My Avatar is Becoming the Ultimate BOSS-Chapter 218 - 143: Venice, Date, and the New Member of the Brigade

Occasionally, a riverside café would push open its wooden window, and the aroma of coffee mixed with the sea breeze would waft by one’s nose.

The sleeve of the russet kimono hung low, and Ayase Origami sat at the stern, her slightly vacant pupils reflecting the city’s scenery.

In the sunlight, the clock tower in St. Mark’s Square pierced through the clouds, and the statue of the golden winged lion stood tall on the arch of the Governor’s Mansion; the stone sculptures of the Rialto Bridge, polished bright by time, watched over the alternating flow of merchant and tourist boats below.

The young boy and girl sat in silence at the stern.

The sightseeing boat passed through one bridge after another. The world became clear and then dark, dark then clear again. Every time they passed through a bridge, it was like a new painting slowly unfurled before their eyes.

"Have you been to Venice before?" Xia Pingzhou suddenly asked.

"No."

"It’s my first time too."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"What question?"

"Takayama said... when someone important dies, one would shed tears."

"And then?"

"But when he died... I didn’t cry." Ayase Origami paused, "Why?"

"Isn’t that quite normal?" Xia Pingzhou thought for a moment, "You give me the impression of a doll, always wearing the same kimono, with the same indifferent expression, and the same indifferent tone. I can’t even imagine what you’d look like crying."

"No one taught me how to be human." Ayase Origami lowered her gaze, staring at her blurred reflection in the water.

"Why?"

Ayase Origami remained silent for a while, ultimately not answering him, but instead said:

"Tired of sightseeing. Let’s buy clothes."

"Yeah, you did mention in Tokyo that you wanted to buy clothes," Xia Pingzhou said, glancing at Ayase Origami’s kimono.

"Never bought any myself, Takayama always did."

"Anyway, you’re always wearing the same kimono, buying clothes is just like restocking periodically, isn’t it?"

"...That made me yawn."

Ayase Origami gave him a sidelong glance, seemingly a bit upset... For the first time, Xia Pingzhou saw her wrinkle her brow a little; rather, she seemed to want to appear angry, but ultimately her expression was one of lingering confusion.

She lowered her eyes in thought, then raised them to look at him: "Do I look strange in other clothes?"

Xia Pingzhou shook his head.

A flock of white doves startled at the bow, their pristine feathers falling onto the water’s surface.

Xia Pingzhou and Ayase Origami disembarked, stepping onto the marble pavement to stroll the streets, where they discovered a modern fashion boutique in a quiet alley.

The shop clerk approached with a smile, introducing the brand fashions in perfect English.

Ayase Origami seemed a bit stunned, evidently never having had much sense of clothes. So, whenever the clerk introduced a new dress, she would look to Xia Pingzhou for his opinion.

Xia Pingzhou didn’t pay much attention to her, instead pondering whether he could find the right diapers for Su Zimai in this place.

Eventually, Ayase Origami decisively tried on one outfit after another. Xia Pingzhou stood with arms crossed outside the fitting room, waiting. Each time she pulled back the curtain, she appeared in a different outfit—sometimes in a Lolita dress, sometimes in a Gothic-style dress, sometimes in a high-collared coat...

It was only during these moments that Xia Pingzhou felt she didn’t seem like a doll, but a living person.

The girl’s face was as cold as a painting; even in midsummer, her brows and eyes seemed like snow that would never melt.

Each time she raised her empty eyes to seek his opinion, he’d either shrug, shake his head, or rest his chin in a contemplative pose, yet each time, when he was halfway through his thoughts, Ayase Origami would already pull back the curtain, seemingly wanting a set of clothes that would satisfy him at first glance.

The clerks were so taken by her cuteness they couldn’t stop themselves from exclaiming, suggesting she should be a model and snapping pictures with their phones, even planning to print them for store advertising.

Yet in the end, they realized their phone camera lenses were covered by a thin paper, leaving the photos completely dark.

