Recruited by a Villainess System

Lilian who was put on the spot: “!?!?”

Yup, Maine’s sixth sense was right on. The visit Max was pertaining to was actually referring to inviting Lilian to a date. 

The reason?

Well… You could say that Max has a liberated attitude towards dating. Time wasn’t a factor in how he did things. If he felt an attraction toward a certain person, he would pursue her. There was neither getting to know each other nor getting a feel of their compatibility. 

Max was as casual and straightforward as he could be.

Amid this churning atmosphere, a cell phone rang. 

Three heads diverted their attention to Maine. 

“I’ll just take this, hehe..” Maine said as she clumsily took out her phone under the heavy stare of the others and turned her back. Gosh, that was scary. 

A couple minutes of awkward silence permeated in the room as Lilian didn’t know how to answer Max while Maine was on her phone.

Lilian was already on the cusp of responding to Max in the face of this mounting pressure she was suffering when Maine pulled her hand. 

“Alex called, he wants to see us right now.” Maine fixedly looked at Lilian in the eye. It’s our chance to leave.

Getting the signal, a flash of light swept past Lilian’s eye. She looked at Max and, with a sorry tone, said, “Well, I have important things to do, maybe next time.” 

She threw him one last sad smile before following Maine out 

The forgotten Alice didn’t want to stay longer in this oppressive space and gladly followed the two.

Meanwhile, the abandoned Max had no choice but to sigh. It seemed like he still had a long way to go before scoring a dinner with Lilian. I hope you won’t disappoint me. 

After running outside, Maine took a glance at the back to make sure that Max hadn’t followed. Alice, on the other hand, who knows where she went to. It wasn’t Maine’s concern at the moment.

Having finally escaped from the dilemma, Maine was now relieved. She then turned to Lilian.

With Lilian’s angelic face, she asked, “So, where’s Alex?”

“About that… I lied.” Maine wasn’t ashamed to say it; she was just apprehensive. She has no plan to let Lilian be dissatisfied with her.

The truth was, the second Max finished his question, Maine, without any deliberation, played her ringtone. There was no call from Alex. It was all Maine. 

Maine didn’t have it in her to confront Max directly, so she chose to use Alex’s name. It would be too much for an assistant to meddle with an artist’s private life, but Maine was convinced that Max’s invite wasn’t any good.

While Lilian and Irene were in the middle of shooting, Maine interacted with the crew. She got to know Max’s past relationships from them, hence she wasn’t bothered interrupting his and Lilian’s conversation. 

He may be casual, but Maine was certain Lilian was not. 

It would only bring Lilian heartache if she forms a connection with him.

Lilian attentively listened to Maine’s explanation and was grateful.

Maine carefully asked, “You’re not disappointed, sad, or mad?”

“No, why would I even be mad at you? It’s me who owes you a thank you.” Lilian’s eyes curved in gratitude. “Thanks, Maine.”

