I Am the Biggest Cheat in This World / Everyone Has Their Own Calculations

He could not utter a single word. He could only slowly raise his hand and cover his face, which had completely lost all control of its expressions.

Chapter 42: I Am the Biggest Cheat in This World

The red Audi R8 smoothly merged into the traffic of Tokyo.

Chen Tian gripped the steering wheel and glanced at the passenger seat. Marin was looking down and poking at her phone, her expression relaxed, as though that "family trial" from the morning had never happened. The car was unusually quiet—not at all like a place where Marin was present.

"Ahem..." Chen Tian cleared his throat.

Marin immediately looked up and glanced at him. She gave a light snort and decisively turned her head toward the window. "Hmph, don't think you can attract my attention. I haven't forgiven you yet."

The corners of Chen Tian's lips curved upward. "All right, Little Sun, can I ask you something?"

At that, Marin turned her head back again, folded her arms across her chest, and raised her chin. "Go ahead. I'm listening."

Chen Tian burst out laughing. "Hahaha..."

"What are you laughing at?" Marin coquettishly thumped his arm. "Spit it out!"

Chen Tian hurriedly stopped laughing. "All right, all right. I just wanted to know, Marin, why did you say those things to Rin this morning?"

He was referring to Marin's explosive remarks about the "free trial period," the "product manual," and "safety."

The ease on Marin's face immediately faded somewhat. She fell silent for several seconds, her fingers unconsciously twisting the seat belt.

"Actually, during the time Rin has been staying with us, I already noticed it." Marin sounded a little glum, and her fingers twisted the seat belt even harder.

Chen Tian kept his eyes on the road and did not interrupt her.

"Rin is always sneaking glances at you," Marin said, counting on her fingers. "When you hand her a drink, her ears turn red. When you praise her cooking from Tokyo University, she secretly presses her lips together and smiles. Even when you casually help straighten her tie..." She suddenly stopped and glared at Chen Tian angrily. "Anyway! She absolutely can't hide the way she looks at you!"

The light turned red. Chen Tian stepped on the brake and turned toward the passenger seat. Marin was pouting, her cheeks faintly pink from excitement.

"At her age..." Marin's voice lowered. "She's at the stage when it's easiest to fall for someone. And on top of that..." She gave Chen Tian a resentful look. "Someone's charm is simply off the charts! Especially among the girls who've seen your concerts..."

Chen Tian could not help chuckling. "Are you jealous?"

"Of course not!" Marin immediately exploded, loudly defending herself. "I'm just stating objective facts!" She began counting on her fingers. "Shinomiya Kaguya, Katou Megumi, Eriri, Yukino Yukinoshita..."

She suddenly got stuck halfway through and irritably scratched her hair. "Aaaah, there are too many to count! Every one of those women is eyeing you hungrily! Not to mention all your crazy female fans!"

Chen Tian watched Marin's huffy expression, the corners of his lips unconsciously lifting.

He reached out to ruffle her hair, but she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" Marin warned fiercely, though a smile she had failed to hide still lingered at the corners of her eyes. "I've decided!"

She suddenly clenched her little fist, her eyes sparkling. "To put it in Tokyo University terms—what's mine won't be given to outsiders!"

Chen Tian raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"I'm going to find reinforcements!" Marin announced, her expression suddenly turning crafty. "Rather than guarding against this person and that person..." She leaned closer to Chen Tian and lowered her voice. "Why not turn the reliable ones into our own people? Like Rin-chan..."

Chen Tian raised his brows, his shoulders drooping slightly. On the side Marin could not see, the corners of his lips curled up a little. "So..."

Marin suddenly waved her little fist, making the seat belt rattle loudly. "I'm going to be the First Wife!"

Her eyes shone astonishingly brightly. "No matter how many women join the family later, I'll make sure I keep them all beneath me!"

Chen Tian froze. "Wait, where did you learn that kind of wording..."

"Don't interrupt!" Marin counted on her fingers. "I know about the income from your concerts and the money you've made from investments."

She suddenly lowered her voice and leaned over mysteriously. "We're living in a single-family house now, but we'll be moving into a bigger one soon, right? After all..."

The tips of her ears suddenly reddened. "Every time... you know... I can't quite control my voice..."

"Pfft—" Chen Tian burst out laughing.

"Don't laugh!" Marin embarrassedly pounded his shoulder. "It's all because you're too... too..." She stammered for a long while before finally shouting in resignation, "Too strong!"

After laughing, Marin's expression suddenly dimmed. Her finger unconsciously drew circles on her skirt. "Actually... I don't think I'm a qualified girlfriend..."

