Deceitful Game

Chapter 111 The Red Queen

Mingpo and his two companions were sitting in an izakaya (Japanese pub).

To Mingpo's left was Ai Shiping, and opposite him was Gao Fan.

"I didn't expect you would want to come here."

Gao Fan was a little confused: "I was planning to take you guys to eat at No. 5 West Suburbs."

"...Oh, then there's no need for that."

Ai Shiping's smile became somewhat forced: "I'm actually not very interested in Shanghainese cuisine... mainly because most of the things I usually eat are things you can't eat."

"for example?"

Gao Fan was somewhat interested.

"For example, hot pot," Mingpo replied casually, flipping through the menu, "He's actually from Sichuan—you wouldn't guess, would you?"

"I really couldn't tell."

Gao Fan exclaimed in surprise, "He doesn't have an accent at all!"

"If I were to speak Sichuan dialect, you wouldn't understand a thing."

Ai Shiping smiled and switched back to his original accent: "Right?"

"That's really true..."

Gao Fan nodded: "Actually, I know a few really good Japanese restaurants... so there's no need to save me money. Money doesn't have much value for us anymore."

"It's alright. This guy is a fan of Hamarou (a Japanese adult film actress), and this place is already quite nice. If it were any more upscale, he would feel uncomfortable. He doesn't understand why their food is so expensive, and he feels that the person who treated him spent too much money, which makes him a little upset."

As Mingpo spoke, she flipped through the menu and casually said to the waiter, "Hello, two bottles of this plum wine, Xiao Fan, would you like some?" "Ah, I can't drink much..."

While politely declining, Gao Fan asked with some curiosity, "A betel nut enthusiast?"

"I'm not talking about the betel nut you're chewing, I'm referring to Hama Sushi and Sushiro... These are two conveyor belt sushi brands, and the quality is pretty good. Their selling point is that they're cheap enough that even a full meal won't be too expensive."

Ai Shiping leaned back and exclaimed, "You two rich guys probably don't understand. I rarely go out, and when I do, I do thorough research beforehand. I always make sure to go to restaurants that offer good quality at reasonable prices—this restaurant specializes in horse meat sashimi and beef intestine hot pot, which are quite rare, aren't they?" They were chatting and laughing as they waited for their food to be served.

But just then...

A woman suddenly sat down in the empty seat next to Gao Fan.

Mingpo frowned immediately, pushed up his glasses, and said coldly, "Hello, we don't offer table sharing here."

Although it's unclear whether it's a flirtation or a sales pitch, it's not uncommon for Mingpo and Aishiping to encounter such situations.

He was about to politely ask the man to leave when he noticed that the person opposite him had familiarly put his arm around Gao Fan's shoulder, so he suddenly stopped talking.

"Long time no see! What's up, having dinner with your new teammates?"

The woman had a smile on her face, with her eyebrows and eyes curved, making her look like a fox.

She had short, apple-shaped hair and was probably less than 1.6 meters tall. But that was still at least two heads taller than Gao Fan, making it look like an older sister with her younger brother.

Mingpo narrowed her eyes slightly.

He had a very clear intuition that this woman was probably not a good person.

She sat down without greeting him and ignored Gao Fan's wishes, acting as if she knew him well. She used physical contact to take control of the conversation, a tactic of increasing her presence to exert pressure—common in gangster-themed Hong Kong films or Japanese dramas. While not exactly "malicious," it certainly carried an undisguised sense of morbid humor.

But what made Mingpo wary was the strange sense of oppression emanating from her.

Mingpo seemed to sense something about the woman that made him tense, causing him to stare intently at her, not daring to relax for a moment. Beside him, Ai Shiping accepted the chilled plum wine from the waiter, sizing up the uninvited woman as he unscrewed the bottle. Even by Ai Shiping's standards, she was quite beautiful. Her exact age was hard to discern, but she lacked the naiveté often associated with youth. She appeared to be in her twenties or thirties, with a bright and generous smile, white and even teeth, and remarkably well-maintained skin and figure.

She wore a solid gold earring with star and moon design, a cream-colored blazer, and a plain-colored top underneath.

But what caught Mingpo's attention most were her long, slender fingers, completely unmanicured. Compared to the other accessories she wore, her hands were so plain they seemed incongruous.

This kind of aura, even if it's not at the level of a big star, is at least at the level of a star actor or a big internet celebrity... It's a completely different type from little girls like Lin Ya and Raccoon.

...Could it be a friend Gao Fan knew before? Or his girlfriend?

Given Gao Fan's wealth, it's not surprising that he knows a stunning beauty of this caliber, and their ages also match.

But soon, Mingper realized that the situation was clearly not like that.

Unlike the woman's bright and cheerful smile, Gao Fan didn't seem very happy.

On the contrary, he seemed to be under a lot of pressure.

It was filled with tension and fear.

While Mingpo and the woman were sizing each other up, Ai Shiping suddenly spoke up.

"Aren't you going to introduce it to us?"

Not wanting to put Gao Fan in a difficult position, Ai Shiping asked with a smile, "Is this lady some kind of big star?"

"You have such a sweet tongue, handsome guy."

The woman smiled brightly and gestured to the clerk to bring her a can of beer.

"This is... the Red Queen."

Gao Fan said softly, "I used to work for her team."

"It's just a pity that I didn't have the chance to participate in the game with Xiaofan."

The Red Queen smiled and affectionately rubbed her face against Gao Fan's.

Just sitting across from him, the aroma was already wafting over. But Gao Fan's face showed no infatuation at being captivated by beauty; instead, his body was tense, and his hands clenched unconsciously.

With a stern face, he solemnly said to Mingbo, "The Red Queen is... a senior of the Moon Silver level."

Upon hearing this, both Mingpo and Ai Shiping were slightly taken aback.

They hadn't even seen a deceitful being of the lead level like Zhou Zhiqing yet, but they had seen a living Moon Silver! Although Mo and Ideal Kingdom were both Moon Silver level in life, they had both failed after all.

The fact that they were able to become hosts means that they all failed in the trial to advance to "Gold of the Year" and fell into the loser group.

...Gao Fan actually knows such an important person?

I am "the fox".

Ai Shiping spoke, breaking the silence.

He looked at Mingpo: "And this is...?"

"……mad Men."

Mingpo followed up softly.

"mad Men."

The Red Queen repeated the somewhat rare term, her smile growing even brighter: "Truly remarkable."

She turned to Gao Fan and whispered, "So... this is your new team? Hmm?"

"……Yes."

Gao Fan shuddered involuntarily, then said earnestly, "These are my true partners whom I can trust."

"Oh, I see."

The Red Queen drawled out her words.