CHAPTER EIGHT;
let’s be honest with ourselves
â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”
Going back home was, by your standards, an uneventful journey. There were tiny mishaps on the way home, of course. But really, it was nothing you couldn’t handle.
Louis’s just being… a little bit dramatic.
“You almost hit that poor woman when she wasn’t even trying to cross the road, [Name]! How did you even do that?!” he yells, pacing around like the world’s most frustrated Pomeranian dog.
From your spot on the couch, you stare, unimpressed.
“You’re absolutely shit at this! And until you unshit your skills, I’m not letting you take my girl for a ride ever again. Don’t you even dare lay a finger on her!”
Girl? you think, your eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “Girl???” you ask, trying to emphasize your bewilderment with as many question marks as your voice can imply. “You call your bike your… girl? Wow, Louis. Just wow.”
Louis just glares at you, completely unfazed by your disbelief.
“Don’t wow me.” He jabs an angry finger at your direction, his glare as intense as always that it fazes you no longer. “Because of you,” he continues, clearly on the verge of combusting, “my poor girl has scratches now!”
“It’s just a scratch, Louis.” You roll your eyes, trying to downplay the situation. “Come on now. Don’t act like the world’s ending.”
“Just a scratch is a scratch too many! You’re lucky I can’t beat you up in my current state!”
You sigh dramatically. “Uhh well, sorry, I guess? I’ll do better next time,” you reply automatically, with all the sincerity of a very good-hearted person. (You’re not sorry).
Louis stares at you, his expression blank for a moment, before his face twists into one of pure disgust. “Apology,” he spits, sounding like the word itself is vile, “not accepted.”
“Boo. You suck.”
You sigh again, inwardly, as Louis launches into another round of his heartfelt distress over his poor baby girl now bearing a few scratches. You’ve never seen someone this passionate about a motorcycle. It’s like he’s mourning a personal tragedy.
Case in point: Louis really needs to take a chill pill.
He’s almost as bad as Enver… actually, scratch that. You’re insulting Louis too much just by comparing the two.
“Do you know how much it fucking costs to—”
Bla bla bla… bla bla.
You groan, a sound of pure frustration as your head sinks deeper into the couch, staring up at Louis with barely concealed exhaustion. The guy’s been ranting for what feels like forever.
If it were possible and legal, you’re pretty sure Louis would marry that bike of his in a heartbeat. Haha. Maybe he should just go ahead and tell you again how much he loves it — not that it pisses you off or anything. Not at all. Haha.
Speaking of things that aren’t pissing you off.
Your gaze flickers to the side, landing on the bright screen blinking back at you, patiently waiting for your attention.
╔                                          ╗
Tutorial Quest
Quest Name: I am a Strong & Healthy Alpha!
Quest Details: A healthy body means a healthy mind.
You are tasked to do 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups,
and run 10 km in the following week. Good luck!
Quest Success: + 500 EXP
Quest Failure: Penalty
╚                                         â•
“…Fuck.” You close your eyes, half hoping that by some miracle, the blinking screen will vanish. But no such luck. When you open them again, it’s still there, flashing just as obnoxiously.
Now, what the hell is the penalty?
“Louis, do you see this too?” you ask, your eyes fixed on the flashing screen as Louis strides closer, giving it a quick glance.
“A quest?” He scoffs, as if the contents of the quest are some minor inconvenience. “Is this supposed to be hard or something? I can do all that in a day.”
In a day?! You stare at him, dumbfounded. Louis really is a maniac.
“…Can you possess my body and do all that shit while I do absolutely nothing, please?” you plead, half-joking, half-desperate.
You want to do none of the things listed by the quest.
Louis rolls his eyes, unimpressed. “I can’t even touch you, and you’re expecting me to — what did you say again? — possess you? Are you stupid or something?”
You sigh dramatically, again. You’ve been doing that a lot these days.
“It was worth a shot.”
Louis plops down beside you, a mix of curiosity and irritation etched onto his face. “Alright, where the fuck is that wimpy system?” he asks, voicing the big question you’re pretty sure everyone’s thinking. “I don’t think I’ve seen it all day.”
You glance at the blinking screen, shrugging helplessly. “Good question. I was wondering the same thing.”
“Is it busy or something?”
“More like lazy.”
Louis clicks his tongue. “Lazy piece of shit.”
Finally, something you both can agree on.
