into the fray like reinforcements charging into war.