Chapter 169: Showdown, For My Boyfriend"":

Wu Dalang gave Bian Changxi a sheepish smile after being glanced at. “I’ll focus on recovering, I promise.”

Qiu Yun kept his eyes on the stage. “Look, Su Chensi’s going up.”

Bian Changxi turned her head—her seat was angled toward the stage—just in time to see Su Chensi step up in her military-style uniform. The olive-green jacket and pencil skirt made her look sharp and capable, her expression serious and composed, exuding a commanding presence. Most importantly, it was clear she was representing Jiangcheng.

Bian Changxi looked at Gu Xu in surprise. “You convinced her?”

Back when she first thought about developing a spatial device, Su Chensi was the first person Bian Changxi considered—her spatial abilities were the best she’d ever seen, far above Lin Rongrong. But Su Chensi was from the Su family. When Qu Shangjin fell from power, she reverted to being a local of Sucheng, and she never really committed to Gu Xu’s side. Naturally, she couldn’t be trusted with research secrets.

After that, they lost contact, except for Su Chensi occasionally checking in on Wu Dalang.

But now, here she was, representing Jiangcheng, and in military uniform—meaning she was officially part of the system.

Gu Xu smiled. “I don’t have that much sway. Old Wu convinced her.”

Wu Dalang, uncharacteristically awkward, muttered, “A spatial user like her—having her on our side is always a good thing.”

“Oh, ‘on our side’...” Qiu Yun commented sarcastically. Wu Dalang glared at him.

Bian Changxi suddenly understood.

Su Chensi’s opponent on stage was also a woman, and also a spatial user.

Her first move: teleportation.

In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind Su Chensi, a gleaming dagger somehow already in her hand.

Qiu Yun shouted, “That’s vicious!” Wu Dalang almost stood up.

Su Chensi had always worked in administrative roles, but she came from a military family and graduated from a military academy—her reflexes were sharp. Without even turning her head, she teleported away.

But her teleportation was clearly slower than her opponent’s, who seemed to anticipate where Su Chensi would reappear and teleported there first. The dagger flashed again, this time aiming for her face—a hit would mean serious injury, if not death.

Bian Changxi frowned slightly. Both were third-tier spatial users, but her opponent specialized in teleportation and had mastered it to the point of predicting Su Chensi’s landing spot.

But did she really think that meant victory was assured?

Bian Changxi shook her head. Teleportation was just an escape move—her opponent was up against someone with a real killer technique.

Sure enough, when Su Chensi saw she couldn’t dodge the dagger, she waved her hand—the dagger snapped in two, and at the same time, her opponent screamed, clutching her bleeding right hand and stumbling back.

Her opponent’s face twisted in pain. She drew a gun from her thigh. Gu Xu tensed, ready to intervene, but Su Chensi didn’t need help. With another wave of her hand, both the gun and half of the woman’s hand fell to the ground, silent and clean.

The room fell silent for a moment, then erupted in chaos as the woman’s screams filled the air.

Qiu Feng left briefly, then returned with Su Chensi and sat her at their table, addressing everyone—mainly Gu Xu: “That woman is from the Su family, Su Tiande’s cousin. Technically, she should call Su Chensi ‘Aunt.’”

Su Chensi said calmly, “The Su family has already started blacklisting me.”

On the other side, Su family members hurriedly carried the injured woman away. Someone shouted, “Su Chensi, not only did you betray your family and side with the enemy, but you also acted out of spite and used such a heavy hand. Are you trying to cripple Tianyi?”

So the woman’s name was Su Tianyi.

Gu Xu gestured for Su Chensi to stay quiet, then spoke in a steady voice, “The rules clearly stated that no weapons other than abilities were allowed. You used a dagger, then a gun. Are you disregarding Secretary Wang’s rules, or do you really think I, Gu Xu, am someone you can push around?”

The Su family members looked shocked, whispering among themselves. A well-dressed, handsome middle-aged man at the next table stood up and smiled, “That’s true. The rules were set in a hurry, but they’re all posted at the entrance.”

The Su family’s faces darkened.

A burly man stepped forward, his face cold. “It was our oversight to break the rules, and we’ll apologize to Major Gu later. But right now, we need to talk about Su Chensi deliberately harming a member of our family. She could have dodged, but she still cut off half of Tianyi’s hand. Do you really think the Su family’s rules mean nothing? Or that no one can deal with you?”

Gu Xu slowly stood up. “This is a celebration banquet. Su Chensi is my subordinate. If we’re going to talk, let’s talk about your violation and attack on my subordinate. Or do you think this is your Su family’s ancestral hall?”

His tone was calm, but his presence was commanding. If he let his people be punished here, his rank as major would mean nothing. Su Tiande remembered almost getting his heart burned last time and felt a chill run through him.

He forced himself to speak, “Then how do you explain letting your subordinate maim her opponent? It was supposed to be a friendly match, but everyone saw her cut off a hand. Are all your people so arrogant? And do you always cover for them?”

“I’ll return your words to you, Su Tiande.”

