CH 30

Seeing her target close at hand but being blocked, the maid was naturally not happy.

She struggled to free her wrists from Luo’s grasp, but the man let go the moment she did, and the maid fell backwards with her weight unstable.

Xiao Lan takes the opportunity to dart into the small cloakroom next to him and waves at Luo, who instantly understands what he means and releases a bit of black shadow to blend into the maid’s shadow to temporarily imprison her movements, and also takes the opportunity to enter the door.

The maid tried to give chase but found herself unable to move as if her body was immobilised. She struggled and managed to get free before lunging towards the dressing room door, but unfortunately missed it by one step and she could only watch as the door slammed shut in front of her eyes.

Inside the cloakroom, Xiao Lan, who has just closed the door, looks a little confused.

At that last moment, the lace neck ring that the maid had worn around her neck when she had lunged had come loose, revealing a thick and sinewy neck, and he had seen it plainly – the knot in his throat.

Where is the promised maid?

This one’s not the right stuff, Ms. Butler.

“Which one would you like, sir?”

Luo’s voice brings Xiao Lan back to his thoughts and he turns to see Luo standing in front of a row of hangers, smiling at him.

It was only then that Xiao Lan shifted her attention and began to take stock of the cloakroom.

The walls on either side are inlaid with open wardrobes with elaborate carvings, in which a number of dresses are hung, all of which appear to be of excellent material, well cut and available in a variety of sizes for guests to choose from, and even have two fitting rooms of their own.

Not only the dresses, but also the shoes, hats, bow ties, cufflinks and pins, are all here. There are even sofas and chairs for people to relax next to, revealing an overall aristocratic sophistication.

“Well ……” being a seasoned pauper, Xiao Lan looked at the pile and fell into contemplation.

Apart from the clothes and trousers and shoes, there were many more things that he didn’t recognize at all: what was this clip here? And what is that hanky over there? Why are there flowers? Wasn’t getting dressed a matter of minutes?

This game is really hard and not at all friendly to poor players.

Xiao Lan is caught in the biggest dilemma since he entered the Advent world.

“Sir, let me arrange it for you.”

Luo came forward with a smile and solved the problem for Xiao Lan.

He wandered calmly between the wardrobes, making a quick selection.

Rather than a more ornate looking tuxedo, they even opted for a flattering gown that was easier to move around in, considering that there were quite a few hands-on possibilities in the game world. Any extra accessories that would interfere with movement were also left out – after all, they weren’t really here for a blind date with Lady Bella and there was no need to dress up too well.

They each changed and Xiao Lan sat in front of the mirror while Luo helped with her hair.

Luo’s movements are gentle, carefully brushing Xiao Lan’s hair, but the way he tidies it up is skilled and sharp.

Xiao Lan thought, “Luo must have been a very good-looking guy. He had clearly forgotten who he was, yet he could remember such a complicated dress so clearly.

In the end, Xiao Lan was dressed in a form-fitting black dress with a white dress shirt plus a vest of the same colour, with a black bow tie and neatly combed hair. His hair was neatly combed and he looked slender and straight, as if he were a young lord of a noble house.

He turned his head to Luo, who had changed into a tuxedo and had a more reserved air than when he wore a normal three-piece suit, but to be honest the man had always been like this and there wasn’t really much difference.

He lifted his hands and Luo helped him with every detail of his dress.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Xiao Lan feels strange, even though Luo has streamlined many of his steps, he has never looked so well groomed.

“Sir, what is this?” Having straightened his cuffs, Luo asked about a scar on Xiao Lan’s wrist.

“It got hot the first time I cooked it.” Xiao Lan smiled, giving a wistful look, “I never knew before that pots could get so hot when boiled for a long time.”

When his mother suddenly collapsed, the young man had to take on the household chores and, naturally, the food he cooked for the first time was very bad and he got himself hurt. It was then that he suddenly realised how difficult it was to handle every detail of the house.

Luo looked at the scar quietly, rubbed it gently with his fingers as if he had no intention of doing so, and then straightened his cuffs and covered it up.

The two men changed and left the cloakroom.

Xiao Lan walked out the door and realised that Luo’s outfit was a high level of play, and the group of players outside were a soulful demonstration of the “straight aesthetic”, making you want to interview them about their inspiration.

Wang Taidi , wore a white silk gown with a pair of blue striped trousers underneath, a leopard print waistband on her stomach and a red rose on her chest.

Wang Ke, dressed in black inside and out, looked like she was ready to go out and assassinate Madame Bella.

Qi Ning , paired with an elegant tuxedo, but still wore his wide-brimmed bowler hat and beak mask, making one wonder how he would eat later.

The tall man suspected to be Qi Ning’s target, who was obviously dark-looking, had to choose a gold dress that at first glance looked like a little Oscar gold. The other three, not so different from him, were all big red and green lovers, festive as if they were preparing to perform on stage for Chinese New Year, and they obviously had some misconceptions about the dresses.

