Chapter 1

In a banquet hall where the upper crust gathered, Jason Ford was the center of attention. Everyone congratulated him for being selected by a renowned director to take the lead role in an upcoming movie despite debuting not too long ago. Sirius Ford, who should've been the one getting that role, stood in a corner, feeling downtrodden. He finally made up his mind. "I want to return to my original world, System." The system was surprised. "What? Your target's affinity level for you has already reached 99%. Once you hit 100%, you'll complete your mission, and your wish will come true. You're only 1% away from success. Don't you want to give it one more shot?" Sirius shook his head bitterly. "No. I just want to go home." His target, Maisie Seaworth, had increased her investment in the film tenfold just to convince the director to switch Sirius out for Jason. Even at the banquet, she stuck by Jason's side and looked at him with a love-filled gaze. This just proved that certain things couldn't be achieved, no matter how hard one worked. Sirius was only 1% away from success, but his mission was doomed to fail. The system sighed. "It's a pity. You're only one step away from changing your fate… I've already submitted your request. You can leave this world in a month, so take this time to reconsider. You can change your mind any time before then." "Alright. Thanks." The night breeze gently caressed Sirius' face, bringing his thoughts to the past. He wasn't from this world—the system had brought him here and told him that he would be granted one wish upon returning to his original world if he completed his mission, which was to max out his affinity level with anyone in this world. He had an important wish he wanted to come true, so he'd worked hard to achieve his goal. Initially, he'd set his sights on his parents in this world. Unfortunately, not all parents loved their children. In fact, his parents were cruel to him. In order to make Sirius find a sugar mommy—or daddy—and get into the entertainment industry so he could make money for them, they'd introduced him to rich men and women in the upper crust with odd fetishes. One man in particular had circled him with his subordinates, wanting to take advantage of him. As despair washed over him, someone had reached out to pull him behind them. Sirius had turned to see a tall woman in a white dress standing before him. It was only later that he found out her name was Maisie Seaworth. She was one of Octo City's renowned CEOs, and she owned an entertainment agency. She'd icily ordered her assistant to deal with the man before pulling Sirius away. She'd dropped him off at home and given him her business card before leaving. "I own an entertainment agency, Mr. Ford. It won't hurt for you to consider me." Maisie's expression had been on the aloof side, but she'd smile faintly when speaking to him, adding a hint of gentleness to her features. Their fingers had brushed against each other, and Sirius' heart had skipped a beat. Later, when signing a contract with her, he discovered he was the only artist signed to Seaworth Entertainment. Maisie used all the resources at her disposal to turn him into a star and hired the best teachers in the industry to train him. Sirius had once asked her why she treated him so well. She'd caressed his face and said, "Some people only need a single glance to tell that they want to spend the rest of their lives with a certain someone." Maisie had proposed to him after the premier of the first movie in which he'd starred. "Your career is just taking off, so we shouldn't go public with our relationship," she'd said. Despite the marriage being a secret, she'd still shown him that she was sincere about wanting to be with him. Maisie, dressed in a pure white gown, had stood in a room filled with expensive roses imported from somewhere. She'd put a ring worth two million dollars on his finger and asked him to marry her. Fireworks lit up the sky throughout the night—they were just for him. Sirius and Maisie shared a kiss before the window while admiring the fireworks before spending a passionate night together. Maisie had always been aloof, but she was particularly lustful that night. She gave him searing kisses and kept calling him "honey". She'd sounded so deeply in love with him, and her eyes had reflected that. At that moment, looking into her eyes, Sirius was sure they loved each other. That was also when he'd set her as his target. Soon, her affinity level for him reached 99%. Sirius was only 1% away from success, but things went stagnant there. He felt like it was only right for him to take that last step since Maisie had already taken 99 steps in his direction. He gave her his heart and treated her better than he'd ever treated anyone else. He'd even started wondering whether he really wanted to leave after completing his mission. However, five years had passed since then, and Maisie's affinity level remained at 99%. Sirius couldn't understand it. Then, one day, he returned home earlier than planned after a canceled gig. That was when everything had changed. As he stood in the foyer, he heard his parents in this world, Steven Ford and Lila White, talking to Maisie. "Sirius is nothing but a substitute. Back then, we played along with your act to save him just to amuse you, yet you insisted on marrying him. What are you going to do now that Jason is back?" "Jason and Sirius are both our sons, but Jason is our pride and joy. You can't do him wrong over something like this, Maisie. No one else matters but him." Sirius stopped, feeling dumbstruck. The original Sirius had suffered some sort of shock and lost a portion of his memories when the system had brought him here, so he only vaguely remembered having an older brother named Jason. The latter had been living abroad. It seemed it wasn't that Steven and Lila didn't know how to love their child—it was just that they'd given all their love to Jason. Maisie was silent for a moment. Then, she said, "Back then, Jason left without a word. I don't want to experience the pain of losing the person I love again, so I want to keep Sirius by my side, even if he's just a substitute." "I was too arrogant back then, Maisie. That's why I wanted to leave you to see the world. But I'm tired now, and I want to settle down," said a young man. Sirius took a few steps forward when he heard that. He caught the look of tenderness and heartache on Maisie's usually stoic face. "It's time to come home since you're tired, Jace. I set up an entertainment agency for you because you mentioned you wanted to join the entertainment industry. Now, you can return and continue to pursue your dream," she said. Jason looked sorrowed. "No, I shouldn't. You claim you established the agency for me, but you already have another artist signed to the label." Maisie explained anxiously, "You know I only did it because Sirius resembles you. I took him on because I thought of him as your substitute. He can't compare to you!" "But you two are already married." "Don't you know how I truly feel? Anyone can become my husband, but you're the only person special to me." Sirius listened quietly from the foyer and watched as Maisie pulled Jason into her arms. They looked into each other's eyes and talked about how much they'd missed each other. They basked in the joy of being reunited after so many years apart. Suddenly, he realized that the nights he and Maisie had been entangled together had all been lies. Despite being in bed with him and calling him "honey", her mind had been on Jason. She'd kissed him and hugged him, but her heart had beat for another man. Even their first meeting, which he'd thought was a turning point in his life, had been nothing but a scheme. It explained why Sirius just couldn't complete his mission. He suddenly found himself laughable—he was nothing but a substitute, yet he'd dreamed of making Maisie give him her whole heart.