The instant Ai Luo entered the banquet hall, it was as though he had entered another world. Compared with the silence outside, it could be said to be extremely lively inside. Countless crystal chandeliers hung overhead, suspended in midair as though enchanted by magic. The banquet hall was magnificent and splendid, and the guests, dressed in gorgeous clothes, danced gracefully.
At first, no one noticed Ai Luo. It was not until the first dance ended and the people who were dancing gradually separated that Ai Luo walked into the crowd. More and more people noticed him and began looking at him one after another.
“Who is she ah? Do any of you know her or have you seen her before?”
“I don’t know her. I’ve never seen her before. With such an incomparably beautiful face, if I’d seen her before, I definitely couldn’t have forgotten her.”
“Her eyes are golden. They’re really so, so beautiful, like gemstones. No, they’re even more beautiful than all the gemstones I’ve ever seen.”
“She’s way too beautiful, right? She’s definitely the best-looking person I’ve ever seen. Is she really human? Could she be a fairy transformed into human form?”
“The dress she’s wearing is also so beautiful. I’ve never seen such a beautiful dress before. I really want to ask her who made the dress for her.”
“I’m really so envious of someone being able to have a face like that. Even if it were only for one day, I really want to experience the feeling of appearing and immediately attracting everyone’s attention.”
Amid all kinds of gazes filled with envy, admiration, jealousy, and amazement, Ai Luo walked over to the long table, picked up a glass of fruit wine, and held it in his hand as he stood alone. And even though so many people were looking at him, no one stepped forward to speak to him. At this moment, he was so beautiful that others felt ashamed of their own inferiority, making them feel as though he were an elf transformed into human form, and they did not want to disturb him.
After Dela came back to her senses from staring at Ai Luo’s face, the jealousy in her heart immediately erupted. She did not recognize Ai Luo. She hated every person who was better-looking than her. She thought that as long as Ai Luo did not come to the ball, she would definitely be the best-looking person at today’s ball. She never expected such a rival with peerless beauty to appear, making her feel an enormous sense of crisis along with her jealousy.
Dela turned her head to look at Archie standing beside her. Sure enough, Archie was also staring in a daze with eyes full of amazement, just like the other men, making her so angry that she gritted her teeth hard.
At this time, another dance tune began to play, but there were only a few pairs dancing, because the gentlemen were all itching to make a move, wanting to try inviting Ai Luo to dance.
Archie had already taken one step toward Ai Luo, but when he saw that his younger brother Galen had already walked up in front of Ai Luo, he stopped.
Dela curled her lips. Her jealousy made her heart feel sour, but she thought that since Galen had already gone to invite that girl to dance, Archie had such a good relationship with his younger brother that he definitely would not compete with his younger brother for her.
Ai Luo glanced at Galen and the hand he extended toward him. Among Count Fronde’s three nephews, Galen was the romantic with the gentlest personality. Ai Luo felt that using him as a breakthrough point could not be more suitable.
“Ah!!!”
The sudden scream drew everyone’s attention, and they immediately looked toward the direction the sound came from.
“Outside… so many people died outside… ah ah ah!!!” A girl was frightened until her face turned pale. After pointing outside the window and speaking, her whole body trembled as she collapsed onto the floor and began screaming hysterically.
Some people quickly moved toward the open window, while others opened the other windows and looked outside. Screams continuously rang out.
Ai Luo was just about to walk over to the window to see what was going on when Galen immediately stopped him and said, “Don’t go over there. It’ll frighten you.”
Ai Luo glanced at him and still quickly walked toward the window. He wanted to see with his own eyes what was going on. He could not miss a scene that might contain important clues.
Galen wanted to call out to him, but after opening his mouth, he remembered that he did not even know his name.
Ai Luo quickly walked to a window where there were fewer people and looked outside. Several people were dead among the rose bushes, and blood continuously flowed from their bodies. The scene was extremely horrifying, making it impossible for a moment to distinguish whether that red was the color of blood or the color of rose petals.
Quite a few people’s faces carried frightened and terrified expressions. This was Ai Luo’s first time entering the game world and also his first time seeing such a bloody and horrifying scene, so his complexion did not look very good.
