Chapter 141 (First Release)...
"Excuse me, is anyone home?"
Zhou Yanyao's energetic voice rang out from outside the door, sounding very polite.
Ning Wanwan was taken aback and couldn't help but wonder why Zhou Yanyao had come.
"Do you know who this is, Wanwan?"
Ansel was too lazy to pay attention to the noise outside the door. He usually ignored everyone except Ning Wanwan. But when he noticed that Ning Wanwan's expression was a little different, he asked her a question casually.
Ning Wanwan: "Hmm... They are distinguished guests from the royal city. They came yesterday, probably to see you."
Ning Wanwan remembered that Zhou Yanyao had come to see Ansil yesterday, but he hadn't been able to find him. She guessed that he was here for the same reason.
“The distinguished guests from the royal city are really annoying, they’re not important.” Ansel waved his hand dismissively, showing no sign of nervousness or intention to get up and open the door. Instead, he was more concerned about the fruit in Ning Wanwan’s hand.
"Wanwan, you can't favor one over the other—" he drawled, pointing his finger at his beautifully shaped lips, looking like he was expecting to be fed.
Ning Wanwan: "..."
Xiao Zhou is a child, and so are you!
"Wait, wait, wait—" Anseil called out again in a coquettish manner.
Ning Wanwan ignored him and simply stuffed the fruit into his mouth, more like gagging him than feeding him.
Ansel didn't mind at all. He curled the small fruit around his tongue, chewing slowly while smiling contentedly: "So sweet."
The dimples that had been hidden on the boy's delicate face reappeared with a smile.
It's like a cup of intoxicatingly sweet wine, incredibly alluring.
Ning Wanwan shook her head, already immune to it, and wasn't swayed at all. She got up and went to open the door.
If he didn't open the door, given Ansel's personality, he could very well leave the distinguished guest from the royal city standing outside indefinitely.
However, Zhou Yanyao's visit yesterday left a good impression on Ning Wanwan, and Ning Wanwan couldn't bring herself to leave him standing outside for no reason, so she simply went to open the door herself.
"Wanwan, don't force yourself to deal with those people, it's too much trouble. Just say I'm not home," Ansel said very directly.
Actually, if Ning Wanwan hadn't been there, he would have had to restrain himself a bit. Ansel, who was impatient with dealing with those people, would have already thrown the people who bothered him out of the village.
Hearing these blunt remarks, Ning Wanwan felt helpless: "They didn't do anything to you..."
Ansel said matter-of-factly, "But it bothers me. You don't like interacting with unimportant people either, do you?"
Ansel was not yet aware of the seriousness of the situation.
Having already met Zhou Yanyao, Xiao Zhou was well aware of his threat level, both in terms of his fighting prowess and the goodwill he had left on the girl.
Upon hearing Zhou Yanyao's voice, the white-haired, gray-eyed boy raised his eyes and stared directly at Ning Wanwan and the door.
Xiao Zhou's thoughts were now in complete agreement with Ansel's; he didn't want Ning Wanwan to open the door, but he knew he couldn't and didn't have a suitable reason to stop her.
So after staring for a while, he slowly lowered his snow-white eyelashes before the girl noticed his intense gaze, remaining silent, like a cat in the shadows, observing every detail and preparing for any eventuality.
Ning Wanwan was completely unaware of these undercurrents.
She walked to the door, opened it, and Zhou Yanyao's face was revealed.
"Good morning, Wanwan." Zhou Yanyao smiled brightly through the crack in the door.
Ning Wanwan gave a soft "hmm" and slowly replied, "Good morning, Mr. Zhou Yanyao."
Because Zhou Yanyao was, after all, a stranger he had only known for a day, and Ansel said he didn't want to see him, he was worried that if the door was fully open, Zhou Yanyao would see Ansel sitting openly and without any attempt to hide himself in the living room.
So Ning Wanwan hesitated for a moment and only opened the door a little bit.
"Lord Zhou Yanyao...sir, is there anything I can do for you?"
He only remembered halfway through his speech that Zhou Yanyao had asked him to change how he addressed her yesterday, so he quickly changed his form of address.
The girl with black hair and black eyes timidly showed half her face and asked cautiously. Perhaps because she was a little embarrassed and guilty, her eyelashes trembled slightly with unease.
So incredibly cute.
How can he be so cute? Everything he does hits his favorite spot.
Zhou Yanyao was completely captivated by every simple detail of the girl's actions, his bright eyes almost glued to Ning Wanwan.
But it can't be too exaggerated, or it will scare her.
Zhou Yanyao used all his willpower to suppress the urge to rush to the girl's side regardless of the consequences, and maintained a more appropriate distance.
"It's nothing serious, but I'm a little worried because of what happened yesterday, so I came to ask if that Mr. Ansel has returned."
Ning Wanwan hadn't expected that the distinguished guest from the royal city would still remember this matter and even come to inquire in person: "He has returned safely..."
"Ah, he's actually back?" Zhou Yanyao looked surprised. "It's good that he's alright. I'm so glad for Mr. Ansel... Ah."
Ning Wanwan inexplicably detected a hint of regret in Zhou Yanyao's tone at the end.
