"What are you looking at? You look like you're in pain." Sarah noticed Alex's strange expression and couldn't help asking.
"It's nothing," Alex quickly shook his head. He absolutely didn't want Sarah to find out what he had been looking at—it would be too easy for her to assume he was some kind of pervert.
Sarah gave him a suspicious glance. "Alex, the glucose is almost done."
"Can't you press the call button yourself?" Alex replied, annoyed. He hit the call button and quickly exited the P Station app. If the nurse saw what he was just browsing, it would definitely be awkward.
Soon, a young, good-looking nurse came into the room and disconnected Sarah's IV.
"Your boyfriend really cares about you," the nurse commented casually. "When he brought you in, he looked like he was going to faint from panic. But why did you pass out? Is he starving you, or were you on a diet?"
"He's not my boyfriend—he's my brother!" Sarah panicked and quickly clarified.
"Oh, really?" The nurse's eyes lit up, and she immediately turned her attention to Alex. "Hey there, you've got some skills. Want to play Deep Sea Trek with me? I've been playing for two weeks now, and I just unlocked the online mode. Want to squad up sometime?"
"Uh, I don't really play Deep Sea Trek anymore," Alex said.
"Huh? You don't play Deep Sea Trek?" The nurse looked at him as if he were some kind of relic from the past.
It was hard to blame her. Deep Sea Trek had become wildly popular. Among young people, it was practically as widespread as TikTok. It even inspired a hit dating show called Temptation of the Deep Sea, where pairs of strangers played the game together and explored the virtual world hand in hand. The show had already produced a few real couples. Some were even on the verge of starting families—though, due to system limitations, all they could do in the game was hold hands.
"Yeah, I don't play it," Alex repeated. He wasn't lying—he was always busy developing new games. When he had downtime, he preferred something more casual, like Net Cast Pro. Just thirty minutes of play and he was totally relaxed.
"Well, can we at least add each other?" The nurse smiled sweetly.
"Sure," Alex agreed without hesitation.
"Yay! Add me, add me!" she said cheerfully.
They exchanged friend requests, and then the nurse mentioned, "By the way, there's been a group of people hanging around outside your room. I'm not sure if they're your friends or what."
"Huh? Really?" Alex and Sarah were both confused. When they stepped out into the corridor, they saw a group of young men and women sitting on the benches. None of them looked familiar.
But when the group spotted them, they immediately stood up, their faces lighting up with recognition.
"Oh my god, it's Sarah! It's really her!"
"I knew it! I knew it was her!"
"Sarah, can we get a photo with you?"
The group quickly crowded around them, chatting excitedly.
Sarah hadn't expected to run into fans in the hospital in the middle of the night—much less so many of them—so she quickly shushed them. "Please keep it down. This is a hospital."
If this had been earlier in her career, she probably wouldn't have drawn such a crowd. But ever since becoming the face of New World Studios, her popularity had skyrocketed. She was more well-known than many second-tier celebrities.
Alex realized what must have happened. When he brought Sarah to the hospital, someone must've recognized her, and these fans had been waiting outside ever since. The power of fandom, huh...
The fans were respectful and kept their voices down in the hospital. But as soon as Sarah was discharged and they stepped outside, the fans swarmed around her again.
"Sarah, can we take a group photo?"
"Yeah, and can I get an autograph?"
At first, all the attention was on Sarah. But then a female fan looked at Alex and asked, "Wait a second, aren't you the Old Thief?"
The air changed instantly.
That one sentence hit like a flare, and all eyes suddenly turned to Alex.
In terms of influence, the mysterious "Old Thief"—the developer behind Sekiro and Deep Sea Trek—was even more intriguing than Sarah herself. Fans' imaginations went wild.
Everyone knew Sarah had a close relationship with the Old Thief. Rumors even hinted at something romantic between them. Now here she was, with this guy, together in the hospital in the middle of the night?
Hmmm...
Alex quickly raised his hands defensively. "No, no, you've got the wrong guy! I'm not the Old Thief—I'm Sarah's younger brother!"
"Yeah, seriously!" Sarah added. "He's my little brother, not the Old Thief!"
The fans paused. Thinking about it, Alex did look pretty young—maybe just out of college. Could someone that young really be behind such advanced game development?
Besides, Sarah had mentioned her younger brother in past streams.
The suspicion faded, and the fans returned to happily snapping photos with Sarah. A few tried to get Alex in a picture, but he politely declined. Low profile—always a good choice.
Once the crowd dispersed, Alex and Sarah finally headed home.
"Let's go home, Artemis," Alex said as he slid into the Ferrari's driver seat.
"Navigation system activated," the Artemis AI replied. "Please select your driving mode."
"I'll drive. Just assist if needed," Alex replied.
"Affirmative."
Sarah was surprised. "Wow, Alex, you installed Artemis in the car?"
"Yeah, just a little test," he replied. "So far, it's working really well."
"Can it go fully autonomous?"
"Of course. But I prefer driving myself," Alex said with a grin. "There's just something about it. Doesn't matter if it's a clunker or a luxury ride—driving is fun."
"Men are weird," Sarah muttered. "How does it compare to a Tesla?"
Alex shrugged, modestly. "Just a little better."
But the smug grin on his face betrayed how proud he was.
With the roads clear in the early morning, Alex opened up the throttle and gave Sarah a smooth ride.
But after everything Sarah had experienced—climbing cliffs, swimming in deep seas, swinging across rooftops—riding in a sports car didn't quite feel thrilling anymore. She couldn't help teasing, "Hey Alex, must feel good to have a cute nurse add you on Prestige."
"That's right," Alex smirked. "I've got money now—I can afford to be bold. What's one nurse? I could add five!"
"And don't forget, you almost got outed back there. If I hadn't jumped in, your identity as the producer might've been exposed!"
"True," Alex muttered. "Keeping a low profile is tough when your sister's a celebrity."
"But seriously, Sekiro is insane," Sarah continued. "I bet after it launches, people will get addicted like crazy."
Alex nodded. "That's the worry. With how successful it is, other companies are bound to get jealous. Not sure about any government backlash, though."
Still, the authorities had praised him in the past. New World Studios paid huge taxes, and even appeared on national news. So long as things didn't spiral out of control, he was probably safe.
And unlike other games, Alex's creations promoted real-world physical activity. Deep Sea Trek taught swimming. Sekiro? It taught swordsmanship and martial arts!
You couldn't argue with results. His games were making people fitter—stronger, even.
Eventually, they pulled up to their luxury villa. As they stepped out of the car, Alex gave a command:
"Artemis, lock the doors and park the car in the garage."
"Command received," Artemis replied. The garage door opened. The Ferrari smoothly turned and reversed itself into the garage, then the door closed again.
Sarah's jaw dropped.
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