"Uh... okay..."
Arthur, who had recovered from his shock, nodded, then sat down on the single-seat sofa opposite William.
He immediately asked, "Dad... how did you know? Did Serena discover it?"
"No. Serena doesn't have the time to concern herself with what's going on between you and Jing Nan." William first shook his head with a smile, then explained to Arthur:
"Kid, back when we were on the Star Killer, I noticed that Jing Nan's gaze toward you was strange. How should I put it...
"It looked like she wanted to kill you. Even I could tell that much. Also, how did you provoke her? Tell your old man about it."
"Ah... actually..."
Seeing that William had put it that way, Arthur could only let out a heavy sigh before briefly recounting everything that had happened after he crossed into the universe of The Cage.
Among other things, Arthur emphasized that the reason he had provoked Jing Nan was because he had judged that the Transcendence Passage would take at least half a year to open, so he had chosen the safer plan of indirectly taking control of the Lighthouse.
"Hum..." After listening to Arthur's account, William leaned back on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other. He also raised his left hand to rub his chin as he asked:
"You don't have any feelings for her?"
"This..." Arthur's face showed a conflicted expression, but he still answered honestly:
"Dad, I'm not a saint. Of course I've had thoughts about her, but I already have Sister Carl. So I'm thinking about how to persuade Jing Nan to stop getting herself stuck in a dead end."
William did not answer immediately. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Son, that PUA routine of yours... could you teach it to