"The first prize is a pair of bracelet magic cards forged from Skywood gold."
Juliana narrowed her eyes, reading aloud from the list displayed on the outdoor screen behind the stage.
"And just for bravely participating, you receive a commemorative Animal Forest chocolate gift box,"
she murmured to herself.
Limited-time events like this usually offered decent Golden Bee coin rewards, along with special prizes that couldn't be exchanged with coins alone.
"..."
Noticing that Juliana was staring in that direction, Loren guided her a little closer.
Prominently featured on the prize list was an adorable set of animal-shaped chocolates.
"Do you want them?" Loren asked, noticing her gaze and glancing toward the event stage.
"No," Juliana replied, shaking her head.
Though she had no expectations of winning first prize—the difficulty was far too high—she figured the participation prize shouldn't be hard to get.
Lady Love Assistant might like it.
Lady Love Assistant had helped her so much today; Juliana felt she ought to bring some kind of thank-you gift the next time she visited Boss Cat Restaurant.
Watching Juliana's profile and her trembling eyelashes, Loren suddenly recalled a tip from the Love Drillmaster:
*This reaction means she wants it a little, but not enough to trouble you. Depending on the situation, consider whether you can win it for her. It's the kind of thing where ignoring it won't hurt her impression of you, but paying attention and doing your best will definitely boost it whether you succeed or not—she'll feel that you care about her.*
"Juliana, why don't we give it a try?" Loren suggested.
"Huh?"
Juliana turned her face in surprise, looking up at Loren.
This was a couples-only game; she wasn't sure if Loren had noticed.
Yet seeing the resolute look in his eyes, a faint blush touched her cheeks.
"Okay."
She lowered her head and gave a soft nod, then walked toward the entrance with Loren.
*Wait, that game...*
Apparently to prevent cheating, certain event areas in the amusement park were equipped with interference programs against communication magic.
At the entrance of the amusement park's central atrium, Lanqi, leaning behind a stone pillar, tapped his earpiece, but only static came through.
He quickly hurried around the pillar, looking in the direction Loren and Juliana were heading.
The reason no one was willing to play despite the lavish rewards was that the challenge itself was utterly malicious.
It forced participating couples to answer a barrage of razor-sharp truth questions, with a magic apparatus revealing their true answers directly.
Word had it that after playing, even deeply affectionate couples had a breakup rate as high as ninety percent! Social suicide, screaming matches, and outright brawls on the spot were entirely within the realm of possibility!
Yet because it made for fantastic entertainment, the moment it began, it would draw massive crowds and be broadcast across the magic screens throughout the entire Golden Bee Amusement Park.
Holding the cat, Lanqi sprinted toward Loren immediately.
The hundred-meter dash was on! Under public security regulations, casting high-tier magic or entering combat status in downtown districts was strictly prohibited!
"Meow meow, what's wrong?"
Boss Cat felt the wind rushing past its face.
This was the first time Lanqi had panicked like this all day.
It seemed his earlier words had come true: Loren had indeed only learned to imitate Lanqi based on instructions without truly understanding the principles!
"If they play that game, the two of them are almost certainly done for today!" Lanqi said, looking down at Boss Cat.
Yet when he looked up again, Loren and Juliana were already approaching the turnstile.
"Oh! We finally have a brave couple tonight!"
Noticing the pair approaching, the event attendant clasped his hands against his cheek in delight.
"We aren't a couple yet..." Juliana explained shyly, her steps hesitating slightly.
"Since you're already here, why not give it a shot? They say couples who make it to the end of this trial are destined to stay together for a lifetime," the attendant coaxed slyly in a low voice.
"All right, then."
Juliana glanced at Loren. Seeing that he had no objections either, she nodded.
The attendant beamed with satisfaction.
At last, he had broadcast performance numbers to show for tonight!
Besides, watching couples make fools of themselves was truly a delight.
Working alone this late, every time he saw lovey-dovey couples wandering around Golden Bee Amusement Park, his motto was: break up as many as possible!
Just as Loren and Juliana were about to reach the turnstile, hurried figures rushed up to stop them.
However, two figures—one from the left, one from the right—both tried to cut in front of them, colliding squarely into each other and tumbling to the ground.
Lanqi felt as if he had slammed into a mountain. His vision flashed dark and bright, and when his sight cleared, he realized he had crashed into a gray-haired girl.
She seemed to have sprinted over in just as much of a hurry.
"Are you two here to participate?" asked the event attendant in the bumblebee costume.
He certainly didn't mind the more participants, the merrier.
Two couples showing up at once thrilled him to no end.
"No," Lanqi and the gray-haired girl answered in unison.
Having spoken, they exchanged a glance.
The gray-haired girl noticed the black cat on Lanqi's head.
Even though Lanqi's appearance had been altered, she was all too familiar with that black cat.
Meanwhile, Lanqi took a closer look.
The gray-haired girl had her long hair styled into a braid, wore non-prescription glasses, and was dressed in a white one-piece dress, appearing quiet and demure.
Her naturally chilly aura gave her the look of a solitary, bookish girl.
*Isn't that damn well Talia?!*
Lanqi's heart suffered an earthquake.
But he had no time to wonder why he had bumped into Tata here.
The crucial point was that he had to save Loren right now!
Lanqi turned his head and shot several meaningful looks at Loren.
Loren wore a look of utter confusion, completely missing the gentleman's cues.
In that instant, Lanqi felt the sheer futility of playing the lute to a cow.
He couldn't expose the fact that Loren had hired a coach in front of Juliana, yet he absolutely had to stop Loren. But if he kept staring at Loren, Juliana would notice Lanqi.
Fortunately, Juliana looked equally perplexed at the moment, her attention seemingly fixed on Talia.
"If you two aren't participating, please make way for the couple waiting behind you," the attendant said, somewhat displeased.
Newcomers had finally arrived, only for two random troublemakers to block the way. If they weren't going to join, they shouldn't scare away the two who actually wanted to.
More and more spectators around them were turning their eyes their way, making their blockage at the turnstile increasingly awkward.
"Tata, can you play this game with me?"
Lanqi gritted his teeth and asked without much hope.
The only way now was to demonstrate in front of Loren and make him realize how dangerous this game was for couples!
If he and Talia—two people with zero unspoken rapport—took the challenge, they would surely suffer a spectacular failure, ending the game after just a couple of questions.
However, it was highly unlikely that Talia would agree to play something like this with him.
"I will,"
Talia said, nodding with a tense expression.
Lanqi's request seemed to bring her immense relief—almost as if it played right into her hands.
Chapter 630