Harem Streamer System: Every Crime I Broadcast Wins Me a Superheroine - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Unwanted Regret, Irina Golovin
Gwen still had her lips pressed against Scott’s mouth and her desperation only became more obvious as she tried to push her tongue past his lips.

For a split second, Scott froze.

He was swimming in the feelings of the moment, but he finally managed to pull her back and break the kiss.

… Hah~ Hah~ Hah~~

They both painted heavily with flushed faces.

“Gwen, stop this!”

Scott said firmly as he stepped back.

But Gwen wasn’t done.

She moved closer again.

“Come on, Scott…”

Her voice was soft yet trembling.

“Why are you acting like this? I felt it—you kissed me back. I know you like me. You want this too, right?”

Her eyes locked onto his, and the raw desperation within them made his chest tighten. It wasn’t irritation he felt, but guilt. The way she looked at him, pleading, vulnerable… he hated what he was about to say next.

Scott exhaled heavily and placed a hand on her shoulder to hold her at arm’s length.

“Yes…”

He admitted quietly. He also sounded ashamed.

“I kissed you back, but…”

The next words struggled to leave his mouth.

They were just too heavy.

“It was just for a second. It’s… It’s a guy thing sometimes. As much as I want to say I enjoyed it, I regret it.”

Gwen’s face paled instantly.

“H-, Huh…?”

Shehe stumbled back a step.

Her hand moved to her chest as though trying to steady the sharp sting spreading there.

She turned away and gripped her chest tighter.

Her lips trembled as she bit down to stifle the sob threatening to escape.

『It hurts. Why does it hurt this much? This isn’t the first or second time I’ve felt this way about his words, but… I think this time… it might actually mess me up…』

She remembered all the times she’d wanted to tell him how she felt but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Every time, fear held her back, and she tried to convince herself she was strong enough to handle being rejected.

But this… this was something else.

After talking to Dark Elf, who helped her see herself as worthy of Scott’s affection, she finally found the courage to confess. And yet, it felt like Scott had plunged a knife straight into her heart.

Scott took a step forward as he reached out a hand.

“Gwen…”

She shifted away.

“Why?”

The way her voice sounded already told Scott he had to be careful with his next words.

“Why do you regret it…? Why would you even say something so… so hurtful?”

Scott sighed, raking a hand through his hair.

“It’s because—”

The door suddenly slammed open and cut him off.

“Because he’s fooling around with some older woman who’ll probably use him and dump him!”

Tess’s voice rang out like a thunderclap.

Both Scott and Gwen turned sharply to see Tess standing in the doorway with her phone in hand.

On the screen was a photo…

One that froze the air in the room.

It was of Scott and Emma at the store weeks ago.

Gwen’s blue eyes widened as they landed on the image. Her lips parted in shock, and for a brief moment, the light in her eyes flickered. Her legs buckled, and she collapsed toward the floor like a lifeless doll.

“Gwen!”

Scott shouted and dashed forward to catch her just before she hit the ground.

Tess screamed in panic.

“Gwen! Grace, go get Dr. Rosen immediately, please!”

Standing just outside the door, Grace nodded frantically and rushed off.

Tess dropped to her knees beside Gwen and yanked her from Scott’s arms.

“Gwen! Gwen, stay with me!”

She cradled her daughter’s head as her voice cracked with deep worry.

Then Tess turned her anger on Scott.

She pointed an accusatory finger at him.

“Can you stop causing problems for once?! You don’t come home anymore, you don’t even call to apologize, and now you’re here stirring up more trouble?! Do you love hurting Gwen this much?! Why don’t you just stay with that older woman you’re fooling around with and leave us alone?! You seem to be having plenty of fun with her, judging by this picture!”

Scott stood upright.

He combed a hand through his hair.

“Tess…”

A long sigh left his tired breath.

“I’ve always wondered where Gwen and Ken got their terrible personalities from. The more you talk, the clearer it gets… you’re the source of their polluted mannerisms.”

Tess’s jaw dropped as her face twisted in anger.

“Are you seriously talking to me like that, young man?!”

“Yes, I am.”

His tone was steady and unapologetic.

“I’ll always be grateful for everything you did for me, Tess, but maybe I should stop expecting you to act like a mother. Honestly, I’ve asked myself countless times if you were ever truly a mother to me… and then I remember—I never even had a good mother to compare you to.”

Tess was rendered speechless.

Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to talk back.

But… no words came out.

Scott turned toward the door but paused before leaving.

“Oh, and Tess…”

He looked back over his shoulder.

“The ‘older woman’ you keep badmouthing? Her name is Emma Graves. At least have the decency to call her by her name… but I’m sure that’s also a struggle for you.”

