Chapter 81 Showdown
The night in Liangzhou City was bitterly cold.
Although Shen Jin managed to gloss over the "lifting a stone with one hand" incident during the day with the excuse of "cotton," Jiang Mianmian's heart was still pounding with anxiety.
Back at the temporary commander's residence, Shen Jin dismissed everyone except Jiang Mianmian.
The candlelight flickered inside, casting long shadows of the two people.
Jiang Mianmian sat at the table, holding a cup of hot tea in her hands, her eyes darting around, but she didn't dare to look at Shen Jin.
Um... something feels off.
Why isn't this jerk saying anything? Is he still doubting me?
[Yeah, calling 500 pounds of stone cotton—I don't even believe that myself. Is he planning to settle scores later and have me dissected for research?]
[After all, with my super strength pills, spatial ability, and explosives, I don't seem like a normal person at all...]
Shen Jin sat opposite her, toying with a teacup in his hand, gazing at her with a deep look in his eyes.
He listened to the turbulent speculations in her mind, from "slice research" to "being burned at the stake as a monster," and then to "whether we should carry the Earth away overnight."
He sighed helplessly.
It seems that some things can no longer be kept secret.
If this continues to be kept secret, this lazy bum with a mind bigger than a black hole might actually get sick from fright.
"Mianmian".
Shen Jin suddenly spoke, his voice low but carrying an unprecedented seriousness.
"Ah?" Jiang Mianmian was startled and her hand trembled, spilling a few drops of tea. "Yes! What are your orders, Your Highness?"
Shen Jin put down his teacup, leaned forward slightly, and locked his seemingly all-seeing phoenix eyes tightly around hers:
"Have you always thought that I am very clever? Even... somewhat shrewd and resourceful?"
Jiang Mianmian was taken aback for a moment, then immediately launched into a rainbow-praise mode:
"Of course! Your Highness is wise and mighty, almost supernaturally intelligent! Whether it's investigating corrupt officials or catching assassins, you're always right! You're practically a super Sherlock Holmes!"
[He's just cunning and shrewd! A real old fox!]
Shen Jin's lips curled into a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown.
"Sherlock Holmes?"
He shook his head. "I am neither a detective nor an old fox."
"The reason why I know so much, can turn danger into safety time and time again, and even... can accurately catch every joke you make."
Shen Jin paused, his gaze becoming incredibly deep, as if trying to see into the depths of her soul:
"It's because... I can hear you."
"Hear what?" Jiang Mianmian blinked. "Hear what? Do you have good hearing?"
[Of course I have good hearing too! That's just basic skill for people with superpowers, okay?]
"No."
Shen Jin extended a slender finger and gently tapped his temple, then pointed to Jiang Mianmian's heart.
"I can hear...the sounds from here."
"The voice in your heart."
boom--!
If the "lifting of the stone" during the day was a thunderclap, then Shen Jin's words at this moment are like a nuclear explosion.
Jiang Mianmian froze on the spot, her mind going completely blank.
[Listen...can you hear the voice in your heart?]
What does this mean? Mind reading?
[Haha...No way! This is a fantasy setting! We're a historical romance novel about political intrigue! How could there be a bug-level skill like mind reading?]
He's bluffing me! He's definitely bluffing me!
Jiang Mianmian gave a dry laugh, attempting a last-ditch effort: "Your Highness... you're really joking. You can't see into someone's heart, how could you possibly hear me? Are you just too tired lately and are you hallucinating?"
Shen Jin looked at her "I don't believe it, I don't believe it" expression and sighed softly.
"Hallucinations?"
He spoke slowly, repeating in a calm voice:
"'Why does this scoundrel walk so silently? Is he a cat?'"
"Shen Jin, you skinflint! For my money, I'd roast anything, even a dinosaur!"
"'I want to swing on my eyelashes'."
"besides……"
Chen Jin's eyes turned slightly playful as he leaned closer to her ear and whispered:
“‘If I don’t sleep with her, I’ll be a fool. This figure is… amazing.’”
"And that most classic line—'Your Highness, are you... impotent?'"
Crack.
The teacup in Jiang Mianmian's hand shattered.
With each sentence Shen Jin uttered, Jiang Mianmian's face turned paler, then redder, and finally a multicolored black.
These words...
These were things she only ranted about in her mind, things she never uttered aloud...
He actually... knew everything?!
Every single word! Every single sentence! Even the modal particles are exactly the same!
【Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!】
Jiang Mianmian let out an extremely shrill scream in her heart.
Kill me! Now! Immediately! Right now!
This isn't just social death! This is social nuclear fusion! My underwear has been stripped off!
[I called him a scumbag! I was thinking about how to divorce him! I even... I even fantasized about his body!]
