It was noon when Veil finally headed toward Falkner International.
Kai casually steered the wheel with one hand while giving a thumbs-up with the other, glancing at Veil in the backseat.
"Young Master, when it comes to dealing with women, I gotta say—you're the absolute king!
You're like a hunter zeroing in on prey. Once you've locked onto a target, there's no way she's getting away. It's honestly amazing!
I still remember how President Lisa used to look at you—cold as ice, wouldn't even bother to say hi. And now? She's showing up at your place, asking you to lunch? Come on, if that's not chasing after you, what is?"
Kai genuinely admired Veil from the bottom of his heart. Others might not know, but he did—Young Master was juggling multiple women on different fronts, and every one of them was falling into place like clockwork.
Veil chuckled lightly.
Hunter?
What kind of hunter? A bounty hunter? Or a sperm-hunting one?
If it weren't for the situation, he wouldn't have had the time or patience to entertain lunch with Lisa.
Had it not been for the system alerting him that Lisa's emotional state was fluctuating wildly—likely indicating she was in some sort of trouble—he'd already be giving Alice her "second lesson," continuing his intimate mentorship.
And honestly? That sounded way more enjoyable than grabbing lunch with Lisa.
The Bentley came to a smooth stop outside Falkner International. It was raining, so Veil stepped out with an umbrella. Clad in a tailored suit, he looked especially refined and magnetic.
As he reached the hotel entrance, Veil paused and glanced to the side.
Standing there was a girl—though calling her a girl didn't feel quite right. She was over 160 cm tall, with a well-developed figure. Dressed in a black-and-white JK uniform, paired with long white stockings, her legs were showcased to perfection.
What caught Veil's eye the most was that her figure didn't lose out at all to the Murphy sisters. And wrapped in that schoolgirl outfit, it all looked even more alluring and provocative.
Such a mature body, yet paired with a delicate, youthful face—she looked like she was barely seventeen or eighteen.
Ding! The heroine Daisy has experienced an emotional fluctuation. Congratulations, Host—Villain Points +100.
At the hotel entrance, Daisy was anxiously pacing, stomping her feet. Her wide, watery eyes were fixed on the road outside through the rain-splattered glass, as if trying to hail a cab—but in reality, she was getting more and more anxious.
Damn it! What the hell is with this Veil? Can't he see I don't have an umbrella? Doesn't he have any sense of chivalry? Couldn't he at least come up and say something?
Daisy was fuming. The weather was awful, she was barely dressed, and it was pouring. Any halfway decent guy would've rushed over to offer a hand—any guy except Veil. He just stood there, watching her from a distance, not moving a muscle.
Not even pretending to head into the hotel.
Fine then!
Determined to expose Veil's true colors, Daisy gritted her teeth and stormed out from under the shelter, her long legs in white stockings splashing through the rain. A few steps out, she deliberately slipped and—splat—fell face-first into a puddle, landing hard on the wet pavement.
---
In the hotel's security room, Lisa and her assistant sat in front of a large display screen, watching everything unfold in high-definition video and audio.
Seeing Daisy fall into the rain, Lisa immediately grew anxious.
"What the hell is she doing?! She's clearly trying to manipulate Veil's sympathy! And in this kind of downpour—she really didn't have to go that far, even if she wanted him to approach her!
No way, I'm going out there with an umbrella. I can't just watch her suffer like that!"
The assistant quickly blocked her path, smiling bitterly.
"Miss Lisa, please don't. Miss Daisy is doing all this for you. She's putting herself through this storm just to expose Veil. If you go out there now, won't you just ruin all her efforts?"
The assistant wasn't stupid. After working with Lisa for years, she understood her well.
If Lisa stepped outside now, Daisy wouldn't have to stay in the rain, sure—but the whole plan would fall apart. And the assistant didn't want to see Daisy's effort go to waste.
Just as Lisa hesitated, the screen showed Veil finally making a move.
"Miss Lisa, look! Veil's doing something!"
