Daniel accepted them with a smile, noticing a handful of coffee cups scattered around Sophia's feet.
He couldn't help but ask, "Don't tell me, you've been standing here waiting for me this whole time?"
Annoyed, Sophia retorted, "What else? I don't have your number."
She added sarcastically, "Some people never change. If someone else forgets to ask for their contact information, they wouldn't bother to say either."
Daniel laughed awkwardly, scratching his head, "Sorry, I forgot."
No wonder she had so much coffee.
It seemed that she was afraid to miss him if she stayed in the cafรฉ, so she decided to wait for him outside.
Daniel felt a warmth in his heart.
Noticing the exhaustion Sophia tried to hide, he asked compassionately, "Hungry? How about a late-night snack?"
Sophia flashed a grin, nodded, and joked, "At least you have some conscience. Considering you've made me quite a bit of money, I'll pick up the bill. What do you feel like eating?"
Daniel paused for a moment before asking, "May I be so bold as to inquire about your commission? I don't want to go overboard and order something so expensive that we'll have to wash dishes to pay the bill."
Sophia, swaggering a bit, held up two fingers, boasting, "A whopping sixty thousand StellaCoins."
Wow, that's quite a sum.
If it wasn't for the fact that Daniel was making millions daily, he might have been tempted.
Daniel nodded, "Well, since you're a wealthy lady, we can't eat cheaply. I want to have some high-end Serenalia cuisine!"
Sophia licked her cherry-like lips and smiled, "It's been a long time since I've had our hometown dishes. Let's go!"
They hailed a taxi and headed to the nearest Serenalia restaurant.
By eight, it was late and the restaurant was empty.
The staff was even starting to clean up.
As they walked in, Daniel asked, "Do you have any dishes left? I'll take one of each."
Before the words were fully out of his mouth, Sophia slapped him on the head.
"Are you out of your mind? Although I've earned some money, how could you order so much? Can you even finish all that?"
Daniel patted his belly, "I haven't eaten much today, I'm really hungry."
Sophia was about to retort, but the waiter beat her to it, "I'm sorry, our chef has already clocked out. All we can offer now are skewers."
Rather than being disappointed, Daniel seemed excited.
There's an old Serenalia saying, "There's nothing that a barbecue can't solve. If there is, then more will do."
It had been a while since he'd had skewers, and he was craving some.
"Bring a hundred skewers, a mix of meat and vegetables, and ten bottles of stout. "
"We'll take it to go."
Daniel looked at the tired waiter, adding the last part as an afterthought.
Hearing this, the weary waiter immediately cheered up, "Alright, please wait a moment."
Sophia laughed, "I didn't expect you to be so considerate."
Daniel pointed to his head with his index finger, striking a cool pose.
"What do you think? Handsome, wealthy, and considerate. Has a man of such perfection won your heart yet?"
Sophia rolled her eyes in response, "Sorry, I'll pass."
Soon, their late-night snack was ready.
Daniel quickly paid for the meal and the tip, and then strutted out.
Sophia chased after him, complaining, "You said I was treating. Why did you pay?"
As Daniel hailed a cab, he explained, "It's not gentlemanly to let a lady pay in front of others. If you feel bad, you can just pay me back later. Come on, get in."
Opening the door with a flourish, he courteously invited Sophia into the cab.
After getting in the car, Daniel was about to say his old address out of habit.
But he remembered that his villa had been cleaned up and was ready to move into at any time.
So, he turned to Sophia and signaled, "You tell the address."
Sophia was momentarily taken aback, but then she understood Daniel's intention.
"26 Bright Street." That was the address of the new house.
The car drove through the main street, and before long, they had left the city center.
Although the West Coast community wasn't in the city center, due to the high-end population residing there, it had all the amenities one could ask for, comparable to the city center.
They soon arrived at 26 Bright Street.
As Daniel stepped out of the car, he saw his new house.
He had to walk through a small garden after opening the large iron gate before approaching the building.
The house wasn't tall, just two stories, styled in the typical architecture of a Libertopia garden villa.
It looked even better than the pictures, which satisfied Daniel greatly.
The moment he opened the door, the room lit up.
Sophia explained, "This house is equipped with the most advanced AI housekeeper. Once you enter the door, you can call your housekeeper from anywhere to help you with anything it can do, like controlling the switches for appliances."
Daniel, surprised, nodded and tested it by saying, "Housekeeper?"
From the air came a cold, electronic voice, "Welcome home, master."
Impressed, Daniel felt delighted. "Play some music."
The housekeeper responded, "Detecting the master is accompanied by a spouse, the romantic genre will be played automatically."
"Searching..."
" Every~night~in my dreams ~"
" I~see~you~I~feel~you you"
"..."
It could even detect that he had brought a woman into the house?
Interesting. Daniel was slightly surprised.
"Impressive, impressive."
Sophia added, "Of course. The house I prepared for you must be equipped with the best settings."
"Let's go, put down the skewers and beer. I'll show you around your house."
Daniel quipped, "The way you're talking, it feels like you're the real owner of this house."
Sophia smiled back at him, "Hehe... who knows."
The beautifully melancholic music stirred some emotions in both of them.
Realizing her words may have sounded a bit forward, Sophia quickly turned away, her cheeks flushed, and led the way.
After a tour, Daniel had a better understanding of the layout of his house.
The ground floor was mostly public areas: a living room, kitchen, dining room, entertainment and sports room, study, bathroom, and a guest room.
The second floor consisted of a master bedroom, three secondary bedrooms, and a public bathroom.
The interior design was understated, yet luxurious, fully customized and equipped with everything.
Sophia asked, "So, are you satisfied?"
Daniel nodded, "Of course. It's even better than it looks in the pictures."
Sophia chuckled, "Well, that's good. Because whether you're satisfied or not, you've already bought it. No returns allowed."
"Let's go, I'm starving. Time for some late-night grub."
They returned to the living room, opened up their late-night snack, and started to feast.
A bite of skewer and a swig of stout, accompanied by romantic music, life couldn't get any better.
Stuffed and drunk, or rather, Daniel was stuffed and drunk.
After downing her third can of stout, Sophia was already passed out.
Daniel chuckled helplessly, turned off the music, switched on the TV, and polished off the remaining skewers and drinks.
Seven cans of nearly 15-degree stout, a normal person would be dizzy if not out cold, but for Daniel, it was like water.
"A high alcohol tolerance isn't really a good thing. What's the point of a drink that can't get you drunk?"
Daniel shook his head and turned to look at Sophia, who was sleeping peacefully on the couch.
She looked as innocent as a well-behaved little girl in her sleep, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol, irresistibly cute.
"You brute! You shouldn't be having such thoughts when someone's passed out!" Daniel rose from his seat, fetched a blanket from the guest room, and came back to cover Sophia.
The warmth of her breath hit his face, a mesmerizing scent that stirred his senses.
His gaze couldn't help but land on Sophia's impressive cleavage.
Despite her innocent appearance, she had an incredibly attractive figure.
Just one look had Daniel feeling aroused, if it weren't for his belt, his arousal would have been evident.
"Calm down, this isn't an orgy, and she's not some call girl," Daniel told himself, suppressing his desires, about to stand up.
That's when Sophia's eyes cracked open slightly.
Daniel was startled, about to apologize, but then he noticed the shyness and seduction in Sophia's eyes.
Her cherry lips slightly parted, she let out a sultrily scented breath, and murmured, "Daniel, fuck me."