Chapter 113: A Secret Hobby

Elizabeth was deliberately acting ugly; Su Mian had actually known this since she was washing up, but she didn't know the reason.

She hadn't expected to be seen through at a glance by this seemingly unreliable "idol."

Felix didn't seem to mind her coldness; on the contrary, because of her lack of reaction, the interest in his eyes grew even more intense.

Just as Su Mian was considering whether to simply close her eyes and rest, Felix spoke again, and this topic was even more unexpected.

"By the way, Teacher Elizabeth."

"No offense intended, but just now in the room, I drew your clue card."

Su Mian's gaze, which had been resting on the scenery flying past outside the window, finally turned back and landed on his face.

"Is that so." Her voice was flat, with no discernible emotion, but she did give a response.

Felix started to laugh, an indescribable meaning in the depths of his eyes.

Su Mian was vigilant in her heart, suspecting that he had drawn some important clue she hadn't discovered.

But when she turned her head to observe the boy, his fair earlobes seemed to flush with a very faint red glow.

Felix shifted his gaze slightly, his fingers twisting a strand of his pink hair before he looked back again, his eyes shining shockingly bright, mixed with a strange shyness and... excitement?

Su Mian wasn't sure if her judgment was accurate.

"Your character setting is..." He licked his lower lip, his voice dropping lower, carrying a breathy tone to ensure the carriage driver absolutely couldn't hear.

"... a collector with unique tastes, especially appreciative of handsome men? Hmm... it is said that your way of appreciating is rather... intense and direct."

His phrasing was euphemistic and ambiguous, but Su Mian understood what he was implying instantly.

The "Elizabeth" character she had drawn indeed had a secret hobby in her background setting of "taking pleasure in tormenting handsome men," making her an out-and-out sadist with an extremely strong desire for control.

Hearing this, Su Mian breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, it was a clue she already knew.

But before Su Mian could react, Felix, as if performing magic, pulled something out from who knows where.

It was a long, thin, flexible, and glossy... dark leather whip.

The handle was wrapped in exquisite leather, and the whip itself looked complex and sturdy.

"This," he gently placed the whip on the seat between the two of them, pushing it toward Su Mian's side, his fingertips brushing over the handle as if by accident.

He raised his eyes, his thick eyelashes fluttering, the smile on his face receding slightly, replaced by a kind of innocent and implicitly expectant earnestness.

"I prepared it specially; it's top-quality material, and it... hurts quite a bit when hitting people."

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice gradually became airy.

"If you need to maintain your character setting... just use me."

He bit the final term lightly and softly, carrying a bit of a coquettish tail tone:

"... Big sister."

......?!

Su Mian was dumbfounded, goosebumps crawling up her back instantly, and it took her a good while to digest this string of shocking statements.

In just two short days, she had been shocked twice.

Once by Applejack, and once by Felix.

She looked at the whip on the seat, then at the face opposite her—flawless and beautiful, currently revealing an expression almost like a sacrifice—and her worldview was shaken once again.

Cold sweat streamed down her, and she tried hard to give herself suggestions in her heart.

Respect, understand, respect, understand.

Afterward, she remembered the "Elizabeth" character setting she had to maintain.

An arrogant, cold, and capricious princess with a secret hobby; facing such an "offering" and implication, she couldn't show panic or disgust.

Silence spread in the carriage for two seconds.

Felix's gaze became increasingly fiery, locking onto her tightly, as if waiting for some kind of verdict or favor.

Finally, Su Mian swallowed, her fingertips cold and white.

She didn't look at Felix, but used two fingers to pick up the whip; the cold, flexible touch of the leather came through, yet she felt it was abnormally scalding.

"I accept the item." Su Mian managed to maintain her expression, showing not a ripple, and it was impossible to tell if she was accepting it or simply confiscating it. "As for whether to use it, or how to use it, that's for me to decide."

She didn't look at the whip a second time, casually placing it on the seat beside her as if it were just an insignificant piece of clutter.

Felix's eyes, however, lit up suddenly because of this simple act of taking it, that layer of excitement and heat almost turning into substance and overflowing.

The more cold and dismissive Su Mian acted, the more obvious the indescribable pleasure and trembling sensation around him became.

For the rest of the journey, he didn't speak much, but his gaze was practically welded to Su Mian, that stare burning hot and so focused it made one's scalp tingle.

Su Mian didn't dare to meet his eyes, terrified that he might blurt out some explosive term.

Like sitting on pins and needles...

She could only force herself to cast all her attention out the window, the feeling of regret for "getting on a pirate ship" becoming unprecedentedly strong in her heart.

She began to wonder if choosing to come out alone with this weird "pink-haired idol hunter" was a serious strategic error.

When the carriage finally slowed down and stopped at the gloomy, dense entrance to the Twilight Forest, Su Mian immediately pushed open the carriage door.

She took a deep breath of the damp, cold air in the forest before suppressing the irritability and discomfort in her heart.

"Lead the way." She ordered Felix, who had followed her off the carriage, without looking back, acting very capriciously.

"Go to the place where you found the red dancing shoes, hurry up."

"Very well, Your Highness."

Felix responded readily, his tone light.

The two soon arrived deep in the forest, and it was indeed just as described in fairy tales, with bright mushroom houses hidden in the dense oak forest.

Unnamed little flowers visible everywhere emitted dots of fluorescence, crowding together to form a palette, and where they passed were emerald streams and intertwined tree roots, as if they were in a dreamlike fairyland.

Felix finally became serious. "The card says that I have seen the owner of the red dancing shoes, but because I was put under a spell by the witch, I can't remember anything now."

"This person is short in stature, which can rule out you and Pip."

Su Mian handed him the card she had just drawn, then looked around the place.

"Can you remember the specific location?"

Felix pondered for a moment and shook his head.

Su Mian squatted down to observe carefully, her fluffy skirt clearly limiting her performance.

The girl made a "tsk" sound, unfastened the hidden buttons and ties, pulled the heavy crinoline off entirely, and tossed it casually onto the grass covered in moss and fluorescent flowers nearby.

Felix: "..."

Carefree, truly carefree.

With the crinoline removed, Su Mian's movements became much more convenient.

She lifted her simplified skirt, squatted down first, and carefully inspected the damp soil and soft grass.

"Teacher Highness," after a while, Felix's voice suddenly rang out, "there is... something wrong here." ===== CHAPTER 114 =====