Chapter 34

The prince’s smile froze on his face, and his dance steps came to a complete stop. His eyes widened as he stared at the radiant face before him, his tone filled with disbelief.

“You’re still sober?!”

How could anyone stay clear-headed when he was using his full charm? Just a moment ago, she had clearly seemed infatuated!

But now the prince realized—Shi Jian had been obsessed not with him, but with the version of herself reflected in his eyes.

In truth, Shi Jian had nearly fallen for it.

She had nothing but jealousy for this pay-to-win, cheat-wielding prince—there was absolutely no love.

At first, Shi Jian had been enjoying the spotlight, dancing beautifully while lit up just right. She knew the prince was the core of this scenario, with some kind of special lighting effect surrounding him, and she was more than happy to bask in the glow.

That scene would look fantastic—anyone in this scenario or watching the livestream would definitely notice her.

But then, as they danced, Shi Jian began to smell an overwhelming scent. Even the other streamers, standing much farther from the prince, had already lost their senses. Soon, Shi Jian began to feel dizzy and light-headed too.

It was as if a voice kept whispering in her mind—

The prince is noble, almighty, the most perfect being in the world. You must admire him, be infatuated with him.

The first part almost convinced Shi Jian, but the second half snapped her halfway back to her senses.

Bullshit!

Even she didn’t dare say she was perfect—where did this prince get such an inflated ego?

What really pulled her out of it completely was seeing herself reflected in the prince’s pupils. She looked absolutely stunning tonight.

After the prince stopped dancing, Shi Jian realized she hadn’t left the scenario. The curly-haired girl had still been holding out a little hope—they’d helped dress Shi Jian up together—but now it was confirmed: Shi Jian wasn’t Cinderella.

Shi Jian, speaking to the still-stunned prince, said, “Your cologne is really overpowering.”

It was her least favorite kind of perfume—just smelling it made her want to gag.

She offered sincere advice: “Even if you like it that much, tone it down.”

As she spoke, she quickly backed ten meters away, covering her nose and mouth to block the scent. “Is this part of your cheat package? If it is, I don’t want it.”

Shi Jian: Built-in lighting, built-in sound effects—it was all very tempting. But that scent was a dealbreaker. Enough to make her give it all up.

Of course, Shi Jian also knew this stingy prince wouldn’t tell her the secret behind it anyway.

The prince: “……” Shi Jian didn’t want to buy the cheat anymore, but somehow, that felt even worse than when she wouldn’t stop talking about it.

Then Shi Jian stabbed him in the heart again: “Your eyes…”

The prince’s expression softened slightly. “What about my eyes?” He still had a bit of hope left.

He was proud of his eyes—the golden color of his pupils had always been praised as regal. Even his father, the king, had complimented them countless times.

Shi Jian did indeed comment on the color of his pupils, just like the prince expected—but the more he listened, the more off it sounded.

Shi Jian said, “I hadn’t mentioned it before, but being that close to you just now, I realized they looked really familiar. Your eye color is a lot like Butler Tang’s.”

“…Who’s Butler Tang?”

“A butler. He eats people like a snake.”……

The livestream audience had now caught on, each exclaiming in surprise.

【Hahaha, a stunning beauty with a mouth that makes monsters angry.】

【Butler Tang keeps getting dragged; the streamer mentioned Butler Tang back at Qing Shan Yi Gao, right?】

【The ultimate unlucky butler, YYDS!】

【Yacht x6】【Super Rocket x1】

【Wow, come see the rich big shot! No shaky hands at all, daddy, hungry, feed me.】

The yacht gift costs 500 points, the super rocket 999 points; among the various flowers and candies, this continuous gifting was quite significant.

【Actually, I’m a girl. No shaky hands. I’m tipping because the streamer’s dance just now was so dreamy, so beautiful, and the plot twist too—I thought she was controlled by the prince, but she was actually watching herself. So amazing!】

After the “Super Rocket” appeared, two more viewers gifted the same item in quick succession.

【Prince: You compare me to the butler, then say I’m like a snake that swallows people. Do you think I can be happy about that?】

…

The prince was not happy. He shouldn’t have had any expectations for Shi Jian. Extremely disappointed, he flew into a rage.

His eyes turned icy cold, chin raised. “Since you won’t stay willingly, then I’ll force you to stay—become a human doll.”

Pointing at Shi Jian, he ordered the guard squad, “Take her down. Don’t damage the skin!”

“Yes!”

The guards received the order and all pointed their swords at Shi Jian. The teeth-like protrusions on the sword tips grew again, looking extremely eager.

Shi Jian hadn’t expected the prince to flip so quickly. She just wasn’t bewitched by him—was that a crime? Was he really that petty?

Of course, this wasn’t the time for complaints. Seeing the situation turning bad, Shi Jian took off running.

If she didn’t run, she’d be turned into a human doll.

Shi Jian performed a rapid shoe change on the spot. At times like this, props were necessary. The upgraded Barbie-pink high heels were really powerful—the speed had increased a lot, and she felt it wouldn’t break anytime soon.

The guards probably didn’t expect the woman who’d been so composed and elegant moments ago to run so fast—still as graceful as a princess when still, but wild as a crazed rabbit in motion.

For a moment, they were stunned. Meanwhile, Shi Jian was already clutching her big skirt and running out of the hall, the skirt billowing behind her.

Shi Jian didn’t relax despite her temporary lead because she could already hear the chaotic sounds of many footsteps chasing her from behind.

