From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)-Chapter 718: The Names That Returned (part one)

Micah went to the university the next morning. The campus looked the same as always, students rushing between buildings, bikes leaning against rails, the smell of coffee drifting from the café near the arts hall. Micah strolled leisurely among them.

He had no real reason to attend the workshop. The credits from it wouldn’t count toward passing the course anymore. Even if he completed every assignment perfectly, the system had already marked him as unable to pass.

Still, he came anyway. Anything was better than staying at home alone.

The workshop room was already half full when he stepped inside. Large tables were scattered across the room, each covered with fabric samples, sketchbooks, measuring tapes, and half-finished designs. Students talked in small groups while working on their projects, the sound of scissors cutting fabric mixing with quiet chatter.

Micah took his usual seat near the window.

Sunlight streamed in through the glass, landing across the table and warming the surface beneath his hands. He rested his chin in his palm and stared out for a moment before his gaze slowly drifted back to the classroom.

Everyone else looked busy. Some students bent over sketches. Others pinned cloth to mannequins. One group argued quietly about colour combinations.

Micah didn’t move. His thoughts had already wandered somewhere else. Watching the fabrics on the tables reminded him of something, something that had happened months ago. The visit to the Sorkh factory.

Back then, the class had taken a field trip to the factory owned by La Riviere. It had been meant to show them how industrial fabrics were produced and treated, but the memory that stayed with him had nothing to do with the machines.

It had everything to do with Clyde. Micah’s lips curved slightly as he remembered it.

At the time, Clyde had looked cold and frightening when he saw Micah chatting closely with one of the employees. And Micah... well, he had definitely caused a scene, thinking Clyde was interested in that employee.

Thinking about it now made him shake his head quietly.

Back then they had argued like crazy. Now they were... Micah’s thoughts stopped there. His smile deepened slightly, but his ears turned faintly red. Now they were officially a couple.

Time really did move strangely. Back then he had been heartbroken, annoyed with Clyde for not believing him, even angry. Now he couldn’t imagine not having him around.

"Hey." A hand suddenly waved in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Micah!"

Micah blinked and refocused his eyes.

Melissa was leaning over the table, her hand still moving in front of his face as she tried to get his attention.

Micah straightened slightly and smiled. "Sorry. I was thinking about something."

Melissa narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You’ve been staring into space for like five minutes."

Micah rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Was it that long?"

"Yeah," she said, dropping into the chair across from him. "So what were you thinking about?"

Micah glanced at the scattered fabrics on the table before answering. "I was thinking about that Sorkh factory we visited before."

Melissa’s eyes widened instantly. "Oh! Right! That place!" she said, leaning forward. "The one with that scary boss!"

Micah chuckled under his breath. Scary boss. Well... Clyde probably had looked terrifying from an outsider’s perspective back then. At the time Clyde had been acting strangely cold and irritable. Looking back now, Micah could guess why.

Clyde had misunderstood things. Micah had misunderstood things. Both of them had believed the other was interested in someone else.

Micah had thought Clyde liked that woman from the factory. Clyde had thought Micah was flirting with her. It had been a ridiculous misunderstanding. And Clyde had definitely behaved a little... out of character.

From Melissa’s perspective, it must have looked like a ruthless executive glaring at everyone in the building.

Micah could only imagine how intimidating Clyde must have seemed to the students that day.

"Yeah," Micah said with a small laugh. "I remember."

Melissa rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head.

"Do you remember the director you were talking to in that factory?" she asked. "The sophisticated woman?"

Micah nodded slowly. "Director Allen." The name came easily to him. He remembered her clearly because of one strange detail. She had resembled Charlotte Sullivan. The similarity had been striking enough that it stayed in his mind. And... that had also been the woman he and Clyde had argued about.

Micah looked down at the table, rubbing the edge of a piece of fabric between his fingers.

Melissa’s eyes gleamed with excitement. "Well," she said dramatically, lowering her voice like she was sharing a secret, "guess what?"

Micah glanced up. "What?"

"I told you before that she got fired from the Sorkh factory, right?"

Micah nodded. "I remember."

Melissa leaned closer. "A few days later she suddenly appeared as the new director of a rival factory."

Micah’s eyebrows lifted slightly. "Rival factory?"

"Yeah," Melissa said quickly. "The one connected to the Sullivan family."

That made Micah pause.

Melissa continued eagerly. "And right after she joined them, they launched a new design. Guess what fabric they used?"

Micah didn’t answer.

Melissa slapped the table lightly. "The exact same fabric Sorkh factory is famous for!"

A few nearby students turned their heads toward their table as Melissa spoke louder with excitement.

"There’s been a lot of speculation," she continued, clearly enjoying the gossip. "People are saying she might have stolen some kind of production secret or mechanism before leaving."

