"Actually, I know that the presentation of gifts should be a ceremony that takes place near the end of every birthday banquet, however after seeing young master Chang step forward how could I just sit by and not give my blessings to little Mei?" Lin Tian smiled slightly and then bowed to Yao Xiyu respectfully.
"Ha ha ha ha. Nephew Lin, you don"t need to be so polite to me. I know you"ve been taking care of my daughter in the university." Yao Xiyu laughed lightly and nodded towards Lin Tian.
Lin Tian forced a smile and looked at Yao Mei as he said in a complicated tone, "I don"t know if I should say take care of her, Uncle Yao. Little Mei is a beauty comparable to a fairy in the heavens so it"s only natural that she would have many pretenders.... It would be more correct to say that what I"ve done so far is nothing more than eliminating the compet.i.tion bit for bit."
Lin Tian"s words sent a small shock through all the guests. No one present expected that the young master of the Lin family and next successor of the Roaring Heavenly Dragon group would be so straightforward with his words and would not bother to hide his feelings or camouflage his intentions by using soft words to lighten the atmosphere.
The most surprised were none other than those juniors who were waiting to present their gifts to Yao Mei, hoping to at least get an extra look from the little red-haired beauty! The faces of many of them changed and they unconsciously stood up... But none of them had the courage to interrupt Lin Tian; at least not until he finished presenting his gift.
"Oh?" Yao Xiyu also blinked somewhat in surprise. Apparently, even he didn"t expect something like this. "To be honest, nephew Lin"s sincerity with his words surprised me a bit and I"m sure I"m not the only one."
Yao Xiyu looked at his daughter with a smile, waiting to see a reaction from her. However, what he saw was Yao Mei"s beautiful face indifferent as always; her att.i.tude had not changed in the slightest and the way she looked at Lin Tian was the same as the way she looked at him every time she entered the cla.s.sroom. There was no strong emotion that was noticeable in her eyes.
This caused Yao Xiyu to force a smile inwardly. Lin Tian was a talented young man who would be very powerful in the future as well, but Yao Xiyu did not wish to force her daughter in any way. This was because Yao Mei was currently no less weak than himself and if she were to go crazy for some reason it would not be good for anyone. Most importantly however, he did not wish to cause his daughter any more pain than he had in the past.
Seeing Yao Xiyu first watch Yao Mei"s reaction in search of a response but saying nothing after looking at her silently, Lin Tian took a deep breath to calm himself and gestured to a person who had followed him silently.
After taking a plain-looking wooden box in his hands, Lin Tian looked at Yao Mei and said softly, "I know it may not be easy for my feelings to reach you, little Mei.... But I really love you and I hope I can prove it with this."
Without waiting for anyone"s response, Lin Tian gently opened the wooden box in his hands and revealed its contents for everyone present; a bracelet.
However, upon seeing the bracelet, most of those present frowned and looked at each other in confusion.
The bracelet inside the box looked very simple and even a bit rustic. It was made of a strand that did not look at all nice to wear and it had seven white pearls; the biggest problem was that one of those seven white pearls was broken and the only reason why people knew that in the past this bracelet was made of seven pearls was because there were still small traces of the seventh pearl that now was no longer there.
The successor of the Roaring Heavenly Dragon group was giving away something so mediocre looking? People began to give Lin Tian strange looks while the young masters who were hoping to win Yao Mei"s favor tonight breathed a sigh of relief.... Apparently, Lin Tian had gone completely crazy.
Lin Tian also noticed the strange looks he was getting but he didn"t care and began to slowly explain while looking at the two people on stage: "Two years ago, this one went on a trip to Egypt with a large expedition team. The purpose of this trip was to examine one of the most important tombs that was located in a pyramid that had been swallowed by sandstorms over the years and was said to be the place where the G.o.d of Death Anubis rested."
Yao Xiyu nodded and said slowly, "Now that nephew Lin mentions it, I heard that a while ago your Lin family spent a fortune to properly prepare to explore the pyramids of Egypt."
"That"s right, Uncle Yao. And the person in charge of that expedition back then was me. Father wanted this to serve as training for me and for the first time I led a large team of experts." Lin Tian nodded and continued explaining, "After a lot of hard work and effort with many problems in the way, after digging for more than five months, we finally reached the deepest part of the pyramid. However, what surprised us all was that there were no treasures, gold, relics.... Nothing. Except this bracelet I"m holding in my hands."
Lin Tian put the bracelet on his right wrist and lightly tied it into a small loop.
"In the past, as Uncle Yao and little Mei might appreciate, this bracelet possessed seven pearls. However, something incredible happened a year ago which caused one of those seven to be destroyed.... Several a.s.sa.s.sins were sent to attack my summer home." Lin Tian became serious and continued to slowly explain, "These a.s.sa.s.sins were very skillful as they managed to dispose of all my bodyguards. However, just when I thought my life was over, this bracelet saved my life."
People began to look at each other in confusion at Lin Tian"s words. Although it was known that there were various protective amulets in China, all this turned out to be nothing but a sham when it came down to it. Therefore, they all looked at Lin Tian with skepticism.
Lin Tian looked at the person next to him and nodded his head, to which the stern-looking middle-aged man also nodded back.... Then, he took out a firearm that he had hidden under his clothes.
"Everyone, please don"t panic!" Lin Tian shouted loudly to calm the people who had stood up nervously. "I know that many of you have your doubts, therefore, allow me to prove the truthfulness of my words as well as my feelings for little Mei."
Only after Lin Tian explained again and again did the people slowly begin to relax. Each of them was a person of much importance and value to the world so it was not at all strange to think that Lin Tian was trying to commit ma.s.s murder or kidnapping. However, after thinking it over, everyone calmed down; after all, Lin Tian had no reason to ruin not only his own life but also that of his family.
Besides... Most people forgot that this was the stronghold of the Yao Family! It was impossible for a person to act arrogantly even with a gun!
The middle-aged man raised his gun after seeing Lin Tian nod. His face didn"t even flicker as he pointed it at his young master"s head and unhesitatingly pulled the trigger!
Bang!
The sound of a gunshot and the flames of fire shooting from the sickle of the gun caused an uproar in the hall. Many women cried out while others closed their eyes, not wanting to see what was going to happen next.
...
However, when several seconds pa.s.sed and the place was strangely silent, those who had closed their eyes slowly opened them. However, what they expected to see did not happen. Lin Tian"s head did not have an extra hole in it, he was not on the floor and blood had not splattered on the surface.
Huff
The people gasped noisily as they saw the metal bullet just an inch away from Lin Tian"s head, floating! That"s right, the bullet that should have claimed his life had actually stopped in mid-air!
Everyone was shocked beyond words and the room had fallen into absolute silence.
Crack
Crack
Crack
Bang
The sound of something slowly breaking and cracks spreading until something exploded was the only thing that could be heard. Everyone watched in amazement as one of the pearls on the bracelet Lin Tian was wearing shattered seemingly out of nowhere and the bullet floating in the air was destroyed by an invisible force!
Lin Tian raised his right hand and showed his bracelet towards Yao Mei as he softly said, "Actually, this is my most precious treasure. I call it the Anubis Bracelet in recognition of the pyramid where it was found. In the past, it saved me once and could save my life another six times.... But to prove my words and my feelings to you, little Mei, tonight I am giving you this Anubis Bracelet.... Although it is a regret that I currently wasted a life, this bracelet still possesses five more pearls. This means that as long as you wear it with you, it represents that you have five extra lives!"