“No, let’s just forget it.”
Lu Yunze refused right away without even thinking.
“Why? Jiang Zhiya widened her eyes, “Are you abandoning me, sir?”
“It’s actually because I’m not very good at dealing with women.”
“Huh?” Jiang Zhiya hadn’t expected that answer. After all, Young Master Lu Yunze always had a close female friend by his side, and yet he claimed he couldn’t handle women.
Close female friend?
Lu Yunze honestly had no idea who she was talking about for a moment.
The real reason he said he wasn’t good at dealing with women was mainly because there were simply too many troublesome women around him.
There were plenty of scheming women, but women who were clever yet genuinely treated him well? That kind, he might never meet another again.
Just dealing with Jiang Sui was enough to give him a headache—he really didn’t have the energy to cope with anyone else.
Since there was nothing at the scene that required his help, Lu Yunze bid farewell to the officers. As he stepped out of the building’s hallway, he could clearly feel the air on the street growing lighter.
It was the Execution Division Secret Arts Practitioners’ prior preparation: they’d set up a Protective Barrier covering the entire building, all to avoid implicating innocent people and to create a battlefield for their own.
He checked the time—he’d been delayed for a while now. He wondered how things were going at the school, and whether Jiang Sui’s friends were getting the job done after being paid.
To be honest, when Jiang Sui had named her price, it had gone far beyond Lu Yunze’s expectations and made his wallet ache a bit.
Just as Lu Yunze arrived in front of his beloved Red Motorcycle and picked up his Steel Helmet, someone suddenly called his name.
He turned around and saw it was Jin Huancheng walking over.
“Mr. Jin, did you need something from me?”
“It’s been over a week since we last met, hasn’t it?”
Jin Huancheng walked up with a friendly smile.
“I said before I had a good feeling about you, and I was right. You really gave me quite a surprise.”
“…You’re not angry that I hurt your son?”
Jin Huancheng had obviously gotten the full story from the police about the arrest of Jin Shun. Although Lu Yunze had returned alive, he had left Jin Shun knocked out and completely defenseless before Jin Shun made his escape.
As for Jin Shun’s death, Lu Yunze didn’t think all the blame could be placed on Bai.
At the time, he never expected someone who was already dying like Jin Shun to still have so many secret weapons on him—and even prepared his own escape route.
“No, I don’t blame you.”
Jin Huancheng sighed as he spoke.
“My son killed himself. He gave up his own chance to live. There’s nothing more I can say.”
Lu Yunze nodded slightly. He hadn’t expected the old man to be so understanding.
“If I were ten years younger, maybe I’d still have the energy to stir up some trouble. But I’m old now, I really don’t have the time.” Jin Huancheng chuckled as he spoke, “Anyway, it’s not like there’s no one to carry on my family business.”
Wasn’t that a veiled invitation? A friend wasn’t asking him to take over, was he?
“Aren’t you going back to school soon? Don’t let the events exhaust you.”
Hearing this, Lu Yunze, who was just getting on his motorcycle, nearly lost control.
“How did you know…”
“Actually, a few years back, I was a guest at Lancheng Academy too. I attended a few Anniversary Celebrations. Later, I got too busy and couldn’t make it anymore.”
Although Jin Huancheng hadn’t attended in years, Lancheng Academy always insisted on sending him invitations, and even performance rosters. The list always had the name Lu Yunze, and his Piano Solo.
“You’re here right now, so you can’t have rushed over the moment you got off stage, right?”
Jin Huancheng teased with a laugh.
“So, you’ve found someone to stand in for you and you’re free to go out now?”
That was the intuition of the older generation.
Lu Yunze almost felt for a second that the old man had seen right through all his plans.
“Mr. Jin, you always try to get close to me. What exactly are you after?”
Lu Yunze cut straight to the point, not wanting things to get complicated later.
“My intentions? It’s simple.” Jin Huancheng stroked his chin. “I just want the Lu family to cooperate with us. Who wouldn’t want to team up with a powerful partner?”
With that, he laughed a few times, but Lu Yunze couldn’t join in.
So, he really did want to work with the Lu family, and was using him as a bridge?
“You should go talk to my father about that sort of thing.”
Lu Yunze put on his Steel Helmet and started up his Red Motorcycle.
“My status in the family isn’t that high. If you’ve heard the rumors outside, you should know that much.”
Lu Yunze didn’t like troublesome things, and family affairs were the worst kind of trouble. Instead of wasting time here chatting with Jin Huancheng, he might as well hurry back to school.
He revved the throttle, and the Red Motorcycle shot off like lightning, disappearing down the street.
Jin Huancheng stood where he was, his overcoat flapping in the wind stirred up by the departing motorcycle.
As he watched the figure quickly disappear, Jiang Zhiya came up behind him.
“How did it go?” Jin Huancheng asked without turning his head.
“He didn’t agree, said he’s not good at dealing with women.”
“With Miss Jiang as a childhood friend, and even a maid as his lover, yet he claims he can’t handle women…who would believe that?”
Jin Huancheng’s tone had lost all its earlier warmth.
“My son really is dead? Not a false impression created by the Secret Arts?”