Chen Tian immediately caught her restless hand and interlocked their fingers. "Marin, you'll always be the best girlfriend in my heart."

The corners of Marin's lips lifted involuntarily, but soon drooped again. "No, I'm not... Every time it gets to the end, you still haven't had enough..." Her voice grew softer and softer. "I'm already exhausted, yet you still have to worry about how I feel..."

The light turned red again. Chen Tian simply brought the car to a stop, turned, and cupped Marin's burning cheeks. "Listen." His thumb gently rubbed her cheek. "To me, falling asleep while holding you is more important than anything else."

Marin rubbed her little face against Chen Tian's palm, the soft sensation making his fingertips grow slightly hot.

"Me too, but..." She suddenly sat up straight, her gaze becoming unusually resolute. "I can't be so selfish and only think about myself."

"Take the Shinomiya Family," Marin said, analyzing the matter seriously as she counted on her fingers, her eyelashes casting delicate shadows in the sunlight. "They control a third of the financial lifeblood of the Kanto region. As a member of the family, Shinomiya Kaguya's mere status as your girlfriend would be enough to get you into the highest social circles."

Her speech grew faster and faster. "Then there's the Yukinoshita Family's construction industry, and Eriri's mother's connections in the art world..."

Chen Tian's hand suddenly came down and slapped Marin's thigh, interrupting her analysis of the "value of a political marriage."

Marin immediately fell silent and looked up at Chen Tian in surprise.

The Chen Tian before her had undergone a complete change in bearing.

The gentleness and consideration from moments ago had vanished without a trace.

He leaned back in the driver's seat, chin slightly raised. He stared ahead, and his eyes no longer held the tenderness he showed his lover. Instead, he looked like he was gazing down at countless fans from a concert stage, or looking down on his enemies from a battlefield.

An unparalleled confidence and dominance radiated from him, instantly filling the entire car.

"Xiao Meng," he said in a low voice, "I don't need anyone's help."

Marin's breath caught, and her heart was suddenly squeezed tight.

"I," Chen Tian said, the corner of his mouth curling into a wild smile. His gaze held not only contempt and dominance, but also disdain for the world itself. "Can obtain everything."

He paused, each word crashing down like a heavy hammer. "As long as I want it, I can."

Marin was completely stunned, staring at him blankly.

That familiar feeling of absolute control—which had made her scream and lose herself countless times onstage—had descended once again.

If this were an anime, she was certain her pupils would have turned into enormous, throbbing pink hearts. Her throat tightened, and she could not utter a single word.

The curve of Chen Tian's lips deepened, carrying an aloofness that looked down upon all living beings.

"This world," he said casually, though every word rang like thunder, "is merely a gigantic playground to me."

His gaze swept over the bustling streets outside the car window, as though he were looking at a pile of insignificant pixels.

"And I," he continued, his voice not loud but filled with absolute willpower, proclaiming that his very existence was the rule, "am the biggest cheat in this game."

He turned his head, his gaze locking onto Marin's eyes once more, overbearing and certain.

"So, Marin. All those pointless analyses of political-marriage value."

"It isn't that I need their backgrounds to raise my status."

"Rather..." Chen Tian enunciated every word, making a kingly declaration that allowed no doubt. "They need me."

Absolute silence fell inside the car. Marin could hear only the frantic pounding of her own heart—thump, thump, thump—loud enough to deafen her.

Looking at Chen Tian's face, now filled with aggression and absolute power, she felt her mouth go dry and her cheeks burn. Her mind went blank, with only that world-shaking declaration repeatedly echoing in her ears.

The silence inside the car was broken by the din of the street outside.

"Mm..." Marin finally came back to herself. She covered her wildly pounding chest with one small hand. "That's... that's not fair..." she muttered, her cheeks so hot they seemed ready to smoke.

The contrast between the Chen Tian who had looked down upon the world just now and the gentle boyfriend who usually coaxed her was far too intense. It was like a high-explosive shell had gone off in her head, leaving her dizzy and making her legs feel a little weak.

The car smoothly entered the parking lot of an automobile showroom, and Chen Tian neatly parked it.

He turned to the passenger seat. The dominance and contempt on his face receded like a tide, vanishing without a trace.

What appeared at the corners of his lips was the curve Marin knew best, filled with warmth and affection. His gaze was as gentle as a stream in early spring.

"We're here, Little Sun." His voice had returned to its usual gentleness, as though that earth-shaking declaration had never happened.

Marin was still a little dazed, staring blankly as he changed expressions.

