By noon on Sunday, the fourth round of the selection tournament concluded. After confirming everyone’s next opponents, Li Xiao became even more certain that the system’s matching algorithm had been tampered with.

Looking at the information on Qin Le’s terminal, Qian Can couldn’t help but click his tongue: “Your next opponent is the third-year top student, Liu Jie?! Are you kidding? Is this discrimination against us out-of-towners?”

Qin Le stared at the screen with a look of numb despair: “If I’m lucky, maybe I won’t be insta-killed.”

“You just need to be in the top 30% of the scores after the fifth round to qualify,” Jiang Hao said, shoveling food into his mouth. “Even if it kills us, we have to make it into that 30%.”

Qian Can glanced at him: “You’re trying way too hard.”

Jiang Hao replied with a serious expression: “That is the basic duty of a sidekick.”

Qian Can: “…”

Noticing that Li Xiao seemed preoccupied, and catching sight of the modified humans at nearby tables who were stealthily observing them, Song Jin said lazily, “The Inter-School League isn’t that fun, and the academic credits aren’t that high either. Why don’t we just skip it?”

The eating motions of the three—Qian Can, Qin Le, and Jiang Hao—paused, and they all looked over at him.

If they didn’t go to the S1301 sector, they could just lie flat and relax.

Qin Le pondered carefully: “With opponents this strong, there’s no guarantee we’d make it anyway. We might as well just give up. We’ll see the King of Danse before we return to Shengya regardless; we don’t need to fight everyone for a spot.”

The enemy had already set a trap and dug a pit, waiting for them to jump in. It wasn’t too late to back out now.

Li Xiao listened to their discussion, finished his meal, and rinsed his mouth with tea: “If Little Jin isn’t going, I don’t want to go either. There’s no point in traveling thousands of miles just to look at my brother’s old face; he isn’t even good-looking.”

Song Jin couldn’t agree more: “Why would an old man be good-looking?”

Qian Can and the others: “…”

This couple’s tongues were sharper than each other’s.

After finishing their meal, the five stood up and left. The modified humans at the neighboring tables exchanged glances and reported the news to Qi Ge.

In another dining hall, Qi Ge received the message and immediately contacted his grandfather, Qi Shoude: “That love-struck fool! He actually said he wouldn’t go just because Song Jin said so!”

Qi Shoude, having returned to his office after a meeting—where his temper was already foul from arguing with Yi Yongning over the disciplinary action against Qi Sen—looked grim: “Is the opponent arranged for Song Jin too difficult to handle?”

Qi Ge: “He’s in the top ten of the third-year students, right? Isn’t that what you said, to stop Song Jin and his group from qualifying?”

Qi Shoude asked with a dark face: “Was the arrangement too obvious? Did he find out?”

Qi Ge: “No, Li Xiao is just clingy. He’s stuck to Song Jin every day. If I’d known, I should have just let Song Jin qualify with him.”

“Absolutely not,” Qi Shoude said in a low voice. “Song Jin is a Shengya citizen; that identity is a huge problem. Shengya’s attitude toward Danse has been strange these past few years. They might be looking for an opportunity to launch an invasion, and we cannot give them any reason to cause trouble for Danse.”

Qi Ge didn’t understand these things. In his view, Danse had been refusing to establish diplomatic ties with Shengya, and Shengya hadn’t done anything out of line—though it could also be the calm before the storm, meant to make them lower their guard.

“Why would he pick a Shengya person as his spouse!” Qi Ge muttered impatiently. “If he really doesn’t go, will it affect our plans?”

Qi Shoude: “I’ll handle this.”

After hanging up, Qi Shoude drank some strong tea to suppress his surging irritation and used a backup terminal to contact Meng Jian.

At the First Military Academy, Li Xiao returned to his dormitory and immediately contacted his special assistant, Old Liu.

The Meng family had gone to great lengths to create an opportunity, wanting him to represent the military academy at the S1301 Inter-School Mecha League. Since his brother would be attending the event in person, there was no way anything good was waiting for them there.

