Tea-flavored Romance

Sure enough, a stunningly beautiful swordswoman in a flowing white robe, carrying a sword behind her, walked in unhurriedly. Xiao Zhao quickly pulled her chair back several steps to make room in front of the vanity mirror.

"Sister Jiang...you're here...is the cosplay already over?"

"Mm." Jiang Manyue responded softly, "I've finished on my end, but I don't know about Gu Guanxue's side."

"You can bring your makeup bags and props to check on her later, just in case she still wants to go on stage..."

Master Ning: You can't see me... You can't see me...

Ning Yuan, sitting with his back to the door, forced himself not to turn around, seemingly hoping that Jiang Manyue would only open the door to take a quick look and then leave.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. As soon as Jiang Xihua entered the room, she clearly saw Master Ning's figure. Seeing that he had noticed her arrival but remained sitting still and unmoved, as if he didn't recognize her at all, Jiang Manyue narrowed her eyes slightly.

A chill ran down his spine, and Ning Yuan felt as if he were being watched by some dangerous creature. His heart pounded, and he broke out in a cold sweat. Before he could react, a small hand gently rested on his shoulder. The voice spoke naturally:

"You're here too, that's perfect, help me remove my makeup."

Ning Yuan: ? ? ?

Xiao Zhao: ? ? ?

Chapter 166: Then I had no choice but to go in and out.

Didn't we agree that you didn't know Jiang Manyue? Why did she ask you to help her remove her makeup?

Holy crap, the mole is right next to me!

So you were the spy sent by Jiang Manyue to gather intelligence!

Xiao Zhao and his group of four were not fools. After learning the crucial information that Jiang Manyue knew Ning Yuan and seemed to be quite familiar with him, they quickly figured things out and also uncovered some traitors.

You little brat! No wonder she sneaked in so quietly... You're the one who brought in that she-devil Jiang Manyue!

He actually forced me to become a collaborator! Ning Yuan is utterly despicable!

Seeing his perfectly legitimate identity as an undercover agent exposed by Jiang Xihua's casual remark, Master Ning was utterly desperate.

Jiang Manyue, did you come here on purpose to harm me?!

But there was no other way now, so Ning Yuan had no choice but to go with the flow. He forced a look of resignation on his face at the four people behind him, indicating that he was actually forced into it. Then he resignedly got up and went to his makeup bag to get the makeup removal tools he needed.

"Are you all alright?" Jiang Manyue pulled over the chair Ning Yuan had just been sitting in, then shifted her gaze to the other four: "Should we..."

"No need! I just remembered I need to go see Sister Xue... Sister Jiang, please go ahead with your business. Just let me know when you need me."

"Me too!"

"+1!"

The four people understood the Grim Reaper's hint and quickly left in a line like a train. Xiao Zhao, who was the last to close the door, glanced at Ning Yuan intentionally or unintentionally, his eyes full of meaning.

Hey buddy, you're pretty good. You dared to betray us... none of us are as brave as you.

Don't assume Jiang Manyue is your protector. Even if you do become Jiang Manyue's boyfriend, we'll only ever...

I'll just call you "Big Brother".

With the departure of Xiao Zhao and his group of four, only Ning Yuan and Jiang Xihua remained in the dressing room. It seemed the other cosplay groups sharing the room had all gone to the bustling game expo; no one was left in this place.

The room was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.

Master Ning swallowed hard, about to speak, when Jiang Xihua raised her hand to stop him and gently pointed to the door.

Go open the door.

She gestured with her eyes, and Ning Yuan was taken aback. He seemed to have thought of something and stepped over. As soon as he turned the doorknob, he heard the sound of people running around in a panic outside the door, which made him speechless.

There are eavesdroppers over there.

“They’ve all run away.” Ning Yuan relaxed this time, casually pulling up a chair to sit down. “I say, Jiang… you didn’t have to expose me so bluntly. I was, after all, a pawn you planted. Have I become a discarded piece so quickly?”

"They'll find out sooner or later anyway."

"So you specifically chose noon to say this?"

"That's not true." Jiang Manyue said, tying her hair up with her hands and casually using a hair tie to make a ponytail. Then she began to remove her makeup, seemingly not wanting Ning Yuan to help her at all.

He then realized that Jiang Xihua hadn't kept him around really to help him remove his makeup—even if he wanted to help, Jiang Manyue probably wouldn't agree. The only reason she kept him around might be to answer his questions, or perhaps for some kind of divisive purpose.

If it's the latter, then the girl's strategy was undoubtedly very successful. If Ning Yuan goes back now, he will definitely be regarded as a guide by Xiao Zhao and the others.

The girl was focused on removing her makeup and didn't speak. Ning Yuan didn't try to start a conversation either, silently thinking about how to explain things to Gu Guanxue and the other three. The two remained silent in this strange atmosphere until Jiang Xihua finished removing her makeup, at which point he finally glanced at her.

Hmm? It doesn't seem like there's been much change?

"I'm going back now." Jiang Manyue turned to Ning Yuan and said leisurely, "So feel free to ask me anything you want to ask."

"You can ask me anything?"

"You can ask me anything."

Why did you come to the stage?

"I do not know."

Master Ning: ? ? ?

Is this considered deceiving someone's feelings?! I actually believed you and thought I could ask you anything... Turns out you wouldn't necessarily tell me even if I asked!

He was a little annoyed for a moment, and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it, I won't get any answers from asking like this. Why don't you just tell me everything, Jiang?"

The girl hesitated for a moment, glanced at Ning Yuan, then got up, walked over, and patted him on the shoulder:

"The mission is not yet accomplished; you must continue your efforts?"

