"Please hold your chalkboards and face the camera!" the little bee host said with a wink of her left eye, reminding the two of them.
"..."
Lanqi and Talia exchanged no further words. They looked straight ahead and picked up their little chalkboards, deliberately keeping their eyes off one another.
As their fingertips brushed across the boards, they could draw new splashes of color in this doodle world or summon whimsical little creatures, mirroring the erratic thumping of their hearts.
"Well then, since neither of you has indicated an intention to forfeit, the game resumes!"
The cartoon bee host wriggled excitedly in midair like a piece of cotton candy before spinning in a rapid circle to face them directly.
With a magician's flair, she plucked a card out of thin air, glanced at it, and tossed it upward, where it expanded into a banner across the top of the broadcast screen.
The ever-shifting pixel sky drifted past a forest made of musical notes, each step accompanied by a pleasant melody, before flowing into a river of dancing motes of light that skipped across the water like a dazzling fairyland—
[Question Ten (Male & Female): What words do you most want to hear from each other right now?]
Sitting with straight backs, both of them froze for a moment. The question felt so sudden that neither of them seemed to know the answer.
Yet the subconscious mind always stirred first, long before the brain could analyze the thought.
Words had already appeared on their little chalkboards:
[Tata, how can you be so cute? I just want to eat you right up.]
—This was what Tata wanted Lanqi to say to her.
[I'm hungry. Can you feed me? I love it most when you feed me.]
—This was what Lanqi wanted Tata to say to him.
Almost in perfect unison, both bent over to shield their boards!
"..."
A terrifyingly dead silence followed.
After a long while.
"...Did you... see that?" Talia asked, her voice trembling.
"If I said no... would you believe me...?"
Lanqi had originally wanted to laugh when he caught a glimpse of Talia's chalkboard.
But the moment he realized his own answer was just as outrageous, any urge to laugh vanished instantly.
Even more horrifying, both of their answers had already been broadcast to the audience simultaneously.
Both kept their heads firmly bowed.
Lanqi was even a little afraid that Talia might snap and take him down with her.
The uproarious laughter echoing in from the real world made them feel as if there was no place left for them on this earth.
The spectators' laughter burned like the fires of purgatory, roasting them both on a spit.
"Oh! You've triggered another special bonus!"
As if receiving a prompt from the control room, the golden bee host beamed at them and said, "If you satisfy each other's wish, you'll be awarded a couple's annual pass to Golden Bee Amusement Park! For an entire year, you won't need to buy tickets no matter how many times you visit!"
"Satisfy... a wish?"
Hearing this, Lanqi and Talia both raised their heads, staring uncomprehendingly at the golden bee host.
"That's right! Don't each of you have something you want the other to say? Now that you both know what the other wants to hear, fulfilling each other's wish will leave everyone happy and satisfied with no regrets! And the audience is sure to enjoy it immensely!" the little golden bee explained.
In an instant, roaring cheers and jeers from the players in Golden Bee Amusement Park's central courtyard surged like tidal waves, crashing against them wave after wave, as if threatening to submerge the entire Shadow World graffiti space.
Both buried their heads even lower, neither daring to look at the other.
They now bitterly regretted ever stepping foot on this stage.
What had they gotten themselves into?!
"The answers are right there in front of you, yet neither of you dares to speak? Weren't you two very brave just a moment ago?"
The little golden bee arched her brow, looking at the pair who were now wilting like withered plants.
"Or could it be... that you're going to forfeit to each other? If one side speaks up bravely while the other stays silent, the silent one will be the loser!"
She continued holding her microphone, ruthlessly tormenting the two seated in the classroom in their school uniforms.
A long time passed.
It seemed as though the next question would not begin as long as neither made a move.
"I'm hungry. Can you feed me? I love it most when you feed me."
Her face flushed crimson, Talia forced the words out in a strained, trembling voice.
She felt as though uttering those words would kill her, but the psychic damage inflicted on Lanqi was equally devastating.
No matter what, she would never yield to Lanqi!
"..."
Lanqi looked at Tata's blushing face, which was strained into a forced, deadpan seriousness. Her eyes held thirty percent defiance and seventy percent pure ferocity, leaving his brain completely short-circuited for a second.
It wasn't just that the words pierced his ears like a cursed incantation, making him briefly wonder if Talia had learned the Poet of Great Love's melody magic.
His mind could conjure up any scenario in the world, yet it had never once imagined Talia with this expression.
"Oh, my! She took the lead and granted your wish! So, what about you... are you giving up?" the bee host buzzed over to Lanqi's side and asked.
Lanqi clenched his fists.
He felt as though the words on Talia's board were physically impossible to speak aloud.
Yet Talia had already seized the initiative.
If he backed down now, he would be a total coward!
To hell with it!
"Tata, how can you be so cute? I just want to eat you right up."
Lanqi stared straight at Talia, gazing into her golden eyes as they began to waver, and spoke the sentence to her.
Once the words were out, his own thick-skinned face grew slightly red.
These lines were utterly ridiculous.
"I... I..."
Dazed and dizzy, Talia slumped back against her chair.
The last time they had read from a script, it had at least been in private.
This time, the cheers and hoots from outside the stage crashed over them like a mountain flood or a tidal wave, drowning out everything else.
The audience below was in total uproar.
"Congratulations on clearing Question Ten's special challenge!"
The little golden bee clapped her hands as the prize—[Golden Bee Amusement Park Couple's Monthly Pass × 12]—fell onto the low table between them.
"A quick interview for the two of you: how are you feeling right now? Do you have any feedback on your experience in this Tier 1 artificial Shadow World, 'Love-Hurdle Corridors Academy'? There are other classrooms and game modes currently under development!" the golden bee host asked them.
Both shook their heads repeatedly, looking utterly exhausted.
If there was ever a next time, they would never set foot in this Tier 1 Shadow World together again.
Lanqi had never found any Shadow World so excruciatingly difficult.
"All right! Since you both look ready, let's move on to the next question!"
The little golden bee glanced at the newly drawn card.
"Don't be nervous, though—this one looks quite simple."
[Question Eleven (Male): While on a date with her, if you receive an urgent work notification from a female colleague, would you abandon her for the sake of work?]
Chapter 635