He dialed three times with no answer. Li Xiao checked the time; at this hour, it was around 10:00 AM on T241. Liu Ming was likely out on inspections with his brother.

09: 【Li Xiao, there’s a situation with Wei Wen!】

Two surveillance screenshots automatically popped up in Li Xiao’s field of vision.

The first image showed Wei Wen about to enter the restroom.

The second image showed Wei Wen just coming out of the restroom, with the top button on the right sleeve of his shirt undone.

Li Xiao compared the two screenshots; the button was clearly fastened in the first one.

“Where?”

09: 【Restaurant No. 274.】

Li Xiao frowned. Both Restaurant No. 39 and No. 274 had been recommended by Yan Qing. Had the other party known all along that these two restaurants were problematic?

But thinking about it, that didn’t feel right.

Yan Qing didn’t want him to get involved in these affairs; how could he have warned him about the problematic restaurants beforehand?

A knock on the door sounded, and Song Jin entered.

“Did you see the screenshots?”

Li Xiao nodded: “I had 09 handle it.”

Song Jin looked disgusted: “The bathroom again. Flies really do love that kind of place.”

However, now that they had found an investigative lead, the subsequent tasks wouldn’t be as difficult.

Song Jin: “The new Ferryman has arrived. What do you plan to do?”

“Remain motionless for now.” Li Xiao opened the documents Yan Qing had given him and continued to organize them. “Even if we solve this one, another will take its place. Let’s lock onto the target first and wait for the right moment.”

Song Jin leaned against the table, watching the focused Li Xiao: “Father’s research might not yield results quickly. I looked at the recent reports; the regression agent doesn’t have much of an effect on Lin Zhou.”

Li Xiao didn’t even look up: “It doesn’t matter. As long as we can figure out the modification mechanism soon, that’s enough.”

Song Jin raised an eyebrow: “When the time comes to deal with the Meng family, do you plan on keeping those supply chains? Even if you keep them, the Meng family might not dare to use them. If the blood supply is cut off, we’ll see the same situation as the Fifth Legion.”

“I don’t intend to save the modified humans.”

Li Xiao looked up and met Song Jin’s gaze: “It would be good if I can, but if it’s too late, it can’t be helped. That is not a high-priority issue.”

His casual tone was as if he were saying that if a steamed bun left over from the morning couldn’t be finished, it could just be thrown away.

Song Jin was somewhat surprised: “So ruthless?”

Li Xiao: “Do I look like a warm-hearted, kind person to you?”

Song Jin: “…”

With the country in crisis, naturally, national interests came above all else, and everything else had to be pushed aside. As the first heir to the throne, it wasn’t strange for Li Xiao to think this way. But setting aside those external factors, Li Xiao was someone who drew clear lines.

He had two completely different sets of standards for what he cared about and what he didn’t, for what required his attention and what didn’t, and for his own people versus outsiders. For those and those things he had excluded, he could cast them aside with absolute coldness; no matter how much they struggled, they wouldn’t stir a ripple in Li Xiao’s heart.

Back when they had just entered their sham marriage, this kid hadn’t put him in his eyes at all; he was even nicer to Jiang Hao than to him.

Thinking about it still made him angry. Song Jin leaned against the table, moving closer: “Then where does my priority rank?”

The air remained silent for a moment. Li Xiao looked at him: “You are my trump card for dealing with the Meng family; naturally, you are at the very top. With you here, I don’t have to worry about Song Yu trying to trick me.”

Song Jin: “…So I’m just a hostage?”

Li Xiao stroked his hair: “Even if you are a hostage, you are the most beautiful hostage.”

After waiting half a day without hearing a single sweet nothing, Song Jin nodded slowly, his smile gradually turning ferocious: “Thanks a lot.”

Li Xiao: “You’re welcome.”

