Rita figured there was no point pushing people too far, so in the end she finally replied in the group chat.
[Rita]: Just tell me whether the bed worked or not?!
[Rick]: It was pretty good.
[Rita]: See? Good stuff and good news don't just fall from the sky.
Samuel and Scarlett both immediately asked what bed they were talking about.
Rita sent the item description into the group chat and casually mentioned it had been her wedding gift.
[Happy Scarlett]: Are there more? Mom wants one too. Your dad needs it.
[Rita]: You think these things grow on trees? They're insanely expensive, okay?! Do you know how much gold costs outside right now? Then you'd understand what kind of price this bed has.
Samuel had gathered quite a bit of information recently.
Silver coins were already selling for ten thousand dollars each, and gold coins had become completely insane.
Depressed Samuel: I heard one gold coin goes for a million now. Though I haven't heard of anyone actually managing to buy one.
[Happy Scarlett]: A bed worth tens of millions?! Dear god! That's enough to buy a house! You're stingy when it matters, but then suddenly willing to spend this kind of money on nonsense!
[Rick]: @Rita Thanks, sis~ If you find more stuff like this, buy it for me first. I'll transfer the money later.
[Rita]: @Happy Scarlett For rich women, this matters way more than a house. Those who understand, understand.
Scarlett instantly went quiet.
Even if she kept talking, Rita had nowhere to find another identical bed anyway.
Honestly, she regretted not stockpiling more of those things back then.
Once the game officially invaded reality and the auction house reopened, reselling those beds could probably make a fortune.
After putting down her phone, Rita sat there dazed for a while.
For a few fleeting seconds, she had actually felt... happy.
Sometimes she genuinely wondered whether her previous life had all been a nightmare.
If she had not endured the agony of being pinned to the ground and bled out while waiting for Rick...
If that book had not appeared in her mind during her dying moments...
Then even after reincarnating, she probably still would have trusted them.
What a perfectly ordinary, perfectly happy family.
A hot-tempered but easily satisfied mother who sometimes seemed adorably simple-minded.
A gentle, patient father who treated both children equally.
Parents who handed all their savings to their daughter.
A daughter who earned money and gave back to the family.
Money for her parents.
Money for her younger brother.
And then the younger brother saving up his share to buy her a villa.
After the world changed, Rick had even brought her along to join the elite Lopez family teams for dungeon raids...
Even when Zoey's family hunted her down, Rick had secretly warned her and fed her information.
In her previous life, it was exactly this fake sense of happiness that trapped her.
That was why she kept compromising.
Kept enduring.
Rita stared at the chat window for a long time before finally snapping back to reality.
Then she suddenly realized something horrifying.
She had just calmly chatted with these people for this long.
Sure enough, revenge really did make people gentler.
Back when she had first reincarnated, no matter how much she forced herself to endure, she still could not maintain a pleasant attitude toward them.
Rita stuffed her phone into her game inventory and headed back out for shooting practice.
These days, she wore a sports bra and tight tank top on her upper body, with fitted pants below.
A tiny four-slot pouch sat in her pocket.
Inside were two beginner healing potions, a roll of regenerative first aid bandages, and her phone.
The two thirty-six-slot backpacks, potion pouch, and other important items were all stored inside the Magician's Fake Tooth.
As for the most important item of all, the bound Chávez pocket watch, she wore it openly around her neck, tucked securely beneath her tight clothing.
Once bound, it could neither be stolen nor lost.
Meaning anyone touching the watch would only feel empty air unless they were its owner.
From the outside, people merely assumed she wore a silver necklace.
Even if someone accidentally brushed against her chest, they would not feel anything.
Just as she prepared to move, Rita suddenly paused.
Her instructor looked at her curiously.
Rita smiled casually and said she had just remembered something.
A moment earlier, she had clearly sensed someone attempting to divine information about her.
But the Chávez watch had blocked it completely.
Through the mist lingering in her mind, she almost felt as if she had crossed a galaxy of time and space, glimpsing the person attempting the divination.
A buzz-cut young man.
After class, Rita headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner.
Whether due to her maxed-out Charm stat or simply everything she had experienced, her presence had become far more captivating than before.
The mystery of Thief God.
The coldness of Immortal.
The sharp confidence of Master Archer.
The warmth and humanity of God of the Culinary Arts.
Combined with her own restraint and hidden madness.
All those conflicting traits fused together strangely well atop her already elegant, gentle, intelligent face.
Nowadays, whenever Rita showed up somewhere in public, strangers unconsciously found their eyes following her.
Honestly, she had noticed this long ago.
Even at Zoey's wedding, despite deliberately keeping a low profile, people constantly stole glances at her.
But everyone there had been wealthy or powerful.
They viewed themselves as socially above her.
None of them would lower themselves to openly flirt with her at a wedding.
And after the wedding ended, Rita had practically vanished.
Either attending classes or staying home cooking.
Unknown numbers were ignored.
Friend requests from strangers went unanswered.
Sometimes she could even feel people secretly taking photos of her while she ate.
But that was unavoidable in this era.
And because she had already retired from the entertainment industry, she no longer had rival agencies or anti-fans deliberately targeting her online.
So when discussion about her resurfaced recently, most comments came from genuine passersby.
And surprisingly, most of them were positive.
As a result, she occasionally went mildly viral again.
But Rita ignored everything and refused to capitalize on the attention.
Her daily life consisted only of martial arts, shooting practice, eating, and going home.
Eventually, the internet lost interest again.
Unexpectedly, though, Amelia came knocking at her door.
She wanted to collaborate again and make a comeback together in the entertainment industry.
Rita had practically forgotten that bitch existed.
First, she used Insight to confirm Amelia was not a player.
Then she immediately threw her out.
Before slamming the door, she also gifted her a [Wheel of Fate], dropping her Luck to 1.
At present, Robinson's murder case was still investigating everyone who had conflicts with him.
Even though the existence of the game had eventually cleared Amelia of suspicion entirely, nobody shifted their focus toward Rita.
First, because Robinson had not yet actually harmed Rita before his death.
Second, because they had no direct conflict.
And third, because Amelia herself was still alive.
People assumed the killer had merely used her as a convenient scapegoat.
But if Amelia died too...
Then things might become complicated.
Rita never hired a professional cooking instructor.
She had never even liked cooking that much before.
Making food occasionally due to the game's cooking skills was one thing.
Dedicating herself obsessively to culinary training was another.
She worried it might trigger Rick's suspicions.
After hiding herself this carefully for so long, she had no interest in exposing herself over cooking.
Besides, the cooking videos included with the culinary profession were absurdly detailed.
Many methods differed entirely from real-world techniques.
There was no need for a teacher.
Recently, more and more stray cats had begun visiting the backyard of her villa for food and shelter.
Fortunately, autumn and winter had arrived.
The cats stayed relatively quiet.
And because Rita's villa sat in a remote location, nobody had noticed yet.