"I came in a hurry, having just learned of the old man's birthday. I'll give him the gift later."
Ling Yi's gentle and polite demeanor, coupled with his handsome face and unique temperament, instantly won over many people.
"Hahaha, very good, very good! Young Master Lin's presence is the greatest gift this old man could give you. Please!"
"I hope you don't mind my intrusion."
"No disturbance, no disturbance. Your father, Lin Shou, is a hero for the country and its people, and your son, Young Master Lin, is even more outstanding, possessing exceptional talent and extraordinary bearing. His presence is an honor to the Liu Clan."
"Then we'll have to take advantage of the old man's good feast today."
Ling Yi immediately became the center of attention, and surrounded by a large entourage, he entered the villa.
Those around couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Look at this, this is what a true scion of a great family looks like. His demeanor and bearing are so refined. Compared to the other second-generation members present, it's like comparing a bright moon to a frog.
Bai Qianqian lagged behind the crowd, staring intently at Ling Yi's the Back, her face full of worry.
"Do you know this guy?" Gao Feng asked curiously.
"What's it to you? You're just a bodyguard my father hired. Don't ask questions you shouldn't."
Bai Qianqian said in an annoyed tone.
"Tch, you think I can't tell? This playboy must be one of your suitors! He's got the airs of a respectable man."
Bai Qianqian sighed. The Lin Clan was powerful, and her avoidance of Lin Zhe Lin Zhe not because she disliked him as a person, but because she did not want her fate to be shackled.
The Bai Clan members all thought highly of her marriage to Lin Zhe, hoping to use Bai Qianqian to climb the social ladder within the Lin Clan.
Bai Qianqian's resistance made the entire Bai Clan very unfriendly towards her.
If it weren't for her parents buying her three more years, she probably would have been sent to Lin Zhe's side long ago.
At this moment, Bai Qianqian glanced at Gao Feng beside her and suddenly had an idea.
That's right, it's a common trope in most novels where the female protagonist has the Protagonist pretend to be her boyfriend.
"Do me a favor later."
Ling Yi, on the other hand, was having a very pleasant conversation with Old Master Liu.
But Ling Yi wasn't there to take over; he was just there to watch the show.
"Sir, you are the Protagonist today. I shouldn't take the lead. Please continue your birthday celebration. Just give me a quiet spot."
"Alright, then I'll take my leave. We can chat again later."
At Ling Yi's insistence, they were taken to a corner of the banquet hall and occupied a table by themselves.
But the food and wine, and all kinds of top-quality ingredients, were plentiful and abundant.
Ling Yi was very satisfied with this.
In reality, there aren't many opportunities to enjoy these delicacies.
Just as Ling Yi was enjoying his meal, two figures appeared in front of Ling Yi.
It is Bai Qianqian and Gao Feng, the Protagonist of this novel.
Ling Yi glanced at the two of them, and when he saw Bai Qianqian holding Gao Feng's arm, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
Got it, it's a cliché plot: pretending to be her boyfriend.
" Lin Zhe, I already have a boyfriend. I hope you will stop bothering me."
Ling Yi looked up at her and said calmly, " Bai Qianqian, I have a question for you."
"Have you considered whether this guy, pretending to be your boyfriend, can withstand my, Lin Zhe's, revenge?"
"You know who I am, but he doesn't. He's just an ordinary person. Do you think I'll let him go? What do you think...?" Ling Yi smiled slightly, "What will his future hold?"
Bai Qianqian's face turned deathly pale instantly. Although she didn't have a good impression of Gao Feng at the moment, she didn't want to implicate Gao Feng because of her.
"I'd like to see how you plan to get revenge on me. From this moment on, Bai Qianqian is my woman, Gao Feng's woman. I'm waiting for your revenge."
Gao Feng gave a wicked smile. Was this the Legend crooked-mouthed Dragon King's smile? It made Ling Yi feel extremely nauseous.
"Hehe, you'll see. Oh, they're already here. The timing is perfect!"
At this moment, four inspectors walked in through the door. They glanced around and quickly located Gao Feng's position.
The lead inspector first explained the situation to Old Master Liu, while the remaining three inspectors went directly to Gao Feng.
"Your name is Gao Feng?" one of the inspectors asked coldly, pulling out handcuffs.
"It's me, what's wrong?" Gao Feng frowned, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.
Please open your bag.
"Why should I?" Gao Feng shouted in dissatisfaction.
"We suspect that your bag contains contraband. Please submit to inspection; otherwise, we will take coercive measures."
"I refuse. This is something my the Final Master left me. What if you break it?"
This level of intelligence...
Ling Yi shook his head. "The inspectors want to check, so you should just cooperate obediently. If you keep making excuses, even if there's no problem, it will become one."
He glanced at Bai Qianqian and sneered, "Your boyfriend is really something else."
Bai Qianqian was also speechless and somewhat bewildered. She glanced at the gloating Ling Yi, frowned, and asked, "Did you hire these inspectors?"
"Hehe, guess."
"It must be you, Lin Zhe. You're shameless! I'll never like someone like you. The more you do this, the more I despise you."
You've got a few things wrong.
"First, I did like you when I pursued you, but I suddenly realized that you seem to have some mental issues, so I've lost interest in you."
"Secondly, you should know that for scions of prominent families like ours, face is the most important thing. You've made me lose face, and your Bai Clan has made our Lin Clan lose face. Do you understand the consequences of this?"
"If I don't do something, if our Lin Clan doesn't do something, what will the other families think? Will they think our Lin Clan has become easy to bully? That any Tom, Dick, or Harry can mess with the Lin Clan?"
