Chapter 48.2: “Change your request and I’ll satisfy you.”

Qian Heng was like a pufferfish, and Cheng Yao had learned how to deal with his poisonous insides. She was like a seasoned chef who could skillfully remove the poisonous parts and still prepare a delicious pufferfish soup.

Though his appearance was cold and aloof, Qian Heng was concerned about her.

Even though he acted disdainful towards her, he had bought her the shells.

Though he scolded her for how she handled things with Tang Bing, he was actually worried she’d get hurt.

Though he was reluctant, he still accompanied her to this carnival…

Cheng Yao looked at the plastic bag in her hand and couldn’t help but smile. The shell stalls naturally had their own branded packaging bags. To prevent her from noticing, Qian Heng had somehow found such a shabby plastic bag to hide the truth.

With his obsession with cleanliness, this was truly a big sacrifice for him.

At this moment, all Cheng Yao could think of was this line:

“A famous industry expert, unexpectedly caught lying and crazily picking up trash bags on the beach…”

As she thought about it, Cheng Yao couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Qian Heng, naturally confused, frowned. “What are you laughing at? I’m scolding you, and you’re still laughing?”

Seeing Qian Heng’s serious yet insincere expression, Cheng Yao couldn’t help but try to hold back her laughter. But her lips still curled up. “I… I think the sea breeze was too cold just now, and it must have hurt the nerves by my mouth. Now my lips are twitching!”

Cheng Yao imitated Qian Heng’s tone, lying through her teeth, “Boss, I’m not laughing. It’s my lips twitching!”

“….”

In any case, Qian Heng didn’t pursue the matter of Cheng Yao’s “silly grin” while he was scolding her. The two of them wandered through the small stalls, eventually reaching the carnival’s game area. Naturally, Qian Heng wasn’t interested in these childish games and wanted to pass through quickly. But Cheng Yao was attracted by one of the games. She stood in front of the booth and found herself unable to move.

It was a simple two-player cooperation game to hit the moles. The game wasn’t difficult. There were four teams competing, and the team with the highest accuracy and fastest speed would win.

“Boss, play this with me!” Cheng Yao urged.

Qian Heng almost immediately refused without hesitation, “No.”

“Why not?!”

“It’s too childish. It’s not appropriate for a partner of a law firm.”

“….”

Cheng Yao really wanted to ask, what’s wrong with being a law firm partner? Do you think that as a law firm partner you don’t have to eat, drink, or… do you outsource these things?

But would Cheng Yao dare to speak directly to her boss like that? Of course not.

Fortunately, Cheng Yao had her own trump card: “Boss, you said it yourself. Whatever request I make today, you’ll agree to. My request is that you play this game with me and you must win!” Cheng Yao waved her phone, “Don’t forget, I have audio evidence.”

Unfortunately, Qian Heng had no sense of contractual integrity. He coldly snickered, then mercilessly tried to pull Cheng Yao away from the game booth.

Cheng Yao was almost at her wit’s end. “You’re breaking your word! You’re breaching the contract! As a legal professional, you’re breaking the law and going against the oral agreement!”

“I have money, I’m willing to pay for breaching the contract,” Qian Heng said with a calm face, ignoring the rules, “Besides, you should thank me for being someone who breaks the law. If it weren’t for people like me who break the law, where do you think your job would come from? If everyone followed the law, you’d be unemployed.”

“….”

This was utter nonsense!

“Pick another request, I’ll fulfill it.”

Cheng Yao could only beg pitifully, “But I just want this one!” She glanced at the prize at the game booth. “I just want the giant Pikachu toy!”

Qian Heng finally noticed the giant Pikachus displayed next to the game booth. Unlike the usual Pikachu designs, these were wearing Charizard headgear and looked quite cute.

“I’ll buy you ten when we go back.”

“You can’t buy them!” Cheng Yao said sadly, “This Charizard Pikachu model is a limited edition in the country. It’s sold out online, and all that’s left are low-quality knockoffs.”

Cheng Yao had already given up on convincing Qian Heng. Her distinguished boss was so meticulous about his image, and just getting him to come to this carnival was a miracle. Getting him to play this childish game with her was about as likely as a comet crashing into the Earth.

Though she was reluctant, Cheng Yao accepted the situation, quickly moved past the giant Pikachu, and started walking forward.

However, it was her boss who coldly called after her, “Where are you going?” Qian Heng gave a terse command, “Come back.”

“Come back for what?”

Cheng Yao felt wronged. Didn’t you tell me to leave? Why can’t I go now? Are you going to make me suffer by not getting what I want and watch me heartbreak?

“Come back and play the mole game.”

Cheng Yao was a bit dazed for a moment. Did she mishear? Come back and play the mole game?

Qian Heng frowned, “You have ten seconds to come back and play the game. If you miss the time, the agreement is void.”

Qian Heng’s expression seemed a little impatient, but Cheng Yao noticed that maybe it was the sun, making him feel a little hot. His ears had turned slightly red.

Cheng Yao blinked and quickly ran back, “I’m coming!! I’m coming!!”

*****

The carnival had a huge crowd, and the whack-a-mole game attracted quite a few couples. Cheng Yao quickly followed Qian Heng into the line, and after a brief wait, it was their turn.

Four pairs of contestants started their whack-a-mole challenge.

