Chapter 159 - 161: Xi Yi’s Pressure

Chapter 159: Chapter 161: Xi Yi’s Pressure

A talent show?

Mo Xuan’s expression soured the moment he heard that.

’How does Luoluo come up with so many ideas, one after another?’

He mentally ran through the talents of the other beastmen and realized he was at the biggest disadvantage.

’When it comes to singing, who can possibly compete with that fish?’

’Everyone knows a mermaid’s voice can Charm People’s Hearts. Once Nantu starts singing, the rest of them won’t even stand a chance.’

’And don’t even get me started on dancing. Fu Feng is a Hua Longque. All he has to do is drag that long tail of his, make a few casual moves, fan it open, and he’ll stun everyone.’

’Can’t compete with that, either.’

’Besides, I can’t even dance.’

’All that’s left is displaying some kind of personal specialty. While my cooking has been decent lately, I know full well I’m nowhere near as good as Luan Ting.’

’Out of everyone here, it’s probably just me and Xiao Ye with no real talents. Then again, that snake can probably do a snake dance or something.’

At that thought, Mo Xuan immediately objected, "No way. I disagree."

"I think it’s a great idea."

Two different voices spoke at the exact same time.

Nantu’s eyes lit up at the mention of a competition, and his face beamed with joy.

’Singing is my greatest strength,’ he thought. ’Luoluo is sure to love my voice.’

Hearing two starkly different opinions at the same time made Su Luoluo realize, once again, that her suggestion had created a rift.

This was the Nth time Mo Xuan had disagreed. Su Luoluo shot him a sidelong glance. "What is it now?"

Mo Xuan pointed at Nantu. "If he sings, what chance do the rest of us have?"

Su Luoluo froze. She hadn’t thought of that. A mermaid’s singing was indeed far beyond that of any ordinary person; it was said to be enchanting.

’I’ve never heard it before,’ she thought. ’I’d really like to, if I ever get the chance.’

Still, it wasn’t exactly fair for a competition. Nantu’s advantage was too obvious.

Hearing this, Su Luoluo felt a pang of disappointment. She’d been looking forward to a scene of them all competing to show off for her.

And yet...

"If you don’t agree to a talent show, then at least give me a useful suggestion! All I’ve heard from you this whole time is ’I disagree’," Su Luoluo said, clearly annoyed.

Luan Ting pondered for a moment before saying, "Why don’t we just draw lots? We can each make our own bamboo slip, and whoever’s slip Luoluo draws will be the first one on watch."

This suggestion immediately won everyone’s approval.

They would make the bamboo slips themselves, so if Su Luoluo picked one, it would be a testament to the effort that person put into making it.

Furthermore, since Su Luoluo wouldn’t be making the slips, fairness was absolutely guaranteed.

Mo Xuan immediately nodded in agreement. "I have no problem with that."

He had raised too many objections already. He was afraid if he kept it up, Su Luoluo would think he was being difficult on purpose. So, after hearing Luan Ting’s reasonable suggestion, he promptly nodded his assent.

Seeing the troublemaker finally agree, Su Luoluo couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. She then looked at the others. "Mo Xuan is on board. What about the rest of you?"

Fu Feng was a little disappointed that the talent show idea was scrapped. He was very confident his dancing would have persuaded Su Luoluo to pick him.

Still, this plan wasn’t bad either. He nodded without objection. "I’m fine with it."

Xiao Ye thought it over and decided it was the best method they had for now. He also agreed, "Let’s go with that!"

Nantu didn’t have any major objections either, stating coolly, "I’m fine with it as well."

’That wasn’t easy,’ she thought. ’Finally, everyone’s in agreement.’

Su Luoluo couldn’t help but feel a little fonder of Luan Ting. He always managed to help her solve problems at just the right time.

"Since nobody has any objections, let’s go with this plan!"

As she spoke, she held up the bamboo slips she had made for them to see. "To make them easy to tell apart, I drew pictures of each of you on them. Try to make yours around the same size and length."

After hearing her instructions and giving a nod, the men promptly vanished from where they stood.

Before Su Luoluo could even process what happened, she heard a series of CRACKING sounds from the nearby bamboo grove.

Su Luoluo shook her head. ’They’re all ridiculously fast.’

Just as she was about to find a chair to sit down, Xi Yi, who was hanging upside down from a tree branch, poked his head down and asked, "What about me? Luoluo, what’s the plan for me?"

Xi Yi’s handsome face suddenly appearing before her startled her. She clutched her chest, taking a long moment to compose herself.

Not that she calmed down much. With his handsome features magnified right in front of her, she was hit by a critical blast of beauty, and her heart began to flutter wildly.

’Xi Yi is a genuine troublemaker,’ she thought, ’but his good looks are also the real deal.’

"Luoluo?" Seeing her zone out, Xi Yi blinked and called her name again.

His voice finally snapped her back to her senses. A flicker of awkwardness crossed her face as she silently cursed herself. ’Su Luoluo, you’re so pathetic. You were almost completely captivated by a handsome face.’

She cleared her throat. "This night watch duty is a job for my beastmen, Xi Yi. You’re..."

Su Luoluo trailed off, but her meaning was clear enough for him to understand.

"That again," Xi Yi said, looking at Su Luoluo with an expression full of earnest sincerity. "Luoluo, if you just say the word, I’m ready to form a Contract Totem with you anytime."

They had gone around in circles on this topic so many times, without a single new thing to say. Su Luoluo felt like she was going to be sick from repeating herself.

But even so, she had no choice but to trot out the same old line. "Xi Yi, I think I still need to see how you perform."

’What else could I do? I’m stuck.’

As long as she didn’t know whether Xi Yi was one of her official ’capture targets,’ she couldn’t make a clear decision about him.

’Every time I have to deal with Xi Yi, I can’t help but feel like the system is doing this to me on purpose,’ Su Luoluo thought.

He was a hot potato—she couldn’t pick him up, but she couldn’t put him down, either.

"Luoluo, I’ve heard you say that many times now," Xi Yi pressed. "I’ve done so much these past few days. Do you really think my performance still isn’t good enough?"

Su Luoluo gave a wry smile inwardly, bracing herself to shamelessly say that she still needed to ’observe’ him more.

But Xi Yi cut her off. "You never put a time limit on this ’performance.’ I have no idea how long it will take for me to finally satisfy you."

Then he added suspiciously, "Luoluo, you don’t... not want me to become your beastman, do you? I’m your childhood fiancé, you know. If you’re not going to take responsibility for me, then I’ll just have to tell Auntie Black Bear about this."

Hearing Xi Yi’s threat, Su Luoluo’s heart sank. The dismissive words on the tip of her tongue had to be hastily retracted.

If Xi Yi really told the Black Bear Foster Mother about this, she would have no room to maneuver. She might be forced to form a Contract Totem with him.

Besides, she recalled the string of things she had done, all under the banner of her foster mother, constantly claiming it was something the Black Bear Foster Mother had taught her.

If the original body’s Black Bear Foster Mother actually showed up, wouldn’t all her lies be exposed?

Suddenly, this potato felt hotter than fire.

Considering Xi Yi’s unique situation, she couldn’t drive him away, but she couldn’t get too close to him either. One wrong move, and everything could go wrong.

This was a thorny problem. A really thorny problem.