Only Love Cannot Be Betrayed

"Lin Ruoxue, do you think I, Tang Ao, am the type of man who takes advantage of others' vulnerabilities? No! You're wrong! When I want something, I want to obtain it honorably and justly!"

Tang Ao's righteous and passionate words stunned everyone in the room. "Didn't you say you'd agree to one of my conditions? Fine, then promise me you'll approach our relationship objectively and fairly. Until you truly fall for me, do not recklessly accept my advances!"

"Tang... Young Master Tang... you're being foolish! Think about it again. This is Lin Ruoxue, the one you've confessed to over ninety times!" Hearing Tang Ao's words, Zhang San thought this was his chance to shine. He believed Tang Ao was just too embarrassed to agree in front of so many people:

"Forgive me for being blunt, but from what I know, if a woman has rejected you over ninety times, she'll never fall for you in this lifetime. Young Master Tang, Lin Ruoxue offered this condition herself. If you just nod in agreement, it's still honorable, and no one would dare criticize you!"

Tang Ao looked at Zhang San and nodded approvingly.

[This would be perfect!]

[This is exactly the effect I wanted!]

Tang Ao then raised his right fist and improvised a line that perfectly fit his devoted admirer persona: "In this world, money is precious, freedom is even more valuable, but for the sake of love, both can be sacrificed! Only love cannot be betrayed. If it isn't genuine love, then two people shouldn't be together!"

As soon as he said this, everyone in the room felt that Tang Ao's presence had suddenly become towering and mighty, as if bathed in holy light.

Who could have guessed that Tang Ao said this purely to maintain his devoted admirer persona, using it as an excuse to reject Lin Ruoxue.

"Well said, well said! Young Master Tang, to be honest, before today, I always thought you were an irredeemable scoundrel, a bastard, a wastrel. When Lin Ruoxue explained that the video was slanderous, I didn't believe it at all. But now, I completely believe you're innocent. I apologize for my previous misunderstandings and for cursing you behind your back!"

A well-dressed man in a suit deeply bowed to Tang Ao. "Please forgive me. I'm sorry!"

"Young Master Tang, please forgive me too. We misunderstood you earlier. I kept thinking, in this day and age, the wealthier a family is, the better education their children should receive, and the higher their character should be. How could the rumors online be so outrageous?"

"Exactly, exactly! Just look at Young Master Tang's character. It's clear why the Tang family has reached its current scale. Their family values are right there for everyone to see. We can't help but respect them, Young Master Tang. I raise my glass to you!"

In an instant, Tang Ao became the undisputed center of attention in the room. Almost everyone was sincerely praising him, except for Lin Ruoxue and Zhou Qiao'er, who looked at him with complex emotions.

After discerning the meaning behind Tang Ao's refusal, a trace of disappointment crossed Lin Ruoxue's eyes. "So... what condition do you want to ask of me?"

"I've not already mentioned it?"

Tang Ao stood tall and spoke with conviction, "If you don't genuinely like me, then don't accept my confession. That's my only condition for you. Rest assured, I won't trouble the Lin family, nor will I make things difficult for you because of Ye Chen's rashness earlier!"

"As expected of Young Master Tang, a true man!"

"Unbelievable, Young Master Tang is going all out. This statement alone can outshine most men in the world. Some scumbags would say something as disgusting as 'If you like her, just drug her.'"

Unbeknownst to Tang Ao, this entire scene had been recorded by a petite girl in the corner of the room, who was only about 1.5 meters tall and wore a baseball cap.

Satisfied, the girl ended the recording and began editing the post.

She was a paparazzi for Longquan City's largest television station and hadn't found any juicy news in the past two weeks. When she heard that Zhou Qiao'er from Zhou Pharmaceuticals would be attending this class reunion, she devised a plan to sneak into the private room.

What surprised her was that no one realized she wasn't one of their classmates. Some even greeted her warmly, claiming they had a crush on her back in school~

But at this moment, she finally struck gold!

The video from last night involving Tang Ao was pure slander and fabrication!

The rumored playboy, Tang Ao, was not a beast, a bastard, or a parasite living off his parents. On the contrary, he was a man of high moral character and excellent qualities!

This shocking reversal was definitely hot news, especially with the video from last night still trending. This piece of news would surely grab plenty of attention!

Meanwhile, Ye Chen struggled to stand, his skin deathly pale as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

No one noticed as Ye Chen pulled a small wooden box from his pocket. With a flick of his finger, a tiny insect, as small as a hair, crawled out of the box.

This was one of Ye Chen's ultimate weapons, a deadly insect containing enough venom to kill a hundred elephants. With just one bite, it could inject all its venom into the host's body, rendering any treatment useless. Within three days, the victim's internal organs would begin to rot, and no amount of advanced medical intervention could reverse the process, leading to the body's complete decay from the inside out.

The most terrifying aspect of this insect was that unless the victim's body fully rotted away, they wouldn't die. In other words, the victim would have to watch themselves decay like a corpse for a full two months, feeling the suffocating grip of death every single day.

Ye Chen had originally intended to save this cruel method for his as-yet-unidentified enemies, but now... he decided it was perfect for Tang Ao. He wanted Tang Ao to experience the excruciating effects of this venomous insect, to quench the burning hatred in his heart.

With this thought, Ye Chen used the last of his strength to direct the insect to crawl over to Tang Ao. Under Ye Chen's control, the insect bit down hard on Tang Ao's calf.

As Ye Chen felt the insect die after injecting all its venom into Tang Ao's body, a faint smile appeared on his lips—

Tang Ao, this time, not even a deity can save you!

At that moment, Tang Ao's mind suddenly filled with the sound of the system—

[Immunity to all poisons buff has been activated, protecting the host from lethal toxins—Heart-Eating Gu Poison]

???

Tang Ao was shocked:

[Ye Chen, you actually dared to poison me!]

Lin Ruoxue and Zhou Qiao'er both froze in surprise, with Zhou Qiao'er quickly grabbing Tang Ao's arm and carefully checking his pulse.