Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 632: Talulah's Deal
The unexpected commotion finally died down after Talulah dragged Alina into the restroom and thoroughly washed off the makeup from her face. However, the consequences had already become irreversible.
Steven had laughed so hard that he was practically slumped bonelessly in his chair. Beside him, Yelena could no longer maintain her usual composed image either. Leaning against Steven, she had curled herself into a ball. Laughing openly was one thing, but for someone like her, desperately trying to suppress her laughter was far more torturous.
Still, thanks to this incident, what Steven had been wondering about—how to ease the tension between the girls—suddenly became much easier.
Perhaps because Yelena had already seen her at her most embarrassing, Talulah seemed to have given up trying to maintain her defenses. By the time she emerged from the restroom, she had completely regained her usual demeanor.
At the same time, however, much of the distance she had been keeping from Yelena had disappeared.
"I have to say, your makeup skills are amazing. Next time, don't do it. One thing I'm curious about though—what abstract art master taught you and nurtured such incredible artistic talent?"
Steven pursed his lips as he looked at Talulah. Now that she had returned to her natural appearance, her fair skin looked even more beautiful than before. If she had just left her face alone from the start, none of this would have happened.
"Just pretend nothing happened. I've never put makeup on anyone before. What happened just now was an illusion. An illusion, got it?"
Flatly denying reality, Talulah chose the path of self-delusion and avoidance.
As long as she refused to acknowledge that it happened, Alina would definitely back her up. Then it would be two against two, and nobody could prove the event had ever taken place.
"I'd love to pretend it never happened, but my brain doesn't seem interested in cooperating. Every time I look at you now, I want to laugh."
Steven struggled to suppress another grin.
He wasn't joking—this really felt like some kind of lingering aftereffect.
"Then hold it in!"
Marching up to him, Talulah viciously pinched the soft flesh at his waist.
She knew perfectly well that she couldn't actually hurt him, but making a statement was enough.
"I'll do my best. But shouldn't you silence Yelena first? Even if I don't say anything, can you guarantee she won't? I saw her secretly take a picture of you with the communicator I gave her."
Without hesitation, Steven sold out his teammate Yelena.
Following the principle of better her than me, he even exposed the fact that she had kept photographic evidence.
Of course, there was one thing Steven wasn't about to confess:
He had taken far more pictures himself.
Both Alina and Talulah had contributed to the collection, and his photo gallery now contained over a hundred images ready for appreciation at any time.
"Damn it!"
Clenching her small fists, Talulah shot a glance at Yelena, who sat leisurely in her chair watching the scene unfold.
After spending time together, Talulah knew very well that the white-haired girl wasn't a malicious person. On the contrary, whether as a coworker or a comrade, Yelena was someone she could trust completely.
The problem was that, for reasons cursed by fate, they had both fallen for the same man.
That single fact remained the greatest obstacle between them.
"Delete the photo."
Walking up to Yelena, Talulah got straight to the point.
There was absolutely no way this piece of blackmail-worthy history could be allowed to survive.
No matter what, it had to be erased completely.
"And what do I get in return? You'll need to show enough sincerity to convince me."
Holding Talulah's embarrassing secret in her hands, Yelena wasn't the least bit anxious.
She was the one with all the leverage here.
No matter how loudly Talulah protested, the decision ultimately rested with her.
"This guy. You can have him for a day."
Grabbing the nearby Steven, who had been happily watching the drama unfold, Talulah decisively shoved him toward Yelena.
She didn't hesitate in the slightest.
The scene looked exactly like a high-level business transaction between powerful executives.
The only problem was that the "commodity" being traded was handled with alarming casualness.
"No."
Yelena merely glanced at Steven, then calmly shook her head and rejected Talulah's proposal outright.
Just as Steven was beginning to feel touched—thinking that Yelena didn't see him merely as a bargaining chip and that he must occupy an important place in her heart—he heard her continue:
"At least three days. And during that time, you can't interfere. For those three days, he'll belong exclusively to me."
