The interviewer twirled an expensive pen in his hand. Compared to the CP leader, the vice principal, and the stern-faced scorer, he seemed much sharper.
This was normal, after all. In a serious interview, someone had to play the "bad guy."
You couldn't expect the vice principal to play the villain, right?
If that happened, the Leon couple might pass with full marks in just two rounds.
"Mr. Interviewer, in my view, the opportunity to conceive our daughter has no direct connection to the feelings we have for her after her birth," Leon's voice was deep and powerful, "Do you think parents who can raise such an outstanding young dragon like Noah are so irresponsible?"
Appropriate rhetorical questions could serve as a form of bluff.
And Rossweise could also tell, the dog man was a little annoyed by this "bad guy's" questioning.
While this excuse was something they came up with to lower their score, to question a daughter-con's love for his daughter to his face was still uncomfortable, more or less.
If Leon had any footing in this interview, he might have already flipped the table and unleashed Chidori.
The interviewer smiled faintly, lowered his head, stopped playing with the pen, and then began writing something on the paper.
"Miss Rossweise, you just mentioned that life after marriage became dull, and you two lost the passion you once had for each other."
The vice principal's white eyebrows furrowed slightly, "After the third princess was born, did this situation improve?"
Rossweise smiled, raised her hand to tidy her hair, "There was certainly some improvement, but to return to how it was when we just got married... I'm afraid that's very difficult."
As her words fell, Rossweise subtly nudged Leon's calf under the table.
Leon immediately understood and followed up, "Honestly, let alone how we were when we first got married, even how we were two years ago when Noah just started school, we probably can't go back to that either."
The couple performed in sync, dancing right on the borderline of the family interview.
Say they want a divorce? It hadn't come to that yet.
Say they're still madly in love? That's a bit exaggerated.
In short, very strange.
Strange enough that their interview scores were infinitely approaching the "mediocre" range.
But mediocrity wasn't necessarily a negative term. This level was still enough to pass the admission interview without becoming a model family.
The couple observed the interviewers' reactions and secretly rejoiced.
It was going to work.
However, while they had figured out how far they could push their statements, and understood the baseline of the interview, they forgot to account for one thing: the CP leader, the vice principal.
That old man took several gulps of water, as if forcing himself to stay calm.
After a few more rounds of Q&A, the two interviewers leaned in and told Wilson they had no further issues.
Wilson glanced at their score sheets. Though the scores were sufficient to pass the family interview, it was only just enough.
It didn't at all match the overwhelming victory he had envisioned, true, pure love triumphing over all rivals.
The vice principal pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He pressed his lips together and looked at the couple sitting across from him.
They leaned back in their chairs, legs crossed, looking perfectly at ease.
The picture was harmonious, but in the vice principal's eyes, the CP he supported was drifting further and further apart.
The vice principal rubbed his fingers. After some internal struggle, he finally mustered the courage to ask, "I would like to ask the two of you... do you still love each other?"
Rossweise raised an eyebrow, "Love? Of course, we love each other."
Leon also nodded in agreement, "Though the passion of those years is gone, I still love my wife."
They would absolutely not admit to not loving each other anymore.
Even without this "no-social-death plan," maybe they still wouldn't admit it? Ahem, well, hard to say~
Even though Leon and Rossweise both expressed their stance clearly, to the vice principal, it still seemed like they were only saying it to get through the interview.
The old man quietly clenched his fist and thought to himself, 'No.'
'Absolutely not!'
'The CP I support, must not collapse!'
[T/N: CP=Couple Pairing]
———
After the interview, the couple left the room, closed the door, and then let out a breath of relief in unison.
"The No-Social-Death Plan, great success!"
Clap—
The two of them high-fived in celebration.
But they immediately realized this was still the vice principal's territory. After portraying their relationship as "bland" during the interview, now celebrating right after walking out, it was a little too suspicious, wasn't it?
The couple walked through the crowd, down the stairs, and into the first-floor lobby.
There were still many parents waiting for their young dragons to complete the test.
Leon looked around. Not seeing the vice principal nor any of his spies, he leaned toward Rossweise with a grin, asking for praise:
"How was my acting just now?"
The queen crossed her arms and looked the dog man up and down. Suppressing her upward-curving lips, she feigned ignorance, "What acting? Wasn't that what you truly felt?"
General Leon froze, quickly refuting, "Wh-what do you mean 'truly felt'? Didn't we agree? Acting! Pretending to lack passion for each other!"
