459: Unexpected development

Looking at Li Mengyao, who was so close he could even smell the faint scent of her perfume, a strange feeling flashed through Ye Su's heart, but he just smiled lightly:

"I'm only giving you one last chance because I'm afraid you'll cry if you lose. If you don't cherish it, don't blame me for not holding back."

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mengyao stepped back slightly and began to scrutinize Ye Su, trying to find some clues on his face.

Unfortunately, apart from a confident, faint smile, there was no change in Ye Su's expression, leaving Li Mengyao unable to figure anything out no matter how hard she looked.

After a moment of uncertainty, Li Mengyao remained convinced that Ye Su was bluffing again, trying to make a final desperate struggle:

"Keep that opportunity for yourself. Hurry up and take out the last scratch-off lottery ticket."

As she spoke, Li Mengyao reached out to grab it.

"I gave you a chance, but you didn't take it."

Before she could move, Ye Su had already flipped over the last scratch-off lottery ticket in his hand and thrust it in front of Li Mengyao:

"I have one left that won 500, you didn't expect that, did you?"

"What!"

Li Mengyao snatched the scratch-off lottery ticket from Ye Su's hand in disbelief and carefully verified the winning information on it.

Confirming that Ye Su's last scratch-off lottery ticket had indeed won 500 and that he had completed a beautiful comeback—against her, no less—Li Mengyao's little face scrunched up like a dried red date.

"No way, you must be cheating." Li Mengyao tried to act shamelessly:

"Did you hide a few winning scratch-off lottery tickets on you beforehand and secretly take them out when I wasn't paying attention?"

"Hey, don't try to welsh on the bet." Ye Su pointed at Li Mengyao's nose:

"We just went to the store and let you pick the scratch-off lottery tickets yourself. How could I have hidden a few identical ones beforehand?"

Failing to get away with acting shamelessly, Li Mengyao pouted aggrievedly:

"Hmph, lost is lost. Go ahead, what request do you want to make of This Miss?"

"Uh..."

Ye Su had just been on a whim when he mentioned the bet; he hadn't thought about what he wanted Li Mengyao to do at all.

Now that he had won, being suddenly pressed by Li Mengyao about what request he wanted, Ye Su really couldn't think of anything for the moment:

"I haven't thought of a request yet, so I'll save it for now. I'll tell you when I think of one."

"No." Li Mengyao puffed up her cheeks and stared at Ye Su:

"It's not the thief stealing that scares me, but the thief always thinking about it. State your request now. I don't want to have to be on guard every day, wondering if you're suddenly going to make some request of me."

"But I really haven't thought of one yet."

"I don't care." Li Mengyao grabbed Ye Su's arm with both hands and shook it back and forth forcefully:

"Think of one right now, or I'm not going to honor the bet."

Having his brains nearly shaken into a smoothie by Li Mengyao, Ye Su had no choice but to spout some nonsense, hoping to temporarily scare her off:

"How about this, you give me a kiss, and we'll call it even."

"Ah!"

Li Mengyao was indeed startled by Ye Su's unexpected request, her shaking hands stopped, and she looked at Ye Su with wide eyes.

Seeing Li Mengyao stunned by him, Ye Su smiled triumphantly:

"See, it's you who can't do it, so you can't blame me for not making a request. I'll tell you when I think of another one..."

"Smack—"

Ye Su was laughing smugly when, unexpectedly, Li Mengyao moved with lightning speed, leaned forward, and kissed Ye Su on the cheek.

This action not only froze the smile on Ye Su's face but also caused Li Mengyao's face to visibly heat up and turn red.

The atmosphere in the office also quietly became ambiguous at that moment.

To alleviate the awkwardness brought about by her bold action, Li Mengyao pointed at Ye Su, trying to cover it up:

"This Miss is a good sport. I've fulfilled the request you made, so let's consider this matter closed. Don't get any other ideas."

"Ah..."

Waking up from the lingering warmth on his cheek, Ye Su, who hadn't expected things to develop to this point, felt a bit of regret and lingering desire:

"That doesn't count. I said give me a kiss, you kissed my cheek."

"I don't care!" Li Mengyao said, her face flushed, half-coquettishly, half-petulantly:

"You didn't specify, so that's not my problem. Anyway, I've already fulfilled your request."

With her heart rate hitting 140, Li Mengyao didn't dare to continue dwelling on this topic and hurriedly changed the subject:

"All these scratch-off lottery tickets are mine now."

Ye Su saw the panic in Li Mengyao's heart and didn't dare to press his advantage. Like usual, he cooperated by playfully fighting over the scratch-off lottery tickets with her:

"No way, you're a rich person, why are you eyeing the little things in a poor person's mouth!"

While speaking, Ye Su deliberately slowed down his movements, allowing Li Mengyao to successfully rake all the scratch-off lottery tickets on the coffee table over to her side.

"Hmph!"

Having successfully pocketed all the scratch-off lottery tickets thanks to Ye Su going easy on her, Li Mengyao used clamor to further cover up the current awkwardness:

"Mind your own business. Now that they are in my hands, they are all mine."

"Fine, fine, fine." Ye Su went along with it: "I'm a gentleman, I won't lower myself to your level."

"Gentleman." Li Mengyao pouted, speaking sarcastically: "Do you think you're Fan Yuqi? Donating your head?"

"No, are you telling dark jokes?" Ye Su retorted: "Just kidding, I should at least have a head, right?"

"Didn't you donate your head already? Where would you still have a head?"

After returning to their usual mode of bickering, the two tacitly agreed not to bring up what had just happened in the office again.

After a few more exchanges, Li Mengyao's heartbeat finally returned to normal, and she remembered to take out the five lucky stones from her bag:

"So, are these stones all for me?"

"Of course not."

"Ah..." Li Mengyao's face instantly fell: "You brought these stones over, weren't you planning to give them to me as the gift we agreed on last time?"

"I wanted you to help me process them, to make these stones into small pieces of jewelry like bracelets or pendants. After they're done, I can give you one."

Li Mengyao pouted: "Only one? You're too stingy."

Ye Su pretended to be mysterious: "The master said, 'When the moon is full, it begins to wane; when water is full, it overflows.' Everything should be just right. Carrying one of these stones is enough; any more is useless and might even have the opposite effect."

"Really?" Li Mengyao blinked her wide, bewildered eyes.

"Of course it's true."

"Oh, alright..."

After hoodwinking Li Mengyao, Ye Su instructed:

"When processing the stones into jewelry, you can let the craftsman polish and cut them, but be sure to smash the cut-off parts. Only keep the part used for the jewelry, understand?"

"Why?"

"The master said that if you don't do that, the effect of the consecration will disappear."

As he spoke, Ye Su handed the five lucky stones from his pocket to Li Mengyao.

"Fine."

After taking the stones, Li Mengyao asked curiously: "Since this master is so effective, why didn't you ask him to get more stones?"

Ye Su said irritably:

"Do you think these are cabbages from the vegetable market, that you can just get them whenever you want? The master said this requires fate; sincerity leads to efficacy. I only happened to run into this master by chance, which is how I got these few stones."