Absolute Cheater - Chapter 18: Family Dinner

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.

In the tenth year after the new era, the world finally came to an end. Zhang Mu truefully waited for his death, but unexpectedly found that he had returned to ten years ago. With his memory about the future, he swore that he would change the calamitous history, saving the earth from being destroyed! Walking dead, zergs, evolvers, and various mutated animals… nothing can stop him! The first step is to retrieve his identity as an era merchant , then find all the treasures he can remember to enhance himself!

- Description from Novelupdates

The prospective college student Luo Ji, who is enjoying the last summer of the third year of high school, has undergone earth-shaking changes at this moment after accepting the invitation of the game friend and becoming the player of the game of “Civilization Rise”.
This is a war game between the world and the world, and it is a fierce collision between civilization and civilization!
To annex the five continents, sweeping across the three oceans, and see how Luo Ji led his people, in this powerful enemy look around, the battlefield of the heroes to fight for a battle to the most powerful imperial civilization!

- Description from uukanshu translation