Right on cue, Chu Ge’s phone rang with a call from Mu Bingtong.
"Chu Ge, I’ve arrived in Shanghai."
From the other end of the phone came Mu Bingtong’s joyful voice, "Actually, there’s no need for you to be so worried about me, having reached Shanghai it should be safe, and yet you still had someone come to pick me up."
Chu Ge realized that it was Ouyang Die who had arranged for someone to be there in advance.
"It’s still better to be cautious about safety."
There was some noise on Mu Bingtong’s end, and after a few more words, she hung up the call.
Chu Ge put away his phone and said to Ouyang Die, "Thank you, she has been picked up."
Ouyang Die, resting her chin on her hand and leaning on the front desk, looked at Chu Ge with a smile and asked, "I help you take care of your fiancée, and all you say to me is thanks?"
Chu Ge smiled, "I’ve already made a dinner reservation for tonight, to welcome you, oh and Lin Zhao and Lin Dong, you both should join us too."
After speaking, he glanced at Gu Tong beside him, just catching his flustered eyes shifting away, "Gu Tong, come and join us as well, the staff from the Gambling Stone Field, we haven’t had a meal together yet."
Lin Dong, with one arm hooked over Lin Zhao’s shoulder, grinned mischievously and said to Gu Tong, "Gu Tong, although you’re older than us, your thoughts and your looks are both too immature."
Gu Tong glared at him, "Lin Dong! Say that again!"
What he hated the most was others commenting on his appearance!
Lin Dong shrugged, "How many times have we had group meals and you always find an excuse not to come, you are really not good at socializing, now I finally understand why Uncle Liu sent you over here."
Gu Tong pursed his lips, on this point Lin Dong wasn’t wrong, he really didn’t like going to those kinds of restaurants, or places with lots of people.
It made him feel inexplicably inferior.
But seeing their cheerful and harmonious manner, he felt envious in his heart.
Although he also had senior disciples, their interactions were mostly limited to martial arts discussions. As for their personal lives, it’s not realistic to say they had no interaction, but the emotional connection between them was not as deep as the one between Lin Zhao and Lin Dong who had known each other for just a few days.
Chu Ge noticed Gu Tong’s hesitation and gave Lin Dong a look, Lin Dong immediately understood, he stepped forward to Gu Tong and said, "Come on brother Gu Tong, it’s just having a meal with us, why does it feel like it’s as daunting as going to the execution grounds to you?"
Gu Tong rolled his eyes at him, but said nothing.
Lin Dong raised his hand and put his arm around Gu Tong’s shoulder, saying, "Could you please man up a bit? Don’t be so fidgety?"
Gu Tong looked at Lin Dong, speechless, this guy actually dared to call him girlish!
"It’s just a meal, what’s the big deal! Let’s go!"
After speaking, Gu Tong felt there was something awkward, he gave a light cough, trying to cover up his embarrassment.
Fortunately, when those people heard Gu Tong agree, they just exchanged smiles and didn’t pursue the issue further.
Ouyang Die spent some more time at the Gambling Stone Field. Perhaps it was because Lin Dong and Lin Zhao had spoken too loudly when they helped Ouyang Die out of her predicament earlier, and now everyone knew Ouyang Die was a friend brought by Chu Ge, no one dared to come forward and bother her.
However, there were still a few who feared nothing; these people were all Ancient Martial Artists who had come to attend the conference with the Sect elders.
With the conference approaching and the elders too busy to care for these underlings, it naturally provided them with an opportunity to relax.
One of these fearless men, whose features were quite robust but had the appearance of a middle-aged man in his forties, was a prime example.
He ordered a cup of fragrant tea from the front desk, carried it over to Ouyang Die, and struck up a conversation with a smile, "This lady is truly like a lotus in a pond, so beautiful it’s hard to look away."
The sudden sourness made Ouyang Die’s skin crawl.
She looked up, followed the sound, and met the middle-aged man’s murky eyes, her lips involuntarily twitching.
Because his smile was so fake and his eyes were filled with too much greed and desire, being stared at by him was indeed quite uncomfortable.
Ouyang Die realized he was speaking to her and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly heard a snicker from behind her, a voice filled with disdain.
"Tsk tsk, what’s with men these days? Why do they seem to freeze in their tracks whenever they see a woman? Calling her a lotus in the pond, how pretentiously sour."
The speaker was a man in a pink suit with his hands in his pockets, standing behind Ouyang Die, looking leisurely.
This person was none other than Gongsun Linhua. He had heard Chu Ge’s name more than once from Yuwen Kang’s mouth, and also heard about the gossip between Chu Ge and Nangong Man Sha in the upper-class society.
Long ago, he had been curious to see for himself what this legendary Chu Ge was like. He had even made an appointment with Yuwen Kang to come to the Gambling Stone Field, but he had been delayed at the last minute because something came up at home, and only now had his family let him out.
The words spoken by Gongsun Linhua seemed to be meant to help Ouyang Die and to mock the middle-aged man for not having seen women, but upon careful consideration, you could tell he was mocking more than the man himself.
He was also mocking Ouyang Die. The clear intention of his words was to question the middle-aged man’s simile; how did this woman before him resemble a lotus? For more chapters visit novel⸺fire.net
In his mind, however, appeared the image of a woman he had encountered when he was with Yuwen Kang in the café, the woman who had accompanied Nangong Man Sha—she was the true icy and noble snow lotus of the high mountains, possessing elegance without a loss of dignity.
Ouyang Die had not missed the mockery in Gongsun Linhua’s words, and she was quite confident in her looks. When she first heard what he said, she was genuinely displeased.
Ouyang Die’s face darkened, and after glancing at Gongsun Linhua, she turned and walked away.
Gongsun Linhua clearly assumed Ouyang Die was a local from the Capital City, thinking that with his noble status and striking appearance, Ouyang Die would surely be eager to follow him.
But oddly, Ouyang Die had only given him a look, and that look was unmistakably filled with disdain and contempt, as if he were a germ.
This indeed struck a blow to Gongsun Linhua’s pride.
He wanted to go forward and catch up with Ouyang Die, but he was stopped by the middle-aged man.
"Kid, what did you mean by what you just said? Say it again if you dare!"
The middle-aged man was angry, don’t think that just because he was a mere martial artist he couldn’t detect the ridicule in Gongsun Linhua’s words.
Gongsun Linhua, agitated by Ouyang Die’s contemptuous gaze, glared at the middle-aged man and snorted disdainfully, "It’s quite clear, it means you’re a toad lusting after swan meat."