FI CH90: In the Limelight!

In the deathly quiet banquet hall, the Bai family had already made their entrance.

A snow-white figure glided in gracefully.

Bai Xinwen was also by his side. Bai Jiang nodded with a smile at the gazes directed his way. His eyes shifted, and upon seeing Lin Su at the other end, his face lit up like sunshine.

Bai Jiang scurried over, his sleeves fluttering. “Haha, Teacher~” ^▽^

He stopped in front of them. “And Chairman He.”

He Zhenling cast a light glance, and Lin Su said slowly, “Xiao Bai.”

After his greeting, Bai Jiang glanced sideways.

He looked at the stiff-faced Cheng Xuehui and his group, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Oh my… what are we talking about here?”

The group held their breath, unable to utter a word.

All eyes were gathered here.

From the moment Lin Su’s invitations fell out, the gazes from the crowd had already changed.

The group seemed to be roasted over a fire. Especially Cheng Xuehui and Xiang Donghao at the front, who wished they could find an excuse to leave immediately. “We…”

However, before they could speak, another commotion was heard.

At the entrance, the Yi family had also arrived.

The redwood cane thumped on the floor as Yi Daiming, who represented the highest academic achievement, walked in. The young girl beside him, with her light-colored pupils and hair, was the famous “prodigy” of the Feng Shui world.

After taking a few steps in, Yi Daiming scanned the room.

His gaze fell in this direction, and he walked over.

Bai Xinwen offered a polite greeting of “Family Head Yi,” and Yi Daiming returned the courtesy. Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he bypassed the two chairmen and looked at Lin Su.

“Brother Su.”

Lin Su replied casually, “Old Yi.”

He then looked at Yi Shui. “Xiao Shui, did you rest well this week?”

Yi Shui lowered her head without speaking. After two seconds, she took a small step and moved to stand by Lin Su’s side.

Lin Su cast a thoughtful glance.

Yi Daiming asked, “You’ve all started chatting?” He turned his head and frowned upon seeing Cheng Xuehui’s group, as if he couldn’t recall who they were.

Cheng Xuehui’s face was turning the color of pig liver. “We—”

“We were just talking about matters concerning our several families.”

Lin Su interjected gently.

A rush of blood surged through Cheng Xuehui, and he choked on his words.

Yi Daiming sized them up. Bai Xinwen, seeming to have guessed something, sneered, “Talking about our families? Perfect. The Lu and Qi families are about to arrive. Let’s wait for them and talk together.”

Just as he finished speaking, the sound of wheels rolled in from the entrance.

A figure as cool and elegant as a pine tree sat in a wheelchair, his face handsome, his eyes like cold stars. The young man pushing the wheelchair behind him had a warm smile, his features carefree.

Faint, low discussions could be heard in the hall.

“The Lu family… the youngest family head…”

“Don’t be fooled by his appearance, he’s a ruthless one.”

“The one with him is his lover, don’t ask too much, it’s a taboo in the Lu family…”

Lu Yanzhou’s hands rested on his lap, his gaze fixed forward.

Chen Qiu leaned down and whispered, “A’Yan, where should we go first?” Before he got an answer, he looked up and suddenly saw Lin Su. He let out a happy “Ah!” and pushed the wheelchair straight towards him—

“It’s Benefactor!!!” O▽O

Lu Yanzhou was pressed back against his chair, his bangs flying up. …!

Lin Su was speechless.

The crowd was speechless.

The wheelchair screeched to a halt in front of them, and Lu Yanzhou collected himself.

Chen Qiu greeted them excitedly, “Did Benefactor and Chairman He receive the invitation we sent? It’s been so long, we were really looking forward to seeing you~”

Lin Su replied pleasantly, “We received it.”

Bai Jiang suddenly turned his head, his voice small and teary, “Teacher… did you use the Lu family’s invitation to get in?”

