Roman provocatively glanced at Antoninus. "Cheer for me! I'll prove that his appearance on the court was a huge mistake."
"Don't do this!" I reminded him, "You should remember that the match between you two is just an exhibition, right?"
The purpose of an exhibition match is to liven up the atmosphere; how could they be competing seriously?
But Roman gently caressed my face. He said, "The next match is a friendly match. However, unfortunately, there's no friendship between me and our Mr. President."
Saying this, he picked up his racket and walked onto the court. Antoninus was also ready for the challenge.
The two of them played back and forth on the court, dazzling the spectators and prompting continuous cheers from the stands. However, I watched with great unease.
Their stances were nothing like an exhibition; it was more like a battle. Roman was serving directly at Antoninus's body each time!
He treated the tennis ball as if it were
His wound had clearly opened up again.On his black suit, you could faintly see the fresh stains of red blood.By the time we got back into the car, his dress shirt was completely soaked with sweat.As I removed his clothes and re-dressed his wound, tears couldn't help but stream down my face.But he was still smiling.He leaned wearily against the window, then, after a moment, he reached out and touched my chin with a smile.I glared at him resentfully, "What are you doing?"He showed me the transparent tear he had just wiped from my face, "Sorry, I never knew you liked crying so much.""I cry because...""Because why?"I turned my face away in annoyance, "It doesn't matter, it has nothing to do with you!"But even though I said that, the guilt inside me was growing stronger.I wiped away my tears forcefully and apologized, "Anyway, I'm sorry for coming to watch this match without telling you."
Antoninus was injured, but he still decided to continue working as usual. For the country, it was a good thing, but for me, it was different. Because he got hurt for my sake, I had to act as his temporary servant for these two days.During meals, his hand wasn't able to hold a fork properly, so I had to cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and feed him. While he worked, I had to sit beside him and assist him in his tasks. The President's work was dull, tedious, and incredibly boring."Next page," Antoninus said.I moved the mouse and told him, "Could you please add 'please'? I'm a person, not an emotionless tool. Thank you!"So, three minutes later, he spoke again, "Continue scrolling down, please."I rolled my eyes and threatened, "Antoninus, one day I'll make everything I see public. Then you can be charged with leaking state secrets!"Antoninus glanced at me and calmly said, "These aren't classified documents, and besides, you wouldn't un
This was my first time flying on a commercial plane, and little did I know that I would actually get airsick! I had never felt nauseous before when flying on a helicopter. Was it because the plane's cabin was enclosed? Throughout the process of ascending, I clung to Antoninus's embrace, gripping his arm tightly, my eyes and ears hurting, and my stomach churning.Antoninus held me close and instructed Eric to fetch motion sickness medication. After taking the medicine, I rested my head on Antoninus's leg and fell into a deep sleep.When I woke up, there was a thin blanket draped over me. I rolled over and found myself face-to-face with his chin. Sensing my gaze, Antoninus looked down and asked, "Awake?""Mhm." I mumbled in response, pulling the blanket up to half-cover my face.He, however, pulled the blanket back down gently, saying, "It's time for a meal.""I'm not hungry.""You need to eat something, or you'll feel even worse."Anto
I hadn't anticipated that not only Roman, but also Mr. Marcus would be here. I felt danger creeping in and turned to escape, but Roman caught my wrist. "Lily, don't worry. You won't be harmed, I promise."I struggled to break free, glaring at him in anger. I felt like a foolish little fish, lured into danger's edge by the anglerfish's light.Roman led me forcibly in front of his father.Marcus gestured for Roman to step back. "Please, have a seat, Miss Lily.""No need, thank you."Stubbornly, I remained standing, refusing to budge.He still wore a smile. "This is our second meeting, isn't it?""Mr. Marcus, if you have something to say, just say it!"His eyelids twitched slightly. "Brave girl, I admire your courage. Let's have a straightforward conversation.""I have numerous businesses here—gold, jewelry, and some other things. But our President can't stand that I monopolize this land. So, he wants to use the natio
Antoninus was a cautious person, yet he seemed to disregard Marcus's warning. Over the next few days, his schedule continued as usual. He kept meeting with the President and government officials of this country, even making time to visit neighboring nations. Strangely, Marcus didn't issue any more threats.Two days later, I saw Marcus on television. Armed assailants of unknown origin had attacked Marcus's gold mine. They occupied his mine and imprisoned the workers. He was now struggling with negotiations to resolve the situation. I strongly suspected this attack was related to Antoninus, but he never allowed me to inquire about these matters.Antoninus told me, "I have a day off tomorrow. Is there anything you'd like to do? I can accompany you.""I don't want to go anywhere."I hugged a pillow and lay on the bed, feeling somewhat downcast. I despised being caught up in these political whirlwinds. The visible and covert struggles, the conspiracies and mac
Roman sighed, "Lily, do you know? Sometimes, I really envy Antoninus.""Why would you envy him?"Roman didn't answer. Lately, he seemed to enjoy playing the silent game.I could sense that beneath his sunny demeanor, there was a cloud of hidden turmoil. I thought he might open up about his concerns, but after those words I couldn't hear, he didn't speak much about anything else.Until he brought me to a nearby island.As we disembarked, Marcus stood on the beach. His smile was as usual, but his eyes were bloodshot. I couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or anger. Either way, this version of him was a bit unsettling.Marcus approached politely, helping me off the boat. "We meet again, Miss Lily."I asked, "So, what's your purpose in bringing me here?""Of course, I wanted to ask you to continue being a messenger.""Alright, what's your message?""Tell Antoninus, I'm willing to cooperate with him. I agree to shar
"No, we still need to wait," Antoninus said. "Marcus needs to make more significant concessions.""But what about the workers?" I couldn't help but worry. "Will the people occupying the mine harm them?""No," Antoninus assured me. "They are just laying siege, not hurting anyone.""But a siege can also be dangerous."I relayed Marcus's words to him, but Antoninus just raised an eyebrow, seemingly unfazed.I grew frustrated. "The workers will be in danger if they're trapped in the mine for too long! Even Marcus is concerned for them. How can you stand by and watch them be trapped?""No, he's just using you. Marcus never cares about them. These local people are just his expendables. He can replace them as soon as they're used up. What he cares about are the experts and engineers he brought from Europe. Pressure has been mounting on him from that side.""Oh." I flopped onto the bed, feeling irritated. "I hate you guys.""Hmm?"
Antoninus went off to handle work, leaving just me in the room. Glancing at the time, I realized it was Chris's lunch break, so I decided to give him a video call."Mom!" Chris exclaimed joyfully as soon as he saw me.His classmates also gathered around to say hello, but Chris covered the screen and shooed them away, looking annoyed.I chuckled at the lively scene before me; kids were always full of energy. It's just that the teachers bore the brunt of it.Chris's teacher, William, was tidying up the books on his desk, looking exhausted and resigned. He appeared as though he had just finished teaching 800 students, although Chris's elite school had only 8 students per class.Curious, I asked Chris with a suppressed smile, "So, why did you manage to upset your teacher again?""No one upset him," Chris replied. "He just doesn't know the answers to our questions.""Really? He's that clueless? What kind of questions were you asking?"