"...The what?"

She rubbed her eyes, thinking she might be seeing things, but the blue screen was still there.

’So it’s real? I awakened a system?’ She read the words on the screen again carefully.

She knew very well about systems.

During her college days, she had read countless novels and even though most of them were romance, a good number of them had systems in them.

"But a bullying system? I have to bully people?" She had a puzzled expression.

[That’s right! You just have to bully the designated target. The more you bully them, the greater your rewards!]

"Target? Who is that?" Emma looked at the screen with more confusion in her eyes.

"And why do I have to bully someone? I’m the CEO of one of the biggest corporations in the world. I don’t bully..." She paused. She wanted to say she didn’t bully anyone but that would be a blatant lie.

She had bulldozed so many people who went against her that she could be crowned a bully queen. But she never went after anyone without a reason.

"I only go after people who offend me! I don’t bully people just because. That’s just a waste of time."

[Indeed. I know you aren’t that free. But the target is someone who has made you cry so many times.]

"Wait. You don’t mean...?" Emma immediately figured out who her target was after that hint.

The system confirmed it by showing Dante’s picture on the screen.

"You want me to bully Dante?" Emma had a mocking smile on her face. "Heh. Get out of my face."

She pulled the covers over herself and turned to the side. She had suffered a lot because of Dante, but she still didn’t want to actually harm him.

The thought had crossed her mind plenty of times, but that was always out of anger and frustration.

She never truly meant any of it.

[Your chat history with the target suggests otherwise. Would you like me to read some of the messages out loud?]

"Don’t you dare!" Emma’s eyes snapped open in panic.

[The word "idiot" has been used 9,998 times.]

[The word "coward" has been used 7,776 times.]

[The word "hopeless" has been used 5,678 times.]

[The word "blockhead" has been used 4,434 times.]

[...]

[...]

[...]

"STOP! I SAID DON’T!" Emma shot up and tried to grab the screen but her hands went straight through it.

She took a deep breath and composed herself.

She was a businesswoman.

Normally, she wouldn’t lose her cool this easily. But she didn’t expect the system to actually pull the receipts on her.

’That was embarrassing.’

"You... those don’t count." She said with a slight blush and coughed. "They’re the nicknames I use for him."

[Fucking idiot.]

"What did you just say?" She asked with veins forming on her forehead.

[Nicknames.]

[N.I.C.K.N.A.M.E.S.]

"....."

Emma didn’t fall for the obvious ragebait. Instead, she looked at the screen with a serious expression.

"What do you want from me? I already said I won’t bully Dante. Just leave me alone!" She held her head, already feeling a headache coming on.

[Aren’t you tired of waiting? How long are you going to wait for Dante to take the initiative?]

[Are you okay with your relationship staying like this forever?]

"Of course not! But how is bullying him going to help with that?"

[Haven’t you read romance novels? The male lead bullies the female lead all the time. He teases her, gets under her skin, makes her flustered.]

[And what happens at the end? She falls for him every single time. You just have to do the same thing but in reverse. Stop waiting around like a side character in your own love story.]

"A-are you crazy? Do you think that stuff actually works in real life? On Dante?!" Emma’s face was burning red as the scenes played out in her head involuntarily.

In her imagination, she shoved Dante onto the bed and climbed on top of him before he could react.

"Emma, what are you doing?" Dante looked up at her with anger in his eyes but his ears were red.

"Big sister." She grabbed his chin and tilted his face up toward hers, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "Call me big sister."

He tried to turn his head away but she held it in place.

"You’re my little brother. I can do whatever I want with you." She leaned down and kissed him.

She held the back of his head and pulled him in, kissing him rough enough to leave a mark.

"THERE IS NO WAY I CAN DO THAT!" She snapped back to reality and kept shaking her head. Her heart was slamming against her chest and her face felt like it was on fire.

[Then are you okay with him being with other women?]

The moment those words hit her ears, Emma’s expression turned ice cold.

The playful embarrassment vanished instantly and what was left was pure murderous intent.

"Don’t even joke about that."

"Besides, do you think Dante can find someone better than me?" There was absolute confidence in her voice.

In her mind, there was no woman on this planet better than her.

And she was right about that.

After all, she was one of the heroines in the novel. There were only equals to her. No one above.

[That is exactly the problem. Don’t you understand?]

[Dante doesn’t want someone "better" than you.]

Emma felt her heart ache the moment those words landed. It was like an arrow piercing straight through her chest. ’Right. That’s the reason for this whole mess.’

She had been sitting around, complacent, thinking Dante still had feelings for her and that things would work out on their own.

But what if some bitch stole him before that happened?

Her blood boiled at the thought and the temperature in the room dropped instantly.

’I would never let that happen!’ She vowed in her heart and reached out her hand toward the blue screen.

[Do you wish to bind?]

[Yes / No]

And... She pressed Yes.