Chapter 342: Sweet

Chapter 342: Chapter 342: Sweet

Leo Colby let out a low laugh. He picked up the candied fruit skewer, peeled off the wrapper, and took a bite. The rock sugar coating was crisp, and the strawberry inside was a mix of sweet and sour.

It was more sour than sweet, but for some reason, it brought a small, joyful sweetness to his heart.

’She’s the same as always, coming and going without a trace.’

Leo Colby didn’t finish it all at once. He ate slowly, first biting off a whole strawberry and holding it in his mouth until the rock sugar coating had completely melted.

Only then did he slowly chew the strawberry and swallow. His expression was gentle, his thoughts a mystery.

He didn’t even notice a customer arrive. "Sir? Sir? I’d like to get a room by the hour."

Leo Colby snapped out of his daze, composed himself, and calmly replied, "Of course."

Meanwhile, Stan Sterling had followed Lily Hart as she wandered over to the bathhouse.

The place was bustling with people. It felt like one wrong move and he’d be lifted off his feet and squeezed out of the crowd. Stan Sterling trailed after Lily Hart, carefully turning sideways to dodge the flow of bodies.

He looked ahead at her. She moved with an easy grace, like a fish in water, completely unaffected by her surroundings.

The hem of her clothes swayed with her steps, left and right, as if dancing.

’Stan Sterling just couldn’t understand. What was so great about a bathhouse, anyway? Everyone was flocking here, making it difficult to even walk normally.’

The two of them managed to make their way to Owen Warren. This area was the most spacious section of the entire bathhouse.

It wasn’t as crowded as elsewhere and was relatively quiet. Owen Warren was sitting behind the checkout counter when he spotted the two of them emerging from the throng.

He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. His gaze shifted down to the candied fruit skewers Lily Hart was cradling. ’Is she here to bring me food?’

Owen Warren instinctively sat up straight, but then thought better of it and relaxed, feigning nonchalance. He even crossed his legs, propped his chin on his hand, and pretended to stare at the computer screen.

In reality, his ears were perked, listening for her every move, and his eyes weren’t really focused on the screen.

It wasn’t until Lily Hart reached the counter, leaned an elbow on it, and pointed at the packed lobby that he reacted. "Are you sure you don’t want to consider limiting the number of people you let in?"

Owen Warren shook his head. "Not considering it." His eyes were fixed on the skewers in her hands.

Lily Hart hesitated. "You can eat this, right? I completely forgot."

"Obviously." With that, Owen Warren snatched two of the skewers from her hand and snorted. ’Humans. How could she forget something like this!’

The sweet strawberry in his mouth improved Owen Warren’s mood. He even found Stan Sterling less of an eyesore. Only then did he resume his conversation with Lily Hart.

"Why limit the number of people? I like how lively it is when it’s crowded."

’Even though I can’t eat them, it’s nice to just look. The thing is, after spending so much time with humans, I sometimes start to think I’m one of them, especially since my appearance is now almost identical to theirs.’

’It’s only when I see Lily Hart, when I smell that intoxicating scent on her, that my most primal desires are stirred.’

’I’m a zombie. I’m supposed to eat humans.’

’Not this sugary junk.’ As he thought this, Owen Warren bit into another strawberry.

Lily Hart glanced over her shoulder. "It’s one thing for it to be lively, but this is too much. It’s going to seriously degrade their customer experience."

Owen Warren copied her, looking around. "Is it, though? I think they look pretty happy."

At least everyone here had a smile on their face, unlike the lifeless humans he’d seen in other places.

Lily Hart was suddenly at a loss for words. He had a point. At least they could get in, even if they had to wait in line.

They were willing to wait. At least they had something to look forward to, and they could eat fruit while they queued.

Who wouldn’t be up for that?

So Lily Hart just reached across the counter and patted his shoulder. "Well, keep up the good work. Upgrade soon, expand the place, and then you can let even more people in!"

Owen Warren gave a noncommittal nod. That wasn’t the important part; he didn’t really care about it.

’The important part was her hand on his shoulder. It was so close, and her scent lingered at the tip of his nose, making him zone out for a second.’

’And her skin... it was so fair. Not the ghastly pallor of a zombie, but a rosy white, as smooth and lustrous as jade.’

’Especially her hands—her knuckles practically seemed to glow.’

Owen Warren tilted his head slightly to get a better look, but Lily Hart had already pulled her hand back and was now leaning against the counter, surveying her surroundings.

Standing to the side, Stan Sterling felt completely out of place. Owen Warren’s gaze was too scorching, too intense—like a blade slowly carving away at his flesh.

Stan Sterling silently unwrapped a tanghulu to eat. It was one with Chinese yam beans—brown, fingertip-sized, with a soft, starchy texture.

He calmly ate his skewer of candied yam beans, meeting Owen Warren’s murderous gaze.

Lily Hart finally finished her observations, her gaze shifting from the customers to Stan Sterling. "Oh? Is that the Chinese yam kind?"

"Yeah," Stan Sterling said, popping the last one into his mouth as if he wanted more.

"Are there any more?" Lily Hart asked, her mouth starting to water. She couldn’t help but swallow.

’If she had to rank the best tanghulu flavors, she’d put green grape and strawberry at number one, with Chinese yam as a close second.’

Hearing this, Stan Sterling looked down and started rummaging through the bundle of skewers in his arms. Lily Hart leaned over to help him look.

"Here, take it. Don’t say I’m stingy," Owen Warren suddenly said, holding his other, already-unwrapped skewer out to her.

Lily Hart looked up, her eyes bright. She took it without a second thought. "You’re the most generous person I know, okay?"

She popped a yam bean into her mouth with satisfaction. Beside her, a shadow passed over Stan Sterling’s eyes, and he stopped his search.

’Why did they have to wrap a perfectly good tanghulu in wax paper? What a waste of resources.’

Realizing his own thoughts, he gave a bitter laugh. ’Since when had he become so irrational?’

Only after she finished the skewer of yam beans did Lily Hart leave. Owen Warren watched the two of them disappear into the crowd, then withdrew his gaze and stared blankly into space.

「The hotel and the bathhouse were done. Next up, naturally, was the factory.」

But Seth was a little busy. The line of people outside the factory was enormous. He had apparently released the news that they could now produce five thousand boxed meals a day.

It was worth mentioning that Lily Hart had asked the owners of her various establishments to register new accounts on the Human Social Sphere, using their shop names as the account names.

On top of that, Lily Hart made a post and tagged them, which brought them a considerable number of new followers.

Lily Hart had also specifically instructed them to manage their accounts well, posting about any store events, special offers, or other news.

This would bring the lottery shop and her other businesses down to earth, preventing them from always floating up in the clouds.

Case in point: Seth had posted a thread today announcing, "Factory upgraded! Five thousand boxed meals available per day!"

As she walked on, she overheard a discussion and stopped to listen.

"Did you buy any of the clothes made by the factory?"

"Nah, I didn’t. What’s up? Is the quality bad?"

"Hey, don’t say that! The quality is fantastic. I just feel like it’s different from normal clothes."

"How is it different?" The person reached out to feel the jacket their companion had bought.

It was very thin, almost as if it were made of paper, but it felt tough and had a unique texture.