It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Anne echoed seriously, "Acting is a profound art, and a Best Actor can hone his skills at all times by using the details of life, without slacking off for even a minute—I learned this from the book Li Cheng gave me, called 'An Actor Prepares,' which I still carry with me."

Li Cheng was immediately shocked: "Holy crap, you still have that book with you?"

He initially thought he could persuade Anne to give up acting, so he wrote a so-called "An Actor Prepares" to fool her. However, when he found it was useless, he put the matter aside. Who knew that Anne would still carry that book with her.

Anne chuckled and said, "Yes, it's all thanks to this book that I was able to successfully deceive my dad—I never thought that I could act in real life besides on stage. This book is amazing."

As she spoke, she suddenly seemed to be deep in thought and said, "But speaking of which, when I went back last time, there was a pretty auntie I'd never seen before at home. She was chatting and laughing with my dad, and she even stayed for dinner."

Li Cheng recovered from his initial shock, stroked his chin, and wondered if Mr. Stoller, due to his daughter's frequent absences from home and his excessive loneliness, was finally experiencing a second spring in his life.

What he didn't know was that Stoller hadn't remarried before because he was worried that Annie might be bullied in the future. Now that he saw Annie starting to make excuses to stay at Li Cheng's house all day and not go anywhere else, he mistakenly thought that his troublesome daughter had finally found someone, so he breathed a sigh of relief, and some little thoughts began to surface.

"That woman definitely has a problem."

Newton was naturally hostile to this topic. She always believed that her mother had abandoned her and remarried a rich man, which led to her having to live with her grandmother during her childhood.

So Newton started with a conspiracy theory: "She must be after your family's money, that's why she seduced your father. Once she succeeds, she'll definitely find a way to kick you out of the house."

Annie didn't have such negative thoughts. She scratched her head and said, "No, I think she treated me quite well. She even asked me what I liked to eat during the meal."

Newton snorted: "That's now. Maybe when you go back next month, you'll find there's a new younger brother or sister in the family. Then you'll know if I'm right."

Hey! Do you even know that pregnancy lasts ten months?! Do you mean Anne's dad will end up being the one left holding the bag? No matter how you look at it, Mr. Stoller wouldn't be so stupid as to be the one left holding the bag!

Newton's behavior perfectly illustrates the saying "the emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is." Before Anne could even react, Newton was already worrying about Anne's miserable future.

When Annie, the person involved, heard that she had a younger brother or sister, her eyes lit up: "Younger brother and sister? That sounds quite interesting."

Newton frowned in displeasure and said, "Annie, are you stupid? When you have a younger brother or sister, they will divide the inheritance with you. Maybe that stepmother will even try to kick you out of the house. Then you will be in even worse shape and end up on the streets."

What the hell is this about dividing the inheritance? What the hell is this about being homeless? Newton, that's enough!

Annie waved her hand dismissively: "It's okay, it's okay. I can make money by acting now. I can survive by finding a theater."

"I'm so angry!" Her reply infuriated Newton. "Why are you taking that woman's side the whole time? Have you been so easily won over by her small gestures of kindness?"

Annie said apologetically, "Mainly because I feel that aunt didn't do anything wrong, it's a bit unfair of you to say that..."

"Yeah, maybe it was Annie's dad who approached her first?"

Even Susie, who had been quietly eating, couldn't help but chime in, showing that girls are always particularly interested in this kind of topic.

Hey! You, at the bottom of the food chain, should shut up!

Newton shook his head very seriously: "Then that's even worse. It means that Anne's father really likes that woman, and Anne's status in his heart is declining."

Li Cheng finally couldn't hold back any longer. He complained, "Newton, can't you think more positively? Maybe they're genuinely in love or something. Besides, Annie isn't in a hurry, so why are you?"

Newton glanced at Li Cheng sideways: "Hmph, men."

Don't suddenly turn your anger on me again! Or where did you learn that strange tone of voice from?

......

