Chapter 438: The Pampered One

Chapter 438: Chapter 438: The Pampered One

The man figured Boss Hart was right, and the thought made him even more excited. ’If I use this skill in a battle, hehehe~’

’My opponent will turn to stone in an instant. How could they possibly fight? This is unbeatable!’

"Let me try again!" With that, his mischievous hand reached for the Lucky Cat.

Seeing this, Lily Hart snatched the Lucky Cat away. "Now, now, we can’t be doing that."

The man was a little disappointed. He then wondered if he could only petrify objects or if it worked on people, too.

But everyone around was one of Boss Hart’s customers. He couldn’t just grab one of them for a test run, could he?

The man sank into thought. Finally, he turned his power on himself, but nothing happened. ’Guess I can’t use it on myself,’ he figured.

Lily Hart seemed to see his predicament. "If you can petrify things, you should be able to un-petrify them, right? Why don’t you try turning this scratch-off ticket back to normal first?"

The man heard her and thought it made sense. ’Boss Hart is so smart!’

He took the scratch-off ticket in his hand, focused his mind, and channeled the energy within his body.

With a soft POP—, cracks spread across the surface of the petrified scratch-off ticket, and it quickly returned to its original state.

They exchanged a look, both seeing the delighted surprise in the other’s eyes.

Reversing the petrification was fast, even a little faster than causing it in the first place.

Lily Hart steeled herself and held out her hand. "Go on. Petrify me."

The man waved his hands frantically. "I can’t do that, Boss! What if my superpower glitches and you can’t be changed back?"

’System, you could change me back if that happens, right?’ Lily Hart asked curiously.

’Of course I can, but do we really have to do this?’ the system replied, clearly confused.

Hearing the definitive reply, Lily Hart said confidently, "Go ahead and try. I have my ways."

The man was actually eager to try. He reached out a trembling hand and touched her wrist.

Maybe his conviction wasn’t strong enough, or perhaps his superpower was just too weak, but he only managed to petrify a small area.

A patch of gray gradually appeared on Lily Hart’s wrist. She poked it. Rock-solid.

’This could actually be useful,’ she thought. ’It might be bulletproof in a pinch.’

Her imagination ran wild, and she chuckled at the thought. The man, thinking she was laughing in anger, quickly reversed the effect.

"You need more practice," Lily Hart encouraged him. "Ideally, you’ll get to the point where you can turn someone to stone with a single touch."

Bolstered by her encouragement, the man left, giddy with excitement. He was an Illusionist now! No one would dare look down on him again!

’Anyone who dares look down on me, I’ll turn them to stone!’ he thought excitedly.

He couldn’t wait to spread the word to everyone he knew—and even those he didn’t—urging them all to go try the scratch-off tickets.

He then searched the [Human Social Sphere] to see if anyone else had won a similar prize.

He scrolled for a long, long time but couldn’t find a single person with the same experience.

’Could it be... I’m the first one?’ he thought gleefully.

Lily Hart also found herself wondering if anyone had ever won a similar prize.

But searching through her limited memory, she came up with nothing. It seemed he really was the first.

’He’s quite lucky, isn’t he?’

She sat and zoned out for a while longer. Seeing no other interesting prizes, she noted that the rewards were becoming a bit repetitive.

It was either fruit or daily necessities; truly interesting prizes were rare.

Take the [Bestow Superpower] prize from just now—it sounded amazing just from the name.

Lily Hart ambled down from the RV, deciding to make her rounds through the shops.

First up was the clinic. Roman Rowe was also spacing out behind the counter. He rested his chin in his hands, his eyes glazed and unfocused, but a smile graced his lips as he was lost in thought.

Lily Hart walked in with her hands behind her back and tapped on the counter.

"Hey, what are you so lost in thought about?" Lily Hart asked curiously.

"Thinking of Li—" Roman Rowe blurted out, but he caught himself before finishing the name.

He looked up and met Lily Hart’s teasing gaze. His eyes instantly lit up in surprise and delight. "Lily!"

"I was just thinking about you!" Roman Rowe said excitedly. He’d been replaying the memory over and over.

Reliving the scene of his kiss with Lily Hart before lunch. Just thinking about it filled him with a warm, happy feeling.

He had desperately wanted to go see her, but then he remembered the look in her eyes as she’d sent him away, so he had forced himself to stay put.

He could only think about it in his head...

And now, the moment he snapped out of it, here she was!

Overjoyed, Roman Rowe came around the counter, pulled her further inside, and guided her into his desk chair.

"Have a seat. Want some fruit?" Roman Rowe asked immediately, afraid she’d get uncomfortable and leave.

"No thanks, I just ate in the RV." Lily Hart shook her head. She swayed the chair from side to side and leaned back. ’Hey, this is pretty comfy.’

Roman Rowe fell silent, simply standing beside her and staring at her like a lovesick fool.

Lily Hart spun a full circle in the chair. As she was about to face him again, he stuck out his leg to stop her.

"Hm?" Lily Hart met his heated gaze, feeling like he was about to pounce on her at any second.

’That’s strange,’ she thought. ’Before we kissed, Roman’s gaze was never this direct. He used to just steal glances.’

’Did kissing me flip some kind of switch in him?’

Lily Hart subconsciously crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive gesture. ’There are people in the clinic. This is so inappropriate.’

But Roman Rowe didn’t seem to care. He had finally caught Lily Hart at the clinic, and he wasn’t about to let this chance slip by.

He blocked the chair with one foot, planted his hands on the armrests, and trapped Lily Hart completely within the small space of the chair.

His breath came in ragged bursts as he pushed the chair in a little, using the tall counter to hide them from view.

Then, he leaned down and kissed her. He had intended to be restrained, to keep it light.

But the moment their lips touched, Roman Rowe found he couldn’t pull away. She was divine, more delicious than any gourmet meal he could imagine.

It wasn’t until Lily Hart pushed him that Roman Rowe came to his senses. He released her and smoothly squatted down in front of her.

He looked up at her.

He rested his folded hands on her knees. "Lily, what did you come here for? The moment I see you, all I want to do is kiss you..."

’I’m here to survey the domain I’ve built, of course!’ Lily Hart thought. ’I didn’t come here just to offer myself up for a make-out session, did I?’

But she couldn’t bring herself to say that out loud, so she remained silent.

When Roman Rowe didn’t get a response, he resorted to poking her knee, then playfully prodding her thigh.

The poking tickled her.

She grabbed his restless hand and made a show of getting up. "Alright, I’m leaving then."

Roman Rowe held her in place. "Don’t go. One more time, please?"

Lily Hart was helpless against him. She cupped his face in her hands and gently pressed a kiss to his lips.

It wasn’t hot and intense like their previous kiss, but Roman Rowe felt a jolt as if he’d been struck by lightning, and goosebumps broke out all over his skin.

’This is... different from before,’ Roman Rowe thought dazedly.

Roman Rowe didn’t snap out of it until Lily Hart stood up. He reluctantly held onto her hand. "Okay... but you have to come visit me more often, okay?"

Lily Hart nodded. The whole scene made her feel like she was some emperor keeping a handsome lover tucked away, who was now pleading with her to visit more often as she was about to leave.

She walked out of the clinic and headed toward the convenience store. The moment she thought of Frost Shaw...

...the memories of last night came flooding back. ’Oh, boy. I can’t think about that. The moment I do, I just want more.’

Lily Hart didn’t break her stride. Instead of going into the convenience store, she walked right past it and headed for the hotel.

Frost Shaw, sitting behind his counter, vaguely saw her figure walk by.