Ren Gechuan had his face pressed to the ground and arms twisted behind his back as he hollered again and again like a madman. "Ren Zexi is my nephew! He's my blood related nephew! I demand Lu Yizhou to return him to me!"
The cameras flashed brilliantly, snapping every single scene and imprinted them into the device. Who could guess that this kind of scandal would pop up at Young Master Ren's birthday party?! It was certain that this incident would appear on every headline news tomorrow!
The more the cameras directed at him, the bolder Ren Gechuan became. He wailed loudly, throwing every shame out of the window as he painted himself as a victim with Lu Yizhou as the greatest villain ever existed on Earth. Truth or not, no one could confirm. The journalists glanced at each other, excited yet hesitant at the same time.
Why hadn't Lu Yizhou and Ren Zexi appeared yet?
And why did the butler just stand there with the same courteous smile whilst letting Ren Gechuan run his mouth as long as he pleased? Not a hint of worry or anxiousness could be detected from his face. Did he have something up his sleeve?
"My apologies for the disturbance, everyone."
The person everyone was waiting for had finally shown up! Camera lights flashed intensely like bolts of lightning as Lu Yizhou made his appearance. The man had taken off his outer jacket and unbuttoned his collar, exuding a different kind of charm from the refined and graceful man earlier. For a moment, the cameramen were spellbound as their focus diverted toward capturing Lu Yizhou's sexiness instead.
"Lu Yizhou!" Ren Gechuan growled. "You have finally shown yourself! Ha, how thick is your face actually? You stole my nephew away, landed me into multiple precarious situations that almost cost my life and now, my poor nephew doesn't even recognize me anymore! Aiyah, how pitiful! My heart aches so much!!"
Lu Yizhou stood tall surrounded by the crowd with a displeased and appalled look on his face. It made the journalists wonder, how could he still maintain his composure? How much truth was there in Ren Gechuan's words?
Instead of answering Ren Gechuan, Lu Yizhou turned to the bodyguards and asked. "How did he get in? I don't remember ever sending an invitation to this person. If he entered with someone else, search who it is. Bringing this unfamiliar man out of nowhere, can I guess that they deliberately want to destroy the party?"
Just in a few sentences, Lu Yizhou managed to turn the tide. First of all, Lu Mansion wasn't the kind of place that anyone could get into. Personal invitation and thorough check was required thus it was impossible for someone to sneak in. Second, Lu Yizhou was the master of this place. Compared to an unfamiliar, insane and panicking stranger, the calm and composed Lu Yizhou looked more trustworthy indeed.
"Once again, I am very sorry for the disturbance." The man sighed. "This kind of thing doesn't happen only once or twice. Ren Zexi indeed isn't my blood related nephew and seizing advantage of that fact, many people have been trying to claim a relationship with him. I just didn't expect that they would even sneak into my house. It's very disconcerting." He swept his gaze over the people's presence, polite yet heavy, courteous yet imposing at the same time. Those in the business world knew how to take a hint, let alone an explicit warning like that. Even if Ren Gechuan didn't lie, in this situation they ought to take Lu Yizhou's side instead!
One by one, they started to echo his words.
"Yeah, that's right… Sigh, I knew that something didn't add up. CEO Lu is right, this kind of thing indeed happens quite often."
"Yeah, I also have some strange people approaching me, claiming to be my personal assistant's family. It's worrying for sure."
The journalists and reporters glanced at each other and nodded, lowering their notes and camera down.
Ren Gechuan gaped at the sudden change of development. How… How could they just believe Lu Yizhou just like that? Did what he said even make sense?!
[System notification: You have purchased a temporary skill "Devil's Whisper"! For the next five minutes, your words will be taken as the absolute truth. Countdown until the skill cools down: 3 minutes 24 seconds. The remaining points you have is 175. Thank you for your patronage!]
[666: Uwaaah our total point is so low! We have almost run out of it! Average people will be too scared to spend their points in the first world but Host, you don't even care about it!]
This was the first time 666 realized how much of a spendthrift its Host was. First, he spent more than 500 points just for Effective Sleeping Pills and Body Nourishing Pills, then he casually bought this hella expensive temporary skill that cost 250 points! At the beginning, 666 thought that 1000 points as a starter was already more than enough but with Lu Yizhou, even a hundred thousand points wouldn't be considered too much!
[They can be earned back later.]
[666: You can actually solve this situation without using a skill! You're the powerful and resourceful Lu Yizhou! Getting rid of Ren Zexi's uncle is as easy as flicking your finger, Host!]
[Who is it that failed to inform me when Ren Gechuan snuck in? I have clearly told you to monitor him all the time.]
[666: Err...hehehe *whistle*]
Ren Gechuan hollered until his face turned red. "How can you trust him?! He's lying! Lu Yizhou is a liar!"
