Meeting Cioccolata

As soon as they stepped out of the Daswei House, before the carriage had even turned the corner, Carlotta jumped up and kicked Kexi in the knee.

Kexi let out a yell, bent over, hugged her knees, and jumped several times on the spot.

"You still feel pain? I thought you'd lost your mind!" Carlotta tilted her head back, her face flushed red, her voice low but each word squeezed out through clenched teeth, "What are you thinking? Are you crazy?"

"What did I do now?!"

"Why did you send her an invitation?" Carlotta stood on tiptoe, poking his chest with her finger, saying one word with each poke, "You—went—to—break—the—engage! And then immediately handed her a wedding invitation? Did you think she wasn't upset enough, or that the Montelli Family wasn't shameless enough?"

"She seemed quite calm to me, and even spoke up for us—"

"What do you know!" Carlotta slapped his arm. "The calmer she is, the more abnormal she is! Am I a woman or are you?"

"You are you, you are." Kexi raised her hands in surrender.

A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, especially since his knee is still hurting.

Carlotta glared at him, her chest heaving several times, then she let out a heavy sigh and said, "The engagement is off. We're not related, so keep your distance."

The carriage bumped along the stone road, and Kexi rubbed her knees as she looked out the window.

The streets were sparsely populated.

Then he saw a red-haired figure from behind.

The figure was standing in front of a fruit stall on the street, seemingly buying something.

Kexi had already pushed open the car door and jumped out.

"Cioccolata!"

Cioccolata turned around, still holding a piece of dried apricot in her hand.

Upon seeing him, her eyes reddened slightly, but she quickly regained her composure, though her tone betrayed an undeniable sense of relief.

"Finally found you! Thank goodness you're alright. Christopher was lying to me after all."

"Christopher? You've seen him?" Kexi's voice suddenly rose, causing the fruit vendor next to him to look up at him.

"I've seen you. He said you were dying and told me to come to Ragunna City to find you—if I hurry, I might be able to save you."

Cioccolata put the dried apricots back on the stall, patted the icing off his hands, and said, "Looks like I came just in time. You're not dead."

"I'm perfectly fine. That scoundrel—wait a minute, how come you weren't controlled? Yaoyue and Rosinante were both controlled, and they don't remember who they are at all. Yaoyue now thinks she's my older sister, Rosinante has become the patriarch of the Daswei House, calling me his nephew all the time."

"I am a Resonator," Cioccolata Kong said calmly. "My Resonance Ability has a certain resistance to mental control."

Kexi opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.

He suddenly realized a chilling fact—of the four people, Cioccolata was not under control, nor was he.

Why wasn't he controlled? He knew his willpower wasn't strong enough to resist Christopher. Was it Christopher's doing? Why did he let him go?

He temporarily put aside this question and refocused on Cioccolata.

"Let's put that aside for now. We still don't know where this script ends. Christopher certainly didn't throw us in here just to let us experience life. Right now, Yaoyue and Rosinante are being controlled. We need to figure out how to break free from their control and bring them back."

Cioccolata nodded.

Then her gaze passed over Kexi's shoulder and landed on the carriage behind him. Carlotta was peeking half her head out of the carriage window, scrutinizing her with a critical look.

On the road.

Kexi briefly explained his experiences after entering the script to her— Mystic Sect, Qiuyuan, Yangyang, Suisui, Chisa, Jinhsi, Changli, being driven down the mountain, meeting Aemeath by the lake, returning to the Montelli Family to recognize his relatives, and breaking off the engagement. He spoke very quickly.

As they approached Montelli Family, Kexi saw the view of the neighborhood in front of it.

Red silk ribbons hung down from the lintel, lanterns were hung in a row, servants were climbing ladders to paste "double happiness" characters on the doorposts, and even the two stone lions at the entrance were covered with big red silk flowers.

People came and went, creating a lively scene.

"They're pretty quick," Kexi remarked.

Cioccolata followed his gaze and looked at the red silk and lanterns everywhere, then looked at Kexi.

Her expression was subtle, and her tone even more subtle. "You're getting married?"

"Ah... right." Kexi scratched his head and chuckled dryly, "Tomorrow... with Aemeath."

Who is Aemeath?

Cioccolata's voice was calm. She raised her eyes to look at Kexi, her eyes filled with something indescribable.

"You don't know her?" Kexi scratched the back of her head.

"I don't know them? Are there any other people besides the four of us?"

"You're not going to marry this Sonoro guy, are you?"

"Ah, you caught me." Kexi chuckled awkwardly, her laughter sounding dry.

"What are you thinking?" Cioccolata's voice was low, tinged with urgency. "This is a fake world. They're all unreal people. You know that, yet you still want to marry a fictional character?"

"I know."

"Then you still--"

"I don't care."

Cioccolata's words were stuck in his throat.

Kexi turned to look at her, a familiar smile on her lips.

He was a bit cheeky and a bit silly, but at that moment, his eyes were earnestly reflecting her image.

"You wouldn't understand. When the world of anime and manga comes to life—no, this should be considered three-dimensional—basically, when your favorite character is standing right in front of you, who can resist doing something they've always dreamed of? Since it's fake anyway, just consider it fulfilling a wish."

Cioccolata remained silent for the duration of three full breaths before giving her diagnosis.

"You're sick."

Kexi was too lazy to discuss this issue with her.

From the moment he saw her on the street until now, he had asked her a whole bunch of questions about Christopher, the script, Yaoyue, and Rosinante, but he had forgotten the most obvious thing.

"So, what have you been through?"

Cioccolata's face stiffened for a moment.

"It's nothing." She turned her head to the side.

Kexi waited for a moment, but she showed no intention of continuing.

He didn't press further, he just nodded.

"Then I'll go see Aemeath first."

"Etc."

"I want to go too."

She walked up to Kexi and looked up at him slightly.

"I want to see what kind of vixen has you so bewitched."

"Okay, let's do it together then. Don't bully her, she's very weak."

"You're still protecting her?" Cioccolata paused, turning her head to look at him.

Kexi had already strode towards the restaurant.

Cioccolata followed behind him, pushed open the restaurant door, and saw a scene she had never expected.

Yaoyue sat regally at the head of the table, with a cup of barely touched black tea in front of her.

Meanwhile, the pink-haired girl sitting next to her was devouring the food on the table with lightning speed.

With a chicken leg in his left hand and a piece of pork chop in his right, his cheeks bulged like a squirrel hoarding food for winter, and the bones in front of him had already piled up into a small mountain.

Yaoyue held her teacup, looking at the seemingly delicate but recklessly greedy girl with an expression that was somewhere between dignified and shocked. The tea in her cup had gone cold, but she hadn't even thought to drink it.

Aemeath looked up when she heard footsteps, her lips smeared with sauce and half a shrimp in her hand.

When she saw Kexi, her eyes lit up for a moment, then when she saw Cioccolata behind him, her chewing speed slowed down noticeably, and a hint of wariness appeared in her golden eyes.

"Aemeath!" Kexi's tone was full of silly joy.

Cioccolata stood behind Kexi, arms crossed, and looked the pink-haired girl at the table, who was eating with her mouth full of oil, up and down for a full five seconds.

Then she turned her head and looked at Kexi with an extremely complicated expression.