Chapter 71: Misunderstanding

We spent the next hour tearing through foam, unboxing crisp components, and routing cables until everything was hooked up flawlessly.

When we finally took a step back, the dual curved OLED monitors glowed against the dark room, the custom liquid-cooling loop cycling a mesmerizing violet light across the ultra-minimalist desk.

It looked less like a bedroom setup and more like a high-end professional esports station. Absolutely beautiful.

Amanda slid into her ergonomic chair, fired up her system, and logged straight into her game client, her eyes instantly locking into predator mode. "Alright, investor," she smirked, cracking her knuckles over the custom mechanical keyboard. "Time for that 1v1. Pick your station."

"Not tonight," I said with a slight chuckle, tapping the screen of my phone. "I’m playing you from my estate once I get back. I want to see if your latency can handle my speed when you aren’t sitting right next to me."

"Oh, it’s on," she grinned, her hands already flying across the keys in a warm-up drill.

Before I could head for the door, the bedroom knob rattled, and the door creaked open.

Amanda’s younger sister stood in the doorway, rubbing her sleepy eyes in a oversized pajama shirt, clearly woken up by the low hum of the new setup. She took one step into the room, blinked once, and then froze dead in her tracks.

The sleepiness completely vanished from her face. Her eyes went as wide as saucers, darting from the glowing multi-thousand-dollar tech setup, to her sister sitting like a gaming queen, and finally to me—a complete stranger in a tailored suit standing in their apartment at one in the morning.

"Eh...?" she squeaked out, her jaw dropping open. "Amanda... who... what is happening right now?!"

Amanda’s face flushed bright red, her hyperactive panic instantly making a full comeback. "Maya, wait! No! It’s not what you think! He’s—he’s an investor! He’s funding my esports career!"

Maya crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow with an expression of pure, unadulterated skepticism. "An investor? Do you actually think I’m a fool?"

She gestured wildly between the two of us, her eyes darting from my tailored suit to the glowing $140,000 setup, and then back to Amanda’s burning red face.

"Amanda, it is past one in the morning!" Maya hissed, leaning forward. "You brought a whole boyfriend home! And more importantly—how on earth did Dad allow you to bring a guy into this apartment?! He loses his mind if a male mailman steps near the porch! What did you do, put him under a spell?!"

Amanda scrambled out of her chair, waving her hands defensively. "I swear on my rank, Maya, he is not my boyfriend! Dad literally just... met him, and they had a talk, and Dad gave us permission! Well, not permission, but he’s fine with it!"

"Dad? Our dad? Fine with a handsome guy bringing a hundred grand worth of glowing tech into your bedroom at midnight?" Maya deadpanned, looking at her sister like she had grown a second head. "Yeah, okay. And I’m the top player on the server. You two are definitely dating."

I couldn’t help the amused, dry smirk that pulled at the corner of my mouth as I leaned against the doorframe, watching the two sisters bicker while Maya completely refused to buy Amanda’s frantic cover story.

I laughed it off, pulled a remaining wad of crisp hundred-dollar bills from my jacket, and tossed it straight to her.

"Here," I said, my smirk widening. "Pretend nothing happened tonight."

Maya caught the cash mid-air, her eyes going wide as she quickly flipped through the stack. "And he’s generous, too? Consider it a deal, brother-in-law."

"Maya!" Amanda shrieked, her face turning a deeper shade of crimson.

Maya gave us a theatrical salute, ducked out into the hallway, and pulled the bedroom door shut behind her.

Amanda let out a long, exhausted sigh, collapsing back into her gaming chair and rubbing her temples. "Siblings, right? They never know when to shut up."

A brief, quiet silence fell over the room. Amanda froze, realizing what she had just said as she looked up at me, remembering I didn’t have any family like that. "Oh... wait. I’m sorry, Ethan, I didn’t mean to—"

Before the awkwardness could settle, the bedroom door burst open again. Maya scrambled back inside, completely ignoring her sister’s glare as she made a beeline for the desk.

"I’m just borrowing these extra headphones!" Maya announced fast, snatching a high-end headset off the shelf. "My favorite artist’s debut album just dropped at midnight and I need to hear it in actual high-definition right now!"

I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms with a faint, dangerous glint in my eyes. "Who’s your favorite artist?"

Maya paused, clutching the headset to her chest like a prize as a massive fan-girl smile broke across her face.

"Ruby," she said proudly. "Her raw debut track just went live on all streaming platforms out of nowhere, and the internet is literally breaking!"

The second Maya uttered that name, a massive, brilliant flare of golden light flooded my vision, completely blinding my line of sight for a fraction of a second.

[System Alert: High-Yield Cashback Triggered!] [Target: Ruby — Full Potential Unlocked & Market Takeover Confirmed!] [Total Investment: $3,180,500] [Multiplier: x40 Cashback] [Glow-Up Reward Dispensed: $127,220,000 Direct Deposit Approved!]

The multiplier kicked in, flooding my accounts with over a hundred million dollars in cold, hard liquid capital. Seeing her debut drop hit the market on schedule and instantly captivate fans—completely crushing Quin’s corporate timeline—unlocked her maximum potential. Every cent invested into her career had paid off in pure, undisputed dominance.

I turned back toward Amanda with a sharp, knowing smirk, pulling my suit jacket straight.

"Duty calls," I said smoothly, stepping toward the door.

Amanda looked up from her screen, a mix of fierce competitive fire and deep, quiet respect in her eyes. "Go handle your business, investor. But don’t think you’re getting out of this match."

"Wouldn’t dream of it," I replied, pausing at the threshold. "Log into the custom lobby. The second I step back into my estate, we test that new rig of yours. Let’s see if Luna_Sky can actually handle me on a level playing field."

"Get ready to lose your streak, Ethan," she called out with a wicked grin.

I stepped out into the cool night air, sliding into the supercar as my phone lit up with endless notifications from Ruby’s stream metrics. It was time to head home, toast to a hundred-million-dollar victory, and show my gamer what playing against a true master really felt like.

Lol, I can’t defeat her that i know.