Volume 1, Chapter 32: An Apology? I Do Not Accept It!

White powder instantly filled the air.

Gu Yan was startled, his face draining of color. "Lu Ning, what are you doing!"

Even a socialite who had seen the world had never encountered a woman who would charge at him wielding a fire extinguisher.

After extinguishing the flames, Lu Ning’s eyes held a trace of impatience. "I don’t like you, and I don’t want to see these childish, boring things appearing outside the school."

She was already irritable because her period was approaching, and the last thing she needed was someone getting in her face.

"Lu Ning, you're quite interesting. I really have taken a liking to you—you've got personality!"

Lu Ning turned and sprayed the fire extinguisher directly at Gu Yan. He cursed in shock as his little entourage scrambled to shield him.

Tossing the fire extinguisher to the ground, Lu Ning looked cool and indifferent. "Don't come bothering me again."

With exams approaching, she didn't want to be entangled with a rich playboy like Gu Yan; it would only waste her time.

"Sister Ningning, how could you treat Young Master Gu like this? He only confessed to you in front of everyone because he likes you. Even if you don't return his feelings, you shouldn't hurt his heart like this, right?"

Qin Xiang appeared, looking like a flower on a high peak.

Lu Ning’s eyes flickered with irritation. "None of your business. You get lost, too!"

Qin Xiang looked stunned; she clearly hadn't expected the usually cold Lu Ning to actually lose her temper and lash out.

Lu Ning brushed the dry powder off her hands; the smell was unpleasant. Ever since her conversation with her eldest brother at the restaurant yesterday, the suppressed emotions in her heart were finally reaching a breaking point.

As Lu Ning turned to leave, Gu Yan, who had suffered a major loss, felt his pride wounded. He shouted, "Lu Ning, stop right there! Who gave you permission to leave?"

Lu Ning didn't even look back, radiating an air of defiance.

Feeling humiliated, Gu Yan said in a fit of pique, "What are you staring at? Grab her and bring her here! If I don't teach her a lesson, she’ll think I, Gu Yan, am someone to be trifled with."

Qin Xiang stood to the side, silently watching the drama unfold with a cold glint in her eyes. Lu Ning was truly a fool; to reject Gu Yan so brazenly after he had taken an interest in her—she clearly had no brain. She wanted to see how Lu Ning would survive the coming days after offending Gu Yan. She truly hoped this would affect Lu Ning and cause her to fail her college entrance exams.

"Let's see who dares to touch her!"

Lu Liu ran across from the street, his face deathly pale.

When Lu Ning saw her sixth brother, she paused. She remembered that Lu Liu had messaged her last night, asking to meet at the cafe across the street after school today. But she had deleted his message without replying. She hadn't intended to go, either. She hadn't expected Lu Liu to actually show up.

After arriving, Lu Liu stared directly at Gu Yan. "You brat, you dare to covet my sister? You didn't even ask if her six brothers would agree!"

Gu Yan’s expression grew unnatural when he saw Lu Ning's family member. However, being a socialite from Yunjing, he looked down on the wealthy families of A-City.

Gu Yan said indignantly, "But your sister used a fire extinguisher on me. How are we going to settle this?"

"I saw it clearly. You were the one harassing my sister first. She only used the fire extinguisher to prevent your candles from causing a fire. Her actions were perfectly reasonable!" Lu Liu added, "You may have connections, but this is A-City. If you want to stay here in peace, you’d better not cause trouble!"

Gu Yan was so angry his face twisted. "You have the guts to say that again?"

Qin Xiang immediately stepped in to mediate. "Sixth Brother, this isn't entirely Young Master Gu's fault. If Sister Ningning didn't like him, she could have just refused. I believe Young Master Gu isn't the type to pester people. But using a fire extinguisher was going a bit too far, don't you think?"

Gu Yan took the out. "Exactly. I'm so popular, why would I hang myself on one tree? With a temper like Lu Ning's, I don't even want her."

