Chapter 31 Dare to Bet?

Chapter 31: Dare to Make a Bet

When Meng Shu came out of the bath, he saw Ling Qingjue sitting on the sofa with a dark face, his face practically screaming, "I'm in a bad mood, come cheer me up."

He knew the drill, like a total bootlicker, he immediately pounced over, "Cat Boss, what's got you upset?"

Seeing him so perceptive, Ling Qingjue's expression softened a bit, "Quit messing with shady stuff out there."

Meng Shu was confused, "When did I mess with anything shady?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't." Meng Shu said, looking innocent.

"I already took care of it." Ling Qingjue was too lazy to explain further, "If you mess with that nasty stuff again, I'm not gonna help you."

Did he really piss off some powerful monster just now?

Meng Shu's mind went wild with ideas, and he was super grateful, "Thanks, Cat Boss."

"Don't call me that, man." Ling Qingjue hated that nickname.

Meng Shu asked, "So what do you want me to call you?"

"Just my name."

"Ling Qingjue, Ling Qingjue, your name's got no warmth, it sounds cold and distant, way too formal."

Ling Qingjue asked, confused, "Are we even that close?"

Meng Shu choked, then said awkwardly, "We can start by getting familiar with the name, right...?"

Ling Qingjue's eyes were like an autumn lake, all shimmering and gentle, landing on him with a hint of a smile, "So what do you wanna call me?"

Meng Shu was a pro at pushing his luck, "Back in my world, people usually call their loved ones by repeating a character. Your name doesn't work for that—Ling Ling, Qing Qing, Jue Jue—they all sound super weird!"

Yeah, they really did sound weird.

Because when he said them, Ling Qingjue already wanted to kill him.

They sat down next to each other. Ling Qingjue, not used to being this close to someone, asked awkwardly, "So what do you think you should call me?"

Meng Shu said, "You don't like 'Cat Boss.' Back in my world, everyone wants to be called 'Lord' or something."

Ling Qingjue frowned, still hating the title, "I'm younger than you, why would you call me 'Lord'? And I don't like 'Cat Bro' either, or 'Cat God'—I hate gods, man."

"You hate this, you don't like that. At this rate, I'll just have to call you 'Cat Cat.'" Meng Shu joked.

Surprisingly, Ling Qingjue actually liked this one, "Then call me 'Cat Cat.'"

"...Are you serious?" Meng Shu couldn't believe he'd picked that, barely holding in his laugh, "Cat Cat?"

Ling Qingjue looked away, his voice all muffled, "My mom... used to call me that."

"I see." Meng Shu immediately started repeating, "Cat Cat, Cat Cat, Cat Cat."

Ling Qingjue got annoyed, "Stop it already."

"Alright." Meng Shu's eyes crinkled with a smile, his lips curling up, "You said you're younger than me? So how old are you?"

He was practically leaning on Ling Qingjue, with zero sense of personal space.

So close, Ling Qingjue could smell the faint shower gel on him, his wet hair still dripping water, and his warm body heat seemed to crawl through the air and onto his skin.

Way too close.

Meng Shu kept on smiling, "Come on, we've known each other for a while now, right?"

"...I was a cat for three years and a human for fifteen." Ling Qingjue turned his head away, lacking confidence, "For you humans, that's about the right age, right?"

"So much younger than me..."

Though he'd guessed Ling Qingjue was young, he hadn't expected this young.

Meng Shu felt like he was committing a crime and laughed helplessly, "I'll have to wait for you to grow up a bit."

"I'm already grown up."

Meng Shu said, "You haven't even grown your fur yet."

"I had beautiful fur by seven months. My mom said I was the prettiest kitten." Ling Qingjue was even more indignant—he was a cat, how could he not have grown his fur!

Meng Shu said, "Really? Let me see your tail?"

"Dream on!" Ling Qingjue finally realized Meng Shu was teasing him and scrambled up, "Meng Shu, have you no shame!"

"What's wrong with seeing your tail? If not the tail, then let me see your cat ears."

Ling Qingjue pursed his lips, and after a long pause, cursed, "Shameless."

Was petting a cat really tied to shame?

You cats are so hard to please.

Meng Shu had thick skin and wasn't fazed, "What kind of cat are you in your true form? With eyes as beautiful as yours, you must be a pretty kitten, right?"

Ling Qingjue lifted his chin slightly, "Of course."

"Let me see." Meng Shu's lustful heart wouldn't die.

"No."

Meng Shu wouldn't give up, "Why?"

Ling Qingjue stared straight into his eyes, "According to the rules, you need a favorability level of sixty to be worthy of seeing my true form."

"Even seeing your true form follows the rules?" Meng Shu's jaw nearly dropped.

"Naturally."

The world's laws granted great blessings to all beings, but also interfered with their life paths.

Every gain comes with a loss, every cause has an effect—the laws of this world were not to be defied.

Meng Shu grinned mischievously, practically clinging to Ling Qingjue like he had no bones, "So when can I hold your hand?"

Ling Qingjue was even more shocked, as if seeing him for the first time, "How can you be so lecherous!"

He'd seen perverts before, but this was the first time he'd met one who didn't hide his intentions at all.

"What kind of man would I be if I weren't a pervert!"

Ling Qingjue knew too little about humans. After pondering for a long time, he answered honestly, "The law doesn't say how much affinity you need to hold hands, but I won't allow you to hold mine."

That last part crushed Meng Shu's hopes.

Ling Qingjue stood up, all proper and reserved. "It's late. Get some sleep."

He remembered something else, and a Cat's Eye Emerald appeared in his hand out of thin air. He tossed it casually, and it arced through the air, landing perfectly in Meng Shu's arms.

"This is the gem you found. I have no reason to take it for nothing. Give it to me again tomorrow morning as a gift."

With that, Ling Qingjue headed upstairs, pausing at the corner. "If you can manage to raise my affinity to eighty, I'll do whatever you want."

"But—"

Ling Qingjue leaned on the railing, looking down at him. "I don't think you've got it in you."

"Want to bet?" Meng Shu asked with a smile. "The last guy who bet against me is still rotting in jail."

Ling Qingjue raised an eyebrow, getting interested. "What do you want to bet?"

"Within three years, if I raise your affinity to eighty, you marry me. If not, I marry you."

Watching him try to pull one over on him so seriously, Ling Qingjue let out an exasperated laugh. "You really don't like losing, do you? So in the end, I'm the one who gets screwed either way?"

"Just kidding." Meng Shu turned serious. "If I fail, I'll cook for you until I die."

Ling Qingjue just so happened to want a chef.

He thought it over—as long as he wanted to, he could keep the hero alive. In other words, if he could just hold out for three years, the hero would cook for him forever!

Someone to cook for him!

Ling Qingjue agreed without hesitation. "Fine. Within three years, if you raise my affinity to eighty, I'll help you with the remaining affinity tasks, and marrying you is no big deal. If you fail, you'll cook for me until you die."

A flash of white light shot into Meng Shu's forehead.

He covered his head. "What just flew by?"

"That's the contract witnessed by the law," Ling Qingjue explained. "No one can back out."

Meng Shu rubbed his forehead, grumbling to himself. He only had three months left to live, maybe two if he was unlucky.

Whether he won or lost this bet, Ling Qingjue couldn't do anything to him.