"A subtle atmosphere to describe the subtle atmosphere of having the same idea but not being able to speak because of shyness? God, who came up with this question? Haruki Murakami? So subtle? Wouldn't it be nice to just say it? How could I possibly know what the word is? Matthew, do you have an idea?"

“…… Give me a hint of the letters. ”

"All I know now is that the second and fourth letters are 'A', and that's all. ”

"Andre, you can fill in the other fields first, a little more hint, it will be much clearer, if it is only two letters, Matthew is not an Oxford dictionary, how can he guess it directly?"

"Uh, Lanley? You know what? You know anything about Asian culture, do you have any ideas?"

"Is there a hint on the side?"

"Oh, and the notes, from the Latin family. ”

"Latin, then you can only hope for Matthew and Ranley, my Latin has already been returned to Mr. Smith. ”

It's a strange scene, a group of young people gathered in the study, drinking afternoon tea, eating desserts, and playing ...... The crossword puzzle is like the freak student who is snubbed and rejected in an American high school, likes the bizarre and then doesn't fit in with the mainstream crowd.

Arthur's whole shoulders relaxed slightly, and then the whole person sank deep into the sofa, and his eyelids began to fight unconsciously, the comfortable feeling made him completely indulge in it, to be honest, a little enjoyable, but he took his own crossword puzzle and never started to fill it in, just quietly enjoyed a moment of peace.

Turning his head, Arthur saw Lan Li who was concentrating on the "puzzle", hesitated for a moment, and took the initiative to lean over, "Father called me." ”

"Uh-huh. Lan Li replied casually.

Arthur paused slightly, "He wants me to take over the position of baron." ”

"Uh-huh. Lan Li bowed her head slightly, her eyes still on the newspaper.

"What do you think?" asked Arthur hesitantly.

Lan Li didn't answer immediately, but quickly filled in another word in the newspaper, happily raised his hands, "Done!" and then leaned out and put the "Times" on the coffee table, "Hey, what are the problems, come on, come on, throw them over and challenge the limit, I am the 'king of the word puzzle'!"

The childish and arrogant words, deliberately using a low tone to strengthen their attitude, like a high school student, and then everyone complained one after another, and they didn't buy it at all.

Lan Li didn't mind, sat down again, with a smile on his face, turned to look at Arthur, and replied, "You don't need to ask my opinion. A long, long time ago, I was not the heir, and it was up to you to decide. ”

"Lan Li, you know it's not that simple. Arthur exhaled softly, and his mind was mixed when he recalled the phone call between him and George: his father, who had thought he would never admit his mistake, showed a trace of tiredness in front of him, but what was even more tragic and ridiculous was that he knew that it was an illusion—

George is just testing Arthur's bottom line, as well as Lan Li's bottom line.

To put it simply, if George bestows the title on Arthur, the possible result is that Lan Li and Arthur turn against each other, then the focus of the conflict will shift, or Lan Li is willing to accept the tie, then Arthur will shelter George, or if Lan Li does not die and refuses to let George go, then George can completely push Arthur out and fight against Lan Li, otherwise there are other potential possibilities, but no matter what, George can find a way out.

But there is another situation hidden behind the problem, that is, in fact, George does not want to retire at all, and he is far from preparing to pass on the title to Arthur, he took the initiative to propose this to Arthur, just to test Arthur and Lan Li:

If things are going in a positive way, then he can ride a donkey like he does - hang the carrot in front of the donkey and let the donkey work while he sits on the donkey and continue to enjoy himself, and if things go in a negative direction, then he doesn't mind the fish breaking the net, or being prepared for something else.

Otherwise, the auction would have been in the morning, and George would have called Arthur in the afternoon?

Arthur understands this, he believes, and Lan Li understands, that none of them are stupid—

In fact, neither was George. Knowing that his intentions might be discovered, George still chose to contact Arthur so eagerly, on the one hand, because he still firmly believes that the knighthood is very, very important, and may even be the ultimate pursuit of Lan Li, which is the essential difference in values, and he will never be able to understand Lan Li's choice, and on the other hand, because he needs to test Lan Li's bottom line to be ready.

No one is stupid.

Lan Li looked up to meet Arthur's gaze, and he could catch a hint of exhaustion and a hint of sadness.