Really? After all, Lord Zhou Yanyao seems so friendly, and he's never even met Ansel, so there's no way they could have any conflict.
Ning Wanwan glanced cautiously at Zhou Yanyao, whose smile remained bright and unchanged: "What's wrong, Wanwan?"
Ning Wanwan put aside her question and shook her head: "It's nothing... Mr. Zhou Yanyao, are you here to see Ansel?"
Ning Wanwan waited for Zhou Yanyao to say yes, and then she replied that Ansel was not at home and had gone out again.
There was no other way. Although he had to tell a little lie, Ansel was too annoyed to see anyone. Recalling the scene when Ansel confronted the village chief a couple of days ago, Ning Wanwan had no doubt that he would still do the same thing even when facing distinguished guests from the royal city.
The village chief is one thing, but if they also offend a high-ranking official from the royal city, that would be truly disastrous.
Therefore, Ning Wanwan didn't think about persuading Ansel to meet him or anything like that.
Besides, Mr. Zhou Yanyao seems easy to talk to. As long as I tell him that Ansel isn't here, he shouldn't be angry, and then he'll leave, and that'll be the end of it...
No, that's not it.
"Ah, you're looking for Ansel, right? But Ansel is out, he's not here..." Ning Wanwan didn't have time to think and blurted out instinctively.
Then, suddenly realizing something was wrong, he abruptly stopped talking, revealing a confused and astonished expression.
Zhou Yanyao couldn't help but laugh and corrected, "I'm not looking for Ansel."
"You, you're not..." Ning Wanwan slowly closed her open mouth, her ear tips turning red with embarrassment, and lowered her head, wishing she could disappear into the ground.
Why was I in such a hurry to answer? Why couldn't I listen carefully to what the other person was saying?
Oh no, oh no, oh no! They're going to be angry if they're treated like this...
The more Ning Wanwan thought about it, the lower her head drooped, and the tighter her grip on the doorknob became, like a frightened little animal trying to close the door.
If it weren't for the fact that the man outside the door was someone of high status whom she couldn't afford to offend, the extremely embarrassed girl might have actually done that.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou Yanyao... I'm hard of hearing, I misheard... You, weren't you here to see Ansel?"
Ning Wanwan's voice became even softer as she asked, as if confirming something.
Zhou Yanyao held onto the door frame to prevent the girl from accidentally locking him out, and patiently answered again, "No, I came to find you."
Ning Wanwan was even more surprised.
Rather, she couldn't understand why Zhou Yanyao had come to find her.
Although the conversation went well yesterday, and Zhou Yanyao even said he wanted to be her friend, Ning Wanwan knew very well that she had never been good at interpersonal skills, and the atmosphere was all created by Zhou Yanyao; she hadn't done anything at all.
Ning Wanwan felt that Zhou Yanyao's friendliness and closeness towards her were simply because he had a good personality, and the words he said to praise her were just polite and considerate remarks.
But... why did they come again today, and say they weren't here to see Ansel, but to see her?
Ansel possesses the "strongest weapon," which I do not...
Ning Wanwan felt uneasy and at a loss, unsure of how to react.
Zhou Yanyao stared at the girl, a smile playing on his lips, about to say something more, when he suddenly heard a sound coming from inside the house.
"Wanwan, why are you still standing at the door in this cold weather? I told you you're too easygoing. You should have just turned them away..."
Ansel yawned, a few weary tears welling in his jewel-like violet eyes, and walked over slowly.
Then, when he saw Zhou Yanyao standing at the door, his pupils suddenly darkened.
Who are you?
Because so much has happened in the past two days, and because Ansel has been making excuses to avoid going, he has yet to meet the two main characters from the royal city who have already caused such a stir in the village.
However, Zhou Yanyao's undisguised gaze towards Ning Wanwan instantly gave Ansel a sense of intuitive crisis.
Faced with the unfriendly gaze of the blond young man, Zhou Yanyao slowly narrowed his eyes, revealing a smile that seemed friendly but was actually unyielding.
"This must be Mr. Ansel. I am Zhou Yanyao. Hello."
Ansel frowned as he sized up Zhou Yanyao: "You are one of the two who came from the royal city."
“That’s right,” Zhou Yanyao admitted directly, smiling.
Unlike his sunny and carefree demeanor in front of Ning Wanwan, Zhou Yanyao's manners were impeccable at this moment. "I visited yesterday, but unfortunately Mr. Ansel was not home at the time."
Ansel scoffed, finding Zhou Yanyao, this human, increasingly unpleasant to look at.
Moreover, as the person with the most information in this illusion, Ansel had already sensed that something was wrong.
Clearly, this guy named Zhou Yanyao, who is different from the one in the setting of the illusion trial, is one of the reasons why the illusion was invaded!
As for the other outsider who invaded the illusion, it is probably another person from the royal city.
Sure enough, Ansel had felt something was off before; the people from the royal city had arrived a little too early.
He had already postponed the test, so why did people still arrive so early?
It turns out that the role has been taken over by an outsider.
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Author's Note: Thank you so much for the birthday wishes, my lovely readers! Hehehe, I'm so happy!
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 16:28:35 on April 4, 2024 and 18:09:26 on April 5, 2024!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 38459595 (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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