Haggle

"I hate her!" Slater barged into Atlas's room and exclaimed. "That crafty girl! She's purposely making me angry!" 

He threw himself on the comfortable lazy couch, fuming. 

Atlas, who asked his family not to be disturbed, ignored him. He continued to answer the problem on his study desk. 

"Big brother, that crafty piglet did that on purpose!" Slater continued in frustration. "She's trying to take mom and dad away from us!" 

"Atlas, I…"

Suddenly, Hugo also came into Atlas's room, only to stop when he saw Slater unloading his anger in this room. 

"What are you doing here, Slater?" asked Hugo with a slight frown. "Atlas is studying for his exam."

"I'm frustrated!" Slater grumpily glared at him. "It's that piglet's fault! Not only she is replacing Nina, but she's also putting a wedge between us and our parents."

Slater jumped from his chair and encouraged, "We need to come together and stop her madness!"

"If there's madness that needs to be stopped, that's yours," Atlas, who couldn't ignore his little brother anymore, gazed up at Hugo. "What do you need?"

Hugo raised a notebook and approached. "I've been stuck in this problem and I need to understand it for tomorrow's recitation."

Atlas quietly took the note and opened it to the bookmark. 

Seeing his brothers' nonchalance, Slater's lips curved deeply.

"Are you not concerned about this?!" he exclaimed angrily. "Someone is invading our territory and now she's winning!"

"Slater, I know you're frustrated, but vent it elsewhere." Hugo's voice was cold and commanding. "If you think she's taking Mom and Dad's attention, then you should disappear for 13 years. Otherwise, leave Atlas alone."

"Let him be," Atlas said without giving them a look. "Slater is just worried about Nina."

Hugo sighed, feeling a little sorry for his little siblings. 

"Weren't you unhappy when you heard that Mom and Dad had another child?" Slater frowned dejectedly at his brothers. "How come you hadn't been saying anything?"

"Because no matter what we say, she's our sister." Atlas snapped his eyes back to Slater. "Also, I'm about to enter my junior year. This year is about preparing us for that and I'm taking it seriously."

"Hugo is also planning to enter the military, so he also needs high grades unless he wants Dad to intervene."

Hugo nodded. "In other words, it's a waste of time denying the sister we never knew until now. I'd rather spend the energy in my training instead of hating on her."

Atlas and Hugo shared looks before they cast their attention on Slater. Seeing that Slater was not appeased, they could only shake their heads and sigh. For them, as long as Penny stayed out of their way and didn't bother them, they wouldn't say a word. 

"She's also pitiful," Hugo commented quietly, thinking of how she would stay out in the cold while everyone else was locking themselves in warm places. 

"She is?" Atlas looked up at his brother, and the latter nodded. "Hah."

As the two elder brothers moved past the talks of Penny, Slater hadn't. He darted his eyes between the two, displeased that they had given in to this invasion so easily. However, he wouldn't allow this to go on.

*****

With the help of Allison, Penny was able to think of a name for her kitten and her rain frog. She named the kitten, "Chunchun" and her rain frog, "Tiana." 

Pleased with the names she chose, Penny laid on her tummy happily. Her feet were swaying to and fro behind her, cupping her face, eyes on the floor where Chunchun and Tiana were idling. 

"In my first life, I didn't have any companion," she said excitedly. "It's nice to have some companions after so long!"

In her first life, Penny always kept to herself. Her relationship with her parents was often awkward because she rarely conversed with them. She was too shy to open up and when she finally did, she shortly got accused of stealing.

"Speaking of, I forgot why was I outside in the first place!" 

Penny rolled her body to the edge of the bed, sticking her legs out to prop on the floor. With her weight, sitting up was a challenge. Hence, she managed to find herself a way to get out of bed as quickly as she could. 

Penny wasted no time running out of her room to look for Butler Jen. It wasn't that late yet, so she wanted to know if Haines had already come home. But when she reached the last step of the stairs, she caught sight of Haines in the living area. 

Her eyes lit up when they fell on the laptop in front of him.

"Uncle Haines!" she called eagerly. 

"Penny?" Haines furrowed his brows, watching the plump girl bounce in his direction. "Penny, why are you still awake?"

"Uncle Haines, I forgot to tell you why I was outside." Penny jumped to his side. Her smile was adorable, especially with those deep dimples in her cheeks. 

Haines slightly tilted his head.

"I noticed that you always come home late, but also leave so early in the morning!" 

How did she know that? 

Could it be she left the house on purpose because she knew he had to clear his schedule, subsequently, making him rest?

Haines was a little touched at the thought. He believed Penny was a genius, and so this wouldn't be a surprise. His smile, however, didn't last long when she said;

"I need to ask you for a favor!" she beamed.

"Favor?" Haines quickly laughed at his silly thoughts. "What favor do you need from me, Penny?"

"I need to turn my money into digital money."

"You have money?"

"I started saving up the moment I started working!" Penny grinned proudly, but this only made Haines frown. "I'm scared that my money will disappear or will disintegrate if I keep them in my piggy bank. So, I want to make them as virtual money!"

How could he forget? Jessa had been exploiting her the second she learned how to speak. The money Penny was probably talking about was the fraction of her earnings, which Jessa probably called 'rewards.'

"Didn't Charles hand you a card?" he asked. "Or why not ask him to open you a savings account?"

"But I don't want them to know about my savings. They would worry again if they heard that I was forced to work at a young age." She pouted, her eyes gleaming. "Uncle Haines, if you don't want to, then can I buy myself a laptop?"

Haines blinked, repeating her question in his mind. "You will buy yourself a laptop?"

"Yes!" Penny nodded profusely. "I will use my savings to buy myself one!" 

"Well…" Haines pondered. 

Opening her a savings account shouldn't be a problem as it was safer instead of virtual currencies. However, he preferred if she could enjoy her parents' money, since that was what she should do. With this other request present, however, Haines felt like he would sound too strict if he refused. 

"How about I buy you one?" he offered, only to see her shake her head. "Why?"

"Because Uncle Haines has worked hard to earn! I can't just spend it lavishly. I will only feel guilty."

Well, spending another person's money was, indeed, a little shameful. Looking at Penny, Haines wanted to argue, but she looked determined. Hence, he sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Fine," he said. "You can browse online. Do you want to check some?"

"Can I?"

Haines smiled as he took his laptop. "Sure."

With that being said, Haines placed the laptop on his lap and searched for online shops for laptops. Penny squeezed herself to his side, slowly growing horrified at the prices she was seeing. 

"Uncle Haines." She looked up at him, troubled. "Can we look for secondhand?"

"..." Haines was speechless. These laptops were already cheap and he could buy her a hundred of them! "How about I buy… fine."

In the end, Haines and Penny spent the night looking for cheap laptops and watching Penny ruthlessly haggle with the seller to get the best price she could. He couldn't help but think she would be a great businesswoman in the future.