CHAPTER 101 - It turns out I was the Clown

The evening bells of the Undercity clock rang, and the dim sun had melted into the horizon's coastline. Li Lin meticulously arranged his appearance, following Lady Cassandra's arrangement, and, accompanied by Jayce, arrived at the guest hall of the side mansion to entertain the guests.

However, both of them disliked this aristocratic-style social gathering, so they stood together in an unnoticed corner, casually chatting.

"Hey, you finally decided to comb your messy hair." Jayce stared at Li Lin's hair, teasingly.

"You can drop it. With that daily application of hair gel, your greasy hair is no better than mine." Li Lin intentionally showed a disdainful expression.

"Chill, quite a few girls in the academy are infatuated with me and approach me..."

"And then, after talking to you, they get scared away by your rudeness?"

"How can you say that..." Jayce raised an eyebrow, as if realizing he had been caught, his face slightly darkened. "Do I really come across like that?"

Li Lin looked at him with a pitying gaze. "You act like a berserker; don't you notice it?"

"Uh, what's a 'Barsarcar?" Jayce had a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Li Lin, always fond of using strange and incomprehensible words, sighed. "I always feel like that's not a good word..."

"I'm just not everyone's cup of tea..." Jayce retorted, "Why bother expanding my social circle? Among our peers, except for you and Viktor, the rest in the academy are a bunch of useless people."

"Not everyone is a genius like you. You should slow down and let them catch up with your ideas," Li Lin advised earnestly, but Jayce had no intention of changing.

"They don't even understand simple concepts. Do they have the face to call themselves scientists?"

He sneered, a disdainful expression on his face.

After a moment of silence, Jayce sighed, "Forget it, let's not talk about this. We shouldn't let it ruin our good mood."

Your temper is more stubborn than an bull, just like the description in the lore...

Li Lin twitched his mouth, changing the topic, "Alright, let's not talk about it. What gift are you planning to give Caitlyn tonight?"

As soon as this topic was brought up, excitement appeared on Jayce's face.

"I've recently crafted a universal key that can easily open most of Piltover's mechanical locks, even Hextech chests."

Ah, really...

Are you planning to turn Caitlyn into a thief?

And, is it really appropriate to give such a thing at the coming-of-age ceremony?!

Li Lin had black lines all over his face, feeling speechless about Jayce's lack of social awareness.

"Uh... it's good, but you can't make such things randomly, okay?"

"Of course not, I'm not stupid." Jayce shook his head, "Even if I want to apply for a patent for mass production, the academy and Piltover Enforcers won't approve."

The two chatted for a while until Jayce spotted a familiar figure.

"Hey, Li Lin, look, isn't that Viktor?"

Following his direction, Li Lin looked toward the entrance of the guest hall. A slender man with a cane, dressed in a delicate manner, looked around the lively hall with a somewhat uneasy expression.

"Come on, let's go over there."

Jayce happily waved to Li Lin, but Li Lin held him back in time. "Wait a minute!"

"Hmm? What's up?"

"Who is that?" Li Lin pointed to a girl wearing a distinctive red and white elegant evening gown, with slightly tanned skin and a pair of bronze-framed glasses on her face.

She had a joyful expression, walked up to Viktor, exchanged a few words with him, and then his nervous expression relaxed a bit.

"Skye, she is Viktor's assistant now. You don't recognize her?" Jayce glanced at Li Lin with a puzzled look.

"That's Skye?!" Li Lin's face showed a hint of surprise.

Because Li Lin often visited the academy to collaborate with Viktor on research, his impression of Skye, who hailed from the same Zaunite background and shared the same age, was quite profound.

Her eyes betrayed an admiration that even someone emotionally numb could sense.

Unfortunately, Viktor's attention was entirely focused on scientific inventions, completely neglecting the girl with special feelings for him by his side.

Today, Skye, dressed so attractively that even Li Lin couldn't recognize her, was probably trying to catch Viktor's attention...

"I think we better not go over there..."

Li Lin held back Jayce, who still wanted to approach them, and shook her head.

"Why?"

Jayce, emotionally wooden or indifferent to relationships, completely missed Li Lin's intentions.

Suppressing the desire to roll her eyes, Li Lin said, "Are you planning to be a third wheel?"

"A third wheel... is that the light bulb you invented that needs AC power to shine?" Jayce scratched his cheek. "What's strange about being a third wheel?"

Sigh, it's really hard to communicate with you! Li Lin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to hit him. "Skye likes Viktor, can't you see that?"

At his words, Jayce rubbed his chin, looking at Viktor. After a moment, realization flashed across his face. "Oh? It seems like it..."

"So, let's not disturb them."

As Li Lin finished speaking, a familiar female voice sounded beside them.

"May the gears turn smoothly, Jayce, and Mr. Li Lin."

Both turned around to see a woman in predominantly white attire with yellow and black accessories. She had a long neck adorned with an eye-catching crystal necklace, holding a glass of champagne in her hand. A polite and serene smile graced her face.

It was Mel Medarda.

"May the gears turn smoothly, Councilor Medarda." Li Lin immediately composed himself and greeted her politely.

"I've said it before, just call me Mel."

Mel's gaze briefly lingered on Li Lin before shifting to Jayce.

"Mel, why are you here so early?"

Jayce's more intimate address to Mel left Li Lin dumbfounded.

What's going on here?

"I'm a young person too, I can't come at the same time as those old folks," Mel chuckled, covering her mouth, exuding grace and elegance.

Then, with a teasing tone, she addressed the two, especially Jayce:

"Miss Kiramman asked you to entertain the guests, and this is your work attitude?"

"Hey, Mel, that's not fair to say..."

Jayce laughed and engaged in a conversation with Mel, both of them deliberately or unintentionally ignoring Li Lin, who stood beside them in shock. The conversation became increasingly ambiguous.

They even closed the distance, almost sticking together.

If it weren't for the fact that this was a less noticeable corner, the guests in the reception hall might have been drawn to them by now.

Their behavior was exactly what a couple would do...

Li Lin didn't greet them, silently distancing himself from the two who had dealt a heavy blow to his "virgin" heart.

It seemed like Jayce was already getting involved with Mel.

Coupled with Viktor, engrossed in conversation with Skye on the other side.

Li Lin suddenly realized that among the three, he was the only one without a companion...

The clown turned out to be me!

(End of this chapter)

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