The consequence of teasing a kitten was half an hour of physical combat. They didn’t have time to look at the documents, and when the time came, they headed to the arena.

The afternoon was the final round.

After four rounds of eliminations, only 500 out of the 30,000 contestants remained.

Those who made it this far were basically elite second and third-year students. Only Li Xiao’s group of five and Gao Jia remained from the first year.

Discussion on the internal network was intense, with polls even opened for every match. Li Xiao and Song Jin occupied the most prominent positions with an overwhelming number of votes.

“Although the Second Prince and his spouse aren’t the strongest, I just don’t want to see them lose.”

“That’s not necessarily true; Song Jin wins very easily every time. He can probably even go a round with third-year top student Liu Jie.”

“Li Xiao hasn’t even shown his real strength yet! What kind of opponents are they giving him?”

“As long as he doesn’t go up against Liu Jie in the second half, Li Xiao is guaranteed a win.”

“Liu Jie’s first match is actually against Shengya Military Academy President, Qin Le! He’s only in his first year! How is this even fair?”

In the arena waiting hall, Li Xiao, dressed in a black training suit, passed through the security checkpoint, adjusting his gloves as he walked.

“Li Xiao.”

A familiar voice came from behind. Li Xiao turned his head; sure enough, it was Liu Jie with that arrogant face.

“Need something?”

Liu Jie walked toward the arena with Li Xiao.

“I didn’t think you could make it to the fifth round. You’re already very strong for a first-year.”

Li Xiao looked ahead, flexing his fingers to adjust to the gloves: “It’s all thanks to the matching system.”

“You’re so humble.” Liu Jie tilted his head to look at him and laughed, “I like humble people.”

Li Xiao: “Thanks.”

“Actually, I’m like you; I like Alphas.” Liu Jie suddenly leaned in close to Li Xiao, his smile becoming ambiguous. “They say Alphas are mutually exclusive, but the first time I saw you, I felt that you smelled very good.”

Li Xiao’s footsteps faltered slightly. He stopped and looked at Liu Jie.

Li Xiao’s appearance was undoubtedly top-tier. Being gazed at by those eyes, it was hard for anyone not to feel a heart-thump, even a fellow Alpha.

Liu Jie licked his lip with the tip of his tongue and became even more interested in Li Xiao. His eyes carried an aggressive intensity. Noticing Song Jin approaching, he curled his lips and said, “Many people say my personality is a lot like Song Jin’s. What do you think?”

In the waiting hall, Song Jin passed through the designated security checkpoint according to the prompts. As he stepped out of the hall, he heard exactly that sentence from Liu Jie. His expression instantly turned cold, and his brows knit together in irritation.

Liu Jie was standing too close to Li Xiao.

Did this idiot change his approach from provocation to seduction?

Song Jin’s anger meter instantly maxed out. He was a minute away from wanting to twist Liu Jie’s head off.

Li Xiao was about to speak when he noticed a certain “kitten” with all his fur standing on end, approaching with aggressive momentum. He answered calmly: “Song Jin wouldn’t do something as stomach-turning as licking his lips.”

The smile on Liu Jie’s face stiffened.

Li Xiao thought about it seriously: “Sorry to correct you, but the part that’s stomach-turning might not be the action, but the face.”

He didn’t expect Li Xiao to be so blunt. Liu Jie’s expression became unsightly, and he made an excuse about needing to compete and turned to leave.

Li Xiao didn’t take it to heart and continued walking toward his competition area. Suddenly, he heard rapid footsteps. Before he could turn around, he was grabbed by the lapels and pulled in, being kissed fiercely.

Song Jin’s beautiful eyes slanted toward him, and he deliberately performed the lip-licking motion: “Stomach-turning, serves you right.”

After speaking, he let go of Li Xiao and walked away without looking back.

Li Xiao wiped his lip where he had been bumped and laughed: “It really was the face.”

The fifth round of the competition took place in one arena.

