Chapter 181. Kiana, Your Hobby Is Quite Special
The contemptuous gaze pricked Kiana's face with a rush of heat.
She didn't dare meet Sirin's eyes again.
Her pupils wandered, and only after a few seconds did she stiffen her neck and say, "T-That… that's something I worked so hard to win over an entire night, how could I just give it to you because you asked."
"Oh? Fine, then name your price. I'll buy it."
Arms folded, Sirin glared and moved in even closer to Kiana.
"..."
"Let's go by your salary, then. I'll pay you an entire year's salary, how about that?"
Seeing Kiana remain silent, Sirin continued, "One night of effort in exchange for a year's salary—still not enough? How about I make it two years?"
Feeling Sirin closing in, that breath almost brushing her ear, Kiana couldn't hold it back anymore and shouted, blushing, "No means no! Sirin, you're so annoying!!!!"
With that, she suddenly pushed herself up.
Barefoot, she bolted for the door.
The sudden motion startled Sirin.
When she came to and saw Kiana's retreating back, she panicked and hurried after her.
Click.
The bedroom door shut.
Bronya stepped out of her room while on a video call.
"It must be around midnight over there, right? Make sure you rest early."
"Mm, I'll confirm today's meeting notes and then sleep."
From the phone came a slightly tired male voice.
He had spent the day with Luna, and only when the doctor reminded him it was Luna's rest time did he leave the lab and check into Schicksal's highest-spec guesthouse.
"The basic agenda points have been printed out. When we're at the company today, I'll host the meeting with Kaguya and brief Ken Sugisaki's group for you."
As she spoke, Bronya flipped the camera to show the meeting materials in her hand.
"I'll make it up to you two when I get back."
"As long as you understand~"
Bronya's lips curled into a faint smile as she nodded, satisfied.
Xander Masato was going to be away for a full week.
Having lost her large body pillow, a helpless Bronya had to switch to the smaller Seele pillow instead, and she wasn't used to it at all.
Yawning, Bronya went down the stairs to the living room.
Just as she was about to sit on the sofa and read slowly, a rush of hurried footsteps sounded by her ear.
Tap—tap—tap—tap—probably barefoot.
"Hm?"
She looked up, puzzled, toward the inner hallway that led to the bedrooms.
The scene that followed made her eyes widen in an instant.
Even the hand holding the phone trembled, and that one shake let Xander see what was happening.
A coughing fit came through the speaker, like he'd swallowed water.
With her long hair down, Kiana charged into the living room at a quick pace—in the exact state she'd had when she was first "born."
Bronya froze for a moment, then quickly covered the phone on the table and looked at Kiana with a twitching mouth.
"Kiana, I didn't expect your hobby to be… quite special."
"Huh? What hobby?"
Seeing Bronya, Kiana stopped, face flushed red, and looked at her.
Just then, Kiana's bedroom door opened again.
Sirin rushed out and shouted in a panic, "Kiana, your clothes—your clothes aren't on!!!"
"Eh? Clothes? What clo—"
Her brain, scrambled by shame a moment ago, finally caught Sirin's meaning after a beat.
Her voice stuck in her throat.
Kiana lowered her head.
Seeing the peaks that had given a slight wobble with her movement, her toes—hidden from sight—curled tight with force.
She hastily covered herself with both hands and crouched down.
A piercing scream rang through the room.
"Yaaahhhhhhh!!!!"
Sirin grabbed the blanket off the sofa and threw it over Kiana.
Kiana immediately huddled up, and the two of them dashed back into the room.
Bronya: "..."
Seriously, what is going on this early in the morning?
Unable to make sense of it, Bronya sat down on the sofa and glanced toward the phone on the table.
She picked it up again.
"Any thoughts?"
Squinting, she asked Xander on the screen, who was wiping water off himself.
Thoughts?
Was he supposed to say his good bro's figure was really something?
Slender waist, generous bust, full thighs, pert posterior... utterly captivating.
