"Master," he said cheerfully, "it’s been a while. Did you miss ?"
Gu Jin rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the faint smile that appeared on her face. "You’re as annoying as ever," she said, but her tone was much softer now.
Luo ng smiled. He then wished her in a cheerful voice,
"Congratulations master for reclaiming your identity."
"Hm." Gu Jin nodded in a good mood.
Luo ng suddenly thought of sothing and asked, "Master where is the restroom?’"
Gu Jin gave him the direction and asked, "Do you want to lead you?"
Luo ng waived his hand and said,
"No need, I will go on there on my own."
Gu Jin didn’t further push him and nodded.
As soon as Luo ng reached the corner, he happened to see Long Yifan. In an instant, the color drained from his face, but he quickly regained his composure.
He chanted in his heart that he couldn’t let Long Yifan know that he had taken Long Yifan’s credits.
With a carefree expression, he was about to leave when Long Yifan stopped him.
"Why are you feeling guilty?" Long Yifan questioned.
Luo ng’s heart was in the throat.
Why shouldn’t he be?
He was stealing Long Yifan’s fiance, who for sure loved Gu Jin.
If he told the truth to Gu Jin about how Long Yifan was the one who had saved her, and not him, maybe Gu Jin would get engaged to Long Yifan right away.
Logically speaking Long Yifan was already engaged with Gu Jin.
But he can change that with the credit he had stolen.
Hence he needs to hold off till he and Gu Jin get married.
He can’t let Gu Jin know of the truth before that.
Luo ng froze for a mont, then quickly forced a smile onto his face.
"Guilty? ? What are you talking about?" he said, trying to sound casual.
Long Yifan crossed his arms, his sharp eyes locked onto Luo ng.
"Your face says it all," Long Yifan replied calmly. "You look like a kid caught stealing candy. Spill it. What are you hiding?"
Luo ng laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.
"Co on, Long Yifan. Don’t be so dramatic. I just saw you and got a little startled. That’s all," he said, waving his hand dismissively.
But Long Yifan wasn’t buying it. He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a quieter, more dangerous tone.
"Startled? No. You’re hiding sothing," he said, his eyes narrowing.
"Does it have anything to do with ?"
Luo ng felt a cold sweat forming on his back. He forced himself to keep smiling, even though his heart was pounding.
"Why would it have anything to do with you?" Luo ng said, trying to sound confident. "I’m just here to congratulate my master. That’s all."
Long Yifan tilted his head slightly, studying him.
"Really?" he said, his voice laced with disbelief. "Because it seems to like you’re avoiding for a reason."
Luo ng clenched his fists behind his back, his mind racing for an escape. He couldn’t let Long Yifan dig any deeper.
"I think you’re overthinking things," Luo ng said, trying to sound calm. "I’m just a little tired, that’s all. Big events like this can be overwhelming, you know?"
Long Yifan didn’t move, his intense gaze was unwavering.
"Tired, huh?" he said slowly. "Fine. If you say so."
Luo ng exhaled silently, relieved that the pressure seed to be easing.
"But," Long Yifan added suddenly, his tone sharp, "if I find out you’re hiding sothing from , there will be consequences. You know that, right?"
Luo ng’s smile faltered for a split second before he quickly nodded.
"Of course," he said, forcing his voice to stay steady. "But there’s nothing to worry about."
When he left, Long Yifan stared at his back and returned his attention to Gu Jin who was looking at him with a cold expression.
He stunned, before giving out a small smile.
Gu Jin ignored him and continued to talk with others.
The banquet continued.
The crowd had many comnts for Gu Jin.
"This Gu Jin is truly lucky! Who would have thought that a sparrow would turn out into a phoenix?"
"How lucky! I wish I was an heir of so wealthy family and I was swapped at birth too."
"Do you think her talent is as good as Gu Aihan?"
"No way! Gu Aihan’s talent was unbeatable! She was one of the few among her peers to surpass the Super Rank by the age of 21!"
