After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

"No!" Baili Ce quickly denied.

Wang Qingyan remained gentle, "No?"

"No...no," Bai Li Ce stammered, his eyes darting around.

Seeing that all her emotions were written on her face, Wang Qingyan became even more patient. "Azhu, I've said it before, I can give you anything you want."

"But you can't lie to me, understand?"

She was far inferior to him in concealing her emotions.

"I......"

After a brief silence, she admitted with disappointment, "Okay... actually, I have something important that I need to check."

"Hmm, what is it?"

"Can I not say?" Baili Ce looked at him, his face full of difficulty.

In situations like this, if he were sensible, he should—

"I would like to know."

He could choose not to ask her, or pretend he hadn't noticed anything and investigate on his own afterwards, but what he hoped for most was for her to tell him herself.

"......"alright.

He's clueless.

And judging from his tone, he clearly guessed something.

Sure enough, even after racking his brains, he's still no match for him? Damn it!

The novel didn't say Wang Qingyan was a villain!

Or did she misremember the novel?

Who the hell would be so bored as to date the villain...?

Besides, she's a career-oriented woman with zero dating experience; how would she know how to charm a man?

"I..." is using tactics to stall for time.

"that is......"

Delay it any longer.

Feeling helpless and at a loss, she simply refused to speak.

"I thought there were no secrets between us anymore."

fart!

Do you want to hear what you're saying?

Is this some kind of moral blackmail or mind control?!

But Baili Ce looked conflicted...

She didn't need to look in a mirror to know how ridiculous her facial expression looked.

However, Wang Qingyan once again read through her "inner thoughts" from her expression.

It's certain that she probably doesn't know what the stone is for.

Otherwise, given her personality, she would have turned against him long ago.

"Someone... told me something."

After hesitating for a long time, Baili Ce still decided to use the third of Lu Jian's True Words—

To be honest

Having received the response he wanted, Wang Qingyan calmly continued eating, asking, "What did you say?"

Seeing the suddenly normal atmosphere and his elegant and handsome appearance, Baili Ce's heart lit up!

It actually works?!

So she continued to wear her "testing the waters" on her face, along with a touch of girlish coyness.

“They told me that you sabotaged Shucheng in order to… exhaust the Imperial Guards.”

"No outsiders have ever been to this mansion before. Who told you that?"

They were still chatting casually, but Baili Ce felt his toenails getting cold.

"Yes..." We definitely can't sell Fenglan.

The jade shop owner won't work either; he's clearly a key "passerby," you never know when you might need him.

Those craftsmen can't be harmed either; they can't be allowed to do so for no reason...

"A few days ago, I went to play ring toss and met someone, but I don't know who he is."

"But judging from his skills and speech, I deduced that he was a member of the Zhou family."

After a half-second of careful consideration, Baili Ce decided to shift the blame to the Zhou family!

Wang Qingyan's eyes narrowed. "Zhou Tianben?"

He knew that the will of Heaven was not so easily compromised!

Hey, hey, you said it yourself, it's none of my business~

"Hmm," Baili Ce nodded gently.

It seems the lesson learned last time wasn't enough.

Knowing what was going on, Wang Qingyan clearly had a new plan for persecution by Heaven. "You believe it, don't you?"

Wang Qingyan's mental fortitude was ridiculously strong; from his tone and expression, Baili Ce couldn't see the slightest abnormality.

More importantly, she didn't dare to stare at him for too long.

She could only lower her head, twisting her fingers, and say, "I don't know."

It was just something I made up on the spot; whether you believe it or not doesn't really matter.

"So you're going to the Three Cities because you're afraid I'll send someone to follow you, so you plan to go there first and then go to Shucheng in a few days?"

Just say yes.

"..." Bai Li Ce hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing.

"So you just said you wanted someone else to accompany you?"

Cried!

Finally, I encountered a question I could answer!

"It was just... something I said offhand."

"But if... I absolutely have to find someone to go with me, then naturally... I'd like you to come with me."

"But the person who gave me the message mentioned you... so I really don't know whether I should believe you or not."

The meaning is clear enough, isn't it?

Can't help but want to believe him?

"Heh!" Wang Qingyan beamed, in high spirits.

So that's why she was making such a fuss today—"It's my fault for not understanding your thoughts."

"But don't worry, I'll go with you tomorrow."

"Huh?!" Baili Ce looked shocked.

Is that all?!

"Really?"

“Since someone has told you this, you should see for yourself whether I have done anything wrong in Shucheng.”

If you're upright, you have nothing to fear, right?

Unfortunately, she's not buying it anymore.

"Then you can't go back on your word!"

Lu Jian's fourth truth: You must quickly step down the steps that are offered to you!

"I will never regret it."

Since she wanted to be with him, how could he let her down?

He wanted to see just how much trouble those people were trying to stir up by leading him to Shucheng.

as well as--

What exactly was she trying to test?

"Hmm..." Baili Ce's eyes lit up, "Could you give me another piece of braised pork?"

To be honest, this braised pork is really delicious!

Wang Qingyan couldn't help but chuckle and placed all the plates in front of her, saying, "They're all for you~"

Then he served her a bowl of soup, saying, "Drink some soup to cleanse your palate."

"Oh... Ouch, it's so hot!"

Wang Qingyan quickly picked up the bowl and blew on it...

Finally, she took a sip herself to test the temperature, saying, "It's not hot anymore, you try it."

"..." The entire bowl that was handed over reflected his image of liking her.

In that instant, Baili Ce had a sudden inspiration, as if he had opened the door to a new world and understood Lu Jian's fifth suggestion.

[Trying to cover up the truth only makes things more obvious; using doubt to quell doubt!]

She's enlightened!

That’s what it meant.

I've learned it! I've learned it!

This is incredible!

So Baili Ce took his hand, drank the soup in one gulp, and smiled broadly, "Thank you!"