Micah leaned back slightly in his chair. Industrial espionage. Corporate rivalry. None of that surprised him much.

Even though companies fought over technology and manufacturing techniques all the time, Micah knew about it because of his past lives. He remembered how Charlotte had used Evan, how their family fashion brand had risen by ganging up against Micah, taking advantage of his naivety and kindness while following Aidan’s orders and reducing him to nothing.

In the end, they all succeeded, while Aidan gained both Darcy and the Ramsy Empire’s core data. A win-win situation.

Still, it was interesting that the situation had escalated so quickly compared to the past.

Melissa raised one finger dramatically. "But that’s not even the most surprising part."

Micah looked at her with mild curiosity. "Oh?"

Melissa grinned widely. "Today there was huge news!" Her voice rose so much that several other students nearby started listening openly now.

"The famous Sullivan brand," she announced, "just got acquired by a fucking chemical company!"

Several people gasped or leaned closer.

Micah blinked. "A chemical company?"

"Yeah!" Melissa said. "Apparently the brand was secretly going bankrupt. They tried to hide it from the public, but then this mysterious company came out of nowhere and bought the whole thing."

Amy suddenly appeared beside their table. "Oh! I heard about that too!"

Russell followed behind her. "What’s the name of the company?" he asked.

Amy clapped her hands lightly. "It’s called Shimi Chemical Company!"

Micah’s brows slowly knitted together.

Another classmate nearby spoke up. "No way! Isn’t that the company rumoured to belong to Aidan Wilson?"

Several students immediately reacted.

"Wait, really?"

"Aidan Wilson?"

"Who’s that?"

One student leaned against the table and explained. "He used to be famous for being a Playboy. Total black sheep of the Wilson family."

Another student continued the story. "But somehow he suddenly turned everything around. Now he’s the one who inherited the Wilson family business. People call him a dark horse."

The group buzzed with curiosity and speculation.

Amy turned toward Micah. "Oh, right, Micah," she said. "Do you know him?"

Melissa looked confused. "Huh?"

Amy quickly explained. "Remember before Christmas, when there was that hate campaign online against Micah?"

Melissa nodded slowly. "Yeah..."

Amy pointed at Micah. "That Aidan Wilson guy publicly defended him back then."

Several students looked at Micah with renewed interest.

Micah’s expression didn’t change much. He simply gave a small polite smile. "No," he said calmly. "I don’t know him personally."

The students leaned closer to hear more.

Micah shrugged lightly. "He probably just did it to get on good terms with the Ramsy Empire."

That explanation sounded reasonable enough.

One student nodded immediately. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Another added, "The Ramsy Empire is huge in technology and IT devices. A lot of industries depend on their systems."

Micah simply smiled again and said nothing more. The conversation quickly shifted into speculation about corporate alliances and financial power.

But Russell wasn’t really listening. Instead, he was watching Micah carefully from the corner of his eye.

His expression was thoughtful. He had overheard his older brother Archie muttering strange things to himself late at night. Things that didn’t make sense.

Archie had been talking about Micah. About how Micah was together with bunch of people. Archie had claimed Micah was seeing him. Then he was in relationship with Aidan Wilson. And even with Leo McKay, the famous superstar.

At the time Russell had thought his brother was just drunk again. Archie often talked nonsense when he had been drinking too much. But there had been something unsettling in the way he said it. As if he truly believed it. As if Micah were some kind of heartthrob who seduced powerful men.

Russell frowned slightly at the memory. It had sounded ridiculous. Almost like jealousy. Or maybe something worse. An inability to accept rejection.

Archie had always struggled with that. When Micah made it clear he wasn’t interested in him, Archie’s behaviour had become unstable. Soon after that, the family decided to send Archie away for treatment. Partly because of his drinking problem. But also because of the disturbing things he had been saying.

Russell glanced again at Micah, who was calmly listening to the conversation around him. Micah looked exactly the same as always. Relaxed. Friendly. Completely normal.

Now that Micah had openly denied knowing Aidan Wilson, Russell felt even more certain. His brother’s accusations must have been the result of his declining mental state. There was no other explanation.

How could Micah possibly be connected to all those powerful people? It was absurd.

Russell lowered his gaze to the table. A quiet feeling of pity settled in his chest. He still cared about Archie. After all, he was his older brother. But Russell would never blame Micah for what had happened. Because if there was one thing Russell knew for certain...

Micah had saved him once. Back when Russell had been trapped in the clutches of a disgusting man who thought he could control him. Micah had been the one who stepped in. The one who helped him escape that nightmare.

Russell would never forget that. No matter what Archie said. No matter what rumors spread. To Russell, Micah was someone who helped people. Not someone who destroyed them.

Archie’s inability to accept rejection...That had nothing to do with Micah.

And Russell knew it.