…That was a really easy sentence to misunderstand.
If it were Ling Jing or An Chen who heard Gu Ximian say that to them, they would definitely be very happy, Zhuang Chi thought. But for Gu Ximian to say it to her… it probably had the hidden meaning of “because you’re my official match, you’ll definitely win”—what baseless confidence…!
Things were getting troublesome. Even though she could tell Gu Ximian was intentionally trying to get her to participate, but…
…Sigh, what could she do even if she knew? Could she possibly—
“—Yes, I won.”
“H-How could this be…”
Her thoughts were interrupted by a conversation from not far away. Zhuang Chi’s heart skipped a beat. She and Gu Ximian looked over toward An Chen and the others, only to see a smug An Chen holding his head high and Ling Jing, who was painfully clutching her trembling wrist—her right hand was still in the shape of “paper.”
“…Huh? Is it over already?”
Zhuang Chi couldn’t help but blurt out, receiving an energetic reply from Olivia: “Yes! Those two just looked at each other like samurai, then they both made their move at the same time—the boy made this pose, the girl made this pose, and then it ended up like this! It felt like there was some kind of spiritual exchange, what a complex victory…”
Looking at the “scissors” and “paper” gestures Olivia was making with her hands, Zhuang Chi, who had completely reconstructed the battle, first corrected her, saying, “It’s not that complicated.” But just as she was about to explain the rules to her, she was interrupted by An Chen, who was walking toward her. “You’re next, Zhuang Chi.”
“Pardon my rudeness, Princess Olivia, but I need to borrow Zhuang Chi for a short while,” he said, bowing politely to Olivia. After she nodded, he turned to Zhuang Chi, his handsome face full of fighting spirit. “Let’s have a proper match.”
…Why are you trying to act so cool? It’s just rock-paper-scissors. An Chen didn’t seem to feel anything, but Zhuang Chi was about to be crushed by secondhand embarrassment. She raised a hand, trying to stop the situation from escalating. “W-Wait a minute, in front of so many people, are you sure you don’t want to reconsider—”
“It’s precisely because we’re in front of so many people,” An Chen said. Though he said “so many people,” his gaze clearly flickered only to Gu Ximian, who was standing nearby. When he looked away, his expression became even more resolute. “That’s why I… must defeat you.”
Ah, I can’t stand these kinds of lines. Could you at least lower your voice…? Zhuang Chi felt like she was about to be sunk. For a moment, she didn’t even know how to object. But An Chen had already raised his hand on his own, his eyes filled with firm determination, and said, “I’m going to throw rock.”
…Huh? You declare it beforehand? Zhuang Chi was slightly confused, but An Chen gave her no time to think, already shouting crisply, “Then, rock, paper—”
I told you not to shout so loud! Zhuang Chi flinched and almost subconsciously raised her hand. In less than a second, she had no time to think it through and could only instinctively throw down her hand, aiming for the result she most wanted to achieve.
“—Paper!”
As An Chen’s voice fell, the two of them threw their hands at the same time, and the dust settled.
“…”
“…………”
“…Didn’t you say you were going to throw rock?”
Instinctively wanting to get a tie first to buy some breathing room for thought and conversation, Zhuang Chi subconsciously threw rock as well, and then—
“…Hmph, have I lost? It seems your skill is superior.”
—and then An Chen, who had thrown scissors, said this as he withdrew his hand, his expression inexplicably carrying a kind of relieved nonchalance.
No, no, no, what are you being so nonchalant about? Zhuang Chi was baffled, her clenched fist trembling. But An Chen didn’t notice her horrified mood at all and said in a tone full of admiration for “what a wonderful battle”: “This move has always been foolproof for me. As long as I declare I’ll throw rock right before the game starts, my opponent will subconsciously throw paper because they want to win… I didn’t expect you to see through my trap in that brief moment. You’re truly no simple character.”
…It was just because she wanted a tie…!
A thousand words were stuck in Zhuang Chi’s throat, and she didn’t know where to begin. Meanwhile, Ling Jing, who had been crestfallen after losing, cheered and pounced on her. Such a big person sticking to her made her stumble, and Ling Jing looked more triumphant than Zhuang Chi herself. “You’re amazing, Zhuang Chi! He used the same trick to beat me just now! Didn’t see that coming, did you, An Chen? Your trick doesn’t work on Zhuang Chi!”
