Lily Aguinaldo...
When Joseph's parents died, he suffered from the debts that his parents left for him.
Common sense told everyone that it was impossible for such a young man to survive, while under such heavy debt. Particularly in Joseph's case. He should've lost the biggest asset left by both of his parents, which was the house he was currently living in.
A house was an asset that generated huge amounts of money, and for the companies that wanted payment from both his parents' debt...
It was an attractive piece of meat for them.
Joseph fell into depression back then, and he became so desperate that he started busking on the streets just so he could gather more money. He did all of these for the sake of the precious house that his parents left for him...
In the end, the house survived the companies' onslaught.
But just how did he do something like that without the help of his parents' relatives? Could all of it really due to his hard work?
Well...
Most of it was because of Lily...
Joseph literally considered Lily as his angel. The one that brought him light amidst the darkness that surrounded him. If not for Lily always encouraging him back then.
Joseph was sure that he would've taken his life already due to depression.
A year ago, Lily left for the sake of pursuing a higher quality of education in a more urbanized city.
Now, she's back and Joseph felt happy that she still remembered him, and not only that...
She even visited him!
"It's been a year since I last visited and I see that nothing has changed..." Lily swept her gaze around the living room and found that apart from a dining table, a few dusty couches and a dusty television. Nothing really stuck out like a sore thumb.
Joseph's living room still looked as generic as it was a year ago.
'I wonder, just how did someone like him managed on paying all that huge amount of debt, and even keep those companies at bay for a few years in amortization.' Lily couldn't help but feel doubtful about the reports that she received from her private investigator.
That's right.
Lily Aguinaldo wasn't as angelic as Joseph thought...
She was someone that valued opportunities more than anything else. She could endure, or abandon anything for the sake of capitalizing on opportunities that could elevate her life...
Something like this happened a year ago.
Back when she told Joseph that she would pursue higher education in a more urbanized city.
But the truth was, she only followed her wealthy boyfriend to that city, and for the duration of their relationship. She felt that she was just a frog at the bottom of the well...
Unbeknownst to her, there was an incredible, whole new world where everyone treated money as a mere tool and with little importance.
The world that the wealthy lived in was completely different from those of poor blokes such as Joseph.
When she experienced the lavishness of the truly rich, she couldn't help but mock herself for sticking on Joseph who supposedly had a few lands and building assets that she couldn't even confirm if they even existed in the first place.
Unfortunately, the rich were also fickle...
After her wealthy boyfriend got tired of her, she was abandoned, and she now had no other choice but to return back to this City of Sibu. At first, she intended on going out on dates so she could save money and maintain her current lifestyle.
But then, she suddenly remembered Joseph.
She had a private investigator investigate on Joseph's well-being, and she found out that he managed on paying all of the debts that he had...
Not only that, he even satisfied the demands of those greedy companies for several years.
"I'm sure that he finally has the assets of his late parents!" This was what she thought so, she visited Joseph with the facade that she was here for the sake of their friendship.
She even planned on how she would entrap Joseph. She made these plans with the basis that Joseph definitely liked her due to the help that she rendered back when Joseph was just a struggling young man.
She felt confident that she could entrap him in her beehive, and when that happened?
She could finally continue living the addicting lifestyle that she always had ever since she visited the City of the rich.
But now that she entered the house that she had never visited for the past year.
She found that nothing had changed...
In fact, some of the furniture that Joseph had in his living room was covered with dust. Indicating that they haven't been used for quite a while.
In other words, Joseph didn't have any visitors apart from her in the past year.
"Are you okay, Lily? What's wrong?"
Joseph found that Lily had a frown on her face so, he asked if she was fine.
"Nothing... I just feel somewhat dizzy." Lily suppressed the disgust that she felt when she saw the dust that covered the couches in the living room.
She detested Joseph even more due to this, but for the sake of her objectives...
She endured it all and she finally took her seat on Joseph's dusty couch.
Joseph sweetly smiled when he saw her sitting on his couch. Glancing at the plates that he had on his table. He had an idea in his mind and he couldn't help but express it to her.
"How about I cook for you? I mean, it's been such a long time since we saw each other and I can't help but find the need to brag my cooking skills to you. You'll be shocked to see my improvements!"
Lily paused for a moment.
He wasn't exaggerating.
Joseph's cooking skills were excellent, but this was mostly due to the fact that he wanted to save money and he opted on cooking for meals.