Lin Su paused. “No, I—”

He Zhenling let out a meaningful chuckle. “Heh…”

Yi Daiming also turned over. Chen Qiu, seemingly clueless, had a question mark appear above his head, “OvO?” Bai Jiang was still staring with watery eyes. Yi Shui, standing to the side, looked up, her gaze shifting back and forth.

Just as Lin Su was contemplating how to perfectly balance the waters, the tense atmosphere was broken.

“The Qi family is here…!”

Some of the attention focused here was diverted, and a small commotion arose.

“Who’s coming this year?”

Lin Su followed the gazes.

Two familiar figures walked in. One was like a clear breeze under a bright moon, the other had the air of a great master.

Unexpected cries of surprise rang out. “Master Xue!”

“The one from the Qi family is a junior? I’ve never seen him before…”

“He’s Master Xue’s last disciple, just recently acknowledged by the main family. His talent for creating talismans is extremely high, and I hear he’s highly valued by the family…”

Qi Wang walked in with a calm and detached air, his smile impeccable. Xue Zhibai swept a cool glance over the room, then strode through the hall towards Lin Su with great fanfare, speaking familiarly.

“You’re here! I’ve been wanting to find you, but they insisted we be the last to enter—”

Qi Wang gently pulled him back. “Master…”

He then looked at Bai Xinwen and the others. “Apologies, seniors. My master is impatient.”

Bai Jiang waved a paw. “It’s fine, I completely understand~” ^▽^

Yi Daiming and Bai Xinwen said nothing.

Xue Zhibai made a round of greetings, then reached out to put a hand on Lin Su. “You recently…” A hand landed on Lin Su’s shoulder before his, and he paused, meeting He Zhenling’s natural expression.

“?” Xue Zhibai asked, “Uh… you two…”

He Zhenling said, “Mhm, we have a marriage contract.”

Xue Zhibai was shocked.

Lin Su was speechless. He knew it.

Bai Jiang chuckled and skipped over the topic.

He turned to the group including Cheng Xuehui, who were sitting on pins and needles. “Since everyone from the four great families has arrived, let’s continue the previous conversation.”

Xue Zhibai was confused. “What conversation?”

Lin Su said, “These gentlemen are worried about the balance between the four great families.”

Cheng Xuehui didn’t dare to breathe, sweat beading on his forehead. “Actually, it was a small misunderstanding…”

Lin Su sighed and continued, “They misunderstood that I am only on good terms with the Bai family.”

Yi Daiming was confused.

Lu Yanzhou was confused.

Qi Wang and Xue Zhibai were confused.

Bai Jiang laughed. “That’s not entirely untrue… ^▽^” Smack! His words were cut off by a slap from Bai Xinwen.

Although Yi Daiming was a recluse, he understood in an instant. He looked over grimly. “If you have time to worry about such nonsense, you’d be better off calming down and focusing on your studies! Work on improving yourselves.”

Bai Jiang chimed in, “Family Head Yi is right.”

He glanced around, his eyes knowing. “Especially the few of you here. Don’t you know in your hearts how your own children got their academic credits?” He smiled. “If credits are so easy to get, how could someone fail to graduate after a credit audit?” ^^

Xiang Donghao’s face turned shades of green and red.

The other onlooking families also began to murmur.

“Falsifying credits, isn’t it only right that he was dismissed? How dare they come looking for trouble?”

“Mr. Lin only exposed him…”

“My daughter starts school next year. Thank goodness they got rid of such academic scum.”

“It’s those few families, isn’t it? So shameless!”

…

Voices surged from all directions. The few families stood in the center of attention, unable to leave. They could only brave the surrounding looks of contempt and exclusion.

In the awkward atmosphere, Lin Su suddenly spoke up to ease the tension.

“You can’t blame Family Head Cheng.”

The surrounding voices quieted a little. Cheng Xuehui and his group looked over in surprise, then relaxed slightly. It’s about over, he’s leaving us a way out—

Lin Su was very magnanimous. “Family Head Cheng is just overly fond of his son and can’t bear to see his pup being wronged.” He looked up, his gaze landing precisely on Cheng Zhuo, who was hiding far in the back.

