Bai Luoming Volunteered as Collateral
After Bai Luoming finished speaking, he felt that everyone's eyes were focused on him.
Tingyun leaned against the desk, one hand resting on the table behind her, the other raised to her chest, palm supporting her chin, waiting for Bai Luoming to speak.
March 7th and Qingque stood on either side of him, their gazes piercing him like needles, as if if he dared to nod, their eyes could pierce two transparent holes in him.
Bai Luoming did not choose to discuss things with everyone here. He put down his hand, turned around, and gestured to everyone in the direction of the door.
"How about we go outside and talk first?"
Upon hearing this, Tingyun did not stop Bai Luoming, but continued to lean against the desk, adopting a casual posture.
Seeing this, Bai Luoming decisively walked out of the duty room, and everyone followed him out of the duty room.
Bai Luoming walked out of the duty room and had just turned around to speak when he saw four people surrounding him in a semi-circular circle.
All eyes were on him. He couldn't help but scratch his head and spoke to everyone in a consultative tone.
"Well, how about I just stay here and wait for you to come and ransom me?"
"No way!" March 7th rejected Bai Luoming's suggestion without any hesitation.
She took a step forward, almost pressing her body against Bai Luoming, and looked up at him, saying, "Don't even think about it! Who knows what kind of bad ideas that woman has up her sleeve. If anyone has to be a guarantor, it'll be me."
Seeing her flustered appearance, Bai Luoming reached out and patted her head, comforting her, "Relax, don't you know what kind of person I am?"
"I know your character well, that's why I'm not letting you stay here!"
Xing nodded solemnly beside him and patted Bai Luoming on the shoulder. "Brother, we don't necessarily have to stay here. We can always find another way. If all else fails, we can go complain to Jing Yuan."
Bai Luoming clutched his chest, took a half step back, and put on a pained expression.
"Don't we even have this much trust between us? Do I look like the kind of person who would be easily blinded by beauty?"
Seeing his exaggerated movements, March 7th's tone softened as well.
"That's not it." She turned her head away, avoiding Bai Luoming's gaze, and muttered softly, "It's mainly because I don't trust her. Look at Tingyun, the way she looks at you is like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey. How could I possibly leave you there alone?"
Qingque leaned closer and said to Bai Luoming, "That's right, don't make a mistake."
She glanced back at the closed door and continued muttering, "Although I don't want to go back and face the information about the Lord Diviner, I absolutely cannot sell you out just to save myself a few steps. If the Lord Diviner finds out, she'll skin me alive."
Welt, who had been silent until now, adjusted his glasses. He looked at Bai Luoming with a calm gaze.
He didn't join in the persuasion; he simply stood there, waiting for Bai Luoming to make his final decision. He believed that Bai Luoming wasn't acting out of lust, but rather had his own judgment.
Bai Luoming sighed, his joking expression vanishing, and his tone became serious.
"There's a reason I'm staying here."
"What's the reason?" March 7th immediately asked, leaning forward even closer to Bai Luoming, almost trying to burrow into his arms.
Bai Luoming shook his head and waved his hand mysteriously.
"I can't say now. Saying it might influence your subsequent judgment. Just believe me, my staying here is absolutely not out of lust."
He stayed here with the intention of testing whether Tingyun had been replaced by Phantylia. Although the plot might not be developing as he expected, the risk of Tingyun being replaced could not be ruled out.
Moreover, he is quite strong; even if the real being here Phantylia, he can handle it.
Seeing his unyielding attitude, March 7th knew he had made up his mind. She bit her lower lip, still unwilling, but no longer tried to stop him.
She reached out and grabbed Bai Luoming's shirt, meeting his gaze as she said:
"Then be careful, don't let the fox spirit from the Xianzhou be bewitched."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Bai Luoming patted the back of her hand.
March 7th snorted coldly and increased the pressure on his hand. "You'd better know what you're doing."
To ease March 7th's worries, Bai Luoming joked, "I'm just staying to take care of some things, not to marry her. You're making it sound like we're facing a life-or-death separation."
Upon hearing this, March 7th's expression softened slightly, but she immediately realized the flaw in the remark. She raised her hand and pinched Bai Luoming's waist with perfect accuracy.
Stop talking nonsense!
Xing walked over and patted Bai Luoming on the shoulder twice.
"Sigh, since you've already agreed in March 7th, I won't try to persuade you any further. I hope you're not staying just to slack off."
Seeing that Bai Luoming insisted on staying, Qingque felt a little disappointed, but she didn't say much. She simply said, "If anything goes wrong, remember to call me. I may not have many other skills, but I'm very good at calling people."
Just after confirming that Bai Luoming had stayed, Welt, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up:
"Keep your communication channels open, and remember to be mindful of your personal safety."
Bai Luoming nodded seriously and wrote down Welt's instructions.
Don't worry, I'm very strong!
On March 7th, she released her grip on his collar and carefully straightened his already neat collar.
"If that woman does anything to you, message me immediately," she whispered, then quickly added, realizing her words sounded a bit off, "I mean, if you encounter danger, don't get the wrong idea."
Bai Luoming obediently let her adjust his collar, smiling as he agreed.
The group then reopened the door to the duty room.
Tingyun remained leaning against the table, her posture unchanged.
She tapped her slender, white fingers on the table, making soft, rhythmic sounds. When she saw everyone enter, she stopped tapping and a bright smile bloomed on her face.
"Distinguished guests, have you reached a conclusion?"
Bai Luoming bypassed March 7th and took the initiative to stand at the front.
"As you wish, I will stay."
March 7th glared at him fiercely from behind. She didn't go back on her word in public, but instead spoke to Bai Luoming.
"We'll be back as soon as possible. If he's missing a single hair, I'll hold you accountable."
"Young lady, you can rest assured. Sky-Faring Commission is a place that follows the rules. With this distinguished guest here, his safety is naturally guaranteed."
She opened a drawer, took out a temporary detention registration form from the Sky-Faring Commission, and skillfully processed the formalities for several people.
After completing the formalities, she picked up the communication Jade Abacus and methodically dispatched the nearby Cloud Knights to Returnstar Harbor to cooperate with the Astral Express in the search.
The entire process was smooth and flawless.
Welt checked the time, confirmed that the scheduling was complete, and then called Star, March 7th, and Qingque to set off.
Just before stepping out the door, he turned back to look at Bai Luoming and pointed again to the communicator on his wrist. Bai Luoming nodded in response.
March 7th walked at the back of the line. After a few steps, she stopped and looked back at the people in the duty room.
Bai Luoming raised his hand and waved at her, indicating that he was alright.
On March 7th, he turned around and quickly caught up with the group in front of him.
The footsteps faded into the distance, and the duty room fell silent again.
Tingyun turned around and slowly walked back to her workstation.
She ignored Bai Luoming, sat back in her chair, picked up her pen, and pretended to correct official documents.
Bai Luoming watched as Tingyun diligently reviewed official documents, then walked over to her and said, "Let's talk, Miss Tingyun. You don't need to pretend to be so focused on work."
Upon hearing this, Tingyun put down her pen, looked up at Bai Luoming, and smiled charmingly, "Of course, what would you like to discuss, esteemed guest?"
Bai Luoming tapped on the table and said in a deep voice, "There's a lot to talk about. Perhaps we can start by discussing things that interest us both?"