Chapter 283: A New Self

The next day, Elias sat at the dining table, eating dessert made by one of the top private chefs in the world, and fell into a long silence.

After a while, he spoke in his mind.

’I feel like Serena and I can still keep seeing each other later. Without her, where am I supposed to eat something this good?’

[System Theta: Didn’t you say last night...]

Last night, the host had clearly laid out a detailed follow-up plan. Now that Serena Blackwood’s route was cleared, who would he target next? Seraphina Hale had finished filming overseas. When would she return to the States? When would he arrange a chance encounter?

System Theta had listened to all of it.

And now, after one dessert, his mind had changed?

[System Theta: That is not what you said last night.]

Elias laughed. ’I was just saying things. Also, I said I could keep seeing Serena later. I didn’t say I’d keep living here.’

He scooped up the last bite of dessert.

’I’ll eat and run.’

The moment he finished, Elias put on his glasses and left.

He was going back to Westbridge.

Serena’s private driver took him.

Elias had to admit that he was lucky to have the identity of a top student. Since he had to attend classes, Serena had no proper excuse to keep him locked inside the Blackwood residence all day. Otherwise, she might truly arrange for him to drop out and become a little golden bird in a cage.

Not that being a golden bird was bad.

He was more than willing to become a useless little thing who did nothing but lie around and enjoy life. The problem was that he still had other targets to clear. He had to keep working. Retirement was right in front of him now, and beautiful idle days were waiting on the other side.

Thinking that, Elias filled with motivation.

Even the temptation of world-class dessert weakened.

When the car reached campus, Elias was about to get out when the driver handed him a phone.

Elias did not need to look to know it was Serena calling.

He curled his mouth slightly, then still took the phone.

"What is it?"

Serena’s voice came through, controlled and gentle.

"Pack up your things in the dorm. Don’t live at school anymore. Come home, or stay somewhere else if you want. I bought you an apartment. It’s already furnished. You can move in anytime."

Elias’s face did not change.

So what if she bought an apartment?

So what if the apartment was his?

He could not take it with him when he left this world.

If she had transferred the price of the apartment straight into his bank account, then he might have been a little happy. As for this?

He sneered twice in his heart.

Still, the surface work had to be done.

"Okay."

Before Serena could say anything else, he added, "I’m about to go to class. Bye, big sister."

Then he hung up.

"Catch."

Elias tossed the phone back to the driver and got out.

Looking at the university he had not visited for the past several days, Elias felt a strange sense that time had moved on without him.

He set both hands on his waist and looked up at the tall gates.

’I have been reborn,’ he declared. ’New day. New me.’

[System Theta: ...]

Why did the host feel much more childish after clearing Serena?

Was this what joy did to people?

Then System Theta realized Elias was not joking.

He really had "renewed" himself.

He removed his glasses, released the seal on his face, and walked across campus openly.

On the path to class, countless women turned back for a second look. Some looked away quickly. Some slowed without meaning to. Others pretended to check their phones while their eyes followed him from the side.

If this continued, it would only be a matter of time before some older student came over to talk to him.

System Theta was surprised.

[System Theta: Host, didn’t you say you didn’t want to cause trouble?]

Because being too beautiful attracted too much attention.

Elias smiled faintly.

’That was before. Now I want to speed things up, so I need them.’

He walked at an unhurried pace, shoulders relaxed, expression clean under the sunlight.

’Different stages require different methods. Understand?’

[System Theta: I’ll work hard to understand!]

Of course, Elias was not doing this without purpose.

The persona was secondary.

The real point was to force Giselle Frost out.

Elias was not completely sure what Giselle’s attitude was after being hit so hard by him.

Or to put it another way, he did not know whether she had recovered. Maybe she would come find him immediately. Maybe she would need a few days.

But Elias did not want "a few days."

He wanted Giselle in front of him right now.

If she did not want to appear, then he would help her.

A faint, almost absent smile lingered on Elias’s face.

Soon, he got the result he wanted.

A basketball rolled across the pavement and stopped right in front of him.

Elias did not blink.

Inside, he smiled.

Oldest trick in the book.

Fine.

As long as it got someone to come talk to him.

A tall student jogged over from the outdoor court. Her left hand tapped the basketball a few times after it had already stopped, and the ball somehow sprang back into motion. When it bounced high enough, she caught it under one arm.

"Are you okay?"

Her voice carried concern.

Then she saw Elias clearly, and her eyes lit up.

From the court in the distance, she and her friends had already noticed him. His bearing was too cool and expensive. Even from far away, the vague shape of his features looked refined, sharp, and striking enough to make people curious.

So she had decided to approach him.

She played basketball. Even if that was not a bonus, it definitely was not a bad thing. She had enough confidence to try.

But when she ran over and saw Elias’s face up close, she was still stunned.

He was prettier than she had imagined.

Not handsome in the rough, easy way most boys hoped to be. Beautiful. Clean. So good-looking that even some celebrities looked manufactured by comparison.

The student stared.

Elias lifted his eyes and glanced at her once, then moved to walk past her.

Hmph.

In the past, they ignored him.

Now, he was out of their league.

System Theta was about to cry.

First the host filled its data with obscene nonsense, and now he was feeding it embarrassing dramatic lines?

Too embarrassing.

Even as a system, it felt secondhand shame.

Seeing Elias about to leave, the student finally came back to herself and hurried after him.

"Um, hey, are you really okay? If the ball hit you, I can take you to the Westbridge University health center. Or you can give me your contact info. If you need to see a doctor, I’ll reimburse you."

Faced with her refusal to let go, Elias finally stopped.

"I’m fine," he said coolly. "Nothing is hurt. So could you move? You’re blocking me."

The student drew in a breath.

He was too good-looking.

Even such impatient words failed to make her angry.

Originally, she had not planned much. If Elias seemed hard to get, she would let it go. But seeing how cold and distant he was now, she suddenly felt the urge to be shameless about it.

Elias laughed inwardly.

’And that is why I wear glasses.’

[System Theta: Mm.]

It understood deeply now.

"Hey, wait..."

Just as the impatience on Elias’s face grew stronger, a cold voice sounded from nearby.

"What are you doing?"

Elias cheered inside.

Little untouched ice queen, you finally came.

The student turned toward the voice.

The words that had reached her mouth immediately disappeared, and even her face changed.

Only then did she remember the rumors that had circulated around Westbridge for a while.

The silver-haired Giselle Frost. The boy people had seen near her. The kind of attention that could turn a simple approach into trouble.

She did not hesitate.

She turned and left at once.

Elias looked over too.

It was Giselle.

The impatience he had not fully shown earlier surfaced directly on his face. He stepped away as if to leave and muttered under his breath, "Again with the simp..."