Cheng Yao was an expert at games like this and played with ease, her whacks incredibly precise and stable. Unfortunately, Qian Heng could only be called a liability—clearly, he had never played such a game before. He was always caught off guard by the “moles” popping up, and by the time he reacted, they had already slipped away!

The first time he missed, Cheng Yao, still mindful of Qian Heng’s position as her boss, held back from saying anything. But as the game progressed, with Qian Heng repeatedly missing or failing to hit the moles, Cheng Yao could no longer hold her temper.

She was busy hitting her own moles while keeping a watchful eye on Qian Heng.

The more she watched, the angrier she got.

“Left two! Left two! Left! What are you looking at? Focus on the game, stop getting distracted!!”

“Right! The right side! Are you even awake? Did you eat breakfast? How could you miss that one?!”

For the moles Qian Heng kept missing, Cheng Yao nearly wanted to scream: “The one in the middle! In the middle! Hit the middle! Where’s your hand-eye coordination? Your skill at this game is worse than an elementary schooler’s! If whack-a-mole was an intelligence test, with your level, you’d be considered mentally challenged!”

For most of the game, Cheng Yao managed to stay somewhat composed, but by the second half, she completely forgot about Qian Heng’s status as her boss and unleashed her frustration.

By the time they lost, as expected, Cheng Yao suddenly remembered that she wasn’t playing with one of her mischievous friends like Qin Qin, but… her boss, whose face was now dark with displeasure.

There’s no love in esports, and there’s no camaraderie in whack-a-mole either…

Qian Heng bit his lip tightly, his handsome face full of impending storm.

Cheng Yao stammered, “No, boss, I didn’t mean it like that. Let me explain…”

Qian Heng didn’t respond, his gaze burning with intensity as he watched the winning couple walking away with a giant Pikachu.

Finally, he turned his gaze toward Cheng Yao, grinding his teeth. “Again.”

Cheng Yao: ???

Before she could react, Qian Heng had already dragged her back into the game.

Although Cheng Yao was touched by her boss’s fighting spirit, it was unfortunate that in the new round, while Qian Heng showed slight improvement, he still couldn’t beat the high school couple competing against them. They lost again.

Cheng Yao watched the high schoolers take away another Pikachu, feeling a bit envious. But by this point, her heart had calmed down. She was already extremely grateful that Qian Heng had played two rounds of whack-a-mole with her. Even if he dragged her away now, she would have no complaints.

However, to her surprise, Qian Heng didn’t drag her away. Instead, he pulled her closer.

“I don’t know the word ‘lose’ in my dictionary,” her boss said, furrowing his brow. “Again.”

…Unfortunately, a fighting attitude alone isn’t enough…

Qian Heng lost another round.

“Continue!”

But Qian Heng was the type to become more determined the harder things got, charging ahead even when facing failure.

Cheng Yao never imagined that by the end, she would be the one sticking with Qian Heng in the whack-a-mole game…

Perhaps everything in life, including this game, is a balance. While Qian Heng could easily crush any legal issue, he was, surprisingly, a complete novice when it came to simple games like this!

Yet, this “idiot” was surprisingly determined. Cheng Yao glanced at Qian Heng beside her. He wore a serious expression, like he was tackling a complicated legal case, hitting at the moles that popped up, but his coordination was still off. He’d focus on one side and forget about the other.

Normally so composed and confident, Qian Heng now looked utterly defeated, frustrated, and helpless, all because of a simple whack-a-mole game.

Another round ended, and without surprise, Cheng Yao and Qian Heng’s team lost again.

“Boss, maybe we should just give up…”

At this rate, Cheng Yao thought, even if they played ten more rounds, they wouldn’t win. It would be better to quit now.

But Qian Heng was insistent. “No, we must win.” He shot Cheng Yao a glare. “I’m using your year-end bonus as an order to make you stay and win with me.”

Cheng Yao nearly wanted to yell, What did I do to deserve this with my year-end bonus?!

She held back and finally couldn’t stop herself. “Boss, do you remember what you said while sitting at the bow of the boat during the Lawyers’ Association event?”

“What?”

“You said sometimes you want to experience what it feels like to lose.” Cheng Yao pressed on, “Look, aren’t you getting your chance now? Rarely does one get the opportunity to experience losing. Stop obsessing over winning. Losing might be embarrassing, but it’s a part of life. Sometimes giving up is a virtue!”

“Cheng Yao, when I take your year-end bonus, will you be giving up then?”

“…”

Qian Heng snorted, “Again.”

…

Perhaps because Qian Heng’s goal was to win, he never quite immersed himself in the game. Instead, he approached each round with the attitude of someone conquering a five-year exam prep course—determined to crush everything in his path.

They played a total of twenty-eight rounds.

In the twenty-ninth round, since their opponents were weak, Qian Heng finally won the championship.

“Here are your prizes, the Pikachu. Thank you for playing, and hope you had a great time!”

The service staff at the game booth kindly handed the Pikachu to Qian Heng.

Cheng Yao was almost stunned by the unexpected joy. She hadn’t expected to actually win the Pikachu after such a long, drawn-out process.

However, Qian Heng, after finally winning, seemed indifferent. There was no excitement on his face, just a relieved expression, as if he had finally achieved something. But when Cheng Yao looked more closely, Qian Heng’s face had returned to its usual cold, poker-like expression, making Cheng Yao wonder if she had just imagined the moment of relief.