---
Soaked to the bone, Daisy sat in the middle of a puddle, her black-and-white uniform clinging to her curves. Hugging her knees, she trembled from the cold, sniffling softly.
She looked absolutely pitiful—wet, helpless, and filled with sorrow. Any normal guy with a shred of empathy wouldn't be able to ignore a sight like that.
Daisy was certain of it.
She had confidence in her looks, in her figure. All she needed was for Veil to say a word to her, and she could drag him off somewhere else.
And once he left—boom. Caught red-handed.
If a man ditches a date to run off with some unknown girl, what else could he be thinking about? The intent would be clear as day.
A classic sleazebag move—solid proof.
She kept sneaking glances at Veil through her soaked bangs, seeing him finally move. Her heart skipped a beat.
But instead of walking toward her, Veil returned to the Bentley. Daisy furrowed her brows, puzzled—but quickly relaxed.
He must've gone to get an umbrella!
He's probably going to hand it to me and use that as an excuse to exchange numbers!
Tch. Typical scumbag move—like I haven't seen this a hundred times. He really thinks he's clever?
A moment later, Veil returned with another umbrella in hand. But beside him stood Kai, his driver and bodyguard.
The two of them walked to within two meters of Daisy, glanced around, then just... stood there.
Veil, holding the umbrella, didn't help her up. Didn't even offer to cover her from the rain. Instead, with a look of mild amusement, he turned to Kai and said,
"What do you think her deal is? Heartbreak? Or knocked up and too broke to get an abortion?"
Kai blinked, a bit dazed.
"Heartbreak, I guess. Her belly's not sticking out yet—doesn't look pregnant."
"Maybe it's still early on, not showing yet."
"Could be."
"…"
Daisy froze.
Staring up at the two men, rainwater mixed with tears streaming down her cheeks, she was completely stunned.
This... is the scumbag?
She could understand a man not offering help. Even pretending not to notice.
But to go back to his car, fetch his bodyguard, and then come back just to stand there and laugh at her?
What kind of twisted humiliation was this?!
"Ding! Female lead Daisy experienced an intense emotional fluctuation. Congratulations, host, you've earned +200 villain points."
"Ding! Daisy's anger continues to rise. Congratulations, host, you've earned +500 villain points."
"Ding! Lisa's affection level continues to increase. Congratulations, host, you've earned +600 villain points."
"Ding!..."
The constant chime of system notifications in Veil's ear left him feeling rather validated.
As expected—
That girl was bad news.
Sure, she was technically a legal loli, but in the original plot, Daisy—Lisa's so-called bestie—was infamously known as the Scumbag Detector. She tore into Roy countless times, stirred up trouble like it was a sport, and specialized in ruining reputations with a perfectly innocent face. A chaos gremlin with a silver spoon.
Now Lisa was acting oddly emotional? No doubt Daisy had a hand in it.
And this little "damsel in the rain" stunt? Way too fishy. Veil might not have been omniscient, but he was well aware of Daisy's hidden attributes.
The girl was a closet yuri-addict with a masochistic streak. The nicer you treated her, the wilder she got.
Would she really make the first move? Yeah right.
She was laying a trap. Probably had Lisa watching from some camera feed. One wrong move and he'd be stepping into a minefield.
Veil smirked coldly.
Fine. He'd play along—but on his terms.
Flip the script. Take the lead.
He stared down at Daisy, still crouched pathetically in the rain puddle, soaked through, her black-and-white uniform clinging tightly to her curves, every line of her figure painfully visible. The poor thing looked delicate, vulnerable, like she'd melt under one more drop of rain.
She was gritting her teeth internally but refused to break character. With pitiful, watery eyes, she muttered softly, "Mister... it's raining so hard… could you lend me your umbrella?"
Veil counted. "Let's see… two umbrellas, three people. And you want me to lend you one?"
Daisy screamed internally. Is this guy an idiot?!
She'd practically drawn him a roadmap—couldn't he just get the damn hint and walk over to cover her?