She ran aimlessly without direction. She didn’t know where she was going; whenever she reached a corner, she turned. The only thing she knew for sure was she couldn’t be caught by the guards.

Shi Jian unleashed a speed she never had even in her school PE tests. Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her throat, her breathing even hurt a little. Luckily, she realized the guards were no longer behind her.

Their running speed was normal, so they couldn’t catch up. Shi Jian had successfully shaken them off.

Now Shi Jian was hiding at a corner, her body pressed against the ship’s body. She needed to recover some strength; this feeling of fleeing was truly awful.

But she could hear the noise far from her side; the prince and others seemed to be on a different floor.

Shi Jian cautiously peeked around to observe secretly: she should be able to hide here for a while, right?“Do you think you can escape?”

“As long as you’re on this ship, you won’t get out of my palm.”

The night sea breeze carried the prince’s voice. From the tone, Shi Jian judged that the prince was upstairs, but she still had a bad feeling.

The fact that she wasn’t caught immediately meant the prince and guards couldn’t teleport; they probably didn’t know exactly where she was. So why was he so certain to say those words?

Could the prince have powers besides charm?

That would be such a trap!

The next second, the ship’s broadcast system started, still with a formal announcer’s voice: “Attention all personnel, attention all personnel, the prince is hunting Shi Jian. Please report if seen.”

Shi Jian: ???

Almost as soon as she heard the broadcast, she felt a strong gaze fixed on her.

A passing maid stared at Shi Jian, repeating like a puppet on strings, “Miss Shi Jian?”

Shi Jian: Is it too late to deny it now?

Too late.

“Miss Shi Jian is here!”

The maid screamed, shattering Shi Jian’s hard-won moment of peace. Cursing inside, Shi Jian resumed her frantic running.

The soldiers, having received the message, were chasing down from upstairs.

Yet escape was impossible.

“Miss Shi Jian is here.”

“I see Shi Jian.”

“Shi Jian is by the west staircase on the first floor. She’s heading up the stairs now…”

Shi Jian: … That’s cheating, why give exact locations too?!

She couldn’t climb the stairs anymore, so Shi Jian abruptly stopped and changed direction.

The prince might have no other skills, but he had countless followers and worshippers.

Maidservants, ship staff, cooks, even the guests on board were the prince’s eyes.

Wherever Shi Jian went, she was spotted and closely watched, then loudly exposed by them. Shi Jian might evade the guards, but she couldn’t hide from the others everywhere.

Just as the prince said: as long as she was on this ship, she couldn’t escape his palm.

The tension and pressure were suffocating.

Everyone on the ship—staff and guests—was helping the prince catch Shi Jian. She was one person against a whole ship’s crew.

Within moments, Shi Jian’s palms were sweating, partly from running, partly from panic. She could already see the prince’s calm figure approaching.

Surrounded by guards, the handsome prince wore a smile full of determination.

For him, this chase was like a game of cat and mouse.The game was coming to an end.

Shi Jian gritted her teeth and lowered her head as she rushed onto the deck—the same spot where the prince had shown her the sunset. Her mind was a complete mess, but that didn’t stop her from seriously considering whether it would be more graceful and beautiful to jump into the sea or to become a human doll.

If she jumped into the sea, should she fall lying on her back or show the left side of her face?

No matter what, Shi Jian could control this. Her only fear was whether the live stream would catch her choking on water—she could swim, but only at a basic level, so her expression would probably be grimacing.

She didn’t know how the prince’s team made human dolls—would they have to dig out the internal organs?

“Um…”

Shi Jian cleared her throat, but her question didn’t come out because she suddenly noticed the guards who had been right behind her had all stopped moving.

Their faces showed terror, and some hands holding swords began to tremble.

“Th-That… what is that?”

Shi Jian: ?

Only now did she realize something was wrong. Why was there a pillar next to her? There hadn’t been one on the deck before, and there was a strong smell of seafood.

Shi Jian slowly looked up, and halfway there her heart nearly stopped, her pupils shocked.

What she thought was a pillar beside her was actually the leg of a monster!

The monster was large, fish-like in appearance, covered in scales, with two whiskers by its mouth—but it had legs.

Shi Jian was standing right next to its leg, almost touching it.

“…”

The prince was also pale with shock. He saw Shi Jian standing side by side with the fish monster and hesitated, “Is that the gadget you bought?”

Shi Jian’s feet were nailed to the ground, with only one thought: Someone, please save me—I have no clue what the prince means. Who bought what gadget?

She—has a gadget?

The prince’s shouted words had already caught the fish monster’s attention. It didn’t move but extended an incredibly long tongue that flexibly approached the prince.

“Protect the prince!”

“Defend the prince!”

The prince’s guards screamed with all their might, brandishing various weapons and torches to attack the fish monster, but nothing worked.

The monster’s skin was incredibly tough—impervious to blades and spears. It had already wrapped the prince up with its tongue. The prince’s golden pupils began changing again, and the scent around him started spreading.

He tried to charm the fish monster.

But the fish monster wasn’t buying it.

Shi Jian saw the prince crying bitterly, completely losing his image as he was stuffed into the monster’s mouth. The prince shouted, “Don’t eat me! I’ll give you countless gold…”

The word “countless” was abruptly cut off as the monster closed its mouth.

The fish monster swallowed the prince.

Shi Jian, standing close enough, even heard the sound of the monster crushing the prince’s bones. She instantly felt her scalp go numb.Shi Jian didn’t have a gadget; the prince had one.