And just like Bronya, her hair color was the same top and bottom. Unlike Seele, who had nothing down below.
"Ahem… too fast, I didn't see clearly."
"Really?"
"Didn't see much."
"Tch."
Bronya lifted one leg and crossed it over the other. The full flesh of her thighs pressed together, making the indentation from the garter barely visible. She gently swayed her lower leg, causing the slipper to slide down the smooth, pale skin of her instep. Her toes, painted with light blue nail polish, wiggled mischievously. The big toe bent slightly, hooking the slipper to keep it from falling off completely.
The tempting absolute territory, the mesmerizing curve of her leg and foot, and those appetizing, rosy soles... The sight made Xander Masato's throat move. Things he could usually touch whenever he wanted were now only visible through a screen, just out of reach, making his heart itch with longing.
Seeing this, Bronya's inner annoyance melted away without a trace, and the corners of her lips curled with a hint of triumph.
What does Kiana even count for.
One of her legs alone drew Xander's eyes more.
"All right, stop looking. Finish skimming the meeting file and go to sleep early."
Saying that, Bronya put down her crossed leg again, leaving Xander a little disappointed.
What was printed was only the simplified version; she would be using the projector to cover the specific content.
So in a few minutes, Xander had finished going through it and nodded that everything looked fine.
"Okay, then go get some rest. I'll hang up first."
"Mm, good night."
"Good night. And don't use your hand by yourself, okay? I'm waiting for you at home~"
Smiling, she licked her lips at him and ended the call before he could respond.
Kiana's earlier shriek had been like a giant alarm clock, waking everyone in the house.
One by one, they rubbed their eyes and filed out of their rooms.
The first thing they asked upon coming downstairs was what just happened.
Being an honest good kid, Bronya told it straight.
Soon, everyone knew that Kiana had streaked first thing in the morning, and their eyes went wide in shock.
Especially the more traditional Kaguya and Mei.
They were so startled they couldn't come to their senses for a long time.
Turning around, Mei stormed into Kiana's room with an angry look to give her a scolding.
Thanks to that, the mood was weird all morning.
At the table, everyone gave Kiana odd looks.
Not knowing how to explain and fuming helplessly, Kiana could only glare viciously at Sirin.
Sirin kept her head down over her food without saying a word.
"Ahem. Don't worry, Kiana. Even if your hobby is special, no one's going to look down on you."
Seeing that no one spoke, Bronya grinned, reveling in the chaos.
"Yeah, yeah, we're all girls here. No need to mind it too much~" Elysia chimed in.
"I told you it was just an accident!!!!"
"I get it, I get it. An accident."
Seeing Bronya's look of deep understanding, Kiana's vision went black, and she nearly fainted.
Sirin had really done her in!!!
After breakfast, there wasn't much work today.
Feeling a little shut-in, Kiana simply went back to her room.
The others headed to work or study, and the house soon quieted down.
On the way to work, Seele walked beside Bronya and Kaguya, thinking about what tasks she needed to handle as the intern junior secretary with her brother away today.
Mei, on the other side, quietly listened to Bronya and Kaguya's discussion.
"I had Xander look over the meeting content. No issues."
Bronya handed Kaguya a copy of the printed file.
"Mm. Then let's not delay. I'll send word: meeting at nine this morning to do task assignment."
Kaguya skimmed the documents and nodded.
"But with so many newcomers, won't two months be a bit tight?"
Bronya brought it up, and Kaguya nodded in agreement.
"True. This map system seems quite complex to build."
Hearing that, the curious Mei couldn't help asking, "Didn't Xander say it's just a city management sim game? With a team of over seventy, two months should be fine, right?"
"A 'small game'?"
Bronya couldn't help but laugh.
She nudged Mei's arm and teased, "He also called that card game he's working on right now a 'small game.' Take it with a grain of salt, don't take it seriously."
"As for my husband… mm… sometimes he does exaggerate a little."
Kaguya also smiled.
Thinking of that card game's scope, Mei paused, then smiled and shook her head. "I guess that's true."