"Yeah? I think the Gu family is at a loss. After all, from what I know, this Gu Jin is only an advanced rank mage. Even after turning 21, her elents aren’t very strong. She has plant and fire elents."
anwhile, Luo ng had returned to Gu Jin’s side, grinning like nothing had happened.
"Master, everyone here seems so impressed by you!" he said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.
Gu Jin glanced at him, her face calm.
"Impressed? More like curious. They’re all wondering if I’m worthy of the Gu family na."
Luo ng’s smile faltered slightly.
"You don’t need to prove anything to them," he said quickly. "You’re already amazing as you are."
The chatter in the banquet hall buzzed on, but it ca to an abrupt halt when Long Yifan suddenly stepped forward.
His calm but commanding presence silenced the crowd like a gust of cold wind.
"Since everyone here seems to have so much to say about Gu Jin," Long Yifan began, his voice sharp and clear, "why don’t we talk about the rest of you instead?"
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the room. Long Yifan’s words were like a slap that no one saw coming.
"You." He pointed at a man near the center of the crowd. The man flinched, his face paling.
"Didn’t you fail the Advanced Mage exam three tis before barely scraping through? And you’re here questioning Gu Jin’s abilities?" Long Yifan’s tone was calm, but the mocking edge was unmistakable.
So in the crowd chuckled, and the man’s face turned red as he sputtered for a response.
Long Yifan didn’t stop there. He turned to a woman who had been whispering the loudest earlier.
"And you. You’ve been bragging about your lineage for years, but weren’t you disowned by your family because you couldn’t even awaken a second elent?"
The woman’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, and the crowd erupted in laughter.
Another person tried to slip away quietly, but Long Yifan’s sharp gaze caught him.
"Going sowhere? Should I remind everyone how you begged the Gu family for a loan and promised to pay it back in two years? It’s been six, hasn’t it?"
By now, the atmosphere was electric.
People were laughing, so nervously, others openly. Long Yifan’s cutting remarks left no room for retaliation.
"Let’s be clear," he said, his voice rising above the noise.
"Gu Jin has nothing to prove to anyone here. She’s the rightful daughter of the Gu family. If you have a problem with that, maybe you should focus on fixing your own shortcomings instead of tearing her down."
The room was silent for a mont, stunned by Long Yifan’s fierce defense.
But then, one of Gu Aihan’s admirers couldn’t hold back anymore. He slamd his glass down on the table and stood up, his face red with anger.
"Long Yifan! Are you siding with Gu Jin now?" he shouted.
"What happened to your loyalty to Gu Aihan? She’s been chasing you for ten years!"
Others who admired Gu Aihan joined in, their voices echoing through the hall.
"Yeah! How can you switch sides just because Gu Jin is the Gu family’s biological daughter? Isn’t that shaless?"
"Do you think this makes you look good, Yifan? Defending her like this?"
Long Yifan didn’t flinch. Instead, he let out a low chuckle, which sohow made the crowd even more nervous.
"Shaless?" he repeated, his tone mocking. "That’s rich, coming from you."
He turned his sharp gaze to the loudest complainer.
"You, for example. Weren’t you the one who was caught sneaking into Gu Aihan’s quarters late at night? You said it was for ’urgent business,’ but we all know what kind of business it was."
The man froze, his face turning an alarming shade of red as people around him started to snicker.
"And you," Long Yifan said, pointing at another admirer.
"Didn’t you send Gu Aihan expensive gifts every month for two years, hoping she’d notice you? She told herself how desperate and annoying you were."
The second man’s face turned pale as laughter broke out again.
"Shall I continue?" Long Yifan asked, his tone dangerously calm.
"Because I can go on all night. After all, most of you here only admire Gu Aihan because of your ’personal connections’ with her, don’t you?"
The crowd erupted into whispers, the air thick with tension and embarrassnt.
The admirers were fuming but had no way to refute Long Yifan’s words.
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