Never in a million years had she imagined she'd end up squatting in a puddle this long, soaked all the way through. Even her plain white panties had absorbed the rain.
Veil held the umbrella in his hand, walked right up to her—close enough to shield her from the downpour—and then abruptly stopped. Just a few inches from her head, he paused, then turned to point at the hotel's glass rain shelter.
"You could always wait there," he said with a straight face.
Daisy wiped her face—who knew if it was tears or just rain—and forced out a weak smile. Gripping her ankle, she played up the pity and whimpered, "I twisted my foot… it really hurts. Can't you just help me stay dry for a little while? Please?"
Veil didn't respond. Instead, he pointed to her waist, where a small, oddly-shaped bulge peeked from under her jacket.
"What's that you're carrying?" he asked, tone turning sharp. "Looks suspicious. Let me see it."
Daisy's expression froze. "Th-That's not necessary, is it?"
"Kai," Veil called out, already turning, "we're leaving."
"Wait, wait! Don't go!" Daisy panicked. "I'll show you, okay?!"
Reluctantly, she pulled out a small fruit knife from her waistband.
She'd brought it as insurance. Just in case her trap worked and Veil tried anything shady—hell, even if she had to blow her cover, at least she'd have something to defend herself with.
But now that it was exposed, she had no choice but to keep playing innocent.
"It's just a fruit knife…" she murmured in a weak voice. "For cutting fruit…"
Veil arched a brow. "Cutting fruit? In a thunderstorm? You brought a knife but not an umbrella?"
The subtext wasn't lost on either of them. Bringing a blade in the rain but not an umbrella? Who are you trying to insult?
Daisy felt like she was about to explode. If she could, she'd have stabbed him a dozen times—every slash missing vital organs but cutting deep enough to make him beg for death.
Instead, she tossed the knife aside with a small whimper and went all in on the act.
"I'm still in high school," she said, voice cracking. "My parents are fighting… talking about divorce… they even hit me… I'm so scared, and it's so cold… Could you… could you take me somewhere warm? Just for a little while?"
She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the rain, looking every bit the helpless, lost girl.
Even Kai—who normally only had a thing for mature women—felt a stab of sympathy. Maybe… just this once, it's okay to help her warm up?
Veil scanned her from head to toe, then finally reached out to pull her to her feet.
"So tough out there these days…" he sighed. "Tell you what, I've got a friend—he's very into lonely schoolgirls who need warmth and affection. Want me to call him over? We could all hang out and 'warm up' together."
Daisy's mind short-circuited.
W-Wait… what?
Was this… a miracle?!
The stoic, hard-headed Veil—finally cracking under pressure and suggesting a group warm-up?!
With a friend too?
Three people?
Or four?!
Is this going where I think it's going?!
Barely containing her glee, Daisy smiled sweetly and gave Veil a discreet "OK" hand sign behind her back—right at the camera's angle. She wanted to make damn sure Lisa saw this.
Bingo. Gotcha, scumbag.
...
Inside the surveillance room, Lisa's assistant looked like she'd swallowed a lemon.
"Miss Lisa, this is beyond shocking! I can't believe Veil would actually stoop this low! Not only trying to take advantage of Miss Daisy, but also wanting to bring friends into it?! He's vile! Completely shameless!"
Lisa didn't respond right away. She didn't jump to Veil's defense, but something just… felt off. Something didn't add up.
She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was like trying to solve a puzzle with one piece turned the wrong way.
While she was still deep in thought, a sharp beep-beep sounded from the monitor's speakers.
Out in the rain, Daisy stood just barely under the umbrella's edge. Water ran down its spine, dripping onto her head like a cruel joke, but she didn't move an inch.
She was frozen stiff, mouth twitching violently, staring at Veil as blue and red lights flashed behind him.
From the vehicle that had just arrived, uniformed officers stepped out, boots splashing through puddles as they marched forward.
Daisy's throat bobbed.
Her voice trembled.
"That… that 'friend' you mentioned…"
She pointed with a shaking finger.
"…is that who you meant?"