Chapter 279: Because of Me

Serena Blackwood’s face stayed blank.

Had her reaction earlier been fake?

Of course it had not.

Everything had been real.

Serena wanted to question Elias. She wanted to grab hold of every move, every tone, every practiced little trick he had used and demand to know where he learned them. More importantly, from whom.

But she was too tired now.

So tired that even anger felt heavy.

She truly did not have the extra strength to put Elias on trial.

Besides, what meaning would there be in questioning him? The Elias now was no longer the Elias from before. The man who had lied to her, played her, and wrapped her emotions around his fingers had been replaced by this sweet, spoiled boy who knew only her.

And the most important point was simple.

Even if Serena asked, she would not get the truth from him.

In Elias’s current memories, every important experience belonged to her. Every person who had gone through those moments with him was Serena. Whatever past existed in his mind had already been rearranged around her name.

Thinking that, Serena suddenly closed her eyes.

She did not want to say another word.

Maybe there was one more reason, one she was unwilling to admit even to herself.

She was afraid that if she asked, the answer would not stop at Liora.

Elias looked at her and laughed inwardly.

He could tell at a glance that Serena’s brain had overloaded. Even now, it had not properly restarted.

So he decided to help her reboot.

Elias shifted in Serena’s arms and turned around. His black eyes were bright, his smile sunny and dazzling, the very image of harmless sweetness.

"Big sister," he said, "I feel like I acted especially well this time. You must feel really relaxed too, right?"

Serena did not answer.

Unfortunately for her, Elias after the fact was like a tiny demon made of pure softness. When Serena refused to respond, he wrapped both arms tightly around her and began pestering her again and again.

"Big sister, are you relaxed?"

"Big sister."

"Did I help you relax?"

"Say something."

Serena could not stand him when he became this clingy. She finally opened her eyes, angry, helpless, and too drained to make either feeling useful.

"Yes," she said weakly. "Very good. I’m very relaxed."

"Hehe."

Elias could see every word Serena was holding back.

Even with her dead, expressionless face, he pretended to be satisfied. He climbed out of bed in a cheerful mood, found his clothes in the closet with practiced ease, got dressed, and left the room without saying another word.

Serena remained lying on the bed alone.

For a while, she looked exactly like some respectable woman who had been bought for the night and then abandoned after the buyer lost interest.

A little later, Elias came back holding two glasses of water.

He was already drinking from one as he entered. He handed the other to Serena.

"Sis," he said casually, "why haven’t I seen Liora?"

Serena’s hand paused slightly as she accepted the glass.

Then she replied in a flat voice, "I don’t know."

Elias raised a brow.

A clear trace of delight crossed his face.

He did not say anything, but Serena understood his expression at once.

Right.

The current Elias did not only love her deeply. He was also hostile toward Liora.

If kicking Liora out of the Blackwood residence had not affected Liora at all, then what about this? What about discovering that the Elias now held the exact opposite attitude toward her?

Could Liora still remain so pleased with herself then?

Thinking of that, Serena loosened by a fraction.

Then she froze slightly.

Only now did she realize that Elias’s behavior had truly relaxed her a great deal. The slight ease she felt just now had not stood out because he had already dragged so much of the pressure out of her before that.

Once she realized that, Serena could no longer say anything harsh about him.

Her feelings were still a mess.

Half anger.

Half joy.

The two emotions fought inside her until she nearly felt insane.

[Serena Blackwood’s favorability has increased. Current value: 97%.]

Elias sneered inwardly.

Stingy again.

After evaluating Serena’s ability to take pressure, Elias made his summary with a cold laugh.

’She’s honestly pretty durable.’

[System Theta: Then what if she weren’t durable...]

Elias smiled at System Theta.

’Relax. I know what I’m doing. In modern ordinary worlds without supernatural abilities, I never do anything especially excessive to targets.’

System Theta stalled.

Wait.

That sentence had far too many problems.

What did he mean by "not especially excessive"? Those things he did just now did not count as excessive? Also, modern, ordinary, and without supernatural abilities? Why did that sound like conditions stacked on purpose?

So if it were a fantasy world or a world with powers, had he broken a target before?

System Theta was too curious.

In the end, it could not hold back.

[System Theta: Then if it weren’t an ordinary world...]

Elias answered casually, ’Oh, worlds like that usually have resurrection or time reversal skills. At most, it’s a question of cost. If things really go too far, you find a way to revive them or reverse time and start over.’

System Theta’s code nearly sped out of control.

Terrifying.

After Elias helped Serena finish her reboot, her brain started working again.

She washed, changed into fresh clothes, and prepared to go to Blackwood Group.

There was no helping it. Serena was a workaholic by nature. Too much had happened recently. Even though she had handled plenty of work in advance, the backlog had built up again. There were too many matters waiting for her decision.

There was another reason too.

The current Elias made her happy and worried at the same time.

She was afraid that if she stayed home to work, he would do something even more outrageous. After thinking it over, she decided the company was safer. In that environment, Elias probably would not be able to cause too much trouble.

Serena had to bring Elias with her.

That had been the plan even before the hypnosis. Now that Elias truly loved only her, he naturally showed no resistance at all. He followed Serena to the company obediently.

When Elias sat leisurely in Serena’s office and watched her work nonstop, he noticed that her secretary had been replaced.

That was expected.

After what had happened last time, especially with the secretary having seen it, Serena not silencing her permanently already counted as Serena obeying the law. How could she possibly keep that person at her side?

The woman must have packed up and left cleanly.

Probably very quickly too.

"Stay here and play for a while."

Serena had a meeting soon.

She walked past Elias on her black-stockinged legs. In the past, she would have warned the secretary to keep an eye on him. This time, she only reminded Elias lightly.

Elias answered her with a smiling nod.

Inside, he laughed.

Like hell.

Liora had called him a little while ago.

He was going to see her now.

After making sure Serena had entered the meeting and could not get away, Elias stood from the sofa. Under the new secretary’s gaze, he headed straight for the office door.

The secretary’s voice sounded behind him.

"Um, President Blackwood asked you to..."

"Hm?"

Elias turned his head.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the newly arrived secretary who clearly did not understand the rules yet.

Then he smiled.

"Do you know why your boss’s face is so red?"

The secretary froze.

Elias spoke slowly, his tone natural.

"Because of me."

He had not said he hit her.

But Serena and Liora had fought because of him, and Serena had ended up injured in the face because of that. Strictly speaking, it was because of him.

To the secretary, however, the sentence sounded like Elias had slapped Serena Blackwood himself.

Her eyes widened.

A ruthless person who dared hit President Blackwood.

She immediately became obedient. She did not even dare look directly at Elias anymore, much less stop him.

Elias nodded in satisfaction.

"If Serena comes back and I’m not here, and she asks where I went, tell her I went downstairs to play."

After saying that, he left the office.