Bai Youwei held Shen Mo’s arm and fell silent.
Shen Mo looked down at her and continued asking, “How did it go? Were you trying to get him to change his mind and support you as King?”
Bai Youwei lowered her head and said nothing.
Shen Mo glanced at her hands, then asked, “Not going to keep acting cute?”
Bai Youwei finally lifted her head, her face full of frustration. “Does acting cute even work?”
Shen Mo laughed despite himself, pushed the wheelchair out of the elevator with a long stride, and said: “No.”
Bai Youwei: “…”
Then what was the point of acting cute at all!
…
Bai Youwei had run straight into a wall.
If Shen Mo refused to give in, all the groundwork she’d laid before was completely useless!
That night she fumed, turning her back to him to sleep, pulling the entire blanket with her and ignoring him.
Shen Mo was both exasperated and a little amused. He lay on his side next to her, gently brushing her hair, and asked, “You want to be King that badly?”
“You don’t want to?! If you don’t want to, just let me do it!” Bai Youwei snapped back irritably.
Shen Mo was quiet for a moment, then kissed her ear and said softly, “Being King… could mean death.”
“Please, it’s not that easy to die.” Bai Youwei scoffed coldly. “The battle has four tiers — even if you lose one, you don’t die immediately. As long as you win the next one back, isn’t that fine?”
Shen Mo asked, “What if you lose the next one too?”
“How could I possibly lose two in a row?!” Bai Youwei raised her eyebrows fiercely. “I have the rabbit, and I have the Dollhouse!”
Shen Mo said, “The electric shock won’t necessarily be usable in every battle, and the Dollhouse can’t be entered mid-game.”
“Then I’ll go in before the game starts!” Bai Youwei refused to back down.
“How would you know in advance that you’d lose?” Shen Mo went on. “If you could win, there’d be no need to go in. You’d only retreat to the Dollhouse in a situation where losing was certain — and knowing your personality, would you ever admit defeat?”
Bai Youwei was thoroughly cornered by his argument, seething with anger and frustration, and she spun around and swiped at him with one hand!
…Only to be caught by Shen Mo at the wrist.
“And can you guarantee that you being King means one hundred percent victory?!” she snarled through gritted teeth, struggling with force.
Shen Mo pinned her hands down, kissed her little by little, and said softly:
“I can’t guarantee a hundred percent victory. But… I can guarantee you won’t die.”
Bai Youwei’s body went rigid.
She understood what he meant…
When subjects lost, they only became commoners. Even in danger, as King he had the authority to demote subjects to commoner status.
If things became critical, Shen Mo might very well… demote her!
“Be good.” Shen Mo kissed her. “I know you want to win. As a subject in battle, you can still win…”
Bai Youwei’s eyes slowly reddened. She kept struggling, pouting with infinite grievance. “I don’t want that… I want to be King… I want to be King…”
Shen Mo held her close, coaxing her softly, and placed her hand on his abdomen.
Bai Youwei scratched him hard, tears in her voice. “I’m not joking with you! Touching your abs doesn’t count either! I just want to be King!”
Shen Mo was quiet for a moment, seemingly out of ideas, and sighed. “Let me think about it more…”
“Don’t just say that to put me off!” Bai Youwei threatened fiercely. “Even if you don’t agree, on the day the battle starts, I absolutely will not surrender!”
A man and a woman, lying in bed, not whispering sweet nothings — talking about battles and surrenders.
Shen Mo felt a mild headache coming on. He asked her, “Why do you have to be King?”
Bai Youwei said, “Because I have the rabbit! I have the Dollhouse! My odds are better!”
“Beyond that?” Shen Mo looked at her, puzzled. “Knowing the risks are this great — why insist on being King? Is there some wish of yours I can’t help you fulfill?”
Hearing that, Bai Youwei’s gaze slowly grew calm, even carrying a trace of coolness…
“My own wishes — why should someone else fulfill them for me?”
—