Li Shu never expected that after just one meeting, he would almost have his identity exposed.
The Li family had been preoccupied with Li Luo’s affairs recently, so they were slightly lax on other matters. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Shu investigated the Li family.
To have risen from being mere merchants to their current position, the Li family was obviously not entirely clean. After a few days, Li Shu had gathered a lot of information.
There was still no news from Gu Lin, but the time for Li Luo’s engagement had already arrived.
That day, the weather was pleasant. Li Luo changed into a beautiful outfit and stood beside Madam Li, looking radiant and charming. As for the Helian family, there were no obvious signs of any movements. It seemed that both sides had reached some sort of agreement, and they appeared quite close.
However, even though the banquet had started, Helian Zheng had not yet shown up. Li Luo tried his best to maintain the expression on his face, but he couldn’t help feeling a little anxious.
Helian Zheng had already returned to the Empire Star two days ago, so there was no sudden event that would prevent him from coming. Why hadn’t he appeared yet?
Thinking back to the incident where the Helian family had sent someone with some inquiries a few days ago, Li Luo clenched his fingers. Was this absence related to that incident?
The day before Helian Zheng returned to Empire Star, he sent someone to the Li family to inquire about the recent incidents involving the two Omegas in the Li family. Though they spoke in vague terms, Li Luo and his mother understood that they were asking about Li Shu. The Helian family’s attitude was clear: they had no issue with the marriage, but some matters had to be dealt with properly.
This was understandable. The higher one stood, the more they cared about their reputation. Li Luo and his mother had previously done something that involved Helian Zheng, and if the Helian family had no knowledge or evidence of it, they wouldn’t have sent someone to investigate. After all, the two families were set to unite through marriage, so it was better to avoid unnecessary complications.
However, the reality was that someone had thrown evidence in their faces. At this point, pretending nothing had happened would be too much of a loss of face.
Li Shu hadn’t told anyone, but the day before the engagement banquet, he met with Helian Zheng. It was undeniable that he was an outstanding Alpha. Putting aside his background, Helian Zheng himself had enough credentials.
When Helian Zheng sought him out, it was clear he knew about what had happened. The Helian family had kept the incident from him to avoid any complications, but sometimes, the more you try to hide something, the harder it is to conceal. Who was Helian Zheng? Having trained in the military for so long, he had a keen eye for reading people.
As soon as he returned, he noticed something was off. Seeing his family act as if everything was fine, he hid his suspicions and planned to investigate quietly on his own.
But before he could take any action, the evidence was delivered right to his doorstep.
Thus, the two of them met again.
“I’m sorry about this,” Helian Zheng said. The damage had already been done, and he knew that saying this now wouldn’t help. After all, this matter stemmed from him, and he couldn’t simply turn a blind eye.
As for liking Li Shu, Helian Zheng didn’t think it had reached that point. They had only met once, and at most, he had a bit of goodwill towards him. At that time, no one could have predicted that such a casual encounter would bring such disaster upon Li Shu.
Back then, Helian Zheng had merely returned for a vacation. Once his leave was over, he had gone back to where he belonged. If not for the evidence being brought to him, he would have almost forgotten about the overly quiet Omega he had once encountered.
But the situation had already happened. He couldn’t claim ignorance and pretend that nothing had occurred.
“Don’t worry, I’ll give you an explanation.”
Li Shu didn’t know what kind of explanation Helian Zheng would give him. He had only told the Helian family the truth so they would understand the true natures of Li Luo and the original owner. He had no intention of taking the blame for something that wasn’t his fault.
The hall was filled with guests chatting and laughing. Li Luo was surrounded at the center of the crowd, the undisputed star of the banquet.
Time passed, but Helian Zheng still hadn’t appeared.
Despite Li Luo’s best efforts to hide it, Li Shu could see the anxiety on his face. If the other protagonist of the engagement didn’t show up today, this would turn into a complete joke.
Unwilling to stay around people who wanted to see him humiliated, Li Shu found a quiet spot at the beginning of the banquet, grabbed some food, and kept an eye on the movements in the hall while he ate.
He had already packaged some evidence and sent it to the Li family’s rivals. Until the matter of the Yue family was fully investigated, he didn’t want to expose himself prematurely. Maintaining his current position, where the Li family’s guard against him was at its lowest, was the perfect opportunity to uncover more.
The deeper he dug, the more secrets of the Li family he uncovered, and the more people were involved.
The Li family had developed rapidly in recent years, inevitably blocking the paths of some families. Some matters that were inconvenient for Li Shu to handle would be perfectly suited for these other families.
The Li family should receive the first gift today. Judging by the time, those people should have already started preparing.
The Li family placed great importance on this engagement banquet, which meant they would focus most of their attention on it. Inevitably, they would let their guard down in other areas. For some people, this was a rare opportunity.
With the evidence in hand, if they didn’t act now, when would they?
While taking small bites of a pastry, a shadow suddenly fell over Li Shu and he looked up.
“Excuse me, may I sit here?”
The person was pointing to the seat directly opposite Li Shu.
Looking at the familiar face, Li Shu nodded. “Of course.”
The person was none other than Gu Lin, who had disguised his identity.
