You're my wife, don't doubt it!

The soft, elastic touch that entered his palms through the fabric was as hot as red-hot iron, causing Xiao Yao to subconsciously remove his hands.

The girl's long hair fell onto Xiao Yao's neck, making it tickle.

"Don't do that, I have a girlfriend!" Xiao Yao protested instinctively.

Amidst the laughter of the surrounding crowd, the leader raised her luscious lips, stretched out a hand, and used her bent index finger to lift Xiao Yao's chin, seemingly about to kiss him in the next second.

He was about to push the woman away when she released Xiao Yao's neck, pushed herself up on the sofa, and stood up.

“Alright,” Shen Jie said, “Let’s try something else, this is getting more and more outrageous.”

“Don’t spoil the fun,” the eldest sister said. “Everyone’s having a blast—let’s play another round, just one more round.”

Everyone echoed her sentiments. Shen Jie was somewhat displeased, but before she could say anything, she crossed her arms and turned her head away.

Xiao Yao suddenly felt a bit bored and turned back to continue requesting songs.

When asked to draw a card, he randomly drew a "Joker" card, and the King of this round was Ah Fei.

"Let's kiss 5 and 6!" Ah Fei seemed to have planned it all along.

Everyone made an "Ooh~~~" sound.

"A kiss on the cheek, or a kiss on the lips?" someone asked.

“…Mouth?” Afei blurted out, then chickened out: “How about the face…”

The rest of the sentence, "How about we go ahead?", was drowned out by the commotion, and then the cards were revealed.

Zhang Zhengkai was the first to reveal a "5" and shouted, "God help me, please don't let the 6 be a man!"

While laughing and joking, everyone showed off their playing cards; they had all sorts of cards, except for a 6.

"Someone's cheating!" Afei shouted. "Shen Jie, where are your cards?"

"I..." Shen Jie panicked like a child.

Xiao Yao's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"How come this has a hidden tag?! Search under Shen Jie's sofa!"

"I didn't, I'm number 7! Look!"

"The 7 is the card Zhou Xiaoying just revealed. She threw the card at you. Do you think I'm blind? Such a big move!" said a boy with a Northeastern accent.

Surrounded by the crowd, Shen Jie reluctantly sat down next to Zhang Zhengkai.

"Ugh, this is so boring," said a passerby. "Why is it another couple? This is no fun."

"Since you've already won, give her a kiss, give her a kiss, give her a kiss—" a passerby jeered.

Judging from their appearance, the two of them have never kissed before.

For some reason, even though he had no stance, Xiao Yao just felt very uncomfortable.

"It's not right to force a girl like this," Xiao Yao blurted out. "How about we find another one?"

“Little brother,” the eldest sister slapped Xiao Yao on the shoulder, “If no one can afford to play, then no one will play the King’s Game. And you don’t know, they were already engaged, so they got lucky this time.”

Que Shi, Xiao Yao thought.

They're a perfect match, a match made in heaven. I'm just, at best, an ordinary friend, someone I've only known for a couple of weeks. What right do I have to say anything?

He felt a rush of blood to his head, his heart was pounding, and he instinctively tightened his anus.

That was the tension I felt when I was taking the final math exam and there were still three big questions left to answer before they announced that I only had ten minutes left.

Wait, when have I ever had a time when I hadn't finished answering the questions ten minutes before the end of an exam?

He wanted to say something, but no sound came out, as if his vocal cords had been removed.

Shen Jie pursed her lips tightly, lowered her head, and her expression was unreadable.

"How about we find someone else?" Zhou Xiaoying tried to smooth things over. "It's their first kiss, right? We're all friends, let's not go too far."

“Yes, yes, it’s normal for a little girl to be shy and not be able to play games,” Afei chimed in. “I’m the king, I’ll find someone else—”

Zhang Zhengkai lowered his head, fiddling with his fingers, his expression unreadable, and showed no intention of speaking.

"What do you mean by 'change'? If it's like this, then don't play next time. I didn't mess up when I was drawn just now, did I?" Suddenly, the boss stood up abruptly: "Bring it on! How could our Shen Jie not be able to handle the game? Right?"

