Chapter 5: Mom! I’ve Met a Fairy Descended to the Mortal World—Sob, Sob, Sob!

Bai Lu was startled and instinctively wanted to run, only to forget she was seated in a wheelchair.

The lush greenery separating her from the two men was pushed aside.

A slender, well-defined hand, elegant to the extreme, emerged.

As the plants parted, the owner of that hand appeared...

His face was even more beautiful than his hand.

To call a man beautiful might sound inappropriate, yet for him, the word fell far short.

So this was what people meant by being stunned at first sight, by a single glance lasting a lifetime.

For six consecutive years in her previous life, Bai Lu’s face had been selected among the world’s top 100 most beautiful. She had always taken pride in her looks, but before this man, she was utterly outshone.

Mother, mother!

I’ve met a celestial being descended to earth—squeak, squeak!

Bai Lu let out a high-pitched shriek like a marmot.

What kind of fairy man is this!

Has he come to redeem the world with his beauty?

Is this devilish, unparalleled face even real?

Bai Lu was utterly entranced, staring at him without blinking.

The celestial man wore a clean white shirt, his sleeves rolled to the forearms, revealing graceful lines—slender, but by no means frail.

His phoenix-shaped eyes were slightly upturned, his nose straight and noble, lips red and teeth white, his features as delicate as an ink painting.

Yet this exquisitely handsome face bore not a trace of femininity.

For his brows were bold and his bone structure striking; when unsmiling, those thick brows and lifted eyes exuded an air of haughty, unapproachable might.

Seeing her gaze at him in a daze, the celestial man pressed his finely shaped lips together, displeasure darkening his features as his luminous eyes looked at her with impatience—and, in that instant, with a fierce intensity.

Bai Lu was an orphan, surrounded all her life by lies, betrayals, and people who used her, which had made her cold and indifferent to everyone. Only toward beautiful people could she muster a touch of fondness.

To put it plainly, Bai Lu was a shallow admirer of beauty.

Dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting shifting shadows across the celestial man’s face—his heart as deep as the sea, a trace of sorrow and sensitivity hidden within that brooding gloom.

His left cheek was slightly swollen and red, probably scraped during the earlier altercation, evoking a feeling of pity—so much left unsaid and unexplained.

He was the very image of a stubborn little crybaby bullied by the great villain!

In ancient times, Wu Sangui would overturn his country for the sake of a beauty.

Today, Bai Lu would risk everything for the celestial man!

For a moment, Bai Lu’s mind went blank from excitement—she sprang from her wheelchair, rushed in front of the celestial man, and shielded him protectively behind her. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you. When faced with evil, we must rise up and resist!”

“You’ll protect him?” The man in the wheelchair sounded as though he’d heard the greatest joke in the world. He slowly lifted his head, glaring at Bai Lu with a twisted expression. “And when you encounter someone as evil as me, how will you resist?”

“If you’re in danger, call the police,” Bai Lu said, nudging the celestial man’s arm. “Go! While the villain’s legs aren’t working, I’ll hold him off—find a phone and call for help!”

“Do you know who I am?” The man in the wheelchair, who had just been raging, suddenly became calm. “And do you know who you’re protecting?”

Bai Lu turned around. “I don’t care who you are—if you hit someone, you’re in the wrong. The police will deal with people like you who use violence—ow!”

When Bai Lu got a clear look at the man in the wheelchair, she gasped in horror.

Was that even a human face?

Burn scars covered his entire face!

The scarring extended down his neck and disappeared beneath his black shirt.

Both hands, resting on the wheelchair, were also marked by burns.

His left eyeball was gone.

His nose was nearly unrecognizable.

His mouth twisted into a grotesque arc.

God only knew what this man had endured.

He didn’t need makeup—he could star in a horror film as he was.

Bai Lu turned pale with fright, but still her legs shook as she spread her arms, shielding the celestial man, gritting her teeth and trembling, “Go—go call the police!”

The wheelchair-bound man regarded her with amusement, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile that made his already terrifying face even more horrific.

Bai Lu was on the verge of tears from fear.

He looked at her and suddenly said, “Bai Lu? The so-called national darling who fell and became a simpleton.”

Bai Lu burned with anger but dared not speak.

You’re the simpleton—your whole family are simpletons!

With ease, the wheelchair man looked past the petite Bai Lu to the celestial man behind her. “How did an outsider get into Huo Yanfan’s private hospital?”

Huo Yanfan?

Huo Yanfan!

Bai Lu trembled even more fiercely.

The wealthiest man, Huo Yanfan, could be summed up in sixteen words:

Suspicious and paranoid, mercurial in mood, ruthless and cunning, a killer without remorse.

Though there might be some exaggeration, he had seized the Huo Corporation’s vast business empire in his youth and, in just a few years, solidified his place at the top.

Such a man was certainly dangerous.

It was rumored that Huo Yanfan had survived an explosion in which his parents perished, escaping with his life by sheer luck.

From then on, Huo Yanfan became neither quite man nor ghost—his face destroyed, crippled for life. The agony from his old wounds tormented him day and night, twisting his personality into something cruel and perverse.

There were whispers that the explosion was not an accident, but a scheme in the Huo family’s struggle for power.

Rumors were unreliable, but looking at the man before her in the wheelchair—

Who said rumors couldn’t be trusted? Step forward and explain yourself!

With a mournful face, Bai Lu turned back. “Why would you provoke the richest man in the country?”

The celestial man frowned slightly, glancing down at the girl whose head barely reached his chest.

Clearly terrified and trembling, yet still stubbornly standing in front of him.

Foolish, but not unlikeable.

“You know who I am, and you still want to protect him?”

Bai Lu swallowed hard. “This is a country governed by law—we must obey the law. Vigilantism is unacceptable. Even if you’re the richest man, you must abide by the rules. Everything I’m saying is, frankly, nonsense.”

Huo Yanfan: “……”

Bai Lu: “I’m the national darling. If I’m injured, the media will make a huge fuss. You’re the richest man—you understand the power of public opinion. Why don’t we both take a step back?”

Huo Yanfan’s laugh was wild and unrestrained. “Interesting. You even know how to use public opinion to hold me in check. Never mind whether you’ll leave here alive, or if you’ll even get the chance to wield public opinion against me—I’m curious, what do you propose?”

Bai Lu put on her most sycophantic smile. “Just pretend you never saw me today, and I was never here. I’m tight-lipped—I won’t breathe a word. Will you let me stay until I recover? I’ll leave as soon as I’m well, not a day longer.”

“……” Huo Yanfan’s tone was full of contempt. “Just now you were all righteousness and heroism, and now you’re backing down?”

Bai Lu replied with conviction, “I’m an adult—I’m responsible for my actions. I handle my own affairs. For the sake of that face, I would protect him if I could. But I can’t even protect myself, so how could I protect him? No matter how much I covet beauty, I know better than to act recklessly and drag others down with me.”