CHAPTER 336: CHAPTER 336 ADRIAN’S HESITANT STEP FORWARD

Seeing the screen light up with a calming, misty blue wallpaper, Ruby felt a strange sense of satisfaction settle in her chest. The desktop was minimal—just a few icons lined up neatly: a file manager, a browser, a camera app, and two or three other unfamiliar local utilities. No bloated apps, no distractions... just a clean slate waiting for her to shape.

Julian leaned in beside her as he observed everything with quiet fascination. "It looks like Soulstream..." he murmured, "but smaller and neater."

Karl, on the other hand, looked utterly bewitched. His round blue eyes sparkled like he’d found a rare magical relic. "Woah..." he gasped, his jaw hanging slightly open. He pointed at the screen like a child spotting a shooting star. "Wife... can we watch dramas inside that?!"

Ruby didn’t even look at him. "No."

Karl’s face deflated in an instant. "But I want Soulstream—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Milo quickly reached out and covered his mouth with his hand, muffling the rest of his plea.

"Wife, carry on! I got you!" Milo said brightly, flashing an innocent grin at Ruby.

Ruby couldn’t help but laugh softly, shaking her head as she looked at Milo. His eyes were sincere, and there was a simple warmth in his smile that softened the exhaustion of the long day. She gave him a warm, affectionate smile back.

Meanwhile, Karl let out a muffled protest behind Milo’s hand, and Julian sighed beside Ruby, gently helping her adjust the laptop’s angle again.

Ruby leaned forward, her fingers tapping lightly on the smooth surface of the laptop’s touchpad. With a small click, she plugged in the slim internet device she had purchased from the store earlier that day. A soft light blinked on the side of it, and after a short moment, a faint chime confirmed it was connected.

She opened the browser. The loading was slower than she was used to in her past life, but it worked.

She typed a word almost instinctively: "World."

Dozens of blurry images loaded on the screen—grainy maps, low-resolution sketches, odd charts. There weren’t many proper websites. Just a few scattered forums, a very basic encyclopedia-like portal, and what looked like community-maintained blogs. Everything was... limited. Narrow. Half-formed. A digital world that was still stretching its legs.

Ruby leaned back in her seat thoughtfully, her crimson eyes narrowing with curiosity.

It’s really like the early era of internet back on Earth, she thought. So much to build... so much room to grow...

She exited the browser and clicked on another icon labeled "OpenGate Hub." It was a marketplace-like app that let users download approved software—everything from account management tools to communication apps and entertainment programs. The design was simple, but oddly charming.

She clicked on the Games category.

The screen refreshed, and a small list appeared.

Some titles were odd and clunky like:

[ Ghost Maze Run: Escape the Fog ]

[ SewCraft Hero ]

[ Witchly Wits: Potion Puzzle ]

[ Midnight Cart Chase ]

[ Fat Fish Frenzy ] — the one Karl was addicted to.

Ruby raised an eyebrow.

She kept scrolling. Most of the games were 2D or very basic 3D. A few had intriguing descriptions, but the graphics looked outdated.

Still, her heart raced—not because of what was there, but what wasn’t.

She could already feel the ideas sparking in her mind.

There’s a gap here, she thought. A space. A huge opening. If I can build something fun, something stunning... they’d go crazy over it.

Her fingers hovered above the keys as a quiet grin pulled at her lips.

Behind her, Milo peeked at the screen with mild interest, while Karl, still sulking over Soulstream.

***

At night after dinner, the house was quiet except for the soft hum of the ceiling fan and the occasional clatter of dishes from the kitchen. Ruby was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, a gentle focus in her eyes as her fingers hovered over the keys of her new laptop. The faint glow from the screen lit up her face, and beside her lay a thick manual book she’d been flipping through since earlier. This world’s technology, although somewhat familiar, had so many differences from the systems she once knew. She wanted to understand each feature, each tool—especially since she planned to use this for her passion: game development.

Adrian, who had just finished his meal, sat on a chair across the room. He had been quietly observing her for the past few minutes. His eyes occasionally shifted from the movement of her fingers to the soft expressions that played on her face as she read. Curiosity bloomed in his chest, but he wasn’t sure how to approach her.

Julian, who was wiping down the table with a soft cloth, noticed his gaze. He leaned a little closer and whispered to Adrian, "If you want to see, you can ask wife."

Adrian blinked, startled. "What?" he whispered back, his voice low.

Julian smirked faintly and gave a small, encouraging nudge with his elbow. Then he tilted his head toward Ruby, gesturing with his eyes. "Go," he mouthed.

Adrian hesitated, biting his lip. He wasn’t like Karl, who could talk to anyone without thinking, or like Milo, whose bright friendliness melted barriers within seconds. Julian was calm and gentle, naturally good with words. But Adrian—he often struggled to express himself, especially in any moments like this.

Still, something pushed him forward. Slowly, he got up from the chair and walked toward the sofa.

Ruby looked up, a bit surprised to see him approaching. She sat straighter, and when he finally sat down beside her, their eyes met.

His dark gaze was a little shy but steady. His sharp features looked even more defined under the soft light of the screen. Ruby smiled gently.

"Hi," he said, voice almost uncertain, not sure what to say next.

Ruby tilted her head slightly. "Hi," she replied, her voice warm. "You want to see what I’m doing?"

Adrian nodded, glancing down at the laptop and manual. "I don’t know much about these things, but... it looked interesting."

Ruby chuckled softly. "I’m learning too. it’s kind of exciting."

He nodded again. His hands stayed in his lap, fingers fidgeting just a little.

There was something sweet about it—how quiet he was, yet still trying to connect.

Ruby gently turned the laptop a bit toward him. "Come closer. I’ll show you."

—To be continued...🪄