Free Web NovelChapter 121: Chapter 122: I Love to Tell a Little Lie
Renee Sinclair rolled her eyes, speechless, but still reluctantly gave her another chance. "Since this deal has begun, I hope you, as the one who initiated it, will strictly follow the rules."
"Sonia Quincy, I’ll ask you one more time. What kind of girl does Felix Preston actually like? What do I have to do to make him hate me less?"
Sonia looked down, fiddling with her fingers. She was silent for a long while before speaking.
"I honestly don’t know what kind of girl Felix likes. I only know he can’t stand people who are too overbearing and aggressive. He also doesn’t like anyone making decisions for him unprompted under the guise of ’it’s for your own good,’ and he especially hates it when someone hurts his cherished family and friends for their own selfish reasons."
"As for what you can do to make him hate you less, I think what I just said is pretty much the answer."
"...This... this is basically a personal attack on me." Renee was surprisingly self-aware; after just a few sentences from Sonia, she knew the other woman was taking a jab at her.
Sonia gave a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile. Her words were blunt and harsh.
"It’s not that I’m targeting you; it’s that you happen to be a walking collection of Felix’s pet peeves. You never do the things he likes, but you manage to do fifty of the things he hates in a single day!"
"You’re constantly dancing on all his triggers. If he doesn’t hate you, who would he hate?"
"I... I didn’t know he hated all that..." Renee’s voice was laced with guilt, as if her earlier confidence had been an illusion.
"..." Sonia glanced at her, her eyes filled with an indescribable, helpless frustration.
She was already running very late to mail the package. Sonia had no intention of chatting with Renee any longer. She grabbed the file folder and was about to open the door to get out of the car.
"Wait!" Renee suddenly grabbed her arm, not letting her go just yet.
"What is it?" Sonia turned to look at her, asking impatiently.
Renee said, "That, uh, what kind of system did you get when you transmigrated here? Why has your mission gone so smoothly? In just a few short months, you made Felix Preston fall in love with you."
"I don’t have a system." Sonia blinked and told the truth. "I came here by myself. No system, no mission."
"You don’t have a system or a mission?" Renee’s eyes widened in shock, but she didn’t believe a word Sonia said. "How is that possible? You might not have a mission, but you definitely have a system! Without a system’s support, how could you have gotten to where you are today?"
"The character ’Sonia Quincy’ has a scandalous history. If a system hadn’t helped you, Felix would have kicked you to the curb long ago! You wouldn’t have the chance to be sitting here making a deal with me."
That was the truth. Renee hadn’t said a single thing wrong. The amusing part, however, was that Sonia Quincy really didn’t have any system with her.
"I really don’t have a system," she emphasized again.
Renee was still skeptical. "Without a system pulling strings behind the scenes, how could Felix possibly love you?"
Sonia thought for a moment, then answered earnestly, "The character ’Sonia Quincy’ does indeed have a scandalous past, but maybe Felix was conquered by my completely different and charming personality, and that’s why he fell for me like he’s under a spell?"
"..." Renee stared at her, expressionless, at a loss for words.
Sonia pushed the car door open, ready to leave for real this time. "Alright, no more chatting. If I don’t get back soon, Felix will start to get suspicious."
"Wait for me, I’ll go with you." Renee opened her own door, got out, and walked around to the back of the car. She opened the door and pulled out the fruit basket and nutritional supplements from the seat.
"Felix has been in the hospital for so long, and I haven’t visited him once. This is a golden opportunity to earn some goodwill. You have to take me up with you."
"Okay." Sonia didn’t refuse. "Then you can come with me."
Renee nodded and obediently followed behind her.
[Ding—]
The elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor. When the doors opened, Sonia was the first to step out.
"To explain your presence, I might have to tell a little lie when we see Felix. Just listen and don’t blow my cover."
Renee said, "I know."
In the hospital room, Felix had just had his IV drip changed and was now resting with his eyes closed.
Mrs. Preston’s leave of absence from work was almost over; she had to go back to teaching in two days. Since Felix didn’t need any care at the moment, she was sitting on the sofa, preparing her lessons on her laptop.
When the door to the room was pushed open, both she and Felix looked up at the same time.
"Sonia, you’re back." She greeted Sonia with her usual smile, completely missing Renee trailing behind.
"Yeah, I’m back," Sonia replied with a strange expression. She shuffled her feet as she walked into the room, fully exposing Renee to Felix and Mrs. Preston’s line of sight.
"You..." Mrs. Preston stared at her, momentarily stunned.
"What are you doing here?" Felix frowned, the warmth in his eyes instantly dropping to a freezing point.
"Sonia." He raised his one mobile hand, reaching for Sonia with a sense of urgency. "Come here, quickly. Get away from her."
"..." Renee’s freshly composed emotions were easily shattered by Felix.
Sonia shot her a guilty look and surreptitiously shuffled over to Felix’s side.
Felix grabbed her hand at once. Even though his body was still difficult to move, he tried his best to shield Sonia firmly behind him.
"Miss Sinclair, what are you doing here?" Seeing that Renee wasn’t speaking, he asked again, his tone anything but polite.
Renee stood frozen in place, the friendly smile on her face cracking under Felix’s coldness. She looked as if she had been turned to stone, lacking the strength to even open her mouth.
"Ahem..." Sonia cleared her throat, her gaze wandering as she explained on Renee’s behalf. "Um, Miss Sinclair... I brought her up."
"...What?!" The statement was so unexpected that Felix wondered if he had misheard.
Sonia lowered her head, her voice quiet as she repeated her previous words. "That’s right. I was the one who brought Miss Sinclair up."
"Why?" Felix looked up at her, his face a mask of confusion.
Sonia had already concocted a story in her head. The moment Felix asked, she immediately launched into it. "I was downstairs mailing a package when a man accidentally bumped into me. He didn’t apologize and even turned around and yelled at me for being in his way. As a pregnant woman, I didn’t dare argue with him, so I just had to stand there and take his verbal abuse."
"It was Miss Sinclair who suddenly appeared. She drove the man away for me and let me vent my frustration, saving me from being bullied."
"...You were bumped into? Where did he hit you?" Felix had no interest in why Renee would rescue Sonia. His mind was entirely focused on the fact that Sonia had been knocked into and yelled at.
