It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Li Cheng spoke with agitation, as if he were very angry: "Does this mean that nobles can do whatever they want?"

Kevin smirked: "Sorry, nobles can do whatever they want. On our Garcia family's territory, you merchants either obey or you are all locked up in jail."

Kevin spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and the surrounding noblemen nodded in agreement.

"A commoner is a commoner, and can only accept the rule of the nobles."

"If Miss Anne weren't also from a noble family, do you think young master Kevin would have taken a liking to her?"

God endowed the king with power, and the king distributed that power among the nobles. Therefore, a king is born a king, a noble is born a noble, and a commoner is born a commoner. In the eyes of these nobles, this has been an unchanging truth for over a thousand years, and will remain so for another thousand or ten thousand years.

They forgot that this was not just a banquet for nobles; merchants actually made up the majority of the attendees.

Some things seem insignificant on the scales, barely a few grams, but once on the scales, they can weigh thousands of pounds.

If the merchants who had been watching were merely envious, after hearing Kevin's threatening words to Li Cheng, they all seemed momentarily stunned, recalling how they had been exploited by these nobles.

When a caravan carrying goods passes through a noble's territory, the local nobles collect a toll.

As the convoy entered the city gate, the guards collected an entry tax from it.

After finally selling the goods, the tax official personally came to check the invoices and levied taxes on the profits.

Not to mention the various exorbitant taxes levied under various pretexts, such as opening tax, monthly shop tax, and even voluntary donations during holidays.

Businessmen who rack their brains to do business have very little profit after being exploited at every level, while the noble lords who are high and mighty do nothing. They spend their days indulging in various banquets and dances. Holding hunts and picnics is considered an achievement. They live a life of debauchery.

What, you mean to falsify accounts and evade taxes?

The nobles didn't care about that. If they felt something was wrong, they would directly use the gendarmerie or even private armed forces to seize goods, blockade shops, physically collect debts, or, in more serious cases, arrest people and throw them in jail, where they wouldn't be allowed to leave without paying a fine.

'These damned nobles, they're practically controlling everything! Is there no justice left?'

Recalling the past, a hint of resentment appeared on the faces of the businessmen present.

Merchants in feudal times had virtually no social standing; they were simply fat sheep to be slaughtered at will by the ruling class, fattened up and then killed in droves. In places like Europe where power was extremely decentralized, it was somewhat better; if the exploitation became too severe, they could simply move to another city to continue. But in places where the state had strong control, there was truly nowhere to go.

Despite this, no one dared to voice their true thoughts, let alone stand up to refute Kevin's words; at most, they would give Li Cheng a look of support.

Li Cheng didn't expect to get these timid, risk-averse merchants to risk their lives and fortunes to fight Kevin just by talking. Only people who were desperate to survive would risk their lives to rebel.

He said that casually to someone else.

As for Kevin... Li Cheng suddenly asked, "Kevin, you like Annie, right?"

Why are you asking this?

Kevin frowned in confusion at first, then relaxed his gaze and said with an air of pride, "But I might as well tell you, I have indeed fallen in love with Miss Anne."

"The moment I saw Miss Anne, I was captivated by her charm. From that moment on, I knew that only a woman as intelligent, beautiful, gentle, considerate, free-spirited, confident, and independent as her was worthy of me and could be my wife."

If he didn't truly like her, why would he have gone to such great lengths, patiently pursuing her for over half a month, thoroughly investigating her family background, and even tolerating Annie's repeated swearing?

Kevin, born into the Garcia family, had seen all kinds of beautiful girls. He thought he had seen countless women, but when he first met Anne, he felt that this woman was different from those ordinary girls, and had a unique quality that came from within.

Ah, woman, you've successfully caught my attention—by Kevin.

Kevin made what he thought was an extremely heartfelt confession, but when these words reached Li Cheng's ears, they completely baffled him.

Intelligent and beautiful? Gentle and considerate?

Is this really a word that can be used to describe Anne? It looks like it's been filtered with a beautifying effect, doesn't it?

At that moment, all he felt was that his mother had opened the door for him—he had finally gotten home.

When Annie heard Kevin's words, she was equally shocked, seemingly unable to believe that she was so outstanding.

But after a brief moment of shock, she quickly accepted this premise, her eyes shining as she exclaimed, "Li Cheng, Li Cheng, although this guy is a bit off his mind, he seems to have a good eye for talent!"

Li Cheng: Why don't you just marry into his family and become a noblewoman?

Annie: ...Hehehe, just kidding, you know I hate pretty boys the most.

Li Cheng: By the way, remember to cooperate with my operation later. I'm getting a little angry with this pretty boy.

Annie: Huh?

This interruption nearly disrupted Li Cheng's train of thought, and it took him a while to organize it.

He gathered his thoughts and said slowly to Kevin, "Kevin, is your so-called love just about using power to forcibly separate me from Annie and then take her place? I have to say you're thinking too simply. We will not separate."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Kevin was quite baffled: "Even after all this, are you still going to insist on this ridiculous lie that you're Miss Anne's lover?"

Everyone was quite surprised as well.

Although they weren't sure if Li Cheng and Annie were truly in love, even if they were, under Kevin's coercion and enticement, Li Cheng should have the sense to break up with her as soon as possible—even if you really don't care about money, under the wrath of the Garcia family, unless you don't want to stay in Lincoln anymore, you wouldn't go against Kevin's wishes.

"I should be the one saying this, are you still stubbornly refusing to believe me?"