"Third, don't be offended if I say you're brainless. Back in Yanjing, you had countless reasons to reject me to my face, but you didn't. You just avoided me and never once said in public that you didn't like me."
"To outsiders, your not refusing is tantamount to agreeing. Yet, you went to Qingcheng City. Whatever the reason, you made me, Lin Zhe, lose face, and you made the Lin Clan lose face."
"Even if you reject me in public once, I will never bother you. Are you afraid to refuse, or do you not want to refuse? Or are you just trying to stall for time?"
"Your parents are very lenient with you, giving you three years, but what can you do in those three years? What are you even capable of doing?"
"Don't worry, from now on, I, Lin Zhe, will no longer bother you. You can leave!"
Ling Yi waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly, and said to Bai Qianqian.
"Are you telling the truth?" Bai Qianqian asked doubtfully.
"Hehe!" Ling Yi ignored him and watched the commotion on Gao Feng's side.
Gao Feng was already handcuffed. Although he tried his best to explain, it was no use. Caught red-handed, he was taken away.
Bai Qianqian didn't have much of an impression of Gao Feng at this moment, after all, they had just met and he had just been assigned to be her bodyguard by his father.
Ling Yi smiled slightly. The first step of the test was over, but this was only the beginning.
Bai Qianqian happened to see Lin Zhe's smile and frowned, asking, "Why did you frame Gao Feng?"
"Heh, yes, why would I frame Gao Feng?" Ling Yi retorted.
"I'm the one asking you," Bai Qianqian said, slightly annoyed.
Ling Yi's voice suddenly turned cold as he stared at Bai Qianqian and said, word by word, "I'm asking you the same question: why did I frame Gao Feng?"
Bai Qianqian was speechless. Yes, Lin Zhe had no reason to frame Gao Feng, and using Gao Feng as a shield was just a spur-of-the-moment decision she made.
Prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain; no matter how hard you try, you can't move it, just like in your heart, I, Lin Zhe, am a villain.
"But you Dragon Capital, have I, Lin Zhe, ever done a single evil deed?"
That's true. Lin Zhe has a very high reputation in the circles of Dragon Capital.
The younger generation holds Ling Yi in high esteem, while the older generation holds Ling Yi in high regard.
Perhaps his only flaw is his obsession with the woman Bai Qianqian.
But now... since we're going to be villains, we should go all the way.
Upon hearing Ling Yi's words, Bai Qianqian's face instantly flushed red, especially Ling Yi's statement that prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain, which made Bai Qianqian suddenly feel ashamed.
Is Lin Zhe outstanding? Of course he is.
Was Lin Zhe wrong to pursue her? A gentleman is naturally drawn to a beautiful and virtuous woman, and there's nothing wrong with that, especially since Lin Zhe never used any extreme methods.
He simply sent flowers and confessed his feelings multiple times without success, yet he remained persistent.
Furthermore, Ling Yi was right before; Bai Qianqian had never publicly rejected Ling Yi.
Bai Qianqian wanted to say something, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.
Gao Feng had already been taken away, and with no more excitement to watch, Ling Yi didn't want to stay any longer. He said goodbye to Old Master Liu and left the Liu Clan.
That afternoon, the two videos were posted online and quickly went viral.
A video, captured by CCTV, is not particularly clear. In the video, a man wearing a shirt and jeans, carrying a green satchel, is seen making a deal with several tattooed thugs.
The other video was shot with a mobile phone at a closer distance. Although the image is a bit shaky, it is very clear.
The items that the young man with the green satchel was trading with those thugs were captured on camera.
The young man with the shoulder bag was carrying a bag of flour in a transparent plastic bag...
Of course, all of this was fake; it was video footage filmed by actors arranged by Uncle Li.
Moreover, this period coincides with the time when Gao Feng left Bai Qianqian and his whereabouts became inexplicable.
In the first ten chapters of the original novel, Gao Feng was not idle. Because of a mother and daughter, he offended a big shot in the underworld of Qingcheng City.
Before accompanying Bai Qianqian to the Liu Clan, he happened to encounter this gang leader and his Xiao Di who were secretly lying in ambush on him.
As a master of Ancient Martial Arts, Gao Feng had naturally discovered the other party long ago, so he made up an excuse to leave Bai Qianqian.
After luring these people into an alley without surveillance cameras, he killed them all with a single punch each.
This timeframe corresponds to the time when Ling Yi's fake video was filmed.
Therefore, Gao Feng's next challenge is how to prove that the person in the video is not him.
You say the person in the video isn't you, so where have you been all this time? Does Gao Feng dare to tell the truth? Of course not, so...
"This is the second surprise. The third surprise is already prepared, but I wonder if the Protagonist can handle it."
Inside a villa, Ling Yi sneered, swiped off the Slow Foot Livestreaming Platform on his phone, and then dialed Uncle Li's number.
" Uncle Li, I want to learn Ancient Martial Arts!"
" Young Master, to be honest, you've passed the best age to learn Ancient Martial Arts. If you start now, I'm afraid you won't achieve much."
"Give it a try. I'm Bored anyway, what if I'm some kind of unparalleled genius?"
"Haha, alright, since Young Master wants to learn, I'll go over now."
"No need. Just do what I asked you to do. Just find me some cultivation techniques and send them over. I'll study them first."
Hearing Ling Yi's words, Uncle Li felt even more strongly that the Young Master was probably just acting on a whim.
If becoming a master of Ancient Martial Arts could be achieved simply by reading a few manuals, then the title of master would be worthless.
Moreover, Uncle Li knew that his Young Master simply did not have the talent to cultivate High Martial Arts, so it would be a waste of time to practice.
However, Ling Yi can be Lin Zhe, but Lin Zhe is not Ling Yi.