Chapter 468: Purely on Me

Chapter 468: Chapter 468: Purely on Me

But why him?

Lily Hart was also asking her system, ’Why Stan Sterling? Couldn’t it have been someone else? Why was the winning ticket the one I picked? Give me a reasonable explanation, now!’

The system was speechless. ’You’re a walking encyclopedia of "whys"! Just tell me, is this a good outcome or not? Do you like it or not? Does Stan Sterling like it or not?!’

’Okay, okay, fine! But I’m just curious! So the fruit store was always destined to be Stan Sterling’s, huh?’

’Correct!’ the system affirmed.

As the person and system bickered in her mind, Stan Sterling stared blankly at the small card in his hand. He never imagined he would own a shop of his own.

Watching Frost Shaw, Roman Rowe, and Seth all get their own shops, seeing them busy with their businesses day in and day out, making money from them... it would be a lie to say he wasn’t envious.

He had his own little vegetable patch, but he always felt it wasn’t as impressive as their shops...

No one said it out loud, but there was a bit of a rivalry between them—not just for Lily Hart’s attention, but also in terms of their shops’ performance.

Take Frost Shaw, for example. He always earned the most. Not only did he have a brick-and-mortar store, but he also had vending machines and even an online supermarket.

With three different channels, if he wasn’t making a killing, who was?

As for second place? No one cared about second place. Everyone only cared about being number one.

But now, he had his own fruit store! He could sell all the fruits and vegetables from his patch in his very own shop!

He could even get listed on Sylvia Jarvis’s food delivery platform. Then everyone would be able to eat fruit without having to scramble for it!

After indulging in a series of fantasies, Stan Sterling finally snapped out of it. Lily Hart had also finished her battle with the system and urged him, "Hurry, hurry! Let’s go claim the prize!"

"Yay!" Stan Sterling blurted out cheerfully, his face beaming.

Lily Hart froze for a second, then gave him a sidelong glance. "Wow, you... you’re actually pretty cute~"

Stan Sterling froze, a smile unconsciously tugging at the corners of his lips as he silently accepted Lily Hart’s compliment.

Before Stan Sterling could respond, Lily Hart impatiently snatched the small card from him and shoved it into the Lucky Cat’s mouth.

A flash of white light burst forth. As they followed it with their eyes, a giant, bright red apple appeared before them.

On top, there was a brown stem with two lifelike green leaves that even swayed in the breeze.

If it weren’t for the door set into its side, you’d think it was a real, oversized apple at first glance!

Stan Sterling was astonished. "This is... my fruit store?"

Lily Hart nodded blankly. But then, remembering the design of the milk tea shop, she came to terms with it.

’This is normal. Everything is normal.’

’As for why it’s shaped like an apple... I guess it’s because apples are versatile and delicious?’

Stan Sterling silently raised his Light Brain and took the very first picture of his fruit store.

It was a very standard-looking giant apple, complete with various patterns and little white specks on its skin.

It looked so good you couldn’t help but want to take a bite.

Lily Hart grabbed Stan Sterling, who was still busy taking pictures, and pulled him down with her. She ran the few steps to the store and pushed the door open.

A faint, sweet scent of fruit filled the air, captivating the senses.

The layout inside was similar to a normal fruit store, with tiered display shelves lining the walls.

In the middle of the shop was a long, rectangular display table divided into dozens of sections for arranging fruit.

There were several other display tables like it in the store, just in different shapes.

Beyond the display tables and shelves, further inside, was the checkout counter.

Behind the counter was a sink and a prep station, which could be used for cutting, washing fruit, and so on.

Stan Sterling was quite satisfied. Most importantly, the space was large, and the aisles were wide.

There was plenty of room to display fruit, giving him a much better place to sell the many fruits and vegetables from his patch.

’But it feels like I won’t be able to fill it...’

After they had looked around, Lily Hart asked, "Not bad, eh? What do you think?"

Stan Sterling nodded, completely satisfied. "It’s great! But I don’t have enough fruit from my patch to fill it, ya know?"

He was copying her, adding a playful tag to his sentence.

Lily Hart tossed her head back and waved her hand grandly. "That’s nothing. You can just buy some from the shop. Here, here, I’ll show you."

Stan Sterling’s Light Brain was a watch-style device worn on his left wrist.

Suddenly, Lily Hart grabbed his wrist. Stan Sterling froze, his gaze drawn to where their skin touched.

Her palm was pressed firmly against his wrist, warm and soft.

Lily Hart skillfully operated the Light Brain, scrolling to an app named "Lily Hart" and tapping on it.

The screen changed, displaying a floor plan of the fruit store. The position of every shelf and display table could be moved.

In the top right corner were icons for a "Shop" and "Personal Center." Lily Hart tapped on the Shop.

Inside was a wide variety of fruits, all priced in points. Stan Sterling was shocked at how cheap they were!

It was much cheaper than the prices he sold his own produce for! With this kind of arbitrage, wouldn’t he make a fortune?!

Stan Sterling was already lost in a gleeful fantasy when Lily Hart, after a few casual swipes, asked, "Get it?"

"Got it!" Stan Sterling said affirmatively, subconsciously deactivating the Light Brain’s display.

Lily Hart’s hand was still holding his wrist. Now that they were quiet, the sensation of her touch became incredibly distinct.

Stan Sterling’s heart began to beat faster, and he pretended to survey his surroundings.

"So how are you planning to arrange everything?" Lily Hart asked, letting go of his hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Stan Sterling’s thoughts snapped back to the present. He considered her question and gave an honest shake of his head.

Since the daily fruit rush hadn’t started yet, Stan Sterling took out some of the fruit from his inventory.

Together with Lily Hart, he began figuring out how to arrange the fruit on the display shelves.

This, too, was a job that required skill.

How to make the display look good, how to make it easy for customers to grab what they want, and even incorporating some sales techniques and color coordination.

But... neither of them knew the first thing about any of that.

Lily Hart was about to search online for tips, but then she had another thought.

’It’s the apocalypse! Who cares about this stuff? People should be grateful there’s fruit to buy at all, okay? Who’s going to be analyzing the display?!’

There was absolutely no need for fancy arrangements. For fruits that could be stacked, they’d just pile them up one by one.

Apples, oranges, pears, plums...

For fruits that couldn’t be stacked, they’d put them in small containers and sell them by the box.

Strawberries, blueberries, cherries—all the delicate fruits.

Having reached this epiphany, Stan Sterling and Lily Hart completely let loose. As long as it was the same type of fruit, it went in the same pile.

While it was no longer a skilled job, it had now become pure manual labor.

After just ten minutes, Lily Hart was already crying "Oof, oof," as she straightened up, clutching her back.

Stan Sterling said, "You should take a break. I can handle this."

He bent down gracefully, picked up fruit from a basket on the floor, and straightened up to place it on the display table.

He repeated these movements over and over, looking completely at ease and showing no signs of fatigue.

Lily Hart didn’t need Stan Sterling to tell her twice; she had already found a place to rest.

The chair behind the checkout counter.

As soon as she sat down, the discomfort in her back eased a little.

’I’m a superpower user too, so why does my body feel so much weaker than theirs?’

At this, the system had something to say. ’Everyone else cultivated their power on their own. And you? You rely purely on me! When I level up, you level up! Have you ever actually trained?’

Lily Hart heard this and thought it made sense. It was true she had never trained seriously.

Fair enough. No pain, no gain. Lily Hart accepted this reality.