Recruited by a Villainess System

Being burnt by the sun for two days was like a torture Irene didn’t ask for.

True to her words, after the episode in the mall, Riley dragged Irene to the beach and stayed there for the rest of their break. Everything went well. However, the moment Riley proposed to go scuba diving, things started going south.

Another common thing between the original and Irene was that both of them couldn’t swim. 

Yet, it was much worse for Irene. 

She used to watch a lot of documentaries about the ocean and how most of it was uncharted, even at this age. Instead of making her curious, it only made her terrified of it. 

A place where the daystar couldn’t even shine, where humongous creatures swam under your feet, and a frontier that has forever been in the bucket list of human civilization—all of this was unbearable for Irene. 

For two hours or so, the two of them played tug of war with each other. 

In the end, no matter how frustrated Riley got, she couldn’t budge Irene out of the rattan chair in the room. 

Riley departed the resort with a hunched back. A defeated soldier.  

The victor, Irene, feasted on her spoils of war—leisure time for herself. 

Beside that hiccup and the scorching sun, their stay there was fun. 

***

It was three o’clock in the afternoon when she arrived at her apartment. 

Irene fell flat on the couch, tired from the trip. 

Akin to a lazy sloth, she stretched out her hand to grab the documents on the coffee table. She wasn’t about to forget her mission. 

Though groaning, she still scanned through the files. Found it.

Sandwich amongst the papers was the script for the movie directed by Vince Ball himself. 

After his win, Vince Ball became the hottest director in town and any actor and actress would fight to be a part of his next project. Thanks to her talent, Irene clinched the female lead role without sweat.

Reading through it, Irene reveled in appreciation for the plot of the story. This would be a big hit for sure, and a great way to introduce the female lead to a broader scope of audience. 

The following day, Irene left for the company early in the morning.

En route to Alex’s office, multiple pairs of eyes would occasionally stumble upon her. Her detached facial disposition caused hesitancy for the owners of those eyes to greet her. While some averted their stares altogether when they met her gaze. 

Irene was accustomed to this. 

Despite that, she saw a peculiar individual among them. One of the staff waved her hello. What a brave soul. Irene revered such courage. In return, she gave him a subtle smile. 

A young man’s ears were tinted red when Irene acknowledged him. 

Out of the corner of his eyes, his friend exclaimed as she shook his shoulders excitedly. “She looked at me!” 

As he heard the sentence, the man thought in discontent, It was obviously directed at me. She was not the one who waved at Irene. It was me! So it’s me she was looking at! 

He petulantly turned his back against his friend and departed without glancing back. 

The girl stood there and watched her friend walk out. She moved and caught up with him. “Wait for me!” She thought about messing with her friend a little. But instead, an angry child materialized. 

She internally giggled.

***

Irene walked straight to Alex’s office.

She presumed that what had occurred was already the climax of her day, but she was in for a bigger surprise.

Garbed in a fitted white long sleeve, Alex raised his head from the papers that he was reading. He saw Irene enter and sat opposite to him. 

Alex warmly greeted her. “Good morning.” 

He stood up to make a cup of coffee for her. 

Irene’s eyes followed his every move. She watched how his nimble fingers grasped the cup, and how that very same hand carefully weighed the coffee grounds, carrying out each procedure in a meticulous approach. He looks d*mn ravishing.

The gentleman in front of her was in line with her taste. But, no! He was only, purely, for the eyes. Nothing less, nothing more. No touchy, touchy. She still has some sanity left, you know. Nevertheless, it was a shame. What. A. Shameeee….  

She nonchalantly answered him. “Morning.”

Alex placed the freshly brewed coffee before Irene. He took a peek at her when making it and was relieved and at a loss. So it wasn’t a one time thing. Irene had become more perceptive of her surroundings. 

He wasn’t sure of the cause of such abrupt change, but as long as nothing was wrong, he would overlook it. Besides, it would be beneficial for her to act like this.

“So, you had fun?” an indulgent voice sounded. 

His words alluded to how he pulled the strings from behind. No schedule remained a secret with a snitch, not that Irene hated it. This pretty face was still considerate. 

Irene gave off a short laugh. What a big mouth. 

With people close to her, she would instinctively lower her guard, even if it was just a fraction. And Alex here was part of the original’s, and now, her inner circle.

In a delighted mood, Irene said, “Amazing. Should’ve been longer.”

Alex didn’t take her words seriously and laughed. “No can do. Just suck it up and work.” Irene’s smile became inverted, and she shut her mouth. She held a teensy bit of hope that her dejected look would inspire pity in the innermost crevice of his heart. In the end, it was all a fantasy.  

Irene sighed. She brought the coffee near her lips and blew on it. She wasn’t really expecting to get an extended vacation. For a profession like hers, time was money. But it didn’t hurt to try. Cause maybe… just maybe… hehehe.

Alex digressed as he continued on. “Oh, by the way, did any of the scripts catch your attention? I think this movie directed by—” Irene cut him off and said, “This.” She reached into her bag and grabbed the papers in it. 

