Chapter 146 : Chapter 146
146. Playing Hard to Get
A cute girl always had all sorts of privileges.
Just like right now.
Even if Yi Ning deliberately stirred up trouble, pulling her antics at random—once Lu Zheng saw that cute face, the fire in his heart would inexplicably start to die down.
A helpless kaomoji appeared on Lu Zheng’s Pixel Screen.
He reached up to remove his Pixel Screen helmet, yet stubbornly kept the middle finger on his left hand raised, as if to declare he hadn’t completely surrendered to Yi Ning’s cuteness.
Hah~ laughable pride.
Yi Ning narrowed her eyes in disdain, smiling faintly. The baseball bat in her hand had, at some unknown moment, turned into a rounded toy hammer with “1000t” printed on its head.
She deliberately stepped in front of Lu Zheng, making a show of swinging it a few times, drawing “whoosh whoosh” sounds through the air.
It might look like a toy, but its weight was clearly anything but fake.
If that thing really smashed down on his head…
Lu Zheng secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva, not daring to imagine further.
He lowered his stubborn middle finger and flashed Yi Ning a fawning smile.
“Is it still too late for me to change my mind?”
Lu Zheng raised his right hand like a schoolboy asking a teacher a question.
But before Yi Ning could answer, he suddenly realized—
Wait, this isn’t right. He was here to help her. By all logic, he should be in the stronger position. Why did it feel like he was the one in the weaker spot right now?
Working for free was one thing… but why did it seem like he had to beg for the work?
The moment he figured that out, everything became clear.
Like a rooster fresh from winning a fight, his posture straightened and his attitude became smug.
With a grand wave of his hand, he turned his head, closed his eyes, lifted his chin, and declared loudly, “This lord isn’t doing it anymore!”
If she wanted Lord Lu Zheng to work, she had to offer some kind of tribute.
It might be a civilized era now, so no human sacrifices—but a little something like touching smooth black stockings or a lap pillow with ear cleaning would be pretty nice too!
He cracked one eye open to peek at Yi Ning’s expression, trying to judge how much he could fleece her for.
But was Yi Ning’s wool so easy to shear?
Seeing his lack of cooperation, Yi Ning scooted closer and tugged softly at his clothes. The moment his gaze drifted her way, she put on the most pitiful expression.
Obviously, she was trying to use her looks to freeload!
Such a low move!
And such an effective one!
Lu Zheng had absolutely no resistance to this kind of pleading assault.
Wherever Yi Ning touched him, he began to tremble, and more than once he nearly agreed outright.
To defuse the crisis, he took a deep breath, hardened his heart, shook off her soft grip, slid a few steps away from her, and sat back down on the sofa.
That was close—he’d almost fallen into Yi Ning’s scheme!
His face stayed calm, but cold sweat was pouring in his heart.
Yi Ning was far too skilled at using the advantages of her current body.
He quickly steeled his mind again, determined to hold out against her mental offensive.
Yi Ning sidled up to him again. This time, to finish the job in one strike, she moved on to Phase Two—unlocking verbal persuasion.
“C’mon~ help me~ You’re the best, gege~”
As she spoke, she tested the waters by hugging his arm, tugging gently at his sleeve, and giving it a little shake.
The sweet tone, the perfect upward gaze angle, the tentative touches that wanted to draw close yet still seemed a little shy—this was green-tea-level seduction at its finest.
How could Lu Zheng easily resist such a fierce assault?
Damn it!
Yi Ning, were you really a man before?
First it was acting cute, now it was speaking sweetly—constantly using these “green tea” tricks.
Couldn’t she show her true trump card and have a fair, man-to-man showdown instead?
Lu Zheng roared in his heart.
He was being driven right to the edge.
“Haah~”
Just as he was about to fall into the pit, Yi Ning unexpectedly took a step back.
She released his arm and shifted a little further away.
“Alright, alright. I’ll give you some benefits as compensation, okay?”
“At worst… I’ll let you touch my leg…”
She leaned back slightly, raised her dainty foot, and was about to place it on his leg as she spoke.
But halfway through, her body froze as she recalled that strange sensation from the restaurant last time when Lu Zheng touched her leg.
A faint tingle ran through her lower abdomen, and she instinctively pressed her legs together.
No touching legs!
Absolutely no touching legs!
She quickly changed her words: “I’ll wear the clothes you like and step on you instead. Of course, the clothes can’t be too much.”
Such generous terms left Lu Zheng almost in disbelief.
He had been on the verge of surrendering, yet Yi Ning chose to retreat?
He carefully confirmed the terms with her several times, only relaxing once he was sure there were no traps hidden inside. Then he threw his hands up in joy.
“Alright!”
He even leaned his head forward voluntarily.
“Heh heh~”
So cute~
Yi Ning narrowed her eyes, satisfied as she looked at the gleeful Lu Zheng beside her, her gaze full of smugness.
Just like a spring that bounces back harder when released after being pushed to the limit, people were the same.
Too much pressure, and even if he grudgingly agreed, Lu Zheng would still harbor some resentment. But if she applied pressure first, then retreated at the most critical moment, most of that resentment would vanish instantly—and his enthusiasm to work would actually increase.
It was the perfect win-win deal.
This was playing hard to get.
She really was too clever~
Happily, Yi Ning picked up the hammer and stepped in front of Lu Zheng.
Seeing the hammer, his expression twisted slightly.
But at this point, there was no turning back.
He could only lower his head and tighten his scalp to minimize the pain from the blow.
“Yah!”
With Yi Ning’s strange cry, the hammer came down.
But the expected pain never arrived—only the light touch of some unknown soft material brushed his head.
Puzzled, Lu Zheng looked up to see Yi Ning holding that inflatable toy hammer with “1000t” on it, smiling gently at him.
“The tool only needs to make contact with the user—there’s no rule it has to smash down hard on their head~”
Yeah, well, you sure didn’t hold back when you hit me through the helmet earlier.
Hearing her shameless explanation, Lu Zheng could only feel helpless.
But considering the special reward Yi Ning had promised, he merely gave her a middle finger to express his displeasure before picking up the envelope to read again.
“I see…”
The strange scrawls in his vision began to twist and fade, finally turning into the Hero Association’s official language.
This time, he could really read the text on the envelope. It listed the sender, recipient, and an address—
Xian’en Galaxy, Kaijali Star, Leonard City, Duogan Street, No. 65
To: Dr. Alien
From: Cosmic Environmental Protection Association
It seemed to be a letter from beyond the stars.