Huge virtual screens floated above each competition area, broadcasting the battles in real-time.

Li Xiao and Song Jin finished their matches in two minutes. While waiting for the next round, they watched the battle between Qin Le and Liu Jie.

Liu Jie’s strength was a cut above the others. Qin Le had improved significantly in actual combat over the past two days, but he was still struggling against Liu Jie. Under the fierce, heavy offensive, he could only barely defend, and the few opportunities he found for counterattacks were resolved by Liu Jie, who would then turn defense into offense.

Hundreds of students in the arena watched, shocked.

It had been five minutes since the match started. Although Qin Le’s rhythm was a bit chaotic, he had managed to hold up against Liu Jie’s attacks. He was worthy of being the Shengya Military Academy President; with this strength in his first year, it was unimaginable how strong he would be by his third year.

Qin Le’s focus was intense; his temples were covered in fine beads of sweat.

Liu Jie performed a leaping sweep that missed. Qin Le locked onto a defensive vulnerability and lunged, his blade piercing toward the opponent’s abdomen.

But the move was only halfway through when Liu Jie’s long blade, which had been swinging over, suddenly swerved and slashed toward him.

Qin Le thought, Not good, but it was already too late. With a loud bang, dozens of fault notifications popped up above the control console.

The head of his mecha had been severed by Liu Jie.

Liu Jie’s voice came over the battle channel: “Sorry about that, didn’t mean to go too hard. Forgive me.”

He said it, but there was no sincerity of apology in his tone.

Qin Le: “No need to apologize. Senior is very strong; I’ve learned a lot.”

In the distance, Song Jin leaned back in the pilot’s seat, watching the process with patience.

Liu Jie had used a feint to lure Le-Le into a trap; that was fine, but the final counterattack move had been completely intentional.

On the surface, it was to humiliate Qin Le, but in reality, it was targeted at him.

Half an hour later, in the second half, Song Jin glanced at the information sent to his terminal.

His final match opponent—Liu Jie.

The internal network livestream, which had been discussing Qin Le’s strength, instantly exploded once the matching was released.

“Ahhhhh! Damned matching system, are you trying to revolt?!”

“The two people I wanted to see most are about to kill each other!”

“I don’t want to see Song Jin lose, woooo…”

“I hope Liu Jie doesn’t cut anyone’s head off again.”

“What are you all worried about? Song Jin doesn’t necessarily lose!”

“The Second Prince’s opponent is in the top 15 of the third years; that’s something to look forward to too!”

Li Xiao looked at the matching situation displayed on the giant screen, knowing someone was about to be miserable.

The bell rang, and the match officially began.

Li Xiao watched his opponent attack, increased the thruster pressure, and jumped.

The third-year Alpha lunged, missing his mark. When he couldn’t see Li Xiao, he looked at the radar, only to find the person above his head. He quickly retreated to avoid him.

Li Xiao pulled out his long blade with his backhand, borrowed the momentum of the acceleration to spin 1800° laterally, and slashed directly at his opponent.

His speed was too fast. The third-year Alpha couldn’t retreat faster than Li Xiao could pursue, so he was forced to hold his blade horizontally to block.

With a loud bang, sparks flew from the clash of blades.

The Alpha only felt his hand holding the control stick go numb from the recoil. The next moment, a red window popped up on the control console.

【Head sensor area hit. You have been eliminated.】

The Alpha stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it.

“I blocked it, didn’t I?”

The virtual screen above the arena displayed a slow-motion replay of the previous battle.

Li Xiao’s blade had been blocked, but because the force was so immense, the edge of the blade had been forced onto the mecha’s face, triggering the sensor area.

Livestream comments—

“Insta-killing a top 15 third-year! The Second Prince is awesome!”

“This round was too intense, right?! Did he win just by sheer force? If we pick him up and shake him, can he leak some more expert moves?”

“You guys are blind. The dive followed by five aerial twists—whoever trains that knows how hard it is; if he didn’t twist the mecha into a mess, I’d lose! It’s really cool, and really hard!”

