It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

It turns out that Anne, who was disliked by everyone in London, became a hot commodity in Lincoln's eyes, with many men expressing interest in her.

Unfortunately, Annie doesn't usually pay much attention to the boundaries between men and women, and often carelessly and unintentionally makes some physical contact, leading many people to have the classic misconception that "Is she interested in me?" and try to develop a relationship that goes beyond friendship.

So whenever this happened, Annie, who found it troublesome, would simply bring up the excuse that Li Cheng was her boyfriend. Before long, everyone who knew Annie knew she had a boyfriend named Li Cheng.

numb.

After hearing the explanation, Li Cheng was speechless for a moment.

"Oh, why bother with such a trivial matter?"

Anne waved her hand dismissively and said, "I don't care anyway, what are you afraid of? Come on, come on, I just bought this ship from someone else. I'll take you on a tour, and we'll have a party on it later."

So Li Cheng was dragged and pulled onto the deck by her. During the process, their arms naturally touched, and even their elastic parts inevitably collided and squeezed slightly, bringing a lively tactile sensation.

In this relatively conservative era, many men would naively mistake Anne's carefree behavior for her being interested in them.

But Li Cheng, who knew Annie's temperament well, was unmoved by this and just wanted to urge the ship to set sail as soon as possible.

Before the advent of steam-powered ships, triangular sails, as wind power controllers, always firmly held the top ecological niche of ships. Most improvements were only made to the triangular sails, and no changes could be made to the most critical power source.

While visiting the four-masted dinghy named "Hollywood" by Anne, Li Cheng suddenly thought of something and said:

"By the way, Annie, I need to talk to you about something."

"What's the matter?"

"Do me a favor."

"Row."

"Aren't you going to ask?"

"What kind of relationship do we have? Do you even need to ask?" Annie patted his shoulder and winked at him.

While for her it simply means "we're best buddies," if it were a man who had only known her for a short time, he would probably think of other things, then try to have something beyond friendship, and then be met with a bewildered question from Annie, followed by the classic "You're a good person."

Thank you.

However, Li Cheng was naturally used to it, and he happily patted her on the shoulder:

"We'll discuss the specific details later. At that time, we'll need your help to ask your former teacher, the playwright Miss Therese. This matter will be much easier to handle with her help."

Chapter 356 Randomly Selecting a Lucky Audience Member

Enjoy the damp, salty sea breeze, have a few drinks and play some cards with Annie and her group, and even sing along to the lyrics they use in their plays. If you're feeling adventurous, you can even go fishing.

The journey was generally easy and enjoyable, and the group soon arrived in London.

With his feet firmly planted on the solid dockland, facing this city that he hadn't seen for half a year and which felt both familiar and strange, Li Cheng couldn't help but sigh.

So much has really happened...

As his eyes fell upon memories, one corner of Li Cheng's mouth involuntarily curled up, revealing a subtle smile that contained a mix of emotions:感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion), 怀念 (huáiniàn, a feeling of nostalgia), 玩味 (wánwèi, a feeling of amusement), 耿怨 (gěngyuàn, a feeling of lingering resentment)... If someone could accurately capture his expression now, it might just be another "Mona Lisa".

"Overthinking is pointless; focus on the present."

"Let me think about it carefully, how to arrange things next..."

......

a few days later.

Shakespeare Theatre.

On stage, a grand theatrical performance is taking place. The new actors are putting on a great show, focusing all their attention on making sure they don't make even the slightest mistake, all in order to leave a good impression on the only two important audience members.

One of them was their boss, Miss Therese, who was quite knowledgeable and could recognize them even if they showed the slightest flaw.

The other woman seemed to be the boss's friend. Although she wore a white veil so her face couldn't be seen, one could tell she was a beauty through her pair of clear, bright brown eyes, like a lake, and the large expanse of snow-white, delicate skin on her neck that was no less beautiful than the pearl necklace hanging on it.

With this in mind, the male actors on stage put in even more effort.

Although the probability is low, what if you perform well and get noticed?

Even if you're not chosen, it's still great to be able to impress a pretty girl.

What they didn't know was that this beautiful girl was actually the current princess, Veronica Stuart—incidentally, although people used to prefer calling her Her Highness the Third Princess, since the death of Charles II, the only titles that remained were Her Highness Princess and Her Highness Veronica.

The reason Veronica deliberately concealed her face and went to the Shakespeare Theatre alone was because Therese invited her to watch the latest rehearsal of a play, a private event.

Logically speaking, Veronica wanted to avoid unnecessary outings as much as possible.

But the two were close friends since childhood, and Veronica had no reason to refuse her invitation.

After watching the play for a while, the two...

Therese suddenly spoke up, asking Veronica, "What do you think it means if a man is very good to a woman, always tries his best to do what she wants him to do, and is even willing to take some risks?"

Veronique glanced at her and said calmly, "If this woman is not his mother, daughter, or sister, it means he has ulterior motives, and we should be wary."

