"Wait!"
A Zhu stopped Li Ziling, "Li Ziling, let me go see Wen Shao!"
"A Zhu, this..."
Li Ziling's pretty face changed, looking embarrassed.
"It's okay! You're my best friend, I can't just watch you get bullied. Besides, you don't look presentable in your current state!" A Zhu comforted her.
"Then be careful. Don't get bullied."
"Mhm, don't worry!"
A Zhu walked out.
Li Ziling closed the door and started crying again, covering her face.
At this moment, her phone rang.
Hearing the ringtone, her eyes involuntarily lit up with joy.
This was a custom ringtone she had set for someone, and hearing it meant she knew who it was.
"Brother Chen Jie!"
Li Ziling answered the phone and called out without thinking.
On the other end, Chen Jie was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Li Ziling, it's been so long, have you forgotten about me?"
"Ah? No, no, how could I possibly forget you!"
She added to herself, "Even if I forgot the whole world, I could never forget you!"
"So, have you missed me?" Chen Jie asked.
"Yes, I miss you every night!"
Hearing Chen Jie's words, Li Ziling was almost overcome with emotion. She finally felt a glimmer of warmth.
In this world, only Chen Jie had ever truly helped her.
Given her usual personality, she would have been too shy to say such a thing, but now, no matter how bashful she felt, she summoned the courage to say it.
Chen Jie didn't think too much of it.
He simply assumed Li Ziling missed him like a sister would miss an older brother.
"I have a surprise for you; you're going to see me soon." Chen Jie said.
"Ah? Brother Chen Jie, what do you mean?"
"It means I'm in the capital."
Li Ziling panicked.
She really didn't want Chen Jie to know her current situation.
"You, why are you in the capital? I'm a bit busy lately, I might not have time to see you." Li Ziling tried to deflect.
"No time? Are you that busy?" Chen Jie asked, slightly displeased.
His purpose for coming to the capital was twofold. First, to see how Li Ziling was doing.
After all, she was once his student, and he felt obligated to care for her.
Second, Chen Jie felt that the Longmen sect was a major force in the capital. If it was convenient for Li Ziling, he hoped she could leverage the sect's influence to find his master.
Chen Jie had already tasked Luo Nan with the investigation, but knowing his master, even Luo Nan might not be able to uncover any information about him.
"Ah, I..."
"You don't welcome me?" Chen Jie frowned.
"No, it's not..."
Li Ziling quickly explained.
She welcomed him immensely, it was just that her current situation was not ideal.
However, the thought of Chen Jie coming to the capital made her heart flutter with excitement.
"Brother Chen Jie, how about this, tell me when you arrive in the capital, and I'll pick you up! I'll take you to see where I live!"
Li Ziling suggested.
"No need, I'm almost there!"
"What? Brother Chen Jie, where are you?"
Chen Jie replied, "I was doing some business near the capital earlier, and now I'm passing by. I'll be at your Longmen sect in a few minutes. You can just come and pick me up."
"So soon, this... I, then..."
Li Ziling stammered, her words jumbled.
Chen Jie had caught her completely off guard.
She had no idea how to respond.
If she went to pick Chen Jie up, she would inevitably encounter people who looked down on her along the way.
If she ran into Ren Youhua, she was sure to be belittled.
It would be a disaster if Chen Jie witnessed such an event.
"I, I'm not at Longmen..."
"What? Where are you if you're not at Longmen? Tell me your location, and I'll come find you." Chen Jie noticed that Li Ziling had become much more hesitant after not seeing him for a while.
"That might not be a good idea..."
"There's nothing wrong with it, just send me your location."
Li Ziling gritted her teeth. It seemed she couldn't avoid this.
She said directly, "Brother Chen Jie, I'm sorry, I lied to you. I'm actually inside Longmen right now, but I'm a bit tied up. Why don't you come in directly to find me, or you can stay at a hotel and wait for me to come see you."
She secretly hoped Chen Jie would choose the latter, as she didn't want him to see her predicament within Longmen.
But since one of Chen Jie's purposes was to see how Li Ziling was doing, he said without hesitation, "Alright, I'll come in directly to find you."
"Then, okay."
Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Li Ziling had no choice but to agree.
She silently prayed that Chen Jie wouldn't encounter anyone he shouldn't.
"Brother Chen, you've got quite the charm, having a lady in the capital too!" Along the way, Yingzi had already struck up a casual conversation with Chen Jie, even changing his address to "Brother Chen."
Chen Jie smiled and said nothing.
"We're here!"
At this moment, their car slowly stopped in front of the main entrance of the Longmen sect headquarters.
Before they could get out of the car, they saw a black stretched limousine parked not far away.
Several men in black suits stood in front of the car.
They seemed to be waiting for someone.
"It's actually Longmen!" Yingzi's jaw dropped in disbelief as he saw the headquarters.
He thought to himself that Chen Jie did have some influence, having a woman within Longmen. Perhaps the Dark Shadow Sect shouldn't target Chen Jie.
Just as Chen Jie was about to get out of the car, a pretty woman walked out from inside the Longmen sect.
"A Zhu?" Chen Jie was taken aback when he saw her.
He thought, wasn't A Zhu working as a celebrity at Shengshi Entertainment Company? Why was she at Longmen?
He hadn't known about this.
However, after a moment of thought, Chen Jie was relieved.
A Zhu was Li Ziling's best friend, so it was understandable that she would come to see Li Ziling.
Chen Jie saw A Zhu talking with the men in black suits. Although they were far away, with Chen Jie's keen hearing, he could still make out their conversation.
As Yingzi was about to get out of the car, Chen Jie waved his hand, "Hold on."
Meanwhile, a man in black walked up to A Zhu and said, "Yo, isn't this Miss Xia?"
"Ah San, is that you?" A Zhu looked at him, confused, "Where is Wen Shao?"
"Our esteemed Wen Shao is extremely busy with his affairs and naturally wouldn't come for such a trivial matter. Have you called Li Ziling over?" Ah San said with a faint smile.
A Zhu retorted angrily, "Wen Shao is pursuing a woman but doesn't even show his face. Isn't that a bit insincere?"
"Insincere?"
Ah San sneered, "How noble is Wen Shao? It's already a courtesy that he sent us here. Stop the nonsense and quickly call Li Ziling over!"
"I'm sorry, we have something we need to discuss with Wen Shao face-to-face. You bring Wen Shao here, and then we'll talk."
A Zhu said coldly.
"Audacious! What is your status that you dare to make such a demand of us?"
Ah San's expression turned cold. "I'll say it again, go and call Li Ziling out to accompany Wen Shao, or you'll face the consequences!"
"Heh heh, this is Longmen! What consequences could we face? Are you planning to snatch the dignified leader of Longmen out here in broad daylight?"
A Zhu sneered.
But she soon realized how utterly wrong she was.