Reborn With a Money-Making System: Ruined Actress to Nation's Treasure-Chapter 73: My Stoic Husband and His Sparkly Phone Case

To wash away all the negativity left from that horror movie, I decided we should head to the DIY art booth next.

There were so many fun things to do there—painting on mini canvases, making bracelets, decorating keychains—but then an idea popped into my head. "How about we make DIY phone cases for each other?" I suggested, handing him a clear case. "I’ll design yours, and you design mine. But no peeking until we’re done, okay? It has to be a surprise."

Lando hesitated for a moment before taking the phone case. "But I’m not good at art," he said, sounding unsure.

"It’s fine! Really," I reassured him quickly. "You don’t have to make it look perfect. Just make something that reminds you of me."

He looked into my eyes for a few seconds before finally nodding. "Okay."

Since our creations were supposed to be a secret, we ended up sitting a bit apart, but not too far. Just one table between us, facing each other from a short distance. The booth was quiet since it was a weekday, so the place felt calm and peaceful.

I grabbed some resin and blue paint before starting on Lando’s phone case. I’d decided to make an ocean-themed one. Why? Because he had ocean eyes, so clear and deep that I couldn’t help but get lost in them every time I looked his way.

Sure, Madeline also had blue eyes, but her rotten heart ruined any beauty she might’ve had. In her case, I’d rather stab those eyes with chopsticks than admire them.

Anyway, back to the phone case, I didn’t want to decorate it too much since I was afraid it would look too girly, but somehow, I got carried away and added too many tiny seashells and starfish charms.

It actually turned out really pretty. The resin blended into soft ocean blues and warm sandy beige, almost like a tiny beach trapped inside the case. But yeah ... maybe it looked a bit too cute, like something a teenage girl would carry, not for someone with a stoic face like him.

"Um ... listen," I said when we both finished, staring at my creation with a bit of guilt. "You don’t have to actually use it, okay? You can just keep it in a drawer or something. I won’t be mad."

"Let me see it," Lando said, raising his right hand toward me while keeping the one he made hidden behind his other hand.

"Okay, let’s trade at the same time!" I said, my voice full of excitement. "Three, two, one—trade!"

I placed the phone case I made into his hand and quickly grabbed the one he’d made for me.

My eyes widened the moment I saw it. "It’s so beautiful!" I said, running my fingers gently over the surface.

For someone who claimed he wasn’t good at art, he had clearly lied. He’d painted a dreamy night sky; layers of soft clouds and scattered stars in shades of violet and blue. Tiny moon and star charms shimmered on top, making it look like something out of a fairytale.

But why did he use so much purple? Oh, wait. Was it because of my eyes?

Before I could say anything, he spoke first. "I painted it because it reminded me of you," he said softly, almost like he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

"Purple?" I asked, blinking in surprise.

"No," he said quickly, his voice low. "I meant the starry sky. You’re always as bright as the stars ... and beautiful, like the night sky." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He turned his head away right after saying that, but not fast enough for me to miss the way his ears turned red.

Just like that, my brain short-circuited. My heart was pounding, my face was on fire, and I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him. When I turned my gaze away, I caught sight of the two booth attendants watching us from behind the counter, whispering and giggling to each other.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but from the way they were smiling, it was pretty obvious that they were looking at us like we were a cute couple straight out of a romance movie.

"I—I see ...." I finally looked back at him, clearing my throat to break the awkward silence. "Your interpretation is really beautiful."

"But the purple ... yes, it reminds me of your eyes, too," he said quietly. Then, after a brief pause, his gaze shifted toward the phone case I made. "I also like ... the one you made for me."

Now I felt even worse because my phone case looked so crowded and sparkly that I doubted it could even fit in his pocket.

"This ... this actually represents your eyes!" I stammered, my voice coming out too high. Why was it so hard to say something nice to him? "But not just your eyes! It’s also because you always look ... calm and ... comforting."

My words stumbled over each other, but the meaning was clear, and judging from the small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, he understood clearly what I meant.

"You don’t have to use it if you think it looks too crowded." I bent down and held out my hand to him. "I can take off a few of the charms so it won’t look that bad."

"It’s not bad," Lando said right away. "It’s a surprise, so why bother changing it?"

He actually had a point. Besides, I didn’t really mind if he just kept it in a drawer. It was only a phone case, not something that important.

But then, while I was putting the case on my phone, he started doing the same thing. Lando Brixton actually put a teenage-style decorated phone case on his own phone!

How on earth was that even possible?!

[Ding! Ding!]

[Congratulations! You’ve completed one of the checklist tasks!]

[Reward: $4,000 has been credited to your account.]

[Current Balance: $143,915]

That notification reminded me that I still had three more things to do with him!

"Husband, let’s take a picture together!"