A Cozy Little Home

Rita suddenly realized she still did not know this "snake's" name.

"Just some work-related conflicts. There's no need for you to worry, Mr. Liu Bai."

An unsurprising answer.

Liu Bai remained calm.

The simplest way to end a conversation was to run out of things to say.

Rita's personality meant she definitely would not ask overly aggressive questions unless she was facing an enemy. He just needed to deal with her step by step.

"By the way, what are you doing now, Mr. Liu Bai?"

"Being a shut-in and living off my older sister. To be honest, Miss Rita, today was my first time going shopping."

"Eh... You really don't look like a shut-in."

Rita showed a surprised expression.

(...What kind of blind date convention are these two holding?)

Although Raven could tell that Liu Bai was fleshing out his persona, she still could not stop the corner of her eye from twitching.

Were they going to ask about houses and cars next?

If he was not supposed to be a shut-in, would they be asking about his salary too?

"There are many kinds of shut-ins. There are even tech geeks, which are a rare breed."

"Hmm... I do have a tech geek among my colleagues." Rita nodded slightly. "Honestly, when I saw you this morning, I was quite startled. Someone was actually strolling around so leisurely while the Honkai alarm was sounding, even stopping to pay for their purchases. Even Miss Yelan was praising you."

Oh, so that was why Yelan's favorability had inexplicably increased this morning?

"I was startled by you too."

"Me?"

"Being suddenly blocked at the door by a maid wielding a huge scythe, who said something like, 'Don't leave after school'—how could I not be frightened?"

"Is that how you see me?"

Rita thought about how she had acted that morning and tried to see things from Liu Bai's perspective.

It seemed... that really was how it had looked?

Rita could not help covering her mouth as she chuckled.

"Then I truly was rude. I only meant to remind you that it was dangerous outside. Honkai is no joke, after all. But since I frightened you, please accept this as an apology."

Rita took out a bookmark embroidered with a purple flower pattern from her pouch.

Scholar's Bookmark (Accessory)

Slightly increases reading efficiency when worn

"Kid, don't just accept things from strangers." Raven propped up her head, looking displeased.

Liu Bai pretended not to hear her.

What perfect timing...

Seeing Liu Bai accept it, Rita smiled even more happily.

"By the way, although this may be a little presumptuous, could we exchange contact information?"

"Hey, don't push it." Raven finally could not stand it anymore.

"Sorry, since my sister doesn't want to, then forget it."

Liu Bai refused as well.

Contact information was a very sensitive matter.

"I understand. This request really was somewhat presumptuous from your perspective..."

There was no disappointment on Rita's face.

At that moment, the waiter began serving the dishes.

"Still, if there is another opportunity in the future, I hope I can get to know you better, Mr. Liu Bai. For now, let's happily enjoy the meal and chat."

Chapter 22: Cozy Little Home

Rita's Favorability: 2025

Natasha's Favorability: 1525

Other than Scholar's Bookmark, the only additional gains were the favorability of those two.

However, after encountering Rita, Raven absolutely refused to let Liu Bai continue wandering around outside that day.

"I couldn't tell before, kid... ahem, you're actually pretty capable."

Still, Raven did not skimp on the praise he deserved.

"I couldn't talk calmly with someone like Rita."

"But this matter isn't over yet."

Liu Bai poured cold water over Raven.

After Raven wiped the smile off her face, she silently nodded.

Liu Bai had established a persona, so their next task was to help him maintain it.

You could be a thief for a thousand days, but you could not guard against thieves for a thousand days.

...Though Raven really wanted to just lock Liu Bai up.

But Highlord's response to this matter had been as follows:

"Someone has their eyes on you? Hmm? The little white mouse is quite lucky. Cage it? Why cage it? Raven, don't you think this is getting more and more interesting?"

Interesting my ass! Didn't you say he was a precious little white mouse?

Could you please pay a little attention yourself?

"What do you think we should do next? Tell me."

Raven sighed and began asking Liu Bai for his opinion.

After what had happened today, Raven had come to trust Liu Bai's intelligence fairly well—her previous strategist had been that stupid dog Jackal.

Now, she finally had a normal strategist.

"A house—my persona is not what matters. What matters is your persona, Raven."

