Free Web NovelChapter 21: Troublesome Morning
The next morning.
Bernard stepped out of his bedroom with a yawn as he rubbed his aching back. It felt much better today, thanks to sleeping in a proper bed with working air conditioning.
He spotted Lili playing with her toys on the carpet.
"Morning, Lili..."
Bernard greeted groggily.
"Sorry daddy slept for so long. What do you want to eat? I can whip up some eggs."
"Lana already made pancakes!" Lili chirped happily.
Before Bernard could reply, muffled shouts drifted through the walls from the beautiful front yard outside. He walked over and checked the window, frowning.
"What in the world is that noise? What are the ’married couple’ arguing about out there so early in the morning?"
Lili didn’t look up from her blocks.
"It’s about big brother’s new car."
"New car?"
Bernard was shocked.
He blinked at the window. It was almost like nobody told him anything about anything these days.
"Since when does he have a new car? Which one?"
Outside in the driveway, Chrome was standing next to an advanced, metallic-green masterpiece of Italian automobile engineering.
Chrome sighed as he gestured to the sleek vehicle.
"Lana, please look at it logically. The car really isn’t that extravagant. It’s just a regular means of transportation."
Lana stood in front of him with her hands planted firmly on her nice hips and an annoyed face.
"Not extravagant?! Chrome, it’s a Lamborghini Sian! It costs at least three million dollars! It’s more expensive than this house! Where’d you even get that kind of money?!"
Chrome rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, I—"
"There’s no way we can drive this to the dentist, it’s simply too much!"
She shook her head stubbornly.
"My mechanic should be done with my car by now. I’ll just have him bring it over here and we’ll take that instead. How’s that sound?"
Chrome cleared his throat loudly. He tried to speak but couldn’t find the right words. To be honest, he didn’t know how to tell her that there was no way they could carry that piece of scrap metal to the upper districts.
Since becoming Chrome, he’d only been in her car twice, and he remembered the way people in the wealthy districts stared at that broken-down sedan.
It’d be too embarrassing.
It would be dumb to tell her that, though.
So, he quickly changed the subject.
"I still think we should take my Lambo."
"No, it’s too much!" Lana countered.
"It’s just a good investment—"
"No, no, no, babe. We’re going car shopping right now to return this monster!"
Lana shouted, crossing her arms.
"What normal person drives a spaceship to get a tooth implant?"
Chrome raised his hands in surrender.
"Fine! Fine! We’ll go car shopping today. What car would you prefer? But, honestly, what in the world could possibly be better than a Lamborghini Sian?"
Lana’s beautiful face suddenly turned bright red.
She twiddled her thumbs together, looking down at her shoes as she mumbled.
"A... a Toyota Sienna...?"
She immediately whistled right after, trying to hide her awkwardness because of the complete deadpan stare Chrome gave her.
Getting annoyed by his look, Lana puffed out her cheeks and shouted.
"What?! It’s practical! Plenty space for groceries, and it’s the ultimate swagger wagon!"
Chrome turned away, his face blank.
"Nah. I’m not doing that."
He expected her to fire back, but when he didn’t hear Lana say anything, he checked. Her lower lip was trembling, and it almost looked like she wanted to cry.
Chrome instantly felt bad.
He stepped forward and gave her a comforting hug.
"Hey, hey, what’s going on?"
Lana sighed and rested her head against his chest.
"It’s just... I don’t know where you’re getting all this money, Chrome. I haven’t asked, because I know if you wanted to tell me, you would’ve already. I trust you, and I know you’re not getting it through dirty means."
She looked up at him with brown eyes full of innocence.
"But if you’re showing off so much wealth so early, you’re going to get in trouble with a lot of powerful women. In this city, it’s just not safe."
Chrome looked down at her worried face and sighed.
"Fine. We’ll take the sedan."
Lana sniffled, her eyes widening slightly. "Really?"
"Of course..."
Chrome groaned, gently patting her head.
Internally, he couldn’t help but complain.
