Chapter 153 Angelina's Tea Party 22

Countless words of praise, though whether they were genuine or sarcastic was hard to say, tumbled from her mouth in rapid succession.

Yet Angelina remained lying quietly on the bed. In fact, as Lin Xiangjun's praises continued, her face grew increasingly pale and withered, like a berry sucked dry of its juice, while the dress on her body puffed up and stiffened, resembling a fruit ripening bit by bit.

It was eerie.

The rules only said to praise her, but didn't specify what to do afterward—keep praising until the other party left? Or use a ballpoint pen to retreat on the spot? Or... ring the bell?

[4. The living room is relatively safe. Entering the study and bedroom is strictly prohibited. If you find yourself inside, immediately locate the silver bell in the room and ring it, then remain still until a Servant 'invites' you back to the living room. You only have one chance to ring the bell.]

Three different paths lay before her. As Lin Xiangjun considered them, the words of praise never ceased.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The 4:35 milestone drew closer. Lin Xiangjun's lips were dry and her heart pounded with nerves, yet she didn't dare stop speaking for a moment.

No rule pointed toward the correct choice. Lin Xiangjun stared at Angelina's withered face and shriveling skin, silently tightening her grip on a ballpoint pen.

The patterns on Angelina's dress looked like blood vessels. With just one glance, Lin Xiangjun's head immediately grew heavy and dizzy, her vision doubled, and the whispers in her ears—which hadn't fully subsided—became noisy once more.

Mild contamination.

With just a single glance, her status had instantly shifted from 'Healthy' to 'Mildly Contaminated'—the thing before her was essentially a miniature source of contamination.

This contamination was something the 'Angelina' who had been appearing before her previously did not possess.

She was certain that 'Angelina' hadn't had a trace of contamination on her.

Even though Lin Xiangjun closed her eyes the moment she realized, the contamination she had already sustained would not dissipate on its own.

Lin Xiangjun took a deep breath and finally made a decision—

She pulled out a large black plastic bag, gritted her teeth, and lunged forward, bagging 'Angelina' from head to toe like she was packing away leftovers.

During the process of bagging the trash... bagging Angelina, she couldn't help but catch a few glimpses of the eerie green dress that seemed to be growing. The double vision intensified instantly, and the whispers turned into actual voices, chattering and whispering as countless dark shadows flickered before her eyes.

"It hurts, it hurts so much. Something is gnawing on my bones. They've eaten my bones hollow. It hurts, it hurts..."

"Save me, save me. I am the Marquise. If you can save me, I'll give you anything you want—"

"Have you seen Angelina? Where is she? She took my things, boohoo, she took my things..."

Lin Xiangjun put away the black plastic bag, then calmly pulled out a large handful of contamination clearing potions. Like a wealthy person drinking Wahaha, she quickly popped the caps one by one, pouring them into her mouth while asking, "What did she take?"

A single contamination clearing potion cost one thousand underworld currency in the instance. The handful in Lin Xiangjun's hand was conservatively estimated to be worth ten thousand.

Before the apocalypse arrived, she wouldn't have even dared to drink bottled water like this.

The rambling, self-muttering voice paused, then suddenly shrieked:

"Give it back, give it back! That's my identity! She's an impostor! She stole my skin!!!! My skin!!!!"

She downed all ten potions in one go. Lin Xiangjun stuffed the bottles into her pocket. The shrieks in her ears faded as the contamination was cleared, leaving only a resentful echo:

"That's my skin!!!!"

a ballpoint pen activated.

The scene before her blurred, and in the next second, Lin Xiangjun appeared in the tea room.

a ballpoint pen was great in every way, except its destination was very rigid.

For instance, if Lin Xiangjun stuck it under a chair, then after using it, she would personally appear under that chair.

Just like now.

Under the ghost-stricken gazes of the noble ladies, she composedly lifted the chair off her head and set it back in its place. Then, she gave a slight bow to Angelina: "Good afternoon, Angelina. Did you sleep well at noon?"

Angelina let out a cold laugh.

"Thanks to you, Guest, my sleep was anything but peaceful. I kept dreaming of someone tearing down walls and smashing doors in my house. I felt like the house was about to collapse."

"Is that so?" Lin Xiangjun replied without a hint of guilt, acting as if she had no idea who had been throwing bombs all over the house.

Given the reckless way she threw bombs, if the house hadn't been well-built of stone, it probably would have been leveled by her. If that happened, not a single person in today's instance would have made it out alive.

"Perhaps you had a nightmare, Madam. You know, things one has done often appear exaggerated in dreams, turning into nightmares that make for an uneasy sleep. There's really no helping it. Perhaps you should place a vase of camellias by your bedside; the fragrance is good for your sleep."

Angelina snorted again and gestured for her to sit. "Though you are late, we are generous and won't mind such a small matter. Now, sit down and try the floral tea I've just brewed."

"No rush, Madam."

Lin Xiangjun reached into her pouch with perfect poise. "You mentioned before that you had a tin of fine black tea and sugar cubes but couldn't remember where you put them. I thought, since it's a rare honor to be invited to your tea party, wouldn't it be a waste if I couldn't taste the black tea you're most satisfied with?"

"Fortunately, Madam, I won't be leaving with any regrets this time."

As she spoke, she placed the tea canister and the sugar cube tin on the table at the same time.

The ceramic tin and the ivory tin sat on the tabletop. Even through the containers, a faint, intoxicating aroma could be detected.

Seeing those two tins, Angelina's expression darkened.

She said with a forced smile, "It really wasn't easy. I usually have trouble finding these two tins myself. It must have been hard for you to find them."

"You flatter me, Madam. It was all so I could taste your craftsmanship."

Lin Xiangjun had already obtained the tea canister and the sugar cube tin, and the instance was drawing to a close. Angelina knew she could no longer stop her from leaving the instance.

Though reluctant, she took the two tins with a sullen face. She pinched a bit of tea leaves and threw them into the teapot, added hot water, dropped two sugar cubes into the teacup, poured the tea, stirred it with a teaspoon, and pushed it toward Lin Xiangjun irritably.

The tea in the cup sloshed violently, spilling a few drops to the sides.

Lin Xiangjun looked down at the teacup.

The cup was white porcelain with a gold-lined camellia pattern around the rim. The pale pink tea inside looked more like it was brewed from some kind of flower petals than black tea.