"Oh? Then how do I know you weren't using this chance to say what you've always been thinking?"
"Hey, mother dragon, you—"
Seeing the foolish straight man about to go red-hot, Rossweise quickly hit the brakes. She raised her index finger and gently pressed it against Leon's lips, "Just teasing you. Look how flustered you are."
"..."
She seemed to be getting better and better at stopping right before the line, not just in bed.
One of Rossweise's daily pleasures was teasing her dragon-slaying hero at home. Watching him flustered and helpless was just too fun.
But as the saying goes, if you walk by the river often, your shoes are bound to get wet.
She had her moments of misjudging, where Leon truly got mad.
At first, Rossweise would patiently coax him.
But over time, she figured out Leon's temper.
She knew exactly when he would blow up, and made sure to act soft before he did.
Once Rossweise showed a bit of weakness, Leon immediately cooled off.
Don't be fooled by how stubborn General Leon was with his mouth, he was actually quite the wife-doting husband.
"Your acting really was quite good."
Rossweise praised him, "You portrayed the helplessness and desolation of a married man perfectly, vividly, and made people feel your hope for our marriage. Tsk tsk, the empire owes you a best actor award."
"Right back at you. I even really thought just now that you didn't—", He originally wanted to joke around with his mother dragon, but Leon didn't think through his words, almost spilling the beans.
But it was already a bit late.
Rossweise's lips curled into a smile, hands clasped behind her back, leaning forward slightly. She raised her beautiful silver eyes and looked at him, "What? Thought I didn't what?"
"...Nothing."
"Say it. Did you really think I'm no longer interested in you? Hmm?"
The queen beamed, "Oh~ little lion's scared. So pitiful~"
"This academy has a combat training ground, right?"
Rossweise blinked, "It does... huh? Why?"
"Let's go have a sparring match. Then you'll shut up."
"Tch~"
Rossweise still wanted to tease the foolish straight man a bit more, but Leon suddenly made a silencing gesture.
She stopped smiling and lowered her voice, "What is it?"
"Old man Wilson came down. He's right behind you, don't look back, act like you didn't see him."
Rossweise nodded and subtly distanced herself from Leon.
After all, in the vice principal's eyes right now, they were "a couple with little passion for each other."
"Mr. Leon, Mr. Leon, there you are. I was just looking for you," The vice principal hurried over.
"Is there something you need, Vice Principal?", Leon asked politely.
"Ah... nothing really, I just wanted to have a chat."
He paused, then quickly added, "Nothing related to the admission interview or test. Just a talk as a friend."
Leon didn't know what this old man was up to and looked at Rossweise.
Rossweise gave a subtle nod, signaling it was fine.
"Alright, let's talk then."
"Then may I borrow you for a moment?", The vice principal gestured toward a nearby room.
"Uh... sure, let's go."
"Miss Rossweise, please wait here."
"Okay."
Leon followed the vice principal into the small room.
The vice principal stood at the door, looked around suspiciously, then pulled his head back in and shut the door.
Leon raised an eyebrow slightly.
What was this?
Could it be the vice principal had evolved from CP leader to rabid stalker fan? Planning to lock me up here?
You better think it through. If I unleash one Chidori, these old bones of yours probably won't survive it.
"Mr. Leon, I want to ask, has your marriage with Miss Rossweise really... encountered a crisis?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, I mean, have you run into any emotional... problems?"
Leon folded his arms and frowned, pondering for a moment before replying, "Vice Principal, my wife and I already explained everything about our situation during the interview. Isn't that sufficient?"
Seeing Leon avoid a direct answer, the vice principal's heart sank further.
"Sigh... So that means, that means... you really are getting a divorce?"
Leon: ?
"Wait, wait, wait, Vice Principal, how did you jump to divorce already?"
"Huh? Mr. Leon, you didn't directly answer my question. That basically confirms it, right? That you and Miss Rossweise's marriage is in crisis, and now you're considering divorce."
"..."
"How could this happen? Mr. Leon... Two years ago, you two were still the academy's model family."
"Vice Principal... you—"
"Sigh, I just can't believe it. The family I had the highest hopes for, how did it turn out like this?"
"Vice Principal?"
"How about this, Mr. Leon? I know a very professional marriage crisis intervention team. They have the best emotional experts among the dragon race. It's said they once made a 100-year-old male dragon fall in love with an 800-year-old female dragon. Their ability is beyond question. So as long as you go to them, your problem will surely be solved!"
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