Just as Wednesday was focusing her mind and preparing for the next round of precise countermeasures, calculating how to corner Victor's last advancing plane—
Victor suddenly lifted his head. Those peach blossom eyes were no longer focused on the board but were brimming with a deep affection that could drown a person, gazing directly at Wednesday.
Using that voice, which had been evaluated by Venom as "naturally suited for deceiving young girls," he spoke in a low, gentle tone:
"Wednesday, do you know? Every time I see you thinking seriously, you're like the brightest star in the deepest night sky, making me unable to look away."
!!!
Wednesday's fingertip, holding the chess piece, trembled violently. Her previously smooth train of thought was like a huge rock thrown into water, instantly churning with waves.
She forced herself to stay calm, trying to ignore this sudden disruption, but the tips of her ears uncontrollably flushed a faint red.
And that wasn't all!
Having succeeded with one strike, Victor immediately shifted his target to the more easily shaken "weak point."
He turned to Enid, who looked nervous, his smile turning sunny yet with a hint of mischievous temptation:
"And my little Enid~ The way you blink your big eyes, trying hard to keep up with the pace, is simply cuter than the fullest moon, making me want to hold you in my arms and give you a good squeeze~"
"Wah..."
Enid's defenses instantly crumbled.
Her sapphire-blue eyes immediately misted over, her heart pounding "thump-thump" loudly.
Her mind went completely blank; all tactics, all coordination were swept away to the ends of the earth by Victor's sickeningly sweet lines.
Dazed, she almost threw the dice off the board.
Wednesday looked at her clearly incapacitated "teammate" beside her, then at Victor across from her, who was grinning like a fox that had successfully stolen food and was still firing "sugar-coated bullets."
For the first time in a board game, she felt a deep sense of powerlessness and... a flicker of excitement from meeting a worthy opponent, being driven into a corner?
She took a deep breath, struggling to calm her disturbed emotions, her gaze sharpening once more.
"Victor!" Her voice was colder than usual, as if trying to freeze all the ambiguous particles in the air. "Focus on the game."
But anyone could tell that beneath that icy layer was suppressed, surging fighting spirit.
Victor chuckled, knowing when to quit while ahead, and refocused his attention on the board. But the gleam in his eyes clearly said:
The strategy had only just begun.
This Ludo battle, escalated by the "stakes," had already entered the white-hot final stage, woven with strategy and "honey traps"!
Feint in the east and attack in the west! Secretly crossing at Chencang! A chain of stratagems! One move after another, endless!
He was no longer merely playing a game; he was more like a commander strategizing, enacting a magnificent art of war on this small board.
That focused and sharp gaze;
That smile at the corner of his lips, mixed with madness and wisdom;
That powerful aura radiating from his every movement, completely different from his usual playful self, left Enid staring dumbfounded, her heart inexplicably skipping several beats.
Even the usually calm Wednesday had a trace of unconcealable shock flash through her eyes.
For the first time, she felt so clearly the astonishing intelligence and control that this usually unserious, seemingly crazy boyfriend of hers could unleash under specific stimulation.
The balance of the game began to visibly tilt!
"Game over."
Victor gently placed his piece, his voice calm yet carrying the force of a decisive blow.
Victor's last piece entered the finish line.
The room fell into silence.
Enid's small mouth hung open. She looked at the board, then at Victor, then finally at Wednesday, whose face was slightly pale, her mind completely blank.
Wednesday stared blankly at the board, her fingers unconsciously tightening, her knuckles turning white.
An unprecedented mix of defeat, shock, and a hint of... indescribable palpitation spread through her icy chest.
She had lost.
Lost to this boyfriend she thought only knew how to mess around, lost to his completely unreasonable yet terrifyingly effective "Thirty-Six Stratagems."
Victor slowly lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over the shocked Enid and the silent Wednesday in turn.
The sharp expression of a battlefield conqueror gradually faded from his face, replaced once more by that familiar, somewhat roguish, and infinitely smug smile.
He licked his lips, his eyes burning like a beast eyeing its prey, speaking slowly, his voice carrying the laziness and indisputability of a victor:
"So, according to our agreement... my dear losers, are you ready... to fulfill your 'bet'?"
