Gu Jin had made an Earth Rank Advanced Stage pill, but Instructor Luo had deliberately lied, saying the pill was at Earth Rank Intermediate Stage.
Instructor Luo’s eyes narrowed even further, his voice dropping low with frustration.
"You know that wasn’t the plan. You should’ve kept things low-key, given the circumstances. This wasn’t a competition to showcase your full abilities."
Gu Jin smirked, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.
"You were there, right? You handled everything anyway."
Instructor Luo’s expression darkened, however, before he could lash out, the door of the officer was swung open, and Long Yifan sauntered in.
"Don’t scold her. She wasn’t wrong in the first place."
Instructor Luo: "..."
His face turned black, and he almost wanted to punch Long Yifan.
Does he know the consequences if Gu Jin’s real rank were exposed before she could reach the international stage?
As if reading what Instructor Luo thought, Long Yifan said calmly,
"I will protect her. You don’t need to worry."
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow and said calmly,
"I can protect myself."
The arrogance on Long Yifan’s face vanished when he faced Gu Jin, and like a dog who had seen his master, he immediately nodded with an obedient expression.
"Of course, you don’t need my protection. I was saying it because I am obsessed with you."
Gu Jin: "..." This b*stard! Does he need to say it in front of the instructor?
Instructor Luo: "..." Kill this old dog with your PDA!
Instructor Luo’s face darkened as he glared at Long Yifan. His voice was sharp with anger.
"You think Gu Jin will be fine just because you caught one snake?!" he snapped. "What if there are more? You’re way too confident!"
Long Yifan shrugged lazily, as if he wasn’t concerned at all.
Gu Jin, who had been silent until now, frowned deeply. Her sharp eyes turned toward Instructor Luo.
"What snake?" she asked coldly. "What are you two talking about?"
Instructor Luo froze. His mouth opened, but no words came out. He turned to Long Yifan with a stunned expression.
"You didn’t tell her?" he asked, disbelief dripping from his tone.
Gu Jin’s brows furrowed even more. Her voice dropped, laced with suspicion.
Long Yifan gave a soft cough, suddenly looking awkward. He rubbed the back of his neck and said quickly, "It’s late. We should all get some rest."
Instructor Luo slammed his hand onto the desk again, making a loud bang! that echoed through the room.
"No way!" he barked. "Gu Jin deserves to know what happened!"
Gu Jin crossed her arms, her gaze cold and pressing.
Seeing her so serious, Instructor Luo let out a heavy sigh. His face was grave as he said slowly, "Last night... something happened."
Long Yifan couldn’t sleep.
He tossed and turned, his mind filled with thoughts of the kiss he had shared with Gu Jin earlier. His heart raced just thinking about it, the soft warmth of her lips lingering on his memory.
Frustrated and restless, Long Yifan finally got up and left his dorm.
Without really thinking, he found himself standing outside Gu Jin’s dormitory.
He hesitated at the door, feeling a little foolish, but just as he was about to push it open, his sharp instincts flared.
Someone was approaching.
Long Yifan quickly stepped back into the shadows, hiding himself expertly.
Under the silver glow of the moon, a figure walked toward the dorm. When the person stepped closer, Long Yifan recognized her — Han Xiaoyu, one of Gu Jin’s teammates.
Han Xiaoyu was carrying a strange metal box in her hands, small but heavy-looking.
Long Yifan’s sharp eyes caught the fine craftsmanship of the box, and his heart skipped a beat.
He recognized it immediately — the Death Music Box.
A semi-God level artifact, extremely rare and dangerous.
Only about twenty people in the world owned one. It was said that once the music box played, even an Emperor Rank mage would fall into an eternal sleep... and even Heaven Rank masters could be seriously hurt.
Long Yifan’s expression turned icy.
What was Han Xiaoyu doing with that thing?
Han Xiaoyu sat down quietly and began spinning the small metal handle of the box.
A soft, sweet melody floated out, eerily beautiful.
Long Yifan’s fists clenched at his sides.
In a flash, he darted forward and snatched the Death Music Box out of her hands.
Han Xiaoyu gasped, her eyes widening in shock.
