When the GF9 Test Subject Became His Obsession novel Chapter 5

Dinner passed without any real drama. The whole time, Olivia kept coaxing Serena to eat, while Serena quietly loosened her belt by two notches because she was too full.

After the meal, Olivia pulled out a small notebook and sat neatly on the sofa, posture straight and earnest, like a model student preparing for class. She patted the seat beside her. "Serena, come here."

Serena hesitated briefly, then sat down. Olivia uncapped her pen with a serious expression. "If you have any likes or dislikes, you can tell Mommy. I should understand your habits so we can get along better."

Serena thought about it. "I don't like talking."

Olivia froze for half a second, then smiled brightly. “Oh! So you prefer quiet. That's wonderful—our whole family is pretty quiet!"

She turned her head. Thanos had already dropped his plate and was sprawled on the sofa playing games, the volume blasting so loudly it felt like the walls were vibrating.

A sharp kick landed on his foot.

Thanos yelped and shot upright. “Mom! What was that for? This is the foot of a football genius!"

Olivia's voice was calm but firm. “Headphones.”

Thanos stared at her, then at Serena.

I'm playing games in my own house—why should I wear headphones?

Damn it!

But a second later, he obediently put them on.

Olivia smiled again and looked back at Serena. "What else do you like?"

What Serena meant was that she preferred actions over words, but clearly that level of meaning would be lost on her new mother.

"I also hold grudges."

Olivia paused, pen hovering midair. My girl's preferences were… unique.

Thanos, who had been shooting Serena hostile looks, quietly looked away. He remembered the post on the school forum earlier that day—Zachary's carefully planned birthday party had ended with him drenched in paint and thrown down the stairs, and Celeste's face ruined. There were photos. Plenty of them.

He glanced at the staircase, then touched his own delicate face.

Well, I'm too fragile for that.

Silently, he stood up and slipped upstairs, determined not to provoke the little devil sitting beside his mother.

Once Olivia finished her questions, Serena also headed upstairs. She paused at the doorway of her new room, still not quite used to the bright, spacious, princess-like decor.

She closed the door and checked under the bed. The man was gone. On the nightstand lay a note with a WhatsApp number.

Serena thought for a moment, then pulled out her phone. The first thing she checked was her bank app. $500,000 had already been transferred into Margaret's account.

She opened WhatsApp and was instantly flooded with messages, so many that her system lagged for a second. The first batch—99+ unread messages—were all from the research institute. She ignored them.

Pinned at the top was a message from Zephyr Jones, along with an evaluation report of her performance with her fourth assigned family. His comment read: "Baby, you did great this time. Two full months without making a fuss. Keep it up."

Serena deleted it without hesitation. She had restrained herself out of respect for the bonds of blood, but now that concept no longer existed. Those people, the so-called family, restricted her actions and then took control of all her financial assets in plain sight. She would remember this debt.

Scrolling down, she saw a single message from James Quinn: "Serena, if you can't survive out there, come back…"

She didn't open it. She paused briefly, then scrolled past and tapped a contact labeled "Old Demon of Black Mountain," sending over a photo of Sebastian Hayes. "Look into this man."

"Yes, Boss!"

Thirty minutes later came the reply. No results.

Serena frowned and glanced at the WhatsApp number on the note. Switching to an unregistered number, she typed it in.

That title....

Serena didn't move or speak, only watched. Everything felt unreal—a mother who smelled gentle, who was warm, who smiled at her indulgently. A figure like this had once appeared in her childhood dreams, then faded as she grew older.

Sensing her gaze, Olivia turned around. "Did Mommy wake you?"

Serena pushed herself up slightly. “No.”

Olivia pointed at the incense. "This is calming incense. It keeps mosquitoes away and helps you sleep. Your brother used it when he was sick and couldn't sleep. It works really well."

Serena caught the faint scent of herbs and nodded. “Yeah.”

Olivia smiled. "Since you're awake, I have a gift for you."

Her warm hand took Serena's, leading her downstairs. Suddenly, Olivia covered Serena's eyes. Serena almost flipped her instinctively, but the softness of Olivia's hands calmed the restless tension inside her.

Then came Thanos's reluctant voice.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…"

Olivia moved her hands away, smiling brightly. "Serena, happy birthday. Just in time—before midnight."

A beautiful cake sat before her, pink frosting topped with fresh strawberries, mango slices, and chocolate drizzle.

Thanos shoved it toward her, grudgingly. "Blow it out. Mom's never even baked a cake for me before."

He looked a little aggrieved but still held onto his dignity. He wasn't about to fight a girl over cake.

Serena had celebrated birthdays before—in laboratories, at research institutes, in distant corners of the world. None of them had ever meant anything.

Except this one.

She puffed her cheeks and blew out the candles in one breath. A faint dimple appeared on her cheek. Olivia watched closely, and for the first time, she saw a trace of genuine joy in her new daughter's eyes.