There was only one portion of rice, but the serving was quite generous.
The chopsticks and bowl had originally been prepared as two sets. Who would believe that he hadn’t deliberately come here looking for him?
Xi Yu tore off a chicken leg and took a bite. It was tender and juicy.
Lu Zhixing was still wiping the chopsticks, his movements so graceful that he looked like a painting.
Xi Yu gave a little laugh. “You really don’t look like…”
A demon—
Demons ate raw meat. Even high-ranking demons at most cooked their meat, then simply used their hands to eat. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that fewer than ten demons throughout the entire demon race knew how to eat with chopsticks, let alone someone with such impeccable table manners.
Lu Zhixing put down the disinfecting wet wipe and looked at Xi Yu. “Don’t look like what?”
“Nothing.” Xi Yu took another bite of the chicken leg and mocked him, “Big star, someone like you would starve to death during a famine.”
“I wouldn’t. Someone would protect me.”
“Who?”
Lu Zhixing gazed intently at Xi Yu, his voice clear and cool. “The person in my heart…”
Xi Yu’s phone rang.
It was Luo Cheng’an.
The moment he answered, Luo Cheng’an’s aggrieved and furious voice came through.
“Brother, someone hurt me.”
Xi Yu immediately stood up to leave, but Lu Zhixing grabbed his wrist.
“You…” Xi Yu was just about to angrily rebuke him when he saw that the instant Lu Zhixing touched him, the demonic aura receded and became enveloped by divine light. The spiritual energy was so abundant that it was as if he were standing inside a spiritual spring.
After pausing for a moment, Xi Yu ultimately suppressed his temper.
“I have something urgent to deal with.”
“You’re quite concerned about someone you’re not even related to by blood.”
Hearing those words, Xi Yu’s expression turned colder.
Lu Zhixing’s tone was calm, but the faint sarcasm hidden in his words was unpleasant.
“Who I worry about isn’t something you’re qualified to interfere with.”
With that, Xi Yu shook off Lu Zhixing’s hand and headed toward the banquet hall.
Lu Zhixing stared at Xi Yu’s retreating figure, lightly rubbing his fingertips as though savoring the sensation of the slender wrist he had just held.
The next second, black lines suddenly spread inch by inch from his fingertips, extending along his veins.
Lu Zhixing irritably curled his palm and closed his eyes, as though he didn’t want to look at himself.
“I already said someone pushed me! Why don’t you believe me? Would I have nothing better to do than deliberately ruin Old Master Jiang’s calligraphy and embarrass myself?!”
The moment Xi Yu entered the banquet hall, he saw Luo Cheng’an arguing with red-rimmed eyes.
Xi Yu: My head hurts. I didn’t keep an eye on this naive fool for one minute, and someone bullied him until he cried.
Luo Cheng’an was like a trapped beast, baring his fangs. The moment he saw Xi Yu, his lips trembled and tears immediately began falling.
He rushed over, hooked his arm around Xi Yu’s, and wailed pitifully, “Brother, they’re all bullying me!”
Lu Zhixing entered right behind him. His gaze fell on Luo Cheng’an’s arm wrapped around Xi Yu’s, and his expression turned as cold as ice.
Zhang Jia wore an ill-intentioned expression. “Who bullied you?! You ruined Old Master Jiang’s calligraphy yourself and now you still refuse to admit it!”
“I didn’t!” Luo Cheng’an said. “Someone pushed me!”
“Then tell us who pushed you. When we ask, you can’t even say who it was.”
Xi Yu glanced at the scroll. A large patch of spilled wine covered nearly half of it. The piece of calligraphy was completely ruined.
Xi Yu tugged on Luo Cheng’an, who was about to continue arguing, and asked, “Isn’t there surveillance?”
Shen Qing shook her head. “I’ve already sent someone to check. They said it was broken.”
“Broken?” Xi Yu gave a light laugh. “Then call the police.”
The noisy surroundings fell silent for a moment.
Luo Shujing’s eyes darkened.
Jiang Lin had never had much of a favorable impression of Luo Cheng’an, this good-for-nothing. Now his grandfather’s final work had been ruined, and this son the Luo family had just found was actually suggesting calling the police at an occasion like this.
Wasn’t he deliberately here to cause trouble?
“Young Master Luo, this is my Jiang family’s banquet. Luo Cheng’an ruined my grandfather’s calligraphy in full view of everyone. He claims someone pushed him, yet he stammers and can’t say who. And now you casually demand that we call the police. Are you trying to trample my Jiang family’s dignity into the ground?”
Luo Yuan also disagreed.
Whenever something went wrong at someone’s banquet, it was normally handled privately. Making a scene would only bring shame.
Thinking that Xi Yu had just returned and didn’t understand these things, Luo Yuan walked over to him and shook his head.
Xi Yu paid no attention and spoke loudly.
“I said to call the police not because of Luo Cheng’an. Everyone here should know that I was just found and brought back to the Luo family. To make up for it, Mother gave me a priceless jade ring. Just now, someone bumped into me at the banquet, and the ring disappeared.”
Xi Yu raised his empty hand and looked at Jiang Lin.
“This item is extremely meaningful to me. If the surveillance at the banquet is broken, I’ll have no choice but to call the police and deal with this matter.
“The banquet hall is a workplace. The law clearly stipulates that hotels, schools, residential areas, and other public places must have surveillance cameras installed. Now that the hotel’s surveillance has supposedly malfunctioned, I have reason to question the hotel’s security. Calling the police is both reasonable and lawful.”
“As for what Mr. Jiang just said, as the host, if my belongings were lost at your banquet and couldn’t be found, that would be trampling your dignity into the ground.”
Zhang Jia stuck his head out.