Seeing this, Li Cheng shook his head and sighed, "Fine, then I'll prove our love to you."

He turned to face Annie, and before anyone could understand what he was doing, he reached out an arm and wrapped it around Annie's supple waist, pulling her into his embrace. Annie, though somewhat bewildered, remembered their earlier conversation and did not resist.

"you dare?"

Upon seeing this, Kevin finally showed a hint of anger.

With so many people watching, and the woman he had vowed to marry being intimately embraced by another man, he felt as if his hair was turning green with envy.

Why wouldn't you dare?

As Li Cheng spoke, he reached out and pinched Annie's chin, turning her slightly tanned, youthful face towards him: "I'll go even further and show you with my actions that I dare."

"One of my favorite things to do is to say NO to those who think they're so great!"

Chapter 188 A Strange Thing Awakens

Love is a light, so green it makes you dizzy!

To make a living, you always have to have a bit of a cuckold's coattails!

It was like being electrocuted, you are the green light, so unique!

......

The sentences that inexplicably began to echo in Kevin's mind did not calm him down; instead, they fueled his uncontrollable anger, making it impossible for him to maintain his arrogant attitude.

"It seems I was too nice to you."

Kevin laughed angrily: "I originally wanted to give you some face, thinking you were different from those mediocre women. But you actually went so far as to find such an ordinary man to pretend to be your lover in order to reject me, and even humiliated me in public."

"good very good."

Although Kevin's face was so dark it looked like it was about to drip water, Li Cheng hadn't actually done anything too outrageous.

One hand would be around Annie's waist, while the other would wander over Annie's cheeks, chin, and lips, occasionally pinching them—something even siblings could do... well, maybe?

Anne herself didn't mind this level of contact at all; she even felt a little itchy. After all, she was naturally easygoing, and physical contact with male actors was inevitable in the theater.

If Li Cheng hadn't sternly stopped her with his eyes, she might have burst out laughing.

Annie: It itches! Stop touching it!

Li Cheng: Just bear with it. Look, Kevin is so angry he's about to explode.

The public hugs and face-touching were not very effective, and Kevin wasn't completely furious yet. He seemed to be able to maintain his rationality and was just saying some harsh words casually.

Li Cheng knew this too, and he knew that a kiss would be even more effective at this moment, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it!

To be fair, Annie is a pretty, sunny girl, and a kiss from her wouldn't be a big deal under normal circumstances. But the problem is—Annie is dressed as a man right now!

Since arriving in Lincoln, Anne has cut her hair into a short, layered style that's easy to manage, revealing a large expanse of her smooth forehead and making her look incredibly energetic. Now, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and trousers, she really looks like a boy standing there at first glance.

How can anyone bring themselves to eat that?

Since he couldn't bring himself to kiss her, Li Cheng could only play with Annie's cheeks even more vigorously.

Rub, knead, pinch, pick, circle...

At first, Annie only felt itchy, but gradually, she felt something strange on her cheek where the fingers were touching, a peculiar sensation. It wasn't itchy, nor was it painful; it was a feeling she had never experienced before—a little numb, a little itchy, and a little warm.

That's strange, it was just a light touch.

Anne rolled her eyes in confusion. At this moment, the tingling sensation became stronger and stronger, and even spread rapidly from the place where she was being touched to the surrounding area, covering her entire cheek in an instant.

Li Cheng continued to maintain the position relentlessly.

As the caresses continued, a burning sensation swept across her entire cheek, making Annie feel as if she were on fire. Even the air she exhaled from her nostrils became scorching, and she couldn't help but let out a soft groan.

"Um......"

After letting out that gasp, Anne's body trembled violently, and a sense of fear welled up inside her—a panic at the unknown.

Her physical instincts overwhelmed her rational thinking in an instant; she stretched out her arms and shouted, "No!"

Li Cheng: ? ? ?

Because her movement was so sudden, Li Cheng was completely unprepared and was pushed away, revealing an extremely surprised expression.

At that moment, a very fitting lyric floated into his mind—"Were you serious about taking that half-step back? Such a small movement, yet it causes so much damage..."

Annie didn't quite understand why she had done that. Li Cheng was clearly wiping her bottom and hadn't done anything inappropriate. He had just touched her face a couple of times, but hadn't even kissed her.

She awkwardly scratched her burning cheeks and explained, "No, I just accidentally..."

As mentioned earlier, Anne was extremely well protected by Viscount Stoller from a young age, and at one point, Viscount Stoller even raised Anne to the standards of a noble lady.

Although the final result was not very pleasing, Viscount Stoller's efforts of more than ten years were completely ruined by that female hooligan Therese in just two months, and she even took the opportunity to teach Anne some physiological hygiene knowledge.

As the saying goes, "What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand."

The little knowledge Anne gleaned from Therese was ultimately hearsay. Her usual personality remained unchanged; she had no wariness of men, let alone any particular feelings about physical contact. Beneath her wheat-colored skin and carefree demeanor, she was as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

But today, faced with Li Cheng's high-intensity, highly skilled, and prolonged caresses; coupled with their familiar relationship and Annie's lack of aversion, her body had no instinctive resistance; and finally, due to the special circumstances, she subconsciously cooperated a little.

Amidst the clash of these factors, her body underwent a subtle transformation...

In other words... they've awakened.

But the others were unaware that, in their eyes, this was a highly unexpected move.

"You pushed it open?"

"It was pushed open."

She shouldn't have pushed him away.