Mia Grant hadn't intended to win over Silas Grant.
That day in the basement—
"Mia... Grant?"
The man outside the door squinted, his dark eyes behind his glasses seemingly trying hard to recognize her.
Silas Grant didn't have a strong impression of her. On top of that, she was in such a wretched state, no different from a kitten that had fallen into a ditch and was covered in mud. It truly took him a while to identify her.
They hadn't interacted much before; they were practically strangers. He only vaguely remembered her name.
But that night, he really did break down the door.
"Don't cry. Just talk."
She couldn't hear anything. Kneeling on the floor, she clutched the hem of his suit jacket, sobbing uncontrollably until she fainted.
The man, getting a headache from her crying, pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed and bent down, scooping her up with one arm as if she were a child.
She sat in the crook of his arm, her body trembling with fear. She clung to him tightly, feeling a sense of security she had never known before.
That night, Silas Grant led her out of hell...
At that time, she had a good impression of Silas Grant, but she had no plans to win him or any of the other male leads over.
However, she knew that according to the original novel's plot, she, as the expendable side character, was supposed to die in that basement that night.
She had escaped her fate, which meant she had changed the plot...
She wasn't sure how long she would live. If the side character's death was a crucial plot point, she would still end up dead sooner or later.
So, to survive, she had to stay away from the male and female leads, leave the Grant Family, and leave Jynsia.
Thus, she meticulously planned to fake her own death, right after the college entrance exams.
As long as the male and female leads both thought she was dead, perhaps she could survive.
She decided to win over Silas Grant because after Serena Grant returned, her situation in the Grant Family became more and more awkward. Mr. and Mrs. Grant made things difficult for her at every turn.
She worried that she would die in the Grant home again before she even had a chance to carry out her plan to fake her death.
That's why she resolved to latch onto Silas Grant as her lifeline.
However, before today, she and Silas Grant had never done anything particularly intimate.
She was genuinely trying to win him over by treating him as her own big brother.
For some reason, however, Mrs. Grant kept insisting she was seducing Silas Grant, as if she had some kind of proof.
During the last holiday, she had indeed suggested to Silas Grant that they go to Portia to see the fireworks, in an attempt to temporarily avoid Mr. and Mrs. Grant.
But only she and Silas Grant knew about that.
At the time, she didn't understand why Mrs. Grant would say Silas was planning to take her away...
Before she could even react, she was met with inexplicable insults and beatings.
Those vicious words were identical to the ones she used to hear from her mother before she transmigrated into the book.
Her mother had said she was seducing her stepfather, that she was shameless.
"Ungrateful wretch! Worthless scum! You've been a seductress since the day you were born!"
A sharp pain shot through her scalp as her mother tore at her hair and slapped her face.
Just like Mrs. Grant.
'Back then, I didn't know what the problem was. So... it was Silas.'
He had indirectly harmed her.
Mr. and Mrs. Grant were wary of Silas Grant, so no matter what he said to them, they could only agree and hold back their anger.
In the end, they turned their aggression on her.
It was also that night that she ran out of the Grant home in the pouring rain, having a complete breakdown. No one came after her.
Behind her, she could still hear Mr. and Mrs. Grant's sharp, cruel voices: "Let her go! If she gets out, she'd better not come back!"
Silas Grant wasn't in Jynsia that day, and she hadn't brought her phone with her.
And so, that night, she ran aimlessly until she finally collapsed in front of Kian Keller's car.
That was also her first time meeting Kian Keller face-to-face, alone.
The driver must have recognized her.
Immediately after, the assistant in the passenger seat got out to check, saw that she was injured, and returned to the front of the car.
A few seconds later, the rear door opened. The assistant held a black umbrella over the car's roof, sheltering the man beneath it.
He slowly strolled over and stood before the car. The light from the headlights struck his back, outlining him in a halo of light.
She knelt on the ground, letting the cold rain wash over her body. When she looked up at him, her vision was blurred by the rain and her tears.
In fact, she didn't recognize him at first glance.
"Silas Grant's sister?" He didn't have much of an impression of her either and had to be reminded by his assistant.
She timidly shrank back her shoulders and gave a small nod.
The look in his eyes was truly like that of a statue in a temple—indifferent, yet with a trace of pity.
Without a second glance, he turned and told his assistant to take her home.
She snapped to her senses, scrambled up from the ground, and rushed forward to grab him. "No, no! I can't go back!"
She heard the assistant call him Mr. Keller, so she addressed him the same way.
Just like that, her muddy handprint was pressed onto his expensive suit jacket.
The assistant didn't have time to stop her.
Kian Keller looked disgusted; he was a severe germaphobe.
But for the sake of her being Silas Grant's sister, he restrained himself.
He brushed her hand away. His gaze fell on the slap mark on her face, and he finally said coldly, "Then get in the car."
So, strictly speaking, it was Silas Grant who pushed her toward Kian Keller.
* * *
'It looks like Serena Grant saw my face, but I don't know what she heard.'
Mia Grant was in no mood to think about it. On the way back with Kian Keller, she leaned back in her seat, staring into space.
Kian Keller didn't disturb her.
[Host, the female lead definitely spotted you.]
[And now Kian Keller has captured you again! What are you going to do? Are you not planning to escape anymore?]
"Whatever," Mia Grant said, giving up completely as she watched the scenery recede outside the window.
"I'll take it one step at a time. If it really doesn't work out, I'll just die halfway."
[...]
Speaking of which, this trip to the funeral wasn't a total loss. At the very least, Mia Grant had figured a few things out.
For example, besides understanding Silas Grant's feelings for her and the source of Mr. and Mrs. Grant's prior malice...
...she also understood why Kian Keller had insisted on bringing her to the funeral.
He probably wanted her to see the Grant family's true colors, to make her give up all hope and abandon any thought of returning to them, so she would stay by his side.
'How... cruel.'
[Don't be sad, Host. None of these damn men are any good.]
[Plus, your character setting is the female side character, and the plot has an auto-correct function that will act up unpredictably. So their words and actions will still hurt you.]
[Why don't we pull ourselves together and play them all in the palm of your hand!]
[Then you can retire once your mission is complete, and I'll send you back to your original world! When the time comes, I'll ask my superiors for a bigger bonus for you!]
Hearing this, a ripple of emotion stirred in Mia Grant's eyes. "Really?"
Seeing its chance, the system continued to coax her: [Don't worry, Host. As long as you can complete the mission of lowering the male leads' corruption values, I will definitely send you back. I keep my word...]
"I'm not asking about going back. I'm asking if you'll really give me a bonus on top of the one billion."
[...I will.]
'So you care more about the money.'
"How much more?"
[Two hundred... million?] the system tested.
The melancholic girl leaning against the window suddenly had eyes gleaming with greed. "I don't believe you. Put it in writing!"
[...]