Chapter 200

Chapter 200

She had no right to say no.

Tu Nan inched over to the table and slowly sat down beside Andrew, all the while thinking about what she could do to leave as quickly as possible.

The servants soon brought the food to the table. The Beast’s table manners were anything but refined. He picked up his bowl of cream soup, buried his head in it, and began slurping noisily.

The milky-white soup stained the fur around Andrew’s mouth white.

Tu Nan scooped up spoonful after spoonful of soup and shoveled them into her mouth as fast as she could. In no time at all, she had emptied the bowl completely.

Based on her estimate, she had fifteen minutes left.

She had to get away from this Beast before midnight.

“Thank you for your hospitality.” She set down the spoon in her hand and forced down the urgency in her heart, trying to keep her voice calm. “The soup was delicious.”

Andrew casually wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“It’s getting late. May I go rest now, sir?” Tu Nan asked.

The Beast looked at her, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile.

“What’s the rush, Miss Belle?” he said slowly. “They still need time to clean the room. I think we can chat a little longer.”

Tu Nan frowned. Andrew seemed to BE deliberately keeping her here, refusing to let her leave.

Why?

If she insisted on leaving, would he get angry?

“I’ve already caused you so much trouble,” she said, rising to her feet. “I can take care of such minor things myself.”

Andrew’s expression darkened. “Do you not want to stay with me?”

Those astonishingly bright eyes fixed on her, danger glinting within them, as if the moment she said “yes,” he would pounce and tear her in half.

Under these circumstances, if she kept insisting on leaving, her outcome might not be any better than if she stayed.

“Of course not.” Tu Nan shook her head in panic. “Why would you think that? I only felt it was already very late. Perhaps we could tomorrow…”

Andrew’s expression eased a little, but he still did not agree to let her leave.

Tu Nan could only sit back down, increasingly anxious. Although she had Sleeping Beauty’s Bracelet, the dream ability had a limited number of uses. If this kept going, she would be killed a second time before she could even get out the door.

Where exactly was the problem?

An Instance would not leave a player in a certain-death situation. But Andrew was now deliberately keeping her here. Once the midnight bell rang and he lost his sanity completely, she would be dead beyond doubt.

There had to be something she had not thought of.

Time passed second by second. As she dealt with Andrew, she thought back over everything from the moment he entered until now, searching for what she had missed.

“Why do I feel like you seem a little distracted, Miss Belle?”

Andrew’s voice sounded right beside her ear. Tu Nan’s heart lurched, and she instinctively raised her eyes. To her surprise, she found that Andrew had somehow leaned right in front of her. In those beastlike pupils, she could see her own reflection-somewhat panicked.

[Target Favorability toward you: 10]

She froze for an instant. Then, as if a sudden enlightenment had struck her, she finally understood.

The mission of this Instance was to gain Andrew’s love. This was just like a dating sim. She had to keep raising the Target’s Favorability toward her in order to clear it. Perhaps walking out that door before twelve o’clock was the first stage.

Andrew’s Favorability toward her was not high enough.

In some dating sims, when the Target’s Favorability was too low, no matter how the plot developed, it would ultimately lead to a BE.
She wasn’t sure whether her theory was right. All she could do was test it as best she could.

“I’m sorry. It’s just my first time leaving home, and I’m feeling a little homesick.” She quickly adjusted her expression, putting on a pitiful, innocent look as she spoke in a soft voice.

[Target’s Favorability toward you: 20]

“What a pity. You’ll never be able to go home again.” Andrew snorted. “Your father has already given you to me.”

“Of course, sir.” Tu Nan nodded. “I’m sure we’ll get along very well.”

She glanced at the Beast before her, picked up the napkin on the table, and leaned forward slightly.

Andrew took a wary step back, his gaze turning hostile. “What are you doing?”

“I mean no offense. I only noticed that the fur on your cheek is a little dirty.” Tu Nan lowered her head, looking somewhat dejected. “I just wanted to wipe it clean for you.”

Andrew froze for a moment. He looked at the napkin in her hand, then raised his eyes to look at her.

He could no longer remember how long it had been since he had felt this way.

The feeling of not being rejected.

[Target’s Favorability toward you: 30]

“No need to trouble yourself.” He coughed and looked away. “It’s getting late. You should go rest first.”

Tu Nan’s eyes lit up, and she was just about to agree when the sound of a bell suddenly rang out in the distance.

Her movements paused.

Andrew, standing before her, once again made that strange noise. He twisted his neck, opened his enormous mouth, and lunged at her.

Tu Nan sighed.
—
The Beast before her was holding up his plate, slurping the thick soup from the bowl with loud gulps.

Tu Nan came back to herself, lowered her head to look at the soup in her own dish, then picked up the spoon beside her and slowly began to drink.

This body was starving right now. She needed to fill her stomach first.

By the time Andrew set down his plate, she had just happened to put down the spoon in her hand as well.

Andrew picked up the napkin beside him and casually wiped his mouth, but traces of soup still clung to his fur. A drop of broth hung from the end of one strand, swaying as though it might fall at any moment.

Tu Nan picked up her napkin and leaned forward to wipe it away for him, but Andrew immediately grabbed her hand in alarm.

“What are you doing?” He narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at her.

“I’m sorry. I only wanted to help you wipe away the soup.” Tu Nan blinked and said innocently. She lifted her other hand and pointed at his cheek, then said softly, “You don’t seem to have wiped it clean.”

Andrew seemed to freeze for a moment. The hand gripping her wrist loosened.

Tu Nan withdrew her hand. A vivid red mark stood out on her fair wrist. She gently rubbed it without saying anything.

“Is your hand all right?” Andrew asked.

“I think it should be fine.” She tugged at her sleeve, covering the red mark. “You don’t need to worry. I’m simply more prone to showing marks than other people.”

[Target’s Favorability toward you: 30]

Andrew could tell she was trying to comfort him, and for the first time in a long while, he felt warmth.

Ever since he had turned into the Beast, there had been no one who did not fear him.

“It’s getting late. You should rest early,” Andrew said of his own accord. “See you tomorrow.”

Tu Nan quietly let out a breath of relief.

“Thank you for your hospitality.” She rose to her feet, lifted her skirt, and curtsied. “See you tomorrow.”