He smiled. “Isn’t that right, Student Cheng?”

Cheng Zhuo, being suddenly called out, trembled.

He was both angry and embarrassed, never having been so humiliated. “You… don’t go too far!”

Lin Su hadn’t even spoken, but the faces of the people in front of him changed in unison. Bai Jiang’s smile vanished. “Is that how you speak to a ‘teacher’?”

Lu Yanzhou swept a cold glance at Cheng Xuehui. “…Is this how your family teaches its children?”

Yi Shui’s淡淡 eyes were calm. “So weak, and rude on top of it.”

“………” said the crowd.

Qi Wang gently added the final blow. “Indeed, he doesn’t understand how to respect his teachers.”

Seeing the situation was bad, Cheng Xuehui quickly shot a look to stop the flushing Cheng Zhuo. He never would have imagined that the four great families would ever have such a unified stance—

“It… it was our failure to educate him, we have offended…”

Cheng Xuehui lowered his head and squeezed the words out through his teeth. “Today’s matter, let’s just—”

Bai Jiang and the others said no more, only looking at Lin Su.

Lin Su stood in the middle and shook his head. “You want me to say it? You won’t accuse me of bullying others with my power again, will you?”

Sweat broke out on the foreheads of Cheng Xuehui’s group.

Lin Su watched for two seconds, then withdrew his gaze and turned to He Zhenling. “How about you say it?”

“……”

He Zhenling smiled and looked down. So I get to do the dirty work?

Lin Su pursed his lips and met his gaze.

He Zhenling’s fingertips tapped lightly on his shoulder twice, then swept over the group in front of them. As his impersonal gaze passed over them, the group swallowed, holding their breath and waiting for him to speak.

After a moment, He Zhenling said officially, “If there are problems, I will investigate. If there are no problems, take this as a warning.”

At his words, some were terrified, while others breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Xinwen couldn’t be bothered to look anymore and waved his hand. “Disperse.”

The group scattered as if granted a pardon.

The clowns were gone.

But the surrounding gazes had not completely withdrawn.

The most influential figures in the entire Feng Shui world were gathered here, and people were still vaguely looking in this direction.

In front of them, Bai Jiang ignored the others.

“So Teacher, whose invitation did you use to get in?~ ^▽^ It must have been mine, right? Right? T▽T”

Chen Qiu said with a look of pure innocence, “Eh? Did Benefactor receive other invitations?”

Lu Yanzhou gave him a gentle tug.

Yi Daiming frowned. “We should have been the first to give one, right?”

Qi Wang smiled peacefully. “Haha… we don’t mind, as long as we get to meet Mr. Lin and Chairman He.”

Bai Jiang’s keen senses made him glance sideways. …?

Lin Su was speechless.

Facing all their gazes, he pulled the item out of his robe again. “You are all my cubs… my dear friends in this life. Of course I didn’t leave any of you out.”

With that, he unfurled it with a whoosh—

The long stack of invitations opened for the third time!

The group before him fell silent, staring. “……”

Lin Su quickly added, “There’s no order of precedence, I arranged them alphabetically.”

“Ah, we’re first~” Bai Jiang happily took it and admired it in his hands. Chen Qiu pushed Lu Yanzhou closer, and the hanging scroll of invitations nearly touched Lu Yanzhou’s handsome face. “A’Yan, we’re second, that’s not bad either.”

“……” Lu Yanzhou said gently, “Mhm.”

Qi Wang stood to the side, above the fray. Yi Daiming looked it over and said seriously, “Brother Su, in my opinion, it should be arranged in the order they were received. My family ended up at the bottom of the list.”

Qi Wang comforted him softly, “Senior Yi, if you hold the stack upside down, it’s the same.”

Yi Daiming was relieved. “You’re quite the smooth talker, young man.”

They started their own discussion around the invitations.

Lin Su couldn’t squeeze into the circle and stood to the side. As he watched, he heard a soft voice beside him.