Arthur and Lan Li are different, to be precise, the positions of the four children of the Hall family are different, Lan Li can completely leave it alone and chase his own life, and Edith can too, but Arthur and Elf are destined not to, because they have been raised with the "inheritor" education method since they were children, just like Alexander Hamilton, their thoughts, their values, and their concepts are all destined to be different from Lan Li.

Lan Li and Alexander respect each other, but they can't be friends, because when it comes to the issue of three views, they are often two different groups.

In fact, there is still some estrangement between Lan Li and Arthur, after all, it still can't be like Edith, because the position is also destined to be like this because of the concept, but at least, it is still much better than Elf, they can be regarded as friends, which makes Lan Li consider his words.

"Arthur, you know I don't care about titles......" Lan Li began.

Arthur immediately felt the alienation of Lan Li - he always tried to look at this matter from a rational standpoint, but in fact, it was a sideline position, which made Arthur a little angry, "But he cares, he is testing my bottom line, and he is testing your bottom line, we all know that he will not retire now." So, it's about me and it's about you, you can't ...... Can you ......"

Arthur's words stumbled, and then he noticed Matthew's gaze, and he didn't continue after all.

After the anger, I still felt a deep tiredness, "Lan Li, I ......" Arthur didn't know what to say, "I like you, I like everything you insist on, I also like to be with you as a friend, and I also like your home." I love it here. ”

Caught off guard, Arthur once again showed his vulnerability. The last time was on Oscar night, it was because Arthur was drunk, but today, Arthur is incredibly sober.

Lan Li was slightly stunned, a trace of mixed emotions flashed in his eyes, and then the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, "In fact, you can choose to accept it." ”

"What?" Arthur thought he had misheard, didn't understand what Lan Li meant, and paused, he thought he understood Lan Li, "You mean, deliberately tempting him? I just have to pretend that I accept it, and he will show his feet......"

"No, no, no, he was prepared, he couldn't have not expected such a situation. Lan Li shook her head again and again, and her smile rose slightly, "I mean, you really accept it." You can take a stand in front of him, you are willing to accept it, you are willing to be the next Baron Hall, but if he is not willing, then the matter is forgotten, he is on the opposite side of you, and things become simple. ”

It's like a "general" in a chess game.

Arthur frowned slightly, "...... You know I don't want a succession, I ...... I mean, at least not yet, I want to stay in Sisyphus, I want to be able to continue working hard for the Don Quixote channel, it's a very interesting thing, I'm serious. ”

"Arthur, I know. Facing Arthur, who was slightly anxious, Lan Li gently nodded his head to calm Arthur, "I mean, you can choose what kind of Hall Baron you want to become, it can be like George, or Viscount Beorford, and similarly, you can be like Duke Hamilton, or...... Like yourself. ”

"Times have changed, and now there is no manual to teach us what kind of aristocrat is to meet the standards, even the queen has been forced to make adjustments according to the times, let alone a little baron? ”

Arthur opened his mouth slightly, Lan Li's words seemed to be very simple, but he had never considered it before, just like the authorities were fascinated, they could never see their position and the overall situation, they could only keep spinning in place, and then the onlookers revealed the simplest and most simple truth, while his face was full of confusion and surprise:

Why haven't you seen it before?

As he spoke, Lan Li laughed softly, "Of course, you can still stay in Sisyphus Pictures, to be honest, we still need you, and Andre can't handle many things." ”

Matthew, who was sitting next to him, complained, "Does Elf know that you squeeze her like this?"

"I'm guessing she's running on us too, so...... Can this be a win-win?" Lan Li chuckled, and complained calmly, but he was not sure if his statement was of reference value, because Elf had never refused to open her heart, even after leaving the Hale family, it was still the same, and their relationship was like that between Lan Li and Elizabeth in the past five years.

Maybe the future will change, maybe not. But that's life.

Lan Li raised his eyebrows, "Andre, that prompt just now, is it Latin?" Lan Li called out to Andre, "You can try 'Mamaihlapinatapai', I'm not sure, it's a South American branch of the language family, it's a bit tricky to explain, but I think it may be, I remember reading it in a discussion article that joked about vague words in various countries, and it was an interesting discussion." ”

“…… What?" Andrey was full of question marks, "why don't I understand that word you said?"

Then Eton and Edith also complained, mixed with André's complaints, and the atmosphere in the study became extremely cheerful again.

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