Chapter 111: The Approaching Trap

To Ethan’s distorted worldview, that immutable psychological script was an absolute law of the universe.

Sean: "..."

Is Ethan actually mentally unstable? Should we call a campus medical team? Or should we create a special ward to treat his stupid delusions?"

"Ethan," Sean , wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. "Since you are so breathtakingly confident that you can make President Sterling fall head over heels for you at first sight... why don’t you march right over, strut around in front of President Sterling, and test your theory?"

Ethan scoffed dismissively, tossing his head back with haughty arrogance. "Not everyone on earth is desperate to be liked by Victoria Sterling."

"I am entirely capable of achieving massive success using my own two hands; I don’t ever need to stoop low or rely on a woman for survival!"

And that day of success will arrive very soon.

His high-stakes gaming investments through Starway Technology were about to yield astronomical returns. In no time at all, he would be sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in liquid capital—funds he could aggressively roll over into secondary and tertiary venture projects.

Through the magic of compound interest, his fortune would snowball exponentially.

Before long, he was going to emerge as a multi-billionaire titan.

Julian smiled coolly, shaking his head. "Student Ethan, in that case, I genuinely wish you massive, rapid success in your grand financial empire."

"As for Victoria... I am telling you for the second time that I am never letting her go anywhere. I personally enjoy being kept.."

Having delivered that final, effortless blow, Julian turned his head toward Sean. "Come on, Sean. Let’s go grab lunch—we’ve been delayed quite long enough chatting with the local comedian, and I’m starving."

"Coming, Brother Julian!" Sean beamed brightly, happily trailing right behind Julian as they strolled past Ethan without sparing him another glance.

Left standing alone in the empty corridor, Ethan clenched his fists so tightly that the skin over his knuckles turned stark white.

He had genuinely tried to show basic human decency by warning Julian to stay away from the dangerous trap of Victoria Sterling, yet Julian had responded with arrogant, ungrateful mockery.

Fine.

Since Julian was aggressively marching toward his own destruction, he had no one else to blame when Victoria eventually locked him away in a cage forever.

Truth be told... if Ethan weren’t still suffering from lingering PTSD*,

terrified that Victoria might accidentally lock him back up inside Rose Manor if she laid eyes on him again, he almost felt tempted to march straight over to Victoria’s presence and use his protagonist charm to make her abandon Julian.

He simply couldn’t stand the sight of Julian’s smug, victorious grin!

Meanwhile, halfway across the campus on their walk to the cafeteria, Sean couldn’t suppress his bubbling curiosity any longer.

"Say, Julian..." Sean frowned, glancing sideways. "Do you think Ethan’s bizarre behavior today is the direct result of snapping mentally after getting publicly humiliated and exposed for academic cheating during the major meeting?"

Julian offered a faint, knowing smile. "Let’s just say he received a massive psychological provocation today."

Ethan was guaranteed to be experiencing a mental breakdown. After all, the woman who had historically dedicated her entire life and obsession exclusively to him in his mental script was now openly kissing, doting on, and showering another man with billions of dollars.

That kind of cognitive dissonance was enough to shatter a narcissist’s brain.

That being said...

Julian suddenly came to a complete halt in his tracks, his brows furrowing tightly together into a deep, thoughtful knot.

Wait a minute...

In the original web novel narrative, did Victoria Sterling truly harbor genuine, unadulterated love for Ethan?

Reflecting deeply on the chaotic events since transmigrating into this world, Julian suddenly realized that Victoria Sterling’s psychological profile and behavioral patterns toward him were fundamentally, violently different from how she had supposedly treated Ethan in the source text.

When he had been reading the novel as an outsider, those plot points had seemed standard. But now, after spending intimate weeks living alongside Victoria and experiencing her terrifying, multi-layered yandere devotion firsthand, he strongly suspected something else was going on.

The Victoria Sterling depicted in the original novel read less like a complex human being and more like an artificial NPC rigidly shackled to a systemic checklist—forced by the author’s crude plot mechanics to execute mandatory missions, trap Ethan Mercer, and hound him relentlessly.

She possessed zero organic, emotional chemistry with Ethan; every single action of hers was artificially engineered simply to give the male protagonist endless drama and conflict.

"Forget about him, let’s keep moving," Julian shook his head, clearing his mind of the protagonist. "I’m starving, let’s go grab food."

Following a hearty lunch together in the cafeteria, Sean turned to Julian with an eager grin: "Hey, Brother Julian... I am endlessly curious about what that brand-new private campus villa President Sterling specifically arranged for you actually looks like! Could you be a good buddy and take me along to check it out?"

Julian glanced at his watch. "Sure, why not. Let’s go take a look."

Ten minutes later, Julian and Sean arrived at the gated entrance of the exclusive faculty and VIP villa district nestled on the quiet eastern edge of Capital University’s campus.

Julian stepped forward, pulling the sleek titanium key card Victoria had handed him earlier out of his pocket.

Click.

He slid the card into the smart lock and turned the handle.

Inside the quiet, sunlit interior of the grand private villa, Victoria Sterling was sitting gracefully on a velvet sofa in the living room, a soft, predatory smile curling across her crimson lips.

My Julian is finally back...

She had deliberately instructed her staff to set up everything, and she was more than ready to deliver a profoundly unforgettable surprise to her beloved Julian right here in their new home.

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*Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after you go through, see, or learn about a terrifying, life-threatening, or deeply traumatic event.