“Your wings are fighting.”

“……”

He turned his head and met He Zhenling’s calm side profile.

The hand on his shoulder had moved to the small of his back a while ago, a low-key declaration.

Lin Su leaned against him and said shyly, “You’re becoming more and more of a big bird leaning on a person.”

He Zhenling snorted with laughter. “I’m afraid of being fanned by your wings.”

Lin Su said softly, “You’re being crowded again.”

He looked ahead. “There’s a natural competitiveness among the four great families. They’re just playing around, see? The atmosphere is great. …Ah, why is Old Xue shoving Xiao Bai.”

Xuenima said benevolently, [He’s as busy as ever, busy making things worse.]

Two fingers gently pinched it.

Ignoring the grand chaos before him, Lin Su patted He Zhenling. “I’m going to the restroom.”

He Zhenling let go. “Okay.”

Lin Su headed towards the side of the banquet hall.

…

The banquet had just started, so most people were in the hall.

The corridor was quiet, with few people around.

Just as Lin Su was about to reach the restroom, he saw a familiar small figure standing in front of the sinks.

Yi Shui had come over on her own at some point and was standing there motionless.

Lin Su looked over. “Xiao Shui…”

Before he could finish, a violent wave of energy pulsed out!

Lin Su’s eyes snapped up, and he instantly pulled Yi Shui over. Almost simultaneously, the entire glass mirror in front of the sinks was shattered by the impact of psychic energy! Crash— Mirror shards flew everywhere!

Scattered fragments littered the floor.

Lin Su stood with Yi Shui in a safe zone a few steps away. A soft “ah” came from beside him. He looked down and saw the dazed Yi Shui slowly regaining her senses and blinking.

“I… I lost control of my power again.”

She looked up. “Thank you, Brother Lin Su.”

Lin Su saw that she wasn’t hurt and let go, studying her. “Does this happen often?”

Yi Shui shook her head. “Occasionally. There are too many people here today, and I was affected.”

Lin Su looked at her thoughtfully. People with overly powerful abilities all wear artifacts to prevent losing control. Like his earring, and He Zhenling’s ring—

Yi Shui’s power had already surpassed that of an ordinary person, but she was in a stage of rapid growth and couldn’t wear an artifact to suppress it.

Lin Su remembered her earlier silence. “You didn’t rest well this week, did you?”

Yi Shui lowered her head. “I did an A-rank commission.”

Lin Su sighed softly and placed a hand on her head.

The hair under his palm was soft and fluffy. The person below was silent for a while, then spoke in a small voice.

“Even when I’m ‘resting,’ I can’t really rest.”

Lin Su looked down.

Yi Shui explained, “My Yin-Yang Eyes can’t be closed, so I can see ghosts at any time. Occasionally, I uncontrollably foresee the future, or in my dreams, I relive my… past lives.”

Xuenima gasped. [She’s not the sun, she’s solar-powered.]

“……” He gave it a slap.

An ability that couldn’t be turned off, no wonder she was so tired.

Lin Su was silent for a moment, then said slowly, “What are your thoughts on it?”

“The family gave me all their fortune and abilities, the Yin-Yang Eyes and perception that others dream of. These are all very precious things.” The soft hair brushed against his palm. It was quiet for a long time below, and for a moment, the long corridor was silent.

Lin Su didn’t rush her, waiting without a word.

After a long while, a voice as light as a feather floated up. “If I said I… ‘don’t want it’… would that be very willful?”

Lin Su looked at her. “No.”

He said gently, “You can be you, not anyone else.”

There was a nuzzle under his palm, and Yi Shui suddenly looked up.

The fog in her emotionless eyes seemed to dissipate, and for a moment, they were as clear as if washed by water. A halo of light swirled for a moment, then gradually dimmed. “But, I…”

Lin Su patted her. “It’s okay, think about it slowly.” He smiled. “You’re coming to school next week, you can find me anytime.”

Yi Shui pursed her lips. “Thank you, Brother Lin Su… Teacher Brother.”