Lily lightly smiled at Joseph's gesture and said: "Thank you... Seeing the plates that you have on the table right there, it seems like I came in a good time."
Joseph lightly chuckled in return: "Hahaha, that's right. You really came in a good time. I just finished cooking and the pan's not really cool yet so I can instantly cook something up for you. Just wait here for the meantime, and don't worry about anything. Just make yourself at home."
Joseph then awkwardly scratched his head as he turned around and headed for the kitchen while walking in a strange manner that looked like he was dancing on a beat.
"He's flashing me that smile again, and also that head-scratching. He always does that whenever he's nervous. Really, his habits are still the same..."
"Not only that, I'm pretty sure that the reason why he suddenly wants to cook for me isn't just because he wants to brag to me about his cooking skills. He wants something from me..."
"In other words, Money..."
Lily sneered at Joseph who had his back turned towards her. A year ago, his behavior was completely predictable and a year later. He was still the same. Yeah, nothing changed with him.
Especially that habit of his where he pampered people up before he asked favors from them.
Because of this, Lily was almost certainly sure that Joseph wanted something from her and she couldn't help but feel disgusted once again: 'Now I am really certain that he must be lacking money right now after he paid all the debts that his parents left to him...'
'That should be the reason why he needs money. But I do not believe that he thoroughly exhausted the assets of his parents. He must've left something.'
'He isn't someone that would do something risky such as running low on funds without any back-up plans. I am sure that he still has a few assets that his parents left for him. That's enough for me to decide on what I should do with him.'
Lily wore a sweet smile on her face when she saw Joseph carrying a bunch of plates on a tray towards the dining table.
Joseph carefully placed the plates on the dining table and said: "You didn't tell me about your preferences, so I just cooked your favorite dinner meal for you, adobo and fried rice." He had a smile on his face when he explained and even scratched his head in embarrassment.
'There's that habit again. Now, I am sure that he wants something from me.' Lily now felt certain about why Joseph was acting kind to her.
She glanced at the plates that Joseph placed on the dinner table and felt disgusted once again.
It was because the meat that Joseph used on his adobo looked anemic, an indicator that it wasn't fresh.
Not only that, the peas and vegetables with the fried rice looked hard, yet moist. This was yet again, an indicator that the vegetables weren't fresh and probably made out of frozen veggies that Joseph hurriedly thawed with the rice.
"What's wrong? Let's eat. Don't wait for it to go cold. it's more delicious when it's hot." Joseph said and Lily gulped a mouthful of saliva as she tried on suppressing her disgust.
But Joseph misunderstood her gulping as he said: "It looks that delicious to you? Since you had to gulp while looking at it, I could say that I succeeded in bragging my cooking skills to you, eh?"
Lily's smile looked quite crooked as she replied: "Y-Yeah, they look really delicious..." She shakenly lifted her spoon and took a mouthful of the fried rice. Pain and disgust could be seen on her face, but Joseph interpreted them as quite the opposite, and in a positive manner.
"Damn your eyes are even tearing up while eating that fried rice, are they really that good?"
"Let me try."
Joseph couldn't help but feel impressed with his own cooking when he saw that teary-eyed look on Lily's face while she ate.
He stood up and fetched a single spoon of fried rice from her plate.
When he placed that spoon of fried rice in his mouth, he exclaimed.
"Ughhh... That really hits close to home. Aunt Goreng's recipe of adding a teaspoon of chicken msg really enhances the flavor of the fried rice. But Lily, I think that you're quite exaggerating right there..."
"Even though this is delicious, I don't think that it's at the extent where you could cry about it due to its excellent umami. But oh well, it's still delicious."
Joseph became talkative and Lily felt that his attitude was unbearable.
But she still endured, suppressing her disgust about the fried rice mixed with frozen vegetables and chicken msg. She continued on eating. As for the adobo, she didn't even have the heart of mixing the adobo's sauce with the fried rice for fear of vomiting.
"Ughhh... That felt good..." Joseph moaned on his seat as he patted his bulging stomach.
He even ate Lily's share of adobo when he found that Lily had no intention of eating everything that he served for her.
"Uhmm, Hey. Can I go to the bathroom?" Lily asked in a hesitant manner as she repeatedly gulped mouthfuls of saliva in an effort on suppressing the urge to vomit.
"Ah, of course, you can... The bathroom is still at the same location. Nothing ever changed here anyways since you left a year ago." Joseph waved his hand and he seemed to be in a good mood. In fact, he even opened the television and watched some news related to the VRMMORPG Victory.
