Ficorpio
Chapter 1
I bound myself to the Malice Reward System.
As long as someone felt malice toward me, I would receive a reward.
I laughed. “But no one treats me badly.”
My family loved me. My friends were sincere. My boyfriend was practically perfect.
The system went quiet for a moment, then displayed a single line:
[Alert: Your best friend’s current malice toward you is 99%.]
The system was a little stubborn.
Everyone around me was obviously kind to me.
My father had made a lot of money in business over the years, and our family’s life had only grown more comfortable. My mother loved taking me shopping and buying me bags, always trying to dress me up beautifully. My new boyfriend spoiled me and gave in to me about everything.
Even my best friend always thought of me. She stood up for me whenever she felt I’d been wronged.
Every day, my life was surrounded by goodwill.
Where would malice even come from?
If the system wanted to show me, then fine. I’d let it.
When I arrived at the restaurant, Vanessa Hayes was already waiting by the window. The moment she saw me, she waved excitedly.
“Chloe, you’re finally here!”
“Ever since you started dating, you’ve become impossible to pin down. Is your boyfriend that controlling? Does he not let you come out with me?”
Her tone was affectionate, carrying the teasing warmth I was used to.
I smiled and was just about to explain when a voice suddenly rang out in my mind.
Ding.
“Malice detected: ‘triangulation.’ Reward deposited: $1,400.”
Almost at the same time, my phone vibrated. A deposit alert from an unknown bank popped up on the screen.
I froze.
“This… how is that malice?”
System: “You arrived on time. You weren’t late. But she deliberately framed you as ‘hard to meet’ and implied your boyfriend is ‘controlling,’ guiding you to feel dissatisfied with him. That is malicious triangulation.”
So… that was what it meant?
System: “Don’t believe me? Ask her what I tell you to ask.”
I hesitated, but still followed the system’s prompt. Smiling at Vanessa, I said, “I’m not hard to pin down. If anything, ever since I started dating, you’ve been asking me out more than twice as often as before. Way more often.”
“Come on. Why have you been so attentive lately?”
The smile on Vanessa’s face stiffened for a split second. Then she waved a hand dramatically.
“Oh, please. I was just afraid you’d get a man and forget your girls. Seeing that you still have a conscience, I can finally relax.”
System: “See? She felt guilty and immediately tried to patch it over. Believe me now?”
“Maybe… a little.”
I looked at the extra money in the account, my feelings complicated.
“So the rewards are just cash?”
System: “Yes. I opened a new Reward Debit Card for you. All rewards will be stored there. In one month, you’ll know exactly how much malice you’ve been facing.”
I hesitated. “I don’t think there’ll be much money in there after a month. Wasn’t opening a new card too much trouble?”
Chapter 2
“But don’t worry. However much ends up on it, I’ll find a way to pay you back.”
System: “You can’t pay me back. I’m not someone from real life. You can’t catch me.”
I thought for a moment, then opened the Kitten Haven homepage and started keeping a record. It was the adoption and rescue platform where I donated to help stray cats.
If that was the case, using the money for charity wouldn’t be bad.
The system seemed to let out a soft laugh.
“What a silly girl.”
Vanessa pushed a glass of orange juice toward me and asked with concern, “Chloe, why are you spacing out? You look completely distracted.”
Looking at her worried face, I suddenly felt a little guilty.
She must really treasure me as a friend. She was probably afraid of being left out, and that was why she’d said those things.
I pressed down the strange feeling in my heart and decided I would spend the day properly with her.
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about where we should go shopping later.”
I took out my bag and began searching for the gift card my mother had stuffed into it a few days ago.
“No way.”
Vanessa Hayes had sharp eyes. Before I could pull out the gift card, she slapped a hand over my bag and widened her eyes theatrically. “Why are you still carrying this old thing? It’s last season. Your boyfriend… you know, Ethan Sterling, the one whose family owns half the city. He hasn’t bought you a new bag?”
System: “Malice detected: belittling and triangulation. Reward deposited: $1,500.”
What?
Again?
If Vanessa was only afraid I’d neglect her now that I was in a relationship, why was there still malice after we’d already talked it out?
Maybe something in my expression shifted, because Vanessa immediately launched into another breathless lecture, her tone full of exasperated concern.
“Chloe, you’re gorgeous. Do you even understand what that means?”
“A man puts his money where his heart is. And we’re talking about Ethan Sterling, a trust-fund golden boy with that kind of family behind him.”
“If he can’t even bring himself to replace one decent bag for you, how much do you really think he loves you? Don’t be hopelessly love-blind.”
…
System: “Ding. Malice detected: manipulation and belittling. Reward deposited: $1,500.”
“Ding.”
…
The endless chimes and deposit alerts left me dazed.
If the first time had been a coincidence, what about the second? The third?
I suddenly remembered that Vanessa had always gotten worked up on my behalf like this. In the past, whenever she said these things, I usually defended Ethan with a few words. Then she would call me hopelessly love-blind and teach me all the things a clear-eyed, self-rescuing heroine was supposed to do.
Don’t give too much. Don’t fall too hard. Enjoy the benefits while you can.
Chapter 3
But now, under the System’s explanation, all those words I’d once believed were for my own good revealed a completely different meaning.
Had it all been malice?
If I had believed what she said, what would have happened?
A slow chill crawled up my spine.
System: “Do you want me to tell you how to hit back?”
“No,” I answered quietly in my mind. “Your response would probably be right, but it wouldn’t be me. Whether she means harm or not, I need to learn how to handle this myself.”
System: “Okay. But if you need help, you have to tell me. I’m a System, after all.”
“Thank you.”
“Chloe! Chloe!”
Vanessa waved a hand in front of my face. “What is with you today? Is Ethan treating you badly? Tell me.”
I forced my smile to look natural. “No, he’s been good to me. And he said that after we get married, he’ll transfer part of his company shares to me.”
I looked at her, really looked at her, for the first time with scrutiny in my eyes. “That’s worth more than a few handbags, isn’t it?”
Vanessa clearly hadn’t expected me to say that. She froze for half a second, then laughed.
“Well, excuse me for caring. I was only worried you’d get taken advantage of. Fine, fine, our Chloe is the clearest-eyed woman alive. I’m the short-sighted one, okay? Now come on, what are we eating?”
She changed the subject with practiced ease.
But I could no longer sink wholeheartedly into this ride-or-die lunch the way I used to.
I made an excuse about having something to handle at home that afternoon and ended our meetup early.
After leaving the restaurant, I opened my phone and scrolled through my chat history with Vanessa.
Once the System appeared, details I had ignored began surfacing one after another.
Ever since Ethan and I got together, Vanessa had often said I was love-blind, that I was throwing myself at him.
She would casually mention how expensive some other girl’s boyfriend’s gifts were, then sigh about how innocent I was.
She also loved helping me analyze Ethan’s social media, pointing out anything that might be suspicious.
Without the System, I probably would have been influenced by those words little by little, until my doubts and resentment toward Ethan grew deeper and deeper.
Ethan Sterling asked me to meet him that evening.
He was the son of one of my father’s business partners, from the kind of family whose name opened doors before anyone even saw your face.