"I want to go back and change, though. Can you wait for me? Half an hour, tops."

She stared at me for a long moment before finally saying, "Hurry."

[Affection at 30%. Intimacy projected to increase by 20%.]

I let out a soft laugh. "Who said I was going to sleep with her?"

[Action already approved.]

I smiled faintly. Who said something “exciting” had to mean sex?

She had approached me with an agenda from the start. If I actually slept with her, her affection wouldn’t rise; it would drop.

By the next day, my nudes would probably be circulating all over the city.

Besides, someone like her disgusted me. Just being around her was already pushing it, let alone anything more intimate.

Half an hour later, the roar of an engine approached from a distance. I pulled off a clean stop, the motorcycle coming to a halt just a step away from her. I took off my helmet, tilting my head slightly, revealing my face.

She stared, eyes wide, completely stunned. Even without looking at her expression, I could tell from the system’s rapid notifications that she loved this version of me.

Still, I lowered my gaze and said softly, "Do I look a little strange? I’m a bit nearsighted, so I usually wear glasses. But with the helmet, I took them off. Don’t worry. I’m wearing contacts. Riding won’t be a problem."

The contrast between my slightly flustered explanation and the sleek black motorcycle was striking.

[Affection level: 40%.]

She looked at me with clear excitement. "You know how to ride?"

I nodded. "Money’s tight at home. Sometimes I do deliveries." In truth, it was because I knew she liked motorcycles.

"You said you wanted something exciting, right? To me, this is as exciting as it gets."

The bike wasn’t anything special, but the thrill was, especially for someone like her, who had always been in control.

Now she was sitting behind me, arms wrapped around my waist. I sped down the road, twisting the throttle, barely touching the brakes.

"Slow down! Slow down!" she shouted, but I ignored her.

The "suspension bridge effect" occurs when individuals in a state of high anxiety experience an adrenaline rush that the brain misinterprets as romantic attraction rather than fear. That was exactly what I wanted.

I stopped at the mountaintop. She got off, ready to complain about how fast I’d been driving.

I pressed a finger gently against her lips. "Shh. Look."

The moon hadn’t fully set yet, and the first light of dawn was already bleeding into the sky. Clouds lit up in soft gold, spreading like woven silk.

She stood there, mesmerized.

[Affection—]

I cut the system off. A moment like this didn’t need commentary. Besides, I didn’t need numbers to know how she felt.

After watching the sunrise, I took her home, then headed straight to the exam center.

Days after the exams, I ignored her completely.

When I finally spoke to her, I sighed, "That night watching the sunrise with you… I was too tired. I didn’t even finish the first exam.

"The next few days, you were all I could think about. Forget being top of the class. I might not even get into college now."

A flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes, but it was quickly buried under something colder. "You still have me."

I pulled her into an embrace, holding back just enough. "Keira, you’re all I have."

She gave me $200,000, which I accepted.

"You’re my boyfriend. I’ll take care of you from now on. I want to exercise my rights as your girlfriend. Is that okay?"

I looked at her, confused. "What rights?"

She dropped the act and handed me a room key card. "Tonight, I become yours. Okay?"

The moment the card touched my hand, I jerked back like I’d been burned. It fell to the ground.

Her expression darkened slightly. Before she could get upset, I quickly said, "Can we wait a month?"

I lowered my head shyly. "On my 18th birthday… I want it to be something I’ll remember forever."

I knew she would agree. The task Archer gave her was to get compromising photos of me, and now that she had some feelings of her own, she’d naturally want to delay it.

What she didn’t know was that the date I chose was the night the Bowens would officially introduce me to high society and the day the exam results would be released.

Soon enough, the night of the gala arrived. She called me, saying she had something to handle and that she would find me later.

"That’s fine. I’ve got a surprise for you too."

Dressed to perfection, I removed my glasses, put in contacts, and styled my hair to reveal the sharp lines of my face.

[Visual appeal sufficient. Outcome favorable.]

I smiled faintly. I would win her over tonight, and not just because of my looks.

Surrounded by my parents, I walked slowly down the staircase. The spotlight fell on me, making me look untouchable.

My father lifted the microphone and cleared his throat. "Tonight, I’d like to formally introduce my biological son, Zane Bowen."

In the crowd, Keira suddenly looked up. The wine glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.

Disbelief filled her eyes. She had imagined all kinds of surprises: a stunning outfit or something seductive.

She never thought that I was the Bowens' true heir.

Archer saw the expectation in her eyes, his face twisting with resentment. Grabbing her hand, he softened his tone for once. "You promised me."

However, the girl who had always indulged him didn’t even spare him a glance now. Her gaze stayed fixed on me.

[Affection at 90%.]

[Increase exceeds projection. Cause unidentified.]

A smile tugged at my lips. It had just been at 50%. That was a sudden spike of 40.

So this was what she really loved: the Bowen name.

I pressed the advantage, stepping closer, leaning in near her ear. "Don’t recognize me anymore, girlfriend?"

My breath brushed against her skin, and the tips of her ears flushed instantly. I closed the distance further. "Think I may have the honor of your first dance?"

Most of the older guests knew about her history with Archer—their childhood bond, and the unspoken understanding between the two families. It had long been assumed the Bowens and the Johnstons would eventually be joined by marriage.

No one expected me to appear out of nowhere.

Nevertheless, no one stepped in to stop it either. Between a biological son and an adopted heir, everyone knew which mattered more.

Everyone except him.

Just as she placed her hand in mine, accepting my invitation, Archer slapped my hand away furiously.

"What the hell are you? You took my parents, and now you want to take my girl too?"

The lively gala froze.

My father’s voice cut through sharply. "Archer, what nonsense are you talking about? Zane is your brother. You’re both my sons. Learn to get along."

My mother pulled him in, trying to calm him down, but he wouldn’t stop.

"You brought him back. That was one thing. But now you’re throwing him a gala behind my back, telling everyone who he is. Now that you have him, you won’t want me anymore!

"You promised that when I turned 18, I’d be engaged to her, but now you didn’t even throw me a birthday party, and you’re just standing there watching him take her from me!"

He cried and shouted, dragging everything out into the open.

Many of the guests, including business partners and clients, shook their heads, whispering among themselves.

My father’s expression darkened. He reached out to pull him away. "We’ll talk about this later. Don’t make a scene."

Seeing that even now his father was siding with me, Archer only escalated. He dropped to the floor, kicking his legs like a child.

"If you don’t kick him out, I’m not getting up!"

He was not just vicious; he was stupid. At an event like this, he was throwing the worst kind of tantrum, hoping to force people to side with him.

He didn’t notice the flash of disgust in her eyes, or the dark looks on her parents’ faces.

From this moment on, he had completely lost any chance of marrying into her family. That had been his best and only fallback.

Just as my father ran out of patience and was about to signal the bodyguards to drag him away, the doors burst open.

The house steward rushed in, breathless, his voice ringing out, "Mr. Bowen, representatives from the national exam board are here! Professors from Harvard and Stanford, too. They’re here to recruit the top scorer!

"They’re here for your eldest son, Zane!"

The room fell silent for a split second, then erupted into even louder congratulations. Everyone turned to my parents, offering their praise.

They stood there, stunned.

Archer had never been a strong student. Getting into a decent college would’ve been a stretch. They had already planned to send him abroad after graduation.

They never expected me to hand them a surprise like this.

Archer shot to his feet, screaming, "That’s impossible! How could he be the top scorer?!"

He rushed toward her, grabbing onto her clothes, desperate. "Didn’t you say the night before the exams, you and he spent the whole night at a hotel?!"