With that, he walked out.

“I…”

Tess still didn’t know what to say.

━ ━ ━ ━

Metro City…

The streets of Metro City were as bright as the sun.

A sleek black car with tinted windows cut through traffic like an elegant knife.

Irina Golovin leaned back in her chair, one leg crossed casually over the other. She looked calm, but there was a sharpness about her that was impossible to ignore.

Her androgynous appearance gave her a striking charm and made her look more like a beautiful young man than the quintessential idea of a beautiful woman.

Her skin was pale and smooth, almost like snow reflected against glacier water, and her icy blue eyes were colder than the towering glass buildings of the city. Her short, white hair was a bit messy, but it framed her face perfectly, as if it was meant to be that way.

She wore a baggy blue shirt with the cuffs rolled up, paired with black cargo pants and pristine Balenciaga sneakers.

… Mhm-mmm

A red lollipop jutted out from the corner of her mouth and the stick bounced slightly as she flipped through the $30 million contract MegaCorp had sent her.

“Hasn’t Vincent already convinced you to sign with MegaCorp?”

Her agent, Sasha Chalov asked casually.

Seated beside Irina, Sasha was the picture of professionalism, dressed in a sleek black blazer and pencil skirt, her tablet balanced on her knee as she reviewed emails.

“From what I hear, a friend of mine at Priority Solutions could set you up with TitanTech Industries. Bigger pay, better perks, and you won’t have to tie yourself down to one place.”

Irina didn’t even glance up.

She twisted the lollipop with her tongue and savored it as if she had all the time in the world.

“Sasha, shut up for a moment. I can read, you know.”

She flipped another page and finally looked over at her agent with a smirk.

“And wasn’t it Vincent who called me first?”

Sasha chuckled softly and brushed a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear.

“Fair enough…”

Irina let the document fall to her lap and turned her eyes toward the window.

The city blurred past.

She plucked the lollipop from her mouth and held it idly between her fingers.

“The only reason I’m even entertaining this measly offer from MegaCorp is because of Miss Mercury…”

There was a sinister smile on her face.

“No one wants an untalented bitch like her sticking around. It’s better if I join as one of their top heroes and ruin her life a little. Don’t you think?”

Sasha tilted her head.

“You’ve got some kind of problem with Miss Mercury, huh? Funny, because when I ran your background check, I remember something interesting.”

Her lips quirked into a teasing grin.

“Didn’t you write in your middle school yearbook that your role model was Miss Mercury?”

Irina’s eyes snapped to her, sharp as a blade.

“You read that?”

“Of course I did…”

Sasha replied smoothly.

“It’s my job to know everything about my clients. That way, if the media comes digging, I can be two steps ahead. So, yes… it’s legal.”

Irina clicked her tongue.

She was clearly annoyed, but she couldn’t argue with that kind of logic.

“I suppose you’re right…”

She muttered and shoved the lollipop back into her mouth.

The car began to slow as the MegaCorp headquarters loomed in the distance.

Irina leaned back and chuckled.

“This should be fun…”

━ ━ ━ ━

CEO’s Office, MegaCorp Headquarters…

Jason Larkens leaned back in his chair.

There was that smug grin practically carved into his face.

Miss Mercury sat across from him, perfectly composed, with her legs crossed and her arms neatly folded.

“So, let me get this straight…”

She arched a perfectly shaped brow.

“You want to renegotiate my contract and start paying me 50% less than what I’m earning now?”

Jason’s grin widened, though it faltered slightly under her unflinching gaze.

“Uh, yeah, unfortunately…”

He scratched the back of his head as if embarrassed.

“We’re expanding our superhero roster, you see. Pulsar’s joining the team, and there’s one more…special hero we’re bringing in. Budget constraints and all that.”

Miss Mercury shrugged.

“Sure. Whatever. I’ve never been entirely comfortable with being MegaCorp’s highest earner anyway. It’s always more trouble than it’s worth.”

Jason blinked, stunned. “Wait, what? Really?”

She nodded. “Yeah. It’s fine.”

For a moment, Jason was at a loss.

Then his face twisted with anger, and he slammed his hands on the desk.

“Well, if that’s how you want to play it, I’ll reduce it by 70%! How about that?”

Miss Mercury sighed and leaned back in her chair as if she couldn’t be bothered.

“Sure. Go ahead. It’s not like MegaCorp’s my only source of income.”

She gave him a pointed look.

“Or have you forgotten that I’m the face of multiple major beauty brands?”

Jason recoiled as his confidence trembled.

He gritted his teeth and his frustration boiled over.

