Chapter 137 | After Maxing Out, I Became a Landlord in Another World

Chen Mian knew very well that this was not just a dream. This goddess was trying to convey some sort of message to him, which likely had to do with his own situation.

After all, his dreams of the goddess had only started after his level surpassed Level 120. Moreover, as time went on, the goddess in his dreams became clearer and clearer.

He took a few steps forward and looked at the goddess with long, silver-white hair. Right now, she seemed to have given up on trying to communicate. Holding the pillow she had picked back up, she sat flat on the ground, puffing out her cheeks as she stared at him, looking thoroughly miserable.

Chen Mian squatted down in front of her, pointed to his own ears, and then spread his hands.

The goddess was startled for a moment, and then, with a look of pleasant surprise, she began to write in midair with her index finger.

Her movements were very slow, tracing each stroke carefully in the empty space.

【How are you able to break past Level 120 on the Continent of Cecia?】

Seeing this, Chen Mian followed her lead and wrote in the empty space.

【System.】

A look of utter confusion appeared on the goddess's face when she saw those words.

Then, she began rummaging through her person. Her long, silver-white hair whipped around with her movements, and the sash of her nightgown was rubbed so loose it was on the verge of coming undone.

After a moment, she fished out a thin booklet from a storage ring, quickly flipped through a few pages, and then slowly raised her head, looking even more bewildered.

She began writing in the empty space again, her movements much faster this time.

【What is a system?】

After she finished writing, she looked up at him, waiting for his response.

Just as Chen Mian was about to reach out and write back, the surrounding white space began to shake slightly, and the goddess's body started to fade.

She glanced down at her hand, then looked back up at Chen Mian, quickly adding one last line.

【See you next time!】

With that, her figure completely vanished.

Chen Mian opened his eyes and stared at the dim ceiling, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

If the goddess's reaction to the “system” in his dream wasn't an act, then the System wasn't given to him by her.

In that case, whose doing were these encounters, which felt more and more like they had been orchestrated?

And what was the System's purpose...? Up until now, the quests issued by the System seemed to revolve solely around the tenants. Aside from that, it had made almost no other demands, and the quests weren't even mandatory.

Chen Mian pondered for a long time, yet he still couldn't fathom the true motives of the System or its creator... Or was it really as the System had stated at the very beginning, that it simply wanted him to be a landlord in the Forest of Death?

After a moment, Chen Mian suppressed the thoughts swirling in his mind and rolled over, his gaze drifting unconsciously to his side.

Flora was lying on her side next to him, facing his direction. Her light-brown hair was scattered across the pillow, making her exquisite face look even softer and more delicate than usual.

Ever since they cleared out the members of the Shadow Cult, Loviki had taken over the spot by the window again. Even without hearing her Inner Thoughts, her purpose in doing so was actually very easy to understand.

Chen Mian looked at her for a while, and the thoughts entangling his mind were gradually replaced by a calmer state of mind.

Although he didn't know the System's purpose, it had indeed changed his life.

“Mmm...” Flora's voice carried the unique laziness of someone who had just woken up. Her eyes weren't fully open yet as she groggily snuggled closer to him, instinctively finding his chest. Pressing her face against it, she closed her eyes again. “What are you thinking about...?”

Chen Mian was slightly taken aback, looking down at the elf girl in his arms who had already crawled in on her own, preparing to go back to sleep.

“Flora.”

“Mmm...”

“Don't pretend to be asleep if you're already awake.”

Flora's eyes didn't open, but the corners of her lips curled up slightly, her voice still groggy. “I'm not pretending... I'm sleepy.”

Chen Mian leaned down and gently brushed his lips against the tip of her ear. Flora shrank back slightly in his embrace, finally opening her eyes a crack. With a trace of the unique daze that comes with just waking up, she puffed out her cheeks. “Chen Mian... you're bullying me.”

“I can't sleep.”

Flora was still a bit sleepy, but hearing this, she blinked and raised her head slightly to meet his gaze. “Is something on your mind?” she asked softly.

Chen Mian didn't answer immediately. He just looked at her, and only after a moment did he speak, “I was thinking about when we first met.”

Flora's eyelashes fluttered slightly, seemingly not expecting him to bring this up. Her voice grew a bit lighter. “Back then, you even said you wanted me to give you a massage every day.”

“Yeah, and surprisingly, you didn't run away.”

“I wanted to run too,” Flora said in a small voice, a hint of a smile in her tone. “But you said I could stay for free... and the way you looked at me was different from how other people looked at me.”

“How did others look at you?”

“With desire,” Flora said very bluntly, though her tone was relatively flat. “I was on the run back then, and I saw many looks like that. Before my mana was completely depleted, there were even slave traders who tried to lay hands on me, but I was stronger than them.”

“You had an experience like that? You've never mentioned it before.”

“Mhm, it wasn't a big deal anyway, I took care of them... But the way Chen Mian looked at me was different. It was like you were looking at someone who needed help.”

Flora tilted her head and continued, “If I hadn't met you, I probably would have ended up sleeping on the streets, then gotten captured by the Shadow Cult, and finally... there would be no future for me.”

After saying this, she suddenly drew a little closer, resting her forehead against his chin. “But I met Chen Mian.”

“Mhm.”

Flora seemed to have opened up. Her voice was incredibly soft, yet all traces of sleepiness were gone. “Actually... when I convinced myself to go with you, I had a very strange thought. It was...”

“...I felt like you weren't a bad person.” Having said this, she felt a bit embarrassed herself, her ears turning slightly red. “It's strange, right? It was clearly only our first meeting, and you didn't even state your conditions to my face... but I just felt that nothing bad would happen if I went with you.”

Chen Mian looked at her, and only after a while did he speak, “What if all of this was orchestrated?”

Flora fell silent for a moment, then raised her head to look at him, her eyes filled only with sincerity. “Then I still think I'm very lucky.”

With that, she reached out, her fingertips gently touching his cheek. “I could guess from the start that there was a reason Mr. Chen Mian brought me back to the apartment. As I got to know you... blow-drying a girl's hair when you've just met her, and suddenly feeding me—these weren't things Mr. Chen Mian would normally do... But since Mr. Chen Mian didn't want to talk about it, I didn't ask. Just as you said... it was because of fate.”

“No matter how it started, the current result is what I wanted, including the fact that I fell in love with you.”

Chen Mian reached out and pinched her cheek.

Flora didn't dodge. She merely narrowed her eyes slightly, her voice carrying a hint of playfulness. “And you know, I still remember the very first moment I laid eyes on you.”