Boy Meets Girl

The Grab Car drove towards the eastern part of K-City where Abbie's house was located. Her house was located in a lively residential area where she spent the majority of her childhood. If one were to ask if Abbie had a happy childhood, the answer was certainly yes.

She had a cheerful personality, so she easily made many friends. Even though some of them went to different universities, they still kept in touch through social networking sites like Instagrant and FaceLook.

Abbie asked the Grab Car driver to stop when she saw the familiar street lined with cherry blossom trees. Although her house was still two blocks away, she decided to walk the rest of the way on foot. The reason? She wanted to walk under the cherry blossom trees while holding Alex's hand. Seeing the fully bloomed blossoms made her happy. She wanted to share this happiness with the little boy holding her hand.

Alex looked at the scene with his mouth slightly agape. Both sides of the street were flanked by cherry blossom trees. Their pink flowers swayed on the branches as the soft breeze passed by. It made the impression that the trees were inviting them to walk on the street under their guidance. It was a picturesque scene that the local residents were proud of.

"Amazing," Alex muttered as he walked side by side with his Master. "Master, what are these trees called?"

Abbie raised her chin with pride--as if she was the one who planted the trees in the street. "They are called Cherry Blossoms. Beautiful, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are very beautiful, Master."

"I'm glad you like it."

The two happily walked hand in hand under the cherry blossoms and admired the view. If anyone were to look at the two of them from afar, they would think that Abbie was a suspicious individual trying to kidnap a kid by bribing him with cake. Fortunately, the street was deserted at this time so no one called the cops.

A familiar house appeared in Abbie's view. It was a two-story, medium sized, house that had been around for more than thirty years. The old gray paint on its weathered walls had a few cracks in it. The edges of the small front gate were coated in rust, and the roof had seen better days.

Their family had always wanted to do a full renovation, but they lacked the necessary funds for it. Even if Abbie received a substantial amount from the game company, it was not enough to do a full renovation.

'Maybe a partial renovation would do,' Abbie thought. Her heart ached at seeing the sorry state of their house. 'I guess we could start by repainting the walls first. We can go full throttle once I get enough funds from the game.'

Alice told Abbie that it was possible to earn more money from playing the game. She didn't explain the specifics, but the hint was enough for Abbie's wild imagination to form conclusions. RMT or Real Money Trading was a common exchange in many kinds of online games.

For example, if a player managed to get a rare loot from a monster or a boss, they could sell it for money in the real world. There were many rich individuals who paid handsomely for these items.

Some players even made playing games their full time job and sold the game items or in-game currency for real money. Abbie made a mental note to clarify these things with Alice the next time they met up with each other.

She was about to knock on the door when it suddenly opened revealing a small girl with long hair tied in a ponytail.

"Big Sister!"

"Lily!"

The little girl happily jumped into Abbie's embrace knocking the cake out of her hands. It was a good thing that Alex had decent reflexes. He immediately caught the cake then held it securely giving his Master the freedom to hold her little sister with both hands.

After giving her little sister a good squeeze, Abbie kissed Lily on both cheeks before letting her go.

Lily was so excited to see her older sister that she didn't notice that she was not alone. When her eyes landed on Alex, her instincts took over and she immediately hid behind her sister. Abbie didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her sister's timidity.

It was good that she was cautious around strangers, but it was also bad because it prevented her from interacting with children her own age. Lily only had a handful of friends, and those were their neighbors she had grown up with. Even at school, she didn't stand out and maintained a low profile.

Abbie was very worried about her future. She was hoping that Alex would help her sister break free from her shyness and become more open to other people.

"Lily, allow me to introduce you to Alex," Abbie said while gently patting her sister's head. "Alex, this is my little sister Lily. Isn't she cute?"

"Yes, Master," Alex smiled sweetly. "Lily is very cute."

Lily didn't say anything and just peeked at Alex from behind Abbie's back. Abbie didn't know how to proceed since her sister stuck to her like glue. Luckily, her mother, Olivia, noticed that something was wrong since the door was left open.

"Why are you three just standing there?" Olivia asked with a frown. "Come inside the house."

The older woman's eyes widened when he saw Alex. 'Such a cute boy! I just hope my daughter is not involved in some shady human trafficking deals or else I'll disown her.'

Olivia led Abbie and Alex into their small living room. Lily was still clinging to her sister's arms, while Alex followed behind them, holding the box of cake with both hands.

"Alex, dear, let me hold that cake for you," Olivia said as she took pity on the boy. "Just sit on the couch for now. Lunch is almost ready, so rest for a while."

"Thank you, Auntie."

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

Abbie sat on their old couch with a thump. Having sat on better couches during the past two days, Abbie was able to make a comparison. Their couch was not as comfortable as the couch in Alice's suite and was worse than the couch in her Dorm Head's room.

'Rich people's lives are really comfortable,' Abbie sighed in her heart. 'Hopefully, I will be able to earn enough to help support the family. I'd like Lily to have new dresses, toys, and all the things I didn't have when I was younger. I'll make sure to spoil her rotten!'

While Abbie was thinking these thoughts, she didn't notice that Lily was looking at Alex from time to time. Alex pretended that he wasn't aware of her glances and sat comfortably on the couch.

Abbie knew that her sister would get along with Alex once she could make the move to get to know him better. She just didn't know that her wish would be granted way sooner than she thought it would be.