Therese then asked, "What if that woman not only isn't wary of that man, but actually admires him, gets along extremely well with him in their occasional conversations, and often mentions him to her friends?"

Veronica didn't even look at her: "That means she has high hopes for the other person's future achievements and is grateful for their help."

Therese countered, "Why can't it be that both people like it?"

"No."

"You really don't like it?"

Therese's gaze gently fell on Veronique's lower abdomen, where, although the specific clothing concealed the undulations well, both of them knew that it was gradually swelling.

Are you speaking up for him?

This reminded Veronica of the accident in Lincoln, and a hint of embarrassment and annoyance appeared on her cheeks, but then a faint, almost imperceptible sense of loss followed. However, thanks to the veil and her good self-control, she immediately concealed it, and her expression returned to calm.

“I’m thinking of that woman; I don’t care who that man is,” Therese said, shaking her head.

Veronica glanced at Therese and replied, "There's no point in discussing this. That woman will soon be marrying someone else, and no one can stop it."

“There are many marriages that exist in name only,” Therese said.

“So what? In name only, she will always be someone else’s wife,” Veronica said.

“If that woman hadn’t been so insistent, all of this could have been avoided,” Therese said.

“It is possible, but it’s not worth it compared to the consequences,” Veronica said.

"Do you think it's worth it now?" Therese countered.

does it worth?

Veronique did not answer. Her gaze pierced through the stage before her, as if looking towards a very, very distant place, where a little Veronique was playing happily and carefree with her father and brother in the palace garden.

Then, the scene flashed before her eyes, and little Veronica had grown up. Suddenly, a red-haired young man appeared in the scene, with a smile that showed no respect whatsoever. He chatted with her about everything under the sun, from the church to the royal family to the world, from novels to theater to music. He dared to talk about anything and could talk about anything.

does it worth?

Veronica slowly closed her eyes—she didn't know, or perhaps she did, but she still didn't know.

Unsurprisingly, the conversation did not yield a satisfactory result.

Therese wasn't in a hurry. She cleverly changed the subject, smiling and pointing to the stage, she said:

How was the drama?

"The movements were spot-on, but the plot lacked highlights." Veronica finally opened her eyes, refocused her attention on the stage, and offered her criticism without reservation.

"Don't rush, that's because the exciting part hasn't started yet."

Therese smiled mysteriously and began to keep everyone in suspense: "This play was provided to me by a friend. The idea is absolutely fresh and interesting, and it will definitely give you an unforgettable experience."

The two continued watching the play.

About fifteen minutes later, a curtain change took place on stage, and a new actor walked out from behind the stage—a male actor wearing a wooden helmet. It was unclear whether he was new, as his movements were rather clumsy compared to his colleagues.

At this crucial moment in the plot, the princess who has been the one they've been trying to save is finally about to make her appearance.

However, the actress who was supposed to be prepared did not show up. Instead, the male actor wearing a helmet began to move, taking steps off the stage.

Amidst the envious gazes of the other male actors, he walked to Veronica, who was sitting at the very front of the audience, slowly knelt on one knee, and extended his right palm, issuing a silent invitation.

Veronica looked at Therese with some confusion.

"This is the latest interaction, and it's also the most essential part of the play."

Therese smiled and explained, "When the play progresses to a certain point, the actors will randomly invite a lucky audience member to come on stage so that the audience can also participate in the interaction."

"Audience participation and interaction?"

"Yes, isn't it interesting?"

Therese gave a mysterious smile: "The two of them will work together on stage to complete part of the performance, increasing the audience's sense of immersion and participation."

Although it was a random draw, since the venue was booked out, Veronica was the only one there.

"It is indeed quite interesting."

The novel performance style piqued Veronica's interest.

After a moment's consideration, she extended her slender right hand, which was always gloved with white silk and had only been touched by one man, and slowly and gracefully placed it in the knight's large, inviting palm, thus accepting the invitation to this interaction.

Chapter 357 Was She Molested?

This is a cliché story: the knight, with the help of the priest, defeats the evil demon and rescues the princess.

But the interactive element is indeed a great gimmick, and it will undoubtedly attract a large audience who come because of its fame, to the point that they will overlook the boring script.

Veronica found this novel as well.

She accepted the invitation, allowing the other person to hold her right hand, which was gloved with silk, while also taking a look at the actor playing the knight in front of her.

The knight actor in front of us is wearing a wooden helmet and black leather gloves, probably to avoid contact with the audience. After all, most women are quite averse to contact from the opposite sex, and covering their face and hands can minimize the audience's aversion.

After successfully obtaining permission, the knight actor carefully helped her slowly walk up the side stairs onto the stage.

Cautious, slow, gentle.

Veronique could clearly sense the caution in the other party's movements. The knight actor in front of her was so careful that it was as if she were not facing a living person, but the most fragile and delicate antique vase, afraid that she would fall to the ground and shatter into pieces if she was not careful.

Was it intentional?

Veronica frowned in displeasure.

This wasn't due to any particular concern about the man in front of her, but rather for another reason.

She felt... that she had been sexually assaulted.