“Come on, girls, let’s play musical chairs,” Liang Sheng said, suddenly overcome by a burst of playfulness.
And so, these young ladies from wealthy families, sweating profusely, obediently dragged over some chairs.
Round after round they went, until the final top three remained: Mo Qingrou, Gu Yuqi, and Bai Zhen.
Who would claim the victory? Liang Sheng watched with rapt attention, even holding her breath in suspense.
The ultimate winner was, of course, Senior Sister Gu Yuqi—the strongest fighter among these girls, aside from Hana.
Ah~ Liang Sheng couldn’t help fantasizing about scenes from some novel. Like Senior Sister Gu Yuqi as her prince consort, with Liang Sheng as a princess from some kingdom or another. A groom selection tournament, where Senior Sister Gu Yuqi beat all her rivals and became hers.
“So…” Halfway through the daydream, Liang Sheng noticed the girls’ gazes heating up again as they stared at her. “You wouldn’t still want to…”
You haven’t had enough yet?!
Of course, she couldn’t say that out loud. Liang Sheng stood up, steeling her nerves. “O-Okay, one last chance! This time… we’ll flip coins. Whoever gets heads in the first round stays.”
The girls rubbed their fists eagerly once more.
Coins soared into the air one after another, then clattered back down. Liang Sheng craned her neck up, then down to follow them.
Plink~
One coin hit the ground with a crisp ring.
“This…” Everyone stared blankly at the odd coin.
Cha Susu was dumbfounded. It was hers—and this cute little coin wasn’t heads, wasn’t tails. It had landed on edge.
All the girls turned as one to Liang Sheng, who scratched her head sheepishly. “Uh, j-just flip it again.”
Cha Susu tossed the coin skyward once more. Congratulations to our adorable Miss Susu—luckily eliminated.
A coin landing on edge? What a rarity.
In a hazy recollection, she remembered a time long ago, back when she was still just Liang Sheng. A relative had been pregnant and teasingly asked her if she wanted a little brother or sister.
Liang Sheng had just started first grade then. She pulled out a coin and announced to everyone, “Heads for girl, tails for boy!”
But… it landed on edge. The moment turned awkwardly silent.
For a Liang Sheng freshly armed with “new vocabulary,” she blurted out, “Then it’s a ladyboy~”
The awkwardness only deepened.
At that thought, Liang Sheng suddenly remembered once again that she was neither this “Liang Sheng” nor that one. She was probably just some kind of fusion.
The thing she’d barely managed to forget earlier had resurfaced, leaving her heart feeling hollow all over again.
But when she looked up at the adorable girls surrounding her—how hard they were trying just to cheer her up—it hit her that who she really was… maybe didn’t matter so much. Liang Sheng felt the corners of her mouth curve upward.
A fusion or whatever was still leagues better than the old “Liang Sheng”s, right?! Heh heh~ One was a bad-tempered delinquent beauty with no friends, the other a depressed girl from a broken home. She had it pretty good.
If she got happy, they’d sense it too—and everyone would be happy and blissful together. The thought warmed Liang Sheng’s heart. She carried the wishes of two—no, three—people to find happiness and joy. Time to step it up!
Over there, the first round had wrapped up, leaving just three lucky survivors: Song An’an, Bai Zhen, and Lu Ziqing.
Whoa, seriously? Were they really this unlucky?
“Then this time, go for tails.”
Surprisingly, all three landed tails again.
Now the game had ground to a deadlock.
“Again?”
…
“I’m numb—how many rounds has it been?” Liang Sheng groaned, her back and neck sore from all the watching.
Little Zhen Zhu, nestled in her arms, raised a tiny hand to answer, but smack—it connected squarely with Liang Sheng’s face.
“Oh god, I fucking thank you,” said Liang Sheng, on the verge of dozing off from the tedium, utterly grateful for the divine intervention.
Zhen Zhu looked apologetic. “Ahem, Old Hag, this makes twenty-three rounds for them.”
“How about…” Liang Sheng began, pondering her next words.
But Lu Ziqing cut her off once more. “Hey, Liang Sheng, two won’t make a difference. Let’s call it—everyone’s starving.”
Truth be told, she just feared she’d be the next to fall if they kept going.
Liang Sheng hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. “Young Miss has the right idea~”
Right on cue, her stomach let out a timely growl.
The girls rose to their feet, heading out for the beach barbecue Liang Sheng had suggested that afternoon.
“Ey hey~” Liang Sheng rolled up her sleeves with a fierce grin, ready to dominate. “Barbecues? Yours truly’s got this in the bag!”
She really did—at wasting ingredients, that is. Her squid went sizzle-sizzle on the grill, looking downright delicious to the untrained eye. But nope—charred to a crisp.
The server nearby couldn’t bear to watch and sidled up to the now-awkward Liang Sheng. “Miss, let me take over.”
“Mm-hmm…” Blushing furiously, Liang Sheng slunk back to her seat.
Seeing her culinary fail, the girls’ competitive sparks reignited.
“A-Sheng~” The foremost authority was little chef Song An’an, who sidled up sweetly and hugged Liang Sheng’s arm. “A-Sheng~ Leave all the cooking to me from now on~ I love cooking! Especially… especially when it’s for…”
Song An’an glanced shyly at Liang Sheng, then ducked her head the instant their eyes met—a picture of demure innocence.
“Tch~” Sure enough, that dismissive sound came from Young Miss Lu Ziqing, arms folded. “As if your cooking could beat my chefs’. Liang Sheng, you could crash at my place more often… eat your fill. You chow down like a pig anyway.”
Good lord, classic tsundere poison tongue—couldn’t resist taking a jab at her crush.
“You!” Song An’an shed her timidity, confronting Lu Ziqing head-on. “My cooking for A-Sheng is filled with love. Your chefs? It’s just food—no feelings!”
In her agitation, “love” had slipped right out.
“Eek!” She clapped a hand over her mouth, peeking warily at Liang Sheng beside her.
Liang Sheng regarded her with an amused half-smile, then tapped her forehead. “Silly little fool~”
Wahh! So smooth! D-Doesn’t this prove A-Sheng likes her too?!
Ding! Favorability surges dramatically.
“Song An’an’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 200+”
As expected from Miss Song An’an, the speed-gifting lovebrain self-strategist.
