I had thought that they would at least let me rest, but how wrong I was!
The next morning, I woke up to pure chaos.
Not the noisy machine chaos, but the camera flashes chaos. They had called the reporters on me!
From my window, I could see the swarm of reporters, each scrambling out of the elevator, armed with microphones and zero morals. They were paid.
"Oh my! Are they here for the Jiang's eldest daughter? I heard she was found collapsed in a studio."
" But what was she doing there? Perhaps trying to help her sister?"
"The fashion genius?"
" Yes. But aren't there rumours that she is an assistant to her own sister?"
"Breaking news!" I heard someone yell once again.
"Allegedly, she self harmed herself after a family quarrel! They say that her family was persuading her to learn from her sister before deciding to become a designer. Some sources even say..."
I didn't even get to hear the rest because I felt my soul cringe from second hand embarrassment.
'Well, congratulations host. You are now viral for all the wrong reasons.'
"Shut it Nova! Don't make me get in there and spank you."
'Oops...Attempt unsuccessful.'
I threw the blanket away from my hospital bed as I groaned.
"Do these dumb heads actually think I tried to eliminate myself because of them?"
"That so called fashion genius can't even match her foundation shade and I'm supposed to be fearful of her?"
Mid conversation with Nova, I heard the door creak open.
A curious and scared nurse walked in.
"Miss Jiang, there are… reporters outside wanting to interview you. Do you perhaps want to make a statement?"
"Yes," I answered immediately, sitting up.
I looked down at myself. My wrinkled hospital gown irked me. It was truly a crime against aesthetics.
For sure, I couldn't walk out there like this.
"Hey Nova," I whispered, "is there… a way for you to make me more beautiful? Like the kind that can make kings burn down cities?"
'Yes. Engaging Beauty Reinforcement Protocol.'
"Hehe... perfect. Make me more beautiful but a little pale. Just to arouse pity and invoke a sense of protection from them."
I immediately felt warmth bloom under my skin as my body underwent more transformation.
"Damn!" I blinked at my reflection.
"I seriously look like a K-drama lead with a sprinkle of trauma."
'Haha! You are funny host. You're welcome.'
I couldn't help but imagine the reaction of the people once they see me.
To the outside world, The Jiang eldest daughter is invisible. Always hiding behind the shadow of her younger sister. Not many remember how I look like.
Over the years, my image has been overshadowed by working under my sister. They only remember me as her little assistant and not her sister. Older one at that.
The nurse who had called me earlier opened the door once again only to suddenly freeze.
"Miss Jiang...You… you look completely different."
"Hm. Correct. Moisturizing is the key."
Barely minutes later, I walked out of my hospital room looking all weak but strong at the same time.
The moment the reporters outside caught sight of me, they froze. Cameras flashed like fireworks but the owners themselves were absentminded.
"Is this really the Jiang's eldest daughter?"
"With such beauty she doesn't need any family approval!"
"Is she the worn out miss they've been saying?"
I subtly smirked at their reactions. The system is working better than anything!
I had to break their little imagination or spend the day with them.
"Hello everyone."
My voice seemed to have brought them out of it as they became active again.
"Miss Jiang...are...are the rumours true?"
Aww. He is even stammering from my breathtaking beauty. Cute!
"Do you really want an answer?"I tilted my head, smiling as I questioned him back.
"I...we believe you are innocent."
His colleagues nodded as they all held my gaze.
For a moment, the noise faded. I felt my pulse quicken as I felt something shift inside me, like a warm current under my ribs.
'Host, your charm is undeniable!'
I felt Nova's delight in my head.
"All I can say is that you will hear from my side soon. I just woke up and need some rest."
" Yes.Yes Miss Jiang. We apologize."
" Everyone, let's go back! She's clearly been wronged! She deserves justice!"
There was a wave of confusion as the reporters scrambled to rush back to their media houses.
I watched as the left, some throwing glances at me from time to time. Some tripping...some..
"Oh my Nova! Did I just re program them?"
'Don't flatter yourself too much host. You just made them your hype men and women.'
I struggled not to laugh at my system's sassy attitude.
" So we brain washed them."
'Brainwash is such a derogatory term. After all, your beauty is real. Let's just call it strategic persuasion.'
I smirked and adjusted my hospital gown.
"Strategic persuasion it is."