“The Second Prince is starting to watch Song Jin’s match! Didn’t he finish his own so fast just to watch his wife fight?”

“Li Xiao: Finished quickly to watch the wife’s match, feeling great.”

“Ahhh, brothers! Liu Jie hasn’t broken his defense yet, Song Jin is holding steady! This is so hype!”

In the arena, Li Xiao stood in his competition area, looking toward the direction of Song Jin’s battle.

Students whose battles had ended were connecting to the public channel one after another, all discussing Song Jin’s match against Liu Jie.

“Boss Li, can my brother win? I’m so nervous I’m about to cry.” Qian Can’s anxious voice came through the public channel.

Qin Le: “Liu Jie is an uncompromising offensive player. He uses offense as defense—he’s too fierce.”

Just as the students were debating intensely, Li Xiao’s deep voice came over the channel. His voice was too recognizable, and everyone fell silent involuntarily, wanting to hear what he had to say.

Li Xiao: “Liu Jie’s fighting style is indeed vicious. Every attack targets the most difficult dead zones to defend. His fundamentals are solid, his operational familiarity is excellent, and he can execute high-difficulty combo moves with ease. With the addition of his attack speed and technique, his attack power increases exponentially.”

Qian Can wailed: “Stop praising him, I’m already nervous enough!”

The public channel became even quieter.

Everyone here was a top student from the second or third year, including second-year top student Lin Shuo, who was also watching the match.

Li Xiao was right. Liu Jie had always been a snake-like, troublesome opponent. Once he locked onto you, you were doomed to be swallowed.

“But—”

Everyone held their breath.

Li Xiao: “Compared to Little Jin, Liu Jie is still far behind.”

Everyone: “…”

Why do you have to pause so long when you speak!

Lin Shuo said on the public channel: “But as of now, Song Jin can only manage not to have his defense broken; he hasn’t found a chance to counterattack.”

Li Xiao: “Is that so?”

Lin Shuo broke into a cold sweat: “…”

Being asked that, he wasn’t even confident anymore.

Lin Shuo watched for a moment: “Liu Jie’s attack rhythm is getting better and better. If Song Jin doesn’t find an opportunity, it will be dangerous.”

Li Xiao chuckled: “Then why can’t he break the defense?”

Lin Shuo: “…”

That made sense.

Liu Jie’s offensive was becoming more and more rapid, but he couldn’t break Song Jin’s defense, and Song Jin’s rhythm remained steady, which meant the entire situation was actually being controlled by Song Jin.

As if to prove Li Xiao’s words, Song Jin blocked the tip of the blade Liu Jie was thrusting at him, suddenly increased pressure and lunged, forcefully swung open Liu Jie’s blade, and began his counterattack. The first move was a B1-level combo.

“Offensive direct cut, follow-up rotational direct cut, another rotational direct cut, flash to the back and follow-up with a reverse backstab, then a 1080° lateral sweep… This is Liu Jie’s original signature combo!”

Students in the public channel called out Song Jin’s moves, shocked beyond belief.

But soon, they discovered things were far from simple.

Song Jin used three consecutive combos, all of which were copies of Liu Jie’s!

Lin Shuo’s heart tightened as he watched.

Liu Jie hadn’t broken Song Jin’s defense, but Song Jin’s three combos had already scattered Liu Jie’s rhythm!

Liu Jie tried to find a gap to counterattack, but every time he prepared, he had to deal with Song Jin’s attack first. His mecha’s movements changed from sharp and decisive to hesitant and panicked.

The long blade Song Jin swung changed its angle suddenly.

Liu Jie was startled and quickly retreated to protect the fatal sensor area. Then he heard a bang, and a notification popped up on his control console.

【Left palm destroyed.】

Liu Jie couldn’t retract his hand in time; another bang.

