65 Unwelcome

“Young Mistress, I’ll take my leave first. Be careful not to stay outside too long.”

“Go ahead, Mr. Guo.”

Aloy nodded slightly and smiled warmly at the butler.

Mr. Guo was the housekeeper of the mayor’s mansion and was very busy. She could not always let him hang around her.

“Young Mistress, make sure to come back inside if you get cold.” The butler gently bowed to Aloy and quickly walked into the mansion.

The moment the door was closed, Aloy relaxed. She paced back and forth anxiously in front of the mayor’s mansion, and the smile on her face had disappeared.

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If it were not for her father’s rule that she had to come to the banquet today… she would have already rushed to the coast to check on the situation.

Hopefully, the timing for the calamity to happen this time would not be earlier than it the timing in her previous life.

…

Before he reached the mayor’s mansion, Shen Fei saw Aloy pacing back and forth in front of the door.

‘Is Aloy waiting for me?’

From the expression on her face, she seemed very anxious. Shen Fei took out his phone and glanced at the time. It was 7:19 pm, almost an hour later than the agreed time.

‘Has she actually waited this long for me?’

Shen Fei quickened his pace and walked toward Aloy.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Aloy. Let’s go.”

“Yes, let’s.” Aloy smiled and held Shen Fei’s hand. The two of them walked toward the banquet.

…

Before they entered the banquet hall, Aloy stuffed a small box into Shen Fei’s hands.

Shen Fei casually opened the box. Inside, there was a light green gem engraved with runes.

The moment he touched it, the warm current from the gem flowed into his body through the meridians in his palm. Shen Fei’s brows involuntarily relaxed.

“What is this?”

“A health stone. It’s useless except for its high price. I prepared it so that you’d have something to give my uncle as a present.”

Aloy reached out and closed the box in Shen Fei’s hand.

“Today is that dog’s birthday party. All the invited heirs of the major families will bring gifts. I don’t like him, but we still have to put on a good show.”

Shen Fei thoughtfully nodded. It seemed that Aloy did not like her uncle… And neither did Shen Fei. If it had not been for Aloy’s invitation, he would not have even come to this banquet.

However—Shen Fei’s mouth twitched—he had actually prepared a gift in advance, that was why he was late.

“Actually…” Shen Fei took out a simple box from his pocket.

“What have you prepared?” Aloy opened the box curiously.

As soon as she opened it, she saw a top-grade fire-attribute spirit fruit, the kind that had its own halo. Seated inside the velvet box, it beat like a heart made of glass.

Aloy eyes widened in surprise, and she looked at Shen Fei in shock.

“Where did you buy such an expensive item?” The base price of spirit fruits on the market was about 100,000 Yuan. However, top-grade spirit fruits like this are usually priceless, and could easily cost at least ten times more than the regular goods.

“This is the reward for becoming the First Echelon in my school.”

“Really? Just this high-grade spirit fruit is already comparable to the combined rewards of the ten Echelon students in Montos Academy.” Aloy frowned dubiously.

The beast taming school that Shen Fei studied in was not as extravagant as Montos Academy. Why was his reward so much better than theirs?

She should consider transferring to Shen Fei’s school. The transfer fee would not be expensive, and she had already gained all the necessary beast taming instruction in her previous life.

“This school is different, so it’s only natural that the students are trained differently.” Shen Fei smiled and took the box back. He then pushed the health stone back to Aloy.

“You should keep this gift for yourself. I don’t need it.”

Aloy nodded and put the health stone back into her pocket. “Let’s go,” she said.

…

As soon as the door was pushed open, Shen Fei and Aloy saw that the banquet was in full swing.

Not long after they entered the mayor’s mansion, Shen Fei caught a glimpse of a few old “acquaintances” on the second floor.

There were the two lackeys who had provoked him before, Zhang Youcheng and Li Yuan. There was also Luo Jin, the former Second Echelon, who trailed behind the first two with his head lowered.

The few of them were talking to one another upstairs and seemed to be having a good conversation.

‘That’s strange.’ Shen Fei curiously gauged the few people upstairs.

He had heard that the young masters of the Zhang and Li families were like fire and water.

‘Why are they getting along so well today?’

“Young Mistress Aloy, Young Master Shen, you’re here.” The butler walked over respectfully and offered them a tray of cream pastries. The alluring scent of the cream made Aloy drool.

“Thank you, Mr. Guo.” Aloy could not wait to pick up the small pastry on the tray and stuff it into her mouth.

“Young Mistress, remember to save some space in your stomach. There will be plenty of delicious food at the banquet later.” The butler looked at Aloy affectionately and bobbed the tray in front of Shen Fei. “Young Master Shen, how about you?”

Shen Fei quickly waved his hand and pushed the tray away. “No, thank you. I don’t really like sweet stuff, thank you for offering.”

“Is that so? Then you—”

“Butler Guo, when did an outsider come to our banquet?”

Aloy’s uncle, Lear, walked up behind the butler with a straight face. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Shen Fei, not hiding the malice there.

“Second Master, this is Master Edward’s future son-in-law, Young Master Shen. How can he be an outsider?”

“Oh, really? What about his invitation?”

“Um, I remember I kept it somewhere. Kindly wait while I retrieve it for you—”

Lear frowned and roughly shoved the butler away.

“There’s no need! I never sent him an invitation. He shouldn’t have appeared at the banquet today!”

He did not need such an unlucky person like Shen Fei at his birthday party!

“Men, get him out of here!”

Hearing that, the surrounding servants immediately rushed over and gathered around Shen Fei.

“Come with us, please.”

Shen Fei turned his head and tried to pretend to be sad as he whispered to her, “Sorry, looks like I can’t accompany you tonight.”

But in his heart, he was overjoyed. If it had not been for Aloy begging him, he would have never even considered coming here!

At this banquet, he would either be targeted by his enemies or Aloy’s bootlickers. Just being here made him uncomfortable. This could also save him from wasting a top-grade spirit fruit. This was a precious cultivation resource!

Since he did not have to attend the entire banquet, he could save the night and just spend it in the special cultivation room. Was it not great for him to become a Rookie-tier Beastmaster a day early? Why waste time here with this bunch?

Of course, he still had to put on a good show in front of Aloy.

Shen Fei turned elegantly and tried his best to pretend that he was desolate. However, his footsteps got lighter and lighter.

Just as Shen Fei was about to reach the exit, Aloy rushed forward and grabbed his arm.

“Wait, Shen Fei! If you have to leave, I’ll go with you!”