Life had always been unpredictable for Xander.

But never in his life had he imagined things would take such a ridiculous turn after Ivy entered it.

And yet here he was in the middle of the night. Sitting on the couch beside her. Holding a game controller like a confused grandfather trying to understand modern technology.

All because Ivy "couldn’t sleep."

The large television screen flashed brightly before them while sounds of explosions and gunfire echoed throughout the room.

Meanwhile, Xander’s game character continued running directly into danger like a man actively seeking death.

"You’re not playing it right, Mr. Emerson," Ivy finally complained from beside him after watching his character walk straight toward the enemy for the fifth time without firing a single bullet.

Xander frowned at the screen. "My gun isn’t working."

Ivy stared at him in disbelief. "It’s not the gun. It’s you."

Xander calmly ignored her insult and pressed random buttons again. On-screen, his character suddenly threw the weapon away entirely.

"...Why did he do that?" he asked seriously, seizing her attention.

Ivy gasped dramatically. "You dropped your gun!"

"I noticed."

"Why would you press that button?"

"How was I supposed to know that button meant suicide?"

Ivy burst into laughter so hard she nearly dropped her own controller.

Xander shot her an unimpressed look while his now unarmed character got attacked immediately.

Game Over.

The words flashed brightly across the screen.

Xander stared at it silently for a few seconds before turning toward Ivy with complete seriousness.

"This game is badly designed."

Ivy laughed even harder. "No, you’re just terrible at it."

"I run multiple companies successfully."

"And yet you lost a fight against digital zombies."

"...They attacked unexpectedly."

"They were literally running at you for thirty seconds!"

Xander frowned again before looking down at the controller in his hand like it had personally betrayed him.

"I don’t understand why there are so many buttons," he now complained, but with a straight face.

Ivy sighed dramatically before scooting closer beside him. "Move," she ordered.

Xander raised a brow but shifted slightly anyway.

"Okay, listen carefully." Ivy pointed at the controller like a strict teacher educating a hopeless student. "This button shoots. This one reloads. This one lets you crouch."

Xander nodded slowly.

"And this?"

"That’s a jump."

"And this?"

"That’s also jump."

"Why are there two jumps?" he frowned.

"I don’t know! Ask the game developers!" Ivy cried in exasperation. Ivy never thought she would be tutoring a grown man, but since she was the one dragging him here, she might as well have some patience.

Xander hummed thoughtfully before pressing another random button.

His character immediately spun in circles and walked directly into a wall.

"..."

Ivy covered her face. "Oh my God..."

"What now?"

"You’re fighting architecture."

Xander looked offended. "It was an accident."

"You just lost another life to a staircase," she pointed out, clearly shocked.

"I’m being sabotaged."

At this point, Ivy physically couldn’t handle watching him struggle anymore.

"Give me that," she muttered before grabbing his controller.

Unfortunately, in her attempt to take it from him, her hand accidentally ended up trapped beneath his. But now fully immersed in the game, she didn’t realize that Xander had gone completely still.

"Look how this works," she said, completely unaware that the man she was talking to had completely zoned out.

It was not until she realized Xander wasn’t responding to any of her words that she paused and looked at him.

"..."

The room suddenly became strangely quiet.

Ivy slowly looked down at Xander and then at their hands overlapping on the controller. If that was not enough, she soon realized how ridiculously close they had somehow gotten without noticing.

Her shoulder was brushing against his chest. One of Xander’s arms rested behind her along the couch. And if she moved even slightly closer—

Ivy’s heartbeat instantly stumbled.

Meanwhile, Xander continued not to move, making him look like a living statue.

For a brief second, neither of them moved.

Neither of them spoke.

Even the game character on-screen stood abandoned in the middle of battle.

Then suddenly a loud explosion from the television startled both of them.

Ivy immediately jumped backward.

Xander quickly leaned away at the same time.

The two of them scrambled apart so fast it looked genuinely suspicious.

"I was fixing the controller," Ivy blurted out awkwardly.

"I know."

"You were holding it wrong."

"I figured."

"...."

