"Be good, open your mouth."

Inside a birdcage made of pure gold, a man and a woman were closely entwined.

The woman was draped in a thin, sheer red fabric, barely enough to cover her from shoulders to waist. She curled herself up tightly, as if trying to hide as much of her skin as possible from exposure to the air.

Her eyes were shut, long lashes trembling lightly, betraying her unease. It was as if she was silently bracing herself.

Dominic Lewis held her in his arms, his broad hand gliding across her smooth, pale skin, evoking visible shivers.

His fingertips roamed her body deliberately, eventually pausing against her flushed lips, pressing and teasing them with possessive care.

His eyes were dark, intense. His breathing had grown heavy, almost unsteady. Despite everything, the pressure of his fingers against her lips only deepened, as though trying to demand more.

Yet she kept her teeth clenched, refusing him.

Dominic lowered his gaze to look at her, his voice husky and low, full of restrained impatience. "Isabella, listen to me. I don't want to hurt you."

Her body stiffened at those words, and the delicate sound of metal clinking against metal echoed in the quiet room.

Around her ankle was a tightly fitted, golden chain. There wasn’t even the slightest slack to it, a deliberate design to deny her any chance to escape.

To him, she belonged entirely to him.

No one else could take her away.

No one. They didn’t even allow a single glance.

Fingertips twisted the corner of the red silk, giving it a flick outward.

Inside the birdcage, waves of crimson rippled softly.

The faint scent of roses quietly spread in the air.

Even the last shred of shelter was gone now.

Isabella bit down hard on her lower lip, shrinking back instinctively, trying to retreat further away.

But she ended up right in Dominic’s arms instead.

Her vision was flooded with pale white.

Dominic’s gaze glimmered with a madness, an obsessive light igniting behind his eyes.

His Isabella... she was breathtaking.

“Isabella.” Dominic’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he murmured, placing a soft kiss at the corner of her lips. “Say something to me.”

Isabella closed her eyes, her expression eerily serene—as though she’d fallen asleep.

“Why?”

Dominic froze. His face showed a trace of hurt, his grip around Isabella tightening. Uneasiness seeped into his voice.

“Isabella, why won’t you talk to me?”

“Are you still thinking about leaving me?”

“Where are you even planning to go?”

“No—don’t even think about leaving!”

He muttered on and on, the manic edge in his tone growing heavier with each word.

The phone rang incessantly, its sound disappearing only when the battery finally died. Dominic reluctantly loosened his hold and set her down.

He draped his suit jacket over her frail form, then picked up a collar crafted from pure gold, fastening it carefully around her slender neck. He leaned down and placed a soft, fleeting kiss on the corner of her lips.

"Be good. Wait for me to come back."

Dominic left shortly after.

The room sank into an eerie stillness.

Inside the cage, the woman’s eyes slowly fluttered open.

Her gaze was an obsidian black, deeper and more mysterious than the rarest onyx stone.

She curled up on the bed, and with every slight movement of her body, the sound of chains clinking echoed in her ears.

Isabella’s vacant eyes widened ever so slightly, her flawless face devoid of emotion, like an exquisitely crafted puppet drained of life.

She whispered, her ruby lips trembling as if struggling to form the words.

“System, screw you.”

Seriously, what kind of backward era is this? She has to load a progress bar just to get out of this world? If that trashy system had warned her earlier, she wouldn’t have flipped the switch right after finishing the task and ended up locked up in this hellhole by the male lead!

The system whimpered pitifully, “Host, I swear it wasn’t on purpose!”

...

Six months earlier.

[Host survival at risk detected, initiating automatic binding... Binding progress: 5%... 45%... 100%.]

[Binding complete.]

[Welcome to *Fix That Ice-Cold Guy*! I’m System 127.]

Isabella stared blankly, struggling to process. “What?”

[I’m your syste—]

“Hold up. Say what now?” She shut down the endless robotic voice in her head, clutching her temples and taking a moment to process everything.

Yep, she was dead.

She had been sitting at her computer, just about to dive into a newly downloaded spicy novel featuring a hunky guy with abs you could count, when she got so excited she knocked over her water. And then, well, she accidentally touched the live wire.

A pretty embarrassing way to go, honestly.

Thankfully, she didn’t end up meeting the grim reaper right away. Instead, she woke up—alive and kicking, except with some ridiculous system stuck in her head.

