Chapter 116 : Chapter 116
Chapter 116: This was also one aspect of magical cheese.
Although she didn’t fully understand, it was still a good thing that Yi Ning was no longer angry.
The gift-giver had achieved his goal, and the gift-receiver had become happy.
Two happy things combined made an even happier thing.
Wasn’t that wonderful?
With that thought, Lu Zheng couldn’t be bothered to keep pondering over the gift he gave Yi Ning.
Moreover, there was still one matter he needed Yi Ning’s help with, and he hadn’t brought it up yet. Now that Yi Ning was in a good mood, why not strike while the iron was hot?
He rubbed his hands together, forcing a smile as he moved closer to Yi Ning, like a shady merchant trying to swindle a customer into buying a piece of junk for a sky-high price.
“Um… Yi Ning… Actually… there’s one more thing I’d like to ask for your permission on…”
Seeing Lu Zheng’s ingratiating smile, Yi Ning immediately sensed something was off.
It definitely wasn’t anything good!
She began to regret having given Lu Zheng a favor.
Because Lu Zheng’s gift far exceeded her expectations, and since Rigil’s capture was already a foregone conclusion, continuing to harp on about it would do more harm than good. To slightly mitigate her losses in this matter, Yi Ning chose to give Lu Zheng a favor as a sign of goodwill, in hopes of improving relations with the Hero Association.
But now, it seemed like she had just lifted a rock and smashed her own foot with it.
With that favor hanging over her, there was no way she could say no to this.
Had she known, she would’ve just clung to Lu Zheng and relentlessly badgered him about copying the surveillance footage.
Even if that would’ve made her seem pitiful and might’ve hurt her image, at least she would’ve gotten the satisfaction of making things difficult for Lu Zheng.
Instead of having to suffer him pushing his luck like now.
Yi Ning pouted slightly and let out a light sigh.
Things had come to this—she’d just take it one step at a time.
“Go ahead.”
She snapped her fingers.
“It’s actually about my boss… Qiu Yu. She’s worried that there might end up being insufficient evidence in Rigil’s case, so she asked me to see if you’d be willing to testify in court as a witness.”
Hearing this, Yi Ning nearly lost her composure.
Yes!
She had said she could shamelessly hand over the footage to Lu Zheng with a big smile and even ask if he needed her to testify.
But that was a figure of speech!
It was to emphasize how extravagant the gift Lu Zheng had given was!
It didn’t mean she’d actually be thrilled to run to court and testify!
Don’t get it twisted!
Yi Ning puffed up her cheeks slightly and deliberately rolled her eyes at Lu Zheng.
That said, the request wasn’t really something that upset her that much.
Or rather, it was a lot better than what she had imagined.
She had already accepted the fact that Rigil had been arrested by the Hero Association, and Lu Zheng had offered ample compensation. Her aversion to testifying in court wasn’t all that strong.
After all, the bounty for capturing Rigil was out of the question now, but she could use this opportunity to gain favor with the Hero Association and even enjoy seeing the twisted expression on Rigil’s face when he saw her in court.
Why not?
Yi Ning tilted her head, resting her cheek in one hand, not agreeing or refusing right away.
The strands of hair falling from both sides of her bangs slightly obscured part of her face, making it hard for Lu Zheng to see her expression.
She habitually wanted to extract greater benefits.
Lu Zheng’s expression clearly showed that he didn’t expect her to agree so easily. If she acted reluctant, maybe she could use this chance to expend that favor.
Yi Ning turned her head.
“Agreeing isn’t out of the question~”
She gave up that perfect opportunity.
She wasn’t so petty as to take back a favor she had just given.
Besides, such stingy behavior might jeopardize her current aim of improving relations with the Hero Association.
Under the current circumstances, Yi Ning leaned toward a more cautious strategy.
Leaving that favor in Lu Zheng’s hands wouldn’t lead to any outrageous demands anyway.
There was no need to burn it so quickly.
A little mutual indebtedness was also a great way to build relationships~
“If you agree to one request of mine, I’ll testify for you.” She lightly kicked Lu Zheng under the table. “How about it?”
Lu Zheng glanced at Yi Ning’s mischievous grin and felt a trace of unease.
She wasn’t going to make some crazy demand, was she?
He asked cautiously, “What request?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just a tiny little sacrifice on your part. A simple request. I’m sure you won’t refuse.”
Yi Ning squinted her eyes, held up two fingers in a slight gesture, and her smile became even more dazzling.
“So… what is the request?”
Lu Zheng grew more nervous.
“Hehehe~”
Yi Ning opened her eyes, revealing sharp fangs.
“As long as you lie on the ground and let me stomp on you a bit to blow off some steam, I’ll agree to your request.”
She didn’t mind testifying, but that didn’t mean she had no resentment toward the matter.
She had to let off some steam somehow.
Yi Ning stood up, walked in front of Lu Zheng, lifted her leg, and tried to place it before him to make a stepping motion.
Unfortunately, due to her height, she couldn’t manage it.
Puffing out one cheek, Yi Ning reached out both hands, grabbed her own leg, and lifted it as high as possible.
Then, with a surprised look, she raised her foot to her own head, struck a “V” pose beside her face, and displayed a perfect side split in front of Lu Zheng.
“I just realized, my body’s incredibly flexible now.”
Letting go of her leg, she bounced on one foot, then made a “V” with both hands in front of her.
“How about that? Impressive, right?”
“I-I-impressive…”
Lu Zheng stammered out a response, closing his eyes and internally mourning the fact that Yi Ning wasn’t wearing tight leggings.
“Alright.”
After attempting to press both her legs against her head, Yi Ning contentedly put her leg down and returned to the previous topic.
“My request earlier—will you agree to it?”
Lying on the ground and letting Yi Ning stomp on him a bit.
It really was a simple request.
And Lu Zheng really had no reason to refuse.
Who would dislike being stepped on by a cute, beautiful girl?
But Lu Zheng didn’t agree immediately.
For no other reason than that he wanted to preserve a shred of dignity and appear hesitant.
Unfortunately, would Yi Ning give him that chance?
She pressed him relentlessly.
“Do you agree or not? If not, I might have to reconsider your request. Like…”
Yi Ning deliberately dragged out the final syllable, then said something completely opposite of what Lu Zheng was expecting: “Just agreeing to it directly~”
But sadly, the moment Lu Zheng heard the words “reconsider” from Yi Ning’s lips, he threw all thoughts of dignity out the window.
He blurted out, “I agree!”
Then he finally heard the rest of Yi Ning’s words.
He’d been played.
Yi Ning’s mischievous laughter echoed in Lu Zheng’s ears.
Such a pitiful sight—even Buddha would close his eyes.