Chapter 133: Whose Fan Meeting Is This, Anyway?

"How... how could you do this!" Zhao Xixi stood up abruptly, pointing an indignant finger at Ruan Hongyi. She had never expected that this renowned master, Hongtian, would stoop to framing them simply because he didn't want to lose face in front of a crowd.

"Harboring malicious intent? Setting aside the fact that the voices don't even match, one only needs to ask the people sitting around us to know that it had nothing to do with us."

Luo Chen watched Ruan Hongyi’s sudden change in demeanor with a mix of amusement and frustration. He wasn’t the one who had refused the invitation; why throw such a massive pot of blame onto him?

"I heard it perfectly clearly just now; the sound definitely came from your side."

Ruan Hongyi, of course, had no intention of asking around. Instead, the hesitation he had felt earlier vanished, replaced by a firm resolve. A large group of his fans was waiting for his verdict, and he absolutely could not afford to show weakness now.

"That's right, I saw them causing trouble."

"Refusing Master Hongtian’s invitation to his face? If that isn't coming here to cause trouble, what is?"

"Exactly, throw them out!"

"But... that doesn't sound like the voice I heard earlier, does it?"

...

The fans seated nearby began to gather around as well. While a few die-hard fans looked on with genuine fury, most of the others were simply there to cheer him on or watch the spectacle.

The crowd was not entirely foolish. Those with a normal level of intelligence didn't believe that someone would bring three beautiful girls along just to cause trouble; it looked more like showing off. However, doubts aside, as Ruan Hongyi’s fans, they were obligated to stand on his side.

"Xinhua, what should we do now?"

Being surrounded by a crowd was an unsettling feeling. Even Zhao Xixi, whose anger had yet to subside, began to panic and tugged at Dai Xinhua’s sleeve for guidance.

This was the first time Dai Xinhua had encountered such a situation, and she had no idea how to proceed. She could only turn her gaze toward Luo Chen, hoping he might have a solution.

"Luo Chen, do we need to... call the police?" Le Zhengling looked at the fans pressing in from all sides. While she knew they would likely only be driven out and that the fans wouldn't actually resort to physical violence, seeing the anger in their eyes made her feel uneasy.

Faced with the gaze of the crowd, Luo Chen shook his head, signaling that there was no need to worry. He had already spotted Li Hua approaching.

"Great Master... Great Master! I didn't expect you to be here too."

Upon seeing that things were taking a turn for the worse, Li Hua had immediately pushed through the crowd with his people. He had assumed Luo Chen didn't care about this event at all, only to realize he simply hadn't intended to arrive with them. Li Hua cast a resentful look at Luo Chen, clearly holding his friend’s tendency to prioritize romance over brotherhood in low regard.

It was unclear whether Li Hua had come to cause trouble or start a brawl, but the people he brought made up a full quarter of the room. Excluding the audience members who were just watching from their seats, his group was roughly equal in size to the fans surrounding them.

Seeing this large group—who were clearly not on his side—Ruan Hongyi could no longer maintain his composure. No wonder more fans had shown up this time than ever before; it turned out so many were here just to stir up trouble.

"Great Master? What kind of Great Master are you? Bringing so many unrelated people along—and you still claim you aren't here to cause trouble?"

Ruan Hongyi, however, did not panic. Instead, he mocked him, effectively cementing the accusation. Regardless of whether Luo Chen was the one who had made the noise earlier, it would now be pinned on him.

"Actually, we’re just here to eat..."

Luo Chen sighed helplessly. It seemed that in this day and age, no one believed the truth.

Ruan Hongyi naturally didn't believe him, but while feeling annoyed, he also wondered about the origins of these people. While he couldn't possibly know every master on the Xingchen platform, he had seen most of them. He took a subtle look at Luo Chen’s appearance and felt a strange sense of familiarity. Then, as if something clicked, he said, "Wait, are you Pure Angel?"

"What? Angel-sama?"

"Is that for real?"

"I’ve watched his livestreams, it really is Angel-sama!"

...

At Ruan Hongyi’s reminder, the fans present suddenly realized the truth. If they hadn't thought in that direction before, it was different now. Many fans pulled out their phones to compare photos and immediately confirmed Luo Chen’s identity.

The audience members in the restaurant who had initially intended to just watch the fun also crowded around. The "Angel-sama," who was usually extremely low-key, had suddenly appeared in person; anyone with even a shred of curiosity would want to take a look. Furthermore, since the viewers of the niche subculture section were mostly Luo Chen’s fans, the people present were no exception.

Ruan Hongyi looked left and right at the growing crowd, his fingernails digging into his palms until blood appeared. For the first time, he felt that the situation had spiraled beyond his control.

This was supposed to be his fan meet-and-greet, wasn't it? Looking at the spectacle, he even began to doubt whether these people were his fans at all.

"What? Is the great master here intentionally to suppress a small streamer like me?"

Ruan Hongyi suppressed his fury, looked at the dozen fans still standing by his side, and retorted with a displeased sneer. While he might not have the same level of popularity as the youth before him, he currently held the moral high ground!

"I said already, it’s just a misunderstanding. Besides, I have absolutely no reason to do such a thing, do I?" Luo Chen looked at Ruan Hongyi, who was staring daggers at him, and said calmly.

Absolutely no reason?

Ruan Hongyi smirked at him. If there was no reason, why did you bring so many people with you? Does he think everyone is blind?

But then, the comments from the bystander fans almost made Ruan Hongyi faint from anger.

"Could it be that Master Hongtian really made a mistake?"

"That must be it. Maybe he really just misheard."

"Angel-sama is such a low-key person, there’s no way he would do something like this."

...

It wasn't that these fans were intentionally biased toward Luo Chen, but rather that since his debut, Luo Chen had always been incredibly low-key. He completely disregarded his popularity, didn't even have an official fan group or social media account, and acted as if he didn't care about anything or want anything at all.

Most importantly, there was simply no motive!

Luo Chen’s popularity was simply too high. Although Ruan Hongyi was also a platinum-tier master, he had been at the Xingchen platform for seven or eight years and had remained at the same level; he posed no threat to Luo Chen whatsoever. One only had to look at how Luo Chen had risen to fame—it was practically a landslide victory, leaving Ruan Hongyi with no room to fight back.

Conversely, if Luo Chen wanted to suppress Ruan Hongyi, he wouldn't need to go through such trouble; he could just mobilize his fans. Not to mention that Ruan Hongyi had already been tricked quite miserably by Luo Chen; if anyone were to hold a grudge, it should be Ruan Hongyi targeting Luo Chen.

"Then what about them? You brought so many people here—don't tell me you’re all here just to eat!"

Ruan Hongyi pointed back at Li Hua and the others. This, at least, was impossible to explain away, right?