It seems like the only time you and Louis manage to get along is when you have something mutual to insult — like Enver, or the system. Though, of course, the system isn’t nearly as bad as Enver. That alpha is a whole mess in his own right.
“At least the system isn’t asking for a death wish to the balls,” you mutter.
Louis snorts. “Yeah, but it’s still annoying as hell.”
And then, right on cue—
[ SYSTEM ]
Hey now!
I haven’t been lazy!
And no client of mine
has ever called me annoying </3
(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞
[ NAME ]
oh yeah??
what have u been doing then
I don’t see you almost
getting into another
CAR CRASH
[ LOUIS ]
have you SEEN the state
of my poor girl
[ NAME ]
okay we get it louis
HUSH
[ SYSTEM ]
Uh, yes. I have seen it.
My condolences… Anyway, let’s talk about
something more important.
(•̀ᴗ•Ì)Ùˆ Ì‘Ì‘
[ LOUIS ]
fuck you
[ NAME ]
hows ur power now system?
we met Neil already and talked…
probably long enough, right?
[ SYSTEM ]
Yes!! Many functions are now available,
including the Quest Function and many others.
I’m sure you’ve seen the Tutorial Quest
I’ve sent you?
ೕ(˃̵ᴗ˂̵ ๑)
[ NAME ]
…thats because of YOU???
youre dead to me system
youre expecting me to
exercise?!?!?
[ SYSTEM ]
But that’s the easiest quest
I could find for you!!
(â•¥_â•¥)
[ LOUIS ]
yeah it’s easy as fuck, [Name]
what are you talking about?
I could do all that in a day
[ NAME ]
didnt know you were
such a modest person
haha
[ SYSTEM ]
[Name], please work hard
and complete the quest in time!
It’s much better than
receiving a penalty from the main system
(/â–¡ï¼¼*)
[ NAME ]
whats the penalty?
[ SYSTEM ]
Death
[ NAME ]
…
[ LOUIS ]
…
[ SYSTEM ]
Guys, I’m joking!!
<(*- -*)>
[ NAME ]
…whats the actual penalty
[ SYSTEM ]
You shall receive a… scenario
[ NAME ]:
why the hell are you
making it sound so ominous…
[ SYSTEM ]
Well, umm, you see,
this is my first time helping someone
out in a setting such as this
Usually, the world is more
…normal
[ LOUIS ]
wow. real useful system we got here
[ SYSTEM ]
Don’t be afraid!!
It shouldn’t be too different from the usual stuff
Well, maybe some scenarios will be
Here, the scenarios would probably mess
with your pheromones and stuff
人(_ _*)
[ NAME ]
and stuff…
[ SYSTEM ]
Anyway, let’s talk about
the thing that made me busy!
It’s the wish function ✨
[ LOUIS ]
I’ve been wondering about this.
What the fuck is it?
It better wish me my physical body back
so I can go back and beat some people up
[ NAME ]
I highly doubt that’s what its going to do
[ SYSTEM ]
Umm, I think it might be better
to just show you!
<(ï¿¢0ï¿¢)>
A new screen materializes before you, and at the center of it, glowing in obnoxious bright gold letters, are the words: Wish for the Best!
What a title.
“I’m so excited,” you say dryly. “Yay. Gambling.”
In the middle of the screen, a spinning wheel glows ominously, its segments divided into five distinct colors. Reds, blues, and greens dominate most of the wheel, while only two slivers stand out: one pitch black, the other a warm gold.
The odds, unsurprisingly, do not look to be in your favor. As always.
Definitely don’t land on the black section of the wheel.
[ Spin the wheel daily! You are guaranteed an extremely lucky item for every 30 spins! ]
Wish for the best.
“An extremely lucky item, eh? Bet I can get something like that on my first try,” you state, sending Louis a proud look. He frowns.
“I doubt it.”
“Watch me.”
And before the system can explain all the silly rules you probably should have listened to, you press the shiny button that says [Spin 1x].
The wheel spins to life.
Louis blinks disappointingly at you. “At least know what you’re spinning for, dumbass.”
“Eh, what’s the worst that could happen?” You shrug.
The arrow lands on the red part of the wheel.
[ You have received an unlucky item! ]
[ Item Name: The Truth is the Bestest of Friends
Item Effect: Your thoughts will automatically be spoken aloud, and you may not lie for approximately one hour!
