It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Momentary Pleasure of Naming

Are you interested in me?

When Li Cheng first heard this, he probably had a little expectation.

But now, having learned of the other party's twisted, righteous nature, Li Cheng felt a deep chill upon hearing those words, as if he were being targeted by some abyssal monster. He even couldn't help but shudder... "You're not interested in me? I'll change, okay?"

Li Cheng coughed twice: "Cough cough, I think..."

"puff--"

Therese suddenly burst out laughing: "Just kidding, you actually took it seriously?"

?

Li Cheng's expression was somewhat unfriendly.

"Alright, alright, don't be angry. As compensation, I'll take you to see the rehearsal progress, how about that?"

Therese shrugged.

However, despite saying that, she didn't care whether Li Cheng followed or not. After saying that, she took long strides and walked out in a hurry.

Li Cheng's lips twitched, but this speed was no problem for him, and he caught up in a moment.

Holly's behavior was quite strange. She had been insisting on going back to find His Highness, but now she was following him, calling out, "Wait for me! I'm coming too!"

"You're coming too?" Li Cheng paused, a little surprised.

Holly countered, "Can't I come along?"

She had overheard Therese's joke and was a little worried that the two of them might unexpectedly get together—this had nothing to do with romantic relationships, in fact, Holly couldn't possibly be interested in Li Cheng in that way.

The main reason is that in her simple logic, she is His Highness's maid and Li Cheng is His Highness's subordinate. They feel that their statuses are about the same, which is why they can chat so freely and joke around without any problem.

But if Li Cheng and Therese get together, it would be like messing up the generational order, and she would feel a sense of distance, a faint sense of loss like losing a friend.

"It's not that it's impossible."

Li Cheng didn't quite understand Holly's thoughts, but he had no objection to them.

But even so, Holly was still a little uneasy. Seeing that Therese had already walked away, she reminded her, "It's impossible for you and Miss Therese to be together. She doesn't like your type."

?

Who would even consider having feelings for this perverted purist? I have good taste too, you know!

Li Cheng's expression was strange: "Why do you have this idea?"

Shouldn't all men think this way?

Holly raised her hand with a slightly puzzled expression, and began to count on her fingers: "Look, Miss Therese is kind and funny, and she's beautiful. Most importantly, she's the granddaughter of Grand Duke Mitt. Marrying her is like hitting the jackpot, isn't it?"

Well said, but unfortunately he's a pervert.

Li Cheng silently added in his mind, then complained, "According to you, wouldn't Princess Veronica be able to ascend to the heavens in one step? Wouldn't that save her fifty years of struggle?"

"just you?"

Holly rolled her eyes dismissively, taking it as Li Cheng's casual nonsense: "Who do you think His Highness is? His Highness is different from Miss Therese; he has very high standards for a partner, and it's not enough for just someone he likes."

Ok?

Li Cheng felt an intense curiosity about Veronique's criteria for choosing a partner, a top secret.

He tried to provoke him, saying, "I don't believe it."

"So what if you don't believe me, Your Highness...?"

The maid almost gave away secrets again, as was her habit. However, this tactic seemed to be losing its effectiveness after a while. She realized what was happening and glared at Li Cheng, "You're trying to trick me into talking again!"

cut.

Li Cheng clicked his tongue in disappointment, and then, failing to get information out of him, tried to bribe him: "If you tell me, I'll give you a gift."

"Humph."

Holly scoffed at the so-called gift, keeping her lips tightly shut, determined not to reveal His Highness's secret any further.

......

Following Therese, Li Cheng arrived at the rehearsal site of "Domineering Love" once again.

On the solid stage built of granite, in addition to the actor who played the male nobleman, there were four more burly knight actors who stood as straight as swords—although their cheap wooden armor painted white indicated that they were just extras.

This is not only to save costs, but also to create an exaggerated effect so that the audience can easily identify who is the main character and who is the extra on stage, so as not to be confused.

The real male lead, St. Tom, was still in the audience. He was wearing a full suit of armor that was completely opaque. Although you couldn't see his face, you could guess that there must be a well-proportioned body and strong muscles under the armor.

It has to be said that in any era, actors are judged heavily on their looks...

Li Cheng had no expectations, but the other party's next move surprised him.

The opponent performed a graceful 360° front flip, leaping directly from the ground onto the arena (clearly, the armor was fake), then drew a wooden sword from his waist and struck an extremely standard and handsome pose.

Upon seeing this, the four extras immediately drew their wooden swords and charged towards Saint Tom.

However, a minor character is still a minor character. In just a few swift moves, Saint Tom dodged all the attacks from the minor knights, and each of them felled to the ground with a single sword stroke. After all the minor characters had fallen, he even performed a beautiful sword flourish before sheathing his wooden sword and looking directly at the male nobleman.

Li Cheng was a little surprised. He had given the Knight a bizarre Yan Kingdom martial arts setting in order to attract attention and make the cheat seem reasonable. He didn't expect that these people would actually make it look so convincing.

