Dou Dizhu

Due to the language barrier, Phoebe didn't linger. After briefly gesturing to Bell and the other two, she pulled a reluctant Gabrielle away.

Watching the little girl reluctantly walk away, Bell also felt a pang of sadness. He quite liked this clever and mischievous little girl.

And most importantly, he hadn't yet figured out what excuse he could use to draw some blood from the other person for research.

Even Bell wouldn't do something like forcibly drawing blood from a young girl with a large syringe. What if it leaves her with psychological trauma?

"You're still looking!"

Hermione kicked her boyfriend hard.

Even when the two sisters were almost out of sight, he still couldn't bear to look away.

"Tell me! Are you regretting not accepting Gabrielle's invitation because you think Phoebe is pretty?!"

"... No, with her covered up so tightly, how could you possibly tell if she's pretty or not?"

Bell was shocked.

How could he not know that his girlfriend had developed X-ray vision?

"What are you looking at?"

"..."

How should I put this? I can't exactly say that he was thinking about how to draw blood from that young girl, can I?

In short, Bell finally managed to calm Hermione down after a great deal of effort. The three then happily enjoyed the international cuisine at the food street.

They ate from morning until noon. After finishing their lunch, Bell glanced at the time and, feeling it was about time, led the two women back to the Wooden House.

Sure enough, they had only been back in the Wooden House for a short while when a knock on the door interrupted the three of them who were Dou Dizhu.

Incidentally, it was Dou Dizhu Bell taught Shanna and Hermione how to play Dou Dizhu (a card game).

"Please come in."

As Bell unleashed the two Kings, blasting away Hermione's four Kings, he shouted towards the doorway.

The person outside has access to the Wooden House's barrier, so there's no need for him to open the barrier himself.

"Bell! Can't you just let me have my way?!"

Hermione was furious.

She had been playing this card game called "Dou Dizhu" with Bell for almost a month, but she had only won a handful of times.

When she was the "landlord" and faced the Bell siblings, the two "poor people," she never won a single time!

So what kind of lousy game is this?! Is there no fairness at all?!

"That won't do! Hermione, games are only fun when you're fully engaged. Victories won by relying on your opponent throwing the game have no soul!"

Bell righteously condemned his girlfriend's attempt to use connections.

"Then why do you always give in to Shanna!"

Speaking of this, Hermione wanted nothing more than to strangle Bell, that siscon.

You should know that, unlike her, who never won when she was the "landlord," Shanna never lost when she was the "landlord"!

Why, you ask?

That's because a traitor emerged from among their 'poor'!

Can you believe it? That bastard Bell actually blew up his own 'poor' self and then let Shanna, who was a 'landlord', go!

If Hermione hadn't been outmatched, she would have scattered Bell's ashes right then and there!

"..."

Bell found himself, to be precise, speechless quite often lately, or rather today.

Looks like it's not a good day to go out. Maybe I shouldn't go watch the game tonight?

The door opened and Penelope walked in.

"You two still have a great relationship, it's truly enviable."

Penelope covered her mouth, amused as she watched Hermione's face turn bright red.

"Senior, you be the judge! Bell is always bullying me!"

Seeing Penelope was like seeing a family member to Hermione.

There was no way to change it; Shanna was firmly on Bell's side, and no amount of effort could break Shanna.

So the only person left who could be relied upon was Penelope, who would occasionally come to report to Bell.

Penelope walked up behind Bell and gently kicked Bell.

"Get away from me."

Bell turned around and glared at Penelope with displeasure.

How dare they kick their own boss? I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget!

Despite thinking this, Bell still obediently stepped aside and watched the three girls huddle together, chattering away as they played.

"Senior, how's the analysis of the Arcanite going?"

Bell leaned back on the sofa, lazily took a bite of watermelon, and asked.

After graduating, Penelope officially joined the Menethil Family's company. She now works as Bell's secretary, responsible for tracking the specific research progress in the research lab and reporting to Bell once or twice a week.

While Bell was in school, Penelope usually reported using Personal Terminal. However, during holidays, Penelope would report to Bell in person.

After all, it's often inconvenient to be separated by a screen.

"It's going quite smoothly. So far, the magical items made with Arcanite are nearly 50% more powerful than before."

However, the researchers were not satisfied; they said the power could be increased to a maximum of 70%.

Bell nodded.

A 70% improvement is a qualitative leap for a magical item. It seems the power of the Arcanite is even greater than he anticipated.

Next, Bell inquired about some projects that interested him.

Although Penelope had sent the relevant information to his Personal Terminal last night, he was busy having fun with his sister and girlfriend and hadn't had time to look at it yet.

The question-and-answer session lasted for about half an hour, leaving Hermione completely bewildered.

After nearly two years of work and study, Penelope is now a completely different person. Her knowledge base far surpasses that of wizards her age, not to mention Hermione, who is about to enter her fourth year.

Turning her head to glance at Shanna beside her, Hermione saw that Shanna not only kept up with Bell and Penelope's train of thought, but also occasionally raised questions and offered her ideas. This made Hermione feel resentful once again.

However, she's almost gotten used to this feeling, so she doesn't think it's a big deal anymore.

Finally, the serious work time was over, and Bell gave her younger sister a wink, indicating that she could ask whatever she wanted.

Shanna gave her Gege a "yes" look, then turned her gaze to Penelope.

"Sister Penelope, why are you in such a bad mood? Did someone upset you? Tell me, and I'll go teach them a lesson!"

Shanna patted the Mad Bear on her waist, as if to say, "Even if I can't handle it, I can just let the Little Bear bite people. There's nothing to worry about."

It's worth noting that, perhaps influenced by Bell's bad influence, Shanna doesn't have many friends. Besides Phyllis and Lena, she only has Penelope.

(Hermione doesn't count.)

This protective little girl can't stand seeing her friends being bullied!