Additional: This item will be automatically activated upon meeting another character! ]
“…”
“…”
“What was that about—”
“Don’t. Just don’t.”
Louis chuckles. It’s a surprisingly pleasant noise.
“You and your stupid mouth.”
[ SYSTEM ]
Would you allow me to explain now?
<(．＿．)>
[ NAME ]
yes
okay
[ SYSTEM ]
Hehe, okay!!
Please listen up everyone
＼（＾∀＾）人（＾∀＾）ノ
As obvious as it is, the red section on the wheel signifies an unlucky item. And the rest goes as follows: Green for lucky items. Blue for utterly useless items that maybe you can find use for. Gold stands for, obviously, extremely lucky items. And black for, as you have guessed, extremely unlucky items.
To top it all off, the item you receive from the list of every color is randomized again by the system’s own hands, apparently. So it’s a gamble within a gamble. Wonderful.
“Just what I needed,” you laugh, exasperated beyond belief. Does the world hate you so? Why is your system not given more normal functions dammit?
“Well, the item could’ve been much worse. Besides, you’re a bad liar anyway. I don’t think the item is going to make much of a difference,” Louis says, ignoring your betrayed look.
(Hey, that’s the name of the book!)
You purse your lips at him, shooting a glare. “I’d like to see you try navigating this mess without the ability to lie, Louis. You’d be in trouble in like… an hour.”
“One,” he twirls his index finger, confidence glimmering in his eyes. “I wouldn’t need to lie in the first place. I’m the real guy here, remember?”
“Fine. Two?” you prompt, raising an eyebrow.
“Two. I’m an honest guy. I never mince my words. There’s never any reason for me to lie to anyone.”
“Except to Neil.”
Louis’s gaze sharpens. He stands up suddenly, his body tense as he shoots you a look. “What about him?”
You smirk, sensing the shift in Louis’s tone. “Oh, nothing. Just that I’ve known you’ve lied through your teeth to him more times than I can count. I’ve read it, you know?”
You shift your position, leaning forward as you declare, “You’re an even worse liar than me, Louis.”
Louis’s eyes narrow, his voice dropping to a low, warning growl. “I don’t lie to Neil.”
You tilt your head innocently. “Sure, Louis. Sure.”
That seems to do it for him. Louis stomps toward you with heavy, deliberate steps, and even though you know he’s nothing more than a ghostly apparition at the moment, you still instinctively scoot away for safety.
Louis looms over you, his expression sharp and unamused. “You want to run that by me again? Louder, maybe?” His voice drips with anger, a dangerous edge that you’ve grown all too familiar with.
It’s sharper this time, though. Louis’s anger permeates the air like wildfire, like salt smoke and amber — warm and all-encompassing, threatening to burn everything in its path.
You can feel the weight of it settling around you, a suffocating presence that clings to your skin. It’s not just the scent, but the heat of his frustration, radiating out like an uncontained blaze.
Oh, he must really want to beat you up right now. The tension in his frame, the way his jaw clenches — it’s all too clear that you’ve pushed him to the edge.
Maybe you’ve pushed him too far. Or maybe you’ve pushed your luck too far. Either way, you’re walking a tightrope between teasing him and setting him off entirely.
It’s a good thing he can’t touch you right now, huh?
You lean back into the cushions, your body sinking deeper into the couch as you put on a smug grin.
“You’re not a good liar. Especially when it comes to Neil.”
The sharp flicker in Louis’s eyes tells you you’ve hit a nerve, but you’re too far into this to back down now.
You smirk, feeling victorious for a moment. That is, until his hand shoots forward, gripping the collar of your shirt and yanking you off the couch like you weigh nothing.
Gripping the collar of your shirt.
Gripping the collar of your shirt???
What. The. Fuck.
“What the fuck—!” you exclaim, caught off guard. Your hand shoots out instinctively, expecting nothing but air. Instead, you’re met with solid, fucking solid, skin.
Louis. He’s… warm.
The shock nearly freezes you. “You— how are you—?” You can barely form a coherent sentence, your fingers still gripping his arm as if needing more proof that this is real.
He realizes it at the same time as you.
His lips part softly, his eyes clouded with disbelief. You realize he’s even more confused than you are. His grip slackens for a moment, as if he’s unsure whether to let go or hold on tighter.
“What the hell?” Louis mutters, his voice low like gravel, as he stares down at his hand like it’s suddenly become something foreign. You see the panic flicker in his eyes — the kind that comes when something impossible starts making sense.
