Chapter 118: It’s Actually Her

Li Xiaofei’s face betrayed mild surprise.

How did I run into her here?

He turned to see Zhong Ling looking at him with equal surprise. The flower of the slum was wearing a pure white, off-the-shoulder knee-length dress. Her pale legs had a beautiful curve, and she wore silver high heels with tiny diamond-like decorations. Her hair was tied up in a mature style.

She looked both slender and beautiful.

Li Xiaofei frowned and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Everyone at tonight's event was either wealthy or powerful; they were the top elites of the base city. While Zhong Ling was beautiful and not lacking in money, her background was too ordinary. She would not have had the opportunity to attend such an event even when her father Zhong Yuanshan was alive.

When he noticed her slightly mature outfit, an unpleasant thought crossed Li Xiaofei's mind.

Had she fallen so far as to be kept by some powerful figure?

If that were true, his master's ashes wouldn't rest easy, and he would be partially to blame. Li Xiaofei suddenly felt that his guardianship of Zhong Ling had been inadequate recently.

If something really happened to her, how could I face my late master?

"I should be asking you that," Zhong Ling said, looking around and sighing in relief when she didn’t see anyone nearby. She spoke urgently, "Do you even know what kind of place this is? How dare you sneak in here? If you're caught, you won't have enough lives to compensate for it. You need to leave immediately."

"You don't need to worry about that," Li Xiaofei said, his face dark. "You should go back to school. This is reckless nonsense."

Zhong Ling retorted angrily, "My business is none of your concern. Are you crazy? Who told you I was here? You actually followed me here? Do you have a death wish?"

But before she could finish berating him, two girls wearing knee-length dresses similar to Zhong Ling's came out of the women's restroom, chatting and laughing.

"Hey, Little Ling, what are you doing here?"

"Who's this handsome guy?"

The two girls asked curiously.

"He's... just an acquaintance," Zhong Ling said, looking flustered. "You two go to the waiting room. I'll be right there."

"Heehee, Little Ling, you seem nervous," said the girl with short blonde hair, grinning mischievously. "Do you have a secret you're hiding? Wow, you can't keep such a handsome guy all to yourself."

The other girl with long black hair also teased, "Yeah, yeah, he's really cute. Introduce us."

Zhong Ling glared at Li Xiaofei, then hurriedly laughed it off with her friends, "He's really just an acquaintance. The awards ceremony is about to start. Hurry up and go, don't waste time."

"No, this handsome guy looks really familiar.” The girl with short blonde hair suddenly seemed to realize something.

At that moment, footsteps approached. It was a group of five security patrol members quickly walking over. They were led by none other than Captain Chen, who had appeared at the banquet earlier.

"What are you doing here?" Captain Chen asked sternly. "Who are you? Huh?"

Captain Chen suddenly recognized Li Xiaofei in the middle of his sentence.

Zhong Ling became even more panicked. She hurriedly explained, "We are models from Qishen Academy's Etiquette Team. We were invited to serve at tonight's awards ceremony. These are my classmates..."

The girl with short blonde hair interrupted, pointing at Li Xiaofei, "He's not our classmate."

"You... " Zhong Ling stared wide-eyed at her good friend. She couldn't understand why she would suddenly expose her lie. That would get Li Xiaofei caught by the security.

Without thinking any further, Zhong Ling gritted her teeth and said, "He... he's my boyfriend. I forgot a hairpin I needed for the awards ceremony, so I asked him to sneak in and bring it to me. Security officers, he's really just a student. I'll have him leave right now."

Captain Chen was stunned.

Boyfriend? If he’s this etiquette model's boyfriend, then what is his relationship with the city leader's daughter earlier? This guy is actually involved with both girls? He dares two-time the city leader's daughter?

Captain Chen sneaked a glance at Li Xiaofei. When he saw the latter’s calm demeanor that showed no signs of panic at being caught, and the deep meaning in his eyes, Captain Chen felt a chill down his spine.

"Move along, don't gather here," Captain Chen said, pretending not to recognize Li Xiaofei.

"Alright, alright, we're leaving," Zhong Ling said, quickly pulling Li Xiaofei away from the scene.

Once they reached the elevator in the lobby, she released his hand and began to scold him, "You're too bold. Do you realize sneaking into a place like this could get you arrested, or worse, killed?"

"I was invited," Li Xiaofei replied calmly.

He was relieved when he realized that Zhong Ling wasn't being kept by someone but was here for work-study and social practice.

On the other hand, Zhong Ling was exasperated, "Stop pretending. I know exactly what you're capable of."

Li Xiaofei was speechless.

This girl, how could she still be so arrogant and blind to reality?

Zhong Ling stamped her foot in frustration at his defiant expression. She spoke rapidly, "I know you've made a name for yourself in the last two rounds of the league with your pentakills, and a lot of people know about you now. But so what? Tonight's banquet is the highest-level event in the city. Not just anyone can attend. Even those monstrous high schoolers in the Limit Breaking Realm can't get in without the right connections. Take my access card and leave before anyone notices."

She handed him a small card.

Li Xiaofei was surprised. "Don't you hate me? Why are you helping me?"

Zhong Ling coldly replied, "I may dislike you, but I don't want to see you die. You looked after me in the past, and my father thought highly of you."

Li Xiaofei chuckled and replied, "I really was invited, but not officially. It was by a friend."

"Take the card and go," Zhong Ling insisted, pushing Li Xiaofei into the elevator without giving him a chance to argue.

Li Xiaofei was amused and exasperated. "What about you?"

"I'll just say I accidentally lost my access card. There's a backup record, so I'll be allowed back in after a bit of scrutiny," Zhong Ling replied hurriedly before rushing off.

As the elevator doors closed, Li Xiaofei stood there, feeling a mix of emotions.

He hadn’t expected to run into Zhong Ling at such an event. Now that he thought about it, he realized she wasn't inherently bad. She was just a naive and sheltered girl. She had been protected too well by her father, Zhong Yuanshan. She often lacked common sense, was easily manipulated by others, and had a tendency to act smart.

Li Xiaofei sighed as he decided to make the best of the situation. At the very least, he appreciated Zhong Ling's genuine concern despite her usual demeanor.

I need to assign someone to keep an eye on that girl in the future.

A naive girl like her could easily be used by others. That blonde girl earlier clearly wasn't someone to be underestimated.

Li Xiaofei took the elevator down to the first floor, then returned to the top floor. When he found his seat again in the banquet hall, the charity auction had just ended.

"Thank you to all the philanthropists for your generous donations." The beautiful hostess announced loudly. "On behalf of the Inscribed Treasure Bone Transplant Project at Duxing Hospital, I express our highest respect for your generosity."

The crowd applauded.

"Now, let's welcome the representative of the philanthropists, and the highest bidder in the auction, Mr. Zhao Bufan from the Golden Eagle Guild, to come on stage for a speech and receive the donation certificate."

Zhao Bufan walked up to the stage with a broad smile. Li Xiaofei was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Zhao Bufan to be the top bidder.