"Alberta, honey, your uncle would never cheat you."
Eva scooted closer and took my hand, rubbing it between hers.
"It's only because your cousin's my own flesh and blood that she can't be the co-signer. Otherwise, believe me, we'd never dream of bothering you."
"That's right, Alberta." Viola glanced over long enough to chime in, then went straight back to her phone.
The three of them had their little routine down cold. I nodded, playing the wide-eyed innocent.
"Aunt Eva, Uncle Ivor, could I have a few days to think it over? The company's doing well enough, so there's no real rush, is there?"
Ivor blinked, thrown for a second, then recovered with a smile.
"The bank's practically begging to lend to us. They want the numbers on their books, so of course there's no hurry."
He rambled on for a bit, then pivoted.
"But we can't keep them waiting forever either. My company deals with banks all the time, you understand. Say we go sign in a week. How's that sound?"
I said nothing, and he took my silence for a yes.
Eva and Ivor left, but Viola stayed behind.
"Change your phone password. Otherwise the moment you fall asleep, that cousin of yours will be snooping through your messages again."
The Lucky Coin's warning again. Without letting anything show on my face, I changed my password and turned off the fingerprint and pattern unlock.
"Alberta, I'm craving that spicy hot pot bowl you make."
Viola stuck out her tongue at me and pulled a silly face.
That bright, innocent look of hers threw me for a moment.
"I'll go make it now."
I put on a happy smile and headed for the kitchen, leaving my phone lying on the table.
When the food was ready and I carried it out to the living room, sure enough, my phone had clearly been moved.
"So good! Alberta, you're just too sweet to me!"
Viola kept the compliments coming between mouthfuls.
I smiled and said nothing, opening my phone just as a message from Hudson came in.
【Had a new idea today. I'll build it tonight and show you.】
Followed by a little heart.
The corners of my mouth curved up, and Viola caught it.
"What's got you smiling like that, Alberta?"
I pulled up a short drama on TikTok and shared it to her.
"This is fun to watch while you eat. Go on, finish up."
I'd been done for a few minutes before Viola finally set down her bowl.
"I met this really good-looking guy online. He goes by Hudson. Do you know him, Alberta?"
She dropped it on her way out, all fake nonchalance.
I looked up at her, blinking, playing lost.
"Hudson? I think he's in one of my group chats."
"He's not your matchmaking date, is he? You two really didn't meet today?"
Viola was getting a little too anxious. The second the words were out, she realized how they sounded and backpedaled.
"That's not what I meant. I just mean this Hudson I met seems really easygoing to talk to. Not like those creeps out there."
I held my smile in place.
"Then maybe you should get to know him. You're twenty-three this year, after all. It's about time you found out what dating feels like."
"Oh, I couldn't do that."
Viola said it, but she practically skipped out the door.
An hour later, Hudson called.
"Somebody named Viola added me on WeChat. Says she's your cousin. Do you know her?"
The Lucky Coin panicked the second it heard.
"First she's messaging Hudson in broad daylight, now she's adding him on WeChat. What's next, showing up at his door to steal him?"
"Alberta Henson, don't you dare play dumb about this! Ivor already dug into Hudson's background ages ago. He's been trying to marry Viola into the James family this whole time."
"Getting close to Hudson is only step one. Step two is leaving you penniless with nothing. Step three is dragging your name through the mud."
The Lucky Coin was underestimating me a little.
To my cousin and her family, I was just a shut-in.
But to everyone in the group chat, Hudson included, I was the undisputed coding genius.
"Viola's my cousin. Do you two know each other?"