“You can touch… now,” you trail off, dread creeping into your voice. Then panic slams into you, overtaking every other thought. “Oh shit. You can even touch me. Fuck.”
Louis blinks, the confusion on his face quickly replaced by a slow, wicked smirk. “You’re right.” His grip tightens just enough to make your heart race for all the wrong reasons.
“Which means…” he leans in slightly, eyes gleaming with amusement. “I can finally knock some sense into you.”
And… that’s the cue for you to run, right? Yeah, you should run.
Shoving him away with a sudden surge of strength, you quickly put as much distance between you. “Hey, hey! Violence is not the answer!”
“You’ve said that before. Last time,” Louis calls out, the smirk still plastered on his face as he readjusts and starts to stalk towards you.
You gulp.
Maybe you should get out of the house.
“Yeah, well, I meant it!” you retort, heart pounding in your chest. “I’d rather not end up as a punching bag today, thanks!”
“Hey, now. You started all this,” he says, his eyes sparkling with satisfaction at the sight of you cornered.
This weird sadist! He was much cuter when he was just a loud, harmless ghost!
“Yeah, well,” you trail off, your mind going completely blank. Great. Of course, your brain would fail you in a moment like this, when things are serious and panic starts setting in.
You take a cautious step back, glancing toward the door. “You know what? I think I’m just going to—”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Louis interrupts.
You shoot him a wary glance, quickly assessing your escape routes. “You know… maybe we should take a little break. Cool off. Clear our heads, yeah?”
“Clear our heads?” He arches an eyebrow, his smirk still firmly in place. “Sure. Right after I knock some sense into you,” he says, cracking his knuckles for effect.
“System! A little help here?” you shout to the ceiling, hoping for a miracle. Nothing.
That’s when Louis bolts toward you, closing the gap with alarming speed.
He’s actually RUNNING to you?!
You let out a startled scream, scrambling to put distance between you as the two of you tear around the house like a pair of deranged cartoon characters.
Random objects are flying everywhere, and you can only hope that some of these pillows are secretly filled with spikes.
Seriously, why didn’t the stupid spinny wheel give you a weapon today?!
Louis is right on your heels, the sound of his footsteps growing louder as you bolt around the house in a desperate attempt to avoid him.
“System! SYSTEM! HELP ME!” you shout again, but the only response is still silence. Great. Just your luck.
“You’re not getting away that easily!” Louis calls after you, his voice airy, as though he’s actually enjoying this ridiculous chase. Like you said. Sadist!
You barely dodge the swing of his arm, your heart racing. “Louis! Come on! I said no violence!” you shout, glancing back nervously.
Louis grins, cracking his knuckles again. “Violence is overrated. But this?” He gestures around at the chaos with a wicked glint in his eye. “This is fun.”
“This is attempted violence!”
As he monologues like some evil mastermind, you spot an opening. Aha! If you can just get to the door—
But, of course, your grand escape doesn’t go as planned. You trip over your own feet, then over a nearby chair, and then ultimately slam face-first into Louis’s knee before sprawling onto the floor where you belong.
This feels all too familiar.
If it’s any consolation, Louis trips too — though his landing is far more graceful. Instead of hitting the floor, he ends up hovering above you, arms on either side of your head, effectively trapping you beneath him.
“You’re such a riot,” he growls, his voice low, gaze piercing as it stays locked onto yours. The situation — the position — clearly hasn’t clicked for him yet. “Can’t you just stay fucking still?”
He’s too close. Way too close. You can smell him now, more distinctly than ever before — soft smoke mixed with the sharp tang of salt, like the taste of the ocean biting at the back of your throat.
Fuck.
“You… arewaytooclose,” you manage to stammer out, your voice shaky, barely more than a whisper. It’s so quiet, even Louis doesn’t catch it.
He blinks, leaning in even further, as if closing the gap might help him understand. “What?”
Your breath catches. He’s towering over you, so close that you can feel the warmth radiating off his body. Your heart is pounding loud enough that you’re sure he can hear it.
Personal space! Not one alpha has grasped the concept of personal space, and it’s driving you insane.
You take a breath, closing your eyes briefly before snapping them open again. Without hesitation, your arm shoots out, aiming for a clean punch.
.
.
.
Louis catches it effortlessly.
Dammit.
His brow quirks with a hint of amusement. “Really?” he mutters, before swiftly pinning your arm to the floor with a decisive slam, the force rattling through you.
