Chapter 11: King’s Game
Lu Li ended up running to the bus stop alone in the rain. Chu Jingyi was the first to see him. She hurried over, stood on tiptoe, and held the umbrella over his head. “Oh, why didn’t you bring an umbrella?” An Baili also asked anxiously, “Where’s your umbrella?”
“I ran into Wen Hupo, and she lost her umbrella, so I gave her mine.” Lu Li didn’t lie, answering truthfully. “Wen Hupo looks like she doesn’t exercise much. I couldn’t just let her walk home in the rain, could I?”
“Hmph, as if that young miss would have trouble getting home. She could just call a car.” An Baili pointed out the obvious, and Lu Li paused, realizing she was right. He had been overthinking, his mind too clouded by complicated thoughts.
After saying this, An Baili also realized her words might have been a bit insensitive, as Chu Jingyi was also a “young miss” who could call a car at any time. She was going to the low-rent district with them today, planning to visit their home, and was waiting for the bus with them. Silly Goose had left her keys in the classroom, and Lu Li had gone back to retrieve them.
Chu Jingyi quickly took out her phone. “Let me call a car. We can’t let Lu Li catch a cold.” Chu Jingyi usually took the subway. She wasn’t one to flaunt her privilege, this simple girl acting as if her privilege didn’t exist if she didn’t use it.
Lu Li didn’t object. He was very susceptible to the cold.
After arriving at the low-rent district, An Baili quickly unlocked the door to Lu Li’s apartment. “There should still be hot water, go take a shower quickly.” Lu Li agreed and nodded at Chu Jingyi. “Jingyi, make yourself comfortable. Don’t mind our humble abode.”
“Of course not…” Chu Jingyi shook her head quickly, afraid that Lu Li would misunderstand.
After Lu Li took his clothes and went to the bathroom, the sound of running water soon followed. Chu Jingyi turned to An Baili with a puzzled look. “Baili, why do you have a key to Lu Li’s apartment?”
“Huh?” An Baili was caught off guard. What should she say? She couldn’t possibly tell Jingyi that she snuck over every night and fooled around with Lu Li in his bed. Why was Jingyi so perceptive at a time like this?
“Baili?”
An Baili said evasively, “It’s a spare key from Sister Zou Yameng. She gave it to me in case of emergencies. You know, the low-rent district isn’t as safe as your neighborhood. There are thieves at night.”
What thieves? The petty thieves in this area had long been tamed by Zou Yameng. They wouldn’t dare to steal anything from here. The older ones had all left to find work elsewhere. The only ones left were spineless cowards.
“Oh, oh.” Chu Jingyi seemed to accept this explanation and didn’t probe further. An Baili breathed a sigh of relief, reminding herself to be more careful in front of Jingyi. It took a lot of effort for Jingyi to finally accept their three-way relationship, and she couldn’t let her efforts go to waste, or Lu Li would hate her.
“Does Lu Li usually have any hobbies?” Chu Jingyi looked at the sparsely furnished apartment. There was a notebook on the table, the one she had given to Lu Li for his birthday.
Yes, his hobby is what we do in bed. This thought popped into An Baili’s mind, and she blushed. “Jingyi, let’s play a game later! The one we saw on our phones earlier…”
“The King’s Game?” Chu Jingyi was also interested, taking out her phone excitedly. “Okay, okay! The last time I played a game was during the Chinese New Year holiday, Landlord with everyone…”
She opened the King’s Game app and asked, “Which theme should we choose? There are themes for friends, close friends, best friends, couples…”
“Couples, of course. It’s just the three of us, so no one will be at a disadvantage.” An Baili had a plan.
Silly Goose clicked on the “Couples” theme. After reading for a while, her face flushed crimson, steam practically rising from her head. She stammered, “Isn’t this a bit… too much…?”
Just then, Lu Li came out of the bathroom, freshly showered and changed. He was drying his hair with a towel as he walked towards them. “What’s too much? Baili, are you corrupting Jingyi again?”
“Lu Li, Lu Li, come here, come sit, let’s play the King’s Game.”
“How can we play with just three people? Let’s play Landlord instead.” Lu Li said, sitting down between the two girls.
“We’ll combine it with Landlord. The winner becomes the king and can give orders to the other two.” An Baili clearly came prepared.
“Jingyi, what do you think?” Chu Jingyi was the guest after all, so Lu Li decided to hear her opinion.
“I, I’m fine with anything.” Silly Goose’s face was still red.
“I’ll add another rule. The loser, besides obeying the king’s orders, has to take off a piece of clothing. How about that?” An Baili said. “Otherwise, it’s too boring.”
Lu Li’s eyelid twitched. An Baili, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?
Before Silly Goose could object, An Baili took out a brand new deck of cards from her bag. She really did come prepared. Lu Li felt a strange sense of anticipation. To be honest, he hadn’t had any truly intimate moments with Silly Goose, mostly because he felt protective of her.
Men, when it came to women, often jumped from a kiss to thoughts of sex, their desires ultimately driven by lust. Women, on the other hand, often held overly high expectations for men, thinking that they had some noble intentions, that sex wasn’t their ultimate goal.
It was like the classic question: Can men and women be just friends? The answers from men and women were probably completely different.
For Lu Li, the answer was obviously no. Silly Goose had fallen for his trap, allowing him to get closer and closer under the guise of friendship.
Lu Li remained silent about An Baili’s clearly manipulative suggestion. Seeing that he didn’t object, Silly Goose blushed and acquiesced.
An Baili dealt the cards, starting the first game.
Lu Li was clearly a better card player than the two girls. He called “landlord” and quickly declared victory, only one pair of twos left in his hand. As long as he played this pair, An Baili and Chu Jingyi would not only have to remove a piece of clothing, but also obey the “king’s” command.
Silly Goose was visibly nervous, her toes fidgeting, her teeth gently biting her lower lip, her blush deepening. She nervously watched Lu Li’s hand, afraid that he would play the pair.
Lu Li hesitated for a moment, then played a single two.
Silly Goose breathed a sigh of relief. Overjoyed, before An Baili could even react, she quickly slammed her hand on the table. “Big Joker! Big Joker! My Big Joker is the biggest!”
Silly girl, even if you played a three, I would say it’s the biggest.
Lu Li sighed and said, “Pass.”
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