Alex was dumbfounded. “You actually picked something.” He knew he advocated for her to work, but deciding this promptly was unusual. This reminded him of her when she got her paws on the script that debuted her in the attention of the general public—that unyielding look.   

When he saw the title, he couldn’t stay still any longer. He marched to the window and looked at the sky. “Is the sky falling?”

That thunderstruck face was a sight to behold for Irene. “Nope. The sky is as blue as it can be, and the sun is as golden as it ever was.” A delighted undertone coated her curved lips. It brought her nothing but blithe upon seeing his expression. 

His dumb visage was just adorable. “You… you chose this?”

“What’s wrong with this? Anyone with a right mind would hold on to this gold mine.” Irene teased.

He threw her a look. You know what I mean.

“I thought you hate ‘spoiled brats’.”

“Well, the spoiled brat already proved his worth. Plus, I want another blockbuster, and he can deliver it.” Irene dismissed his gaze. 

Alex peered at her casual posture. Though surprised, he felt eased. It looks like I won’t be running back and forth after all.

He beamed. Alex being Alex, he dropped one more bomb, far away, literally miles away from their current topic. He happily told her his latest news. “You’ll have a little sister.”

His choice of words made Irene almost choke on her coffee. What the… Was he searching for the original’s family behind her back?! 

Alex worriedly ran next to her and gently patted her. His eyes glistened with tears of guilt. He faintly spoke. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” Irene waved her hand. “What did you say again?”

Before answering her, Alex served her a glass of warm water, easing his emotion. That was dangerous. It was a cup of scalding coffee. He answered, “I’m managing a second actress.”

Ohhh… For a second there, I was getting ready for a teary-eyed moment I’ll have with a bunch of strangers. Irene was still confounded by that introductory sentence and mocked, “I didn’t know you had it in you to take in another one.”

Her joking manner lightened his heavy heart. “She’ll arrive shortly. I’ll introduce you to each other.”

“My precious Irene finally isn’t lonely,” Alex jested.

Just as he said that, a knock came between them.

“She’s here! Both of you will surely get along.” He energetically opened the door.

Irene stared at the door simply to be greeted by none other than the protagonist. Ah, it turns out to be the princess. 

Bright eyes and a positive attitude—Lilian’s step abruptly came to a halt when she saw the lady next to Alex. Her tinted cheeks betrayed her earnest look. 

“You’re just right on time!” acknowledged Alex.

Fortunately, Alex was here, or else Lilian would’ve frozen in place. 

Lilian breathed a sigh of relief. 

She didn’t expect to meet Irene as soon as arriving in the office. She internally screamed. 

“Come, sit here.” Alex pointed to the chair on the right side of his table.

The two people sitting next to each other were worlds apart, but not in a bad way. One was the epitome of a budding, tenacious flower, and the other was a full grown tree that had endured life’s innumerable tribulations. At least, they wouldn’t cross each other when it came to work. 

Alex cordially introduced them to one another. “Irene, this is Lilian, the new actress managed by me. And Lilian,” pointing to Irene, “This is Irene, your big sister in this industry.”

Lilian swiveled her chair to peep at Irene. She stretched out her right hand, sporting a serious expression. “It’s an honor to finally meet you.” Well, she was trying to. 

People didn’t know, but as of this moment, Lilian was having a hard time taming her jumbled mind. She desperately craved to shred this pretense and straight up beg Irene for a picture. 

Lilian silently clenched her left fist. 

Unfortunately for her, she was dealing with Irene.

Irene could perfectly see the undisguised adoration of the one in front of her. She was amused and wanted to play with her a bit, but she held back. “Likewise, Ms. Chambers.”

Opposite of Irene, addressing Lilian as “Ms. Chambers” made her as bashful as she could be.

“No need, no need. Please, call me Lilian,” she mumbled, her head tucked between shoulders. Her “tough” façade crumbled with just two words.

Lilian put on her most friendly smile for her idol. I can’t handle this amount of pressure!

Alex was delighted. It seemed like his two artists liked each other well! 

Alex: “Since both of you are already here, I’ll just say it. In a month, you two will be working together.” He moved his mouth like a gale, stopping at nothing. “Congrats! This is a chance to build your relationship.”

The news threw the mish-mashed Lilian into chaos. Her first project as Alex’s artist was actually with Irene! To the God above, thank you very very much for this.

Lilian couldn’t be happier. All past struggles were worth it at the expense of being able to do this. She would treasure this time and would make sure to cotton herself up to Irene. 

Her imagination went out of this world.

Irene, on the contrary, straightened herself up. The progress bar moved to 5%. 

First on the agenda: Enter the same crew as Lilian ✓. 

What sheer dumb luck. 

Irene imagined fighting tooth and nail for the first task. Alas, she was served with this. Two thumbs up for Alex!

“I’ll be in your care.” Irene’s lips upturned.

“No, no, no. I should be the one saying that.” Embarrassment adorned Lilian.

Lilian lowered her head further. So embarrassing, huhuhu.

Seeing her actions, Irene couldn’t help but laugh in her heart. Too bad Lilian has nowhere to hide. Poor gal. 

The warm light of the golden sun blended into the blinding sparkle in Irene’s eye.