BAI ZE choked on his own saliva because of what his cousin said, causing him to have a coughing fit. 'Adorable Cinnamon Roll's Island'? Was that how Luo Yan saw Shen Ji Yun? Never in his life would he think of associating those words to his friend. It would be much more believable if his cousin called it 'Walking AC Island' or 'Expressionless Master Island'.

"What's wrong Ah Ze?" his uncle asked.

"Nothing- nothing, Uncle," he quickly said. "My throat just suddenly felt itchy."

Luo Wei Tian nodded and returned his attention to the two screens.

Bai Ze glanced at his friend who seemed to be frozen on the spot. He couldn't really blame the other. If he was called an adorable cinnamon roll by the person he liked, he would definitely feel embarrassed to the extreme. Because it didn't fit his image at all, much less Shen Ji Yun.

His cousin didn't have a problem with his eyes, right? Wait- maybe it was not Luo Yan's fault but Shen Ji Yun instead. What if that was really the way his friend was acting around Luo Yan? Like some naïve kid who unknowingly sold meng. Just imaging it already gave Bai Ze goosebumps.

Unlike him, who was curious and puzzled to the point of getting goosebumps, Su Yuqi only found the situation very interesting. Just by what Luo Yan said and the way he said it, she could tell that the other probably had the habit of teasing Shen Ji Yun. By the looks of it, Luo Yan always had the upper hand. And he thoroughly enjoyed it.

On that account, they were certainly quite similar. Then, she turned her gaze to the screen where the little gnome was.

Shen Ji Yun didn't know what to feel at that moment. Luo Yan just practically called him an adorable cinnamon roll. It was such a shock that his whole body just froze. Probably because it's so unscientific! Just what part of him corresponded to those words?

The word 'adorable' fit Luo Yan perfectly, not him. He wasn't sure about the cinnamon roll part. But paired with the word 'adorable', it probably fell on the category of cute and lovely. Again, that's not him, it's Luo Yan. 

Or maybe the other only meant that he looked like a dried cinnamon stick. Luo Yan only added the word 'adorable' because he was a human with a passable face. He was more inclined to believe that this was the case. 

He suddenly felt sad for a moment. He raised his hand and touch his face. Did he really look like a dried cinnamon stick?

-----

While Shen Ji Yun was contemplating whether he should go and buy skincare products, the carefree Luo Yan's conversation with the Duke of Hearts continued.

"Hmp! If you don't want to tell this lord, then, just say so," the duke said with a hint of annoyance in his voice, talking about the name of the island that Luo Yan gave.

"Please, don't be mad milord," Luo Yan quickly said just in case this eccentric duke suddenly gave him a handicap in the next match just because he was annoyed at him. "This island is not mine. I don't have permission to give anyone its name."

The duke only rolled his eyes at him. "This lord doesn't want to talk about this nameless island anymore."

"Yes, yes, let's not talk about it."

The duke narrowed his eyes at Luo Yan, as if wondering whether he was being patronizing or not. At the end, the other just gave up probing and just said;

"Do you remember the heart you received during the Carnival's prelims?" 

After the other mentioned it, Luo Yan only just remembered that there was indeed such a thing. He thought that it was just some sort of figure of speech, that's why he didn't put much importance to it. But now, it seemed like that wasn't the case? 

"It seems that you do remember," the duke said after seeing his expression. "Since you receive my heart, I will give you one advantage in this semi-final round. And that advantage is - you can give your opponent a handicap. Within reasons, of course. That means, you can't simply ask for his moments to be sealed or for his stats to turn zero. If you're confuse, don't worry, this lord will judge whether your request is reasonable or not."

Luo Yan was quite surprised hearing that the 'hearts' given by the duke would have such a function. If he remembered correctly, the only ones who received a heart were not yet eliminated were him and the golden dragon. That meant that the two of them would have an advantage over the other two.

"What if none of the players you gave hearts to managed to reach the semi-finals?" he thought of asking.

The duke then gave him a look as if asking if there was something wrong with his brain. "That's impossible. If this lord gave you a heart during the prelims, that meant that your performance was enough to show that you have the ability to reach this stage. That's how good my eye for talent is."

The other's tone of voice was more like he was praising himself instead of him praising those he gave hearts to.

"So, what handicap will you give your opponent?" the duke asked right after.

"Can I make my decision after I find out who my opponent is?" he asked tentatively.

"Then, let's see who will fight with whom, shall we?"

After the duke said that, he snapped and the four names of the remaining participants appeared in the air. It shuffled around until they lined up in two pairs.

Luo Yan looked at the result and asked, "Are these two pairings totally random?"

The duke grinned. "Of course not. This lord let the other two who didn't receive a heart decide who they wanted to fight with. And based on this result, their decision on who to fight definitely didn't contradict the other." 

Because floating above Luo Yan were;

[AmazingYoungMasterJin vs Dragnar] and [Winged Tassel vs Noctis].

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