Chapter 182: Fair Enough

　　The dead of night.

　　Walking daintily, passing through the different areas.

　　Going into the greenhouse, which was located near the cliff.

　　When Lu Mingshu thought about it, this Flying Imperial Palace was rather weird. This greenhouse was a fine building. It was located in a bit of a weird geographical location, but it was filled with rare plants. It was obvious how much was invested in it, and yet she’s been here a few times already, and no one was ever watching over this place.

　　After some time, she heard the sound of a wheelchair nearing.

　　Lu Mingshu turned back to see Xie Lianzhen at the door.

　　He looked up and smiled at her. “Miss Lu, what brings you here?”

　　Regardless of how many times Lu Mingshu saw this face, she couldn’t help but feel that it was such a pity. What a pity… harmless is the only word to describe it, but the owner is otherwise.

　　“There’s a question that I want to ask Mister Lianzhen.”

　　He smiled thinly. “Go ahead.”

　　Lu Mingshu looked into his eyes. “Have you given up yet?” She emphasized each and every word.

　　No elaboration was needed. Both of them were well aware of what she was referring to.

　　Xie Lianzhen smiled softly. Instead of shunning her, he stared back into her eyes. “Miss Lu, are you perhaps… panicking?”

　　Lu Mingshu squinted her eyes and kept quiet.

　　Xie Lianzhen ignored her and continued. “I’m guessing this is the first time in your life that you have encountered such a situation. Sorry, but I’m not like others, who are afraid of your coldness. I am determined, and I even came with conditions to get what I want. Now that you can’t scare me away with your cold attitude, you’re at a loss about what to do.”

　　The wheelchair moved slowly, closing the gap between them. Xie Lianzhen then lowered his volume and mumbled, “The previous time, your manners were somewhat inappropriate.”

　　As if she was being exposed, Lu Mingshu was left speechless for a moment.

　　During their previous meeting here, he wanted her to reject the challenge and promised to get her into the top ten.

　　She chose to make it clear.

　　After that, Lu Mingshu did regret her actions that day. However, the competition was right in front of her eyes at the moment, and she had no excess energy for other matters.

　　“You’re afraid, aren’t you?” Xie Lianzhen asked gently. “You think that you’re invincible – that nothing can bring you down. But there’s somebody who keeps trying to favour you – to gain your attention in every possible way. You aren’t afraid of your stepmother plotting against you or your father driving you to the edge. However, you’re afraid of me. After your mother died, you see yourself as an orphan. There’s not much that you’ve received from others, so you cherish everything given to you. You’re afraid that you won’t be able to stand yourself because I’m too nice to you. You’re afraid that you can’t reject me.”

　　He smiled thinly and looked at her with pity. “Such a kid. You’re only sixteen, my dear, this is too much for you.”

　　Lu Mingshu opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

　　“Why are you doing this to yourself?” The moonlight was reflected on Xie Lianzhen’s eyes, making him look way more caring and gentle. “You’re still young. You should live your life without the slightest scruple. Even though you may make mistakes on the way, there’s no need to force yourself to become so mature and behave like an adult to face all those conflicts. You aren’t willing to take a step back, even a small one. You choose to ignore all the mockery by pretending that you can’t hear it and brave your way at the front on your own.”

　　Xie Lianzhen sighed, and Lu Mingshu’s heart slightly dropped. “Even though you are being looked at so much, isn’t it kind of solemn? This isn’t how a sixteen-year-old should be living her life.”

　　Silence took over the greenhouse.

　　Xie Lianzhen didn’t continue, and Lu Mingshu was staring into space.

　　Lu Mingshu was now speechless. When she made her way here, she had everything planned out. She was supposed to be firm and steady, but now it was going off-track.

　　As if peeling open an onion, the layers wrapped around her heart were now all removed. Her heart was exposed and shown to the world.

　　Some things didn’t hurt, or they were so insignificant that she didn’t even think about them. But as soon as someone else mentioned it, the feelings of having someone who understands her caused her feelings to gush up.

　　“Why do you treat yourself this way? You didn’t have the chance previously, but nothing will be the same from now on. You could have all the freedom you want and never have to worry about anything else because I will solve it all for you….”

　　Lu Mingshu’s mind suddenly flashed back to a folk tale she had seen in the Heavenly Wheel. In a distant sea, there lived a pack of sea demons with beautiful voices. Those who heard their voices would sink into the song and end up as their food.

　　“You rejected me because you were afraid, and you were evil to me because you hoped that I would back off. But why don’t you just follow your heart? If you’re strong enough to keep fighting in the face of idle gossip, why aren’t you willing to follow your desires?”

　　A soft and gentle voice like the voice of a siren, causing one to lose themselves.

　　Seeing her wavering, a smile was plastered on his face.

　　“Is this your revenge?” A cold voice broke the silence.

　　Xie Lianzhen looked at her in a daze, and he saw that her eyes were back to normal.

　　“To get back at me because I exposed the real you last time?”

　　Xie Lianzhen leaned back, and he suddenly had a flashback. “Ah, an eye for an eye, isn’t that fair?”

　　Taken aback by his response, Lu Mingshu sneered. “Didn’t you just say that I’m a child? Aren’t you being a little too harsh on a child?”

　　Xie Lianzhen drummed the sides on his wheelchair with his fingers. “You don’t seem to feel sorry for being harsh when you did the same thing to me!” He smiled.

　　“Heh….” Lu Mingshu tried to contain her laughter.

　　Lu Mingshu was nearly tricked by him, but luckily, he crossed her bottom line. The environment she was raised in was bad. Unlike other sixteen years old, she couldn’t have the freedom she desired. But what a good “brave your way at the front on your own,” making her life sound way more pathetic than it actually was to deliberately make her more emotional.

　　This guy with an innocent face had a breadth of mind even smaller than the tip of a pin. She exposed him once, and now he was here to take revenge with the same method.

　　Lu Mingshu started to regret coming to meet him tonight.

　　“Okay. So, please tell me what you’re here for.” Xie Lianzhen had a huge smile on his face as if something good happened.

　　Lu Mingshu took a deep breath to calm herself down.

　　Don’t get angry with him. The angrier you are, the happier he’ll be.

　　“Can you answer my question first?”

　　“First…?” Xie Lianzhen furrowed her eyebrows. “Oh, that!”

　　Seeing her panic, Xie Lianzhen burst out in laughter. “What would you do if my answer is no?”

　　“If it’s like that, I’d like to make a deal with you,” she replied calmly, reciting the answer she had practised in her heart for quite a time.