Gu Lin hadn’t been in the Empire Star recently. He had rushed back as soon as he heard about the engagement between the Li family’s youngest son and Helian Zheng. He still remembered what had happened before and feared that Li Shu would be bullied.
While things were peaceful on their end, Li Luo’s side had encountered a problem because Helian Zheng still hadn’t shown up.
The Helian family had already sent someone to find him. Li Luo tightly gripped Madam Li’s hand, feeling increasingly panicked.
“Mother…”
“Don’t be afraid, he was probably delayed by something. The patriarch of the Helian family is here; nothing will happen.” Madam Li held Li Luo’s hand in return, trying to comfort him.
They had worked hard to plan for this moment, and she wouldn’t allow anything to go wrong.
They didn’t have to wait long. Helian Zheng entered the hall, led by a servant from the Helian family.
The room full of chatter immediately fell silent.
Because Helian Zheng wasn’t wearing formal attire. He was dressed in a sharp military uniform, as if he had just come from the battlefield, exuding an imposing aura, ready to head to the next battle at any moment.
He looked nothing like someone about to get engaged.
“Ahem,” in the dead silence, the patriarch of the Helian family spoke first, “What’s the meaning of this? If you have business, deal with it afterward. Go change your clothes.”
This was essentially an indirect explanation for everyone. At this point, Helian Zheng should take this opportunity to explain that he had been delayed by important matters.
But Helian Zheng didn’t do that.
He stood where he was and scanned the hall. His gaze paused on Li Shu for a moment, then, he said, “I do owe an apology—for this false engagement.”
“Buzz—”
It was as if a drop of water had fallen into a pan of oil. After the extreme silence, low murmurs began to spread. This development was too unexpected. The fact that one of the grooms hadn’t shown up had already made them suspicious, and now, with Helian Zheng’s words, it confirmed what they had been thinking.
Some people even recalled the recent rumors and couldn’t help but glance at Li Shu. They hadn’t forgotten that in those rumors, Li Shu was also one of the protagonists.
Li Luo noticed this too. He hated it so much, but he still had to pretend as if he knew nothing. He asked in a trembling voice, “Ah Zheng, are you joking?”
The patriarch of the Helian family reacted immediately, “Helian Zheng, what are you saying?”
He questioned sternly while giving Helian Zheng a look. Helian Zheng was the most outstanding of his children, and he didn’t want this child to defy him at a time like this.
Madam Helian also tried to help persuade him, “Ah Zheng, now is not the time for jokes. Go change your clothes first. Wearing this…”
“No need,” Helian Zheng interrupted. “Recently, there have been some rumors about me and the Li family brothers in the Empire Star. I’d like to take this opportunity to clarify.”
Helian Zheng paused before continuing, “First of all, this matter has nothing to do with Li family’s eldest son, Li Shu. I’ve hardly met him, and the things you’ve heard about didn’t happen. As for this engagement, I wasn’t aware that the person I was supposed to be engaged to was Young Master Li Luo instead. I apologize for the trouble this has caused to the eldest son of the Li family, Li Shu.”
As soon as these words were spoken, those quick-witted immediately understood the cause and effect. Instantly, the way they looked at Li Luo changed.
No one here was a fool. Who among them wasn’t familiar with the hidden schemes of noble families?
They were still talking on that side, but Li Shu had stopped listening. He hadn’t expected Helian Zheng to say something like this at this moment.
With this, the marriage alliance between the Li family and the Helian family was essentially ruined.
“Do you feel better now?” Gu Lin lazily retracted his gaze and, seeing that Li Shu’s expression hadn’t changed, asked.
“Do I feel better…” Li Shu paused, “Was this your doing?”
Gu Lin didn’t answer, but how could Li Shu not understand by now? He had wondered why Helian Zheng would act this way, but with Gu Lin’s involvement, it all made sense.
Li Shu: “What did you do?”
Gu Lin: “Just a small deal.”
Agreeing to let Helian Zheng join the Chiyan Legion was a matter of a single sentence, truly a small deal.
For Gu Lin, making Li Shu happy was worth agreeing to let someone into the legion. After all, that person had excellent abilities, only their identity was a bit troublesome.
Li Shu glanced at him but couldn’t figure out what Gu Lin had promised Helian Zheng, so he didn’t dwell on it. “Thank you for this.”
“No need. I just couldn’t stand seeing them bully you, a frail Omega.” Gu Lin’s gaze drifted to the side, avoiding Li Shu’s eyes.
Of course, his intentions weren’t as simple as he claimed. He didn’t want to let any of the people who had bullied Li Shu off the hook, but there was no need to tell Li Shu that.
As an Omega, Li Shu would always need the protection of his family. There were some things he couldn’t do too directly, so he had to give subtle warnings, just to make Li Shu’s life a bit better.
The adjutant had said, the best way to protect an Omega was to marry them and take good care of them.
Marry him…
What a tempting phrase. Gu Lin couldn’t deny that he wanted it too. However, he knew his own situation all too well. The people outside always said how powerful he was, the Empire’s number one Alpha. He had heard it so often that he almost believed it himself.
But he wasn’t.
The blood flowing in his veins and the seemingly endless power within him constantly reminded him—he was a monster.
