Dumped the Heir, Claimed by the Villain

Hi. Mind if I have a bite?

The System wanted me to win over the male lead.

Me? I spent every single day mooching meals off the broody, quiet scholarship kid instead.

He was dirt-poor. Couldn't even afford the cafeteria. But the boy could cook.

The lunches he packed himself put the whole elite prep school's sad boiled health food to shame.

So at lunch, without fail, I'd carry my tray over, drop into the seat across from him, and stare at his food like a starving stray.

"Hi. Me again. Just a bite."

"Hi. Me AGAIN. One more bite."

Until the day the System finally booted up and shrieked in my ear.

"I told you to win over the golden-boy heir of the Sinclairs. So why are you mooching off this broke nobody every single day?"

"And him? He's the future yandere villain. Do you have any idea how terrifying he is?"

Horrified, heartbroken, I pinched a few pieces of braised pork back into his box.

"Hi. I'll... have a little less today."

Something dimmed in his eyes. He asked it carefully, almost small.

"Did you... get sick of my cooking?"

System: ???

Who could've guessed?

Years later, I would raise that broke scholarship kid into the richest man in New York.

His affection for me? Stuck at 99. Year after year, it never moved.

And not until a silver chain locked around my wrist did I finally understand:

this sweet, harmless little puppy had been faking it the whole time.

From the very start.

Chapter 1

The cafeteria was packed.

I stood in the doorway with my tray and scanned the seats. Then I stopped.

In the corner, across from the scholarship kid, the whole table sat empty.

Didn't think twice. I walked over, set my tray down, and dropped into the seat across from him.

The noise cut out.

An eerie kind of quiet.

Eyes landed on me from every direction.

The kid glanced up and blinked. Something like surprise crossed his face.

I smiled at him anyway.

Because honestly, nothing on this earth is more miserable than choking down sad boiled health food every single day.

I forced a limp lettuce leaf into my mouth.

Chewed it like a cow with nothing left to live for, gaze drifting nowhere in particular.

Then it hit me. Rich, deep, warm with cinnamon and star anise. Braised pork, going straight up my nose.

My jaw slowed mid-chew.

Inch by inch, my eyes crawled across the table.

A plain, dented aluminum lunchbox. Everything inside packed into neat little rows.

Braised pork belly. Crisp stir-fried greens. Half a soft-boiled egg, a few black sesame seeds scattered over the rice.

It made my school's Michelin three-star kitchen look like a crime.

My eyes glazed right over.

The moment he lifted a piece of pork to his mouth, I heard myself swallow.

Glossy and red, ribboned fat and lean. The lean gone tender, the fat clear as glass, all of it stained that deep, gorgeous soy-and-rock-sugar brown.

Three seconds. That was all I lasted. Then I turned to him, my eyes pinned to his chopsticks.

"Hi"

His chopsticks stopped. He looked up.

"Can I have a bite?"

His lashes trembled. He just stared at me.

Figuring that was a no, I pressed my palms together, fast.

"I know this is out of nowhere."

"But just one bite? That's it. One."

After a long moment, he nudged the box forward. Barely an inch.

"If you don't mind."

"They're just leftovers from the market lady. They might not be"

"I don't mind! Of course I don't!"

My eyes lit up. I grabbed my chopsticks.

The second the pork hit my tongue, I went completely still.

He poked at his rice, hesitant. A little nervous.

"...Something wrong?"

"This is staggering."

I shot him a thumbs-up, so happy I nearly cried, and looked him dead in the eye.

"Hey. You have no idea. I haven't tasted anything this good in years."

He lowered his lashes.

And for just a second, something dark flickered underneath. Something I couldn't read.

Then he looked up, and it was gone. Clean-faced. Harmless. Sweet as ever.

Probably just imagined it.

Chapter 2

"Boo-hoo. Your food IQ is off the charts."

I sniffled at him, then remembered.

"Oh. What's your name?"

He paused. Said it quietly.

"Lucien Marsh."

The next day, in class, my whole brain was that one piece of braised pork.

