Little by little, Catherine realized that the party wasn't as simple as it looked.
It was probably an internal Mafia gathering—or perhaps a social meeting disguised as Jenny's birthday party.
But one thing was certain: Jenny's grandfather, Old White, was very likely a high-ranking Mafia member.
At the very least, those big shots chatting and laughing didn't seem like they were there to celebrate anyone's birthday.
The party was even worse than Catherine had imagined; she hadn't even run into one of those cliché novel-style social butterflies. Well, there was Jeffrey, but he was clearly far from being a typical spoiled rich kid.
The entire party was rather dull, with everyone just talking.
It felt like the atmosphere wouldn't really pick up until dinnertime.
"What a shame—if only my package had arrived,"
Catherine said with a hint of regret.
"What?"
"A birthday present…"
Catherine smiled mysteriously but didn't say anything more.
However, luck seemed to be on her side that day. Just then, a maid approached Jenny and told her that the package had arrived.
"Maybe we should go take a look at Kate's gift first," Lily said with a smile.
Lily always seemed to be the most energetic of the group; even when the atmosphere felt awkward, the girls never felt lonely with her around.
"Let's go!"
Lisa chimed in.
And so, the five of them quietly slipped away.
When they reached Jenny's room, they saw a large object wrapped in a cardboard box sitting in the center of the room.
"What is this?"
Jenny asked curiously.
"GameTV! I made it myself!"
Catherine smiled.
Although it was her first time making something like this, she had spent quite a long time practicing.
Naturally, this product was far better than her previous one.
Over the past few months, Catherine had been busy designing the appearance of the GameTV, and now it was finally complete.
They opened the cardboard box together, revealing a color television.
However, unlike ordinary TVs, this one had two controllers on either side. These weren't the clunky controllers of the '70s or '80s, but "modern-style" controllers with a directional pad—also patented.
It's important to understand that game controllers went through a long period of evolution, and only people from the 21st century could truly appreciate their "feel."
As for people from the '70s to the '90s, not only did controllers feel different, but even the standards for controllers were completely different.
Catherine spent half a month refining a controller similar to those from later generations. Although it only had six buttons—up, down, left, right, A, and B—it already looked pretty good.
She had also designed the TV's casing. At the time, most televisions were large wooden boxes, and some even had off-center screens.
For its era, the TV looked quite impressive—at least in Catherine's eyes.
They plugged it in and turned it on. Since there was no remote control, Catherine had integrated the TV's remote functions into the gamepad. The controller had two switches in the center: one for cable TV mode and one for game console mode. The bottom button controlled the games—Tetris on the left (now renamed Emma's Blocks) and Ping Pong on the right.
A few years later, pinball machines would become popular in the United States, and Ping Pong would also be a hit.
In addition, Ping Pong was one of the earliest games in the world, originally appearing on oscilloscopes. Now, however, Catherine owned the copyrights to these games—and they were all incredibly profitable.
Catherine was the first to demonstrate Emma's Blocks.
This was a pure video game, meaning it could only be played on a video game system and couldn't be replicated in real life.
She set it up for two-player mode and switched the display from black-and-white to color, but the storage requirements multiplied instantly. After all, storage was extremely expensive.
They were immediately captivated by the game.
"It's really interesting."
Of course it was interesting—it was a classic game that had stood the test of time.
"Catherine, did you really make all this yourself?"
Lily suddenly asked, recalling something Catherine had said earlier.
"Yes—even this controller. I polished it myself, piece by piece…"
Catherine smiled.
"You polished it yourself?!"
Lily stared at her in disbelief, but Catherine nodded.
"Let me see."
Suddenly, Lily grabbed Catherine's hand. It was covered in calluses—something Lily hadn't noticed before, but Catherine immediately realized it when her hand was lifted.
"Oh my God, your hands are so rough!"
Since when did Americans care about that?
"Uh… the other person is British. An immigrant,"
Catherine muttered awkwardly.
"It's not that bad," she added, still feeling they were overreacting.
"Hand care is very important!"
Ada walked over at that moment and seemed quite concerned about "hand care" as well.
"I absolutely refuse to use chemical products,"
Catherine said, shaking her head.
After all, women who regularly get cosmetic treatments tend to have shorter life expectancies than those who don't…
"There's no need for chemicals—it's just a waste of money. Just be careful with your hands," Ada said, clearly unconcerned about cosmetics herself.
"Maybe you could teach her?"
Lily looked from Ada to Catherine.
Catherine rolled her eyes.
Perhaps because she had once been a man, she hadn't paid attention to many of these things, and those habits hadn't changed.
"Oh, and Kate—you should also pay attention to your posture when you walk!"
Lisa suddenly chimed in.
"Huh?"
When did gift-giving turn into a critique session?
"Yes, Kate, be careful about that. When you wear skirts, you always spread your legs too much—you can't do that!"
Lisa said, and Lily nodded as she recalled Catherine's usual mannerisms.
Interesting…
Jenny had already cleared the second level of Tetris.
Just as Catherine had expected, by nightfall, the big shots' conversations finally came to an end.
Dinner time arrived soon after, but the five of them still hadn't returned to the main hall.