Having heard his little brother's voice, albeit not born from the same mother, Zhao Xin was relieved to know at least there was one sibling of hers who wasn't out to get her.
"Nothing, just checking on you and seeing if you're in any trouble," she said sweetly, her fierce and ruthless demeanor from moments ago completely gone.
"Heh, with elder sister supporting me, what trouble can I be in? If there's nothing else, then I'll disconnect. I'm still somewhat busy." Zhao Kai laughed.
"Let elder sister see your face first." Zhao Xin suddenly requested, most likely to check on his appearance and condition to ensure nothing was wrong.
"Alright then, but don't be mesmerized by my handsomeness." Zhao Kai responded, having understood her thought process as he turned on the video feature.
Soon, the two met face to face and Zhao Kai proceeded to perform a 360-degree turn to let her see he was energetic and healthy.
"Grandfather's birthday is coming up soon in 3 days, so have you thought of a gift?" Zhao Xin smiled and inquired.
"Huh?" Stunned, Zhao Kai nearly tripped and fell.
"Grandfather's birthday? Why would I bring him a gift?" He questioned back. His identity as an illegitimate child was known to them all, so he never had the privilege to dine with them.
Though he couldn't be bothered with that so-called privilege either since the only person he respected was Zhao Xin— someone who didn't care for his status and treated him like a real little brother.
"Shush, I have talked with Grandfather and he has permitted you to join us for his upcoming 65th birthday party. So you better think deeply about what kind of gift to bring." Zhao Xin reprimanded him and demanded.
Her firm attitude and expression on her face made it clear that she did not want to hear any refusal.
"But elder sister—"
"No but! Unless you no longer respect me, otherwise you must show up."
Having brought up the "respect card", Zhao Kai was left speechless.
How was he supposed to refuse if she decided to use that card?
It was a card that she rarely used, so it was immensely effective against him.
"Ugh, fine, it's in 5 days, right?" Zhao Kai scratched his head and said reluctantly.
"It's 3 days!" Zhao Xin quickly corrected. "I'll have my personal assistant reminding you constantly, so don't you dare make any excuse or make any appointments on that date."
"You're the boss, elder sister." Sighing exhaustedly, Zhao Kai soon bid farewell and disconnected the call. As he placed the phone down, he began cursing at Xu Feng for telling him to log out temporarily.
"It's all Feng's fault. If I just continued to hide, then elder sister wouldn't have been able to trap me!" He clicked his tongue, putting back his virtual helmet as he logged into the Divine World.
Sometime later, Zhao Kai reappeared in the Verdant Valley, followed by a casual remark from Xu Feng.
"Welcome back." Xu Feng waved, remaining ignorant of the phone call conversation that Zhao Kai just had.
However, his keen perspective was able to come into play as he noticed something was amiss with him.
"What's the matter?" He asked cautiously, getting ready to be prepared for any sudden movement from him.
"What's the matter, you asked?" Zhao Kai laughed maniacally as he raised his finger, and pointed at him.
"Why did you tell me to log out in the first place? If I hadn't logged out and answered my elder sister's call, then I wouldn't be in such deep shit."
Zhao Kai felt as if Xu Feng had purposely dug this hole for him personally to fall into as some petty revenge.
Xu Feng shrugged his shoulders in response, feigning innocence.
As if he would reveal the fact that Anna Liu paid him quite a hefty price in exchange for Zhao Kai's whereabouts. It was easy money that required no hard work, so why would he refuse such an offer?
Not to mention, he was somewhat familiar with Zhao Kai's half-elder sister, Zhao Xin. They were quite close, so he didn't feel bad about connecting these two.
"Ugh, you've really screwed me over this time, Feng!" Zhao Kai shouted in frustration, feeling fatigued just by thinking about what kind of gift he should bring to his supposed grandfather.
He wasn't afraid of his opinion, but he knew fairly well that his elder sister would haunt him dearly if the gift was unsuitable.
"I can sense you are frustrated, so why don't you activate the Gluttony skill and binge eat? It's a good method to vent." Xu Feng suddenly suggested like a devil's whisper to the current downcast Zhao Kai.
Sure enough, Zhao Kai was too overwhelmed to think properly and simply did as told, turning on his Gluttony skill.
Soon, he began to retrieve the food that he had just brought from Oakwood Town as he began a feast all by himself. As his tongue tasted the umami and enhanced flavor of the food, he shortly forgot everything.
Food was the supremacy and all matters could be put aside for now!
Meanwhile, Xu Feng smiled wickedly by the side, his glasses made a sharp glint as he gazed at the food indulging Zhao Kai.
'Very good, Kai. You save me so much effort in convincing yourself to binge eat to buff your stats.' He exclaimed inwardly, calculating the time that the monsters would arrive.
Previously, when he completed another business deal with Gentle Wind yet again, he received a message from Zhao Xin's personal assistant, Anna Liu.
That was when he deduced something was upcoming and as he pondered over and over again, he recalled Zhao Kai's grandfather's 65th birthday should be coming soon.
In the past timeline, they were supposed to hang out briefly before he officially commenced his role in the newly established Reaver Guild, but that didn't go as planned due to Zhao Kai suddenly bailing out, citing attending his grandfather's birthday.
Back then, Zhao Kai was gloomy and unenthusiastic, so he predicted a similar situation might occur. Hence, he used the time that Zhao Kai had logged out to brew a monster lure for him to hunt ferociously to let off some steam.
'I am indeed a great friend.' Xu Feng complemented himself, feeling proud of his deed.