It wasn’t until Ayase Origami tried on the sixteenth outfit that Xia Pingzhou finally nodded in satisfaction.

"But... what’s special about it?" She slightly raised her arm, looking down at the British-style long dress she wore, with a gray hairpin tied in her hair.

"Actually, I think they all look good. I just wanted to see you trying on more clothes," Xia Pingzhou said.

"Why?"

"It’s intriguing. Like a doll coming to life."

"Kitty, don’t yawn..." As she said this, Ayase Origami’s usually indifferent tone seemed to change, though it was unclear whether she was happy or angry.

She remained an enigma.

In the end, Xia Pingzhou bought all the clothes Ayase Origami tried on, barely making a dent in the money sent to his bank card by a hacker. And not to mention, once he completely sold off the auction items, he’d receive a considerable amount of cash.

The number of clothes was so many that Xia Pingzhou asked the clerks to deliver them to their booked hotel that night.

She returned to the fitting room to change back into her russet kimono.

Just as they were about to leave the fashion store, Ayase Origami lifted her slender finger to tug at his sleeve, pulling him back.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Buy clothes for the cat," the kimono-clad girl said, word by word.

Xia Pingzhou stopped in his tracks, turning to meet her cold gaze, then sighed helplessly:

"Alright."

Their roles reversed, Ayase Origami selected a few sets of well-fitting clothes for Xia Pingzhou, ranging from a suit, shirts, hoodies, to pajamas, everything was included.

Ayase Origami remained expressionless, never offering an opinion throughout, simply observing Xia Pingzhou each time he emerged from the fitting room, like a motionless doll.

As if a stern judge.

Not until a barely perceptible smile appeared on her pale cheeks did this overly arduous dressing session officially end. Ayase Origami reciprocated in kind, buying all the clothes Xia Pingzhou tried on.

It was nearing dusk when they came to their senses, and they found a spot in a nearby western restaurant. Just then, three figures pushed open the wooden door and approached them.

Xia Pingzhou looked up, and in his sight was a woman in a red dress with light golden hair, a man in a white cape with a white haze over his left eye, and an uncle in western cowboy attire.

The delicate, vampiric woman with golden hair curled her lips, revealing a playful smile. She said:

"Say my name."

"Longevity Love-Chasing Old Lady." "Old Lady."

Xia Pingzhou and Ayase Origami replied simultaneously, their tones as indifferent as if produced by the same factory.

The bloodline’s face immediately darkened, speaking word by word: "Outside, one-on-one."

"I mean... don’t wreck this place, I still want a drink," Andrew scratched his head helplessly.

"Immature." Bai Tanlang said with an expressionless face.

The three sat down on the sofa opposite Xia Pingzhou.

"Could you not be so scary?" Xia Pingzhou asked, "I almost thought the police were here."

"We heard you arrived, so we came to find you," the bloodline smiled.

Xia Pingzhou said, "I just heard that there are many demons here, so I came to find one to contract, and leave once I found one."

"Demons usually appear more at night," Bai Tanlang said.

"Hearing that from a demon sounds quite convincing," Xia Pingzhou sipped his whiskey.

"By the way, have you seen the newcomer yet, the one replacing position number 5," the bloodline leaned on her palm, red eyes fixed on Xia Pingzhou, casually asked.

"Not yet." Xia Pingzhou shook his head, "What’s the new guy’s name?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The bloodline thought for a bit: "I heard from the leader, his name is ’Bernardo Edward’, and he possesses a Generational-level Anecdote Fragment." She paused, "I don’t know the details, but the hacker said we should be careful of this newcomer."

Bernardo Edward...

Xia Pingzhou hesitated slightly, evidently having a certain impression of the name. Not only had Cezar mentioned this person, but also during the creation of a game character he had seen this name:

—Bernardo is the leader of the Black Death Cult, the holder of the Generational-level Anecdote Fragment "Black Death"!