"Mine?" Raven failed to follow.

"You need to play the role of an 'older sister obsessed with her brother who secretly works as a villain behind his back.'"

"...Are you sure you're not making fun of me?" Raven felt embarrassed the moment she heard that.

"You think Rita only has her eye on me?"

Raven had no response. Fine, her target was definitely bigger than Liu Bai's. If those two had the chance to make a move, they certainly would not mind going for the kill.

"So your persona is a caring younger brother who vaguely realizes what his sister is doing but cannot bring himself to say it?"

Raven understood immediately—though she really did not want to understand that quickly.

"That's right. Sis, do you believe that if I go out these next few days, there's a high chance I'll run into Miss Rita by coincidence?"

"Can't you just not go out?" Raven complained, then brought Liu Bai to the parking lot and pointed at the sports car before them. "Get in. I'll take you to my place."

"Ningguang, are you sure? Fine, do as you please."

When Rita returned to the merchant guild, Yelan had just finished a phone call.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Rita?"

"I met a very interesting friend." Rita did not deny that she was in a good mood.

Yelan leisurely rocked in her grand chair, showing a hint of understanding. "That young man from this morning? I told you he was interesting."

There were not many people capable of making her admire their nerves of steel.

Rita neither confirmed nor denied it, then asked, "By the way, did you know that Snake has a younger brother?"

(Snake? Oh, she means Raven?)

"How would I know? Rita, would you voluntarily tell me about your family?"

Rita smiled without answering.

Of course she would not.

So the odds that this sibling relationship was real were not low?

On the way back, Rita suddenly realized something—who had actually been controlling the pace of that meal?

In the end, Rita concluded that it had been Liu Bai.

It was rather unbelievable.

He had achieved his most basic objective with remarkable precision.

Clearly, she had been the one who proposed the entire affair and held the initiative, yet she had somehow been led around by the nose instead, only realizing it afterward.

That feeling was truly... quite strange?

Rita did not feel any dissatisfaction at having been outmaneuvered. Instead, she began considering another matter.

Assuming their relationship was real, would Liu Bai truly not know what his sister had been doing all along?

If that was the premise, then Liu Bai's initiative today was no longer surprising.

"Yelan, may I post a commission?"

"Of course you can post one, but whether we accept it depends on the scale of your commission. Our merchant guild doesn't have time to waste on trivial little jobs."

Without even needing to guess, Yelan knew what commission Rita was about to propose.

"Don't worry. I will definitely offer compensation that satisfies you, Miss Yelan."

"We're here." Raven's supercar stopped in front of an apartment building. "Follow me."

Raven got out and went upstairs, with Liu Bai and Guinaifen obediently following behind her.

Then Raven stopped in front of Apartment 2, took out her key, and smoothly unlocked the door.

When she pushed it open, it revealed a cozy little home decorated in warm yellow tones.

"This is... your home?" Guinaifen looked curious.

"It's not my home. It's one of my properties... Hmph, you're lucky. I was originally planning to sell this apartment building."

Raven spoke like a wealthy woman, though her tone was indifferent.

"Since you need it, you can live here for now—after all, you definitely can't keep living at Shencheng Pharmaceuticals."

As long as Liu Bai went out, living beneath Shencheng Pharmaceuticals' headquarters would be troublesome.

"There are two bedrooms here. Normally, you and Guinaifen can take one each. I'll come over whenever I need to play house with you."

Raven still had people she needed to care for, so she could not accompany Liu Bai in role-playing all the time.

"But this place hasn't been cleaned in a long time. Clean it yourselves if you want to. Here, these are the keys. This apartment is yours now. If you want to rent rooms out, that's fine too, as long as their background is clean. Treat the rent as your spending money."

Raven figured she needed to give Liu Bai something to do. Otherwise, if he spent every day with nothing to do and went out wandering the streets, she did not have the energy to look after him at every moment.

Property "Unnamed Apartment" unlocked

Well... was she just giving him a property for free?

Liu Bai was slightly surprised, but not especially delighted.

Properties were too much of a drag in the early stages. In the later stages... the properties were directly things like "Schicksal" and "Anti-Entropy," ready-made assets he could simply pick up.

Other than business-focused players, probably no one would bother with properties in the early game.