Xianyu was in the habit of imagining the worst-case scenario.
He had imagined the reasons the two of them might break up.
For example, Jingliu might discover that their personalities were incompatible.
Or their feelings might settle into something dull, with no spark left.
Or their romantic love might turn into familial affection.
To him, romantic love and familial affection were not interchangeable.
Xianyu had imagined many scenarios, but he had never considered the issue of his identity.
He had never imagined that his identity would be exposed.
Now his thoughts were like code that had thrown an error after an incorrect symbol was entered, frozen in place. He could barely even maintain his expression.
If his lover, his friends, and his superior, along with the elder who had met with him and his lover and planned their engagement banquet, had all deceived him...
Xianyu probably would not have spoken to the person responsible as... calmly as Jingliu did.
He knew full well that, in his current state, he was very likely to make the wrong judgment. He could only struggle to think, carefully weighing his words.
Xianyu tried to put himself in her shoes.
If he were Jingliu... besides his identity, he would surely want to know why all this had happened.
"Shuhu is cunning and treacherous. He intends to seize the Ambrosial Arbor."
"As for Yingxing... that is an internal Vidyadhara matter. Dan Feng will handle it."
Xianyu raised his hand and gently patted the back of Jingliu's hand to soothe her.
"Don't worry. They'll be all right."
Jingliu lowered her eyes, looking at their overlapping hands.
When she had discovered that the people around her had joined forces to deceive her, she had been furious.
What difference was there between lies and betrayal?
Jingliu had originally intended