“This conversation isn’t over…”

Miss Mercury rose gracefully from her seat and brushed invisible lint off her super suit.

“Oh, it is. See you at the next PR event, Jason.”

She turned on her heel and strode out, her head held high.

—

Shortly after, Jason’s phone dinged.

He glanced at it with thinly masked impatience, only for his expression to shift into one of smug satisfaction as he read the message.

[Sasha Chalov: Irina Golovin is already here.]

Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he followed Miss Mercury down the hall with jaunty footsteps.

The more he thought, the wider his grin became.

『This bitch will finally learn her place. She thinks she’s untouchable, but wait until she sees what I’ve got planned. If she’d just agreed to be my girlfriend, none of this would’ve been necessary.』

Miss Mercury stopped abruptly and turned to glare at him.

“Jason, you’re the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company. Don’t you have anything better to do than follow me around like some overgrown puppy?”

Jason chuckled as he ignored the barb.

“Bold of you to assume I’m here for you.”

He gestured toward the main entrance.

“I’m here for that beautiful moneymaker over there.”

Frowning, Miss Mercury followed his gaze.

Beyond the glass doors, a massive crowd of reporters and cameramen swarmed the entrance.

At the center of it all stood a young woman with a strikingly androgynous appearance and messy white hair. She had a pink lollipop perched between her lips and an air of complete indifference to the attention around her.

Reporters shouted over one another, their microphones thrust in her direction.

“Miss Golovin, have you officially decided to sign with MegaCorp?”

“Do you think of the four prodigies that you’re a better choice than America’s Brigid MacLeighlin?”

“Please, tell us, why did you choose America to begin your heroing career?”

“What’s your opinion on working alongside established heroes like Pulsar and The Peak?”

“Will you be partnering with other companies in the future? A yes or no would be fine!”

Irina sighed loudly and held out her hand.

『Of course they ask me about that loud-mouthed, freak – Brigid MacLeighlin…』

With a casual twist of her fingers, the air in front of her shifted and formed a glowing bubble of distortion. As the space stretched, the reporters lost their balance and were pushed aside to clear a path through the confusion.

Slotting her hands into her pockets, she walked forward without so much as a glance at the displaced reporters.

Sasha Chalov followed close behind.

“Subtle as ever, Miss Golovin…” Sasha quipped.

Miss Mercury raised an eyebrow.

“And who’s that supposed to be?”

Jason smirked, practically puffing out his chest.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of the Four Prodigies of Skyfort Academy?”

Miss Mercury tilted her head, unimpressed.

“Nope. Sounds super corny, though. Probably why I haven’t heard of it.”

Jason’s jaw tightened and his hand twitched as if he wanted to smack the smugness right out of her.

Instead, he forced a grin.

“They’re the most talented students produced by Skyfort Academy from all over the world. They’re already being hailed as future legends in superhero history. Irina Golovin? She’s one of them. Graduated from the Russian branch with honors.”

Miss Mercury blinked, unimpressed. “Uh-huh. And?”

Jason growled under his breath as his patience frayed.

“And I pulled every string I could to bring her here. Plans with Brigid fell through… or she’d also be here too! So, Irina’s going to be our biggest priority—our new star. You’re looking at the future of MegaCorp, sweetheart.”

Miss Mercury turned back to Irina, who was now strolling through the MegaCorp lobby, completely unfazed by the spectacle she’d caused.

Casual dressing, a lollipop in mouth, no poise, messy hair, and tomboy to top it all of.

“Well, she seems…professional.”

A very dry statement from the brown-haired beauty.

Jason laughed, a harsh, mocking sound.

“Jealous already? Don’t worry, Mercury. When Irina’s name is on every billboard and magazine cover, you’ll get used to being nothing here.”

Miss Mercury’s lips quirked into a faint smirk.

“Shiver me timbers, bro. I guess that makes me… what? Old news? I think I’ll cry in my new clothing line.”

Jason took a step closer and held out a fist.

“Oh, you’ve been old news for a while now. Irina’s arrival is just the final nail in the coffin. Enjoy the little bit of spotlight you’ve got left, because once she’s on board, no one’s going to care about you anymore.”

“Same thing losers on the Internet said about Foxgirl, and yet I’m still in the spotlight…”

Mercury gave Jason a soft pat on the shoulder.

She was mocking him, and he knew it.

“Jason, you have no idea how little I care about your petty power plays. Irina can have the spotlight, the stage, the whole damn theater for all I care. Unlike you, I don’t measure my worth by public approval anymore. I got a boyfriend now, so I’m pretty content with my life.”

She flashed him a peace sign.

“Welp, catch you later…”

“Eh?”

Jason stared at her in deep confusion.