As tradition dictated, three days after the wedding, Alix and Caishen were supposed to visit her family. She, however was torn between unwillingness and the expectation of grandpa Zhang that she would fulfill her duty no matter how much she loathed her family.
Also insistent was Caishen, who was rather weirdly determined to visit the Lin family house.
That was how Alix found herself bundled into Caishen's personal car, and driven to the house in which she had not stepped a foot into for two years now.
The car ride was silent, as if the two occupants in the back were mute. It would have been awkward but Caishen spent it all conducting a business meeting and she filled her time with the game.
So far, she had finished two quests and not once had she run into any of her fellow game players.
Currently, she was doing her third task, helping the town priest deliver meals to the orphans who lived in the church.
The game, to Alix who wanted to fight monsters and pick up loots was quite boring. Where was the thrill and excitement that came with decimating a foe or a rival?
"System, can we change the settings and this becomes an apocalyptic world. I can shoot zombies, steal from other camps, blow up my enemies strong hold." she spoke with fervor the more she went on.
Those were the games she used to play, and as violent as they could be at times, she found them to be relaxing.
Maybe it was because every time she shot a zombie to pieces she imagined that it Billi or her mother Jing Hee.
"You are a newbie, the continent changes as you level up." The system replied.
"Will I get to kill anything at level one?" she asked.
"I thought you wanted the rewards more than you wanted to exercise the dark fantasies in your mind."
Alix snorted and sneered. "What dark fantasies do I have?"
Killing a zombie that had Billi's face was not a dark fantasy, it was therapy.
"I can read your thoughts you know." The small elf giggled on the virtual screen.
"That is an invasion of privacy." she replied.
"Sue me if you can." The small elf told her with so much sass.
She snorted again as she and the priest gave out the last plate of food to a cheeky little girl that was smiling so hard that Alix could see her three missing teeth.
Turning expectantly to the priest, Alix waited for her reward.
"Thank you kind bard, I will gift you with this bracelet that wards off evil luck nine times."
A brown bracelet made of wooden beads appeared in Alix's hands. She gave it a once over and it disappeared into one of the cubes on the virtual screen that housed all her rewards.
"Please come back and assist us when you find time, the church of all souls is open to everyone." The priest told her politely.
"En, thank you." Alix cupped her hands and bowed politely.
She left the church skipping like a happy child as she went into the town, heading to the market specifically. Aside from the boring nature of the game so far, the town was actually a pretty good place to live.
She knew some of the townspeople by name now, and when she walked by, they usually waved or tipped their hats to her.
One of the butchers had even been kind enough to offer her some meat that was sitting in her reward cubes as well.
Occasionally, children gave her flowers, fruits, and other small gifts when she played a song for them. She loved spending time in the gaming world and if it was not for the other responsibilities on her shoulders, she would spend days and nights here.
Someone shook her arm, and she looked up, away from her phone. She also removed the earphones in her ears.
"We are here." Caishen said.
Alix clenched the phone in her hands and smiled wryly. She was back again, to the house which had been her personal hell.
"Mmm," she nodded and stepped out of the car.
The Lin villa, she finally set her eyes on it after so long. It was like the perfect family house, two stories, a swing set outside under a tree, a dog house and a swimming pool. Any outsider would envy a child that grew up here, thinking that they must have had a beautiful childhood.
For Lin Billi, that was the case but for her, not so much. Her friends had always been clamoring for invitations but Alix never invited them over. Some thought she was being arrogant and others thought her a snob. If only they knew what darkness laid inside!!
In Alix's eyes, the beautiful villa might as well have been a haunted house in which real devils lived. You did not need to go to hell to find them, this house was the portal to hell where evil wined and dined.
Even standing outside of the house gave her the chills, and that bad feeling which she always had just before she was made to give up on something she wanted.
Perhaps that priest had been on to something when he gave her a bracelet that warded off evil luck. What could be more evil than her sister and step mother.
"System, give me the bracelet." she said.
She opened her bag, took it out and placed it on her right hand wrist where her mother's pearl bracelet used to sit.
"Are you okay?" she heard Caishen ask.
He had managed to wheel himself next to her without her realization. He was staring at her with concern in his eyes, which was unusual. He had hardly said ten words to her since the night of their talk.
"No, I am not. I feel like I am suffocating and I want to turn back and hide inside the car. I want to make sure that you keep in mind the fact that I cancelled all ties to these people on the day of our wedding.
My scummy father, whatever he requests of you, feel free to say no. But, if you discover that there is a way for you take advantage of him, say yes and take as much as you can."