Recruited by a Villainess System

The light in the living room illuminated the sharp features distinctive of Alex’s face. His eyes reflected the figure of the woman in front of him.

After lunch, Alex brought Irene to a studio for a photoshoot for a magazine to be issued this summer. By the time they ended, the sun had already hid from them. 

“That’s a wrap!” the director shouted. 

Those words loosened the tight muscles of Irene. 

After posing for a couple of hours, she was now ready to cuddle with her pillows. 

The crew grabbed their equipment and proceeded to clean the place. 

A suit jacket hugged Irene from behind.

Startled, she looked back. She saw Alex’s gentle behavior. 

His soft expression made her feel warm. 

Alex lightly said, “Let’s go and change.”

“Hmmm.”

At the moment, Irene faced Alex, who was standing on the threshold of her apartment. 

He said, “Don’t forget to share the post.”

Remembering something, Alex hesitated and contemplated for a second before finally grinning. “Good night.” His pupils glinted with mischievousness.

“Night, take care,” Irene caringly replied. 

She perceived the anomaly in his cerulean pupils, but she couldn’t put a finger on it. Did I forget something? 

She waited till Alex entered the elevator before closing the door.

In her pajamas, Irene plopped onto the couch with a slice of blueberry cheesecake in her hand.

Irene felt like a bulldozer ran over her body. Well, that was a hyperbole, but she really was more tired than usual. She couldn’t think straight. 

On a day like this, all Irene desired was a cheesecake. That sweet and tangy taste balanced each other out, satisfying her taste buds. 

The most important part was that it could comfort her battered body and mind.

Though she was an actress, Irene didn’t constrict herself to a specific diet. She would eat what she wanted, but in moderation. 

She then would exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. In this way, she always stayed in shape while indulging in the foods she craved.

She relished each bite like gold and smacked her lips in contentment. 

She was having the time of her life, blissfully ignorant to her reality in the next sunrise.

Irene took her phone and switched on the TV, using that as a background noise while she logged in to her IG account.

She checked her notifications and the first thing she noticed was the tagged post from Macey.

In the post was a short film and photos of her bedecked with the company’s new line-up of luxurious jewelries.

[MaceyOfficial: @ireneblake brings you the gift of your dreams. 

Please welcome our latest collection, “Dreams”.

Link in bio to shop or go visit the store nearest to you. 

#dreamcollection #macey #maceyjewelry #irene]

[My goddess looks stunning. (☆▽☆)]

[How can someone be this beautiful. (●♡∀♡)]

[Yes!!!! ♡♡♡]

[She’s so beautiful!!! Mad in love with the jewelry, gorgeous!!]

…….

[Queen!!!]

Countless comments have flooded the post after just an hour of posting it. 

Without further ado, she then shared it. Within a minute, her notification got blasted off by the litany of alerts.

[ireneblake: @MaceyOfficial shooting this collection was a blast! 

#dreamcollection #maceyjewelry #macey]

The night became more lively as the discussion online went on. 

Fans of Irene were in fervor when all of these eye candy were presented to them. 

As the moon moved higher in the sky, Irene and Macey climbed on staggering heights on the trending page of multiple social platforms.

Irene let it all happen while leisurely eating her cheesecake. 

She stared at the progress bar on her right field of view.

Out of all things that happened today, the 5% increase, a drop in the ocean, was the star.

***

The sun came back feeling energized as always. It signaled to the people that it was time to grind again. 

Among them, the wailing and cursing of a particular someone stood out. 

It was a relief nobody heard her as she was able to keep it inside her head. If Professor X was there, all he could have heard was “F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*—–“. A never-ending stream of f*cks. 

Irene’s lungs burned. Her breath was erratic as she ran on the treadmill. 

In her muddle headedness last night and due to her negligence, the one MAJOR difference between her and the original slipped her mind. 

This f*ck*ng body was out of shape!!!

She was too complacent. The original and her were so indistinguishable in appearance that she forgot their polarity in strength. 

And I had the audacity to use that as an excuse when I first got here. Ugh.

30 minutes of exercise, my ass! At this rate, I don’t know if I’ll even have the lungs to do that. 

There was still a month left before filming “The Fall of Eden”. A sci-fi movie that revolved around a young woman wanting to get rid of the chip implanted in them since birth. The chip allowed the government a 24/7 surveillance of people’s lives. 

As you might expect, Irene’s physic was currently not up for the challenge of the film. So, for the duration of the month, the goal was to up the ante of Irene’s activities. Gotta build those muscles and endurance if she wanted to last till the end. 

Though as much as Irene was complaining, she didn’t criticize the original for the state of this body. She knew her reasons, and she understood it. 

As heartbreaking as it was, it was already the past.

Right now, these cries of hers were her just playing. But the itchiness of her legs because of years of dormancy and the fatigue was real. Muscles, muscles, where are thee?

Alex enjoyed what he was seeing in front of him. But…. Hold your judgment. He was not sadistic by any means.

There was a reason why she only acted in dramas in the past. Her physical capability hindered her. He tried coaxing her to work out for an action film, but it was like reopening old wounds. Irene would always turn ashen. She displayed penitence. 

From then on, he stopped giving those kinds of roles. 

Hence, his reaction when he first heard Irene’s next project was normal.

If not for Vince bugging him nonstop to slip his script among Irene’s choices, he wouldn’t have given it to her. 