Up front, the teacher droned through supply-and-demand curves. I stared at the slides and saw steaming white rice.

I swallowed. In the margin of my notebook, without even meaning to, I drew a little square of braised pork.

The second the lunch bell rang, I sprinted for the cafeteria like it was the hundred-meter dash.

A flicker of surprise crossed Lucien's face. It went blank for half a beat.

I beamed and locked onto his lunchbox.

Ribs fried gold, glazed in a glossy sweet-and-sour sauce, a heap of broccoli crisp beside them.

I swallowed again.

"Hi. Back for more."

His lowered lashes curved, just barely.

"Mm."

And that was it. Mooching mode: fully activated.

Every day I carried my tray to his table and waited to be fed like a baby bird.

He stayed quiet as ever. But the lunches got bigger and bigger. A few weeks in, he was already setting out two sets of chopsticks before I even showed up.

That day, I sprinted in early like always.

I'd barely spotted Lucien when I heard it. Laughter, sharp and ugly.

I frowned and slowed down.

A few big guys, voices dripping with contempt.

"Well, if it isn't the charity case."

"Heard you're feeling yourself lately. Cozying up to the Ashcroft heiress."

"Not bad. A scholarship kid who can't even afford the cafeteria, pulling moves like that."

The ringleader stepped closer and shoved his shoulder.

"You even know who Colette Ashcroft is?"

He sneered.

"She's Sebastian Sinclair's childhood sweetheart. As good as married into the Sinclairs. What makes a broke nobody like you think you get to breathe near her?"

My heart jumped.

Sebastian Sinclair.

The golden-boy heir of the Sinclairs. Also my assignment. The guy I was supposed to win over.

After I transmigrated into this novel, the System had dumped the quest on me and vanished. I'd honestly almost forgotten.

The guys were getting louder. And then one of them reached for Lucien's lunchbox.

That did it.

I stepped up and kicked the back of the ringleader's knee.

He buckled forward, nearly went face-first into the floor.

I reached out and snatched the box clean out of the air. Hugged it to my chest.

The whole hall went silent.

The guys turned, saw it was me, and their faces froze solid.

The ringleader clutched his knee, voice gone thin.

"C-Colette? We were only doing this for Sebastian. You're his"

"Shut it."

Cold. I didn't let him finish.

"I don't care who you're doing it for. Bullying is bullying."

"And you went after my food. You have no idea what you just stepped in. I dream about this stuff."

I tilted my head.

"Your family's contract with Ashcroft Group. That's up for renewal right about now, isn't it?"

Their faces changed on the spot.

The apologies came tumbling out.

"Sorry, sorry, we're leaving right now."

"We're all classmates, Colette. Don't be mad."

"Right, right. Won't happen again."

The commotion died down. The hallway went quiet.

Only when the footsteps had faded did I turn to look at Lucien.

He hadn't moved.

Spine rigid, pressed flat against the wall.

Chapter 3

"Thank you."

"For what? We're friends."

"Helping each other out is just what people do."

"Come on, let's go eat, I'm starving."

I grabbed him by the sleeve and started hauling him toward the cafeteria.

He stumbled forward a step, like he still hadn't caught up to what was happening.

I pushed him into a cafeteria chair, dropped into the seat across from him, and carefully cracked open the lunchbox.

Tomato beef brisket.

The brisket had been stewed down to falling-apart tender, the tomato tang soaked deep into every piece, the broth thick and glossy.

"Thank god the food survived."

I shoved a chunk of beef into my mouth and closed my eyes in pure bliss.

He sat across from me. Didn't pick up his chopsticks.

Then, out of nowhere, he spoke.

"If..."

His voice started and stopped.

In all the time I'd known him, it was the first time he'd ever started a conversation himself.

"If I couldn't cook..."

I was busy loading beef into my mouth, one piece after another. Not really listening.

"would you still..."

Chewing, chewing, I looked up half a beat too late. "Sorry, what?"

We held eye contact for two seconds.

He lowered his lashes and curved his lips.

"Nothing."

