The Seductive Pretty Boy of the Matriarchal World-Chapter 60: Exposed

Chapter 60: Exposed

At that exact moment, the shock rippling through the campus wasn’t limited to the handful of people who had just received the photo.

Even System Theta, watching in real time as Elias Kane deliberately forwarded the image of himself and Giselle Frost to his three dorm roommates, was stunned into overload. "Host—what are you doing?!"

Its monotone voice spiked so loudly from sheer disbelief that Elias nearly staggered, head spinning. He pressed a hand to his temple, voice tight with irritation. "Stop yelling."

"Sorry..." The system’s apology came flat but still laced with disbelief. "Host, are you sure this won’t cause problems?"

In most standard scenarios, exposing a male lead’s relationship with one of the female leads was the exact moment a yandere turned lethal—either she threatened to end things or she made sure the protagonist paid in blood. And this world had five of them.

Even if Yvonne Quinn and Seraphina Hale had no current ties to Elias, a photo like this could still reach them later. If it did, the carefully crafted persona he had built in front of them might collapse in a single heartbeat.

Elias listened to the system’s concerns without interrupting, then finally spoke, tone dry and unhurried. "What exactly do you think a persona is?"

"It’s..." The system started to recite the exact paragraph from the employee handbook, but something in the host’s question warned it this wasn’t going to be simple.

It hesitated, then admitted in a small voice, "I don’t know..."

Elias blinked. For a split second he almost snapped back that it was a system and therefore supposed to know everything, but he caught the exact shape of its logic loop instead. The retort dissolved into a low, amused chuckle.

"Baby," he said, the word dripping with mock affection, "you’re way cuter than previous system Echo ever was."

[System Theta: 0.0]

The system didn’t understand how the conversation had suddenly veered, but curiosity won out. "What about Senior Echo?"

Elias’s face went instantly blank. "Nothing much. Just an obstinate thing that couldn’t even read the clearly written system rules and refused to admit it."

[System Theta: ...]

The resentment was palpable.

After finishing his jab at the retired protocol, Elias continued in that same lazy drawl. "I don’t care how the Division defines a persona. In my book, it’s simply whether the people around me can accept what I do while staying inside that role."

"And this world has no hard rule that I must obey any persona. As long as my actions make sense within the moment, the label doesn’t matter." He swiped idly through his phone. "Giselle thinks I’m fragile, so I show her someone too delicate to survive without protection. Serena thinks I’m stubborn, so I stay unbreakable until it hurts her. Liora thinks I’m a heart-playing little devil... then it doesn’t matter if I belong to every woman who wants me."

"Understand?"

[System Theta: No.]

Elias was momentarily speechless. "Fine. I’ll explain it to you some other time."

His phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, the corner of his mouth lifting in quiet satisfaction. The campus forum post had already gone live. Only minutes had passed since he sent the photo to Tim and the others, yet someone had already wrestled with their conscience and hit send.

The phone kept ringing—Timothy Reed calling.

Elias answered with the soft, vulnerable tone he reserved for moments like this. "Hello?"

"Elias, it’s Tim." His roommate’s voice came rushed and urgent.

"Oh..." Elias let the single syllable sound small and easily hurt. "What’s up?"

The moment Tim heard that gentle, defenseless voice, he assumed Elias still had no idea. "Something about you—check the campus forum right now!"

Elias pretended the news hit him like a blow. "Okay... I’ll look."

He ended the call without ever opening the forum.

Obviously. He was the one who had started the fire; he had already studied the picture of himself and Giselle entering the hotel from every angle. No need to see it again.

[System Theta: Was it Timothy Reed who posted it?]

Elias shook his head. "Doesn’t matter. I don’t need to know."

They were just three convenient tools. Their actions didn’t even qualify as betrayal. He had fed their jealousy on purpose; letting them spread the photo was far safer than risking his own anonymous account.

A few minutes later he still checked once more. The post had already been taken down, but the damage was done—the ripples were spreading fast. Several unknown numbers had already tried calling him, clearly using every "box-weapon" trick in the student playbook to reach the person at the center of the storm.

Elias powered the phone off and tossed it onto the bed.

Everything was in place now. All he needed was the leading lady to arrive, and the live idol drama could begin.

It had been a while since he had stirred up this much trouble. After so many worlds, it still gave him that familiar, electric thrill.

He smiled to himself, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, then thought better of it and put them away.

He might have to kiss Giselle soon. No point greeting her with the taste of smoke.

Across campus, Giselle Frost answered her phone with the same glacial calm she used on everyone. "Have you found them?"

She was in the middle of arranging a top-tier medical team for Elias’s father through her private channels.

The voice on the other end was familiar but carried an entirely different message. "Miss Frost, your mother—the chairman—is looking for you..."

Giselle’s cold brows drew together in a faint frown.

Her mother had already called more than a dozen times. Giselle had ignored every single one. Apparently she had found another route.

The assistant’s tone edged toward pleading. "Miss Frost, I’m still contacting the medical team for you, but Chairman Frost..."

She was trapped between mother and daughter, a position that never ended well.

Giselle understood that perfectly. Her eyes lowered. Before the woman could beg again, she answered flatly, "Fine. When she calls next, I’ll pick up."

The assistant exhaled in visible relief. "Understood. I’ll let you go."

The moment Giselle ended the call, her mother’s number flashed on the screen.

She answered without hesitation.

Victoria Frost’s voice drifted through the speaker—light and airy, the exact opposite of her daughter’s ice. If Giselle had inherited the chill, her mother was the cloud that never quite touched the ground.

"It seems you finally listened to me."

"What?" Giselle’s brows knit tighter. One sentence from her mother was enough to unsettle her.

Victoria continued, tone mild. "I’m simply reminding you to play, not to get serious."

"If you keep talking in riddles without saying anything clear, I’m hanging up," Giselle warned, voice frigid.

"You still don’t know?" Victoria let out a soft laugh. "Then I’ll have someone send it to you."

Giselle stayed on the line. A moment later a single image arrived from her mother’s assistant.

She stared at the photo—herself and Elias Kane walking hand in hand toward the hotel stairs. In her sea-blue eyes, a faint ripple finally stirred.