Dinner with Lin XiuRong

Matriarch's room was located in a separate part of the mansion, quite far from where Keith was staying.

The room was enormous, probably the biggest in the mansion. The whole bedroom was furnished with traditional furnishings that made the room look luxurious and also eye-catching.

At one corner were shelves filled with books and scrolls, while in another corner, there was a huge bed with a very comfortable mattress. The wall was adorned with beautiful paintings, and there were large vases filled with beautiful flowers kept in a corner.

Across from the bed, there was a table set up, at which a woman was sitting, with a bottle of wine in her hand.

Her face remained calm and desolate, mature and yet showed no signs of ageing. Her pink lips were very alluring and enticing, her eyes had a beautiful shade of green, like the reminiscent of the forest.

Her shoulders were adorned with long, glossy pink hair that was both sexy and silky smooth. Taking a sip from the bottle of wine, that she held, she curled her hairs occasionally.

She wore a dark nightgown, not as sexy, but her ripe and voluptuous body made the boring nightgown look captivating.

Though the entire room was quiet, there was a low muffling voice that could be heard every now and then.

*Lick..! * * Lick..! * * Slurp..! * * Lick..! *

Beneath the table was a man, with his clothes in tatters, the whole body covered in red and bleeding from different places. The marks of whiplash were visible all over his body, from his face to his legs. His hands were tied and he was trembling, probably due to pain.

Laying at her feet, he was thoroughly licking them as if they were some sort of delicacy.

" Wife I.."

* Thudd..! *

Just when he tried to speak something, the next second the leg he was licking crushed his head on the ground.

" Shut up and do your job. "

Her cold voice resounded the room, making him tremble in fear, as he went back to lick her feet.

* Knock..! * * Knock..! * * Knock..! *

" Come in "

The door opened and an old lady walked in, the same woman that told Keith about the matriarch.

"Aunt Ling, how was it?"

While gazing at the old lady, Lin Shiyun inquired. She was worried that maybe Keith would have made some fuss since she didn't even greet him.

Honestly, there was no need for the matriarch to personally greet and tend to people, but Keith was a disciple of her best friend, so she felt that it was her duty.

" Miss, it went alright, though he looked a bit disappointed, but he immediately agreed and didn't cause any commotion. "

" That's good "

*Lick..! * * Lick..! * * Slurp..! *

Hearing these muffling sounds, the old lady couldn't help but glance beneath the table.

When she saw a person wearing tattered clothes and covered in blood and marks, lying at Lin Shiyun's feet, the old lady sighed. She wasn't sympathetic towards him, heck she was more than happy to see him in this condition.

It's just that she couldn't help, but notice how much lonely the matriarch looked.

As for the reason, it isn't hard to tell, well neither does she have friends nor a lover. All day long, she either keeps working or cultivates, and this has been going on for a decade now.

The only friend she has lives far away in the forest, and her husband, well, as you can see, is no more useful than cleaning her legs.

" How are the preparations progressing? "

" Everything is going well, most of the branch family members should arrive by tomorrow "

" That's good "

* Knock..! * * Knock..! * * Knock..! *

" Come in "

This time the person who entered was none other that, Lin XiuYing herself.

Once she went into the room, the first thing she noticed was her father, who was lying at her mother's feet, with his clothes tattered and his condition worse than that of a slave.

Looking at him in this state, the only thing that she felt was disgust. Fatherly love was something that she had long since forgotten. Looking at him in this state, she could conclude that he probably did something heinous again.

She concealed her disgust in her heart as she glanced at her mother and said.

" Mother, did you call? "

" Yes "

"Aunt Ling, you can go, and while you're going, check out our guests if he needs anything."

" Yes, miss. "

The old lady nodded, bowing respectfully she left the room.

Soon situation became awkward as only three of them remained in the room.

Though Lin Shiyun wanted to ask her daughter to sit, she knew that her daughter probably wouldn't be comfortable with that.

" Did you meet him? "

" Hmm.."

.....

Back inside the guest room in which Keith was staying.

