-47- Small gifts

"By the way, why is it just you at home? Where's Vi? I'm back; why isn't she coming out?"

"Vi went out with Vander. They left me alone at home."

Powder had said this to Silco before, but when she repeated it to Linwin, her tone had lost the slight complaint she had with Silco.

Linwin approached Silco with Powder in his arms.

"Why are you here?" 

Silco looked at Linwin with a smile, not a cold one. 

He didn't answer Linwin's question but instead doing bartender work. He took out a glass from the cabinet, gently shook it, and asked Linwin, "What would you like to drink?"

"Uh, juice?" Linwin apparently still wasn't fond of alcohol.

But Silco shrugged slightly, his face showing a teasing smile. "I'm sorry, but we've run out of juice for today."

Linwin lowered his head, and he noticed the empty juice bottle on the bar counter, a large container capable of holding three liters. However, it was now empty. Next to it, there was an empty bottle with a chewed-up straw. 

Linwin had a keen sense of smell, and he could detect the scent of juice in the glass. Not to mention, there was also a bitten, chewed straw in the glass.

He turned to look at Powder, who had been looking at him and immediately turned her head away.

She avoided looking at Linwin, especially avoiding eye contact. But Linwin raised an eyebrow and asked, "How much juice did you have today?"

"One... two," Powder replied hesitantly, still not looking at Linwin.

"Are you sure?" Linwin pressed, teasing her.

Powder turned her head towards Linwin, raised her hand, and extended three fingers, making eye contact. "If Vander finds out, he'll be mad."

"It's not like I wanted to drink it myself! Sevika made me drink it, and then... then he made me drink two more," Powder quickly pointed towards Silco, trying to shift the blame to him.

After all, if Linwin found out, he might just scold her a bit. But once Vander found out, he would probably punish her, maybe making her stand in the corner or kneel on the bed for half an hour, or something similar. That was the Vander family rule.

She didn't want Linwin to come home and find out, only for her to end up punished. That wouldn't be good.

Linwin looked at Silco, wearing an expression that seemed to apologize for his child's mischievousness. But in Linwin's eyes, both Powder and Vi were a bit rebellious. Sometimes they really weren't obedient children.

Powder and Vi definitely didn't qualify as well-behaved kids. After all, they had even stolen from Jayce's place. Even if Vi framed it as robbing from the rich to help the poor, it was still theft. 

However, Linwin could understand that the survival environment in Zaun was different from Piltover. But in the future, Linwin thought this would gradually change.

"I'm glad you trust me. I thought you would unquestioningly believe her words," Silco replied, taking a glass of alcohol from Linwin and continuing, "After all, I can tell that you care a lot about her."

Linwin placed Powder on the bar and took the glass from Silco. He sipped a bit and then said to Silco, "Silco, I've noticed you often tend to misinterpret people's intentions, like you're doing now. I don't trust you blindly; I just understand her very well."

Linwin reached over and playfully tapped Powder's head while she looked down in embarrassment. She hadn't expected Linwin to return at this time; she had thought he wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Moreover, she hadn't anticipated him discovering this situation.

When dealing with Linwin, Powder could have boldly lied to Vander about it. After all, Vander didn't mind these things, and Zaunite children shouldn't be expected to never steal, deceive, or tell lies. 

However, Linwin had made it clear that he didn't like her lying.

So, since the blame hadn't been shifted elsewhere (which was the truth), Powder could only admit to it now.

"I admit it, I asked them for it," Powder said sheepishly.

Linwin patted her head and shook his head, saying, "You'll have to discuss this with Vander."

"No, Linwin! I know I messed up!"

"You can't, you can have only one glass of juice a day; that's what you promised Vander."

"Don't pout." Linwin reached out and grasped Powder's mouth that she had just pouted, playfully saying, "I brought you and Vi some nice things. Would you like to see them early?"

"What nice th--" Powder's mouth was held shut by Linwin, and her head bobbed with Linwin's hand movement. Her words became muffled.

Silco watched this scene silently. 

He was more humane than he had imagined. If he had known Linwin's softer side earlier, he could have come up with a better way to deal with Linwin. Linwin's vulnerability was quite obvious, and the girl named Powder was one of his weaknesses.

However, that seemed to be unnecessary at the moment. He and Linwin had already established a rapport.

"Can you stop ignoring me?" Silco said helplessly. "I've been waiting for you for quite a while, and I waited for Vander for most of the afternoon."

"You came early?" Linwin looked at Silco in surprise, then back at Powder. He had one hand covering her little mouth and the other gently pressing her small head. 

Linwin pushed her head like a ball, lightly nudging it in different directions. Powder felt annoyed but accepted it, as Linwin had done similar things many times.

"Are you telling me you spent the whole afternoon with her?" Linwin asked.

"Aren't you worried?" Silco responded.

"Not particularly. Although you appear to be the type who plays mind games, a cunning and despicable person who stabs others in the back, being with you actually gives me peace of mind."

Silco: "."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I certainly meant it as one. So, Silco, what did you and Powder do this afternoon? I just mentioned that I find you trustworthy, but you know your bad habit. It seems you enjoy brainwashing people. Every time I see you, you try to manipulate me."

"Really? You're overthinking it. You always tend to overthink things."

Linwin looked disdainfully at Silco and said, "See, you're at it again."

Silco: "."

Come to think of it, did he really try to brainwash Powder earlier today? Well, after many years of painting enticing pictures, recruiting people, it had become Silco's professional habit.

"You didn't come down just to accompany her and her sister, did you? I assume you have many questions for me and Vander," Silco said.

Silco had another drink. With this high-proof liquor from Vander, he was already feeling a bit woozy.

"Let's wait for Vi to come back, and we'll talk together."

Linwin pulled out two elegant elongated boxes.

"I brought some small gifts."