"This is already enough."

I reached out with practiced ease, ready to dig back in.

A sharp electronic ding went off inside my skull.

My chopsticks jerked. The beef I'd just caught dropped back into the box.

"HOST!!!"

The System's voice rang in my ear, like a mother worried half to death.

"You want to tell me what exactly you think you're doing?"

A little guilty, I answered in my head. Um... eating?

"Eating?! Eating is all you know?!"

Its voice climbed another eight octaves.

"I told you to win over Sebastian Sinclair, the golden-boy heir. Instead you mooch off this broke nobody every single day. What is the meaning of this?!"

I poked at the fallen piece of beef. Dead wrong, and loud about it anyway.

"But Sebastian spends all day chasing that broke, fake-innocent little thing, acting out some cheesy CEO soap opera. 'How dare you not be scared of me.' 'You're the first woman who's ever turned me down.'"

"So boring."

"How is a guy like that the male lead?"

The System cut out for a second.

Then it came back louder. Loud enough to make my brain buzz.

"I don't care if he's boring! That's how the plot is written, and your job is to win him over. Not sit here freeloading!"

"Fine, fine."

I mumbled it and reached for the beef again.

"I'm gonna eat now."

"Can it wait till I'm done?"

The System finally lost it.

"Eat, eat, eating is ALL you do!!"

Like it had been rage-glitched into a crash.

"Do you even know who that is across from you?!"

I popped the beef in my mouth and answered around it.

"A guy whose food IQ is off the charts. Best cook in the whole prep school. Perpetual number one in our grade. Quiet, glasses, the kind of shy younger boy who looks like he'd spoil you rotten and never stop. Oh, and a scholarship kid."

"Scholarship kid?"

The System let out a cold laugh. One word at a time.

"Lucien Marsh."

"That scholarship kid you've been mooching off for the better part of a month? He's the future yandere villain."

"Kills without blinking."

"Ice-cold. Merciless."

Chapter 4

"Later in the story, after he snaps and goes full villain, all of New York's high society is scared to cross him. Even the male lead barely makes it out alive."

"And you? Sponging off him every single day? You're finished. You'll be the first person he kills!"

My jaw stopped mid-chew.

The chopsticks pinching my next piece of braised brisket hung in the air.

A yandere villain?

Slowly, I lifted my head and glanced across the table.

Lucien ate with his head down, features calm, polite and buttoned-up.

He must have felt my stare, because he looked up.

Pure, gentle eyes.

No matter how I looked at it, that was not the face of a man who killed without blinking.

The System seemed to guess what I was thinking.

"Don't judge a book by its cover!"

"Psychos are the best at hiding it."

"Someone bullied him again today, didn't they, and you didn't even notice? He's been iced out this whole time. Nobody will sit next to him at lunch. He's about to snap!"

My chopsticks twitched.

"...Fine."

The System settled at last, satisfied. "There's hope for you yet..."

I sat there for a full three seconds. Then, heartbroken, mournful, waging a massive internal war, I lifted that piece of braised brisket back off my chopsticks.

And set it gently into his box.

"Hey." My voice cracked with grief I couldn't hide. "I'll have a little less today."

System: "?"

Lucien looked down at the beef I'd put back.

Silent for a moment.

"Could I ask..."

"Did you get tired of me... my cooking?"

System: ???

The System let out a shriek.

"No. That is not right! What is that careful little voice?! Since when does a rage-and-revenge personality turn into a people-pleaser?!"

"Who reprogrammed my villain?! WHO?!"

I couldn't help cutting in.

"See? Told you. He's a total sweetheart."

A little boy who loves to cook. How bad could he possibly be?

The System went quiet for a long, long time.

Then, in the tone of someone staring down at a corpse, it spoke like I was a lost cause.

"...Host. You're done for."

"Worse than being a yandere's target is being a yandere's obsession."

The System started making threats.

"Host. You've got three days. Go talk to Sebastian, or I'm shocking you."

I didn't take it seriously.

Then it actually did it.

