A vast field with green grass, a straight path paved with rough small stones neatly leads to a house. Lein, holding a black plastic bag in his hand, walks leisurely toward the large house not far ahead. Reaching the porch, he presses the doorbell on the side of the house.
The sound of the bell rings...
Not long after, a voice is heard from inside the house.
"Just a moment, brother..."
The door opens, and a joyful Nita appears. Without hesitation, she runs and quickly jumps to hug Lein.
Lein is actually used to Nita's behavior, but he still takes a slight step back when Nita hugs him while running.
"Brother, why were you so late? Did you encounter a strong enemy?" Nita asks while continuing to hug Lein.
"Let go first, Nita... I can't breathe."
"Hehehe, sorry, sorry," Nita says while releasing her hug. She then notices the black plastic bag in Lein's hand.
"Brother, is that chicken noodle soup?"
"Yes... Didn't you order it earlier?"
Lein looks at Nita with a puzzled expression. It hasn't even been 30 minutes since their last phone call, yet this girl has already forgotten.
Yes, right. How many did you buy?"
"I got five packs," Lein replies.
"Wow... Great, let's eat with Sister Laras and Auntie," Nita quickly takes the black plastic bag and turns back into the house.
As Nita turns around, she sees Laras standing still at the door. She passes her and walks inside towards the kitchen.
"Ahh... Sister Laras, I'll set up the food first."
Laras ignores Nita, who is busy with her own affairs, and then walks towards Lein to greet him.
"Hello, Mr. Lein, welcome back..."
"Hello, Miss Laras, the view of your house is very beautiful," Lein says, shaking Laras' hand.
"Hhh, not really, Mr. Lein, please come in."
"By the way, no need to call me miss, just Laras is fine."
Hearing herself called "miss," Laras feels uncomfortable. So she says it now to avoid any awkwardness in future meetings.
"Alright, and just call me Lein..."
"Besides, we're not that far apart in age."
Lein doesn't mind. He actually doesn't like formalities all the time, preferring to use formal language only in government matters.
"Please, come in... Mr. Lein."
Laras was about to say "Lein" directly but then changed it to Mr. Lein.
Seeing Laras's nervousness, Lein waves his hand dismissively. He then walks into the house with Laras.
The atmosphere inside Laras' house is spacious, and there are already several people inside. There are about four people, all of them are close relatives of Laras who are visiting.
The four people in the room are two adult women with two children. They are watching TV, which is showing children's animation.
Seeing a guest arrive, the two adult women shift their gaze, then get up from the sofa to greet Lein.
"Mother, Auntie, this is the owner of the island we are on, as well as the leader of our Alliance, Mr. Lein."
"Nita, who often plays here, is Mr. Lein's sister..."
Laras explains and introduces Lein to her mother and aunt.
"Yes... Handsome too..."
The words of the two women aren't quiet but clearly audible. They look at Lein with admiration.
"Lein, this is my mother and aunt..." Laras also introduces her mother and aunt to Lein.
Lein greets them and raises his hand to shake hands with the two women.
"Please come in, make yourself at home."
"Consider this your own home, young Lein...."
Laras's mother, who was initially impressed, is now even more impressed by how polite and humble the young man in front of her is. Even with his position as the owner of the island, he remains polite and not arrogant.
"Alright... Please continue with your business."
Laras's mother understands that Lein didn't come for them, so she quickly urges them to continue with their matters.
Soon, Laras and Lein head towards the back of the house.
Lein observes that the design of Laras's house looks very elegant with a non-rigid shape, and the lighting inside is very good—not too dark, yet not too bright.
Also, several flowers with beautiful colors are neatly displayed in various spots, and some peculiar items are hung on the walls of the house; it seems Laras's father is a collector of antiques.
Laras and Lein continue towards the back of the house and eventually reach a door leading to the garden. From a distance, a small pavilion is visible, and on it sits a girl waving her hand at them.
"Sister Laras... Brother Lein... Hurry up," Nita's voice echoes throughout the garden.
"This girl..." Lein says in an exasperated tone.
"Hahaha, I think she's trying to get your attention, brother Lein."
Laras notices Lein's irritated face; she feels that Nita has been acting strangely since Lein's arrival.
"Yeah... She's been like that since she was little," Lein replies with a tone of resignation.
Soon, both Laras and Lein reach the pavilion in the middle of the garden and then sit on the empty seats.
"Let's eat," Nita says as she pushes bowls of chicken noodle soup towards Laras and Lein.
"Nita!!! Be polite," Lein scolds Nita. Lein reprimands Nita for pushing people's food with her left hand.
Lein tries to lecture Nita about her behavior, but he only gets a stuck-out tongue in response, as she continues eating the chicken noodle soup messily.
"It's okay, brother Lein, let's eat," Laras doesn't want the two siblings to argue, so she immediately starts eating the chicken noodle soup in front of her. She eats in a sloppy manner, just like Nita.
Lein gives up and also begins to eat the chicken noodle soup in front of him.
"Brother Lein, by the way... Why did you return now?" Laras tries to start a conversation.
"Well... I have another meeting in Guandu Realm..." Lein replies.
He explains about the battle he had in the realm where the Qian race resides. He also explains how he obtained over 10 million contribution points.