"Shut up." Ren Zexi finally appeared from behind Lu Yizhou with the bodyguards trailing behind him, dragging a disheveled man out and throwing him beside Ren Gechuan. "Are you two in cahoots? One is thrashing my party while the other deliberately seduced my uncle with his body. To think that I have been your classmate for almost half a year, how disgusting!"
Jing Xuehao's head buzzed and he couldn't make out what had happened. The only thing in his mind was how to cover his naked body so that no one could catch sight of him. However he only had a piece of shirt on him which he grabbed tightly to cover his private parts, trembling. When Lu Yizhou's bodyguards threw the rest of his clothes to his face, he scrambled to pick them up to hide his face, the camera flashlights captured his every movement.
So many scandals in one night! Compared to some strangers posing as Young Master Ren's uncle, the news of Young Master's classmate seducing CEO Lu would make a greater headline instead!
"Jing Xuehao?!" A loud gasp sounded. "Isn't that our class' Jing Xuehao?!"
"Oh my God, Jing Xuehao! What happened to you?!
"Just now, what did Young Master Ren say? Jing Xuehao…intended to seduce CEO Lu with his body?!"
"Shut up…" Jing Xuehao felt his eyes turn hot as he covered his ears. "Don't look… Don't look at me!" Shame, fear and panic pricked his body, burning him like a bucket of boiling water. How he wished he could just disappear from this place!
"Master Lu!" The bodyguard who came to check the CCTV footage returned. "We have confirmed it. This man entered together with Young Master Ren's classmate, Jing Xuehao, and claimed to be his father."
Ren Zexi sneered. "Do you have anything to explain, Jing Xuehao?! Purposely bringing a stranger to avert the bodyguards' attention then uses the opportunity to latch yourself onto Uncle Lu, how brilliant you are!"
"No!" Jing Xuehao hollered. "I don't know that person! I didn't have anything to do with him!"
"You don't know him?" Lu Yizhou narrowed his eyes and turned his attention to the struggling Ren Gechuan. "How about you? Do you know this person? Let's see… if you confess, I might have just let you go because in this matter, you're an innocent party, right?"
Ren Gechuan was stunned. Would Lu Yizhou let him go if he confessed? He knew it was absurd yet he couldn't bring himself to doubt the man. Almost eagerly, he exclaimed. "He brought me in! This student is the one who approached me. He told me that I should create a ruckus as huge as I can to buy him time! When he manages to hook up with Lu Yizhou later, he will let me take Ren Zexi!
Jing Xuehao almost glared his eyes out. "What are you talking about, old man?! I don't know you at all!" Damn it! What the hell was wrong with him?! They had clearly agreed to pretend not to know each other as soon as they got in. How could he just turn around and eat his own words?!
"No need to deny anymore." Jing Xuehao's heart sank at the gaze Lu Yizhou directed toward him. It made him feel so... worthless and filthy. "The evidence is already in my hands. From now on, I don't want to see you around Ren Zexi anymore. I will also discuss your inappropriate conduct with S High's principal."
"You…" Jing Xuehao roared in the last attempt to save the last bits of his dignity. "You're also in that kind of relationship with Ren Zexi! I have the evidence in my hands! I will expose your true, filthy affair!"
"What nonsense are you—" Ren Zexi took a step forward, enraged and ready to beat the shit out of Jing Xuehao again when Lu Yizhou stretched out an arm to stop him.
The man's eyes were exceedingly cold as he stared down at Jing Xuehao. "Try it. But unfortunately, no one will believe you. I have thousands of ways to make it happen."
Colors drained from Jing Xuehao's face and he looked at Lu Yizhou like some kind of monster. Fear and terror strangled his throat and robbed him of strength. He knew… He knew perfectly that Lu Yizhou wasn't kidding with his words. In his eyes, Jing Xuehao was nothing more than a worthless plea that wasn't worth his attention.
All of a sudden, the loud blaring of police siren approached, followed by a few officers who rushed in to apprehend Ren Gechuan, making the latter dumbfounded. "Ren Gechuan, you're arrested for the crime of illegal gambling, bank robbery and trespassing on private properties. Follow us back to the station!"
"What?! No…!" Ren Gechuan's eyes went past the crowd straight toward Ren Zexi, bloodshot and malicious. "I'm still not done yet! Let me go! Ren Zexi, how can you do this to me?!!"
Ren Zexi flinched but in the next second, his sight was blocked by Lu Yizhou who took a stance in front of him and shielded him properly. He took Ren Zexi's cold and trembling fingers into his warm hand and kneaded them gently. "It's okay. He can't do anything to you. You will be safe."
Strangely, like a magic spell, the tension loosened from Ren Zexi's shoulders and he gave Lu Yizhou a smile, his heart full to the point of bursting. "En, I trust you."
The eventful and chaotic night ended not so peacefully. In the end, the fateful meeting between the protagonist and female lead never happened as the former was already kicked out and banned from entering Lu Mansion's area ever again. Meng Yun didn't even give Jing Xuehao a glance as all of her attention was already drawn to Lu Yizhou.