Olivia messed up the chess pieces on the board and swept them aside. “Don’t underestimate Gomoku. It looks simple, but there’s a lot of depth to it.” She paused thoughtfully and asked, “Chad Foster, are you good at chess?”

“……” The young man was uncharacteristically silent.

In the Foster family, he was dispensable, bullied by everyone. But what others didn’t know was that in any field, as long as he had the chance to get involved, he would absorb knowledge like a seedling being watered, doing everything he could to make himself stronger and more perfect.

Chess was no exception—especially since it was his sister who taught him hand-in-hand.

At first, he always lost. Later, Yvonne Foster was no longer a match for him. However, he rarely beat his sister; most of the time, he deliberately lost.

Because Yvonne Foster didn’t like his unpredictable style, didn’t like that he would do anything to win. Since his sister didn’t like it, he simply wouldn’t win, preferring to act naive and clumsy, hesitating and pouting as he pleaded with Yvonne Foster, “Sister… I don’t know what move to make.”

At those times, Yvonne Foster would show a helpless smile and pat his head. “No, you have to play until the end.”

“But I’ll lose. You’re about to win, Sister.”

Yvonne Foster would put on a stern face. “You can’t stop just because you’re afraid to lose. Come on, Chad, make your move.”

In fact, not only would he not lose, he even knew how to let Yvonne Foster win without her noticing.

But Yvonne Foster hadn’t played chess with him for a long time. Because Henry Carter was also a master—he was the type his sister admired most: steady and upright in his play. The two of them were well-matched opponents.

Chad Foster’s gaze grew deeper.

Olivia saw the black lotus’s jade-like face flicker with changing emotions and regretted her loose tongue a little.

Judging by his expression, he probably wasn’t very good at it. She didn’t know Go, couldn’t see the subtleties, and after all the effort the black lotus put into playing, she’d just messed it up for him…

A sudden pang of guilt rose in her heart.

“…As I was saying, Gomoku looks simple, but it’s actually very hard.” She smoothly changed the subject, “Even if you’re great at Go, Young Master Foster, you might not be able to handle this little game of Gomoku.”

She sorted the pieces, keeping the black ones for herself and pushing the white ones to him. “Want to try a game?”

Chad Foster looked at the box of white pieces in front of him and frowned. “We’re switching pieces?”

“That’s right.” Olivia Sullivan’s eyes curved as she picked up a lustrous white piece to show him. The lamplight reflected in her eyes like two little moons. “These are Yunzi, as pale as new shoots, as white and beautiful as you, Young Master Foster.”

Chad Foster: “……”

It was the fourth watch of the night, the deepest part of the night, when all things slept.

The lamp in Olivia Sullivan’s room was still lit, and Chad Foster and Olivia Sullivan sat face to face.

“Chad Foster, you lost!”

“Chad Foster, you lost again!”

“I won again! Play properly, stop letting me win!”

Chad Foster paused. “…Again.”

When he was tired, he glanced at Olivia across from him. A stray lock of hair had slipped down and she tucked it behind her ear with a rough gesture, leaning forward, her eyes fixed on the board. After a while, like a cat spotting a mouse, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she pounced, snatching her prey with a crisp “tap.”

“Chad Foster, look, look, you lost again!” She was overjoyed, a hint of mischievous glee in her brows.

He glanced down and, sure enough, among the chaotic pieces nearly filling the board, he found a hidden row of consecutive black stones.

Chad Foster frowned and complained, “My eyes are going blurry.”

“My eyes are blurry too!” She was still basking in her joy, the smile not yet fading from her face, gloating, “So how did I still find it?”

Chad Foster had no reply. He suddenly remembered something he’d heard while wandering the world: If you want to be friends with a man, drink with him; if you want to be friends with a woman, watch a play with her. But that wasn’t quite right—some women, play a few games of chess with her, and she won’t even call you “Young Master Foster” anymore.

It was the fourth watch of the night, and Olivia Sullivan, with heavy dark circles under her eyes, was still full of energy and enthusiasm. This wild excitement clearly infected Chad Foster as well, and the last traces of sleepiness vanished from him.

“Ethan Sullivan.” Chad Foster started calling her that too.

“Don’t call me Ethan Sullivan.” Olivia’s face fell. “It sounds awful.”

Ethan Sullivan—wasn’t that just a prison, trapping the original self for a lifetime?

Chad Foster completely dropped his polite mask and lifted his eyelids. “‘Miss Sullivan’ is a mouthful.”

“Then call me by my nickname, Olivia.”

“……” He paused, but didn’t say it. Instead, with a headache from staying up late, in a daze, he blurted out, “I have a courtesy name too, it’s Zachary.”

Chapter 8: Substitute Bride (Part Eight)

“Miss, Miss?” Maid A called out cautiously, her voice as soft as a cat’s meow, scratching at one’s nerves.

“What is it? What is it?” Olivia Sullivan jolted awake with a flip, flinging back the bed curtains in a rush. Her hair was a wild mess, her eyes wide as copper bells, startling the maid into taking a few steps back.