His gaze finally settled on Wednesday's face, filled with blatant provocation and anticipation.
"To complete something together... Now, it's my turn to make a request."
The air seemed to ignite at that moment.
Victor's words, "it's my turn to make a request," were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, rippling out layers of flustering waves.
Enid's face flushed bright red, like a ripe tomato.
She instinctively grabbed Wednesday's arm, her sapphire-blue eyes filled with panic that screamed "it's over, it's really happening" and a hint of... indescribable curiosity-stirred palpitation.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her throat tight, unable to utter a single word.
Wednesday's body stiffened for an instant, a flash of panic, almost too quick to catch, passing deep in her eyes, but it was soon covered by a stubborn calmness.
Her pale fingertips pressed hard against the bedsheet, her knuckles slightly whitening, yet her face maintained that iceberg-like expression. Only her slightly pursed lips betrayed that she was not as composed as she appeared.
Meeting Victor's eyes, which burned with the flames of victory and undisguised anticipation, her voice was clear and cold, even carrying a deliberate calm, as if discussing something unrelated to herself:
"Speak. Your request."
Victor grabbed Wednesday's cool hand and Enid's warm hand, pressing them tightly together against his left chest where his heart was beating.
Those peach blossom eyes, always flickering with madness or cunning, now churned with an almost overflowing, intense and sincere emotion, like the deepest sea, the brightest star.
"Then, my request is..."
His voice was low and clear, carrying an undeniable gravity.
Wednesday and Enid's hearts instantly leapt to their throats.
Their fingertips could clearly feel the powerful, rapid beating of Victor's heart within his chest.
As if drumming to the beat of some fate.
They held their breath, waiting for that potentially earth-shattering "request."
Victor's gaze looked deeply into the two pairs of eyes that both reflected his own image, word by word, like a brand:
"Promise me, never leave me. Whether past, present, or future... we'll always be together."
The various imagined "bad" or "exciting" scenarios did not occur.
Instead, a surging, warm tidal wave instantly washed away all the previous ambiguity, tension, and competitive atmosphere.
Submerging the entire room in a pure, almost sacred tenderness.
Both Wednesday and Enid were stunned. Then, an indescribable emotion and softness simultaneously struck their two very different hearts.
They glanced at each other and, without any words, tacitly leaned forward together.
Wednesday's cool lips, like light snowflakes, landed on Victor's left cheek;
Enid's warm kiss, carrying the scent of sunshine, imprinted on the right.
Two kisses, one cool as the moon, one warm as the sun, simultaneously branded on Victor's face, and on each other's lives.
"The pact is sealed."
Wednesday drew back slightly, the ice in her eyes melting, rippling with a faint but genuine tenderness as she whispered.
These four simple words, spoken by her, carried more weight than any grand vow.
"Silly Victor!"
Enid, on the other hand, hugged Victor tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck, her voice choked with laughter yet incredibly firm.
"Even if you didn't say it, we would always, always stay with you! How could you suddenly say something so cheesy..."
Victor, feeling the lingering touch on his cheeks and the real warmth in his arms, his eyes shining as if filled with the entire galaxy, looked so smug and satisfied, lifelike a large dog being petted until it purrs.
"Really?"
His voice was filled with Joy, nuzzling his head against Enid's neck, then suddenly lifting it, eyes blinking, blinking with familiar unreliability, He asked tentatively:
"Then... since you agreed so readily... can I change my request? Seriously, I have a bunch of naughty ideas in my head right now. That one just now was too serious, kind of a waste of the opportunity..."
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
The answer was two soft pillows thrown with Shame and anger, Precise face-to-face!
"In your dreams!"
Enid glared at him, her face red and puffed with anger.
"Denied."
Wednesday was succinct, crossing her arms again, reverting to that iceberg demeanor, though the lingering blush on her earlobes betrayed her.
"Ow!"
Victor was knocked back onto the bed by the pillows but laughed like a child who had Sneaking a candy, Using both hands and feet pushing the pillows off his face to reveal those still sparkling eyes.
"Alright, alright~ I'll save this request! I'll use it next time I win!"
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