After dinner, Annie said she needed to continue working on her character and left. Susie followed her, seemingly interested in learning a thing or two.

Before it got completely dark, Li Cheng took a stroll outside for a couple of hours, just to get some exercise.

When he returned from outside, he found Newton reading a book, as expected. However, it was quite cold, so she was sitting by the fireplace, comfortably curled up on the sofa.

The candlelight wasn't very bright to begin with, and this little kid was even huddled on the sofa watching... Li Cheng frowned.

"Read less at night, it's bad for your eyes."

So he reached out and snatched the book from Newton's hands: "Reading at night is bad for your eyes. I'm confiscating it now, you can ask me for it back tomorrow."

He glanced at the title, "Peswald or the Legend of the Holy Grail"... Hmm, definitely not a serious book. It seems that ever since reading "Domineering Love," Newton has recently started actively seeking out 'useless' novels to read.

Newton was furious when the book she was engrossed in suddenly disappeared. She shouted at Li Cheng, "Give me back my book!"

Li Cheng refused: "No, it's bad for your eyes to read after dark. You should fill the time with something else, or go to sleep if you really can't."

Newton retorted angrily, "It's already dark! What else can you do if you're not reading? How can you sleep so early?"

These days there's a real lack of entertainment, but if you really ask what you can do if you don't sleep after dark... Li Cheng's eyes flashed, and he revealed an excited smile: "How about I play chess with you?"

“No.” Newton thought of Li Cheng’s chess skills and pursed his lips. “What’s the point of playing chess with you? You have to think for ages before you can make your next move, and you always want to take back your moves.”

"..."

The chess novice wiped away his cold sweat and changed his tune, saying, "Alright then, I'll tell you a story. It's been a long time since I've done one."

"I'm tired of hearing it."

Newton hugged his non-existent chest and said disdainfully, "It was interesting at first, but in the end it's all about things that can't be looked at directly or heard about... What's the difference between this and those mystical priests? I don't believe there's anything in the world that can't be studied for its own laws."

"And think about it carefully, your stories are full of world destruction and human extinction. How could such terrifying things exist? Thinking about it this way, it makes no sense at all."

This is no fun. You have to make a story plausible... Li Cheng had a bit of a headache.

However, in a sense, Li Cheng was indeed talking about mythology... The Cthulhu Mythos is also mythology, mythology nine-square grid.jpg.

Seeing that Li Cheng remained silent, Newton smugly kicked his toes: "Speechless now? Then hurry up and give me back the book. I was just getting to the most exciting part when Lancelot was about to find the Holy Grail..."

Damn, you just said my story was illogical, but your Holy Grail is perfectly reasonable?

Li Cheng was immediately a little embarrassed and angry: "Of course there are reasonable stories, listen carefully—on Earth, there is an unknown organization that is preventing the occurrence of a previous type of event that destroyed the Earth."

"They protect the Earth in places unknown to humans, to prevent some strange and eerie things from interfering with humanity."

"Their motto is—human beings can no longer live in fear. Nothing can protect humanity; we must protect ourselves. While others live in the sunlight, we must fight them in the shadows and prevent them from being exposed to the public so that others can live in a rational, ordinary world."

"We control, we contain, we protect."

......

Compared to the horror-themed Cthulhu Mythos stories, S*P's stories are closer to science fiction. Most of the contained objects have corresponding weaknesses that can be contained, and many of them are not dangerous, and some are even specifically designed for comedy.

It's like a panacea that cures all diseases; a coffee machine that can always order the drink you want; a fork that looks ordinary but is said to be something that evil gods are terrified of.

This bizarre and novel idea, coupled with its rigorous research-record style and calm, objective descriptive language, gave Newton a strong sense of immersion, even giving him the illusion that such a foundation really existed.

But even the most novel things have their limits. After an unknown amount of time, Newton's eyelids began to droop.

Li Cheng nudged Newton, who was leaning against him, and said, "Wake up, go back to your room and sleep."

