William Thompson smiled; he was actually pretty open-minded about it.

If it really was what he thought it was,

Well, boys will be boys,

He figured his aunt would probably understand too.

But thinking of this, he couldn’t help but glance oddly at Lily Harris behind him.

He really couldn’t figure out why she bought that thing for no reason, and she was so careless about it—clearly not experienced.

Back in the day...

Forget it, a true man doesn’t brag about past glories.

While he was muttering to himself, the two of them had already reached the front door. William Thompson took out his key and opened the door.

From the kitchen came the clattering of pots and pans; Aunt Grace Miller was cooking.

William Thompson changed his shoes and shot a reassuring look at Lily Harris, who was standing nearby, looking uneasy and glancing nervously toward the kitchen. He silently mouthed, “I’m here, don’t worry.”

At this moment, the usually well-behaved Lily Harris really seemed panicked. Hearing him, she nodded her head rapidly like a pecking chick, her face full of gratitude toward William Thompson.

William Thompson took a moment to prepare himself, thinking about how to bring up the topic.

Just then, the kitchen door opened.

With short hair and an apron, looking both capable and energetic, Aunt Grace Miller came out carrying a dish. “I heard the door and knew you two were back. How come you’re together today? Go wash your hands and get ready to eat.”

“Okay.” Lily Harris replied softly, nodding.

After putting the dish down in the living room, Aunt Grace Miller turned back to the kitchen. As she reached the doorway, she suddenly said, as if offhandedly, “Oh right, I saw a package in the living room this morning. Hmm, it had Xiaolu’s name on it.”

“I put it away for you. Come to my room tonight to get it.”

With that, Grace Miller went back into the kitchen.

In an instant, the air in the living room turned dead silent.

The two of them locked eyes.

Silence was the Cam River tonight.

......

William Thompson was stunned.

Lily Harris was frozen too, letting out a seemingly hopeless sigh.

There’s definitely a delivery address on the package.

He’d been talking for a while just now, and Lily Harris never mentioned this. William Thompson had thought she used a pseudonym or a nickname or something, but it turned out she used her real name.

What a silly, soft girl...

At dinner, William Thompson could see his cousin Lily Harris sitting across from him, sweat beading on her nose, her face bright red, looking like she was about to cry.

Sitting there eating in silence, William Thompson couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth, sighing inwardly.

It’s not that her cousin isn’t trying to help, it’s just that Aunt is too sharp.

Aunt Grace Miller, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind at all, still smiling as usual, even picking food for the two of them from time to time.

But whenever she picked food for Lily Harris, she would always say something, half-joking, half-serious.

Lily Harris ate very quickly. Before she’d even swallowed her last bite, she put down her bowl and mumbled, “I’m going back to my room,” then hurriedly got up and left.

William Thompson could tell she was embarrassed, and forced a sympathetic smile.

Just then, Aunt’s voice drifted over from behind, “Remember to come to my room later to get your stuff.”

Lily Harris instantly froze, lowered her head with a whimper, covered her face, and walked away.

“Eat up, don’t worry about anything.” Grace Miller said with a smile, picking more food for William Thompson.

William Thompson’s mouth twitched again, and he felt a chill inside. It seemed Aunt had always been too gentle and easygoing with him before—he never expected her to be so ruthless with her own daughter, not giving her any face at all.

He shoveled down a few more bites, then said he was done and hurried back to his room.

You have to know when to be tactful. William Thompson naturally understood that now was the time to give the two of them some space to talk.

Besides, after such a strange experience in the afternoon, and then this with his cousin in the evening, he needed to go back to his room and calm down.

......

Lying on his bed, William Thompson dozed for a bit, then started studying the system again. The living room outside gradually quieted down.

At that moment, a “ding” suddenly sounded in his mind.

“New mission triggered, generating.”

“Normal mission—Counsel your confused cousin and help her out of her mental dilemma. Success will earn you 200 base points; failure will be penalized based on completion.”

What the heck?

Counsel his cousin?

William Thompson’s eye twitched. He had no idea why the system thought he had the makings of a life coach, let alone that he was any good at comforting young girls.

Back when he was a kid at home, if his little sister cried, he’d just give her a beating—how was he supposed to counsel anyone?

Unfortunately, reasoning with the system was obviously impossible. As always, after issuing the mission, the system went silent.

William Thompson glanced at the base point reward.

Two hundred, huh?

That was a hundred less than the afternoon’s mission.

He wasn’t really bothered about the points; he just liked to compare the difficulty of missions by their rewards. Judging by this, this mission seemed a lot easier than leading his teammates to victory.

Thinking this, William Thompson felt a bit more at ease.

He got out of bed, put on his slippers, and after opening the door, glanced around. Aunt and his cousin had both closed their doors; by now, they’d probably already talked.

So William Thompson tiptoed quietly through the living room and gently knocked on Lily Harris’s door.

“Who is it?”