“Oh, Your doll seems to have its own consciousness,” said the Rover. He could see a smirking doll floating around him and Yinlin. It was Zapstring, Yinlin’s friend from her very youth. She accompanied the doll her whole teenage years, and considered it as one of her closest friends.

“Well, that is a mystery.” She replied immediately. They were on the boat, following a river around Jinzhou. It was their second date that week. “Although there is no speaking from her, she is quite reliable. Don’t underestimate her.”

“I never underestimate your friend,” his voice was full of confidence. That is one of the reasons she prefers him as her partner in various cases.

“You’re right. You won’t.”

He listened to her slow giggle. It contained various emotions; joy, delight and satisfaction. Was she teasing him? He couldn’t figure it out. He still knew little about her thoughts. Despite his fierce struggles, he just got few outcomes.

“You are reliable as well, Rover. Don’t worry.” Yinlin remained mysterious as always. That was her charm, so he didn’t think it was bad.

“I do not at all,” he replied quickly. He was being honest. He didn’t have to. “Your invitation solely represents your trust towards me, Yinlin.”

She nodded calmly, and put her chin on her right palm.

He was not the only one curious about the opponent’s next move. So was Yinlin. Their game, which was based on honest heart and delicate sense, was currently stuck in a stalemate so none of them could make progress. Although the situation is not that bad for both sides, she still longed to find out her partner’s mind inside.

She would like to illustrate their relationship as a game, but technically it wasn’t. There were no rules or judges. Just victory conditions, one for each player. For Yinlin, her goal was to make the Rover confess his feelings and thoughts. All of it.

The Rover seems always calm and modest - he has full control of himself all the time. Even though she considered his undeniable strength, Yinlin had to nullify it for her triumph. She knew that it would be hard to win from the very beginning, but it was harder than her initial expectation.

She has heard and discovered some unbelievable facts about her competitor. There were few known fragments of his past. Each of them was a great achievement. She sometimes wondered how a single person could manage all of it.

He finished ‘the immortal game’ with the Magistrate’s Counselor. He was founder and leader of the Black Shores. Yes, it seemed impossible to do all of it alone.

“Yinlin, are you listening?”

She blinked fast. He was swaying his hand up and down. She realized that he was worrying if she had some fever; it was quite cold in the evening.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Please repeat.”

“Nothing special. I just wanted to know when you want to stop this boat,” She began to think about it. That was surely a valid question. Date on a boat was romantic enough to spend an hour or two, but the temperature was going down. “We don’t want each other to get cold.”

“You’re right.” She smiled softly. He was caring about her, and there wasn’t any lie or exaggeration. He delivered warmth and compassion through a few sentences; she enjoyed them. His skill in combat is extraordinary, and he is full of fresh ideas. However, his biggest weapon is his heart with benevolence.

“I’m a bit disappointed.” Yinlin made a bitter smile. “I wanted to see the sunrise together at the center of the river, but I think we can’t see the clear picture here.”

The Rover agreed with her evaluation. They can’t see the scenery properly due to various factors such as the massif and the buildings. The sunrise was quite well hidden from them, and sadly there wasn’t enough time to go to the appropriate spot.

“Guess we have to be satisfied with what we have now,” the Rover giggled with refined actions. That was Yinlin’s style without a doubt. It was not something she expected. His research towards her finally began to make meaningful results.

She had to admit that she was not winning. He seems to be much closer to victory. She didn‘t have enough information. She didn’t know about his plan, his goal - his motivation. Those were essential to figure out how to defeat him, but all was hidden.

Today might be a good chance for her to discover something important.

“It seems you can keep yourself calm quite well. That is a truly remarkable talent,” she decided to begin with some praises. “I have some simple questions about it. Will you answer with honesty?”

“Sure, why not?” The Rover never hesitated. She didn’t think he would - that is who he is. There will probably be more people who can understand him than she does, but it doesn't matter that much. She didn’t want to, and needed to be the best at it.

“Okay, here we go with the first one. Have you ever felt tired?”

He was one of, if not the most energetic person she has ever met in life. She didn’t have to look at his past to gather evidence; her personal knowledge proved that clearly. Spending days together, she was becoming successful in understanding who he is, and what drives him to do something.

Yes, there were just a few questions remaining. Since the Rover was sharp and delicate, she believed his analysis towards her would be similar. This complex but childish game was approaching its last stage, despite the winner being far from being declared.

While she loves to be a winner in games, she was not desperate to win this one. She was enjoying the game enough to be indifferent at the result. That behavior of hers undeniably resembled the Rover’s - still she was not aware of it.

“I’m just a normal person, just like everyone else. Of course I have.”

“I see. Have you ever stopped anything you started, then?”

The conversation was going deeper. While Yinlin knew the Rover’s connection with various people, organizations and occasions, she wasn’t referring to any of them. She was asking about his personal, private things. She fully understood its potential rudeness, but at the same time she believed that he would comprehend her intention.

“I don’t usually give up what I choose to begin. I won’t say ‘never’ though. Who knows?”

The boat was slowly approaching the dock. The Rover noticed the speed was gradually decreasing, but his eyes were still focused on Yinlin. She enjoyed his gaze, and he knew that. They weren’t paying any attention to the boat. The conversation mattered most at the time.

“This is the last. What would you like to do when you don’t have to confront enemies anymore?”

They naturally walked out from the boat, landed on a wooden deck. The sun shined bright. While he felt quite the amount of delight watching her, he felt some melancholy as well - due to the upcoming end of their ninth date.

The delight was understandable, but why melancholy? He asked a question to himself, but he couldn’t get an appropriate reply for the query. Since there weren’t any clear answers about that, he needed to find it out on his own. Fortunately for the Rover, he loved to solve mysteries.

“Then there will be no worries, right? I might have a long vacation with my people. As a reward to myself.”

Yinlin smiled. His reply was far from the image of an obvious plan, but its message was clear with no doubts. He dreamed of a world in which nobody had to struggle to live. She could agree with that; he deserves (and will deserve) to have some rest.

“Hmm. I have a personal request.”

“What is it?”

“Take a short vacation as well, and bring me alone then.”

It was a dangerous suggestion, but the both of them couldn’t notice that it was actually a seduction. It seemed even Yinlin wasn’t aware of the meaning of that. There were four potential reasons.

First, Yinlin’s voice was too plain to estimate danger from its surface. Second, he considered her not as a suspicious person but his trustworthy partner at that point. Third, they did want to go on a short vacation for themselves only. All of them might be correct, but it wasn’t the biggest thought in their mind.

After some time passed, they studied about each other. The method of speaking, action, and thought. That was their only rule of the game. Now, their process of thought resembled each other’s. Yinlin was able to think like the Rover, and vice versa.

No wonder the game couldn’t make any progress anymore. At this point, they had to agree the game ended with stalemate. No possible moves were left.

“Okay. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

They saw that it was good.