Zoe Pierce didn’t know when she had fallen asleep.

She only knew that late into the night, she had listened to Erin Xavier talk a lot about his family. With just a few simple words, he had revealed his family’s complicated situation to her.

A mother who died young. An uncle and his family who were beyond helping.

A social-climbing father and a stepmother who was always scheming.

"Zoe Pierce, will you look down on me for this?" The flaws in his character were still there, always revealing themselves unintentionally.

Paranoid and stubborn.

It wasn’t like her, with no family ties to worry about. His family’s affairs were a tangled mess, impossible to sort out, and sometimes maddeningly frustrating.

At the time, Zoe Pierce sighed softly. "I won’t."

It was true that Erin Xavier had a strange temper, but if you looked closely, you’d realize he never threw a tantrum for no reason.

He was able to listen to reason and could rein in his own behavior.

In the darkness, the man’s lips curled into a smile. "That’s good, then."

He said something else after that, but Zoe Pierce couldn’t remember what.

Sleepiness washed over her, and she fell into a deep slumber. In her daze, she heard Erin Xavier say "goodnight."

When she woke up, it was already afternoon.

Erin Xavier was no longer on the Imperial Concubine Couch. The blanket was neatly folded, ready to be stored in a Space Button.

She yawned as she went downstairs. The living room was piled with stuff, and a robot and Erin Xavier were unpacking things.

Zoe Pierce rested her hand on the banister and looked down. "What are you doing?"

Erin Xavier looked up, and in the blink of an eye, he was by Zoe Pierce’s side.

His spiritual power was so useful, making it seem effortless, as if he had been by her side the whole time.

"Gifts I bought for you." Erin Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Limited-edition game accounts and equipment."

Erin Xavier had catered to her tastes, already sweeping up most of the well-reviewed games on the market. Now, he had spent a fortune to gather all the classic titles from the past thirty years for Zoe Pierce.

"There should be over three hundred titles in there, all rated 9.3 or higher."

It had taken some effort to collect them all. He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at Zoe Pierce. "Do you like it?"

Zoe Pierce didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "It’s too much. I’ll never be able to play them all."

Good heavens, even if she only played each game for three hours, that would already take 1,000 hours.

Not to mention she already had quite a few games at home.

Erin Xavier’s light brown eyes watched her. "Then what else do you like?"

Zoe Pierce thought about it but honestly didn’t know what she liked. She wasn’t really lacking anything, and things like jewelry and fine clothes were useless to her.

So she just looked at Erin Xavier. "You can’t just have everything you like, can you?"

"Why not?" Erin Xavier raised an eyebrow, his hand coming to rest on the banister as he leaned forward slightly. "If you like it, of course you should have it."

Zoe Pierce felt he was insinuating something.

She stood up to go downstairs when she suddenly felt a wave of heat from behind as his arm wrapped around her waist.

She turned her head to the side and saw Erin Xavier’s eyes meeting hers.

"Zoe... we only have five days left..." he said.

In five days, they would have to board the Starship for the friendship tournament.

This was why Erin Xavier was so reluctant to leave Zoe Pierce’s house. Having seen Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw, he naturally drew a comparison: Nathan Lockwood’s restraint on the Starship versus Chase Shaw’s uninhibitedness at home.

Once they were on the Starship, he would have no choice but to be restrained.

He didn’t want to waste these remaining five days.

Even though on the very first day, he had already achieved more than anyone else.

But she was an ever-flowing spring, and he was a traveler whose thirst could never be quenched. He would only grow more addicted each time; it would never be enough.

Zoe Pierce couldn’t help but think of what happened last night. After a night of rain, the sky today was clear and vast, the sunlight brilliant as it streamed through the window and fell on Erin Xavier’s face.

His lips seemed to be coated in a layer of golden light.

Just then, he pushed his tongue against his cheek, and she abruptly averted her gaze.

’His tongue, like a coiling snake, was also impossible to forget.’

Erin Xavier noticed Zoe Pierce’s slight awkwardness. At first, he didn’t understand why, since he hadn’t done anything—his arm was only loosely draped around her. But when he saw the blush on her earlobes, his mood inexplicably brightened.

’So, she hadn’t forgotten.’

When she saw him, she felt the shyness that comes after intimacy.

Walking into the living room, the robot had already cleared away the messy trash, leaving only the various heavy-duty devices visible at a glance.

Erin Xavier had Zoe Pierce eat breakfast first.

After they ate, the two of them sat on the rug in the living room. Zoe Pierce suddenly remembered something and glanced to the side.

Erin Xavier was holding a component and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Zoe Pierce looked away. "I don’t see Mrs. Lewis."

Because of Chase Shaw’s visit, Zoe Pierce hadn’t seen Mrs. Lewis for a long time. Even the meals were brought by a robot from somewhere unknown.

Erin Xavier adjusted the component to Zoe Pierce’s size. "I told her not to come over for the next few days."

Zoe Pierce looked up.

Erin Xavier continued, "I’ve learned how to make all the meals for you for these five days."

"The breakfast just now, I made it."

Zoe Pierce was utterly astonished.

’That breakfast just now was made by Erin Xavier?’

’Him, cooking?’

It just didn’t seem to fit him, no matter how she looked at it.

Erin Xavier huffed softly. "I only know how to make a few dishes. It took me a month to learn."

He hadn’t been idle this past month. While she and Chase Shaw were being lovey-dovey, he had been getting lessons from Mrs. Lewis.

"It’s inconvenient for her to be here." He had no intention of being reserved around Zoe just to avoid suspicion.

Zoe Pierce couldn’t argue with that.

But regarding the breakfast that even she couldn’t tell wasn’t made by Mrs. Lewis, she still offered a compliment: "It was delicious." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The corners of Erin Xavier’s mouth curled up high. "Of course..."

’Childish.’

Zoe Pierce laughed along with him.

Watching Zoe Pierce assemble the components with him, Erin Xavier glanced at the robot hiding in some unknown corner. He didn’t tell Zoe Pierce that he had already set her household robot to a pheromone-sensitive mode.

In short, couple mode.

It would automatically detect the male and female owners’ movements and stay out of their way.

So, in this house, it was truly, genuinely, just the two of them.

No one else would disturb them.

Counting the days, they nominally had five, but in reality, they only had three days alone.

After that, they would have to start packing for the friendship tournament, and then Miles Sherman and the others would definitely come over.

His tongue licked his somewhat dry lips, and his eyes curved into a harmless-looking smile as they met Zoe Pierce’s.

Zoe Pierce just felt that since she woke up, the smile had never left Erin Xavier’s face. His already inoffensive features were now a huge advantage, making him a pleasant sight to behold.

It made her mood improve as well.

How could she have known that Erin Xavier was constantly scheming about other things?

’Only three days. I want to get even closer.’

’Even if... we don’t go all the way.’

’There has to be more than one way to make her happy, right?’

Erin Xavier was in an excellent mood because he felt that Miles Sherman wasn’t like them. ’Therefore, the person closest to Zoe Pierce can only be me, right?’

The mere thought of it made him tremble with excitement.

’I get excited way too easily,’ he thought.

’That’s not good. It’ll be easy for her to find out.’