Four Split Personalities

In this scene, anyone who didn’t know these two very well could have been led astray, because whether it was Mo Tan and Double Leaf’s postures (straddling/a waist hug), tones of voice (pampering/tsundere), or behaviors (willing to be hit/gentle slap), they appeared to be perfectly matched, just like a couple, just like they needed a roasting.

However, that was wrong.

It was very, very wrong.

If some poor soul were fortunate enough to know these two very well, then they would be very aware that whether it was Mo Tan in his current persona or Double Leaf, who now seemed like a tsundere girlfriend, they were monsters who devoured people without spitting out their bones—especially when they were positioned as adversaries. The more harmonious and friendly they appeared, the more dangerous they were.

It wouldn’t be strange at all for these two whose bottoms lines were unfathomably deep. Mo Tan could openly declare his love for Double Leaf in a serious setting, and Double Leaf could seriously tell others that she was carrying his child. They could weave all kinds of malicious or incisive conspiracies while laughing, could calmly have tea and chat like friends, and the moment they caught each other’s slip-up, they wouldn’t hesitate to kick the other when down, backstab, and indulge in it tirelessly.

One second they would be chatting and laughing about some amusing incident, the next they would flip the table and curse, then continue chatting right after flipping the table. Such behavior had become routine between them.

Mo Tan and Double Leaf were never friends and had no intention of becoming friends, yet they were each other’s recognized archenemies, reveling in the thrill of a single misstep leading to doom.

Perhaps another person would have been played to death by now, but their ’game’ had persisted for many years with neither side able to take absolute advantage.

Even now, Mo Tan, with the help of The Realm of Innocence’s system BUG, had successfully misled Double Leaf, but that only gave himself a slight advantage; it certainly didn’t mean he held all the cards.

If he made even a minor mistake, Double Leaf, who had already traced things back to Mo Tan, would expose him completely without hesitation, unreservedly sending her companion, guilty of numerous anti-social cases, into prison to pick up the soap.

Of course, Mo Tan was the same; if she showed the slightest slip, he wouldn’t be soft-hearted either.

Every moment they spent together, they were utterly relentless in leading each other into fatal errors. After encountering each other in The Realm of Innocence, the frequency of that had even reached a level of madness.

So, really, if you thought these two were flirting and harboring improper thoughts from the opposite sex perspective, that was just too naive.

Mo Tan and Double Leaf never considered each other human to begin with, because they both knew that even if there were a tiny bit of humanity in the other, it would never be revealed before them.

Those cordial acts were merely a process in which they hurt each other, after all, to some extent, getting the other to genuinely ’like’ themselves was definitely a shortcut to victory in their game...

People tend to subconsciously want to believe in the person they’re infatuated with. Before establishing an official romantic relationship, in the so-called state where they are more than friends but not yet lovers, it’s quite easy to trust the other person and inadvertently drop one’s guard. Intelligence and rationality would continue to decline until officially claiming the other person, when their alertness and intelligence would return to average, or possibly even improve.

So, knowing that the other was of the opposite sex, the two supremely narcissistic and shameless ones naturally added another method of attack.

And so, both Mo Tan and Double Leaf developed a similar thought...

"If I can make this idiot fall at the feet of my pomegranate dress/jeans, I can beat them in minutes!"

Both narcissists were very clear that they would never fall for the other but still thought that, even if the chance was slim, there was a possibility of setting the other’s heart afluttering, so they would occasionally play this out.

Truth be told, from an objective standpoint, knowing everything about each other, they would never be conned because no one could like someone always scheming to doom them. But they didn’t see it that way.

It might also be that although they were aware of this fact, they still didn’t mind trying it out occasionally for entertainment, since it didn’t cost any money.

Thus the two with schemes in mind, who knew the other had schemes too, besides cursing at each other, limited cooperation, and daily probing, now added flirting and sexual harassment to their interactions.

And they played it quite high-level...

For instance, right now, Double Leaf’s textbook tsundere antics, those seemingly fierce but really massage-like little fists, the arms tightly embracing the other’s waist trembling ever so slightly, and the faint blush on her face that just happened to be caught in the corner of the other’s eye—all were very, very endearing.

And Mo Tan’s performance was no less notable. He seemed to be mocking (which he actually was), but after Double Leaf protested, he considerately slowed down a bit. Moreover, he straightened his back as much as possible to block the wind for the girl behind him, and even though she was pounding on the back of his head, he didn’t get angry. After finding out the reason, he said he didn’t mind, with words laced with indulgence, full boyfriend material.

Then... as expected, neither caught spring fever or ripples of excitement. They completely disregarded the ’charm’ the other had purposefully displayed and instead gave themselves very high praise, particularly shameless.