The playful smile on Li Yuheng's face froze instantly.
He blinked, as if he didn't understand.
It felt like I was gently poked somewhere in my heart; it didn't hurt, but it was a tingling, numb sensation.
Li Yuheng opened his mouth, but the long-awaited flirtatious remark got stuck in his throat.
He found himself at a loss for words.
"……oh."
He unusually uttered only a single syllable.
All the defense mechanisms of joking and banter failed temporarily in the face of this overly honest acceptance.
He has completely lost his leading man demeanor and looks like a young boy.
However, Li Yuheng's pause lasted only a very short moment.
The male protagonist's heart is like a toad that has been hit by a stone; he is stunned at the time, but it will soon swell up even bigger (?).
He sniffed sharply, his eyes regaining their resolve.
“Sparse and white”.
"Um?"
"Your last sentence successfully caught my attention."
Shu Bai: "..."
Li Yuheng seemed to have fully recovered from the shock he had just experienced.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze distant, as if looking through the void.
"Do you know that my current success is no accident?"
Shu Bai asked cooperatively, "Because you are the Crown Prince of the Underworld?"
“No!” Li Yuheng denied it decisively. He turned around, his eyes burning, “It’s because when I was seven years old, I read a book.”
"...What book?"
"The Self-Cultivation of a Male Protagonist".
Shu Bai felt her head start to hurt again.
“That book taught me,” Li Yuheng said, his voice firm as he reminisced, “that true strength lies in never fearing to admit one’s imperfections. True grace lies in getting back up in the most stylish way, even after falling!”
"So what you just did..."
“That’s right!” Li Yuheng clenched his fist. “I was just staging a strategic fall to test your reaction. Congratulations, Shu Bai, you passed the test!”
Shu Bai clapped his hands expressionlessly: "Wow, what a brilliant self-analysis."
Li Yuheng's impassioned speech came to an abrupt end.
Without warning, he turned and buried his face in Shu Bai's arms, his arms tightly around his waist, his head buried in the crook of his neck, and he murmured:
"Shubai—!"
If the old ministers in the underworld saw their crown prince in this state, they would probably be utterly astonished.
This guy has always been known for his overflowing confidence and shamelessness, akin to the banks of the River of Oblivion.
But this personality trait wasn't something she was born with.
Li Yuheng is the only son of the underworld, and his parents dote on him to no end, giving him an extremely high status.
But it was precisely this identity that meant he had few playmates growing up.
Who would dare to address the Crown Prince as a brother?
Who would dare to joke around with him without any respect for elders?
He wanted to play hide-and-seek, and as soon as he counted to three, all the ghost messengers in the underworld automatically lined up for him to catch.
What's the point of playing this game?
So most of the time, he likes being alone.
One person speaks to the River of Oblivion, while another weaves stories before the Stone of Three Lives.
He started playing games with himself, acting out his own dramas.
Today he is a majestic general, tomorrow a down-on-his-luck scholar destined for a comeback, and the day after tomorrow a wise man who has seen through the illusions of the world...
The inner monologues are so numerous they could fill the Bridge of Helplessness.
It's common for one person to play three different roles in a dialogue, and rehearsing a "coronation ceremony" in front of a mirror can also kill a whole day.
He thinks a lot, and he acts even more.
Over time, his inner world became richer and richer, and his fantasies grew more and more, gradually developing this self-directed and self-acted, witty and humorous personality.
Like the protagonists in some movies who can find joy even in difficult situations, they can always find happiness in their own world.
He was truly confident, but also truly lonely.
Fortunately, Li Yuheng never wallowed in self-pity.
In his words, "A leading man doesn't have time to wallow in self-pity."
As a result, he became increasingly immersed in his own world, his skin grew thicker and thicker, and his thought processes became more and more bizarre.
That thick skin and endless passion for acting were both a form of camouflage and the only way he learned to entertain himself while growing up alone.
Act when you're happy, act when you're sad, and act even more when you're embarrassed.
As the acting progressed, it became impossible to distinguish which lines were genuine and which were just lines from a script.
