"Principal!" Chen Liang shouted, his voice shaking with fury.

"Teacher Long Yifan is incompetent! He does not care about teaching us at all! He is only focused on flirting with his fiancée in class. He made her sit on the podium like some prize and ignored us completely!"

The principal's face darkened. He had personally allowed Long Yifan to teach in the university because of his reputation as a strong cultivator and an excellent teacher.

To hear such accusations now made his chest burn with anger.

"You are saying he ignored his duty?" the principal asked slowly.

"Yes!" Chen Liang nodded eagerly. "He even tried to humiliate me in front of everyone! He does not deserve to be a teacher here!"

The principal slammed his hand on the table. "Enough. If what you say is true, then I will not let him stay even for one more day. I will investigate this matter."

Chen Liang smirked to himself. In his mind, he could already see Long Yifan being punished, scolded, maybe even expelled. "Yes," he thought, "let's see how arrogant you are when the principal throws you out."

But the investigation did not go as he hoped.

The principal sent several instructors and assistants to ask the students what had really happened. One by one, the students explained.

"No, teacher Long taught very well today."

"He explained everything clearly. I understood concepts that I never understood before."

"His teaching is strict, but it is effective."

"Strict?" one instructor asked.

"Yes," a girl said. "He warned us not to look around during class. He wanted us to focus. Honestly, I think that is fair."

Report after report came back the same. Not one student said that Long Yifan had neglected his teaching. All of them admitted that his way of teaching had helped them.

When the results were placed on the principal's desk, his expression changed. His anger vanished, replaced by cold fury at Chen Liang.

The next morning, when the students returned to class, Chen Liang stood with a smug smile near the door. He was waiting for the moment when Long Yifan would be punished. But instead, the principal walked into the classroom with a dark face.

"Chen Liang," the principal said loudly, "you are expelled from this university."

The classroom froze.

Chen Liang's smile fell from his face. His knees went weak. "W-what? Why me?"

The principal's eyes were sharp.

"Do you think I am a fool? Do you think I cannot see through your lies? You tried to slander your own teacher because he scolded you. That kind of behavior is poisonous. I will not allow it to stay in my academy."

Chen Liang's face turned pale. "B-but I only..."

"Enough!" the principal shouted. "Pack your things and leave at once."

The boy's mouth opened and closed like a fish. His classmates looked away, none of them willing to defend him. Slowly, with trembling steps, Chen Liang walked out of the classroom.

The room fell silent.

The principal turned to the rest of the students. "Remember this. A teacher's duty is to teach, and a student's duty is to learn. If you respect that bond, you will grow strong. If you betray it, you will destroy yourself."

Far away from the university Gu Jihu was walking down the busy flower market. The air was filled with the smell of fresh roses, lilies, and jasmine.

He carefully looked at each stall, ignoring the noisy vendors who shouted about their flowers. After a while, he finally picked a bunch of fresh, white lilies.

He smiled faintly, thinking, 'Jasmine will surely like this. She always says lilies are pure, just like her heart.'

Holding the flowers close, he quickly returned to the Gu family mansion.

His steps were light, and his heart was strangely excited. He even rehearsed in his mind what he would say to Jasmine once he gave her the flowers.

But when he entered the mansion and went straight to Jasmine's room, his smile froze.

The room was completely empty.

Her bed had been cleaned, her belongings were gone, and even the little hairpin she always left on the table was missing. The curtains swayed in the wind, as if mocking him.

For a long moment, Gu Jihu just stood there, holding the lilies. His brain refused to believe what his eyes were showing him.

"What… is this?" he muttered. His hands tightened around the flowers until the stems bent.

Finally, he turned and rushed down the hall. He found his parents in the sitting room. His father was reading some documents, but his mother, Mrs. Gu, was sipping tea with a calm smile on her face.

"Mother," Gu Jihu said, his voice stiff. "Where is Jasmine? Her room is empty."

Mrs. Gu raised an eyebrow, as if she had been waiting for this question. She put down her cup and chuckled softly.

"Oh, her? She didn't want to stay in Gu mansion anymore. So she moved out this morning."

Gu Jihu froze. His mind went blank.

Moved out? Just like that?

The flower in his hand felt colder than ice. His fingers shook.

"She… moved out?" he repeated, his voice hollow.

"Yes," Mrs. Gu said casually, waving her hand as though it was nothing. "She said she wanted her own space. Why are you making that face? You act as if she is your wife already."

Her words stabbed his pride. Gu Jihu bit his lip hard, his jaw tightening. Without another word, he turned and walked back to his room.

Once inside, he slammed the door shut and dropped the flowers onto his desk. The lilies, which had looked so beautiful before, now looked pitiful and broken.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, he buried his face in his hands. His chest felt tight.

"Jasmine…" he whispered. "Why are you like this? Do you really think you can run away from me?"

He lifted his head, and his eyes burned with rage. A dark thought passed through his mind.

'Maybe she is with another man right now… laughing with him, smiling with him…'

The thought made his veins throb. His heart boiled. He grabbed his phone at once and started dialing her number.

After a few rings, the call connected.

"Hello?" Jasmine's voice came from the other side, soft but a little hesitant.

The sound of her voice made his chest tighten.

"Where are you?" Gu Jihu demanded instantly.

Jasmine's heart skipped a beat. She had picked up without checking the number carefully. The moment she heard his voice, she regretted it. Her finger hovered near the hang-up button.

But before she could act, Gu Jihu's voice turned dark and threatening.

"If you dare hang up on me, Jasmine, I will find you. And the day I find you… I will never let you go. I will bind you to me forever."

Jasmine froze, stunned by his words. Her grip on the phone tightened. Without thinking, she blurted out, "I'm at the Long mansion."

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it.

On the other end, Gu Jihu's tone changed. A twisted smile spread on his face.

"Good," he said coldly. "Stay right there. I'm coming."

Before Jasmine could say another word, the line went dead. She stared at her phone, her face pale.

"What am I doing…" she whispered to herself. "Why did I tell him?"

Her heart sank. She slowly turned her head.

Sitting at the head of the table was Mr. Long, her so-called father. His face was sharp and stern, and beside him was his current wife, Jasmine's stepmother. Around them stood a few trusted subordinates of the Long family, their faces expressionless.

Jasmine narrowed her eyes. "What do you all want?"

Mr. Long leaned back in his chair, folding his hands. His voice was calm, but his eyes were cold.

"I don't want much," he said. "Just tell your brother to return the Long family business to me. Apologize, kneel, and give this mansion back to its rightful owner. Also, you will marry according to my choice. That is all."

Jasmine blinked, then tilted her head. Her lips curled into a sarcastic smile.

"Are you senile?" she asked.

Mr. Long slammed his hand on the table, his face turning red.

"Watch your tongue! Is this how a daughter speaks to her father?"

Jasmine stood up slowly, her eyes like sharp blades.

"Since when did you act like a father to me? You don't even know how to speak to your own daughter. Why should I speak to you with respect?"

Her words cut through the air like knives.

Mr. Long gritted his teeth. "You… I have never seen a girl as rebellious as you!"

Jasmine laughed coldly. "Then maybe you should try again. Have another illegitimate child with your precious wife. Maybe that one will be worse than me."

The room went silent. Everyone stared at her in shock.

Mr. Long's face twisted with rage. He raised his hand and slammed it down on the table with all his strength.

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