Tired, Chrome leaned back against wall.

He was reviewing his current status panel.

[Name: Chrome Langley]

[Bank Balance: $32,376,506.56]

[Cultivation Realm: Earth Core Realm]

[Skills: Emperor’s Aura (Rank A), Piano Mastery (Rank A), Calligraphy (Rank S)]

[Mystical Items: x10 Golden Body Pills, 24K Custom Gold Mask, Purple Crow Sword]

[Properties: Imperial Lakeview Penthouse, Luxury Villa in Ibiza, Porsche 918 Spyder, Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, Pagani Huayra Roadster BC, Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut]

So much stuff and yet, he didn’t look happy.

The whole drama with Lana was too tiring.

"What even has her so mad?"

[Ding! Host has not yet selected any hypercar valued at $5,000,000 as a reward for turning down the proposal of Matriarch Firesea!]

Chrome sighed heavily and swiped his finger through the air to open the car options panels.

Click. He chose the Lamborghini Sian.

"Hmm, it kinda looks like the Revuelto."

He tilted his head a little.

"Then again, most of these luxury cars have the same generic shape anyway..."

[Will the Host be assigning the vehicle to the secret identity Mr. Gold or to Chrome Langley?]

"Chrome Langley, of course."

[Assigning a five-million-dollar hypercar to your civilian identity could pose a threat to your secret identity as Mr. Gold. High-level investigators may connect the dots.]

Chrome just waved his hand dismissively.

"So what? Does that mean I shouldn’t get to enjoy luxury things just because I’m keeping a low profile? I’m not gonna buy some cheap, trashy car if I have the literal option to get an awesome one for free."

He looked down at his clothes and shrugged.

"Besides, I’ve already gotten some really nice threads and luxury items for Lili and Bernard. I should probably get something nice for myself too."

"BIG BRO!"

A high-pitched, joyful shout.

Chrome looked up just in time to see a little girl with brown pigtails sprinting across the street. Lili leaped forward and threw her small arms around his waist and gave him the biggest, tightest hug ever.

Chrome gently hugged her back.

"You look extra chipper today, Lili."

He reached down to give her some comforting head pats as she snuggled against him.

What’s the big occasion?"

Lili looked up at him with big green eyes.

"It’s because we’re moving out today! Tee-hee!"

She giggled happily, bouncing on her heels.

"I still can’t believe big bro has all this money to get us a brand new place! But... what’s gonna happen to all the new stuff we just bought for our old apartment?"

Chrome chuckled and rubbed her head some more.

"Don’t worry about it, dummy. I already have plans for those things. Besides, I haven’t even found our new place yet, so maybe I’ll find one that comes furnished."

Lili nodded eagerly as her cute pigtails swished back and forth.

"Mhm! Mhm!"

Her smile was exceptionally big and adorable.

Chrome looked across the street toward their run-down apartment building. The moving team was already almost done loading the last of their properties into the back of a large commercial moving truck. They didn’t have much to begin with in the slums, so packing everything up hadn’t been a problem at all.

"Chrome! Oh my goodness, Chrome!"

That was the stout landlady’s voice.

She saw them packing and rushed across the street as fast as her heels could carry her.

She stopped right in front of him, panting heavily.

"Are you really moving out?!"

Madam Tina asked, her eyes wide.

Chrome nodded calmly.

"Yeah. This place isn’t really ideal for my little sister and her dad to grow up in, you know."

Madam Tina let out a sad sigh.

"Oh, I’m really going to miss you, handsome boy..."

She reached out and gently placed a plump hand on his shoulder. She caressed his shoulder in a weird way that made Chrome’s skin crawl.

Chrome took a sharp step back, pulling Lili along with him to get some distance from the creepy touch.

Madam Tina felt a bit embarrassed.

She chuckled awkwardly and smoothened down her tight dress as she tried to save face.

"Ahem, well... you know, my daughter who owns that high-end entertainment club in the middle districts... she really wants to talk with you. She said tha—"

"Not interested."

"Uhm, are you sure, son?"

"Tina, I said—agh!"

An intense surge of memory flashed in his head and he gripped his temples hard.

"Big bro?!" Lili cried out.

The moving crew rushed over to help.

"Sir? Are you okay?"

"Did you hit your head somewhere?"

"Let’s have a look!"