“What are you so happy about? Aren’t we both losers?” An Chen glanced at Ling Jing but didn’t pay her much mind. He went straight to the corner, picked up the bag, and shoved it into Zhuang Chi’s arms. “This is yours now. Use it well.”
Still not fully processing the situation, Zhuang Chi dazedly held the bag she was forced to take. Ling Jing glanced at it a few times with envy, muttering, “Anyway, it’s better that Zhuang Chi won than you,” refuting what An Chen had just said. Meanwhile, An Chen had already walked to the side and was answering Olivia, who had asked curiously, “What’s that bag? A prize for the game?” with a serious expression: “Yes. At St. Blaisedon, it’s very normal to place wagers on the outcome of a game.”
Don’t be a bad influence—though she wanted to say that, Zhuang Chi was gradually realizing she was holding a hot potato. This was no time to worry about Olivia. Her mind raced, wondering if it was still possible to return all these number cards to their original owners. But the moment she looked up, her eyes met Gu Ximian’s.
“…” Seemingly having been watching her the whole time, Gu Ximian gave her a faint smile. “You won. Congratulations, and you even got a prize.”
This… This person must already know what’s in this bag. Zhuang Chi was getting anxious. She thought she might as well just confess to Gu Ximian, but just then, she heard the voice she least wanted to hear.
“—Time’s up, young people.” Uncle Gu’s gentle voice spread throughout the hall via the microphone. “Some of you might be getting impatient. Don’t worry, everything is ready. Number one—Ximian, you can come up anytime.”
“Yes.”
Gu Ximian nodded slightly toward the stage, then looked at the completely frozen Zhuang Chi, her upward gaze both innocent and alluring.
“I’ll head over first, then,” she said with a radiant smile. “I wonder what kind of dance partner I’ll draw. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Number 62.”
After slowly reading out the number she had drawn, Gu Ximian looked down at the audience, her smiling eyes more captivating than the moonlight. “Who could it be?”
…Strange, it’s not number 49. Zhuang Chi thought silently. Did she give up on her original plan after seeing that farce just now…? Sigh, don’t think about it. It’s all in the past now.
“Here.” An Chen, standing beside her like a secretary, had already fished out number 62 from the bag and unceremoniously stuffed it into Zhuang Chi’s hand. “Go on. Hurry up.”
Should she say he was acting like a supervisor or that his service was just very thorough…? Zhuang Chi looked at the card in her hand again and again—during which, of course, no one else in the audience responded—and finally, deciding to just go for broke, she raised her hand. “…Number 62 is here.”
The audience immediately broke into jeering applause, and everyone turned to look. In this atmosphere, Zhuang Chi walked toward the stage. Seeing the knowing looks on everyone’s faces, she thought to herself, These people don’t think I was the one who ordered An Chen and Ling Jing to collect the number cards, do they? She could clearly feel some people casting looks of awe in her direction…
With complicated feelings, she went up on stage and walked to Gu Ximian’s side. Gu Ximian’s gaze had been following her from afar, and as she drew closer, her smile deepened. She said softly, “What a coincidence.”
“…” There wasn’t much to say. Zhuang Chi swallowed dryly, handed the number 62 card to Gu Ximian, and sighed. “…Yeah, what a coincidence.”
“Mhm.” Gu Ximian accepted it gladly, but without even glancing at it, she handed it along with her own number card back to the attendant beside them. Then, she naturally moved closer to Zhuang Chi and linked her arm with hers. “Shall we go down, then?”
The scent of perfume she had smelled earlier wafted over again, but this time the distance was even closer. This was the first time Zhuang Chi had been this close to Gu Ximian. Gu Ximian’s hand was linked through her arm, not too tightly, yet it made that spot feel faintly warm.
“Th-Then…” Suddenly, she couldn’t even speak fluently. Zhuang Chi bit her tongue lightly in annoyance and said with a serious face, “…Let’s go down.”
