Walking to the sofa, Luis smoked a cigarette with empty hands and didn’t say anything. He just turned his head to look at her and said, "Mom, sorry, did I disturb your sleep?"
Perhaps because of the evening’s events, Ruth was wearing a conservative nightgown, an old-fashioned style that still couldn’t hide the curves of her chest, which seemed ready to burst out.
Seeing Luis’s cold expression, Ruth instead sat down beside him, her delicate brows furrowing as she said, "Son-in-law, if you have something on your mind and can’t talk to Lily about it, you can tell Mom."
"Mom, it’s nothing. You should go to bed early!"
Luis just wanted to quickly communicate with the System, so he crushed his cigarette and prepared to go upstairs.
Unexpectedly, Ruth grabbed Luis’s hand and snorted, "You know what pisses me off? You’re just like a damn mute who keeps everything to himself. If you don’t spill it today, I won’t be happy."
Luis found it both funny and frustrating. "Mom, I probably just need to sleep it off."
"What ’probably’? Bullshit! What can’t you tell Mom?"
Ruth suddenly got agitated. "A son-in-law is half a son. What, you’re still hiding things from me?"
The treatment of "son-in-law half a son" was something Luis had never enjoyed before, but that gold bracelet really worked wonders.
Seeing the System playing dead and refusing to speak, Luis thought for a moment, then raised his head and sighed. "Mom, some things are hard to explain."
"Bullshit! What’s so hard to explain? I’m your mom, so just say it!"
After speaking, Ruth suddenly glanced upstairs with an understanding expression. "Got it. It’s something you can’t tell Lily, right? Come on, Mom’s treating you to barbecue."
After being practically dragged out, Luis put on a tank top and board shorts, while his mother-in-law wore her house clothes as they headed downstairs.
Ruth ordered a pile of skewers, and grilled oysters without asking Luis for his opinion.
That was just her personality, domineering and controlling. Among her three daughters, Lily had it the worst, while the other two had rebelled fiercely.
"Six beers, chilled..."
Ruth called out again.
Luis quickly said, "Mom, let’s just have some drinks."
"Bullshit! A little won’t kill you. Besides, just drink up and say what’s on your mind. Would Mom ever harm you? If you get drunk later, I’ll take you home myself. I don’t believe Lily would dare say anything."
Ruth was in high spirits now, even booking a private room. Her face was full of gossipy excitement, clearly eager to find out why her newly triumphant son-in-law seemed so down today.
"Ding... ’Enter a Woman’s Heart,’ activate?"
The System’s voice suddenly rang out again. This thing had latency, bugs, and even a bit of personality. When the prompt sounded, Luis felt his scalp go numb, unsure whether to use it or not.
This thing hadn’t even finished negotiating the last reward when it suddenly popped up again.
Its instability was giving him a headache, but Luis was also afraid it would go on strike, so he directly chose to activate.
"Ding... Skill ’Enter a Woman’s Heart’ has two modes."
"Mode 1: Hypnosis. Even if she denies it, you can directly converse with her soul and get answers to all your questions. However, she will have no memory upon waking."
"Mode 2: Heart-to-Heart. Best assisted with alcohol, it lowers psychological defenses and ethical inhibitions, allowing her to speak freely. Even if drunk, she will remember every word upon waking."
Now Luis understood, the System wasn’t as buggy as he thought.
"Choose Mode 2!"
He clearly saw the "Enter a Woman’s Heart" option disappear from the item bar, leaving only "Charming Scent (Male)."
Ruth, who had been brash earlier, suddenly seemed dazed. She took a big gulp of beer, raised her head, and stared at Luis, saying sternly, "Son-in-law, I know the money you used to buy me that bracelet was legit. But are you acting like this tonight because you regret spending it?"
"You never liked my daughter in the first place. From what I know about you, you’ve always neglected her. Now that you’ve spent the money, are you feeling heartbroken?"
Her words were aggressive, practically interrogating him. The skill was working—even though Ruth’s personality was naturally harsh, she at least cared about her daughter’s dignity and wouldn’t usually ask such things.
Luis realized this was the sober state. If "Enter a Woman’s Heart" had been hypnosis, it would have been like a dream state with no real meaning.
The second option was interesting. She asked questions she normally wouldn’t, waiting to see how he would respond.
Fully conscious, she disregarded all restraints and asked the questions she truly wanted to know... What a fascinating function.
"Mom, you’re overthinking it!"
Luis took a sip of beer and said after a moment, "It’s hard to explain to Lily. I’ve invested in a lot of things, like how I cashed out those dollars today. But sometimes, there are things that bother me."
"What’s wrong with your investments? Lily told me you’ve invested in a lot of things."
Ruth sounded concerned. "I don’t understand, and neither does she. Mom won’t say much, but seeing you like this worries me."
A thought flashed through Luis’s mind, and he smiled bitterly. "Mom, I’ve been working hard to earn money. I’m not as poor as you think."
"Like with the stocks today, I’ve made a lot and lost some, but the principal was only a few hundred dollars, and overall, I’m up."
"It’s the same with other things. I’ve also invested in some foreign futures. The principal was a few hundred, but the profits rolled up to over 10,000 dollars."
Luis put down his glass and sighed. "Right now, it’s volatile. It’s a sure profit, but I don’t know how much. Based on past data, those few hundred could turn into 20,000 dollars. But tonight, there’s some turbulence. If the market turns bad, it might only be a few hundred left."
"Son-in-law, then you’re under too much pressure. Why didn’t you tell Mom earlier?"
Ruth sounded reproachful upon hearing this.
Luis adopted a helpless tone. "Mom, I didn’t dare say anything. I only invested a few hundred here and there. Actually, I’ve been watching the market at home. You wouldn’t understand, and of course, Lily wouldn’t either. You see all those computers and parts I brought over? I’ve been working on blockchain and Bitcoin for a while now."
"Ah... that pile of junk."
"Wait, son-in-law, those parts are that important?"
Seeing Ruth’s shocked expression, Luis seized the opportunity. He suddenly downed a glass of beer and slammed the table in frustration. "I have multiple stock accounts too. The most frustrating thing is, last year I made over 25,000 dollars but didn’t sell. Now I’ve only taken out 10,000 dollars."
That meant 15,000 dollars had evaporated. Ruth said regretfully, "Then you should’ve said so earlier! Mom thought it was all junk."
Luis put on a wronged expression.
"Mom, not just you Lily doesn’t get it either after you scolded her. I told her I had some Bitcoin, and she thought I was scamming her."
"Bullshit! What does she know? You should’ve told Mom sooner."
The teahouse was a place where all sorts of people gathered, and the only thing they worshipped was money. Ruth knew exactly how much one Bitcoin was worth in dollars.