“Everyone, there is no need to be afraid.”
When everyone heard the voice, they turned around and looked over. Count Fronde was standing on the staircase of the second floor speaking. As he walked down the stairs, he said, “Those are thieves who tried to pass through the rose bushes and sneak into the banquet hall. Everyone here came by invitation. We will protect your safety, so please do not worry.”
Ai Luo froze slightly. He felt that those people probably were not as simple as mere thieves. It was said that some monsters were imprisoned in the dungeon of Rose Manor, and some of those monsters could control people’s minds. Perhaps those people who died miserably outside were people controlled by the monsters to go save them, but instead died among the rose bushes. From the moment he arrived here, he felt that those roses were very strange. Looking at it now, there really was something wrong with them.
“Everyone can continue dancing.” After Fronde finished speaking, the dance music began playing again.
At this time, the windows that were opened suddenly closed from the outside, startling some of the people standing relatively close to them.
Under everyone else’s gazes, Fronde walked in front of Ai Luo and looked at him, scrutiny in his gaze. Ai Luo only met his eyes for a few seconds before lowering his head. He felt somewhat nervous inside, worried that Fronde would recognize him.
“May I invite you to a dance?” Fronde extended his hand toward Ai Luo.
Ai Luo did not expect that the person who came to invite him to dance after Galen would actually be his former fiancé, Fronde. He hesitated slightly in his heart. He felt that Fronde was not someone who was so easily deceived, so it would be best for him to avoid Fronde as much as possible for now. But he was also worried that refusing him would anger him, so he could only slowly raise his hand and place it on Fronde’s palm.
Fronde looked at Ai Luo’s slender, fair fingers, gently closed his hand around them, and led him toward the dance floor.
The musicians immediately changed the music again. Fronde held Ai Luo’s hand with one hand and lightly placed the other on his waist. The difference in their builds made Ai Luo look as though he were enveloped in Fronde’s embrace. Ai Luo never dared to meet his eyes, but through their physical contact, he could still feel that Fronde’s palm was very broad and that his figure was also tall and sturdy, inexplicably giving Ai Luo a feeling of his heartbeat speeding up.
Galen watched this scene and thought of the dance they did not finish just now, feeling somewhat disappointed inside.
The people standing a little farther away from the dance floor could not help beginning to discuss it quietly.
“I think I’ve heard that Count Fronde likes men. His former betrothed was also a man, so why would he invite a woman to dance?”
“That’s right. Could it be that because he was hurt when his former betrothed proposed breaking off their engagement, he changed to liking women?”
“If you ask me, faced with such an incomparably beautiful face, gender doesn’t matter at all. Whether someone likes men or women, it’d be very difficult not to be moved, right?”
“Wasn’t it said that these three days of balls were for choosing a suitable marriage partner for Count Olesen? Even Count Fronde has come out, so why isn’t he here ah?”
“That’s right, it’s really strange. This ball was obviously held because of him, and it’s already been going on for quite a while. Why hasn’t he appeared?”
Even though Fronde’s hand was only lightly resting against his waist, Ai Luo could still feel his sturdiness and imposing presence. It was not until the dance was almost over that Ai Luo slowly raised his head and met his eyes. Ai Luo had memories in his mind of what Fronde looked like before his face was disfigured. He was definitely the most handsome man Ai Luo had ever seen. Even though half of his face was now covered by a mask, his handsomeness could still be felt.
After the dance ended, Fronde looked at Ai Luo and asked, “What’s your name?”
Ai Luo looked at him and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He could change his voice by using a different way of speaking, but he was still very worried that Fronde would recognize his voice. So, to be safe, it was better for him to speak as little as possible unless necessary. Thus, he held Fronde’s hand and wrote a name on his palm.
Fronde did not expect Ai Luo to tell him his name in this way. When Ai Luo’s fingertip slid across his palm, the tingling sensation in his palm seemed to travel directly into his heart, making his heart tingle as well. This was the first time in his life he ever felt this kind of sensation.