Only the only woman behaved normally, wearing a long, champagne-coloured dress of silk and her hair in an elegant bun.

Perhaps it was because this session of players was so flamboyant that the housekeeper took a step back when she entered, intimidated by the novelty and creativity of several people’s outfits, and forgot to even lift her chin, which was always raised high.

Her eyes rounded as she looked at the group of colourful men who didn’t know what etiquette was and held out her finger to them, her voice trembling, “You, how dare you be so rude to your ladyship! Do you even know where you are!”

The steward took a few steps forward and was about to continue his lecture.

A magnificent chime came from an unknown place, interrupting her plans. She glanced out of the window at the sky, snuffed out what she was about to say next, and turned to the players with a straight face, “Please follow me, the dinner is about to begin.”

With that said, he walked away quickly without looking back, as if one more look at the group would do some irreparable damage to his eyes.

Following the butler’s footsteps, the player leaves the cloakroom and enters another long corridor.

The butler did not say a word on the way, and the cloakroom maid’s door did not follow.

I don’t know how big Madame Bella’s estate is, but it took several minutes to walk down this long corridor and not reach the destination.

On the way, a few players tried to test some information and asked a few questions to the housekeeper, but the housekeeper just walked forward with a condescending face and didn’t even share a glance to the group of players she was leading. I don’t know if it was because the game was set up not to allow her to explain, or if she was simply too angry with the group of hot-eyed guys to talk.

The players had no choice but to give up and continued quietly behind her.

Finally, a carved door, more ornate than anything seen before, appeared before the eyes of the crowd, and the butler gently snapped the door open and it slowly opened from the inside.

At the same time, the players heard the system alert that

“Ding dong–”

The enchanting and soft female voice rang out, “You can come and seduce me~”

What the hell kind of tip is that?

Could it be that the way through is to be the husband chosen by Lady Bella at the end? But then wouldn’t the game be limited to one person, but of course, maybe Mrs Bella would prefer more than one ……

Or perhaps there is more to this tip?

This time the boss doesn’t seem as straightforward as Zhang Dong at the end of the line or Gu Mo at Rokudo Onsen, and it would be a disaster to guess her wrong.

The crowd of players had wonderful expressions at the moment, some thoughtful, some uneasy, and even excited, wondering what juvenile things they had brainstormed.

As the doors opened, the glorious ballroom appeared before the eyes of the crowd.

The exquisitely sculpted ceiling, the sparkling crystal chandeliers, the solid Mu family furniture that looks like it’s worth a fortune, the paintings on the walls that look like masterpieces, the exquisite decorations displayed everywhere, and even the carpets that have been changed to match the theme of the ballroom.

Guided by the butler, the group was seated at the long dining table.

Xiao Lan chose a position farther away from the main table because he did not want to be too close to the boss for security reasons and because, after the incident with the maid, he maintained a sceptical attitude towards the aesthetics of Bella’s wife.

On his left is Wang Taidi and on his right is Luo.

The few men who had previously courted the only female player now grabbed seats at the front with such expectant looks in their eyes that they didn’t know whether to call them horny or ignorant.

Without keeping the players waiting too long, the doors on the other side of the ballroom slowly opened and a sound of footsteps came through the door, causing the players to look up.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, but Xiao Lan could hear that something was wrong… would a pampered noble lady have such heavy footsteps?

A huge shadow enveloped the doorway, revealing a bit of exquisitely ornate skirt, and a huge figure burrowed through the door frame. Yes, burrowing in. The doors of this manor were all already very high, but this lady who entered needed to keep her head down and her back bowed to get in.

The real Lady Bella has finally appeared before the eyes of the players.

She is tall and stocky, estimated to be close to three metres, and the features of her face are exceptionally spread out, with two eyes that look like they were barely put together, with eyes of a completely different shape and colour.

But that’s not the point, the lower half of her face has a nose that curls out high and huge mouth with faintly visible tusks, it’s clearly a combination of human and wild boar.

She also wore heavy make-up, with dark purple eye shadow paired with purple and black lipstick, pushing the quirkiness of her features to the extreme. She also wore an ornate and elaborate bun on her head, almost half a metre high, which made her appear even taller.

This clearly cannot be a human being.

Madame Bella entered the ballroom with heavy steps, and with each step she took, the players could feel the floor shake slightly. As the crowd watched, she took the main seat in the dining room.

The male players who had grabbed the front row now had the look of ten pounds of flies on their faces as they moved their bottoms back as far away from the lady as possible, even if it was just a centimetre.

If they could turn back time, they would have beaten that bold self to death.

It’s in a game. Can anything good happen in a game? Compared to being chosen to be her husband, maybe failing the game wasn’t so terrible.