Lu Liu frowned, looking at Qin Xiang; he found her words uncomfortable. It was Lu Ning who had been harassed—did she really have to be polite when rejecting someone?

Lu Liu glared at Gu Yan. "I don't have anything more to say to a brat like you. If there's a next time, I'll go speak to your parents directly!"

After saying this, Lu Liu grabbed Lu Ning’s wrist. "Let's go, get in the car!"

Lu Ning instinctively tried to pull away, but in the end, she was forced into the car by her brother.

Qin Xiang trotted after them. "Sixth Brother, are you angry because of what I said? I was just being realistic; I didn't want you two to fight. After all, Gu Yan has family in Yunjing. If things get ugly here, it will make things difficult for Eldest Brother when he runs into the Gu family in Yunjing."

Lu Liu had been quite angry, but his expression softened when Qin Xiang mentioned their eldest brother. "If Eldest Brother finds out this kid harassed Lu Ning, he’ll definitely make trouble for the Gu family!"

Qin Xiang was momentarily choked, feeling a prick of resentment in her heart. As expected, blood was thicker than water; the treatment was simply different. But why had Lu Liu appeared here?

Qin Xiang asked pointedly, "Sixth Brother, you've been so busy lately. How did you have time to come pick us up from school today?"

Lu Liu glanced secretly at Lu Ning, but she was staring out the window, seemingly oblivious to the conversation in the car. Lu Liu felt a bit annoyed by her indifference, but he quickly reined in his temper. After all, he had come to reconcile with her.

"I've been moved out for a long time, so I wanted to see how you were doing," Lu Liu said.

Qin Xiang noticed Lu Liu kept looking at Lu Ning and guessed his motive. It was likely that his gaming team hadn't found a suitable person yet.

Lu Ning stared at the traffic outside the window, her mood far from pleasant. When she finally snapped back to reality, she realized they weren't heading back to the Lu residence but had stopped at a training base. She saw posters of the Lu Tian Gaming Team and various promotional photos.

Lu Ning hadn't expected to be brought here. As she stepped out of the car, a group of people rushed out and surrounded her.

"Congratulations to the God-tier player for joining our team!"
"God Ning, can I have your autograph?"
"God Ning, can you tell us how you learned to pull off that twelve-hit combo?"

Lu Ning frowned instinctively. She hadn't agreed to join the team.

Lu Liu took the opportunity to say, "Alright, don't scare my sister. Let's eat."

Lu Ning was ushered into the training base’s cafeteria by the crowd. Seeing this, Qin Xiang could barely maintain her expression.

Lu Liu noticed Qin Xiang’s look and whispered, "Xiangxiang, you know the situation with my team. We haven't found a suitable marksman yet, and only Lu Ning is a good fit, so I'm trying to smooth things over with her."

"Sixth Brother, I understand. You don't need to explain to me. What happened last time involved me, too. I'll apologize with you later and hope to earn Sister Ningning's forgiveness. Once our family is all on the team, I'll handle the logistics and cheer for you all!"

Qin Xiang’s obedient demeanor made Lu Liu breathe a sigh of relief. He knew Qin Xiang wasn't a petty person; she wasn't as difficult as Lu Ning.

But after Lu Liu walked away, the smile on Qin Xiang's face instantly dimmed before returning to normal as she followed the group inside.

Lu Ning was pushed into the cafeteria and saw a large banner hanging inside that read: [Welcome God Ning to the Team!]

Only then did she realize something was wrong. She took out her phone and sent a message to Ji Chiqian: [Can you come pick me up?] She shared her location.

Lu Liu walked up to her, his expression somewhat awkward. "I know I was wrong last time during the revival tournament. I shouldn't have been so impulsive and laid a hand on you. After reflecting on it for this long, I truly regret it. Today, in front of everyone, I would like to officially apologize to you. I hope you can forgive me."

Lu Ning stood there, looking at the hanging banner, finding it utterly ridiculous. She slowly looked up, her eyes pitch black.

Some people, she realized, just really needed a beating.