…
Li Yuheng sighed and buried his face in Shu Bai's shoulder, rubbing it against her.
"Shubai," he said sullenly, "how could you have fallen for me..."
Before Shu Bai could answer, he looked up again, his brows furrowed: "Why did you fall for me?"
He seemed lost in some philosophical contemplation, muttering repeatedly, "Why did you fall for me?"
As soon as Shu Bai opened his mouth, Li Yuheng stood up and paced back and forth in front of the bed.
The bell on his wrist jingled with his anxious steps.
"Why did she fall for me!" he repeated, this time with a tone of deep regret.
Shu Bai finally found an opportunity to speak: "You're crazy, your broken record has come to life..."
"Don't speak!" Li Yuheng turned around abruptly, pressing his index finger to Shu Bai's lips. "Let me think about this serious issue."
He crossed his arms again and fell into deep thought, his expression shifting unpredictably.
However, not long after, he turned to Shu Bai and said with certainty, "You have discovered my hidden inner beauty."
"..."
"Although my appearance is already dazzling enough, you were able to see through my true nature!" Li Yuheng grasped Shu Bai's hand with emotion. "A kindred spirit!"
"roll."
Li Yuheng suddenly leaned closer, "Okay, seriously, what exactly do you see in me?"
"They're blind."
"I knew it!" Li Yuheng slapped his thigh. "What other reason could there be!"
He lamented, "Besides being good-looking, highly educated, of high status, witty, considerate, well-endowed, and skilled in bed, I am utterly useless!"
Shu Bai gave a thumbs up: "I completely agree."
Li Yuheng choked.
He got up and began pacing around the room.
“No.” He stopped, his eyes sharp. “This does not comply with Article 5 of Chapter 200 of ‘The Self-Cultivation of a Male Protagonist’.”
"What regulations?"
“The protagonist’s romantic storyline must be full of a sense of destiny and dramatic tension.” Li Yuheng stroked his chin. “We are too ordinary.”
Shu Bai reminded him: "You're a dog demon, and I'm still a male cat."
"Not enough!" Li Yuheng waved his hand. "It lacks an epic feel!"
He turned around abruptly and grabbed Shu Bai's shoulder: "We should have a more spectacular first encounter!"
"for example?"
"For example, in your past life you were a high monk who suppressed me, and I was a vengeful ghost you sealed away. We were entangled for three lifetimes, our love and hate intertwined!"
"……Then what?"
"Then you fell into the demonic path for me, and I laid down my sword for you! We swore a blood oath by the River of Oblivion to overthrow the Three Realms!"
"That sounds exhausting, you're crazy."
"Or perhaps you are the God of War from the Heavenly Realm, and I am the Supreme Being of the Demon Realm. We fell in love at first sight during the war between gods and demons, and were willing to betray our respective camps!"
Shu Bai thought for a moment: "Your parents will clean house first."
Li Yuheng choked.
He came up with several more plans, but Shu Bai refuted them one by one with reality.
Finally, he collapsed back onto the bed, his eyes vacant.
“So,” he murmured, “you just have feelings for me.”
"Um."
"No past lives or present lives?"
"No."
"No deep-seated hatred?"
"No."
"Are there no sentient beings in the Three Realms who need our salvation?"
"No."
Li Yuheng remained silent for a long time.
Suddenly, he sprang to his feet, his eyes regaining their sparkle.
"I understand!"
Shu Bai looked at him.
“This is the highest level of setup!” Li Yuheng clapped his hands. “True talent is found in the ordinary, and thunder can be heard in silence! I don’t need any fancy backgrounds; my personal charm alone is enough to conquer you.”
"...As long as you're happy."
"So when exactly did you start liking me?"
Shu Bai looked at his face, which was so close to hers.
"Um... I forgot."
…
"What? You forgot?"
"Yes, Your Highness, that's exactly what the young master said."
The Prince of Zhenbei and his wife sat in the highest seats, with a table full of exquisite breakfast dishes in front of them, which had already cooled down.
The princess said with concern, "This child, no matter how forgetful she is, she can't forget to have breakfast."
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