"Um......"

Newton mumbled a response, but when he finally opened his eyes, he felt that the way back to his room was incredibly long, and he didn't want to walk it.

So she looked around and, finding no one nearby, nudged Li Cheng with her head and said, "Carry me back to my room."

"what?"

Li Cheng was taken aback.

Although Li Cheng had carried sleeping Newton back to his room many times before, this was the first time he had asked a fully awake Newton to carry him back, which greatly surprised Li Cheng.

"I don't want to walk, is there a problem?" Newton's tone was quite assertive, but in reality, he was suppressing a hint of shyness.

Li Cheng had no problem with it. It wasn't a difficult task. Newton's little girl was so soft and light; it would be a piece of cake to pick her up.

So, with practiced ease, Li Cheng reached under Newton's neck and legs and carried him smoothly back to the room without any mishaps.

During this process, Newton, who was already drowsy, had completely closed her eyes. So Li Cheng had no choice but to put her back in the blanket and make sure she was covered before leaving.

However, as he was preparing to leave, Li Cheng suddenly remembered something. He lowered his head again, lifted the blanket a little, and then leaned close to Newton's exposed neck and gently sniffed it.

It does have a faint milky smell, which I don't think I had before... So why do I smell like milk after drinking a lot of milk? That's completely illogical!

But then again, what would happen if you licked it? Would it taste like milk?

Li Cheng dismissed the idea in three seconds.

...No, no, this is just too twisted. Goodbye, goodnight.

.......

The sound of the door closing rang out.

Newton squinted his eyes slightly, and only opened them fully after confirming that Li Cheng had left. He awkwardly touched his neck.

Li Cheng is getting more and more perverted. He actually sniffed her all over like a dog while she was asleep.

This time was alright, just a sniff was fine. But what if he gets even more perverted and tries to lick her with his tongue? That would be disgusting. Should I continue pretending to be asleep or kick him away?

Newton was troubled and then fell asleep without realizing it.

Chapter 164 The Ultimate King of Pretty Boys

Li Cheng's vision was wonderful, but reality often takes unexpected turns.

The next morning, Li Cheng took Annie, who had been practicing diligently behind closed doors for half the night and was confident that she would be fine, to Darlene. Upon setting foot on the much more fertile territory next door, he expected a simple persuasion process to follow.

"Please wait a moment, the lord is dealing with matters in the territory," said Darlena's butler.

So the first thing Li Cheng had to do was wait, wait for Dalena to finish her duties as lord.

Being a lord is usually very busy, as you need to preside over and adjudicate all sorts of trivial matters within your territory, such as Jerry's family stealing Tom's chickens and then denying it, or the men of Dio's family beating Jojo's dog...

If she were to delegate everything to her steward like Newton did, it would lead to a decline in her reputation among the land's inhabitants—though her petite frame wouldn't exactly inspire any authority anyway.

However, after waiting for more than two hours, the butler finally reappeared in front of Li Cheng: "I'm very sorry, guests, the lord does not wish to see you."

?

Li Cheng frowned: "Butler, I have something very important to discuss with Lord Darlena this time."

The butler said, "I'm sorry, but..."

Helpless, Li Cheng took out the prepared coal stove and showed it to the housekeeper: "Could you please tell her again that there is definitely something that will satisfy her?"

......

Darlena has been furious these past few days because after being tricked by Annie that day, she couldn't stop thinking about it. So she asked around through acquaintances and finally learned that there was no such person as Annie at all.

But she couldn't go back and lash out, because that would make her seem stupid for easily believing what the other person said, so she could only hold it in.

Not content with being scammed once, they actually tried to scam me a second time. Do they really think I'm easy to bully?

When the butler brought up the coal stove, Darlene glanced at it casually and then gave it a mocking look.

"This piece of junk?"

"Do you really think I'm easy to fool? You think you can scam me just by showing me a few things?"

"You, go and get rid of those two swindlers now. I don't want to see them."