C8 ANN'S CONFIDENCE

[7:30 PM]

Yup! We were late. I parked the car in the garage and got off while lugging the bags of groceries. Lisa, on the other hand, took her bags of shopping and tiptoed inside with her head hung low. As soon as I opened the door, there she was... Mom [Ann] was standing with her arms folded.

"Where have you been?" Ann questioned, her eyes firmly locked onto me. I didn't say a word and put on the fakest smile I could pull out.

"What do you mean, 'where'? Lisa and I just went shopping and had a wonderful time," I said. Lisa nodded her head in agreement.

"Shopping, you say?" Ann examined the bags we were holding with her eyes, before locking her eyes back at me.

I realized what her question was implying.

"Yes, for groceries and something for everyone," I gave the best sweet smile I could ever hope for.

"And where did you get that much money, mister?" Ann raised an eyebrow and started interrogating.

"Well, I did nothing illegal if that's what you are wondering about..." Before I could break it down to her slowly with some sugar coating to make me look even nicer, Lisa jumped into the conversation.

"He won the battle royale. Even got the MVP title and used the prize money for food and he even bought me new clothes," Lisa spoke so softly, but her voice was heard loud and clear.

"WHAT!" Ann's eyes were about to pop out, but after seeing Lisa nodding like crazy, she calmed herself.

She shook her head as if she couldn't believe that her son had the courage or the skill to fight and win a battle royale. But nevertheless, she appreciated me for spending the money on food. She even took a deep sigh and looked up at the ceiling, perhaps feeling relieved that the family finally got some support from the only man in the house and that she wouldn't have to worry about this week's groceries.

"Alright, go take a shower. Then, I'll listen to the rest of the story," Ann shooed me away, and Lisa walked ahead of me.

I put the bags on the kitchen counter as Ann followed me behind.

"You won an official match?" She asked as she walked to the other side of the counter and started taking the groceries out of the bags.

"Yes, Mom, I won a match," I repeated as I pulled the bottles of wine out of the bag and placed them on the counter, "And there's more..."

"More?" Ann raised her eyebrows.

"Got an offer from the Guardians. They are making a new team, so, after seeing my performance, they approached me with an offer," I sighed as Ann stopped unloading the food. She took a step back and rested her hands on the counter, staring at me with wide-open eyes.

"Are you serious right now, boy?!" Ann was in shock and disbelief.

"Yes, I'm serious. But I refused it," I dropped the bomb.

"Huh?!" Ann asked again.

"Yeah, I declined their offer. Our conversation didn't go well," I dropped the bomb, "They want me to work without pay. So, no thank you. I'd rather find a good-paying job than join a no-pay team."

"You are kidding me, right? Tell me you are kidding me," Ann crossed her fingers and looked up to the heavens like she was waiting for something miraculous.

"I am serious. But," I divided the credits in the inventory with just a single thought and placed a card with 20k credits in my pocket. Then I pulled it out. I took Ann's right hand and placed the card on her palm.

She stared at the card in her hand and then at me.

"20k credits. Should be enough to pay off the rent for the next three months at least," I smiled, and her lips curled up as she quickly came over and hugged me tightly. Ok. This is new. "I'm sweaty," I said with an awkward smile. I'm really not used to this feeling. But she didn't listen as she kept on hugging me.

"Shut up," Ann stayed in that position for a moment before letting me go. She looked down at the card and then placed it on the counter, "Showoff." She added as she chuckled.

"Haha, what can I say? I am awesome. Anyway, I got a nice plan. You will see it in a month or two. And, Mom," I grabbed her shoulder.

"Yes," She looked at me, a bit teary-eyed.

"I promise that very soon, you won't have to work anymore. That we will live a better life. So, hang in there a bit longer, okay?" I wiped a drop of tears coming down her face.

"Go and clean up. You smell. Just because you got some fancy title doesn't mean you are getting away with this smell," Ann said with a smile as she tried to keep a tough face.

"Yeah, yeah, says the one hugging a sweaty boy."

"Shut up!"

And she playfully slapped me on my arm as she went back to put the groceries away.

I left the kitchen and headed upstairs. It felt good to be helpful for once. I don't know if it's the System or my own feelings, but I feel good about what I just did. Haaa... This second life of mine is not so bad after all.

*****

I went to my room, took a quick shower, and changed into some casual clothes. Then, I headed back to the kitchen. Lisa was already there helping Ann.

"Where's Alice? Her room is locked," I asked while sitting on a chair and watching them work.

"Haaa," Ann sighed before continuing, "She's not talking to me today."

"Oh, why?"

"She got an F on her science test."

"Ah," I nodded in understanding, "So, she went to Jill's house again?"

"Yes," Ann dropped the knife and looked at me with a worried expression, "I don't know what to do anymore. She never listens to me."

"It's okay, Mom," Lisa placed a hand on her shoulder, "We'll figure it out."

"I think you need to be tough. Give her some spanks next time. It's your house and you are providing for us, so, she doesn't get to act like that. You need to take back control. She will threaten to run away, but where will she go without credits? Her friends? One day, two days, what about the third?" I gave her my opinion.

"You can't be serious," Ann stared at me.

"I am serious. If she won't listen to you, then you have to do something. She needs to understand that this behavior of hers will only hurt her in the future. She's not a child anymore. She needs to know that running away is not an option," I explained.

"Maybe you are right," Ann's expression says she's thinking it hard. She just needs a slight push.

"I mean, look at Lisa. She's so good. She gets an A+ in almost all subjects, helps you out, heck she even does little chores every day from watering the plants to cleaning the floor, and doesn't even complain. She's the perfect example of a good daughter. You need to be more strict with Alice and let her know that this is not how things work," I said, and Lisa smiled.

"And you think spanking is the solution?" Ann asked.

"Yes, maybe you can do more. Give her hard spanks, cut off her allowance, make her clean dishes, or do the laundry if she wants her allowance. That will teach her a good lesson," I suggested, and Ann nodded slowly.

"That's not a bad idea. Cutting off her allowance and some spanking in front of her younger siblings might work. She'll be humiliated and will do everything in her power to not get spanked in front of anyone. And when she acts well and completes her chores, she'll get her allowance back. It's a win-win for us both," Ann chuckled.

"See! You are smart, Mom. You can totally do this. Just be tough and confident. This is your house. You are the boss," I said with a smile.

"Well, thanks for the advice, son," Ann smiled back at me.

Ah! It feels so nice to sweet-talk her into this. I can see her mood jumped up to 90% during this conversation. Now, I wonder if she will call me or Lisa while spanking Alice. Hahaha... Either way, I can't wait to find out. Maybe I'll rub some lotion on her red butt after Ann's done with her. And she will be desperate to gain some credits with her allowance cut off. Hmm, I can think of some interesting scenarios.

Anyway, I left the two women to do the cooking and went to my room. I had to take care of something else.

I opened the inventory and took out the skill card. I wonder what kind of skill this is. I haven't seen anything like it before. Just need to scratch it like a lucky draw coupon.

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