Chapter 620: Stopgap Measure

    The person outside replied crisply, "Young Master Ares, the time for the ceremony is almost up. I’m here to lead you to the hall."

    It must be the servant from the other side. Gu Luoxin secretly breathed a sigh of relief—at least it was not the worst case scenario he had concocted in mind. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if it were Young Master Ares’ two other servants or Master Grinu himself who stood behind this door. His guise would be blown over for sure!

    Just the mere thought was enough to make Gu Luoxin shudder in fear.

    "Is it time already?" He mimicked Young Master Ares’ voice and tone to the best of his ability as he pulled the door open just by a crack—only enough for one person to pass through. Stepping outside, he flashed a courteous smile at the other person. "Shall we go?"

    Two people stood before him—one male, one female—and judging from their attire, they seemed to be the hotel staff.

    The moment they laid their eyes on him, they froze for a split second before exchanging a hesitant glance with each other. Gu Luoxin’s heart, which had already been pounding erratically, sank even further at their obvious reactions. Although he had tried to hypnotize himself, he wasn’t even given time to prepare. Everything had happened so suddenly that he had no choice but to take up this role to do emergency damage control, and thus, he didn’t have the slightest idea how he appeared in the eyes of others.

    His grip on the doorknob tightened, and he could feel panic mounting in his chest despite his best attempts to conceal it.

    Why were they looking at him like that? Did they find out? That he was not Young Master Ares? Could they tell he was a counterfeit?!

    "This..." the male staff hesitated to speak, almost stretching Gu Luoxin’s nerves to the point of snapping. In the end, it was the female staff who stepped forward and inquired with a warm smile, "Young Master Ares, are you feeling nervous? Your complexion looks a little off. Do you need to summon your servants to do... a little touch-up?"

    Although she tried to word it tactfully, Gu Luoxin understood in an instant.

    It was like a giant hammer slamming down on his head, making his vision darken for a split second.

    H–How could he have forgotten this?! Young Master Ares had woken up early at four in the morning and spent a few hours preparing himself for this special occasion, while Gu Luoxin... he... he had donned no make-up at all! He could not even begin to imagine how horrible he looked in the other two’s eyes, with his pale complexion, bloodshot eyes, chapped lips, and hair flying in all directions. Simply changing his clothes and imitating Young Master Ares’ demeanor did not mean he had become the young master himself—he still had to take care of his outer appearance!

    But what did she say again? Summon the servants?! No, no, he didn’t even know where they had disappeared to—plus if they were here, the chances of them seeing through Gu Luoxin’s guise was extremely high!

    What should he do?!

    In front of the staff, ’Young Master Ares’’ face turned a few degrees paler, almost like he was going to topple over at any second. "T-They..." he licked his dry lips, his voice extremely low and hoarse as he said, "They are on another errand at the moment. Now that the time is tight, can I ask you to assist me with this?"

    "Of course, Young Master Ares!" The female staff responded promptly, placing a hand on her wireless headset. "Then I will summon a make-up artist here—"

    "No!"

    They were not the only ones taken aback by ’Young Master Ares’’ strong reaction. Gu Luoxin, who had blurted out his refusal in an agitated tone, seemed even more shocked than they were.

    Slapping his mouth mentally, Gu Luoxin could only grit his teeth and press forward with a nonsensical excuse, "I don’t want to make everyone wait. Let’s head to the hall in the meantime. As for the make-up artist... t–they can meet me in the nearest available room."

    Albeit puzzled, the staff offered no further inquiries and simply followed his instructions, causing Gu Luoxin’s tense heart to loosen slightly. He swore one of these days, he was going to have a heart attack...! His heart was not strong for this kind of stimulation wuwuwu!

    It was fortunate that the one speaking was ’Young Master Ares’, one of the two leading protagonists for today’s grand ceremony. Even if he were to ask for the stars and moon, the staff would still have to do their best fulfilling each and any of his requests.

    At long last, Gu Luoxin managed to leave the lounge and make his way to the elevator capsule following the two staff. Yet he still couldn’t be fully rest assured.

    Ares’ body was still there ah! Once someone entered the room and discovered the corpse, then it would be over for him! Ares wasn’t like the players, whose dead body would magically disappear after some time. Unless Gu Luoxin did something about it, sooner or later, people were going to find out!

    Gu Luoxin bit his nails anxiously as he racked his brain for a solution.

    And yet, until he was brought into another room closer to the ceremony hall, he still failed to come up with a feasible plan. His mind was a jumbled chaos, feeling as though every step he took would eventually lead him to a dead end.

    With no better option, he could only instruct the two staff with the most somber expression he could muster, "Don’t let anyone enter the lounge I was in earlier, no matter who it is! I-I forgot I left something there earlier—but don’t bother to find it for me. I will go there myself once the ceremony ends. Understand?"

    It was yet another nonsensical, utterly foolish excuse that was full of flaws. It was a stopgap measure at most. But that was the only thing Gu Luoxin could think of at the moment. He could read the questions in the staff’s eyes, but once again, they simply bowed their heads and replied that they would definitely get it done.

    Only then could Gu Luoxin stop fretting, albeit momentarily.

    Once the staff excused themselves and he was left alone in the room, Gu Luoxin weakly slid down to the floor and buried his face into his hands, his breath coming out in short, ragged gasps.

    "What should I do...?" his small, teary voice echoed in the empty room. "Xiao Shen, Da Shen, where are you guys? Tell me, am I doing the right thing?"

    Gu Luoxin felt like he was going to be driven insane by this Cycle. Had it been Shen Nianzu in his position, he was sure the man would have been able to think of a better solution. Or if it was Jin Jiuchi—he wouldn’t have wasted his time panicking like this. He would have taken everything in stride and bulldozed through the troubles before him with confidence. Any of them would fare much better than Gu Luoxin.

    Oh, if only they were here...

    Gu Luoxin tilted his head and desperately blinked back the tears that were about to overflow. Don’t cry, he told himself. You must not cry! You’re Young Master Ares now, and he wouldn’t—

    Without warning, the door behind him swung open and Gu Luoxin reflexively leapt up to his feet with a yelp that was very un-young-master like.

    Turning around, his mouth moved faster than his brain could process, blurting out, "I-I was just resting—" but the moment he took a clear look at the person before him, his stuttering words came to an abrupt halt. And so was his breathing.