Chen Tian unfastened his own seat belt, leaned over, and gently pressed the buckle beside Marin. With a soft click, the restraint came loose.

He naturally moved closer, carrying his clean, pleasant scent, and placed a gentle kiss on Marin's smooth forehead. The soft touch carried a soothing power.

"Xiao Meng," he whispered beside her ear, his warm breath brushing her earlobe. "You don't need to think about so many complicated things." His fingers gently brushed aside a slightly disheveled strand of golden hair from her forehead. "I'm still me." Looking at her somewhat bewildered eyes, he smiled tenderly. "I'm just Chen Tian, who wants to peacefully live each day."

Marin gazed at that gentle face before her. The lingering tremor in her heart slowly filled with a steadier, more comforting warmth. Whether he was a domineering king or a gentle boyfriend, he was still him.

"I... I can't hold it in anymore..." Kitagawa Marin screamed inwardly, her chest heaving violently.

Her movements were faster than her thoughts. Before Chen Tian could react, she had already pounced on him.

"Mm!" Chen Tian only had time to let out a muffled groan before Marin's arms tightly encircled his neck.

The girl's soft lips, burning with heat, pressed heavily against his.

The kiss came suddenly and passionately. Marin kissed him with nearly all her strength, as though she wanted to convey all the excitement, shock, and love she had built up through that kiss.

Chen Tian froze at first, then quickly took the initiative. He held the back of Marin's head with one hand and wrapped the other around her slender waist, pulling her entirely into his arms.

The two clung tightly together in the cramped driver's seat, almost able to feel each other's heartbeats.

"Mmm... ha..." The prolonged kiss left Marin slightly short of breath, but she still did not want to part. She only pulled back a little, resting her forehead against Chen Tian's as she panted.

When they separated, a thin strand of saliva stretched between their lips before snapping.

Marin's face was red as a ripe apple. She lightly bit her lip, and her legs unconsciously rubbed against each other.

"Boyfriend..." Her voice trembled sweetly. "I... don't want to buy a car anymore..." She gathered her courage and moved close to Chen Tian's ear, her breath fragrant. "I want... to..."

Chen Tian gave a low chuckle, smoothly shifted gears, and started the car.

"Sit properly." His voice was several shades lower than usual.

The red R8 roared. Its tires left faint marks on the ground as it turned around and drove away from the automobile showroom.

At the entrance of the dealership, the bald salesman who had received them earlier was bowing and waiting for the two people in the car to get out, but all he saw were the R8's receding taillights.

"Are... are they not buying it?" he asked blankly, standing where he was as the quotation sheet drooped limply from his hand.

"It must be because I didn't bow to a full ninety degrees just now! I made them unhappy!" he said, grabbing his sparse hair in frustration. "No! I have to win them back!"

Chapter 43: Everyone Has Their Own Calculations

X High School's teaching building, mathematics class.

Tohsaka Rin sat by the window, sunlight outlining her exquisite profile. But her thoughts were nowhere near the dull lesson being delivered by the rigid teacher at the front.

Her mind was a mess, filled entirely with Marin's explosive remarks from that morning:

"Free trial period," "product manual," "safety," and... her birthday two months later...

"...Would that be enough?" The thought surfaced uncontrollably, and Rin's heartbeat instantly skipped.

Immediately afterward, all kinds of images of Chen Tian flashed wildly through her mind:

His soul-stirring singing beneath the stage lights;

His unrivaled figure beneath the skies of Fuyuki City as he slew Gilgamesh;

His side profile, radiating absolute control, as he cleanly severed the ley line's magical energy;

His gentle smile when he handed her a drink in everyday life...

The image finally settled on that morning—

Chen Tian bare-chested, the morning light outlining his firm, sleek muscle lines...

"Mm!" Rin felt a rush of heat shoot straight to the top of her head. Her cheeks instantly flushed bright red, like a steamed crab.

"Tohsaka Rin!"

A stern reprimand exploded like thunder!

Rin abruptly came back to herself and nearly sprang from her seat.

At the front of the classroom, the short, rigid, bald teacher—with his horseshoe-shaped scalp gleaming in the sunlight—was now so furious that the veins on his head bulged. His eyes glared at her through his glasses.

"What are you daydreaming about?!" the teacher demanded, his voice simmering with anger. "What I'm teaching is very important! Answer my question just now!"

Every gaze in the classroom instantly focused on her.

The flush had not faded from Rin's cheeks; if anything, it had grown more vivid. She hurriedly lowered her head, her heart pounding wildly.

"I... I'm sorry, sir..." Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.