'If the situation with my sister is , then why am I not telling her anything?'
Reaching this point, Christian found himself wondering about his own behavior. After all, holding back from discussing Eva and avoiding the topic had only led to awkwardness and discomfort between him and his sister earlier.
Christian immediately found the answer: it was primarily because she was the mother of a girl who was his age. However, it wasn't simply about the complexities of her being a mother or the age difference; he didn't mind discussing either aspect with his sister after all.
It was actually about her material state, as he still had not broached this subject with Eva. He had even tried not to think too much about it, as it was an uncomfortable question, with an answer that he feared could be dreadful for him.
He didn't have the courage to ask this question, and seeing how she continued with the older sister setting, he followed along with her.
However, upon noticing that Olivia still had no sign of a father present today and was with just her mother, Christian felt more confident in his conclusion that she might be a single mother.
That was one of the reasons he was delaying asking the question; he wanted to grow closer to Eva first before bringing up anything sensitive or personal. He felt it was important to establish trust before diving into such topics and confirming his suspicions.
He wanted to reach that point before discussing it with his sister, but he couldn't shake off the feeling of hesitation. Was it really okay to wait so long?
One week passed, and during this time, Christian who found himself wanting to tell his sister about Eva, started thinking about how he should develop his relationship with Eva and when he should take another step forward, making his intentions more clear.
But while this was a question he seemed to ask himself daily lately, he still hadn't done anything. He simply went with the flow over the past week, not making any deliberate moves to advance his relationship with Eva through their interactions.
He naturally met her once during the week and engaged in simple chats over the phone. However, aside from the question he asked about her intentions regarding his sister, or rather, the way she expressed herself on graduation day, nothing else happened that felt particularly significant.
He could also say they had become a little closer, perhaps more comfortable with each other. Or was it just from his side? As Eva had always carried that easygoing air about her, which didn't seem to change at all.
Most importantly, he had actually got criticized by her when he asked the question related to his sister.
"You really have a weak grasp of social skills, or is it just with women?"
That was her reply, which he, of course, didn't agree with, as he felt he had been improving his social skills lately. However, Eva didn't elaborate on either of these topics later, making Christian realize he had been brushed off.
In the end, he decided not to worry about it anymore; he would get to know these things in due time, anyway.
Then there was what Eva and his sister had said about getting to know each other better, which ultimately seemed to be just a passing remark, as neither of them brought it up again.
Christian also remembered something during the past week: his name had been mentioned in the hacking incident and in the suspension notice at the board before. So, could it be possible that Eva had heard of him before?
Maybe because he had previously felt that she was out of reach, he actually forgot that those incidents could have also reached her ears. It's not that he was now thinking highly of himself; it was just that these kinds of incidents are interesting topics of conversation, and Olivia should have heard about them and perhaps mentioned them to her mother back then.
More importantly, the incident involving Clayton, the math teacher, had suddenly been closed, and no matter how he thought about it, the whole situation felt unnatural, and if he were asked who seemed to be the richest or most influential person in his school, it would naturally be her.
While Christian pondered all these thoughts, he realized that they were ultimately no more than hypotheses to consider. Neither of them had any picture of him, and it also appeared that she didn't know him at all.
But recalling how she hadn't mentioned either of those two incidents made him also wonder if it was intentional.
Or was he mistaken? But after what had happened on the graduation day and during his other meetings with her, Christian knew she was quite fluent in conversation and didn't seem like the type to have any difficulty hiding her intentions or lying without batting an eye.
While Christian couldn't be sure about anything, he still felt that the whole situation was suspicious.
As for confirming with her? That was out of the question. If she wanted to make her intentions clear, she would have done so already. So, questioning her now wouldn't change anything.
Since he saw her at school for the first time and later made many assumptions about her, such as her coming from a wealthy family, Christian was prepared for some drama. Therefore, he didn't mind these things, including the waiting.
But while he went with the flow over the last week, and there was no real development, Christian had actually decided that he should take another step in his relationship with Eva. As for the timing, he had also decided it.
It would be after he found another lead concerning his parents' case.
Then when is he hacking the police database again? It was actually happening now.
After he raised his Program Hacking skill level to three a couple of days ago, he decided not to wait for the AI anymore, despite the clear progress he had made with it.
Christian had actually just finished creating the first version of the AI, [I.R.I.S: 0.1], today. However, upon reviewing its performance, which was nearly the same as the AI versions launched online but without the limits imposed on users, he felt a bit disappointed at first. Still, he quickly got over it after thinking carefully.
Since this was just a prototype and not the final product, there were still many aspects that needed attention. So, if the prototype was nearly the same as the existing version, then the final product was clearly bound to be in a different league.
Christian who had leveled up his AI Creation skill to level three today, also discovered another issue: the materials related to his AI Creation skill were actually starting to run out.
Despite considering how he had acquired everything possible online through payment and obtained many other resources from various companies, which while it was still not the complete data they have, Christian now understood that even with all the materials available in the world, his AI creation skill would never reach an advanced level.
He would need to research his way up later as he advanced in his skill.
Anyway, there was plenty of room for development later. But for now, if he wanted his AI to assist him in hacking, it would be a hopeless case. As despite how the AI program was actually well-suited for hacking, it was still far from being capable of helping him, especially given that he had an Advanced Program Hacking skill at level three.
Anyway, feeling ready, with him also alone in his room, Christian, who was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, didn't hesitate any longer. He got up and headed toward his computer to start his work! To start Hacking!
With a deep breath, Christian settled into his chair, the soft hum of the computer filling the silence of the dimly lit room. He cracked his knuckles, attempting to relax the tension about what he was about to do and what he might uncover.
Still filled with determination, having waited more than enough time for this moment, he didn't hesitate.
With the glow of the screen as the only source of light in the room illuminating his focused expression, he began pressing the keyboard, typing a series of commands.
His fingers danced over the keys with a practiced precision, something he never thought he would develop in his life before.
But as it was already his second attempt at hacking the police database, he navigated through the maze of firewalls and encrypted barriers with relative ease. So, with the screen filled with lines of programming code, time passed.
Then as he finally arrived at the same place he had reached last time, Christian felt more caution than thrill at this challenge; he couldn't afford to make any mistakes after all.
Coming across the fortified firewall and searching for encrypted data, Christian didn't slow down, despite feeling some pressure.
The red warning he had feared didn't appear, and in the end, he succeeded in bypassing everything.