Chrome shook his head rapidly, his face pale as he backed away from them.

"I’m fine! I... I just have to do something right now!"

Chrome turned around and hurried away.

No one saw him for the next ten hours.

...

21:30 PM, The Middle Districts

The night air was cool and fresh. Lana stepped down from the transit bus, her arms wrapped tightly around a large cardboard box filled with her personal work items. She clutched it against her chest like it was heavy, her head cast down.

She walked quietly along the beautifully lit roadside of the middle districts, wanting to enjoy the luxury view before she entered the dirty lower districts.

Everything felt colorless, though.

’This box means more than just losing my job. It means I’m starting a new life entirely without Chrome... my parents probably hate him already after I came back home so drunk last night. Maybe... maybe I should just call him just once and beg for forgiveness.’

With a trembling hand, she fished her smartphone out of the pocket of her beige overcoat. She unlocked the cracked screen and stared intently at his caller ID.

She was so utterly out of touch from drowning in her own misery, that she didn’t even realize when a speeding scooter tore around the corner.

Screeech!

The scooter almost hit her but swerved at the last second to avoid a collision.

Lana fell to the pavement and her box of work items scattered all over the place.

That did it... her memories from last night returned.

Flashback.

Just as Lana’s knees buckled and she was about to faceplant onto the concrete, a pair of strong, muscular arms caught her gently.

"Are you okay?" a familiar, gentle voice asked.

Lana smiled drunkenly up at him as she let out a goofily helpless giggle.

"Look, it’s Chrome..."

Chrome smiled softly down at her.

"Yes, it’s Chrome."

He gently sat her down on a clean concrete bench and joined her side.

Shaking his head, he let out a sigh.

"Jeez... you always act like you have everything under control, but you’re probably more of a beautiful mess than any woman out there. I still don’t get why you don’t want me to take you out on a date... maybe I just got a little too excited and sounded creepy when I asked, but that’s just because I’ve never been with such a stunningly beautiful woman before."

Lana just stared deep into his eyes.

Chrome frowned slightly and he looked away.

"Aiyaa... can you stop staring at me with those innocent eyes? They’re my weakness."

Lana remained silent.

All that beer she’d chugged made her eyelids droop.

Chrome let out one more quiet sigh.

"Anyways... I’m sorry if I upset you."

Reaching out with two fingers, he gently tapped her smooth forehead.

End.

The rush of the memory hit hard.

"No way..."

She felt like she was going insane.

"He wasn’t asking me to take him on a date... he wanted to take ME out on one!"

A beautiful smile threatened to break out on her face but at the exact same time, her brown eyes began to water rapidly as tears spilled down her cheeks.

She quickly picked herself up dialed Chrome’s number.

The phone rang twice before he picked up.

"Chrome! I’m so—" Lana sobbed out.

[Before you say anything, I’ll text you an address...]

He sent it.

[Please, come.]

Lana stared at her phone screen in a daze.

That address... she knew it.

She gathered her stuff, quickly hailed a taxi, threw herself into the backseat, and the car sped off toward the heart of the middle districts.

The taxi stopped along a clean, tree-lined avenue.

When Lana stepped out onto the sidewalk, she froze in immense shock. Standing directly in front of her was her number one dream house.

The large [For Sale] sign that had sat on the mint lawn for months was officially gone.

A magnificent luxury duplex house.

And standing right by the front gate was Chrome.

He was dressed exceptionally sharp, wearing a vibrant red cashmere sweater over a crisp white dress shirt, paired with tailored black pants.

On his feet were a pair of ultra-luxury brand slides.

Lana stood there as she clutched her cardboard box tightly against her chest.

She still couldn’t believe it was actually him.

He looked like a prince standing in front of a castle.

"Uhm... Chrome?"

Chrome turned around to look at her then smiled.

"Hm. Cute coat."

Lana clutched the box even tighter.

"Wh-, Why are you here?"

Chrome casually slipped his hands into his tailored pant pockets and shrugged.

"It’s our house."

Uhm... what... what did you just say?"

Chrome walked across the clean driveway and stopped right in front of her.

"I moved today. It’s our house, Lana."

The cardboard box fell from Lana’s arms as she slapped both of her hands over her mouth, entirely unable to hold back her emotional gasps and flooding tears.