Ivy Shen's sudden move left Madam Blossom stunned for a moment, but her temper flared up instantly.
"What are you doing? You wanna fight, huh?" Madam Blossom rolled up her sleeves and barked fiercely.
"What do you think you're doing? He's a person, isn't he? How can you treat him like that?" Ivy snapped.
Madam Blossom just laughed, "Why? He's my male pet, I can treat him however I want—what's it to you?" She glanced at the chained man, "Look at his skin, so smooth! No wonder he's a prince. Who would've thought I'd get to own a royal male pet in this life? Awesome!" Already picturing victory, she burst out laughing.
"As if you deserve it!" Ivy couldn't stand her disgusting attitude. If it weren't for the competition, she'd love to curse out Yvonne Li and those dozen drag queen men.
"What did you just say?"
"Let me tell you, I'm taking first place, and—" Ivy pointed at the chained man, "I'm taking him too!"
Madam Blossom was about to explode at Ivy's determination, but before she could, Caleb Miles smiled and said, "Madam Blossom, come over here for a chat."
At his words, Madam Blossom shot Ivy a furious glare, then plastered on a smile and trotted over to Caleb Miles.
Caleb Miles gave her a slight nod, as if helping Ivy out of the situation—or maybe just letting her know this was all he could do.
Seeing this, Ivy Shen crouched down beside the chained man. His mouth was stuffed with a wad of white cloth, his face hidden by messy long hair, and four strong men were pinning him to the ground, forcing him to kneel with his head bowed like a statue.
Ivy couldn't help but reach out, wanting to remove the cloth from his mouth.
"Miss, don't! If you take out that cloth, he'll bite his tongue and kill himself for sure!" one of the men behind her quickly warned.
Ivy paused at his words and slowly pulled her hand back. "Hi, my name's Ivy Shen."
The man was like a block of wood, showing zero reaction to Ivy's self-introduction.
"I'm going to win this competition," Ivy said, knowing he wouldn't answer, so she just kept talking. "But don't worry, I won't make you my male pet or give you a hard time."
"I know you've suffered inhuman treatment here, and I know how much it hurts to be betrayed by your own family. So listen—you can't die. You have to live. And not just survive, but live well. Take back everything they owe you!"
"How about this—we make a deal. If I win, you give me the bracelet on your wrist, and I'll set you free. I'll even have someone escort you to Prosperity City. The shopkeeper at Safe Haven Clinic will use the best herbs to treat your injuries. I'm sure you'll get better, right? Because you must have a lot left to do, don't you?"
At her words, the chained man finally reacted. He slowly raised his head, revealing a flawless face—but what struck Ivy most were those domineering, razor-sharp eyes, staring straight into her heart as if seeing right through her.
It was Ivy's first time meeting eyes like these. Her heart skipped a beat, and a scary thought flickered through her mind: this man might one day throw the entire Chu Kingdom into chaos!
Ivy quickly shook her head, refusing to let her imagination run wild. But lately, random memory fragments kept drifting through her mind—probably from the body's original owner. These memories felt too powerful for her to handle, and whenever she tried to focus on them, her mind just went blank.
"Alright, alright, time's up! Let's start the competition!" The pink-robed announcer jumped up and shouted.
Ivy glanced at the chained man again, and found his eyes locked onto hers, as if pondering what she'd just said.
"As long as you tell yourself, 'Don't give up, don't abandon yourself,' there's no hurdle in this world you can't cross. Trust me—I will win! I have to win!" Ivy said, half to him and half to herself. With a faint smile, she stood up, not noticing that the man's once-dead, stagnant eyes were slowly coming back to life because of her words...
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PS: Darlings, tomorrow's singing round has a big climax! Even though there's only two chapters today, they're super long—basically like three chapters, sob sob, please send me red packets~