After saying that, he left, opening and closing the door in one smooth motion, leaving Ning Yuan standing there with a confused look on his face.

What? Did this girl just say anything useful to me?

Jiang Manyue's purpose in coming here was successfully achieved, but what remained for Ning Yuan was endless speculation and possibilities. Thinking about it carefully, he figured this girl wouldn't be so bored as to come all this way just to have a memorable interaction with him, leaving the onlookers with a pile of melon seeds before leaving...

She's playing a long game!

But I don't think I can even see where the chessboard is...

Master Ning was somewhat frustrated. He got up and left the dressing room, glanced around but couldn't find any trace of Xiao Zhao and the others. Helpless, he had no choice but to lower his head and sneak off to search again. He hadn't gone far when he bumped into Lin Xiaoya and the others who were walking towards the dressing room from a distance.

She spotted Ning Yuan from afar, waved to him, and then quickly walked over.

"You finished so quickly?"

"Well, due to some special reasons, the organizers asked us to come down early so that another group could go up."

The other members of the anime club also came over one after another. After a brief greeting, they started complaining, saying that a very shocking scene had occurred in a certain exhibition hall. Almost all the players and photographers rushed over to join in the fun, and the flow of people dropped sharply. The organizers were so worried that they didn't have a good look on their faces for a long time.

"I think this is absolutely a publicity stunt!"

"That's right, it's definitely a publicity stunt! The organizers of the exhibition at that location must be the masterminds behind it all! They're getting so many visitors right now, they're probably grinning from ear to ear."

That's absolutely true; the people at the event organizer's studio were beaming with joy. They initially thought the people President Wang had sent were just there to coast along and collect perks, but they hadn't expected them to generate such a huge buzz!

As expected of CEO Wang, his strategic planning and decisive actions are truly remarkable. He knew in advance that our game would be so popular, which is why he personally came to take charge... This far-sighted vision is perhaps the difference between us and veteran game developers like CEO Wang!

Mr. Wang! A god forever!

Master Ning stood by, humming and hawing, barely daring to breathe, afraid these guys would discover he was one of the people involved in the hype. He made an excuse and hurriedly left, not even bothering to acknowledge Lin Xiaoya's astonished gaze.

We have to find Olaf! Otherwise, if these people find us, we won't be able to escape!

The idea was certainly nice, but actually doing it, figuring out how to avoid those gossipy guys and find Gu Guanxue's location was undoubtedly a difficult task.

Ning Yuan hesitated for a moment, then silently took out his phone.

"Hey... Xue... cough cough... Gu Guanxue? Where are you...? Oh... I'm in the dressing room, do you have time to come over?"

"Okay, no problem, I'll wait for you here."

Plans are in place!

Even if I don't go, won't you come? If I can't go, can't Gu Guanxue come?

Anyway, Jiang Manyue is gone now... Although he doesn't know what she did here, at least his biggest shadow is gone, and he can meet and talk to Gu Guanxue without worrying about being betrayed.

Wait... when did my wish become not being betrayed...?

Master Ning felt a pang of sadness as he thought about it… He should have been the assassin who betrayed his victim… but now not only had his identity as a collaborator been exposed, he couldn't even retaliate against the person who exposed him…

It's all the fault of the full moon.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

He was feeling melancholy for a moment, and before he could even begin to recount all the crimes he had committed since meeting Jiang Manyue, someone patted his left shoulder, and then a pretty face that could be both angry and happy appeared from his right side.

Why do you seem a bit down? Are you being chased?

"How dare you say that!" Ning Yuan glared at Gu Xihua with annoyance. "Why didn't you tell me beforehand... I thought I would see you standing on the stage, but it turned out to be Jiang Manyue?"

"Isn't this even better? It lets you see even prettier cosplay girls."

"Even better my foot..." Master Ning muttered to himself, thinking that he was scared out of his wits when he saw Jiang Xihua appear on stage. He had a feeling that she would cause trouble for him from the first glance, and he didn't expect her to actually do it.

"By the way, how did you get her on stage?"

"Perhaps she wants to prove who is the world's number one swordsman?"

"..."

"Then how did you get her to step down from the stage and ask me such a strange question?" Ning Yuan asked, puzzled. "Even if Jiang Manyue is competitive, she wouldn't be this high-profile... What kind of strange potion did you give her?"

"If there were such an effective potion in the world, I would definitely give it to Jiang Manyue every day~" Xuebao chuckled, then changed the subject: "Just tell me, wasn't it great when she jumped down to find you? That feeling of being the center of attention when a beautiful young lady comes to find you."

"Thanks to the commotion you two caused, the organizers aren't even bothered about Jiang Manyue leaving halfway through. They're just considering it a completed contract, and the money will be transferred to our account shortly."

Master Ning was taken aback upon hearing this, and carefully recalled the situation at the time...

Seems... like you're actually quite happy?

It's just that being pointed at with a sword doesn't feel good... But generally speaking, unless you have some weird fetish, being pointed at with a sword doesn't feel good, right?

"Was this also part of your calculations?" he asked suspiciously, his eyes showing a hint of surprise and confusion. If Gu Guanxue had already discussed all of this with Jiang Manyue, then it would make sense.

I was so worried about being discovered as a guide, but it turns out that my identity as a guide was actually arranged by Xuebao.

It's just Olaf's toy.

"Not really. I was surprised when I saw Jiang Manyue too. I thought she wouldn't come." Xuebao didn't take the blame, denying everything and then didn't dwell on it. She patted Ningyuan on the shoulder and said, "In short, the mission is not yet accomplished, comrades still need to work hard... Um... what are you doing?"