Good heavens! What secrets do I have left to keep from him? I'm practically invisible!
Jiang Mianmian covered her face with her hands and shrank under the table.
"I don't want to live anymore... I'm too ashamed to face anyone..."
She wanted to carry the Earth away overnight! To escape the Milky Way!
Shen Jin looked at the ostrich huddled under the table, wishing it could bury itself in the ground, and finally couldn't help but let the smile in his eyes spill out.
He crouched down and lifted a corner of the tablecloth.
"come out."
"I'm not coming out!" Jiang Mianmian shouted from inside. "You're a monster! You can read minds! It's terrifying!"
"If I am a monster, then what are you, my queen, who can lift a 500-pound stone with one hand and conjure up food at will?"
He asked calmly and cautiously.
Jiang Mianmian choked.
[That seems... to make sense?]
So, does that mean we're... one of a kind, like demons and monsters?
"Come out."
Shen Jin extended his hand, his tone much gentler, "I'm telling you this not to scare you, nor to humiliate you."
"I just wanted to tell you..."
He paused, a barely perceptible hint of relief in his voice:
"It was because I heard your voice that I realized that in this hypocritical world, there is still such a real and vibrant soul."
"Your complaints, your greed, your lust (crossed out), your kindness..."
"I heard it all. And I... remembered it all."
Jiang Mianmian slowly removed her hand from her face, peeking at him through her fingers.
"real?"
"real."
"You're not upset that I scolded you?"
“I’m used to it.” Shen Jin smiled helplessly. “Besides… your insults are quite creative. Sometimes I even find them quite stress-relieving.”
Jiang Mianmian: 【…Are you a masochist?】
Shen Jin's face darkened: "I don't understand this word, but my intuition tells me it's not a good thing."
Jiang Mianmian stuck out her tongue and finally crawled out from under the table.
Now that the secret has been laid bare, she no longer needs to pretend.
"All right."
Jiang Mianmian patted her skirt, sat back down in her chair, and adopted a "what's the use" attitude. "Since you can read minds, I won't hide it from you anymore."
"That's right! I'm from another world! We don't have zombies where we are, but we have cell phones, computers, and airplanes!"
"I'm just a lazy bum who wants to lie down and relax! My biggest dream is to count money until my hands cramp and sleep until I naturally wake up!"
"As for you..."
She looked at Shen Jin, her eyes filled with complex emotions. "At first, I was indeed quite afraid of you, and I even thought about running away. But later..."
Later, you warmed my stomach, bought me all sorts of things, and even pulled out someone's tongue for my sake...
Although you have a bad temper and a sharp tongue, you are indeed a good man.
And... he's a good man who belongs only to me.
These heartfelt words reached Chen Jin's ears without reservation.
Without the previous fear of being discovered, these heartfelt words sound more open and touching.
Shen Jin looked at her, his heart softening.
He reached out and took her hand, their fingers intertwined.
So, we're even.
Shen Jin said, "You have your secrets, and I have mine. We... don't look down on each other."
"Hmm...that's a fair deal."
Jiang Mianmian nodded, then her eyes darted around and she gave a mischievous smile:
"But now that you can read minds, does that mean I can... save some breath in the future?"
"Um?"
[Calmly, calmly, I'm thirsty, please pour me some tea!]
Jiang Mianmian shouted in her heart, keeping her mouth tightly shut and giving a signal with her eyes.
He raised an eyebrow with composure.
This woman adapts really quickly.
He resignedly picked up the teapot and poured her a cup of tea.
[So much stress, my shoulders are aching, let me massage them!]
Shen Jin put down the teapot, walked behind her, and massaged her shoulders.
[Calmly, calmly, I want to eat roast duck from Jufulou! Now! Right now!]
Shen Jin paused in his movements and squeezed her shoulder hard.
"This is Liangzhou, not the capital. There is no Jufulou here."
He said coldly, "Furthermore, I am a mind reader, not your slave. To order me around... comes at a price."
[Tch, stingy.]
Jiang Mianmian pouted. "So what if there's a price to pay? At worst... I'll let you have your way a few more times tonight?"
His calm and collected gaze instantly darkened.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear:
"You said it yourself."
"Tonight... I will listen carefully to your heart's voice."
"I hope that when the time comes... the sound of you begging for mercy in your heart won't be too pleasant to hear."
Jiang Mianmian blushed.
[Rogue! Pervert! Lecherous old man!]
Although she was cursing him in her heart, she couldn't help but smile.
The truth has come out.
There are no more secrets, no more barriers.
The regent with the ability to read minds and the lazy queen with superhuman strength finally became true... "soulmates" at this moment.
Even if this partnership is based on "complaining to each other" and "hurting each other".
But so what?
As long as it's you, anything is fine.
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