’Man, I prefer being Mr. Gold. At least as him, I can show off without anyone cautioning me. It won’t be easy until I make Lana fully trust how capable I am.’
He nodded to himself, resolving to build up her confidence in him. Lana, meanwhile, beamed a radiant smile and gave him a big, tight hug.
Half an hour later.
A rickety old, silver-colored sedan was rumbling down the road as it polluted the air with more thick smoke than a commercial factory.
Lana was happily seated in the passenger seat, a bright smile on her face. She’d felt a bit bad for not letting him take his new sports car out for a spin, so she decided to let him drive her car to make him feel better.
Chrome held the loose steering wheel with a frustrated look on his face.
He frowned deeply, watching the hood vibrate.
’Haha, lucky me. I get to drive this doomsday machine. I just hope this thing doesn’t explode before we actually get to the upper districts.’
...
Meanwhile, at the luxurious Hilton Mansion.
Quinn and Olivia were gathered in the spacious study.
Quinn was sitting at a desk, typing a message to Chrome on her expensive laptop, while her mother paced behind her and dictated exactly what to say.
"Tell him that your heart aches when you think of the distance between you two. Say that true feelings can override any misunderstanding, and that deep down, you know you are meant to be together."
She spoke like she was directing a play.
Though her beautifully polished accent always made anything sound sophisticated.
Quinn stopped typing and looked back.
She was thoroughly surprised.
"Mom, since when were you so... romantic? I thought you didn’t care about mushy stuff." freewebnovёl.ƈom
Olivia immediately remembered her recent livestream disaster with Mr. Gold. Her mature face turned bright red with embarrassment and anger.
"Shut up!"
Olivia snapped, glaring at her daughter.
"That doesn’t matter! I am an expert in every field, and that includes the battlefield of love. When you send that silly Chrome this message, he’ll turn into pudding in your hands. He’ll come begging for your attention."
"I hope so..." Quinn murmured.
She turned back to the screen and clicked send.
Olivia walked over to the lounge chair and poured herself a glass of scotch.
"What did he say?"
"Mom, calm down, he hasn’t replied yet."
A few minutes passed in silence.
Olivia sipped her drink, extremely confident.
"Mark my words, men are very simple creatures. I know exactly how their minds work. He’s probably staring at his phone right now, overwhelmed by—"
Olivia paused. She noticed the profound sadness on her daughter’s beautiful face.
"Quinn? What’s wrong?"
Without a word, Quinn slowly turned the laptop screen toward her mother.
Olivia leaned in to read the text response that had just popped up from Chrome.
[Chrome: I ain’t reading all that ✌️]
Olivia froze like a block of ice as her glass of scotch hovered inches away from her rosy lips.
Back in the rumbling, smoking sedan, Chrome heard a ping! in his mind.
[Ding! Host has successfully executed a brutal rejection over text message!]
[Reward: $5,000,000 has been deposited into your account!]
[Bonus Reward: The Imperial Household Elite Guard! A fully trained, loyal group of staff to handle your estate’s security, cooking, cleaning, and administrative needs.]
Chrome smiled as he difficultly steered the shaky sedan around a corner.
"Wow. It’s really that easy."
But the system wasn’t done.
[Warning: Your future mother-in-law’s hatred toward you has grown significantly!]
[Warning: Serious narrative complications will arise if the Host does not accept Quinn’s advances soon. She may develop severe yandere/obsessive tendencies.]
Chrome’s face turned blank.
"Eh?"
Back at the Hilton Mansion.
There was silence, then loud sobs.
Quinn was crying heavily, her shoulders shaking as Olivia pulled her into a tight hug. Olivia held her daughter close and let Quinn weep into her large, soft bosom.
As she stroked Quinn’s arm, Olivia stared out the large glass windows of the manor. A terrifyingly cold, venomous look settled into her green eyes.
"That Chrome is a filthy, worthless maggot. I’ll personally make sure he pays for playing with my daughter’s heart so casually." freewёbnoνel.com
Behind her, a large entourage of formidable, suited men dropped to one knee, their expressions hard as rock and ready to depart at her command.
