Abstract Abilities: Rei

12: He meets his match

The hype was brilliant on stage, a massive competition between the beauties had begun.

"Of course, a beauty must have brains! So first up, Ms Muse must answer the questions we provide. Mr Charming can wait for his turn!" The MC exclaimed, doing his best to stay jovial flashing his pearly white teeth to the masses.

"First up is number 1, Ms Irene~! A round of applause for the first beauty!" The MC clapped himself hard as well, and if nobody knew of the fact that he wasn't into Ms Irene but another girl instead, one would misunderstand. "Now, Ms Irene. Are you ready for your question?"

The girl with wavy red hair wearing a loose top and mini-skirt posed for a moment, before smiling to the MC then gently saying, "Of course. Give me your best shot!"

"Oh ho! I love this girl already! Well then, here is your question: 'Which have it easier in life: men or women?'"

Irene pretended to think really hard while pouting her full cherry lips then slowly said, "I believe it would depend on how our society is structured. In this day and age, there really is no difference between the life of a man to that of a woman. So my answer is, there is no difference! Because fortunately, a man and a woman have equal opportunities if adequate effort is put in." She smiled so brilliantly, receiving devastating applause from the students.

This went on until it was Sophia's turn, briefly waving to Hein as if she was the wife affectionately saying goodbye to her husband. The love in her blue eyes were real as they could be and some of the students could only sigh at the beautiful sight.

"Finally my dear Sophia! If there were no rules in your life for one day and you could be outrageous, what would you do?" The smile on the MC had yet to falter even after gracing several muses prior.

Sophia elegantly waved her hand, before thoughtfully saying, "Then I'll do everything my love wants shamelessly!" This received a booming cheer from her fans, for they knew who she was referring to. This was like an indirect confession to Hein, the Silver Emperor.

"Hahaha... Ms Sophia is as lovely as I've heard. Such a passionate response! I wonder who is the lucky man~" Even the MC glanced at Hein, but most were disappointed to see him distracted by another girl. Their eyes then laid on Rei who was equally staring at Hein's eyes. The two of them had been staring at one another. While Hein felt Rei was irresistible, Rei just innocently returned the other's gaze. She wasn't even thinking of anything at all. Yet it was this innocence of her that always captured Hein into her direction, into her lustrous purple eyes.

The MC coughed to clear his throat and awkwardness, calling in the next girl. "Next up is the last muse, Ms Rei~!" And of course it so happened that it was Rei's turn.

Hein blinked, silently mouthing to Rei to move to the front of the stage to which the latter gave a nod in assent. Unlike Sophia's one-sided actions to Hein, the silent communication between him and Rei were far more persuasive. It was like seeing a couple that had been together for years, no longer needing for words to be said.

"Hello, Ms Rei. You look dazzling today~" The MC good naturedly said, flashing a friendly smile to Rei.

"En." Was all Rei replied, standing there like she was some idle passerby. 

"Haha, you are a girl of few words. That's charming! Well then, please answer this question: If a man from the moon landed in your hometown, what would you do to entertain him?"

Rei quickly replied without blinking an eye, "Why must I entertain him?"

This caused all of the students to laugh, especially when Rei looked like she was utterly serious. Though the rest caused a ruckus from laughing too much, the MC politely said, "Because my dear, he is a famous man who is like a celebrity after landing on the moon. Wouldn't you want to do something with him if he happens to visit your hometown?"

Truth be told, Rei had no idea what a hometown was like. So she honestly said, "No."

Slightly disappointed, the MC merely nodded his head and said, "Alright, sweetheart. Thank you for answering that one for me!" Rei calmly nodded her head and walked off to where her Mr Charming was standing.

"Now, it's finally time for the Mr Charming's turn!" The MC received a round of applause. He was truly skillful at smoothing awkward moments and even making the girls comfortable on stage. It would be a pity if he didn't become a politician as an adult.

"So as not to make it unfair, Mr Charming must use their smarts just as equally hard as their Muse. Well then, please solve these math problems within a limited time. If you fail, you go down that hole where rats will dance the night away with you!"

"That's harsh!"

"No, it's fun! Go for it!!"

"I'm so glad I'm not one of the Mr Charming, haha!"

"Not like your face is good enough for it either, bwahahaha!"

"....."

After which, Irene's partner was called first only to fall into the Rat Pit. This disqualified Irene automatically. A pity for the ladies who worked hard the first round. And because of this example, a couple of Mr Charming shamelessly ran down the stage, saying "I can't do this! I'm scared of rats."

"I'm allergic!"

They were automatically labeled as wussies, but nobody could do anything for their cowardice. They already shot out of the gymnasium, not intending to come back until the pageant was over. "Ah... A pity, a pity! That disqualifies---"

Before he could finish his words, there was suddenly a new partner beside Rei. Indeed, one of the cowards was Rei's Mr Charming. However, why would Tristan bother to participate?

Rei also questioned Tristan with her eyes, and he only muttered a reply, "Didn't you want to win this?"

Rei didn't know how he ended up with that conclusion, but she wasn't really into explaining things so she simply nodded her head. Henceforth, Rei was able to remain although with one problem.

"Mr Tristan... Only someone from Ms Rei's class can be her Charming. Although I appreciate the care you--" Once again he was abruptly stopped, because Tristan just flashed the identification card of Rei's real Mr Charming. 

"Can we proceed now?" He quietly said, impatience masked his face with a frown.

The MC ended up shrugging this issue. After all, there was still the Math problem. The audience didn't seem to mind either, so he continued. "With that, Ms Penelope, I'm sorry but you are disqualified... Moving on..."

As the small issue was resolved just like that, Hein's turmoil didn't. For inexplicable reasons, after he had seen Tristan in Rei's room one time, he felt adverse at seeing them side by side. Unbeknownst to him, he was feeling jealous for the first time. 

Although Hein couldn't completely understand his feelings, Sophia could. She had been looking at him with a pained face, as if she was stabbed on her gut.