【Right palm destroyed, connection to weapon lost.】

【Left forearm destroyed.】

【Right forearm destroyed.】

Song Jin had changed his style from earlier; his moves became vicious and sharp. Every time his flipped blade swung past, it severed a piece of Liu Jie’s mecha, and Liu Jie couldn’t even fight back.

Lin Shuo: “Song Jin has completely suppressed Liu Jie!”

Qian Can: “Boss is awesome!”

Gasps continued on the public channel.

Seeing this, the students finally understood what Li Xiao meant by “far behind.”

Liu Jie was indeed vicious, but in front of Song Jin’s absolute strength, he was just a little brother!

Li Xiao leaned against the pilot’s seat, watching his “kitten” go wild with comfort.

Song Jin got to vent his anger, and he got to enjoy a wonderful match—killing two birds with one stone.

In addition to the students, instructors were also monitoring the matches from the arena’s back office.

Zhao De was grinning from ear to ear. When he saw Song Jin start to cut up the mecha, he hurriedly opened the voice control system: “Little Song, the rules don’t allow destroying the mecha. Watch the angle of your attack!”

The other instructors glanced at him: “…”

Is this really a question of angle?

Zhao De shouted excitedly: “He can’t defend now, press the advantage, attack the sensor area on his chest, and take the win in one breath!”

The other instructors: “…”

Secretly coaching while pretending to issue a warning, Old Zhao, aren’t you afraid of having to write a self-criticism report?

Song Jin: “So noisy.”

Zhao De: “…”

In the arena, Song Jin severed Liu Jie’s two mechanical arms and then cut off a leg just as Liu Jie jumped.

Liu Jie was about to land when his mecha suddenly lost balance and slammed heavily into the ground.

Song Jin’s mecha appeared on the monitor with a long blade held high, its tip pointing exactly at the cockpit. Liu Jie hurriedly contacted the back office: “Song Jin is attacking in violation of the rules, stop him!”

The instructor’s voice came over: “We have already issued a warning.”

But no sooner had he spoken than the blade tip on the monitor was rapidly approaching. Liu Jie was so scared he hurriedly unbuckled his safety belt and fell to the ground in a panic.

Bang.

Liu Jie’s scalp tightened; he looked up at the control console.

The tip of the blade was pressing against the protective cover of the cockpit, not piercing any further.

The pressure of the blade hanging over his head made Liu Jie unable to breathe. His forehead went cold, and he realized belatedly that he was covered in sweat.

The battle ended, and the two automatically connected to the public channel.

Liu Jie heard Song Jin’s cold voice:

“Gaudy.”

Liu Jie gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into the ground.

He never thought he would lose, let alone lose this miserably.

Everyone watching the match, both in the arena and on the internal network, never expected that Song Jin could absolutely crush Liu Jie with such a forceful attitude.

After the match, Song Jin left his mecha. Seeing Liu Jie being helped out of his cockpit out of the corner of his eye, he didn’t give him even half a look and strolled off to find Li Xiao.

Liu Jie watched him leave, his expression quite ugly.

Both Li Xiao and Song Jin won their two matches and qualified directly.

Jiang Hao and the other three each had one win and one loss, and according to the final point rankings, they barely qualified.

Qian Can looked at his ranking of 150, feeling both happy and sad.

On the way back, Jiang Hao asked Li Xiao: “Are we going?”

They had the tickets, but they hadn’t decided whether to go.

Li Xiao swiped open his terminal and found that Special Assistant Old Liu had replied to his video call.

If they could change his brother’s itinerary and detour away from S1301 to somewhere else, they wouldn’t need to go.

“Boss Li, it’s already in the news online!” Qian Can leaned over to Li Xiao and turned the screen toward him. “That speed is unreal.”

#Second Prince to attend S1301 Inter-School Mecha League# was trending on the online platform.

The top news under the trending topic was released by the Military Academy ten minutes ago, explaining the selection tournament results and emphasizing that Li Xiao would be traveling to S1301 to compete.