Moreover, he believed that there was no harm in doing it. He also wanted him to open the backdoor for Lilian, so he did it to return the favor. 

Right now, he was glad that she finally stepped out of the shadows.

If Irene knew sentiment, she would totally agree with him. If only it was the original herself who made the leap.  

Alex shifted his sight to the man on Irene’s left. It was hers and Lilian’s trainer and fight coordinator. He had also prepared a nutritionist for them. 

Obviously, these preparations weren’t done in a day. He had already set his mind on this long before, just that the number of recipients increased by one. He had to press the trainer and nutritionist to create a last minute plan for Irene.

Yesterday evening, he impishly didn’t remind her of what was to come. He thought it would be fun to see her reaction once he arrived at her door at sunrise. And boy was he spot on. 

Irene’s comical reaction inscribed itself into his memory.  

Much to her trepidation, he led her untroubled pretense to meet the trainer. Her clashing external and internal moods never failed to bring him to chuckle. 

Irene had gotten her fill of complaining and was now mulling over the next task. 

Task 2: Get close to Lilian

At first glance, it looked relatively easy, but how close does the system want her to be with Lilian?

Irene called the system. “002, is being a friend close enough?”

[No.]

“Then what’s the end goal?”

[Making her treat you as a sister would be best.]

“……” I knew it.

How was this easy? They neither share the same blood nor knew each other long enough. There were still colleagues at best. 

“And if that doesn’t happen?”

[You can just be friends, though it’ll take years before you can go back. Treating you as a sister is a shortcut. You choose, the closeness is all up to you.]

Irene looked at Lilian, who was also on a treadmill and fairing better than her.

Sweat traveled from Lilian’s forehead down to her chin. Her lips were slightly open, huffing and puffing through the run. She felt someone staring at her and turned her head to the left. 

Lilian was met with Irene’s smile. 

Her eyes widened and speedily bowed, pretending to focus on her feet. However, her face noticeably turned redder.

The trainer, Perry, detected the sudden darkening of Lilian’s hue and moved to her. He made Lilian stop and asked whether she was unwell or in pain. 

Lilian was flustered. She couldn’t just say to Perry that she was bewitched by Irene’s smile, but she also couldn’t force herself to lie. As a result, all she could do was shake her head in reassurance. She talked and talked, and even turned the treadmill on at a higher speed, ardent to convince him. 

Perry stopped her before she could run and said that he believed her. Still, he wanted her to rest. 

Lilian was overpowered and acquiesced.

A little silly, but Irene felt accomplished. She secretly grinned.

Alex saw Irene elusively move her lips. In his mind, he registered that as a grimace. The pair’s wavelengths didn’t match, ah.

He took a step forward, wanting to let her rest. He surmised it was her first time entering a gym. This should be enough.

Her body would only go into shock if she goes further.

Alex gave the impression like Perry didn’t properly do his job and hadn’t considered Irene’s body at all. Which was false. 

Perry conducted a fitness test for Irene yesterday morning after meeting up with Lilian. Heck, it was so quick since Irene and Alex had to go back to the company to introduce Maine to Lilian, and there was also the photoshoot in the afternoon. 

And Perry had to make do with this. He considered all factors and made the appropriate plan for Irene, even with just a short notice. Alex was aware of this. Alas, now… This manager was just too soft-hearted, tsk.

Needless to say, Alex didn’t get the memo… No, crash that out. More precisely, he threw it in the trash the moment his sight landed on the struggling Irene. All that occupied his thoughts was the woman in front of him. 

Alex felt sorry. He felt worried. Most importantly, he was reluctant to see her suffer, ever. 

About two meters away from Irene, the timer set off. He stalled. 

Irene was over the moon to hear the timer. The piercing tone was euphonious. 

She jumped off with her wobbly legs. She could imagine the level of soreness and torment she would undergo tomorrow. 

She wanted to cry, but she didn’t have time to. Tomorrow’s problem would be resolved by the tomorrow’s her. Currently, rest took precedence above all. 

She went to the nearest wall and leaned on it. Irene waited for the speed of her heart rate to decelerate before sliding down. 

She sat on the floor, prostrating her legs. 

That run sucked her energy dry. She couldn’t… She wouldn’t… She didn’t want to move even an inch of her muscle. 

Her eyes were shut. God I’m parched. 

She opened her eyelids to look for her water bottle just to see it parked on the bench, distant from her. She groaned. F*ck.

Irene glowered at the bottle. Tragically, no matter what she would do, she lacked telekinesis. 

You gotta move if you want that. 

Her eyes were starting to strain, and the bottle didn’t budge at all. No sh*t.

Unwilling to give in, Irene remembered the other humans in the room. She pondered on whether to call Alex or Lilian, but in the end, she settled for the latter. They—but mostly for her—still needed to bond, you know. 

Preoccupied with her thoughts, a pair of shoes was nearing her location. 

Irene cleared her throat. She didn’t want her voice to crack in the middle of shouting someone’s name. 

She raised her head and looked around. 

As a consequence of running, her messy hair bun couldn’t withstand the intensity and was now unkempt. Strands of hair ran away from the hair tie and dangled on the side of her face, wet from the perspiration. 

Wearing a black sports bra and leggings, Irene’s crimson cheeks and misty eyes trapped the person’s gaze. 

Irene was snub a chance to shout when a bottle of water appeared before her.