The next morning, Ririko was woken by a knock at the door.
Butch stood outside, holding a white cardboard box, which he offered to her.
"What you asked for." Butch handed her the box.
Ririko took it and quickly peeled off the seal. A champagne-colored Banana 17 phone lay inside.
Last night, when Bird Man had pulled her out of the restaurant, his infatuation value had already risen from 15 to 23. Today, he had sent her a phone...
She silently awarded Bird Man another point for being so attentive.
"This phone is custom-made," Butch added. "You can shop online and browse social media, but you can't contact anyone outside."
Ririko swiped a finger across the screen.
Bird Man's credit card was linked to the phone. The monthly spending limit was only two thousand dollars, but for a miser like him, this was already something.
She returned to her room, went on a shopping spree on Taobao, then opened Weibo.
She wanted to check the latest news about Wayne Enterprises and see whether anything had changed with Bruce after he had met her once in Arkham.
Suddenly, she spotted his name among the trending topics... alongside another woman's.
#Bruce Wayne-Sofia Falcone#
That topic was far more popular than the others.
She tapped it. The pinned post featured two photos joined together-
On the left was Bruce Wayne, wearing a dark jacket, his hair a little windswept. But with a face that handsome, the messy hair only made him look more boyish.
On the right was a girl with long, dark hair and a cool expression: Sofia Falcone.
Aside from the Waynes, the Falcone family was another prominent family in Gotham.
Unlike the Waynes, who had been legitimate businessmen for generations, no one knew where the Falcones' money had come from for generations, yet no one dared call them anything less than legitimate.
The article stated that Sofia, the Falcone family's youngest daughter, would hold her birthday party at the Iceberg Lounge the following week, and Bruce Wayne had confirmed his attendance.
The media called the birthday party "a friendly alliance between two families," while some people in the comments speculated that the two had already started dating...
The comments below were full of phrases like "a perfect match," "a golden couple," and "Gotham City's most powerful future husband and wife"...
Ririko stared at Sofia Falcone's face for two seconds, then swiped past the picture.
She didn't need to care whether Sofia and Bruce were dating, or analyze whether Sofia was a romantic rival worth watching out for.
She only needed to know one thing: Bruce Wayne would be at the Iceberg Lounge next week.
That meant she could get close to Bruce next week and have a chance to reel him in...
When that happened, #Bruce Wayne and Ririko Make It Official# would become the hottest trending topic on Weibo.
Just as she was planning her moves for next week's birthday party, her phone vibrated.
A WeChat notification appeared at the top of the screen.
Her finger paused on the screen.
Butch had said the phone couldn't contact anyone outside, so who could be messaging her on WeChat?
She opened WeChat. There was just one lonely name on her contact list: His Excellency Cobblepot.
Ririko stared at the name.
This man, so clumsy when it came to romance that he made her want to bully him even harder, actually dared monopolize her contact list. He really didn't know his place.
She pressed and held "His Excellency Cobblepot," deleted it, and typed in a new name: Bird Man.
She opened the new message:
"Come back to the Cobblepot family home with me tonight. Get ready."
Ririko narrowed her eyes slightly at the words.
It was an outright command. No "please," no "all right?" and no "if it's convenient for you"...
She opened the stickers, searched for a face sticking out its tongue, and sent it.
His reply came almost instantly:
"I'm your boss. Watch your attitude."
Ririko sent a second sticker, a suggestive kiss.
"Typing..." appeared on his end, but it took more than ten minutes for another message to arrive:
"We leave at six."
Ririko gave a cold little laugh and set her phone by the bed.
Bird Man might be entertaining, but Bruce was her target.
All she had to do now was raise Oswald's infatuation value a little more and get him to agree to remove the tracker on her wrist. Then she could focus entirely on winning Bruce over.
At six that evening, Ririko stepped through the Iceberg Lounge's revolving doors.
She wore a long black dress with long sleeves, a high neckline, an open back, and delicate silver chains.
The velvet fabric shimmered like a film of oil on water.
With deep red lipstick on her lips, she stood before the Iceberg Lounge's glittering entrance and still drew every eye.
