Chapter 79

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Yǔ's POV

How dare this two-faced, double-crossing, pathetic excuse of a sister dare to act all touchy and flirty with my man???!!! That was all I could think—well, that and a million ways to kill her on the spot—as I masked my face with a sweet and innocent smile.

Grooming yourself for him, were you??? I'll freaking kill you, you crazy... crazy (trying to think of the right words)... crazy HERA INCARNATE!!!

"Ahh, Xiao Yǔ, I didn't see you there." She acted all embarrassed, like someone caught in the act. How dare she say that when she was the one who called out to me???!!! She's waltzing on thin ice!!!

Lien (keeping a straight face): I decided to accompany my friends to the den to test my luck. I already picked up three ores filled with vast amounts of qi. Ahh... You poor thing, you mustn't have any money even though you came to such an expensive place. Shall big sister buy a few ores for you (giving me a concerned smile)???

I return her fake smile with one of my own. "That's unnecessary, sister. My hubby here was so insistent that I use his money to satisfy my every need."

I pointed towards Bai Zou, who had miraculously appeared holding all the ores I had collected so far in a semi-circular tray, which was well over thirty-five by now. A scowl crossed Lien's face for a moment before being cleverly masked. It must have wounded her pride that she was boasting of buying three ores when I had bought much—much more, especially when the price of a single ore was exorbitantly high.

"Sister, how could you waste so much money when it could very well be empty??? Do you know what an inconvenience you caused?" She exclaims sternly, playing the responsible and caring older sister while at the same time portraying me as a spendthrift and a burden eyeing Lì's money. And that was exactly what she wanted—to raise her reputation as the concerned sister and demean me at the same time. I couldn't retort easily because whatever I said would come out as an excuse.

(frowning and interrupting her): With all due respect, miss. It is not your place to judge how my woman spends my money.

A broad grin spreads across my face as I entwine my arm with his and tilt my forehead on his upper arm. I loved the 'my woman' part. "Kya... Lì, you spoil me too much." I say in an embarrassed and affectionate tone. He glanced down at me with a smile and gave me a quick wink. "If not you, who am I supposed to spoil???"

NICE!! I almost couldn't stop myself from giving him a thumbs-up. His instant response seemed almost perfect and without any gaps. Our little lovers' show was noticeably getting to Lien as she clenched her fist and had to try very hard to suppress her hatred.

"Since we're all here, why not have a friendly bet between you sisters???" recommended one of the girls beside my sister on seeing Lien's furious face. From the memories of the original Yǔ, I recognized her as Jiang Ying Yue and the other as Bai Feng Mian, both of whom were from prominent families and were... well, Lien's boot-liking posses would be a fit description.

"A bet???" I repeated slowly, playing dumb. What did they have in mind???

"Yes... A bet to see who among you and Sister Lien can pick the richest ores. You can pick three ores, and the one who comes up two out of three wins." Bai Feng Mian's eyes lit up as she came up with the contents of the bet. She smirked at me, sure that I would fail and wanting to use the opportunity to humiliate me and win brownie points with Lien. It wasn't really hard to read their intentions when they were so clearly shown on their faces.

According to the original's memories, Ying Yue used to be her friend initially but betrayed the original, spreading foul rumors about her and almost immediately sticking herself beside Lien. Since it came from her mouth, the well-known best friend of the accused herself, who was also known for her honest and kind personality, the rumor became more believable.

"And what does the winner get???" I asked, tilting my head in curiosity. Since they wanted to play so badly, why not play with them?? I could see a smirk quickly pass Lien's face as she presumed that I was hooked.

"Well... I guess it depends on how confident you are that you will win, I guess." Ying Yue jeered wickedly, trying to reel me in. The hidden meaning was very clear; they wanted to make me do something very humiliating and were using the bet as an excuse to get there. I looked around to find that many people were listening intently, wanting to know what I would do. It was easy to see that Ying-Yue wanted to use the crowd to bait me into accepting, not that she needed to since I was all for it. I could easily tell which ones possessed the largest amount of qi and which did not, and it seemed like an easy way to make a fool of the three. As far as I could see, it was an all-win for me. So jokes on them!

Feng Mian (eyes glinting): If sister Lien wins, hmmm... what should she get??? Ahh, if she wins, then Prince Lì will court her for three weeks and...

It took a second for me to realize how wrong I had been. They weren't after me... They wanted to help Lien get Lì. They must have figured that with her beauty and personality, she would be able to enchant him during that time, and if he were to leave me and choose her, all the better for them. Not to mention how humiliating it would be for me to have two engagements fall through because both fiancées fell for my sisters.

Me (frowning and interrupting): Hold on... The bet is between me and sister Lien; what does Lì taking her out have to do with it???

Feng Mian (smirking): Since we're betting, it's only right to put whatever is most important to us on the line. Is Prince Lì not the most important to you???

I suppressed my anger and glanced at Lì for a second before turning back toward the girls with a firm look on my face. Whether it would make a fool of them or not, I had no intention of using Lì as the wager; I respected him too much to do that. Not to mention, it isn't kindly looked upon for an unmarried adult man who's engaged to court another woman. And if gods forbid something were to happen, the woman's integrity would be questioned, and if they were from a respectable family, the man and woman would have no choice but to wed. What if they try to drug him and force him to take responsibility???

I was just about to reject it when the person in question stepped up beside me and took my hand in his. "Alright... If Yǔ-er's sister wins, then I will court her and spare no expense for it." He replied in a confident tone as I stared up at him questioningly. He looked down at me and gave me a confident grin that made a smile form on my face.

He trusted me... Lì had absolute faith that I would win and was willing to place himself on the line for it. From the look on Lien's face, it was obvious that she misunderstood his easy acceptance as a sign that he was interested in her. It was pretty plain that she never really had anyone refusing her, given her beauty, status, and powers, so she never imagined that Lì had no interest in her at all, none whatsoever.

"However, what does Yǔ-er get if she wins???" he directed the question to the three with a smirk.

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Any recommendations on what Yǔ should get if she wins? It can be something materialistic or some dare, but preferably something humiliating that Lian would rather die before doing, without taking things too far. Feel free to share your opinions in the chats and I'll either pick one from there or go with my own plan. 

Next update is January 1st or 2nd. So, be sure to share your ideas before that.

Don't forget to vote, comment and follow. :):):)

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