Maine’s eyes sparkled as she beamed at Lilian in return

***

It was another day at work, and it was Irene’s time to shine. 

~~~

The book club that Hannah joined was, in reality, an insurgence group. 

While at school, Hannah was approached by one of their members. She was hesitant at first to join, but then they sent her a video. 

It was her father. 

Hannah was a just child when her father was arrested for murdering a CEO of a huge company, but that was not true. 

Her father was falsely accused. 

Hannah knew her father; he was the kindest man she had ever known. He could never do that. 

There was something wrong. There has to be something wrong. 

But when the footage from her father’s chip was checked, it showed him pulling the trigger and aiming it at the CEO’s head.

Hannah and her mother were both stunned when they saw that. 

That wasn’t the father that she knew. That wasn’t the husband that her mother knew. 

No matter the evidence, they didn’t believe it.

So they begged. They begged till their knees bled. But the evidence was absolute. They couldn’t do anything. 

To this day, Hannah was still grappling over this. It didn’t make sense to her. 

Then entered the “book club”. They sent her the same footage used as evidence that sentenced her father to execution. But this time, the identification code wasn’t his. The hand wasn’t his. The voice wasn’t his. 

It was Maggie’s uncle. 

The sky fell apart on her. Her knees shook, her heartbeat sped up, and her hands trembled. 

How could this be? 

IT WAS A SETUP! 

Her father… Her gentle and warm father who had always protected her and her mother. 

For years, the world labelled her father as a murder; mocking and taunting Hannah and her mother. Yet in the end, it was actually orchestrated by those in power. 

They shifted the blame to her father while bathing in the lavishness of the wealth and power that they indifferently abused. 

HOW WAS THIS A PARADISE?! 

Her father was dead, while the real culprit still ran amok in the streets of this nation. 

Hannah couldn’t swallow this.

And so here she was, running through the wilderness.

“Hurry up, we’re almost there. Just a little bit more.”

Together with Hannah were the four other people she met in the “book club”.

In the beginning, everything went well. They were tasked to befriend the sons and daughters of those at the top. For Hannah, that couldn’t have been any easier; there was already Maggie and Zian in her contacts.

However, May 21st happened. Margaret, their team leader, the one they met on the first day, got a call. Someone tipped the government about them. 

So they had no choice. They needed to leave Eden. 

Hannah’s mother, who Hannah kept in the dark this whole time, was dealt with a heavy blow when Hannah revealed everything to her in one breath. 

Time was running out. If they still didn’t pack up, only hell awaits the captured. 

Hannah couldn’t let that happen. 

Together with the family of the other four and Margaret, Hannah’s mother was sent first to the base of the rebellion while Hannah and the others led the hounds of the government away. 

Her legs quivered, her lungs burned, and her hair in a disarray, Hannah ran for her life. It was do or die. 

Under the jurisdiction of the moon, the towering trees aided Hannah and her companions by blocking the moonlight. The five of them have already memorized the route going to the base so they could easily traverse this winding path. 

The hounds, on another note, were at a disadvantage. They were unfamiliar with the place, plus the trees became their obstacle. All they had was just the muted noise of the crunched up leaves and broken twigs that were stepped on as their lead. 

Even so, the screening they’ve been through was not for nothing and as the night went on, they also got closer to the target. 

With no command needed, the five hounds simultaneously readied their guns as their targets entered their shooting range. 

Mike, one of Hannah’s companions, bumped into a metal trunk. Finally! This is it. Just a few steps ahead was the base. They were finally safe. He stopped in his tracks in jubilee and turned back to his companions to share the news. 

But not a second later, a gunshot was heard. “Lyka!”

Once Lyka was locked on, without a ripple in his heart, the hound instantly pulled the trigger. 

Hannah, in her worn out state, saw Mike turn with a sparkle in his eyes. She saw him open his mouth and— 

BANG!

Hannah’s body trembled. It was so close. She looked behind her; her breath caught in her throat. 

Still. Lyka laid on her stomach and was deathly still. Eyes wide and mouth ajar, on this night the world bid farewell to one of its children as a viscous red liquid gushed out of her body. A family was robbed of a steadfast and compassionate daughter; a valiant citizen standing against tyranny.

It was then when Mike’s thunderous roar reached her ear. “RUN!!!”

As though turning on a switch, successive deafening gunshots followed. 

Behind Mike was a row of men and women aiming at the hounds. 

With their lives threatened, the leader of the hounds shifted his aim towards the shooter but found that he was out of his range. He gnashed his teeth and bit his lips till an iron taste spread in his mouth. God d*mm*t  

Bullets were flying in the air. The God of Death stood at the side, harvesting every fallen soul that kowtowed to the hot weapons of mankind. 

In the midst of this, Stephen dragged the frozen Hannah with all his might and they sprinted toward Mike. At this time, Hannah, who was ashen and could barely move due to fear, stumbled and fell. 

~~~

Inside the dressing room, Alex hurriedly went to Irene, worried. “Are you alright? Let me see your knees.” 

The good thing here was that Irene was wearing jeans when filming, hence her knees weren’t grazed. However, now changing to a long skirt, a dark purple spot appeared on it. 

Alex’s heart constricted upon seeing it. “What about your hands?” He was about to grab it, but he stopped himself. He didn’t want to hurt Irene more because of his carelessness. 

His thoughts were written on his face, and Irene could read it clearly. Her heart softened, and she chuckled inwardly. 

“Here.” Compared to her bruised knees, Irene’s hands didn’t escape being scraped. Both of her hands were red, and drops of blood were painted on it. Irene let him cradle her right hand. 

In her seat, Irene looked down as she felt her hand being stroked by a feathery touch. She was unsure if it was because it tickled that a curve sneakily creeped into her lips.