"W-What are you doing here?!" she stammered nervously.
Long Yifan ignored her.
He flipped open the Death Music Box—and there it was.
Inside, on a small, blood-stained card, was a name written in beautiful but deadly strokes.
The coldness in Long Yifan’s chest deepened into rage.
If Han Xiaoyu had been allowed to play the box for just twenty minutes... Gu Jin would have fallen into an endless sleep. She would have died without anyone even knowing why.
Long Yifan’s hands shook with fury.
He grabbed Han Xiaoyu by the throat, lifting her easily off the ground.
"You dare..." he growled, his voice low and terrifying.
Han Xiaoyu struggled, her legs kicking weakly.
At first, she tried to save herself by tempting him.
Her eyes turned soft and pleading.
"Long Yifan... why are you so obsessed with her?" she whispered, her voice seductive. "You have everything... I could be with you. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll be your bedmate, your plaything... just let her die."
Long Yifan’s disgust deepened.
He tightened his grip, and Han Xiaoyu’s face turned red.
His fingers dug into her skin.
She gasped for breath, her hands clawing at his arm, but he didn’t loosen his hold. His killing intent poured out, chilling the air around them.
Just when Han Xiaoyu felt her life slipping away, Instructor Luo rushed over, his face pale with panic.
"Long Yifan! Stop!" he shouted, grabbing Long Yifan’s arm.
But Long Yifan didn’t even glance at him.
He wasn’t going to let her go.
Han Xiaoyu had dared to touch Gu Jin. She deserved to die.
Instructor Luo’s heart pounded wildly. Seeing Long Yifan unmoved, he gritted his teeth and attacked, throwing a spell at him.
The magic slammed into Long Yifan’s side, but he still didn’t budge.
Han Xiaoyu’s vision darkened. She was seconds away from dying.
Desperate, Instructor Luo shouted one final thing:
"If you kill her now, Gu Jin will be dragged down too! She’ll be banned from the team!"
Those words finally pierced Long Yifan’s fury.
It was like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over him.
His hand trembled, and with a snarl of frustration, he flung Han Xiaoyu away from him.
Han Xiaoyu hit the ground hard, coughing violently, her hands clutching at her bruised neck.
Long Yifan stood there, chest heaving, his fists shaking with rage and helplessness.
He turned away from Han Xiaoyu, his teeth clenched.
Instructor Luo sagged with relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
Han Xiaoyu lay on the ground, trembling, knowing she had barely survived.
And Gu Jin, peacefully sleeping in her dormitory, had no idea how close she had come to death that night.
Not wanting to make the situation any more dangerous, Instructor Luo said to Long Yifan,
"Go and check if Gu Jin is alright."
Long Yifan nodded, but not before saying,
"I have personally caught her trying to kill my fiancé. It is a national offense, you have to kill her."
His voice was so chilly that even Instructor Luo shivered, before saying,
"What are you saying? How come it is a national offense? At most, it could be called murder."
Long Yifan chuckled coldly and said,
"Is that so? I don’t think so. I am a team member of the national team that is going to represent China at the international level.
If someone threatens my close ones to force me to withdraw from the competition, it becomes a national offense and she..."
He pointed at Han Xiaoyu and said,
"...has done exactly that."
"No! You are lying! I just wanted to kill Gu Jin and didn’t want to threaten you!" Han Xiaoyu shouted.
Long Yifan smirked and took out his phone, then he sent the recording to Instructor Luo and said,
"I have recorded her statement, it was an intentional murder."
With the recording, Han Xiaoyu was destined to stay in prison for the rest of her life.
Han Xiaoyu’s eyes widened in horror and she looked Long Yifan with disbelief.
Instructor Luo finished telling the story, his face grim.
Gu Jin stood there, frozen.
For a long moment, there was only silence in the office.
Long Yifan leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, acting as if it was no big deal.
But his sharp eyes never left Gu Jin.
Gu Jin’s hands curled into fists by her side.
Now she understood why Long Yifan had come inside her dorm and didn’t try anything funny.
He was scared and hence didn’t throw any tantrum, and only looked at her with a deep gaze.