I walked past the stunned crowd, as I headed back into my room.
I could hear the whispers of everyone around but that was the least of my concerns.
What I really wanted to see now was the Jiang's family reaction after their failed provocation.
I decided to spend a week in the Ateliar before coming back to the real world.
"Let my physical body look like it's in a coma again."
'Good thinking host. Some of the reporters will be back. Although your family will try to suppress the news as much as possible.'
" Let them. I'll be sharpening my sword in the meantime."
My conscious faded as I appeared in the ateliar. There,I got to learn everything and every function there was. Truly an interesting experience.
During my one week in the ateliar, I wasn't completely oblivious about the matters of the real world.
My family resorted to burning my wrecked studio but that's okay. Their fates will build back that studio one day.
It seems like the Jiang family was so guarded against me that they announce an engagement with my former fiancé while I was unconscious!
Pathetic!
'That's a good thing host. It would be insulting for me as a guardian to be bonded to someone with such a taste...'
There goes Nova with his sarcastic remarks.
"I think I should now go back to the physical world. I need to test my sword."
The Jiang mansion was exactly how I left it. Offensively gloomy and full of people who mistook arrogance for etiquette class.
The moment I walked in, my ugly stepmother's voice cut through the air.
"Jiang Rui! You're out of the hospital? Already?"
Her words made it sound like I'd committed a crime by surviving.
I plastered on my sweetest fake smile, the beauty on my face radiating.
" Aaw.... Are you perhaps disappointed, 'Mother'?"
The shock on her face couldn't be underestimated. Another one shocked by my charming beauty!
I saw her fists clench but her daughter ended up saving her from my verbal abuse.
She had just descended the stairs, wrapped in self righteousness and satisfaction.
"But sister, you should be resting. Everyone now knows you've retired from your fashion ambition. It's best not to embarrass yourself again...you..."
'Aah. Jealous sister detects your ethereal beauty! Brace yourself for more scheming host.'
"Me?What about me?"
"And retired?"
I walked closer, as my heels clicked deliberately on the marble.
"Oh right. Do you mean when you took my sketches, erased my name off, and paraded them as your own? Is that your version of retired?"
I saw her expression flicker before settling into practiced innocence.
"Sister you are mistaken. Such Inspiration doesn't belong to anyone."
I laughed softly. " Eeh. Alright then. I hope you don't mind if I'm suddenly inspired by your career."
Her mother suddenly stepped between us, visibly threatened by my sharpness.
I know she dearly misses the Jiang Rui who could be silently stepped on.
"Jiang Rui! Stop your childish behavior! You ought to be grateful Ningning kept your name alive. You are still listed as her assistant."
Ah. There it was. That damn word again. Assistant. Assistant....
Something hot burned in my chest.
"Ofcourse," I replied slowly. "Assistant." I turned to Jiang Ning with a beautiful innocent smile. "Should I get you coffee then miss? Maybe lace it?"
Her brow furrowed in reply as she slightly shivered. "What?"
I smiled. "Nothing."
'Host. I detect rising hostility. Do you wish to deploy...hypnosis mode?'
'Just say what you want her to say and she'll feel it. Use two words.'
I didn't even think for a second before uttering the words insult and mother.
A faint line passed through my eyes as Jiang Ning blinked for a second before turning to her mother.
"Mother, why are such a failure?"
Her mother frowned. "Ningning what are you saying? You..."
"I mean... You can be useful and..."
I turned to hide my smirk as I watched my stepmother's eyes widen in shock, hands tightly clutching her chest.
Mmh. Rabid dogs should just bite each other.
When I left the mansion, I didn't look back.
The world could keep thinking I was just the assistant. A nobody. They would hate making me invisible.
I had already managed to purchase a new studio while still in the space the moment I learnt of the wreckage of my previous studio.
They thought I was a helpless one but that's not what fate had in store for me. My mother's space had everything, including currency.
Safe to say that even without a fashion career I could still afford luxury.
Outside the mansion, the wind caught my hair as I walked toward the main road. My heart was steady and calm. A contrast to how it always was anytime I came or left this house.
"Let's go check out our new studio Nova. Our revenge is all about crafting. Stitching line by line until they wear my name on their bodies."
'That is refreshing to hear host. I am sure your mother is proud of you.'
"Yes, she is." I replied smiling to myself.