Oswald stood beside a stretch Lincoln, one hand resting on his umbrella and the other on the car's door handle.
He wore a black three-piece suit even more finely tailored than yesterday's, with a thin silver chain hanging from his brooch. His hair had been carefully styled, every lock of fringe curving just right over his forehead.
Ririko had to admit that, vicious as Bird Man was, he did come from an old family. When he dressed up, his taste was impeccable.
The instant Oswald saw Ririko emerge, his fingers froze on the door handle.
His gaze lingered on the seductive curve of her waist outlined by the black dress, then caught sight of her creamy, flawless back. He looked away as quickly as if he had been burned.
A subordinate opened the rear door.
"Boss, it's time to get in."
Oswald jolted as though someone had snapped a rubber band against him and immediately turned around.
He let Ririko get into the Lincoln, then climbed in from the other side and sat beside her.
The car pulled away from the Iceberg Lounge.
Oswald looked out the window, his proud, taut face reflected in the glass.
Ririko sat beside him, the skirt of her black dress spread across the seat.
She ignored Oswald and looked down at her phone, her fingertips gliding expertly across the screen.
Oswald secretly watched her reflection in the window...
She was actually ignoring him, happily browsing her phone?
Every tap of her fingertip against the screen felt like a needle stabbing his nerves.
He wanted to snatch the phone out of her hand and throw it out the window.
"Could you spend a little less time on your phone?" Oswald asked, keeping his voice as restrained as he could.
Ririko glanced at him.
"What's wrong? Don't you have a phone to browse?" She lowered her head and swiped the screen again. "Hasn't Edward messaged you on WeChat?"
Oswald jerked away from the window, his eyes wider than usual.
"What does this have to do with Edward? You can't just ignore me like this."
Ririko's finger paused.
She raised her hand and touched his chin, lightly tracing her index finger along his jaw toward his ear.
"You were the one deliberately ignoring me." Ririko shifted all the blame onto him.
Oswald swallowed and decided to change the subject.
"Couldn't you at least explain why you want to go back to the Cobblepot family home with me? It's hardly a pleasant place."
"This counts as a business trip," Ririko said lazily. "I'll need an extra travel allowance."
Oswald drew a deep breath.
"You really are a materialistic woman," he muttered with a disgruntled huff.
Seeing that he was on the verge of bristling, Ririko rested her head on his shoulder.
The top of her head pressed against his jaw, her hair brushing the side of his neck as she asked in a sultry voice, "What else am I supposed to do? Will you support me?"
Oswald's fingers suddenly tightened around the umbrella handle.
His face flushed as he forced the words through his teeth. "In your dreams."
Ririko laughed against his shoulder.
"There you go. Romance in Gotham costs money."
Oswald's face darkened.
Ririko smiled and stayed lazily nestled against his shoulder as she opened her phone to shop online.
An hour later, the Lincoln turned onto a tree-lined road in northern Gotham.
The Cobblepot mansion appeared at the end of the road, its porch covered in dead vines, like an old house time had forgotten in another century.
Jason, William, and Ellie stood side by side on the steps in front of the mansion, all neatly dressed.
An elderly woman stood in the shadows of the porch behind them.
She looked exactly as a grand lady cherished and pampered from youth to old age ought to look-
Her silver-white hair was swept into a tight bun, and her wrinkled face showed no trace of hardship.
She was Miranda, old Cobblepot's widow and the mother of Jason, William, and Ellie.
The Lincoln came to a stop in front of the mansion.
A subordinate opened the door, and Oswald stepped out. His umbrella touched the ground first, followed by his right foot, then his lame left leg.
He straightened, adjusted his suit collar, and raised his chin slightly. The bearing of the "Penguin" returned to his face.
He held out his hand toward the car.
Ririko placed her hand in his palm, the skirt of her black dress spilling out through the door.
She stepped onto the stairs, slipped her hand from his, and affectionately linked her arm through his.
The four people on the steps watched Oswald, whom they had once thrown out like garbage, appear at their door in such grand style. Each looked more sour than the last.
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