"How about it?"

Therese asked Li Cheng, her tone tinged with a hint of pride.

"very nice."

Li Cheng praised from the bottom of his heart, saying that although the fight just now was a bit exaggerated, it was clear that it had been rehearsed for a long time.

"Haha."

Therese patted Li Cheng's shoulder lightly and smiled, "I'm so happy to have the original author's approval!"

"I told you he's my friend..."

Although few people believed him, Li Cheng continued his futile struggle—this was his bottom line, and he would never admit it directly.

"Okay, okay," Therese replied casually, then changed the subject, "By the way, this person on stage is a promising new talent I've recently discovered. Shall I introduce you to him later?"

"Uh, okay."

Li Cheng didn't actually want to see the other person. He honestly didn't know what had gotten into him to choose such a terrible name as 'Knight Saint Tom.' Like that guy who regretted choosing 'Liquid Crystal Liquid' as his pen name—it's all about the momentary thrill of choosing a name, followed by a nightmare later.

At this moment, the rehearsal of the play on stage was completed.

Although Li Cheng thought it was already perfect, the group on stage discussed it and, judging from their expressions, seemed dissatisfied with some details and decided to start over.

So the four extra knights who had fallen to the ground stood up again, and the male protagonist jumped off the stage, ready to start over.

For a skilled athlete who can perform a front flip onto the stage, jumping directly down the steps should have been an impossible feat. However, for some reason, the athlete seemed to lose focus, twisted their ankle, and fell face down to the ground.

boom--

The armor struck the ground with a dull thud, drawing everyone's attention.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Pretending to be a Master Without Speaking

The male lead getting injured is a very troublesome matter. When St. Tom fell, everyone's attention turned to him, and some people rushed forward to help him up. Even Therese, the leader, came forward to express her concern.

However, the actor who plays Saint Tom, the male lead, refused everyone's help and struggled to his feet on his own.

Therese felt that this person's behavior today was a bit strange. First, he jumped off the stage, and then he remained silent and ignored everyone.

What's wrong with you...?

She gave her a questioning look.

However, the male protagonist did not offer any explanation, but simply shook his head silently to indicate that he was alright.

Therese was still a little uneasy. She frowned and glanced at the silent male protagonist, but she couldn't see anything through the full suit of armor, so she had to give up.

"Never mind, just handle it yourself."

Therese shrugged: "But I have something to tell you. Princess Veronica and the original author of this play are here today, so you'd better do your best."

Upon hearing this, the male protagonist finally looked up again.

Seeing this, Therese gestured towards Li Cheng with her lip: "Look, that red-haired kid over there watching the show with his arms crossed, he's the original author."

So the male protagonist's helmet was pointed directly at Li Cheng, allowing him to observe him through the narrow gap.

Li Cheng tried his best to pretend he didn't see it.

However, it was destined to be in vain. Seeing that Li Cheng ignored him, the male protagonist simply took a step and walked towards him with a limp.

Now he couldn't ignore it anymore. Li Cheng gave a subtle look and asked, "Is there something you need?"

Although I still feel a bit resistant, I have to say that meeting the actors who starred in my own work is a wonderful experience, like the characters from the book jumping into the real world.

Unfortunately, the other party was just a fake actor, and ultimately not the real Saint Tom.

The male lead didn't speak, but simply stretched out his ruthless iron hand, which was covered in an iron glove (fake), and pointed to himself and Li Cheng respectively, before pointing to the actors' dressing room in another corner of the theater.

Li Cheng frowned.

What do you mean? Do you want to invite me to the actors' dressing room to talk?

But what's with this arrogant attitude? Just because he's wearing high-quality replica full-body armor, does he really think he's the main character? Are you kidding me?! If you tell me to go to the side and I go, wouldn't that be incredibly undignified?

A strange competitive spirit arose within Li Cheng; he felt he couldn't be outdone.

So he remained silent, adopting a cold expression, shaking his head without uttering a word, and then pointing his finger straight down at the earth he was treading upon.

That means—if you have something to say, say it to my face.

The male protagonist's helmet remained frozen in place, as if Li Cheng's rejection had taken him by surprise.

He was momentarily stunned, then reacted, quickly waving his gloved hands in the air and anxiously pointing several times to the actors' dressing room in the corner.

Li Cheng raised his foot and stomped it down again, causing the dust on the ground to scatter, expressing his firm belief that he was not going anywhere.

?

The male protagonist seemed to realize that he couldn't stay silent any longer. So, through the gap in his helmet, his frustrated and somewhat angry voice came out: "Li Cheng, you're really not being fair. You won't even go to the corner when I tell you to."

The voice was somewhat muffled and echoing, but it was still clear that it came from a woman's high-pitched voice.

Li Cheng was stunned for a moment, then nearly cried out in surprise when he recognized the familiar voice: "Annie? You..."