Chapter 6: The brilliant game designer and her foster father 4

Seeing Ernesta's confident air, Fiona gave her a supportive smile, secretly excited to wait for her sister to get flustered and embarrassed.

She said, “Okay, now I'll ask you a question. Let's say you have a variable x = 10 and a variable y = “10”. What are the data types of x and y, and why? Explain the difference between these two variables.”

Ernesta didn't hesitate for a second and replied,

“The data type of variable x is int (integer) because it contains an integer, 10. The data type of variable y is str (string) because it contains a string of characters, “10”. The main difference is…”

She answered smoothly, as if the knowledge was deeply ingrained in her mind.

Fiona wasn't satisfied and continued to ask more challenging questions, but Ernesta kept up the pace and answered them quickly.

Fiona wanted to see Ernesta stumble and look foolish, but her sister's expressions were completely unrelated to those two words. So, besides being embarrassed, Fiona was only left with anger.

“Click clack click.”

The sound of leather shoes on the tiled floor suddenly echoed, immediately catching the attention of the two beautiful girls.

“Foster Dad!” Fiona exclaimed, delighted to see Ralph back early.

Ralph walked towards Fiona, reaching out to gently touch her hair. Unlike usual, he didn't ask about Fiona's well-being but looked at Ernesta and said,

“Do you study programming languages too?”

Ernesta looked up, evaluating her foster father. As the male lead of this world, Ralph's appearance was impeccable. He had golden hair, shining like silk, neatly trimmed, revealing his perfectly sculpted face. His blue eyes, deep like the ocean, reflected intelligence, sharpness, and a hint of mystery. His body was toned and strong, his tall, straight figure exuding the confident, alluring charm of a mature man.

Ernesta didn't continue looking at him, but lowered her head, appearing anxious, because the owner of this body had always been scared and timid in front of Ralph.

“No, I only started looking at a book seven days ago.”

Unlike his usual aloofness, after hearing Ernesta's answer, a spark of interest flashed in Ralph's eyes. He continued to ask, “What book is it?”

Ernesta named it, “Python for Beginners.”

“You understand everything in just seven days?”

“Yes.”

A hint of a smile played on Ralph's lips as he directly asked a few questions related to the knowledge in the book, even more cunning and challenging than Fiona's questions. But Ernesta answered them all smoothly.

Finally, he commented, “It seems your talent in this field is no less than your sister's. I'll have someone install a computer in your room later. You can use it and study freely. I also have materials on various programming languages, just tell me if you need anything.”

Fiona felt completely ignored by Ralph throughout the entire process. She clenched her fists, jealousy surging in her chest, causing her fragile heart to constrict.

“Foster Dad, my chest hurts so much!” Fiona cried weakly, sweat beading on her forehead, proving that the pain wasn't fake.

Only then did Ralph remember Fiona. He asked with concern,

“Are you alright?”

He bent down and carried Fiona to her room, not forgetting to order Ernesta, “Go downstairs and call Cami.” Cami was the nurse hired to live here and take care of Fiona's health.

After some commotion, Fiona took her medicine, rested, and finally her heart returned to normal.

Ernesta stayed by her side, playing the role of a worried sister. Seeing Fiona's condition stabilize, she finally felt relieved and returned to her room.

Once Ernesta was alone, 001 spoke up, “Master, you shouldn't do that. Fiona is the female lead, provoking the main characters won't end well.”

Ernesta raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and asked, “When did I provoke her?”

001 replied, “You were trying to charm Ralph with your expertise just now! Moreover, it seems you've succeeded. Just like the novel wrote.”

“001, which eye of yours saw me charming Ralph?”

001 remained silent for a few seconds before asking cautiously, “Master, that's what the novel says. If you weren't intentionally charming him, why did the male lead change his attitude towards you, talk to you more, and even want to give you a computer?”

Ernesta chuckled, covering her forehead.

“001, you're so adorable.” Believing everything you hear without any doubt, truly both foolish and adorable.

“Thank you for the compliment, Master.” 001 responded mechanically, though it didn't understand why it was being praised.

Ernesta didn't continue teasing it, getting straight to the point, “You still haven't seen Ralph's true nature?”

“What nature?”

She felt 001 was too naive, which wasn't good. It would affect the progress of her mission, so she had to teach it.

“You said earlier that the male lead is cold to the whole world, only gentle to the female lead, right? I'll correct that a bit, to be precise, he's cold to those who are useless and enthusiastic towards those who can benefit him.”

001 didn't agree, it retorted, “Master, what you're saying is like saying Ralph is a pragmatist. But Ralph is the male lead, and the main character can't be a bad person. That's the rule of the novel world.”

“Then explain to me, why is he always cold to me, but today he talked to me so much? And he even enthusiastically offered a computer and programming language learning materials?”

After a few seconds of analyzing, 001 replied, “He heard your conversation with Fiona, discovered that you are also very talented in programming. Because he felt it was a pity to waste your talent, he wants to cultivate you.”

Ernesta laughed coldly, “It's not about pitying your talent, but pitying the golden goose. Why would a man, only 27 years old, adopt a 12-year-old child from an orphanage? Don't tell me it's paternal love. In fact, Fiona won the national game programming competition for American teenagers that year. He saw Fiona's potential and took her home. Do you know that since he adopted Fiona, in just five years, she has made three mobile games, although they are just casual games, but their revenue is among the top in that genre. Can you imagine how much more money Ralph would make if Fiona's body was better, she lived longer, and participated in more major projects?”

“So, because the female lead is about to die from illness, the male lead found you to replace her, to raise another golden goose?” 001 asked.

Ernesta could hear a hint of panic in 001's usually monotonous voice. She gave a mysterious smile and replied,

“Who knows?”

Actually, she had a bolder guess, but thinking about her naive friend 001, she decided not to let it know yet.