05,

Alexander looked down at the girl with the jagged, unkempt hair.

She was... how should he put it? Absurd to the point of being farcical, yet surprisingly easy to manage once you located her "utility switch."

A perfect straight line. No hidden angles.

He checked his watch. Six o'clock.

"I will grant you exactly three and a half hours," Alexander stipulated.

"From now until 9:30 PM. At 9:30 sharp, this space must return to absolute silence. And you are to dispose of those unsightly energy drink cans. Do we have an accord?"

"9:30? That’s early as hell... but whatever, deal's a deal!"

Toby clicked her tongue, immediately crouching back down to faff with the power plug.

"Now, go find a corner to lurk in. Head upstairs or go to the kitchen or something. If my viewers see you hanging around, they’ll start rumors about me having a 'Sugar Daddy,' and that’s a headache I don't need."

Alexander’s lip curled. A faint smirk, so subtle it was almost imperceptible, brushed across his frigid features.

A sugar daddy? For a girl who looked like a runaway construction apprentice? The imagination of today’s youth was certainly... vivid.

He picked up his briefcase and coat.

"Remember. 9:30 PM. One minute past, and I will personally trip the breaker," he threw back over his shoulder before disappearing down the hallway toward the master suite.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you grumpy old man!" Toby waved him off, her eyes already glued to the rebooting screen.

The moment the PC flickered to life, Toby fired up OBS and went back live. The chat swarmed in like a disturbed beehive.

[Ahri_Is_Waifu: WHAT DID I JUST SEE???]

[Mup_Rumble: Power outage? Or did that guy actually pull the plug?]

[Lily_Flower: OMG, he is gorgeous!! A total Daddy!!]

[Game_Over_Boi: Toby, your promos are toast, kid. The team is flaming you in world chat right now.]

Toby ruffled her hair in frustration, grabbing a Red Bull and draining it in one go.

"Dammit! My life is as dark as a dog’s muzzle! My promos are gone! Everything’s gone! All because of that pretentious, four-eyed iceberg! He literally yanked my plug!"

She wailed dramatically, then suddenly remembered something. She lowered her voice to a whisper, leaning into the mic:

"But listen, y’all... one plus one equals two. Losing the rank stings, but I’m getting a brand-new five-foot desk, totally free! And a high-end chair. Trading one rank match for a few hundred bucks in furniture? I did the math—I’m still in the green! It’s a massive win!"

[Chat_No1: Millionaire mindset right there lol]

[Tien_Nghiep_Chuong: You're beyond help, Toby. But fr, that guy's hot. Drop his socials.]

"Socials my @ss! He’s a total freak! You guys have no idea that he’s got OCD!! Tables and chairs gotta be exactly 45 centimeters apart. Peak insanity! But whatever, I don't care. I got my desk, I’m happy. Tomorrow I’m moving my rig into the room, locking the door, and then I can scream my lungs out and he can’t do squat. Now, come on crew, I need some emotional support. Time to grind those promos back..."

On the other side of the hallway, behind the closed mahogany door, Alexander sat in a leather armchair in his study. He was brewing a cup of Earl Grey.

Despite the decent soundproofing, faint, shrill echoes still drifted in from the living room.

"Son of a—! Where do you think you’re going, you dog!!"

Alexander’s hand paused. He stared intently at the steaming tea. The absolute serenity he had guarded for two years in this house... seemed to have reached its terminal point today.

A loud girl. A ragged punk. A crude streamer.

Regardless of the labels he assigned her, Alexander knew the equation of his tranquil life had just been compromised by a variable of infinite chaos.

He took a sip of tea, pulled out his phone, and opened the browser.

In the search bar, he typed: 'Laminate gaming desk, 150cm, heavy-duty. Next-day delivery, Chicago.'

"9:30," Alexander muttered to himself in the empty room. "I only have to endure until 9:30."

In the living room, the mechanical keyboard continued to clatter — a rhythmic, piercing soundtrack of impulsive youth.

Toby Jinure, with her bird’s-nest hair and ash-grey tank top, plunged back into her virtual battles, entirely unaware that she had accidentally knocked on the door of a brand-new reality.

A world where a disciplined math teacher was currently nursing a headache, trying to figure out how to bring his life back into equilibrium.

But in this life, one plus one doesn't always equal two.

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