From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 42: Boss, This Is Emotional Damage

Chapter 42: Boss, This Is Emotional Damage

Micah tossed and turned all night, wrapped in a blanket that had become a twisted mess around his legs. His dreams were chaotic, filled with jumbled scenes from the drama he had watched earlier.

The dream had started peacefully enough. He was wearing a wig and a light dress, walking toward a colourful maple tree. He spotted a man wearing ancient robes, standing under the tree. Then the man turned around, and his features suddenly changed into that of a large lion. The lion’s eyes glowed like molten gold, its mane rippling in the invisible wind. It growled, low and deep, and lunged toward him.

Micah ran in fright. His heart pounded in sync with the thunderous beats of the lion’s paws. He ducked under branches, and jumped over roots, gasping for breath. Then, crack! His foot caught on a thick branch, and he went flying. The air rushed past him, then pain exploded in his side as he hit the ground hard.

He looked up just in time to see the lion leap, mouth open, fangs gleaming. Micah screamed as the beast lunged forward and devoured him whole.

Micah jolted upright in bed with a strangled yell. His breath came in heavy pants, his skin covered in sweat. His shirt clung to his back. He ran a trembling hand down his face and groaned.

"Ugh, what the hell..."

He flopped backward, staring at the ceiling.

He cursed Leo’s fans. It was their fault.

What Majestic King!!!

Their ridiculous fan group name had planted this terrifying association of Leo Mckay as some majestic predator in his brain.

Micah shuddered.

Disgusted, he kicked the blanket aside and reached for his phone on the nightstand, blinking at the sudden glow as the screen lit up.

His WeChat notification had exploded overnight.

Dozens of unread messages.

All from AAA.

Micah raised his eyebrow.

The man wasn’t angry he hadn’t answered the call. Instead of accusation, the messages were oddly complimentary.

AAA: Your ability to protect your online identity is truly admirable.

AAA: I have never seen someone block tracing apps so thoroughly.

AAA: Can you teach me how to set up something like that? I’ll pay.

What the heck?!

Had the man hit his head or something?

Rather than demanding he pay for the car damage, he wanted to hire him to strengthen the proxy system on his phone.

Did he mistake him for a hacker or something?!

Micah didn’t want to get entangled with this man anymore. He sent the maximum red envelope the WeChat pay allowed, along with a message.

RogueOverlord: I set it on automatic pay until the amount I think the repair costs were settled.

AAA: thank you. But I need your skills more than money now. Lately, I have had many scammers and frauds harassing me. Money had been stolen, and private information leaked.

Please handsome guy, if you want to settle the debt, use your skill instead of money.

Micah’s mouth twitched.

RogueOverlord: your tone changed faster than toilet paper...

AAA: it was blind. I didn’t recognise the talent before me. Mistaking the digital expert as a penniless little troublemaker.

Micah squinted at the screen. He knew it. This wasn’t the same person he had chatted with last time. Otherwise, how was possible for an arrogant, haughty man to lower himself to talk so humbly and with so much flattery?

RogueOverlord: Give back the phone to the original owner. Otherwise, I will block you.

AAA: okay

Meanwhile, across the city, Aidan stood with his arms crossed and a sour expression.

"Boss, he figured it out."

Alex Ford said flatly, handing over the phone to Aidan expressionlessly.

Being summoned to the office in the dead of night, he had rushed over, half asleep and clutching a coffee in his hand, ready to tackle the urgent matter. A breach, a sabotage, a lawsuit.

Instead, his boss, with a frown, instructed him to chat with a boy.

"Convince him to come out." Aidan had said without any context. "Flatter him. Trick him if you must. I want him to reveal himself."

Alex had stared, slack-jawed, then spent the entire night texting like a bashful teenage girl, showering praises to draw the boy out.

He had burned through hours of flattery and self-deprecation before finally hitting a wall.

He was overworking all night to find this boy while his boss stayed with him, working on the Shoele project.

But every few minutes, he asked about his progress, indicating how much he cared about it.

Alex Ford knew his boss was stingy, but he never thought he would be this bad.

For some money, he had used his best assistant to track a boy using every means.

Alex was tempted to pay the money himself and be free from this meaningless task.

Aidan grabbed the phone and glared at him.

"Such a simple task..."

His sharp brown eyes scanned the chat history on the phone, his lips pressed into thin lines.

But despite the scowl, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction. The boy had noticed the change in tone. He had picked up on it, paying that much attention to the way he typed. That detail shouldn’t have pleased him, and yet...

"Fine, you can go..,"

Aidan muttered, waving Alex off.

Alex didn’t hesitate to bolt.

Back in his room, Micah frowned as another message arrived.

AAA: Fine. I admit defeat. I don’t have a way to find you. But don’t be too happy. I swear, even if I only have one day left to live, I will uncover your identity.

RogueOverlord: glad you realised it was a futile attempt. Just send the repair bill to me.

AAA: I can’t. The paint used on the car was a limited edition. I need to import it from abroad. The cost and timing are unpredictable.

Before Micah could accuse him of lying, another message came with a detailed picture of the car’s model and series, highlighting the cost and the rarity of the paint used on the vehicle.

RogueOverlord: Okay. I’ll wait.

Micah scratched his head in contemplation. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about the man seemed different from before.