Chapter 235 - Hello from the "Other side" (2/2)

The Emperor knit his brows, a bit offended but he could understand her reaction. ”Well...It told me to stop you from leaving or that I would come to regret it. And so I stopped you...”

Lei Xing looked at him, wide-eyed, open her mouth and then closed it. Then she removed her hands from his and covered her face.

{...What the- ?! It's definitely that crazy quack now, it has to be...Ohh, so it's a long-running joke, huh?... What the hell am I supposed to do with this piece of information?! What the hell is wrong with today?! >_

The Emperor panicked seeing Lei Xing like this, he held her arms and quickly continued to explain his stance, ”Xing er', at that time, I was confused as to what you could possibly do to make me regret letting you leave the palace. But now I understand, I would truly regret not having you in my life...Please don't be upset...” He finished as he gently rubbed her arms.

Lei Xing took a deep breath and removed her hands from her face. The Emperor was relieved to see that she was not crying and was ready to change the subject since it upset her. But then contrary to his expectations, Lei Xing pursued it by asking, ”What did it sound like? Describe it.”

The Emperor knit his brows, ”Well...Now that I'm thinking about it, it sounds like...I can't say. I don't remember...No, I don't think I ever knew. I know when I hear it and can identify it when I do, but then thinking about what it sounds like, there's nothing...It is quite odd, but the entire thing is odd, as you put it, crazy.”

Lei Xing knit her brows and glared at the bracelet on her wrist. It was the same with the bracelet. After Doctor Lou outed himself today, she had felt incredibly foolish. But after thinking about it, she had to conclude that it was not really her fault.

No matter how she thought about it, she did not remember the bracelet sounding like Doctor Lou ever. This fact she was certain of. It did not even sound like him when he talked through it right across from her.

She had initially suspected that he did something to mask his voice to make it ”more fun” but then it had been that way since she picked it up. So she decided it must be something close to a network or wiring issue with the bracelet.

But now that the Emperor also said all this and to her, it really could not be this coincidental.

{...And I'm not even shocked anymore -_-)'...}

It was quite convenient that the Emperor could not remember what his voice sounded like. If he did and it was Doctor Lou, then the Emperor would have come to realize this when they met. Lei Xing narrowed her eyes at the Emperor and tried a different angle, ”Did h- IT ask you to make me Empress by any chance?”

”No.” The Emperor swiftly responded with knit eyebrows and then worried that Lei Xing would doubt him, he expounded, ”It had no interest in that. I confirmed it. I had thought that it put the thought of asking to be Empress in my head during the competition, but it denied it and said it did not care about it at all...Making you Empress was my decision and mine alone. Xing er', this voice has absolutely nothing to do with my feelings for you. Th-..”

”I get that part...” Lei Xing dismissively waved away his profession of love and continued her inquiry, ”What did h- IT say it wants me here for then?”

The Emperor smiled and a little blush crept into his cheeks, ”A companion, mine...It said we were the perfect pair. It knows things and so must have known we were perfect for each other even before we did...” The Emperor said gently taking her hands and caressing them.

Lei Xing gave a quiet sarcastic laugh and looked off to the side, completely unamused.

{...Oh, it's because you don't know what I know...because if you knew what I knew, you would be thinking that we were being played with by a bored old man who apparently chose me as his entertainment project of the year the moment I walked into his shop! >_

Lei Xing frowned.

{...Wait...but that doesn't really make sense...}

The Emperor had just told her that he had been hearing a voice since he was a child and it had saved his life numerous times. The Emperor's voice also stated it did not care about her being Empress. Moreover, the Emperor did not have any objects that he carried or wore on his person all the time. If he did, she would definitely know about it.

{...There's no necklace, definitely no bracelet, no ring, no earrings, no ankle bracelet....and definitely no piercings anywhere...And the whole Empress thing too was all that quack seemed to want...sooo maybe not?...Then, is it really just a coincidence...No, it can't be...}

Lei Xing's frown deepened as she stared at her wrist where the bracelet rested.

{...I'm really starting to feel more and more like the butt of some stupid ass joke -_-)'...}