A thin current shot straight up my spine. I flew off the bed and nearly launched my phone across the room.

"Are you INSANE?!"

"Are you going or not."

"It's for your own good. If you don't win over the male lead, the whole storyline collapses. And if the storyline collapses, you're finished. Understand?"

I held out.

"Next week. Next week for sure"

Another jolt.

"Going or not."

"%/... going."

I caved.

The next day at lunch, I skipped the cafeteria and made myself go find Sebastian.

He was alone in the classroom.

Leaning against the seat by the window, uniform jacket slung over the chair back, two buttons loose at his collar, legs crossed and propped up on the desk rail.

Sunlight spilled in and traced the line of his profile.

Credit where it's due. The guy really was good-looking.

But past the face, I couldn't dig up a single reason to convince myself this was the male lead.

I stood in the doorway a few seconds, took a deep breath, and walked in.

Sebastian heard my footsteps and looked up.

For some reason, I could have sworn a gaze was resting on my back. Quiet. Coming from the hallway behind me.

I turned.

The hallway was empty.

Chapter 5

He looked genuinely surprised to see me.

Then the corner of his mouth curled into something between a smirk and a smile.

"What?"

"Figured out that parading around with your broke little boyfriend doesn't get to me, so now you're back to simping over me?"

He leaned into the chair, arms crossed.

"Don't think I don't see through all your little girl games."

"I made this bacon-egg-and-cheese for you myself. It's amazing. Way better than that sad boiled health food at school."

I ignored the jab and held out the warm sandwich with a smile.

Total lie. I'd actually bought it.

But the amazing part was true.

When he didn't react, I couldn't help adding, "If you still don't want it, I'll just eat it"

Before I finished, Sebastian dropped the whole thing straight into the trash.

He pulled out a tissue, wiped his hands like they were filthy, and frowned.

"You seriously brought me some greasy street-cart junk? Spend too much time around poor people? You reek of it."

"Sebastian! You want my life, take my life, but leave my bacon-egg-and-cheese out of this!"

My voice shot up, pure disbelief.

The System begged frantically in my ear.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down. He's the male lead. Grew up rich and gorgeous. A little pickiness is understandable. Just grit your teeth and get through it"

"Think about it. Once you win him over, you get a healthy body, and you can eat all the bacon-egg-and-cheese you want."

I closed my eyes.

Held it in.

Colette. Hold it in.

I squeezed out a smile.

"Right, right, you're absolutely right."

"I only eat with that scholarship kid to make you jealous. Honestly, it's only ever been you. I'm crazy about you."

Sebastian froze, and his pupils flared, just a little.

He turned his face away, the tips of his ears going a faint, barely-there red.

"Have you no shame? A girl, going on about love this, love that, all day long."

I held the fake smile, dead calm underneath.

"Then say yes to a date this weekend and I'll drop it. Otherwise..."

I took a step closer.

"I'll just keep telling you I love you."

"Love you love you love you love you love you"

"ENOUGH!"

Sebastian shot to his feet, ears blazing red, and lunged to clap a hand over my mouth.

"Stop saying that! Sienna will get the wrong idea if she hears!"

I let him muffle me, expressionless, and lifted a brow.

"Love you love you love you..."

He gritted his teeth.

"Fine, fine, fine, I agree, now will you shut up?"

He planted himself in front of me, those pretty eyes screaming you are absolutely impossible.

"Honestly, if you weren't so"

"Got it, got it. I'm going to eat now."

Mission accomplished. I didn't want to spend one more second there.

I turned and headed for the door.

Behind me came Sebastian's startled voice.

"You're leaving? Just like that?"

"What else?"

I didn't look back.

Anyone who isn't hyped for food has something seriously wrong with them.

I'd wasted so much time already. Who knew if I could still catch lunch.

The thought alone put a rush in my step.

I'd just pulled the classroom door open when I froze.

Lucien was standing in the hallway outside.

No idea how long he'd been there.

The draft down the corridor lifted the hem of his uniform. He looked thinner than ever.

His hand clenched at his side, nails biting into his palm