Lu Ming's agility was fortunate; an ordinary person would have been sent tumbling by that kick.
He frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
The security guard sneered, "Still have the nerve to ask me what I mean? Don't you have any self-awareness? Do you know how many scoundrels like you I've turned away today? Trying to use attending the dance as an excuse to get close to the influential people at the school, you think I'm that easy to fool?"
Lu Ming was speechless.
So, the security guard mistook him for one of those social climbers.
Given Lu Ming's status, wealth, and power, it was others who sought to associate with him, not the other way around. Did the Dragon Warlord need to curry favor with anyone?
The thought was laughable.
Lu Ming shook his head and earnestly explained, "I was genuinely invited; I'm not trying to climb the social ladder."
The security guard chuckled even harder.
He looked at Lu Ming with disdain and said dismissively, "Everyone here says the same thing. But look at you, you don't even have a decent car, riding a shared bike here, how shameless. Do you know who's attending the dance tonight? Every one of them is a person of influence and power, each with a luxury vehicle. If you're going to lie, at least be thorough. You should have rented a car!"
He was quite animated about it.
Alas.
Feeling like a rogue, Lu Ming had no choice but to retrieve the invitation from his pocket and hand it to the security guard. "Here's my invitation, take a look."
The security guard glanced at it. "Well, it's well-made. Has the skill for forgery gotten this good?"
He took the invitation and examined it meticulously.
As he looked, the security guard felt something was off.
"This... isn't fake?"
The security guard could tell if an invitation was genuine. This one in his hand was indeed real!
He stared at Lu Ming with wide eyes, disbelieving.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Now do you believe I'm telling the truth? Can you let me in?"
Hmm...
Suddenly, the security guard let out a cold laugh and shouted, "Guys, hold him down!"
Immediately, several security guards rushed forward.
Lu Ming was even more bewildered and quickly asked, "What's going on? My invitation is real!"
The security guard held up the invitation and said, "It's true, but it's not yours, you stole it! How could a lowly beggar like you be qualified to attend our school's elite dance? Confess, whose invitation did you steal?"
Another security guard chimed in, "No need to waste words with him, just tie him up and call the police."
These security guards judged people by their appearance.
Seeing Lu Ming dressed ordinarily and arriving on a shared bike, they completely disregarded him as a person.
Even when Lu Ming presented the invitation, they assumed he had stolen it.
What is discrimination?
This is discrimination!
Just as tensions were escalating, a clear female voice cut through the air.
"What are you doing?"
Everyone looked up.
A beautiful, vibrant young girl was approaching them. It was none other than the daughter of Shanghai's richest man, the campus belle Ma Xiaoling!
The security guards' faces lit up with smiles.
He said ingratiatingly, "Oh, oh, student Ma is here."
Ma Xiaoling glared at him and questioned, "Why are you confronting my friend?"
"Your friend?" the security guard was confused. "Who is your friend? How could we possibly confront your friend? Even if you gave us ten thousand dares, we wouldn't dare do such a thing."
"Wouldn't dare?" Ma Xiaoling pointed at Lu Ming and said, "He is my friend! My dance partner for tonight! You were going to tie him up, weren't you?"
"Ah?!"
Everyone was stunned into silence.
The security guard's face contorted as if in pain. He couldn't have guessed in a thousand attempts that this pauper was the daughter of the richest man's friend.
Even more astonishing, he was Ma Xiaoling's dance partner for the night!
So, Lu Ming hadn't been lying.
The security guard swallowed hard. "Student Ma, you're not joking, are you?"
Ma Xiaoling replied with a hint of anger, "Do I look like I'm joking?"
She pointed at the invitation in the security guard's hand and berated him, "That is the invitation I gave to Mr. Lu! Mr. Lu has already shown it to you, and you still refuse to let him pass, and you want to tie him up? Who gave you that authority? Do you all want to lose your jobs?"
The security guards turned pale with fear.
"No, no, no, we don't want to lose our jobs. Please, student Ma, be merciful."
The security guard immediately returned the invitation to Lu Ming, his demeanor shifting to one of fawning subservience. He said with a smile, "Oh dear, Mr. Lu, my apologies. It was a misunderstanding, like the Dragon King causing trouble in his own waters. I was blinded by my prejudice. It was my fault. Please be magnanimous and overlook my transgression, treat me like a fart and let me go?"
He was quite skilled with his words.
Lu Ming took back the invitation, utterly speechless.
Ideally, people from the lower strata should support and care for each other. Instead, Lu Ming witnessed them competing and looking down on one another.
The security guards looked down on those who rode shared bikes.
What kind of world was this?
Lu Ming ignored him, pushed his bike, and walked into the school gate with Ma Xiaoling.
Shoulder to shoulder, they walked and chatted.
The security guard watched from behind, wiping sweat from his brow, and said in relief, "That was close, I almost lost my job."
A nearby security guard remarked, "You can't be blamed. Who could have guessed Ma Xiaoling would associate with a pauper?"
"A pauper? I don't think so. Ma Xiaoling is the daughter of the richest man; how could she walk side-by-side with a pauper? Their social statuses are too different."
"Indeed. In my opinion, Mr. Lu must be a wolf in sheep's clothing, a super-rich tycoon! He's just frugal in his daily life and practices green transportation."
"Right, right, all great tycoons are like that."
"Oh, then Mr. Lu is truly great, a role model and pride for us to learn from!"
These people perfectly embodied the term "snobbery."
Just moments ago, they had mocked Lu Ming for being poor and riding a shared bike, calling it shameful. Now, upon learning he was Ma Xiaoling's friend, they praised his shared bike ride as eco-friendly and a noble quality.
Quite the double standard.
Lu Ming was still Lu Ming, and the shared bike was still the same shared bike.
The problem wasn't Lu Ming, nor the shared bike.
The problem lay in their mindset.
The problem lay in the security guards' character.
It was absurd.
On campus, Ma Xiaoling was still upset about the earlier incident. "Those security guards are so snobbish! If I hadn't been worried and come out to check, I fear Mr. Lu would have actually been tied up by them."
Lu Ming smiled and remained silent.
As they walked, Ma Xiaoling's face blushed slightly. Looking at Lu Ming, she cleared her throat deliberately, pointed at his shared bike, and said, "It's still a long way to the student hall. Mr. Lu, why don't you give me a ride?"