In the bathroom, Lily kneeled over the toilet as she vomited everything that she ate.
"Ugh... That bastard, making me eat something like that!" She inwardly cursed at Joseph as she stood up and gargled some water in an effort on removing the remaining flavor of the msg-laden fried rice that she ate at the dining table.
After a few moments, her breathing was finally fresh once again after spraying some mint. But her anger was already bubbling.
She hated the fact that she even came here in the first place.
After all, she didn't find anything when she came here.
Nothing changed in Joseph's house and everything still reeked of old age and antiques.
But of course, she didn't hate Joseph for not changing the old furniture and items that he had in his house...
She hated him due to the fact that he was once again showing his habit of pampering her right before he asked for a favor.
Right now, Lily had almost nothing to her name after she broke up with that boyfriend of hers. How could she afford to pay for something that Joseph wanted or even lend him some money? With this hatred in mind, she went out of the bathroom and returned to the living room.
She noticed that Joseph was intently watching television.
"Oh? You're watching television? How long has it been since you turned that on?" Lily asked in a sarcastic and mocking manner, yet Joseph interpreted it as a friend jesting as he replied: "Hahaha, look at the dust covering its surface. I can't even remember when I last turned on this television."
Lily took her handkerchief and placed it under her butt as she sat on the couch. This gesture didn't escape Joseph's eyes but he merely shrugged it as a lady wanting to remain clean as much as possible.
"Oh, Victory? You're also playing that?"
Some excitement finally appeared on Lily's eyes when she saw that Joseph was watching some Victory-related content.
Joseph's eyes also flashed with the same excitement when he heard what Lily said. Finally, he had something to talk with her about.
Honestly, he was happy that Lily visited him but he was also nervous due to the fact that he didn't know how to face his crush who now looked quite matured for a young woman.
Right now, he was thankful that he turned on the television because it became the reason why he now had a topic to talk with her about. Joseph even promised to himself that he would scrub the television clean once he was free in the future.
"Yeah, I'm playing Victory, wait... You're also playing Victory?" Joseph doubted his ears and he couldn't help but ask.
"Yup! I'm playing it, I'm a Magical Priestess, a combination of Magician and Templar. I'm at Level 80 or so already~ How about you, Joseph? I'm sure you've been playing the game for a long time already. How are you doing in the game?"
"Hahaha, wow... Level 80? Are you serious? And a Magical Priestess too, that sounds really cool. Ah, just played the game recently... as for my class..."
"Hehehe, my class is somewhat special so I'm not revealing it to you even if we're close friends..." Joseph lightly chuckled at the end of his sentence and Lily inwardly frowned.
'A special class? Could it be that he has a hidden class? Nah, it's impossible. Looking at that stupidly smug face of his, I am pretty sure that he just said that just so he could brag at me and even woo me... What a bastard.' Lily inwardly shook his head before replying with a smile on her face.
"Hahaha, really? You're not revealing that special class of yours to me, even if we're close friends?" Lily said in a sarcastic manner, but Joseph misunderstood as he laughed out loud: "That's right! Also, if I revealed my class to you, would you even believe me?"
"Oh? Why would you say that I won't believe you? We're friends, you know~ You can tell me everything..." Lily's sweet smile deepened and she even moved her body closer to Joseph whose smile turned from bragging into a smug one.
"Well in that case, since you really want to know my class. I'll let you know, I actually have the one and only mythical class, the Grand Duelist!" Joseph's voice at the end of his sentence turned incomparably proud.
"Pffft!" Lily didn't even suppress her laughter.
"Why are you laughing? I'm serious, you know! I'm really the Grand Duelist." Joseph frowned when he saw Lily holding her stomach as she laughed.
"Hahaha, that's really quite funny~" Lily barely suppressed the anger that she felt once again after being deceived as she let out a few awkward laughs.
"You really don't believe me? I am telling you, I'm really the Grand Duelist! The one and only Mythical Class in the game!" Joseph looked like he didn't know whether to feel angry or sad.
The friend that was the closest to him wouldn't believe what he was sharing...
How could he not feel depressed?
"Well, in that case. If you're really that Grand Duelist, then I'm a Divine Lady." Lily said in a sarcastic manner.
"Divine Lady? What is that?" Joseph asked with a frown.
"It's the Mythical Class for Healers!" Lily cried out and Joseph's eyes widened in shock.