Thankfully, she didn’t make any clumsy mistakes like walking with her arm and leg on the same side. When going down the stairs, she also remembered to help Gu Ximian, who was having some difficulty due to her long skirt. But their overlapping hands made Zhuang Chi feel inexplicably shy, and her heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long to get down the stairs. After letting go of her hand, Zhuang Chi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She and Gu Ximian stood at the edge of the crowd, watching the drawing continue. It seemed that after she went on stage, An Chen and Ling Jing had quietly returned the remaining number cards. Although there was a rustling for a while, at least the process was now proceeding smoothly, without any issues like someone being unable to produce their number card.
Zhuang Chi stared blankly, feeling that this was just like the scene from a TV dating show where couples are matched. Gu Ximian, on the other hand, clearly wasn’t very interested; she watched for a few moments before lowering her gaze. This made it convenient for Zhuang Chi to strike up a conversation with her. She whispered, “…Gu Ximian, why did you ask me to get number 49 before?”
“…Hmm…” Gu Ximian didn’t answer right away, just gave a vague response before asking in return, “I saw the message you sent me later. It was already taken when you got there?”
“Y-Yeah,” Zhuang Chi said, feeling a little apprehensive bringing it up, as if she hadn’t completed her mission properly. She lowered her head slightly. “I might have gone a bit late, so…”
“It’s okay.” Gu Ximian shook her head and asked again, “So what number did you end up getting?”
So Gu Ximian really did know about them gambling for the number cards. Otherwise, why would she be asking her this question now…? Zhuang Chi thought, half-resignedly confessing, “…I got number 50.”
“…” Gu Ximian raised an eyebrow, then smiled softly, like the blooming radiance of the moon. “I see.”
She seemed to be in an even better mood, but Zhuang Chi was still completely bewildered—so why on earth did she want her to get number 49? She was puzzling over it, thinking of asking more, when she heard a voice from the stage.
“Number 50.”
Olivia looked at the number she had drawn and gazed expectantly at the audience. “Number 50, who is number 50?”
The people below looked at each other, but no one answered.
“…”
In that moment, Zhuang Chi realized the huge mistake she had made. She slowly reached into her pocket, where the number 50 card was resting safely.
…This is bad. She should have swapped her card with the number 62 she had used and given it back to the original owner of 62. That would have been the foolproof logic, but… but she hadn’t put her number card into An Chen’s bag earlier, and then the drawing started right after she got the bag, so she hadn’t even considered this matter…!
“…Is no one number 50?” After calling out several times with no response, Olivia’s expression clearly fell a little, but she still tried to smooth things over with a smile. “Perhaps they had to leave early? What a shame…”
The guilt was super strong…! Zhuang Chi clenched the number 50 card in her pocket, her brow furrowed in bewilderment. Gu Ximian, who had figured out the situation, also looked at her and, after a moment of silence, whispered, “…What should we do? Should you confess?”
This… this is a bit… Confessing in public would turn the whole banquet into a farce, and it would be embarrassing for everyone involved, including Uncle Gu, right? Zhuang Chi thought. But, if she didn’t raise her hand and explain the situation… would she just let Olivia be left with no one responding?
“…”
She squeezed her eyes shut, finally made up her mind, and slowly raised her hand.
“…I’m sorry, number 50 is with me.”
Everyone’s gazes snapped toward her in an instant. Zhuang Chi didn’t dare to breathe, stammering a little as she said, “I-I found it a little while ago. Someone probably dropped it by accident…”
She really wasn’t very good at lying and stopped after just those two hesitant sentences. At this point, this seemed to be the only thing she could do. At least it would let Olivia know that someone wasn’t intentionally ignoring her. Then, after the drawing was complete, the original owner of number 62 could come forward as “the person who lost the number 50 card” and become Olivia’s dance partner—
“Ah, it’s you! Number 50!”
Olivia’s eyes lit up instantly. It seemed she hadn’t heard the latter part of Zhuang Chi’s sentence at all, which made Zhuang Chi feel a little uneasy. And what Olivia said next perfectly proved that her uneasiness was not unfounded, instantly causing an uproar in the hall.
“—Then, if you and Gu Ximian don’t mind, can the three of us be a group?”
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