"Hey, don’t be sad, Host! As long as you complete the missions and rack up 9999 points, you can return to your original world!" chimed the system, annoyingly cheerful.

Isabella took a deep breath. "How many points do I have now?"

"Let me check... Zero!"

"..."

She’d suspected this system might be brain-damaged.

Now? No doubts about it. It was absolutely broken.

"Quit babbling. What do I need to do?" Isabella waved her hand weakly. She was dead—getting back to business was the top priority.

She had to go back and delete that novel. If someone found it while cleaning up her stuff... That level of embarrassment? Nope, couldn’t even imagine.

"Your task is super easy! Just get the male lead of this world to willingly give you the world fragment!"

"The world fragment? What’s that?" [Every world is different, but what's key is that it's what matters most to the male lead. If he’s willing to give it to the host, he won't be that cold and heartless man anymore—perfect fit for the theme!]

Isabella Brooks was speechless.

There were too many things wrong with that, she didn’t even know how to begin roasting it.

She wanted to question further, but a sudden screech of tires grabbed her attention. Following that, footsteps approached.

A tall shadow loomed over her.

Isabella instinctively looked up—straight into a pair of cold, unsettling eyes.

For a moment, she froze, internally shouting a bunch of "Oh, my God!"

Holy crap, this guy was ridiculously handsome!

The system definitely didn’t mention that her target for this mission would actually look like this.

This man was stunning, probably exceeding anyone she had seen put together in terms of looks.

He was tall, likely over six feet, with long, straight legs. The tailored suit hugged his broad shoulders and slim waist perfectly, leaving no doubt that his physique was top-notch.

From head to toe, he looked like he had been crafted by God’s own hands.

But at the moment, his expression was far from welcoming. His face was cold, his dark eyes seemed to burn with ferocity, his brows knit tightly, and his lips pressed into a straight, unforgiving line.

His gaze was locked onto Isabella, his voice cutting through the air as coldly and harshly as his expression.

“Isabella, what will it take for you to leave her alone?”

“Huh?”

Isabella blinked, totally caught off guard. Snapping out of her daze after gawking at the incredibly handsome man, Isabella quickly adjusted her expression.

At the same time, the system delivered the relevant data.

The man’s name was Dominic Lewis.

Yes, he was undoubtedly the male lead of this world.

Despite his young age, he’d already taken over the Lewis family and become the CEO of a multinational corporation. His net worth was in the billions, and in Yuncheng, his influence was unparalleled. Not only rich and powerful, but he also had devastatingly good looks—and was single to top it all off.

Countless women had schemed and clawed, desperate to climb into his bed.

But for all that perfection, there was one glaring issue.

He hated Isabella.

No, scratch that. Hate didn’t even begin to cover it. Of everyone in this world, Dominic despised Isabella the most.

Skimming through the information, Isabella felt her temper flare. She was all but ready to scream in frustration.

Forget the so-called “world fragments” for now. If Dominic didn’t toss her into the ocean to feed the fish, she’d already consider herself lucky. She might even need to start burning incense and eating vegetarian meals to thank the heavens.

Seeing her frozen there, with her head raised and a blank, almost foolish expression, Dominic assumed she was playing dumb. His brow furrowed even tighter, voice dripping with icy disdain.

“Isabella Brooks, you’d better know your place.”

“I…”

Isabella finally snapped back to reality.

But before she could finish the sentence, a woman suddenly darted out of the car and rushed forward, throwing her arms tightly around Dominic from behind. "Dominic, no! Please don't blame my sister, it really wasn't her fault. I was careless, that's all..."

The woman, in a simple white dress, hid her face against Dominic's back, her voice trembling like a flickering candle in the wind, tinged with a sobbing tone.

"Madeline, she hurt you so much, yet you’re still defending her?" Dominic sighed deeply, regaining his composure as he gently pulled the woman into his arms, as though handling fragile glass. His protective tone was full of concern, "Didn't we agree I’d handle everything? Why did you come here anyway?"

"I... I was worried about her."

Madeline looked up, her round eyes slightly reddened, resembling that of a helpless bunny. Her pitiful expression was so convincing, even Isabella couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

Such a sweet girl, she thought, almost approvingly.

But just as she softened, she saw Madeline sniff slightly, glancing at her cautiously before speaking in a timid, almost apologetic voice, "Sister, are you still mad at me?"