Tsuchigumo wore an orange-red down jacket, with four openings manually cut at the back to accommodate her mutated limbs, a practice she was accustomed to since no manufacturer would pre-produce spider clothing.
Bubble watched Tsuchigumo’s four large spider legs with awe, and Tsuchigumo, feeling this gaze, couldn’t help but shiver uncontrollably.
She sensed a dangerous aura emanating from Bubble.
This Spider Sense had helped Tsuchigumo escape thousands of life-threatening situations. As Tsuchigumo entered, the sense of crisis moved with Bubble’s movements, terrifying like countless sharp needles.
She watched Bubble and Xu Cheng enter the guest room, hesitating whether to join.
"Hmm?" Wolf Girl closed the door, glancing at Tsuchigumo, who remained motionless.
"That child makes me feel a bit uncomfortable," Tsuchigumo admitted calmly.
"Really?" Wolf Girl leaned forward, her neck arched as if always prepared to hunt, her slender eyes fixated on Bubble inside the guest room, "Indeed, it feels a bit tingling when I carry her on my back."
Tsuchigumo lifted her hand slightly to stop Wolf Girl, but she had already crossed the room and entered the guest room. Tsuchigumo sighed and looked around.
She decided to wait here for a while and wait for Mr. Xu to return in the evening.
This was the mysterious Mr. Xu’s residence, a place which Tsuchigumo found very comfortable despite visiting only a few times.
The living room had a cozy wooden floor that reflected a soft light; modern wooden furniture was placed around; and the open kitchen was filled with plenty of kitchen appliances, from induction cookers to vacuum canners, almost like a kitchenware sales area in the store.
A huge shelf was wall-mounted, most of which contained Xu Yang’s items, such as electronic tools, backup disks, and rare books; the other half displayed Xu Cheng’s personal collections, either picture frames or toys.
Tsuchigumo saw her own photo on the shelf, taken by Xu Cheng two months ago on her birthday, which she didn’t expect to be kept, making her feel a wave of warmth.
In the guest room, there was a kotatsu with an electric heater below. The kotatsu was covered with a thick, matcha-colored blanket, surrounded by cushions.
Sitting on the cushion and then extending one’s feet under the kotatsu would ward off the cold, a necessity for the winter season.
One of the walls was a holographic projection wall, with virtual imagers from Nestor Corporation installed in each corner, capable of freely producing, cutting, and editing images on the opposite wall. Today, it resembled a garden full of green plants.
Although they lived on the 20th floor, the view from outside looked like an entire garden. The greenery, the pond, the artificial mountains, and rocks all looked incredibly realistic, basked in the gentle sunlight, with no flaws visible, such that Bubble nearly walked into the wall until Xu Cheng pulled her back.
Tsuchigumo stared at Bubble’s bewildered appearance, unable to understand why she prompted such a strong sense of crisis in her.
Now she knew what it felt like to be on pins and needles.
Tsuchigumo sat around the kotatsu, experiencing the strong alarm from her Spider Sense, while trying to appear nonchalant, feeling like a convict sentenced to death, trying her best to remain calm in public.
Xu Cheng prepared green tea for everyone with an automatic teapot and filled the table with snacks including chocolate cream biscuits, fries, cookies, cream wafers, soft candies, and sliced sweet potatoes. Under her arrangement, the table resembled a food street stall, full of delicacies.
"Quack!" Xu Cheng waved her hand as if a seasoned shopkeeper welcomed customers to dine.
Wolf Girl’s pointed ears twitched as she rummaged through the fridge for raw beef and cola. After she left, Tsuchigumo felt a chill down her spine again, facing Xu Cheng and Bubble alone, wishing to explain her business quickly and leave.
"Anyway, something came up in Shinobi Village, and I need to go back for a while, so I won’t be able to continue teaching. I’m really very sorry," Tsuchigumo apologized to Xu Cheng.
She must return to Shinobi Village.
"Quack quack," Xu Cheng understood.
"I signed a contract to keep training you, and now to give up because of personal reasons feels incredibly rude," Tsuchigumo expressed her dejection.
"Pup pup," Xu Cheng also felt saddened, she thought her Ninjutsu lessons were much more interesting than learning through a Virtual Helmet.
Bubble had her first tea-drinking experience, mimicking others, holding the hot cup with both hands and slowly drinking the green tea, getting a novel experience.
"Excuse me, may I ask who this child is..." Tsuchigumo turned to Bubble.
"Her name is Bubble," Xu Cheng introduced Bubble to Tsuchigumo, "She’s a good kid."
"Ah, nice to meet you, Bubble. I am Tsuchigumo. Please take care of me," Tsuchigumo bowed to Bubble.
"Nice, nice to meet you! Please, please take care of me too!" Bubble mimicked Tsuchigumo’s speech.
Tsuchigumo mustered the courage to look into Bubble’s eyes, where vibrant colors flickered in her emerald gaze, as if from another starry sky.
When it was time for lessons, Xu Cheng and Bubble went to study. Tsuchigumo sat in place for a while, trying hard to digest the feeling of discomfort. Probably no one, except Mr. Xu, could answer the mysterious phenomena surrounding Bubble.
The warmth of the kotatsu made Tsuchigumo feel comfortable, she thought about hibernating there. Wolf Girl, however, couldn’t stay put and was already playing video games in the living room; she enjoyed racing games and soon the room filled with the sounds of racing music and roaring engines.
Perhaps distracting herself with a game would alleviate the fear. With that in mind, Tsuchigumo also went to the living room and picked up another game controller next to Wolf Girl.