Chapter Two: Victory Has Been Paid For

She had neither revealed the score nor followed the program’s suggested route. Yet the match had flowed like a river around every obstacle and emptied into those two numbers. Qiao Ran stopped her in the players’ tunnel. “You were frightened all evening.” “We won.” “That makes it stranger. On your first day, you looked at us like a doctor watching patients refuse their medicine. Tonight you watched us like our time of death had already been written.” Jianxia could not stop herself. “If someone said you would definitely win by following their instructions, would you?” “Depends on the price.” “What if no price was listed?” “Then the price would be the most expensive part.”