"Ugh, whatever, bring it on!" As if she'd been successfully provoked, "Shen Jie" suddenly rolled up her sleeves and shouted, reeking of alcohol, "Who the hell can't take a beating?"

As he spoke, he reached out and pulled out a few tissues, then stuck them to his lips.

Cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Okay, this will do," the leader said, giving in.

Xiao Yao instinctively turned his head to leave.

Only at times like this would he be willing to admit to his own mind a fact that his subconscious had already recognized—

Although they had only known each other for half a month, he had already fallen in love with Shen Jie.

From the very first moment I saw her.

love at first sight.

Like it very much.

Admiration.

It's just that, as a "non-single person," I forcibly ignored this point out of moral obligation.

His mind knew she had a fiancé, but his heart never took it seriously.

This was partly due to Shen Jie's attitude towards her "fiancé" in their daily conversations, and partly because she probably didn't want to take it seriously.

But what is the reality?

In this extravagant feast of youth, I am nothing more than an insignificant nobody, a passerby who has no right to express his opinion.

Xiao Yao hated this feeling.

I hate this feeling of helplessness, and I hate this feeling of being unable to speak out.

At this moment, "Shen Jie" was as still as a wooden figure.

Her eyes were fixed on Zhang Zhengkai, or perhaps, on the endless void behind his head.

Xiao Yao watched helplessly as Zhang Zhengkai stood up, half-kneeling on the sofa with his left knee, face to face with "Shen Jie".

When he tried to stand up, he realized that he had no control over his body at all—his face and limbs were physically—and this is not a figure of speech—he was unable to receive the neural commands from his brain, as if he were in a vivid nightmare.

What are you still sitting there for?! Say no! Flip the table! Lose your temper! Get out of the way!

He tried to shout, but no sound came out.

Zhang Zhengkai tilted his head slightly and went straight up to her.

He couldn't kiss her because Xiao Yao's body suddenly moved.

Xiao Yao didn't know how he suddenly became able to move.

It was just in that instant.

It was like a sudden enlightenment.

It was as if a ray of light had shone into the depths of his soul.

Countless memories flooded his mind like a tidal wave, like a movie playing in a revolving lantern of moments experienced by someone on the verge of death. However, due to the overwhelming amount of information in such a short time, he couldn't remember anything he had recalled.

It's like a bizarre and unpredictable dream that's forgotten the moment you wake up, leaving only the lingering emotions you felt in the dream.

Xiao Yao doesn't have time to pursue this lost dream now.

All he knew was that a magical power was welling up inside him.

The magic that paralyzed the body then naturally dissipated.

Like a tiger, he pounced and forcefully pushed Zhang Zhengkai away.

"Ouch!" Zhang Zhengkai fell backward, his head hitting the wall with a soft "thud".

"I fucking can't take this anymore! I admit it! So what!?" Xiao Yao spread his wings like an eagle, leaning against "Shen Jie" and enveloping her with his "wings": "She's your fiancée, but you're not married yet—I can be punished however I want for breaking the rules, but nobody fucking can touch Shen Jie! Can't you see she doesn't want to?"

The private room fell silent for a moment, and everyone looked at each other, an awkward atmosphere filling the air.

After a brief moment of impulsiveness, Xiao Yao realized how incredibly dangerous his actions had been.

However, it doesn't matter, since this circle doesn't really have anything to do with me anyway.

If Shen Jie gets angry, thinks I've overstepped my bounds, feels I've embarrassed her, and wants to break off our friendship, then so be it—at least I've done what I should have done.

At least I stood up bravely and foolishly; at least I didn't back down.

At this moment, I am the king.

"How can you control your body?" Zhang Zhengkai grinned maliciously, as a cloud of black mist rose around him.

Gradually, his face disappeared into the black mist, and his features became indistinguishable.

Just as Xiao Yao was about to instinctively draw his sword, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine as a black claw emerged from his stomach.

He turned his head with difficulty, only to see that "Shen Jie's" face behind him was also hidden in the black mist.

"You're the one who doesn't want to, aren't you?" Shen Jie said with a coquettish laugh, "How do you know I don't want to? I'm more than willing."