"Last time I saw two people answer A, and they were booted out on the spot."
"Yeah, it's a trap question. If they've never been on a date together, then coming to the Golden Bee Amusement Park today obviously isn't a date either, meaning they're just a fake couple thrown together to play the game."
In the central courtyard of the amusement park, many visitors and their companions began chatting among themselves.
Loren listened to the chatter around him and felt relieved.
The game wasn't so terrifying after all.
He and Juliana had been on a date at least once, so there was no danger of being branded a fake couple.
Before long, the slate in Talia's hands on the screen revealed her answer: [D. More than 100 times].
The answer on Lanqi's slate was also [D. More than 100 times].
He figured that by Talia's definition—for a woman who knew nothing about dating—simply dining alone with a man probably counted as a date. In that case, starting from the South Vantina frontier territory, the two of them had indeed gone out together quite often.
Boss Cat glared at Lanqi.
*No way, Lan... you're actually on the same wavelength as her?*
"Oh-ho-ho!"
"My deepest apologies! Seeing you two crash into each other earlier, I even questioned whether you were real sweethearts. I was quite impetuous,"
the event manager host apologized, drawing an immediate burst of laughter from the audience below the stage.
The more experienced the couple, the better the show!
Fresh couples had no dirt on each other, which made things dull by comparison.
Inside the Shadow World's Color Delusion Classroom, Lanqi and Talia could hear only each other's voices, the background music, the host's commentary, and the jeering cheers of the spectators below the stage relayed from the real world by the broadcast crew.
Seeing that both of their slates showed [D], relief mingled with a touch of mutual awkwardness.
The good news was that the game could continue.
The bad news was that they seemed to have been temporarily mistaken for a real couple.
"You two may now choose to withdraw or continue. What will it be? Answering just one question doesn't yield much of a prize—only a single Golden Bee coin as a participation reward. If you want the commemorative Animal Forest chocolate gift box, you'll need to answer at least three,"
the host inquired.
"Continue,"
Lanqi replied.
The first question hadn't been bad, but this wasn't the effect he wanted. He needed Loren to see just how dangerous this game truly was.
Talia nodded as well.
"Splendid! Then here comes the second question."
A smile spread across the host's face. The cartoon avatar drew another card from midair, glanced at it, and pulled it wide into a floating banner—
[Question 2 (Male & Female): When you first met, what did the other person look like in your eyes?]
[A pitiful homeless old crone.]
[An obnoxious rich young master.]
The answers surfaced on their respective slates.
In an instant, they locked eyes in astonishment.
"Pfft."
The host burst out laughing.
In the real world's central courtyard, an even louder roar went up.
"Now that's a bickering couple if I ever saw one!"
"How on earth did they go from finding each other an eyesore to what they are now?"
Inside the Shadow World classroom, Talia saw Lanqi's answer and shot him a vicious glare.
Even though Lanqi had explained before that when he first saw her in South Vantina, she had been wrapped in a gray cloak like a refugee, leading him to mistake her for an old woman before realizing she was a breathtakingly gorgeous maiden—and had thus titled the painting "The Poor, Pitiful Old Crone"—actually seeing proof that he had genuinely thought that at the time still made her blood boil a little.
Lanqi caught Talia's answer and her gaze, averting his eyes with a guilty conscience.
Back then, a homeless Talia had been starving, sleeping propped against the foot of the city wall, while he had been right beside her feeding choice smoked chicken to stray cats. She had definitely been seething with fury toward him at that moment.
"Congratulations to both of you on completing two questions! Would you like to continue?"
the host asked, full of amusement.
"Continue."
This time, Talia answered first, her tone imposing and resolute.
Lanqi nodded along with her.
"Very well, please look at the question."
[Question 3 (Female): What is your happiest memory with him?]
For the first time, a question required only a single person to answer, allowing the other to sit out the round.
[Lying in bed being fed by him.]
Hearing the catcalls from below the stage, Talia covered her face with her hands.
Before she had even registered what was happening, the answer had already materialized on the chalkboard.
Thinking back to when her right arm had been injured in South Vantina, leaning against the headboard while Lanqi spoon-fed her... it really had been exceptionally cozy.
"Heh..."
Lanqi seemingly couldn't hold it in and chuckled aloud.
Talia instantly glared at him again. He turned his head away, his shoulders trembling faintly, not daring to meet her eyes.
"You are not allowed to laugh..."
Talia ground out through gritted teeth.
"I'm not laughing..."
Lanqi's voice carried a distinct tremor.
"You two have lovely smiles, but looking at the upcoming questions, I'm not so sure you'll keep smiling once the later ones appear,"
the host remarked, getting more and more into the groove.
The early questions tended to be mild, but the deeper they went, the more hazardous it became—one question was often enough to shatter a couple's relationship into pieces.
Barring any surprises, the truly perilous questions were about to arrive.
Usually, just one was enough to lay bare whatever hidden thoughts each partner kept buried inside.
"Continue?"
Lanqi asked, glancing at Talia with a distinctly teasing look.
Although reaching this round was already enough to claim the Animal Forest chocolate gift box, he was having far too much fun. He hadn't been this entertained in ages.
"..."
If they weren't answering questions in full view of the public at Golden Bee Amusement Park, Talia would have pinched his cheeks until they tore. That gloating face of his was practically begging for a beating!
"Continue!"
Talia's voice rang out as if shouting, *Who's afraid of whom!*
She could feel the heat rushing to her head.
Worst-case scenario, she would just go down in flames together with this scoundrel today.
[Question 4 (Male): What do you think of her? Answer with the first four terms that come to mind.]
The card in the host's hand expanded into a banner suspended in midair.
Lanqi's chalkboard instantly displayed his answer.
[Pretty, big eater, older, useless]
Cold sweat immediately drenched Lanqi's back, and an overpowering urge to flee the trial seized him.
"Th-that's enough."
Lanqi prepared to stand up, forcing out a strained smile.
He was confident that reaching this point was more than enough to make Loren understand how dangerous this game was. If they kept playing, he would probably be the first one destroyed.
Yet Lanqi found he couldn't stand up at all.
A slender, pale hand clamped down firmly onto his shoulder.
"Come now, let's keep playing,"
she said with a smile.
Lanqi had never seen Talia display such an amiable smile before, and that very warmth froze his entire body rigid.
"All right?"
Her voice softened by another degree.
"All... right..."
Terrified, Lanqi sat bolt upright and well-behaved, just like an obedient schoolboy.
Chapter 632