“He…really is dead.”
At her words, Jin Huancheng took a deep breath.
“Fine, we’ll wait for another chance. Anyway, Lu Yunze and Jiang Yao won’t graduate from university anytime soon. Our family business has been stagnant for years; we do need a big client.”
Jin Huancheng opened his arms, and Jiang Zhiya quickly leaned against him, her face brushing his beard, one hand gently caressing his chest, her expression alluring.
The two returned to their car, and their driver took them toward the direction Lu Yunze had left.
Far away, hurrying back to school, Lu Yunze had only one thing on his mind: what was happening on Jiang Sui’s end?
He almost wanted to call her, but thought if he had the time, he’d be better off just heading back sooner. So he sped up the motorcycle.
He hoped nothing would go wrong.
At Lancheng Academy, the Anniversary Celebration was in full swing.
The great plaza was packed with students—so many that it was almost impossible to move through the crowd.
The area in front of the stage, with the most space, was reserved for the school leaders and VIPs.
“Next up is Lu Yunze’s Piano Solo!” the host announced loudly, then quickly left the stage.
As the staff wheeled a black grand Piano onto the stage, one of the school leaders sitting below commented, “Lu Yunze? That name sounds familiar.”
The Dean of Students explained the origin of the name to him, and the school leaders all widened their eyes in surprise.
“He’s the hero of that fire incident.”
“That’s right. If it hadn’t been for him, there would have been deaths in that accident.”
“A real hero at such a young age—so brave, and he even has talent. How are his grades?”
“He’s eligible for scholarships, but he doesn’t lack money, so he turned them down himself.”
The school leader nodded slightly. When he saw the young man in a black suit step onto the stage, the whole audience fell silent.
“Let’s give him a round of applause.”
“Absolutely.”
“President Wang is right.”
On stage, “Lu Yunze” bowed to the audience, then walked gracefully to the Piano and placed both hands on the keys.
And then—
The first notes flowed out, like a clear spring running gently, carried along by the breeze across the sports field.
At first, the restless crowd quieted as the Piano’s gentle warmth filled the air.
At first, everyone just thought the piece was played beautifully, but for some reason, there was a strange magic in the music. It wasn’t a piercing impact, but a gentle immersion—like wading into the sea, everyone’s attention drawn deeper and deeper.
It was as if a hallucinogenic Perfume was drifting through the air. More and more people lost themselves in the world of the music, feeling the rhythm of every note.
Principal Wang even wondered for a moment if someone had sprayed Perfume, but as the music took over his inner world, he found he had no room left to think about anything else.
This piece began in the noisy daylight and ended in a still and quiet evening.
When the last note fell, the lingering melody seemed to hang in the air for a long moment, and you could even hear the distant caw of crows across the sports field.
Only when “Lu Yunze” stood up and bowed again did the audience finally awaken as if from a long dream, coming back to life.
Thunderous applause flooded the venue—no one wasn’t moved by this performance.
“The effect was even better than I expected.”
“Lu Yunze”—or rather, Jiang Sui—left the stage and headed toward the preparation room.
Once she’d closed the door, she took out the small device that played the recording. Every piece in it had been performed by Lu Yunze himself, and she’d made sure he participated in each and every one.
Of course, just this little trick wasn’t enough—if someone paid attention, they could probably spot the difference.
Jiang Sui reached into her inner pocket and took out a small bottle of Perfume, tilting it playfully in her hand.
“With my personally crafted Mist Incense, you can’t help but be enchanted after listening.”
With her efforts, Lu Yunze was sure to become the focus of everyone’s attention at this Anniversary Celebration.
By then, he’d have to thank her properly for her hard work, right?
Jiang Yao always just spouted empty words of encouragement at times like this, but she, Jiang Sui, was bringing the real thing.
Another step closer to success.
Just as Jiang Sui was thinking this, she suddenly heard footsteps outside.
Lu Yunze, back already?
Jiang Sui, who’d been lounging on the sofa, immediately stood up, ready to greet him—though she hadn’t removed her disguise.
No, there were multiple footsteps.
Curious, Jiang Sui walked to the door, and the moment she opened it, she was swept up by a crowd of excited girls outside.
“Wow, it really is Lu Yunze!”
“Your Piano Solo just now was amazing! I want to hear it again!”
“Please, can you give us your contact info? Will you play Piano for us more often in the future?”
Surrounded by the enthusiastic girls, Jiang Sui was stunned. When had Lu Yunze become such a Thousand Admirers?
Wait, was it the Mist Incense? The effect was almost too good.
After this Anniversary Celebration, even if Lu Yunze didn’t want to be a Thousand Admirers, it was too late.
The performance had just ended, yet these people had already tracked down the preparation room. If it had really been Lu Yunze in here…
Just thinking about that scene, Jiang Sui’s face darkened.
Luckily, it wasn’t actually Lu Yunze who came back, and she hadn’t immediately removed her disguise.
Since Young Master Lu Yunze wasn’t here, she didn’t mind helping him win over a few more adoring fans.
As the thought blossomed in her heart, Jiang Sui, still wearing Lu Yunze’s face, gave the girls a gentle, dazzling smile.