Chapter 167 - Lively Group Chat

Claire swiftly sneaked out of her unit and hide in the corner. A small curve moved upwards while thinking of her playful plan. She waited for Sofia and Stephen to pass by as she prepared her camera. She even checked the flash settings as well as the volume, just to be safe that the two would not notice her.

Sure enough, Sofia strode directly in the direction of her unit. Stephen was beside her and the two seemed to be in a deep conversation as they walk side by side. 'They did not even notice me! Hahaha, perfect!' 

"Hihi," Claire giggled and snapped another photo of their back. Then, she quickly returned to her room full of excitement.

That night, the group chat of the Chronos squad became very lively. Although most of the time, they occasionally exchange messages, right now, the average response was sent with promptness. And most responses were sent in three to four lines, indicating that they were truly focusing on the chat.

Claire started the chat, teasing Stephen about crashing at Sofia's place for the third time. 

At that time, the man in question had just taken a seat on the sofa where he would suppose to sleep.

"Haha," Stephen lightly laugh upon seeing Claire's message.

Claire: Guys, Stephen sleep in Sofia's unit last night. Tonight I saw them together.

This chat was accompanied by five heart emojis, wrapped with a ribbon and an image of the two passing by the hallway. 

Sofia did not notice the conversation first. She was busy scrolling in her laptop about items that they would be needing once their business starts to operate. 

Stephen rearranged his sitting position and casually typed a reply to Claire. But before he could send his response, Joey and Clark had already sent their shock emoji reactions. Then, followed by their replies.

Joey: Bro, that's our squad leader. 

:Have some respect. ;)

His tone seemed to be reprimanding Stephen, however, there was a winky face emoji at the end that made everyone reacted with a giggle.

Clark: It's also nice to make our squad become closer. 

: More than just friends? 

: Look at the social media, their picture in the library are also trending!

On the side of Clark, there was also the excitement of how he typed his reply. Every sentence was sent individually instead of typing it once.

The three go on volleying messages for quite a while before they finally saw Stephen's reply.

Stephen: My neighbors are noisy in my place. So I'm crashing here! But, thank you for the support guys! :)

How could Stephen miss the opportunity to join their fun? It was not that he had a bad or malicious intention for crashing the place. Perhaps, he just really wanted to sleep in Sofia's unit.

Joey: Aiiiyoooo, my boy! We will support you two! 

: Do you know you have a fans club now?

: Even if I remain single in this squad, it is fine!

Stephen: I have so many fans club -.-

: What single? You probably have many girls chatting with you right now!

It was true that Stephen's popularity with girls in school had also reached in social media. Some group of girls even made a bold move of creating a page with Stephen as their tandem in hope that he would notice them.

As for Joey, he was part of the basketball team before he joined the Chronos squad. Hence, there were also girls that were hoping to catch his attention too.

Joey: Hehe, same same, bro! What are you two doing now? Ehh, Sofia, don't fall on his trick! That man has no noisy neighbors!

Stephen: Don't slander me! They are really noisy!

Stephen insisted despite Joey's denial. Meanwhile, Clark and Stephen sent a series of laughing emojis with tears of joy. 

While Sofia was done sorting all the pieces of information that she needed, she took her phone and checked her emails too. It was a habit that she had practiced in her past life. After checking all unread emails, she shifted her attention towards their chat group. Only to discover the exchange of conversations from her members teasing Stephen and her.

Sofia: The four of you seem idle? No school homework?

Claire: Hehe, Sof, you are online! Hehe

The waving emoji flooded in the group chat but at the end of the conversation was Sofia's reply. It was a picture too but one that contains her handwriting.

Joey: What task? Aiyoo, I'm going to sleep now!

Sofia: If you are idle, go and do some research. If you are sleepy, have a good rest!

The photo that Sofia sent was exactly the individual tasks that she crafted in the library earlier. It was just mostly research of design and supplies.

Clark: I will do this tomorrow, Sof. Good night guys!

The two quickly exited the group chat. Sofia did not also mind about it for she was not really in a rush. Her intention was just to divide responsibility for the group so that they won't be dependent on her. At least, they would surely learn the things they needed to know with her guidance.

Sofia went to her kitchen and grab a glass of water. She silently backread all the conversation in their group chat before she shook her head in amusement. 

After few minutes of back reading, she moved her feet and grab another glass, then she brought the glass of water to Stephen. 

"Stay hydrated," she said while placing the glass on the mini table.

By now, Stephen was starting to do his task. Since his task was only a design in the dining layout, he made a series of screenshots on his phone and save them right away.

"Thank you, Sof! I'm researching the layout of good dining areas," Stephen reported.

"Okay, I'm going to sleep now. Don't force yourself. It's not urgent. You can do it anytime," Sofia told him. Since they have not yet acquired the building, Sofia was not in a rush. 

"Okay, good night, Sof!" Stephen called and gently smiled at her.

"Good night!" Sofia responded with a nod on her head. She went to her room and swiftly laid in bed with her face buried in her pillow.

Sofia sighed and closed her eyes. Mostly, her brain would wander for several minutes before she would go to her slumber. It was still early if she would follow the clock of a gamer. It's just 10:28 PM in her digital alarm clock. The majority of the gamers were surely starting to play until the game starts to reset for the daily quests. However, Sofia did not open her account anymore. 

This time, sleep was really quick to envelop Sofia the moment her body touched the bed. With all the errands that she had done for the day, she had fully drained the energy of her body.

Stephen finished the task that Sofia sent in their group chat. Claire also made her own research and sent all her screenshots in their conversation. 

Claire: Sof, here are the things that I have found interesting!

Stephen: She's asleep, Claire.

Stephen took the initiative to respond and inform Claire that Sofia won't be replying right now. But who knows what Claire's mind was thinking. The moment she saw Stephen's reply, her eyes widened and a blush crept on her cheeks.

Claire: Are you sharing a bed, Stephen?!

By the time Stephen received this response, he was drinking the glass of water that Sofia gave him. He almost choked after he read Claire's reply.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!" the coughing sound echoed through the silence of Sofia's apartment. "What the f*ck!" he muttered as his shirt was spilled slightly with the water that he drank.

Because Stephen did not answer her question, Claire instantly assumed that his lack of response was a confirmation. Then she sent another message...

Claire: Oh my gosh!!!

When Stephen managed to calm down, he quickly typed a reply.

Stephen: @Clark, your girl has such an active mind!

This time, Claire gasped for air. Then she sent the same message but not, it was all in uppercase.

Claire: OH MY GOSH!!!

Clark who was pinged was not yet really sleeping. So when he saw the notification, he quickly backread and grinned before he composed a reply.

Clark: Don't tease Claire, bro. Are you really sharing a bed with Sofia?

District 7 was pretty much a home of conservative people among other regions. Thus, they could not help but ask Stephen about their sleeping arrangement.

Stephen smirked while reading Clark's reply. Then, he typed his message.

Stephen: The two of you are really alike in mind! I am on the sofa not in Sofia's bed! 

Claire quickly sent a thumbs up to his explanation. Stephen followed to send the same thumbs-up emoji just a few milliseconds away from Claire's message.

Stephen stared at the response of the two.. But because he had nothing to say, their late-night conversation with the group ended.