Ethan frowned deeply as he looked at the screen before him. It wasn’t something entirely unfamiliar to him, as he had used it several times during board meetings in his companies.
However, this one was different. There didn’t seem to be any physical technological object projecting this holographic screen. This kind of technology shouldn’t even be present in this era.
How was it being displayed?
Despite his confusion, his mind was moving sharply. The information displayed on the screen, combined with his current situation of being sent into someone else’s body...
Everything now made sense. Whoever had sent him here wanted him to repair the broken family of the original Ethan.
’There seems to be a lot of factors at play here...’
His brows locked tightly, and soon, the messages before him changed.
[Tasks will be given every new day. Complete the tasks to earn rewards.]
[Today’s task: Prepare tea for your wife and daughter before they wake up.]
[Reward: Cooking Mastery]
’Cooking Mastery?’ Ethan almost doubted his eyes.
That seemed almost like an irrelevant skill. In the era which he came from, cooking could even be done by robots without the need for human supervision. Why would he learn to cook?
However, Ethan was a smart man. He was no longer in his era, and the situation had changed. Things he had considered insignificant and irrelevant now matter.
’Well, at least I can prepare tea.’
The screen dissolved from his view, and he looked at the woman sleeping on the bed. She seemed relaxed, but Ethan could easily notice the tension in her shoulders.
He had sharp eyes, after all.
"Evelyn. You’re awake, aren’t you?"
The woman flinched, then froze, as if wishing to be unseen.
Ethan sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. He knew exactly why she was scared. Whenever the original owner of the body woke up in the night, he would force himself on her, or find something to accuse her of and beat her.
Ethan felt disgusted that he was possessing this man’s body. Still, there was nothing he could do about it.
He quietly lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Beside him, the woman was still trying to suppress the trembling of her body.
Ethan said nothing for a few minutes, and when she finally relaxed, thinking he was asleep, he spoke again.
"Are you going to the stall tomorrow?"
This time, the woman knew she had been caught, and no longer pretended to be asleep.
In a weak, faint voice, she replied. "... Yes."
Ethan’s body froze, and he turned to look at her in shock. Her voice... sounded so similar to Cynthia’s voice. He almost thought she was the same person.
However, seeing that snowy white hair, he shook his head and lay on his back.
"Alright, then. I’ll be coming with you."
Once again, Evelyn froze. But this time, it wasn’t from fear. It was from confusion.
"Huh...?"
Ethan knew she was doubting his words, so he didn’t bother pressing the issue. "Go to sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow."
He closed his eyes, ready to sleep. At the same time, he silently wished she wouldn’t grow crazed and drive a broken bottle into his neck while he slept.
His thoughts wandered back to his business empire and everything he had built, wondering how they would be reacting to his disappearance.
He didn’t even notice when he fell asleep, and only when he blinked awake did he realize that he had slept for some time.
He turned his head, seeing Evelyn and their daughter still in bed.
He quietly stood up without disturbing them, then checked the wall clock in the room.
’6:31, huh? Looks like habits stick regardless of the body.’
In his life as Victor, he had programmed his mind to always be awake by 6:30 a.m, and it seemed that habit hadn’t left him even in another man’s body.
’Well, then... first things first.’
He stepped out of the room, then headed to the bathroom. It was a far cry from what he was used to, but he didn’t mind. It was bound to change, anyway. It was only a matter of time.
After taking a clean bath, he stepped back into the room and wore the only clean clothes he could find for himself. A pair of cream-colored trousers and a black t-shirt.
Still ensuring that he didn’t disturb the mother-daughter pair, he slipped out of the room again, then went to the kitchen.
It was a small one, totally strange and unfamiliar. However, at least he still recognized the kettle and a cupboard where the tea ingredients were kept.
Usually, the tea ingredients were reserved for him, as tea was what Evelyn usually used to appease to the original Ethan. However he was going to serve her that same tea this morning.
’Ironic, isn’t it?’
He chuckled as he started boiling the water on the gas stove, patiently waiting for it to heat up. After a few minutes, he heard the whistling sound from the kettle, and he turned off the gas.
The process thereafter was simple. He carefully poured the boiled water into three cups, then added one teabag into each cup, letting it steep.
After around four minutes, he removed the teabags and trashed them. Then, he added one tablespoon of sugar to each cup.
"This should be correct, right?"
He muttered, placing the cups onto a clean serving tray. Thankfully, unlike her husband, Evelyn knew the importance of hygiene and never allowed the kitchen to have even a single unclean utensil.
Ethan carried the tray to the living room, set it on the table, then sat on the couch. He checked the wall clock, his eyes narrowing.
’If these memories are right, they should wake up soon.’
.........
Evelyn woke up feeling unusually relaxed. Her body wasn’t sore or bruised, which was disturbingly strange.
’He really didn’t do anything to me?’ She thought, carefully glancing behind her.
Ethan wasn’t there.
’Where could he be? He always sleeps till noon. Why is he up early today?’
She sat up in bed, careful not to wake her daughter.
’And he mentioned following me to our stall. Does he want to extort me again?’
She felt bitter, conflicted, and confused. Sometimes, her husband’s behavior was so strange that she couldn’t understand him.
’Whatever. I’m used to it already,’ She thought, her expression impassive. ’I should get prepared for the day.’
She stood up and rubbed her throat, feeling thirsty. Instead of heading to the bathroom first, she decided to go to the kitchen.
Just as she passed by the living room, she froze.
Was that... tea?