The top comments indeed mentioned the King’s tour, expressing satisfaction with the sincerity shown by the Royal Family and high anticipation for the Inter-School League.

“The news is already out. If we don’t go now, I guess people will use it to make a point again.” Qian Can clicked his tongue and shook his head.

There had been no expectations before, but now that hope had been given, if that hope was extinguished, it would definitely cause public resentment.

The Meng family was using public opinion to force Li Xiao’s hand—he had to go, whether he liked it or not.

Song Jin frowned: “They really don’t learn.”

Jiang Hao: “So what do we do?”

Li Xiao: “No rush.”

After returning to the dormitory once all the procedures were finished, Li Xiao returned a video call to Old Liu, which was picked up quickly this time.

“Your Highness, I heard you won your match. Congratulations,” Old Liu said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Li Xiao said coldly. “Have the inspections gone smoothly the past two days?”

Old Liu glanced off-camera and answered with a smile: “Everything is going smoothly.”

Off-camera, Li Ji was working during the flight. He was burying his head in reading approval documents but had been pricking up his ears to listen to the conversation between Old Liu and Li Xiao. The pen in his hand twirled flirtatiously, and he couldn’t even manage to finish a signature.

After Li Xiao finished asking about the situation, he changed the subject: “Is there any way to change the itinerary for S1301?”

The pen in Li Ji’s hand paused. He looked up and gave Old Liu a look.

Old Liu understood and spoke respectfully: “Your Highness, the tour itinerary cannot be changed casually. Especially since S1301 has an Inter-School League scheduled, and the fact that His Majesty will personally attend was leaked out long ago. Many ordinary citizens have been invited. If we suddenly say we aren’t going, the impact will be bad.”

Li Xiao said straightforwardly: “There might be an ambush.”

Old Liu’s face changed, and he instinctively looked at Li Ji.

Li Ji narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke directly: “Whose ambush?”

Li Xiao: “Who else?”

Li Ji pressed: “How do you know?”

It was troublesome to explain through a video call, and Li Xiao didn’t say much: “Intuition.”

“Just because of your intuition, I should adjust the entire tour itinerary?” Li Ji’s tone was cold and hard. “This is not child’s play!”

Li Xiao: “There are backup plans for the tour, right? There is still time to adjust now. As for the public, have your PR team make up an excuse.”

Li Xiao’s tone didn’t change, but his attitude was very firm.

Li Ji: “I won’t change it.”

Li Xiao: “Is the tour more important than your life?”

Li Ji: “According to your intuition, I should hide in the palace for the rest of my life and never come out.”

Li Xiao: “That’s not impossible.”

Even hiding in the palace couldn’t guarantee safety, let alone leaving Tianjiang.

Li Ji was so angry he urged Old Liu to hang up, wanting to be away from the sight and out of mind.

Old Liu was caught in the middle, looking at Li Xiao on the other side of the screen: “Your Highness, the King’s tour is a major event; it really cannot be changed at will. Please don’t be angry. His Majesty specifically made time to look forward to meeting you for dinner—”

Li Ji interrupted him: “Are you done talking?”

Li Xiao had just finished listening to him when the screen went black.

Song Jin was sitting across from him at the bar, organizing the materials Yan Qing had given him while eating berries washed by Li Xiao: “Communicating with you two is even more difficult than with my brother.”

Li Xiao: “As expected.”

Song Jin fed him a berry as a comfort: “Then what’s your backup plan?”

Li Xiao opened his mouth and bit it: “If we really have to go, we have to make a lot of preparations.”

Thinking about it, Li Xiao looked at Song Jin.

Before he could speak, Song Jin subtly understood, his tone sounding chilly: “You failed to persuade your brother, so you’re turning to persuade me? Do you think I’m easier to talk to than him?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Song Jin rested his chin on his hands and looked over: “He can only be fierce to you. I’m different; I can also bite you.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Both of them at home were stubborn as mules.