Chapter 16: The Genius Summoner's Beloved (Conclusion)

The questioning tone carried the certainty of a statement; he seemed absolutely sure of her purpose on this trip.

Lu Ningshi looked at him, speechless for a moment.

A faint smile, cold as frost, appeared on Yu Xuan’s face as he continued, “Just now downstairs, who did you want to kill?”

“Or rather, what did you want to use the Association for?”

Lu Ningshi’s eyes flickered, her heart pounding wildly, yet her face bore the hurt of mistrust and a trace of anger as she challenged him, “What do you mean by that? You’re doubting me?”

Yu Xuan quietly met her gaze; their eyes locked for a moment before he suddenly smiled, “Little liar.”

“If I didn’t have solid evidence, do you think I’d say it outright?”

The implication was clear: he knew all her secret moves, all her covert actions.

Lu Ningshi clenched her fist, stifling her anger as she asked, “How did you find out?”

Yu Xuan smiled faintly without answering.

He wouldn’t tell her that from the moment she appeared, his once dull world had regained its color.

Since then, every move she made had been etched into his eyes and heart.

“Xiaoman, when two people are together, many things I can pretend didn’t happen,” Yu Xuan spoke, noticing her frustrated expression, his words loaded with meaning.

The world was not simply black and white, and the truth did not always demand exhaustive pursuit.

What he wanted had been simple from the start.

As long as she didn’t leave, he could tolerate her behind-the-scenes schemes without probing her motives.

Lu Ningshi understood the deeper meaning in his words but still felt reluctant.

She couldn’t understand why, unlike the original owner who succeeded, everything she touched went awry from the start, every step she took was wrong.

Especially now—should she stop or continue?

If she stopped, she would at least keep a baseline score.

But if she continued...

“Yu Xuan, I have a question for you, and I want you to answer honestly,” Lu Ningshi looked up, her eyes still filled with hope she wasn’t ready to give up.

“Go ahead.”

“If I really did something, what would you do?”

Yu Xuan looked deeply into her eyes, slowly took her hand, and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it.

“You and I are one flesh and blood. Your matters are mine.”

He would bear everything, even if it meant standing against the whole world.

Lu Ningshi staggered back a step, her vision blackening.

—

If she continued, the plot would truly unravel.

This wasn’t about scores anymore; it was about losing her position and status.

That was far worse than failing the mission!

Her face twisted in despair.

She tried to pull her hand away but failed, then said hopelessly, “Back to the point—I can agree, but you have to promise me one condition.”

Now, all she could do was soothe this madman, calm him down, secure her position, and fight for a baseline score.

“Alright,” Yu Xuan said casually, twirling her slender fingers.

Lu Ningshi kicked him, glaring in frustration, “Take this seriously—we’re talking business!”

“Xiaoman, you should know, if you ask for it, I will never refuse.”

“...”

Exhausted, she surrendered.

In the end, she spoke her condition.

She wouldn’t leave, but he must not apply to the Association for approval of human-demon unions.

They would understand each other privately; as for outsiders, whether they knew or not, it didn’t matter—they could interpret it as they wished.

Yu Xuan frowned, reluctantly agreeing.

But he took the opportunity to make a small request: he wanted to recreate everything they had experienced in the illusion, one by one, in reality.

The request was simple; Lu Ningshi had no reason to refuse.

So, upon leaving the Association, their first stop was the nearest amusement park.

Lu Ningshi held a pink pig balloon in her left hand, fingers intertwined with his, while eating ice cream with her right.

Suddenly, she halted abruptly.

Yu Xuan looked over, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

“I think we forgot someone—the president’s son—in the office.”

Yu Xuan was silent for a moment, then said, “Don’t worry. He’s a mentally competent adult. He won’t foolishly wait until dark.”

“You’re right,” Lu Ningshi nodded in agreement.

She glanced at the watch on his wrist and pushed the matter aside, urging, “The circus show is about to start. Hurry, let’s grab some seats.”

Inside the building, Zhan Yixiang’s right leg trembled, then his left, waiting until the sun dipped low.

Unable to wait any longer, he finally stood up and, disregarding etiquette, opened the door.

He looked outside at the empty space, confusion filling his eyes.

Where were they?

Two perfectly fine living people—how had they disappeared?

—

“ViVi, when we enter someone else’s home, you must behave and not run off.”

Lu Ningshi felt a gentle hand caressing her head; she blinked her big, sparkling eyes and nodded obediently.

Quietly holding the adult’s hand, her mind silently pieced together the original story.

The original owner was Lu Yiwei, the heiress of the Lu Group.

Her parents were deeply in love, and she had a brilliant older brother who had long supported the family business.

They all doted on Lu Yiwei.

Since she could remember, she had been given everything she wanted.

Until the age of seven, when the male lead, Xie Ninghuai, became her neighbor.

Lu Yiwei fell in love with Xie Ninghuai at first sight and began pestering him relentlessly, demanding to be his wife.

Lu’s parents were helpless and paid a visit to hint at a marriage alliance between the Lu and Xie families.

At first, Xie Ninghuai had no feelings for Lu Yiwei.

He refused, but his family was inferior to the Lu’s, and under pressure from elders, he reluctantly agreed.

Xie Ninghuai bore the title of fiancé until university, where he met the female lead.

They gradually grew fond of each other.

Xie Ninghuai then approached Lu Yiwei, telling her he had someone he liked and wanted to break the engagement.

Lu Yiwei, furious at the woman who stole her fiancé, slandered and bullied the female lead at school, nearly forcing her to drop out.

The female lead suffered greatly, tearfully begging Xie Ninghuai not to bother her anymore.

Due to Lu Yiwei’s viciousness, Xie Ninghuai had to temporarily back down.

He understood he could not afford to offend Lu Yiwei with his current strength, so he played along on the surface, but secretly used Lu family resources to strengthen his own company.

Later, Lu Yiwei’s older brother was involved in a car accident and fell into a coma.

Panicked and helpless, Lu Yiwei contacted her parents, who were away traveling.

Upon learning of this, Xie Ninghuai seized the opportunity to intercept the messages, delivering a heavy blow to the Lu family, biting off a large chunk and swallowing most of their assets.

From then on, the status of the two families reversed.

Xie Ninghuai no longer held back; he decisively ended the engagement and publicly declared the female lead as his true love, quickly marrying her.

What she couldn’t have, no one else would.

Lu Yiwei’s mentality twisted, consumed by resentment and jealousy.