“You say something was lost, so it’s lost? Who knows if you’re making this up just to help Luo Cheng’an? Everyone here is wealthy and influential. Who would steal your ring?”
“I only said it was lost. Did I say it was stolen? Or perhaps…” Xi Yu suddenly realized something. “Was it you who bumped into me? Did you pick up my ring? After all, you were already insulting me the moment I arrived. You look very suspicious now.”
Zhang Jia’s eyes widened.
“Don’t falsely accuse me! I didn’t see your belongings!”
Xi Yu’s expression turned colder.
“Who exactly is falsely accusing whom? If I didn’t lose anything, making a false police report would get me arrested for several days. Would I use my own innocence to frame you people?”
“Mr. Jiang, I lost my belongings at your family’s banquet, and now I’m being accused of staging the whole thing. Is this how the Jiang family treats its guests? You even call yourselves a distinguished scholarly family. From where I’m standing, you’re nothing special!”
“You!” Jiang Lin’s expression became ugly, and he was about to lash out.
But Luo Shujing suddenly stepped forward.
“Mr. Jiang, don’t get angry. Cheng’an ruined the calligraphy, and Xiao Yu lost his jade ring. You could consider the matter even. Why take things to the worst possible outcome? What do you think, Mr. Jiang?”
Jiang Lin naturally thought that was impossible.
Xi Yu was clearly trying to use the broken surveillance as leverage to smear them and offset Luo Cheng’an’s mistake, forcing them to swallow this loss.
But if he refused, and the police came, Xi Yu could simply claim that something had been lost. If it couldn’t be found, wouldn’t that establish that there was a thief at their banquet?
Jiang Lin had no evidence proving that Xi Yu hadn’t lost anything.
For a moment, he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
He gritted his teeth and was just about to swallow the loss—
Xi Yu suddenly sneered.
“Even? This was the first gift I received after returning home. It has extraordinary meaning to me. How could that possibly be even?”
“Anyone who dares stop me is the person who took my belongings!”
Xi Yu shouted, “Cheng’an, call the police!”
The three members of the Luo family were all dumbfounded.
Shen Qing and Luo Yuan exchanged a glance.
Luo Yuan: You bought him a jade ring?
Shen Qing: No!
Luo Cheng’an leaned close to Xi Yu’s ear and asked shakily, “Brother, are we really calling the police?”
Xi Yu answered firmly, “Call!”
Luo Cheng’an tremblingly pulled out his phone. He pressed a button, then looked at Xi Yu.
Seeing Xi Yu standing straight-backed with an expression that clearly said this really had happened, Luo Cheng’an suddenly became confident.
Since Xi Yu was so certain, Mom must have secretly given him the jade ring!
Call the police!
Luo Shujing had been reprimanded, and his face had also turned somewhat pale. Cold sweat broke out in his palms.
Luo Cheng’an had completely regained his backbone.
When the hotel manager snatched his phone away, he was still shouting, “You took my phone! Did you steal my brother’s things?!”
The manager wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly said, “There’s no need to call the police. The surveillance is working. We can pull up the footage. The employee just now was new and didn’t set it up properly.”
Luo Shujing’s hand suddenly clenched tightly at his side.
………………………
Xi Yu’s gaze fell on the hotel manager.
“I knew it. How could the biggest hotel in A City make such a low-level mistake?”
The manager nodded and bowed, knowing that he had kicked an iron plate this time. He was inwardly crying bitter tears.
After weighing the pros and cons, he had no choice but to bring out the surveillance footage.
If the police really got involved and the hotel was implicated, he wouldn’t even be able to keep his job. The matter of taking money would also be exposed.
“The surveillance room is upstairs. I’ll take you there.”
Xi Yu waved his hand.
“Isn’t there a projector here? Please connect it.”
Luo Shujing’s back was already soaked with sweat. His mind was a complete mess, with only one thought remaining:
It can’t be shown here. No!
“Xiao Yu!” Luo Shujing forced a smile. “This is Old Master Jiang’s birthday banquet. What you’re doing is really disrespectful. Now that the surveillance footage is available, just go to the surveillance room to check it. After all, this is a matter concerning the Luo family. Don’t disturb everyone else’s enjoyment.”
Unexpectedly, Jiang Lin interrupted Luo Shujing.
“No need. We’ll watch it here! Since there’s surveillance, let’s see how the two ‘Young Masters Luo’ lost their things, and how someone pushed them!”
Xi Yu chuckled.
“Sorry to trouble you, Manager. Play it.”
A perfectly good banquet, which should have been filled with the clinking of wine glasses and lively conversation, had now become a sea of people all tilting their heads up to watch the surveillance footage.
Lu Zhixing walked over to Xi Yu.
The demonic aura around him was making Xi Yu uncomfortable, so he shifted a little farther away.
The surveillance footage first showed Zhang Jia provoking Luo Cheng’an.
Zhang Jia’s father glared fiercely at him.
Then Lu Zhixing entered.
The footage was played at double speed. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Xi Yu and Luo Cheng’an in the video.
Xi Yu had gone to the garden early, so his figure could no longer be seen on the surveillance footage. Everyone’s attention therefore shifted to Luo Cheng’an.
Jiang Lin sneered.
“Young Master Luo, the surveillance footage doesn’t show anyone bumping into you.”
“Don’t rush,” Xi Yu said calmly.
The footage soon showed Luo Cheng’an running to the center to take a picture for Shen Qing.
Suddenly, a hand reached out.
“Pause!” Luo Cheng’an shouted. “Replay that part!”
The manager slowed the footage down to its lowest speed.
Everyone clearly saw who the hand that pushed Luo Cheng’an belonged to.
Luo Shujing!
The entire hall erupted in an uproar.
Luo Shujing could no longer stand properly. His face was ashen, and there was only one thought in his mind.
It’s over.