As she let out an exclamation, Qiwei and Pira also showed somewhat strange expressions one after another.
Only Rebecca couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into laughter: "Of course it's him, who else could it be?"
V stared at Mercer for a while, then suddenly reached out, placed her finger on his face, and pinched hard.
"Ow, that hurts! What the hell are you doing!" Mercer quickly backed away, covering his face and glaring at her in pain.
"What the hell! You... are you for real? Do you really look like this?"
V was dumbfounded.
Mercer chuckled, looking at the bewildered V: "I know I'm handsome, but isn't that reaction a bit much?"
"A, you're still a kid!?" V was almost jumping with disbelief: "Are you messing with me?"
"Use the program I sent you, scan with your prosthetic eye, I'm an official 18-year-old citizen of Night City," Mercer said.
"Bullshit! If you're 18, I'll eat the table!" V angrily slapped Rebecca's thigh beside her.
Rebecca was almost startled up by the slap: "Damn! What are you doing! That hurt!"
"Did you know all along? Are you two playing me for a fool? And making me call him Brother A?" V glared at the two of them, both embarrassed and annoyed, finally realizing why Rebecca would occasionally chuckle at her.
How could she not laugh? She had unwittingly made a kid her big brother!?
Wouldn't she be laughed at if word got out?
V thought back to when she went to the Wild Wolf Bar, saying she wanted to hang out with A, and the knowing expression Jack had...
"Alright, so I'm the only one who didn't know what you looked like?" V looked genuinely angry.
"Pira and Qiwei haven't seen either," Mercer said casually.
"... Fine! You bastard, did you have fun tricking me?" she angrily glared at Mercer.
Mercer just shrugged: "What did I trick you about?"
"You said you're about the same age as me!" V almost felt a bit wronged: "So how old are you really? Fifteen?"
"Eighteen." Mercer firmly stated: "I'll be nineteen after my birthday this year."
"Yeah right! If you're eighteen, Rebecca might as well be thirty!" V glared at him angrily.
Rebecca grinned: "Isn't it nice~ Hey, V, don't we look like a good pair?"
"Indeed." V was so exasperated she laughed, sarcastically: "Kids should stick together with kids."
"Yep yep yep! Old auntie~ don't say he's a pervert who likes little girls later on, okay~" Rebecca teased with a mischievous smile.
V glared at her with gritted teeth, while Rebecca happily continued munching on a chicken wing, unfazed by V's threatening look.
In the end, the youngest Kyoko cheerfully said: "Actually, there's not much difference in your ages."
Even counting by real age, Mercer and V were only three or four years apart, which wasn't that big of a difference.
V glanced at Kyoko and finally picked up a wrap fiercely: "Fine! Really fine!"
As she ate, she tried to resist looking at Mercer, but how could she hold out?
The result was she couldn't help but glance at him after a few bites, and then angrily took a big bite again, then peeked again — this made even Lucy cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Pira laughed heartily, and at this point, stepped up boldly, saying: "I don't think it's a big deal. In the hacker world, the more talented you are, the earlier you start, isn't that a good thing?"
"He's this amazing now, imagine how great he'll be in a few years? Hey, as far as I'm concerned, you should band with a leader who has a promising future." Pira said while patting Mercer's back, winking with a funny expression.
He even rubbed his hands together, beaming at Mercer: "A, looking young means nothing to a man, next time we'll go to Liz's together, you treat me for some fun, and I'll make you a real..."
"Drop dead!" Rebecca fiercely threw a chicken leg bone in her hand at Pira.
The bone flew through the air and hit Pira, making him tilt back violently. Once he recovered, he nervously touched his head, worried the bone was stuck to his skull: "Damn, am I still alive?"
"Yes." Qiwei nodded slightly with a smile while drinking her beef stew soup.
"If you dare to lead Mercer astray, I'll kill you, you idiot brother!" Rebecca said displeased.
Mercer was dead serious: "I don't get it, what's so interesting about going to Liz's to see Mewtwo?"
"A likes to watch in his room secretly."
Lucy, who hadn't spoken, suddenly chimed in, and upon hearing this, V and the others were momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.
Mercer shot Lucy a speechless look, and she just gave him a mischievous smile.
The atmosphere of the entire dinner became especially lively, even Mercer, under such circumstances, drank two bottles of beer with everyone. After dinner, those who didn't join in cooking naturally went to clean up the kitchen.
When everyone gathered in the living room, sitting or lounging on the couch, Mercer cleared his throat and said, "Haven't forgotten I mentioned a surprise for you all, right?"
"Hurry up, I've been waiting forever!" Rebecca lazily leaned on the sofa, patting her full little belly, looking satisfied.
"Okay, then follow me."
Mercer checked the time and led everyone back to the first floor from the elevator, heading to the front door.