Holding up three fingers assertively, Yelena completely shattered Steven's illusions and demanded a higher price from Talulah.
"Could you two at least treat me like a human being and respect my opinion?"
"No," the two answered in perfect unison.
This guy was really complaining after getting all the benefits, wasn't he?
Were these next few days going to have even the slightest downside for him? What exactly did he have to complain about?
"Fine. I was just saying it anyway. Please, continue."
Steven's resistance lasted only a few seconds before the two women beat him back into submission.
He promptly shrank back into his chair and obediently resumed his role as a traded commodity.
Glancing at the now well-behaved Steven, Talulah reached out and pushed one of Yelena's fingers down, revealing her bottom line.
"Two days. No more than that. Otherwise, we'll both go down together."
Squinting slightly, she revealed a secret shocking enough to stun the entire Yeti Squadron.
"I doubt the members of the Yeti Squadron would want to hear that their big sister's favorite thing is having someone pet her tail."
The moment those words left her mouth, not only Yelena but even Steven nearly fell out of his seat.
"How does she know that? You told her that too?"
Yelena shot an irritated glare at the only possible culprit who could have leaked such a secret.
Her expression contained three parts embarrassment and seven parts anger.
Steven, meanwhile, looked equally bewildered.
He was certainly the only one who had experienced it firsthand, but the problem was that he had never told anyone about it.
So how had Talulah found out?
Talulah, the person in question, merely let out a cold laugh.
Of course, she wasn't about to reveal the truth.
Namely, that whenever Steven slept while hugging her, his wandering hands would constantly stroke her tail. Worse still, he'd talk in his sleep:
"Why isn't there any fluffy fur today?"
Both of them had brought this upon themselves.
"Fine. Deal."
After a moment of hesitation, Yelena finally agreed.
"I'll delete the photo. Let's pretend this never happened. We'll keep each other's secrets. And if anything ever gets leaked..."
She pointed directly at Steven.
"...then it'll definitely be his fault."
In truth, she had never intended to expose Talulah's embarrassing history in the first place. This outcome wasn't bad at all.
At the very least, she'd gained two whole days of exclusive Steven access for free.
"And how is this my fault again?" Steven muttered quietly.
Shooting Steven a glare, Talulah thought that if it weren't for this idiot, would she have ended up making such a fool of herself? She'd even been forced to swallow her pride and negotiate with that white rabbit. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Talulah twisted the flesh at Steven's waist even harder, practically wishing she could pinch off a piece of it.
"Alright, stop being upset. We agreed we'd go to Lungmen today, didn't we? Is there still enough time?"
As the ultimate mediator—and Steven's savior—Alina finally emerged from the restroom.
Since Talulah had chosen Alina's face as the primary canvas to showcase her "masterful" makeup skills, it had taken her until now to thoroughly wash off all the cosmetics.
The funny thing was that all of those products were high-end items Talulah had casually appropriated from Kashchey. Yet even Talulah herself couldn't understand why the final result had turned out so dramatically different from the elegant makeup the maids usually applied for her before formal banquets.
"Alina, my adorable Alina, you're the only one who cares about me..."
Like a child who had finally found someone to complain to, Steven threw his arms around Alina and buried his entire face in her soft embrace, basking in the warmth and gentleness that belonged uniquely to her.
Sigh... Alina really understood him.
If only Talulah and the others had personalities more like Alina's.
Dreaming of something that would never happen, Steven continued enjoying this long-overdue comfort. He even shifted his head around a few times, trying to find an even more comfortable position.
"Hmph. Just keep spoiling him."
Rolling her eyes at the utterly shameless Steven, Talulah stood with her hands on her hips and grumbled to Alina in annoyance.
"At this rate, one day he'll sell you off, and you'll probably help him count the money afterward."
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 689: Impossible to Refute[1]
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