" Mister, is there anything else you want? "

Lin XiuRong asked, as she stood respectfully before him.

" Hmm.. "

Heading for the table, Keith sat down on one of the chairs.

" There is something I want "

Looking at the amount of food that was placed on the table, Keith was sure that he wouldn't be able to finish it alone.

" I want you... "

He intentionally didn't finish his words, which caused the sentence to have a completely different meaning.

Why? because He wanted to see her react, whether she would get blushed or startled. Anything would do as long as this cold veil on her face disappeared.

" Sure "

Completely contrary to what he expected, she agreed to his request immediately, without even giving it a thought.

" Mister, How would you like me to serve you? "

Keith was shocked. Although he knew he was not good at courting girls, this was bad.

' Dear God, what's wrong with this girl? '

Keith sighed, he was exhausted and wanted to eat silently.

" Nothing, just sits down and eat with me "

Following his words, Lin XiuRong immediately sat opposite to him.

" Huh.. "

Looking at her cold, emotionless face, Keith sighed. Honestly, he was just hoping somebody could help him. He couldn't really handle this problem alone.

Not bothering to play anymore, Keith went on and removed his mask. Though he thought of doing something to embarrass her, but now he honestly doesn't think that would work.

The moment he removed his mask, he couldn't help but notice a pair of eyes constantly staring at him.

Noticing that Lin XiuRong was staring at him, Keith could help but feel awkward.

" I think we should focus on eating food. "

" Hmm... "

She nodded and began eating the food.

' Girl, what's your problem? Are you not human? '

If things went like this, he wasn't sure if could complete the mission.

Leaving these things aside, Keith began to eat. Soon, the whole room was silent. The only noise that could be heard was that of the cutlery.

* Ding..! *

' Finally..'

Keith was unable to conceal his happiness, he had been anticipating this for a long time. Although the system was late, he couldn't care less about it.

Keith immediately read the option, whilst trying not to make her suspicious.

[Triggered a Common Choice Event]

[Option 1: Initiate conversation. Applaud her, affirm her beauty, and ask about her hobbies and family.

Reward:- Lin XiuRong's Favourability +0; Getting ignored by Lin XiuRong in future]

[Option 2: Humiliate her. Let her know that she should be thankful for being given the opportunity to breathe the same air as you, and for allowing her to gaze at your face.

Reward:- Lin XiuRong's Favourability +0; Title - Arrogant fool]

[Option 3:- Ask her about Lin XiuYing, her hobbies, things she likes, and anything she knows. Let her know that you have a genuine interest for Lin XiuYing her and desire to become closer to her.

Reward:- Lin XiuRong's Favourability +40]

'System, you sure? I should do this.'

Although Keith had some confidence in the system, but looking at the bizarre option, he couldn't help but be wary.

[Host, trust the system]

' huh... fine '

While the system provided him with guidelines on what to do, he still had to make the conversation on his own.

"Miss Rong, you won't mind me calling you that, Right?" With a vibrant smile on his face, and a glimmer in his eyes, he asked her.

Looking at him, probably no woman in the world could deny his request, let alone her.

" Hmm.." Lin XiuRong nodded in approval and continued to eat.

" Miss Rong, there was something I wanted to ask. If you don't mind "

....

Not far from the Lin clan, about 10-15 kilometers away, this was the same place where the lightning incident happened.

The effects of lightning were clearly visible on the ground, as multiple craters had formed all over the place. Even the soil had crystallized to form glass.

Inside one such crater, a corpse was laying inside, covered by a thin layer of soil.

* Ding..! *

[It has been detected that player Lin Fan has failed to carry out the plot due to external interference.]

[Player Lin Fan's HP is critically low]

[Using Luck points to provide critical support]

[Player doesn't have enough luck points]

[Using beginner's privilege ' Lifeline']

[Lifeline has been consumed]

* Ding..! *

[Since Player Lin Fan has used all his beginner privileges, he has lost his status as a newbie]

[The Cardinal system will no longer assist player Lin fan]