Meanwhile, their game character got brutally attacked again on-screen.

Game Over.

Ivy cleared her throat and pointed at the television.

"...Your character died."

Xander stared at the screen calmly.

"I think he felt the tension too."

The awkwardness between them lingered for quite a while afterward.

And yet somehow... neither of them stopped playing.

At first, they kept a very safe distance between each other on the couch.

Then little by little, without even realizing it, they slowly drifted closer again while arguing over games, stealing controllers, and blaming each other for losing missions.

Hours passed unnoticed.

And eventually both of them ended up falling asleep right there in Leo’s room with the game still running in the background.

***

Morning arrived peacefully at the Emerson Mansion as the staff began carrying out their usual routines.

The cooks prepared breakfast. The guards switched shifts, and the maids cleaned the rooms upstairs.

Everything appeared completely normal, until one particular maid reached Leo’s room.

"Hm?" Jenny frowned slightly when she noticed the door already open.

"Did I forget to lock it yesterday?" she muttered to herself in confusion.

Since everyone knew Leo and Aaron were staying at the Old Emerson Residence for the weekend, there was absolutely no reason for the room to be open.

"Maybe I forgot..." she whispered before walking toward the door.

But the moment she peeked inside, her entire body froze.

Jenny stumbled backward while instantly covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes widening so dramatically it looked like she had just witnessed a ghost.

"Jenny? What happened?" another maid asked worriedly while rushing over.

But Jenny couldn’t even speak; she simply pointed toward the room with trembling fingers.

"Un?"

Confused, the other maid looked inside too, only to find her jaw dropping the next second.

"Oh my God..."

It took less than two minutes for half the staff upstairs to quietly gather outside Leo’s room like curious investigators.

Everyone peeked inside cautiously before collectively falling into silent shock.

There, sleeping peacefully on the couch together, were Xander and Ivy.

The television was still on. Game controllers were scattered everywhere, and blankets were tangled messily around them.

And most importantly, Xander’s arm was wrapped around Ivy protectively while she slept against his chest completely unaware of the chaos happening outside the room.

The staff collectively short-circuited.

"What... exactly happened here last night?" One of the male workers whispered in disbelief while staring at the disaster zone around the couch.

The room looked like the aftermath of a sleepover mixed with emotional tension and poor decision-making.

"I don’t know," another maid whispered back dramatically. "But judging from the couch... something definitely happened."

"Stop making assumptions!" Jenny hissed immediately.

Though honestly... even she was struggling not to imagine things.

The entire group continued staring at the sleeping couple in complete shock. Then suddenly—

"Do you think we’re getting another Young Master?" one of the maids whispered excitedly.

Everyone instantly turned toward her.

"What?!"

Jenny quickly shushed them all.

"Sshhh! Lower your voices! What if they wake up?" she whisper-yelled dramatically.

But then her eyes sparkled excitedly as her imagination began running wild.

"Hehe..." she giggled softly. "Young Master Leo would be so happy if he had a sibling."

The others stared at her like she had already planned the baby shower.

"We won’t feel lonely in the mansion anymore if there’s another little master running around," Jenny continued emotionally. "Imagine another tiny version of Young Master Leo!"

"Oh no..." one of the maids muttered while covering her face. "She’s already naming the child in her head."

"I’m just saying!" Jenny defended herself. "Look at them! They even fell asleep together while playing games! That’s practically domestic life already."

"Should we leave quietly?" someone suggested nervously.

"No one move," another whispered dramatically. "If Master wakes up and sees us spying, we’ll all lose our jobs."

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

"What exactly are all of you doing here?" The calm but authoritative voice instantly made everyone freeze in terror.

The crowd quickly parted like frightened sheep, and standing there behind them was Butler Rupert.

The old butler frowned deeply at the gathering before stepping forward.

"What is so important that all of you abandoned your—" His words abruptly stopped because the second he looked inside the room, he froze too.

Butler Rupert appeared stunned and speechless for the first time in years; however, everyone was unaware that while they were dreaming of having a small version of Leo, the couple was already listening to them without moving an inch.