“Tianyi only drew her gun out of fear,” Su Tiande said in one breath. “Now her hand is ruined, and it was your person who did it. So you must be responsible for healing her hand.”

A shifty-eyed man behind him chimed in, “Yeah, I heard you have a miracle doctor. Get her out here to fix Tianyi’s hand. If she can’t restore it, nobody’s leaving.”

Bian Changxi raised an eyebrow. So this was aimed at her all along? These people were clearly here to cause trouble.

Someone else chimed in sarcastically, “Su kid, you want the miracle doctor to heal your cousin? Not likely. She wouldn’t even show up when I personally sent people to invite her—so arrogant.”

Bian Changxi looked over. It was an old man in his fifties or sixties, dressed in traditional Chinese clothing—she’d seen him a few times in her previous life. Xu Chang, Deputy Commander Xu, a petty, narrow-minded old man.

“Really?” someone asked. “Commander Xu, are you unwell?”

Then they brought up a certain staff officer who’d been seriously injured and died because he wasn’t treated. The way people looked at Bian Changxi began to change.

“Tsk tsk, doctors are supposed to be compassionate. Who knew…”

“They even came to her door to beg.”

“What’s the point of Jiangcheng’s medical prowess if they’re all heartless?”

The banquet wasn’t hard to get into, and with the added draw of ability duels, plenty of people wanted to attend. In the end, anyone with an invitation could get in. Who knew if these people were here just to stir up trouble?

Hardly anyone spoke up for Bian Changxi, and those who didn’t join the criticism also stayed silent—even though she recognized some as people she’d cured of strange illnesses.

She also spotted people from the Qiao base at another table. Qiao Bin seemed about to speak, but Qiao Wei held him back, and their table stayed silent.

She smiled faintly.

Leaning in, she asked Gu Xu, “Should we treat Su Tianyi?”

If they did, being forced into it was unpleasant, and it was impossible to fully restore the hand anyway. If they didn’t, the situation would stall here. She didn’t mind, but Gu Xu would likely be branded as petty.

These people just wouldn’t let up. Even with his rank secure, what did it matter if a few reputations were ruined?

But the best move for Gu Xu was probably to “let bygones be bygones,” heal Su Tianyi, and settle scores later.

Su Tianyi was still howling in pain.

“Step back,” Gu Xu said.

Bian Changxi didn’t move. “I can’t heal her hand, but I can shut her up. Right now, it’s making it look like we’re the bullies.”

“Don’t worry,” Gu Xu said without hesitation. The other side was clearly targeting Bian Changxi—if she intervened and Su Tianyi was still disabled, the trouble would never end.

For a moment, Bian Changxi’s eyes softened, then turned cold again. Amid the noisy chaos, her voice was especially calm: “Gu Xu, you really don’t have to always look out for me. I’m just one of your many subordinates, no different from anyone else. I used to be immature and caused you a lot of trouble, always expecting special treatment. But… there’s really no need anymore.”

Gu Xu turned to look at her. “Did someone say something to you?”

“No. I just feel I’m no different from anyone else. You don’t need to make exceptions for me.”

Gu Xu’s gaze grew colder, though he smiled faintly. “Saying things like that makes it sound like you’re planning to quit.”

“No, where else could I find such a kind, responsible, and tolerant boss? I still want to go to the capital with you and make it big. But if you keep being so polite, I’ll start feeling awkward.”

Gu Xu fell silent, his fists slowly clenching.

Her meaning was crystal clear: she wanted things to stay as they were, to see him as her superior, and was willing to go to the capital as a partner. She was pointing out a bright future—he didn’t need to worry about her loyalty. But if he kept “being polite,” she might really leave.

She was refusing his kindness, his goodwill, his…

The shifty-eyed man, seeing Gu Xu silent and Bian Changxi whispering with him, sneered, “If you two want to flirt, take it to the bedroom—Gu…”

“Crack!” Before he could finish, a green whip lashed across his face, sending him flying and spitting blood mid-air. Bian Changxi’s expression was icy as she stepped forward and said coldly, “Watch your mouth. Who do you think you are to talk about Major Gu? That whip was to remind you there are people you can’t mess with.”

She raised her hand, and the vine she’d thrown stood upright on the ground, its icy-white surface as hard as stone, yet flexible enough to lift the man by the neck.

“This second strike is for my boyfriend. Remember, just because you don’t see someone doesn’t mean you can ignore them!”

Thanks to zcy0812 for the pink ticket!

I meant to write more of Xiao Bian’s inner thoughts this chapter, but ended up only showing her decision. I really can drag things out, huh~~~~~~

If anyone finds her hard to understand, please read the next chapter (or two?). Xiao Bian isn’t being difficult—she just wants to stick to her principles. In relationships, she’s actually stubborn and timid. Right now, Gu Xu can’t give her the courage to take that step.

Also, does everyone think Xiao Gu likes Xiao Bian? The more I think about it, the more I feel something’s missing… Ah, so annoying. Off to bed with my rambling. See you tomorrow—still three chapters a day!"