"So whenever I played chess, I always let the person destined to lose win a few rounds first." Chu Hengyi tossed the white piece in his hand into the chess box. "No one wants to play with someone like you, someone who only wins and never loses."
"Someone will always think they're the final winner." Ye Mingzhao smiled pleasantly at Chu Hengyi. "Some people play chess, while others gamble. That's the charm of a contest—until the very last moment, who dares say they'll definitely win?"
"Then do you like gambling, or do you like competing?" Chu Hengyi countered sharply. "Have you ever considered that you might lose?"
Ye Mingzhao leaned back slightly, his gaze meeting Chu Hengyi's. "There will always be people who want to see me lose. Are you one of them?"
Chu Hengyi met Ye Mingzhao's eyes as well.
They were beautifully shaped peach blossom eyes. Whenever they looked at someone, they always seemed soft and brimming with affection. Yet Chu Hengyi knew that their owner did not possess the slightest bit of true feeling. All his gentleness and compliance were illusions meant to numb others. He carefully wrapped boundless malice in a sugary coating of kindness. Like a venomous snake in hibernation, even if warmed by someone's body heat, it would fiercely sink its fangs into the farmer's throat the instant it awoke.
He would use the venom he was born with to kill anyone within his sight—so long as he sensed a threat.
"Before the next round begins, we can choose the loser first." Though Chu Hengyi had already vaguely realized that Ye Mingzhao had noticed his hostility, at that moment, Chu Hengyi could not explain why.
He did not want to face Ye Mingzhao's question directly.
Ye Mingzhao slowly leaned his back against the sofa—the