Ernesta wanted to repay Roger’s kindness, but right now, she was just an orphan with no power, no status. On top of that, her adoptive father was lurking around, trying to take her heart. She really had nothing of value to offer.After thinking for a moment, Ernesta asked Roger,“Do you want to play a game?”Roger was caught off guard. The conversation had been serious, and suddenly Ernesta brought up something completely unrelated. Before he could voice his confusion, she added,“It’s a game I designed. Want to try it?”Roger’s attention immediately shifted. He looked surprised.“You know how to design games? Like your sister?”“Are you playing or not?” she repeated, not wanting to explain further.Of course Roger wanted to. He had no idea Ernesta had this kind of skill, and he was really curious what kind of game she had made.After Roger took out his phone, Ernesta sent him a file. He opened it and installed the game. In no time, the interface popped up. It was still the same Ernie
Hearing some commotion outside, Ernesta guessed that Fiona and Ralph had returned. As someone who deeply cared for her younger sister and knew Fiona’s illness had relapsed, she naturally had to check on her.The moment she poked her head out, she saw Ralph carrying Fiona into the room. She quickly rushed over and asked with concern,“Fiona, are you alright?”Fiona kept her eyes closed, unwilling to respond to Ernesta. But since Ralph was present, she didn’t dare to act too harshly and replied,“I’m feeling really unwell.”Ralph laid Fiona down on the bed, covered her with a blanket, then gently stroked her hair and said softly,“Rest now. Don’t overthink it. What matters most right now is taking care of your health.”He didn’t mention a single word about what had happened earlier that afternoon, which made Fiona quietly breathe a sigh of relief.As soon as Ralph left, Fiona's expression changed completely toward Ernesta.“What do you want from me? Are you secretly gloating right now?”
At that moment, Ralph slowly stepped in from outside. No one knew how long he had been there or how much he had heard.Fiona’s face turned ghostly pale, her breathing quick and unsteady as if she might faint at any second.Ralph didn’t seem to notice her distress. He walked straight to the computer, took the programmer’s seat, and started testing the game himself.After five minutes, he looked up at Ernesta, his eyes full of admiration.“Did you write this?” he asked.Ernesta nodded. “Yes.”Ralph smiled, his expression noticeably softer. It was the first time he had ever smiled at her.“You should keep learning programming. Stick with it, and don’t give up.”Ernesta hesitated, glancing at Ralph, then at Fiona, before speaking cautiously.“But… Fiona…”“You don’t need to worry about her. I’ll talk to Fiona. Your job is to develop your talent and give it your best.”This time, Fiona didn’t even have to pretend to be sick, because she truly felt unwell.Ever since Ralph walked in, he had
As soon as Ernesta finished speaking, 001 blurted out,“Master, what are you doing? You can't harm the female lead! That’s what antagonists do, and antagonists in novels never have a good ending. If this goes wrong, our mission will fail!” Its voice was still flat and robotic, but it was talking way faster than usual.Ernesta shot back,“Take a good look. Who’s really trying to hurt who here? And besides, this isn’t just some novel anymore. This is a real, complete world.”001 didn’t know how to respond. The female lead was supposed to be the good guy, but if that were true, why was she falsely accusing its master of stealing her work? It felt completely lost, maybe it needed a system update to process all of this.Ernesta ignored 001’s internal crisis and got back into character.“I can prove I made this game. Are you still sticking with that story?” she asked Fiona.Fiona suddenly felt uneasy, but she was already in too deep, there was no backing out now. She just had to go with it
Ernesta swiftly opened a pre-installed game development tool on the computer screen. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, churning out lines of code like a machine gun. As she typed, she effortlessly explained the game's concept and mechanics, her words flowing as smoothly as the code itself. The most astonishing thing was her ability to juggle two tasks at once without sacrificing speed or accuracy.Even before anyone knew what kind of game Ernesta was building, her sheer skill had everyone impressed.Fiona's face turned pale. She had no idea Ernesta was this good. While Fiona could type just as fast, she could only do it when fully focused. To chat and code simultaneously while maintaining accuracy was simply beyond her. At that moment, Fiona felt like Ernesta was glowing with talent.Fiona, of course, didn't want Ernesta to outshine her. But she was the one who had suggested Ernesta show off her skills, and it was too late to back out now. She could only tell herself
Despite Fiona's heart condition flaring up, causing a stir in the house, Ralph still made sure a computer was installed in Ernesta's room by the end of the day. He even brought her a pile of documents on programming languages and game design.It seemed he was determined to nurture Ernesta, testing if she truly had the potential to fully replace Fiona.Staying in her room, Fiona kept tabs on everything happening outside. With the help of the maid, she knew exactly what Ralph was doing. Her chest tightened, her hands gripping the blanket. She forced herself to stay calm, knowing her weak heart couldn't handle any more stress.But how could she stay calm when she saw Ralph's affection for her being taken by someone else? Even if it was her own sister, she couldn't accept it.She simply couldn't see Ernesta surpassing her in programming and game design. The things Ernesta boasted about were just basic introductory knowledge. It wasn't worth Ralph's attention.Perhaps