"Really? You're a Divine Lady? But wait, why haven't I heard about a healer-type Mythical class?"
"Pffft! Look at you taking my words so seriously, I'm just joking, you idiot!" Lily replied with a sweet smile but the tone of her voice turned strong when she reached the end of her sentence.
It was evident that she was obviously mocking Joseph. But fortunately for her, Joseph only laughed out loud.
He obviously took her mocking as jesting that friends often do with each other.
The two talked with each other for a while before Joseph finally asked.
"Uhmm, Lily. I am sorry about this since you just visited me today for the first time in ages. But I have a favor to ask from you." He hung his head low in apparent embarrassment from asking a friend whom he hadn't seen in ages for a favor.
Lily stared at him and when she found that he wasn't looking at her.
Visible disgust appeared on her expression: 'I knew it, this useless bastard is going to ask me for money again. Even though he always pays them on time and in the right amount, he's still fucking disgusting for going about it in such a roundabout manner. What a fake bastard.'
A bunch of thoughts appeared in Lily's mind in an instant, but she managed to suppress them in the end as she said: "I know about what you're going to ask from me. It's money, right?"
Joseph looked visibly shocked when he heard Lily's reply: "You knew about what I was going to ask from you in the first place?"
Lily revealed a mocking smile that Joseph interpreted as her looking sad as she replied: "Joseph, we've been friends for so long. I already know about your habits, how you act in public and how you act privately. There's not really any reason for you to act so embarrassed in front of me."
Lily poked Joseph at where it hurt. She purposely mentioned Joseph's embarrassment earlier when he asked her, and Joseph who heard what she said, hung his head even lower.
Joseph's embarrassment stemmed from the fact that he liked her, but how could he reveal this to her? Wouldn't that be tantamount to a confession?
Just as Joseph was having an internal monologue...
Lily took her wallet and handed over a few thousand bills to Joseph as she said: "Here, take this. You need money, right? Don't sweat it, I mean. You're honest when it comes to money, and since you're a good payer and have never repaid me late, why would you embarrassed about borrowing?"
"In fact, you're the kind of person that every bank or lenders liked." Lily lightly chuckled at the end of her sentence and Joseph didn't hesitate anymore as he accepted the several thousand bills that Lily handed over to him.
"Thanks for this, Lily! I will make sure to pay you at the end of the month!" Joseph's expression turned incomparably sincere as he promised, and Lily replied with a sweet smile. But inside, she was sneering: 'You better pay me on time as you said, or else. You'll be in trouble.'
After Joseph successfully borrowed some money, Lily didn't have any reason to stay anymore as she said her farewell, Joseph felt so grateful about Lily to the extent that he even fetched her a taxi that she could use so that she could go home properly.
"Uncle, take care in your drive. She's someone that I hold close to me so you better drive properly and not get into an accident!" Joseph even warned the driver, and when Lily heard what he said...
She revealed a sweet smile and even laughed, but inside...
She was already cringing in embarrassment and disgust.
The taxi moved, and Joseph didn't move from his spot as he watched the taxi disappear from his sight.
Lily who was inside the taxi gazed at Joseph from the side-mirror and audibly mocked: "Look at that pathetic bastard right there, he's even looking right here as if he really cares about my well-being when in fact, he only wanted my money!"
The taxi driver flinched when he heard Lily's cold voice. He wanted to say something so that he could console her, but when he saw her venomous gaze...
He gulped a mouthful of saliva and inwardly promised that he would bring everything that he saw in here to his grave.
'She looks too vicious!' The taxi driver mumbled to himself.
"To think that he'd be that shameless to the extent that he'd lie about how he was doing in Victory. He's pathetic in reality, and he's also pathetic in the virtual world? That's no surprise, he really is Joseph..."
Lily chuckled in a sarcastic manner when she reached the end of her sentence.
"But still, he's only my last resort. Only when I cannot find others that's at least comparable to that bastard would I cling to that disgusting Joseph."
Lily made promise to herself that she wouldn't visit Joseph again before she had concrete evidence that Joseph inherited the hidden assets of his parents that weren't recorded in their SALN.
At the roadside where Joseph sent Lily away. Joseph could still be seen standing while looking at the direction where the taxi disappeared.
An almost imperceptible glint shone within his eyes.
"Even once, you had never called me by my name." He mumbled coldly.
He then turned around and returned to his house.
(Author Note: SALN = Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.)