Calm Protagonist

——Why do you come back to finish this half-cup of wine after the fight?

——To celebrate surviving.

——Then why drink half a cup before drawing your saber?

——In case I don’t return. One should enjoy life to the fullest before death.

Su Lingyue was the treasured pearl of the Su family, notorious for her capricious and overbearing temperament, acting with unbridled willfulness. According to rumors from that sophomore year summer camp, she had publicly humiliated Ji Zhiyi in front of their classmates, calling her a beggar who was unworthy of sharing the same tent. Not long after returning to school, Ji Zhiyi quietly processed her withdrawal papers and disappeared without a trace. Many classmates speculated that she couldn’t bear the emotional trauma, shaking their heads in sympathy and regret.

Years later, the Su Group underwent a sudden transformation—the company split in two, with half remaining in the Su family’s hands and half falling into Ji Zhiyi’s possession. Along with the company shares, Su Lingyue also fell under Ji Zhiyi’s authority.

Everyone suspected Ji Zhiyi had come seeking revenge, eagerly waiting to witness Su Lingyue’s downfall. Su Lingyue herself shared this belief.

On the day she brought Su Lingyue home, Ji Zhiyi personally designed a pair of princess shoes. Socialites in their circle buzzed with excitement, all vying to purchase them at premium prices. As the shoes’ value soared to astronomical heights, Ji Zhiyi retrieved them from their display case at the company’s annual gathering. Under everyone’s astonished gaze, she knelt down and, with meticulous care, placed them on Su Lingyue’s feet.

As a despised, assault-type guide, Lin Yuan had a fiancé matched to her by the state. Her fiancé came from a distinguished family, was handsome, wealthy, and well-mannered, making him the envy of many.

“Why was such an excellent partner assigned to her? She can’t even pass tea ceremony, and her culinary skills only earned a ‘B’.”

“He’ll get tired of her sooner or later.”

“Exactly, they’re bound to break up.”

Hearing such words often, Lin Yuan also felt that she and Jiang Yangshuo were bound to break up. So, when her fiancé showed up with a gentle and lovely young woman, she didn’t hesitate. She took off her engagement ring and tossed it into the drain right in front of them.

From then on, Lin Yuan lived a free and unrestrained life, like a bird soaring in the sky and a fish leaping in the sea.

Who knew that after a few years of carefree wandering, at a certain royal banquet, her ex-fiancé cornered her, his eyes red, saying he regretted everything these past years and that he was consumed with longing for her.

No, no, no, thank you, please don’t. Lin Yuan, who had grown accustomed to her freedom, didn’t want to return to her old life at all.

Her ex-fiancé’s face turned livid, and he gritted his teeth, “I don’t mind your type, and I can try to tolerate your shortcomings as much as possible. You can’t find a sentinel who will indulge you more than I do.”

“Well, about that, I already have a new sentinel.” To get rid of the entanglement completely, Lin Yuan randomly blurted out a name as a shield. She quickly ran through the images of the sentinels she had met on the battlefield these past few years, and chose the name of a brother with whom she had shared life-and-death situations. She figured that he wouldn’t mind.

“He just happens to be the receptive type, which is perfect for me, and he really likes me. He doesn’t care about any of my flaws.”

As soon as she saw off her distraught ex-fiancé, Lin Yuan turned around and bumped into the man she had just fabricated a story about.

The man who had killed countless enemies on the battlefield and earned extraordinary merits had a faint blush on his handsome face, turned his head away, and whispered, “You… when did you know I liked you?”

Lin Yuan: “…”