As Madame Bella sat down, she looked around at the players in the room, ignoring their whimsical and spicy pairings, smiled, reached out with one hand and tapped her chin and said, “Let me take a good look, sweethearts, you’re all here to ask me to marry you, right?”

The voice, on the contrary, is delicate and charming, nothing like her wild appearance.

But it looks even weirder with this appearance.

The players were silent, they really didn’t want to admit it, but according to the game’s setting, they were indeed a group of such fierce soldiers, and for a while their sanity was torn between dignity and life.

Seeing no answer, Madame Bella frowned and fixed her eyes on the male player sitting first to her right: “And you? Lovely little sweetheart?”

The tone was fleshy and slimy enough to give you goose bumps.

The male player shuddered as his desire to survive took over and he looked at the tall monster in front of him and said, “Dang, sure ……”

Madame Bella stared at him for several seconds, and after watching him tremble more and more, she finally gave him a smile of satisfaction. She nodded to the butler, who immediately rang the bell for the maids to start serving the food.

She then turned to the only female player, her voice teasing, “It seems to be a rare female guest who must be entertained.”

The female player was in a state of shock.

With that, Madame Bella waved her hand, and a maid came up to take the only female player to another place. She tried to struggle, but as soon as she made a move she was pinned down by the maid with a force that would not allow her to resist.

“Help me, you guys! Help me!” She reached out to a couple of male players who had been courting her earlier.

The men hesitated and gave each other a wink, but did not move.

The only female player present was then taken straight out of the ballroom.

At the sight of the players’ uncertain looks, Madame Bella explained, “The reception for female guests is different from yours.”

The attitude is perfunctory and does not state the specifics.

It seems that the tasks of male and female players are not the same in the presence of the game, and perhaps the female player has a little more difficulty in passing the game. The female player’s initial plan to get the male player to protect her has now been completely foiled, so good luck to her.

Afterwards Madame Bella and the players had a good talk, or rather a one-sided one.

She introduced the vase in the middle of the dining room, which was her favourite collection, centuries old and made by a famous craftsman of the time. Xiao Lan hadn’t heard much about the vase, but he had understood that it was poverty value, a large amount of poverty value.

But the way things are going, if someone breaks the vase, Mrs Bella might get furious, and Xiao Lan, who doesn’t want to be chased by a boss at the start of the game, has to put her mental yearnings to rest for now.

Poverty is a dangerous thing, and he will always find an opportunity.

Shortly afterwards, the appetizers were served on beautifully carved dinner plates.

But the appetizers looked sorry for themselves, white lumps of unknown ingredients lying on top of a greenish soup base, with neither the colour nor the flavour nor the presentation of the food, which looked out of place in this sophisticated banquet hall.

Xiao Lan poked his spoon at the unidentified object on his plate in confusion.

At this point, Luo leaned closer to him and said in a lowered voice, “Sir, this food gives me a bad feeling.”

Xiao Lan : “What is it?”

Luo : “Couldn’t tell, there seemed to be something in there that was out of the normal range and gave me a very ominous feeling.”

Xiao Lan frowned as he stared at the appetizer on his plate, something that looked like dark cuisine, but was actually dark in every sense of the word, eh?

“Sweetie~” Lady Bella’s voice rang out again.

Xiao Lan turned her head to see her serving a spoonful of appetizers to the unlucky man sitting to her right with a smile, “Here, try my cooking, I made this for you myself.”

Everyone’s eyes couldn’t help but take on a sympathetic look as they looked over.

The male player, faced with the spoon brought to his own mouth, could only drink it down with a stiff smile that was worse than a cry and said to Mrs. Bella, “Thank you, ma’am …… Your cooking is …… very good.”

The tone was heavy as if he was going to his grave.

Then Mrs Bella did the same to the unlucky man sitting to her left.

Just as the second man swallowed the bite of food in his mouth, the two men changed in full view of the crowd.

The look in their eyes towards Madame Bella was no longer torn and frightened, but suddenly evolved into one of heartfelt adoration and delight, as if they were two admirers who had come all the way to this manor to propose to their beloved.

They all expressed their affection for Mrs Bella.

“Madam, this is the best food in the world I have ever eaten!”

“Madam, your handiwork is simply a stunning work of art that is hard to find in this world!”

“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen!”

“There is such a wonderful beauty in the world!”

……

They looked frantic, frantically expressing their adoration for the monster sitting in the main seat. They wanted to show the passion and loyalty of their love by pulling out their hearts and placing them in front of Madame Bella.

This turn of events stunned the players seated next to him, and several who were still studying their food with their spoons immediately dropped them.

Wang Taidi whispered to Xiao Lan with a miserable white face, “In a way, this is the scariest boss I’ve ever met, you can kill me but you can’t insult my aesthetic.”

Xiao Lan nodded, “A man can be killed but not humiliated.”

Picturing himself being trapped and confessing his madness to this pig-headed man, Xiao Lan was determined that this game must not be lost.