LAN YU’S head was buzzing. He couldn’t think straight. Hearing Li Xu Min practically saying that he hated him was like a sword rushing to his guts. The more he wanted to pull it out, the more blood gushing out. That’s just how much it hurts.

  And as if that wasn’t enough, the next thing set of conversation felt like completely disemboweling him.

  "Right! It’s indeed Raphael," the girl said. "Now that I think about it, I have a friend who said that this Raphael is very keen on joining Celestials. Maybe that’s why he made all that fuss. He needed his name to be cleared of that white lotus reputation so he could still have a chance to be part of Celestials. After all, he already is an Angel race. All he had to do is wait for the invitation of Celestials. But how could that happen if his reputation stinks? It’s not that easy to get another Angel race through random selection. So, he just chose the easier way out – disparaging another person for his own gain."

  "Nasty shit," the blue-eyes guy said, his voice full of disgust.

  "Even so, what he did was still not right," Li Xu Min said with a righteous expression. "It’s not as if Celestials would just accept anyone. Being an Angel with good enough skills and yet not receiving an invitation from Celestials could only mean that the one responsible for recruiting new members most likely found something problematic about him. And good riddance. If someone with such a scheming mind entered Celestials, they would only be trouble sooner or later."

  "I agree. Who would want a team mate who would backstab you at any second just because you offended him or something?"

  Li Xu Min shook his head. "I really can’t understand people like that. They’re wasting their intelligence on doing bad things. How could they even sleep peacefully at night and go on with their lives as if nothing had happened?"

  "There’s really only one answer to that," the blue-eyes guy starting saying. He raised his head and once again looked at Lan Yu’s direction. "The guy is a sociopath."

  Lan Yu felt like his whole body was shaking. It’s not just his body but his insides as well. His thought was in a mess. He couldn’t think properly. Not after hearing Li Xu Min said all those things.

  He knew that these people didn’t know who he was. And the best way to get pass this situation was to not react at all. But how could he? If he didn’t say anything right now, Li Xu Min would forever have that kind of impression about him. If that was so, what was the point of everything he did?

  He didn’t want Li Xu Min to remember him as some scheming sociopath. He no longer thought more. Because if he did, then he would only hesitate more and more. And he couldn’t have that.

  "How are you so c-certain that this Raphael was the one responsible for that article? F-for all we know, people just naturally believed that he’s innocent. That’s why there’s a lot of comments defending him," he said. But he wasn’t really that believable because his voice was shaking. He took a deep breath. This time he made sure that he would sound more certain. "We shouldn’t talk about him like this when we don’t have concrete evidence to prove your conclusion about him."

  "Hmm…… yes, you’re quite correct. It’s really not good talking behind someone’s back like this," the girl said. "But you must admit, this Raphael was the only one who had the motive to do this to Noctis."

  Lan Yu stopped himself from scoffing. He truly wanted to smack this girl. Shen was the one responsible for this shitty situation he was in right now. If she didn’t start the topic about that article, then, maybe by now, he was already cozying up with Li Xu Min.

  "How come? With that Noctis’ attitude, I’m sure he had offended a lot of other players who will be more than willing to do the thing you’re accusing Raphael of," he said. "That guy is not exactly a saint. Just watching that prelims, it’s clear that he’s the one who best represents the word ’schemer’."

  Li Xu Min suddenly stood up and glared at him. "Noctis is not a schemer! He’s beautiful and strong and just overall amazing. How dare—"

  He hadn’t finished what he was saying because of the loud throat-clearing the girl made. And then Li Xu Min suddenly sat back down on his seat. As if someone had pulled him quite forcefully.

  But it seemed like he was not affected by that and just smiled apologetically at Lan Yu. "I’m sorry for that outburst. I hope you’re not offended and think that I’m not allowing you to state your own opinion."

  "It seems that you’re one of Noctis’ admirers," the girl said teasingly.

  Li Xu Min suddenly blushed, making him looked much more handsome and adorable. "Please, don’t spread rumors. I just simply admire his gaming skills."

  Seeing that reaction, add that to everything that had happened since he arrived in this pavilion, Lan Yu just felt like something inside him just snapped. Like a thread in his brain that was stopping him from doing something stupid was just completely cut. Like someone who was high on something and was now lacking any kind of inhibition. He only had one thing in his mind – Li Xu Min was not allowed to like Noctis!

  He stood up, pushed the girl away, and grabbed Li Xu Min’s arms. "You can’t do that! You’re not allowed to like Noctis! Do you know all the things that I did just for you to notice me? I play this stupid game! I studied my game race and game class so I can be good enough to join you at Celestials. I even have to spend money just so I could clear my reputation. So, I can continue playing in this account!

  "I finally met you today. You’re this close to me. And yet, you’re showing that kind of expression just because of that damn Noctis? You can’t do this! You can’t do this to me, you hear?"

  Then he was suddenly pulled away from Li Xu Min in a very rough manner. To the point that he almost fell down on his back. Because of that, the domino mask he was wearing fell off, completely showing his face.

  The girl gasped and the blue-eyes guy who most likely pulled him scoffed.

  "No wonder you’ve been defending ’Raphael’," the guy said looking at him with scorn. "Since the real Raphael is here, why don’t you tell us is you’re really the one responsible for that trending article?"

  "No, how could he answer that? He’d definitely just refuse," the girl said. Then, as if adding to the flame, she added, "But didn’t his crazy act earlier almost equivalent to him confessing?"

  Lan Yu didn’t know how to react. He was just full of anger and frustration that his brain refused to work together with him. He just wanted to hurt these two. But when he raised his head and saw Li Xu Min looking at him with contempt, that was the last straw.

  "That’s right, it was me! I’m the one responsible! And I don’t regret it! Noctis deserved all those shitty comments! No, he actually deserved much worse than that!"

  "And…… that’s a wrap," suddenly said by a new voice. A voice so familiar, he was sure he would recognize it no matter where he was.

  The girl suddenly took off the domino mask on her face, revealing a pair of indifferent eyes. "I thought that would never end."

  And then, her black hair suddenly turned into pink and a pair of butterfly wings appeared behind her back.

  Lan Yu completely froze. He recognized the girl. It was Morganite from team Yunyue! Even if he couldn’t think properly right now because of too much anger, he knew he was in trouble. But he needed to confirm first who was the owner of the voice who suddenly spoke.

  Before he could look at the direction where the voice came from, the Li Xu Min standing in front of him was suddenly surrounded by smoke. When it subsided, Li Xu Min was no longer standing there.

  Instead, in his place, a small black fox with three tails suddenly appeared.