“Aixi?” Fronde looked at Ai Luo and called out.
Ai Luo nodded. This was the fake name he could immediately think of.
At this time, the livestream comments became lively again.
—Omg, he’s way too good at this, right? I really learned something. Is this the legendary fishing-type[1]钓系 (diào xì) refers to someone who attracts and “hooks” others through alluring or flirtatious charm. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3637441_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3637441_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });?
—I don’t even know why. Although he’s writing on Fronde’s palm, I also inexplicably feel this itching in my heart.
—How come I never thought of this move before? Next time, I want to try it on someone I like.
—This kind of thing mainly still depends on the face. Only good-looking people can get this kind of effect by doing it. I advise anyone who wants to learn this move to have a somewhat clear understanding of themselves first.
Ai Luo slightly bent his knees in a curtsy, then turned and walked to the side. He was a little nervous just now, so he could not help his heartbeat speeding up somewhat. He also could not be certain whether Fronde recognized him, but since Fronde did not expose him, he probably didn’t recognize him.
Ai Luo walked over to the long table and saw that the thorns on the roses in the vase had all been cut off. He felt that since they were placed here, there should not be any problem with them, so he took one from the vase and held it in his hand to look at it. The mission he needed to complete was to find a white rose in Rose Manor. This mission sounded very simple, but when he thought of those people who died among the rose bushes, he knew it definitely would not be that easy to accomplish.
“Don’t take it back with you, if you want to have a good night’s sleep,” Archie suddenly appeared behind Ai Luo and said.
Ai Luo immediately turned around when he heard the voice, and at the very moment he turned around with the rose in his hand, Archie’s heart suddenly gave a violent thump, feeling as though it had been struck by something.
Ai Luo glanced at him, then looked at the rose in his hand before putting the rose back into the vase.
“Archie.” Dela immediately walked over to Archie’s side, took his hand, and said, “Let’s go dance.”
Dela glanced at Ai Luo, then pulled Archie away.
The ball was not over yet, but Ai Luo refused Galen and the other people who invited him to dance and prepared to leave early. He had to get back before Dela, Kupi, and the others in order to avoid them discovering that he also came to attend the ball.
When Ai Luo quickly walked out of the hall and was almost beside the carriage, he suddenly heard someone call from behind him, “Please wait.”
Ai Luo was just about to get into the carriage when he heard the voice and turned around to look. It was Galen, who chased after him.
“May I ask what your name is?” Galen looked at Ai Luo and asked.
Ai Luo already used the method of writing on a palm to tell Fronde his name just now. It would not be good to use the same method twice, and he was also not as nervous when facing Galen, so he changed his voice and told him, “My name is Aixi.”
Galen hurriedly asked again, “Miss Aixi, will you still come tomorrow?”
Ai Luo lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said to him in a very soft voice, “I only have an invitation for today. Someone else gave it to me…”
“An invitation?” Galen froze for a moment, then immediately said, “Please wait for me here for a moment. Please don’t leave. You must wait for me.”
As soon as Galen finished speaking, he immediately turned around and ran back. Ai Luo stood where he was and waited for him.
Galen soon ran back again. Seeing that Ai Luo was still there, he smiled while panting and said, “These are the invitations for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”
After Ai Luo took them, he looked at the invitations in his hand printed with roses and said, “Do you hope I’ll come?”
“Yes. Please be sure to come,” Galen said with a serious look in his eyes.
Ai Luo looked at him and smiled slightly, then turned around and got into the carriage.
Galen became dazed because of Ai Luo’s smile and remained standing in place, watching the carriage disappear into the night. He pressed a hand against his rapidly beating heart and turned around to walk back. He felt that he was struck by Cupid’s arrow, and his entire body felt light and floaty.
Ai Luo sat inside the carriage. When the carriage passed through that rose field again, a gust of wind blew past. As those roses swayed with the wind, they seemed to give off eerie laughter that made one shudder. If what happened just now had not occurred, Ai Luo might still have wondered whether it was only his imagination. But after personally seeing people die among the rose bushes, he felt certain that this was not his imagination. There really was something wrong with these roses.
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