“……”

Xuenima: [The cub is passing on the title.]

Lin Su muted it and withdrew his hand. “Let’s go, back to the front hall.”

Yi Shui nodded and followed.

Back in the front hall, the members of the four great families had dispersed.

Yi Shui ran to Yi Daiming’s side.

Lin Su walked back to He Zhenling’s side. The latter turned his head. “You were gone for a while?”

“I…” He had just started to speak when he suddenly remembered. “Ah, I forgot to go to the restroom.”

He Zhenling’s eyebrow twitched. “Then what were you doing?”

Lin Su sighed. “Babysitting my daughter.”

“……”

“I’ll go again.”

He went back to the same restroom.

As he was about to leave, he heard two low voices outside. Probably thinking no one was there, the two hushed voices mixed with the sound of running water.

“…He’s really in the limelight today.”

“Isn’t he? The four great families are all revolving around him, and he has the Supervision Association at his back.”

“Tsk, a Dual S-class with special privileges is just different. Those two S’s are enough for him to live off for a lifetime, right?”

The other person said sourly, “Let’s wait until a ‘Triple S’ is born, then we’ll see if he’s still in the limelight.”

Lin Su raised an eyebrow and walked straight out.

The two men at the sink turned and saw him, their faces instantly turning pale with fright. Water splashed all over them. “M-Mr. Lin, we weren’t…”

Lin Su calmly walked to the side to wash his hands. “You’re overthinking it. My life is very long, how could two S’s be enough?”

After speaking, he ignored the two trembling men and turned to leave.

Back in the brightly lit front hall, he had just reached He Zhenling’s side when he heard a familiar voice. “Brother Teacher~!”

Bai Jiang ran over from the other side, holding his stack of invitations. “You’re back! I just found an empty spot to take pictures of them, I took a panorama, haha~”

He showed off a long, high-definition photo on his phone.

He Zhenling curled his lip and glanced at it. “Oh, a photo for two.”

Bai Jiang was momentarily stunned. “……▼皿▼# Huh?” I should have folded a certain someone up.

Xuenima: [It seems he’s collecting your merchandise.]

Lin Su took the invitations back into his robe and praised, “You’ve gone to a lot of trouble, Xiao Bai.”

Bai Jiang: 0v0!

As they were talking, the two men from outside the restroom returned from the side of the hall. Lin Su’s gaze swept over them, and they immediately looked away and scurried off.

He Zhenling noticed immediately. “What’s wrong?”

Lin Su said casually, “Nothing, someone just thinks I’m too much in the limelight today.”

At his words, however, Bai Jiang suddenly beamed. “We’re just getting started~”

Lin Su was confused.

Before he could ask further, the hall quieted down a bit.

Looking up, he saw that Lu Yanzhou was on stage.

Chen Qiu was pushing him. Both of their figures were outstanding and transcendent, shining brightly under the brilliant crystal chandeliers of the banquet hall. Lu Yanzhou spoke in a steady voice.

“Everyone, at today’s succession banquet, I, Lu, would also like to announce something.”

“The case commissioned by my lover, Chen Qiu, was passed between two branches several times before finally being taken over and completed by Mr. Lin Su. Because it was taken over midway, and the upper limit for branch ratings is A, it was temporarily designated as A-rank a year ago.”

“A short while ago, it was re-evaluated by the Association’s headquarters, and the case has been found to have fully met the S-rank standard. Therefore, it is specially promoted to S-rank—”

At his words, a huge commotion instantly swept through the hall.

“A promoted to S!”

“Wait, doesn’t that mean…”

As if to confirm their thoughts, Lu Yanzhou took out a glittering gold rating certificate and announced loudly, “Now, on behalf of the Tianshi Association headquarters, I declare—”

“Mr. Lin Su is a Triple S-rank Tianshi Master with special privileges!”

Author’s note:

Kun (Sleepy): Alas, a Triple S is born, and I’m even more in the limelight.

Big Bird He: Don’t let the wind blow you away.

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