The Mind Reader’s Bargain

“What’s wrong, Serena? Haven’t you made up your mind yet?”

Seeing the horned girl’s expression still grave, her tail wagging ceaselessly like a pendulum behind her, I promptly urged her on.

“Y-you… just let me think a little longer!” Serena sniffed, the conflicted expression on her face deepening.

“I just have a feeling, Lin Yan, that you’re not simply looking to play on your phone… You’re trying to trick me, aren’t you!”

Ah, it seemed women of all races possessed an uncanny sixth sense.

‘Indeed, I was trying to trick her, but there was no way I’d ever admit it aloud.’

“I give up. Why are you overthinking things again?”

I pressed a hand to my forehead, feigning an expression of deep distress.

“Can you stop letting your imagination run wild? I just want to play on my phone, and if you don’t agree, then fine! I don’t even want to do such a thankless task as helping you climb from Silver to Gold anyway!”

I dramatically flung my hand, then turned to leave the room.

However, before I could take more than a few steps, Serena rushed forward and seized my wrist.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t go! I haven’t said no yet!” Serena, still gripping my wrist, pursed her lips, her gaze flickering uncertainly. “Lin Yan, let me think a bit longer. Can you give me a few more minutes to consider?”

“Oh? I suppose that’s fine.” I extended three fingers impassively. “Three minutes. I’ll only give you three minutes to think it over. If you haven’t decided by then, just pretend I never said anything.”

Serena responded with a soft ‘Mmm,’ then lowered her head, sinking into contemplation.

‘What would happen if Si Yi found out…’

She mumbled to herself, her lips barely moving.

‘If I get caught, I’m definitely dead. They might even cut off my allowance for a month. But… but my rank is important too… Gold rank is my life’s ambition!’

‘Hold on, your ambition is ridiculously cheap! Gold rank is your life’s ambition? Your aspirations are far too modest, even worse than my perverted high school deskmate! At least his goal was to collect all the ‘albums’ in the world. While lewd, it was infinitely grander than yours!’

‘And if Chen Si Yi finds out you let me secretly play on my phone, forget about losing a month’s allowance; I reckon you…’

Just then, my thoughts abruptly ceased, and images of a game flashed rapidly through my mind.

–”Be a brother, come hack me down! One slice, 999 damage! Recycle equipment, earn tens of thousands a month.”

–”The Kun is so vast, its size unknown for thousands of miles. Devour and evolve, become the strongest Void Kun!”

*Cough, cough*… Before you assume I’m insane, it’s because a particular image suddenly flickered through my subconscious as I was formulating my plan.

It was from two days ago: Serena clutching my wrist, then collapsing into laughter as she mocked my fear of them taking nude photos of me.

‘Right, a moment of triumph had made me careless; I’d actually forgotten she possessed the ability to read minds.’

‘I hadn’t expected Serena to be so cunning! This girl was actually trying to trick *me*?’

Having realized this, I, standing by the door, began to recall classic game advertisements. Meanwhile, Serena, still holding my wrist, frowned deeply, her eyes tightly shut, not even lifting her head.

Another two minutes passed, and just as the three-minute deadline was about to expire, Serena finally released my wrist, looking at me with a knowing smile.

“Hehe, then, it’s decided! You help me reach Gold, and I’ll let you play on my phone!”

‘Tsk… she really did peek into my mind! This Serena girl is far more insidious than I imagined.’

‘Fortunately, I reacted in time. Otherwise, if she’d fully deciphered my plan and then, in a fit of rage, reported me to Chen Si Yi, not only would my escape plan have utterly failed, but my backside would likely have suffered another devastating blow.’

With that thought, a ‘harmonious’ smile spread across my face, and I clasped Serena’s outstretched right hand.

“Alright then, from now on, we’re partners fighting side by side, Serena-chan.”

****