Then she switched topics. "What should we do? Do we need to pull in extra hands?"
"Let's see how the progress goes. If it hits the target, then no need. If not, Xander should be back by then—let him decide."
Bronya shrugged, answering casually.
"That won't be a problem."
Chatting, they took the elevator up to their company's floor.
Soon, the meeting began.
Ken Sugisaki and five veteran members of the group sat straight in their chairs, looking at the game title projected on the big screen.
Cities: Skylines
...
"With Duckie and Kaguya handling it, there shouldn't be any problem."
After ending the call, Xander stretched and muttered softly.
If he tried to sit in and listen to the meeting, it would be too late over there.
Plus, he had promised Luna that they would meet early tomorrow.
Rubbing his tired brows, he quickly turned off the light, closed his eyes, and drifted into sleep.
The next day, he got up early.
After washing up, he ate breakfast while reading the meeting minutes Kaguya had sent him.
Sure enough, none of this was a problem for Bronya and Kaguya.
Seeing the clearly organized task breakdown, Xander nodded with satisfaction.
Cities: Skylines—a city management sim where you build a city as its mayor.
Players jokingly call it "the Blackhearted Mayor Simulator" or "Me and My Unruly Citizens," with players and the city's residents torturing each other.
Of course, those are just jokes.
As the flagship of city management sims in his previous life, the game is extremely high in both immersion and playability.
You can patiently build the city of your dreams and watch it grow step by step into prosperity.
Or you can compare the real world and recreate actual regions.
Just like Civilization VI, it's a worthy "time-killer."
And with more advanced tech and AI, they can easily eliminate the bugs of the past life—like building multi-lane roads but the idiot AI citizens only using one and causing massive traffic jams; like cargo train stations with efficiency so low it's infuriating; like code and RAM limits leading to load errors when population gets high… all those rage-inducing problems.
Releasing this at a "small games festival" is a bit like a dimensionality-reduction strike.
Good thing they're only special guests—otherwise the ones crying would be the other studios.
After breakfast, he stretched a bit and headed to the institute where Luna was.
After swiping through gate after gate, he reached the innermost room and, unexpectedly, saw a woman in a lab coat with a tablet, recording something.
The sound of the door drew her attention.
She turned, saw him, and waved with a smile. "Oh my, you're here this early? You two really are a loving pair~"
That familiar voice made Xander pause.
It was the same doctor from yesterday.
She had a head of golden curls and wore a mask; with her eyes narrowed, her age was impossible to tell.
Xander stepped forward and answered softly, "I went to bed early last night. Good morning, Doctor."
"Good morning. But please wait a bit. It's Ms. Luna's routine check time now."
Saying so, she turned her attention back to the data screen, writing rapidly on the tablet.
Xander wasn't in a hurry.
He glanced at Luna, eyes closed, then at the recorded data he couldn't understand.
A few minutes later, the doctor raised her head again.
"Okay, all good. Ms. Luna's condition is excellent right now. Do you want to go into the virtual space first to wait? She should be able to wake up in about ten minutes."
Looking at the mental fluctuation curve, the doctor pondered aloud.
"I'll wait for Luna to wake up and go in with her."
Then he asked curiously, "By the way, I forgot to ask last night—did Luna always need to sleep?"
"What are you talking about? Everyone needs sleep, okay?"
Giving Xander a baffled look, the doctor replied, "Total human energy is limited. No matter how long you rest at once, it won't increase. Even if Ms. Luna sleeps for over half a month at a time, that doesn't mean she has the stamina to stay active for six or seven days straight."
"I see. I was overthinking it."
Scratching his head, Xander realized he'd asked a bit of a silly question.
They chatted a bit more about Luna's condition.
Soon, he received the alert that Luna had woken in the virtual world.
Waving goodbye to the doctor, he turned toward the pod.
Before long, two laughing figures appeared once more in the HOMU theme park.
Elsewhere—St. Freya.
Sirin stood before Kiana's door.
She took a deep breath, then knocked lightly.
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