…That’s kinda hot?
Wait. Focus, stupid!
You shake your head, trying to clear your thoughts. Why are the two of you like this again?
“Look, Louis.” Your voice comes out hoarse, like you haven’t spoken in years.
“What? You got any last words?”
“N-no?” You were about to apologize for bruising his ego, or… something, but now you can’t even remember what for. Your mind is blank. Completely empty. If the wind passes by your head, it’ll probably whistle.
Your chest heaves as Louis maintains his position, and when silence stretches between you, you realize you’ve unconsciously shut your eyes.
When you finally open them, you’re met with a sight that leaves you blinking in confusion.
Louis is… blushing.
Oh.
Oh, now he realizes the position you guys are in, huh?
The faint pink hue contrasts sharply with the usual intensity of Louis’s expression. It’s disarming, to say the least, and for a moment, the tension in the air shifts.
“What’s with the look?” you stammer, caught off guard by the unexpected warmth on his cheeks.
It’s a bizarre sight, the scary, brooding alpha suddenly looking almost shy, and it makes your heart race for an entirely different reason.
He clears his throat, shifting his gaze, clearly flustered. “Nothing,” he mutters, but his voice is too rough around the edges.
“Nothing?” You arch an eyebrow.
No answer.
You open your mouth, ready to tease him, but then it hits you — this is precisely why you ended up being chased around by this maniac in the first place.
Clearing your throat, you try to ignore the warmth creeping onto your cheeks. “Can you get off me now?”
Louis scrambles off you like he’s been burned, avoiding your gaze entirely. It’s kind of adorable, and you have to stifle the urge to laugh at his face.
“Look, I’m sorry I said you lied to Neil or whatever,” you say, sitting up and dusting yourself off. “I know you probably think it’s for the best, blah blah blah. But trust me, it would’ve been better if you didn’t lie to him at all.”
Because lying is exactly what Louis did in the original story. He lied to Neil, and, worst of all, he lied to himself. So much so that he ended up believing his own lies. A real dumbass, honestly.
In the race for Neil’s heart, Louis had the easiest head start, yet somehow, he managed to end up at the lowest finish line.
You almost pitied the guy, back when you were hate-reading the novel.
“The guy who stole my life is giving me life advice now? Real fucking great,” Louis groans, his frustration practically tangible.
“Hey, I didn’t choose this,” you protest, holding your hands up in defense. “If I had a choice, I probably would’ve transmigrated into some random background character no one paid attention to.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he waves off your explanation before gesturing to his now-tangible body. “So, what’s happening now, genius?”
“Don’t know. We should ask the system—”
Louis’s body slowly sinks to the ground, to both of your disbelief. A familiar sound rings in your ear.
Uh-oh.
[ SYSTEM ]
NAME IVE COME TO SAVE YOU FROM LOUIS
RUN NOWWWW
╾â”╤デ╦︻(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ Ì¿)
[ NAME ]
…
[ LOUIS ]
…
[ NAME ]
youre late again
[ SYSTEM ]
Oh… sorry
⊂(・ï¹ãƒ»âŠ‚)
[ LOUIS ]
system
stop this shit rn
[ SYSTEM ]
Ah sorry but… I can’t stop
the process right now
It will only stop when
you reach the ground floor
（；ã¸ï¼šï¼‰
[ LOUIS ]
…
fuck
You slowly stand up as Louis waits for the inevitable — slowly sinking through the floor of his own apartment like it’s just another Tuesday. Whatever bizarre, weird magic is at work, it can wait until tomorrow.
You’re too exhausted to even ask the system right now.
“I’m going to go wash up and then sleep,” you mutter, already heading for the bathroom. “See you in the morning, Louis.”
He waves lazily, only his torso visible now as he sinks further into the floor. “Yeah, whatever.”
As you exit the room, you hear the last of his words, almost too soft to catch.
“Rest well.”
â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”â”
!! author’s note !!
mc and louis cannot think straight when their faces and bodies are pressed too closely too each other lmfao. thoughts gone buddies. head empty whoop whoop. anyway, probably going to be slower updates this month cause I wanna finish my thesis as quick as possible. so hehe pls do be patient with me. also we’re reaching 10 chapters soon!! i might have something special coming up yay!!
don’t forget to comment ur thoughts on the chapter!! always lovely to hear what yall say and love <3
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