Tang Yu was holding a jade pendant, its surface a rich emerald green, and examining it closely.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the pendant.
Even from a distance, Liu Erlong could clearly sense it.
It was definitely no ordinary trinket. The aura it gave off was extraordinary.
Hearing footsteps, Tang Yu raised his head and looked over, his expression calm.
When she met that possessive gaze,
Liu Erlong's heart lurched, and she even stumbled over her words.
"I..."
"I'm the principal of Blue Tyrant Academy. There's still a lot of work waiting for me there, so I have to go back."
After saying this, she nervously clenched her fists.
She had thought that, given this man's domineering nature, he would surely stop her and forcibly make her stay.
To her surprise, Tang Yu didn't react in the slightest.
He merely toyed with the jade pendant in his hand, seeming not to care whether she stayed or left.
At the sight of this, Liu Erlong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At the same time, she felt a pang of disappointment she didn't even notice herself.
She quickened her pace, wanting only to escape as soon as possible from this place that had thrown her emotions into chaos.
Just as she was about to leave the courtyard and get some distance,
Tang Yu's teasing reminder suddenly came from behind her.
"You can go back."
"But make sure you remember this."
"From now on, whenever I call for you, you come at once."
"You're my woman. You'll be giving me children someday, too."
Those words struck Liu Erlong in the heart like a heavy hammer.
She froze in shock, the blush on her face spreading all the way to her ears.
Have children?
That arrogant bastard had actually dared to say something like that!
Overwhelmed by shame, she couldn't bear to stay another moment.
Liu Erlong stamped her foot, dashed out the door, and fled the mansion as fast as she could.
As she walked along the bustling streets of Heaven Dou City,
her heart was still pounding like a drum, beating faster and faster.
Tang Yu's domineering declaration kept replaying in her mind.
No.
She would never accept an arrangement like that.
She was a powerful Soul Saint, after all.
But...
If he really came looking for her, how could she possibly fight back?
With her heart full of turmoil and contradictions,
Liu Erlong hurried back to Blue Tyrant Academy.
She had only just entered the academy gates and hadn't even had a chance to return to her quarters and compose herself
when she ran straight into a deeply worried Yu Xiaogang on a tree-lined path.
Seeing that Liu Erlong had returned safely, Yu Xiaogang hurried over to her.
"Erlong!"
"You're finally back. What happened?"
"Did that Prince Wuyang give you any trouble? Is Zhu Zhuqing coming back?"
Seeing that familiar face again,
Liu Erlong felt none of the excitement or affection she used to feel.
In their place was a bone-deep coldness.
She stopped, her gaze cold as she looked at the middle-aged man before her.
There wasn't a trace of emotion in her voice.
"Give me trouble?"
"Weren't you outside the door yesterday?"
"Why did you leave me there and run away?"
At her pointed questions, Yu Xiaogang's gaze immediately darted aside.
He didn't dare meet Liu Erlong's eyes and stammered out an excuse.
"Erlong, you've got it wrong."
"I wasn't running away. I sensed a powerful killing intent inside."
"There was nothing I could do by staying, so I planned to withdraw for a while and find help in the city to rescue you."
Watching his false, affected act,
Liu Erlong felt her stomach churn. She was utterly disappointed.
This was the man she had loved and waited for all these years.
He never dared to take responsibility and was always making excuses for his own cowardice.
She laughed in her fury, her lips twisting into a scornful sneer.
"Find help?"
"Fine. You don't need to look anymore."
"I've already done what he asked and given myself to him."
"I slept with Tang Yu."
The words fell lightly, but to Yu Xiaogang, they were like a thunderclap.
His eyes widened, and he stared at Liu Erlong in shock.
The muscles in his face twitched slightly from sheer disbelief.
"What!"
"You..."
After the shock came a rage he could no longer contain.
Although he had never dared to accept Liu Erlong's feelings, deep down he had long considered her his own.
Now, learning that she had put such a massive cuckold's hat on him, he felt his pride as a man take a devastating blow.
He pointed at Liu Erlong and shouted in fury,
"You actually agreed to such a shameless demand!"
"How could you do something so disgraceful!"
Faced with his helpless fury, Liu Erlong only found him ridiculous.
She stepped forward and shot back without yielding an inch.
"I'm disgraceful?"
"Yu Xiaogang, what right do you have to criticize me?"
"Didn't you abandon me at our wedding all those years ago?"
"Who I'm with is none of your business!"
Each question struck Yu Xiaogang like a sharp blade, stabbing right into his sore spots.
He was left speechless, his face turning pale, then livid, then pale again.
The rage he had meant to unleash caught in his throat.
Looking at the woman before him, who had become almost unrecognizable, he suddenly felt afraid.
No.
No, this isn't right!
Things shouldn't be like this!
Without Liu Erlong's protection, he wouldn't be able to take a single step in Heaven Dou City.
Thinking this, Yu Xiaogang forced down his disgust.
He tried to salvage the situation with the same cold act he had used before.
"Liu Erlong, you're completely unreasonable."
"Go. I don't want to see a filthy woman like you again."
He had thought that by playing hard to get, he could make her cry and beg for his forgiveness as she always had.
But...
Hearing this, Liu Erlong showed not the slightest sadness.
Instead, she nodded crisply and turned to leave.
Seeing that his ploy had failed,
Yu Xiaogang panicked and quickly reached out to grab her arm.
"Erlong, don't do this."
"There's still a chance for us to work things out..."
But Liu Erlong simply flung his hand away.
Her expression was resolute, without a trace of hesitation.
She couldn't even be bothered to look at him again. She left him with a cold remark.
"Don't touch me."
"I don't want to waste another word on a coward."
Then she turned and strode away.
Yu Xiaogang was left standing there alone, stunned and indignant.
On the way back to her quarters,
Liu Erlong felt lighter than she ever had before.
The heavy stone she had carried in her heart for so many years had finally been crushed to pieces.
She could only think how foolish she had been.
She had wasted so much of her youth on a coward who couldn't even protect her.
Such a weak, pathetic man—did he really deserve someone as exceptional as her?
The answer was obvious.