Chapter 48: The Foolish Father and Son
After hanging up the phone, Ling Qiu narrowed his eyes slightly.
He lifted his hand, gazing at the Yanluo Ring on his finger, his mind still echoing with the words spoken by the transformed Ksitigarbha King moments earlier.
“Could it be... that the so-called opportunity Ksitigarbha mentioned... is this?”
Ling Qiu pondered. Yet he had no idea...
What could a so-called engagement possibly bring him?
An endless supply of souls to devour?
That, at least for now, was beyond his comprehension, so he simply chose not to dwell on it. In any case, the meeting with Deng Ruyan was set for next month. Since this was supposedly his fated chance, he would only know the answer by experiencing it himself!
...
A few days later.
The date for announcing the college entrance exam results arrived.
Ling Qiu went to school to fill out his university application.
As soon as he set foot on campus, he noticed everyone was staring at him as if he were some kind of anomaly.
All the students pointed and whispered, discussing him in hushed tones.
Ling Qiu had already anticipated this reaction.
After all...
He was certain that his exam results would utterly shock everyone.
Sure enough...
He’d barely taken a few steps when he reached the exam results board.
“Oh my god! The top score in our school... is actually that Ling Qiu?!”
“No way, no way! That... that can’t be right! Wasn’t he always at the bottom of the year in every mock exam?!”
“This is outrageous! ...690 points!!”
“That... isn’t this the highest score our school has ever seen?!”
“More than that! He might even be the top humanities scorer in all of Jiang’an City!!”
“Ah! Ling Qiu!”
Someone turned and spotted Ling Qiu.
The crowd immediately surrounded him, their eyes brimming with envy, jealousy, and resentment.
Ling Qiu calmly turned away, heading for the teaching building, completely ignoring them.
As for why his score was 690...
It was simple: the total possible was 750 points across all subjects. The essay section in language was worth 60 points, but Ling Qiu couldn’t be bothered to write it, so he left it blank. Those 60 points simply weren’t worth his effort.
In other words...
Aside from the essay, he’d practically achieved a perfect score!!
News of this spread across the campus in no time, and everyone went wild!
...
In their eyes, Ling Qiu must have cheated! How else could a notorious underachiever score so high?!
Yet... deep down, they knew it was impossible to cheat on the college entrance exam these days—it would be suicide!
So... there was only one explanation: Ling Qiu had never taken the mock exams seriously!
Back in his classroom, everyone was filling out their applications, debating over which university to choose. As soon as Ling Qiu entered, the room fell silent.
The other students stared at Ling Qiu as if he were a ghost, both awed and afraid.
After all, at the Sky Garden Club, Ling Qiu had displayed such astonishing ability, and in the end had marched everyone out under his own authority...
Someone like that... was downright terrifying!
Now, everyone knew his exam results...
A staggering 690 points...
Was Ling Qiu even human?!
Did he have no weaknesses at all?!
“Ling Qiu!”
Of them all, only Shen Meng greeted him with a bright smile, hurrying over: “Congratulations! Your score really shocked me. Have you been hiding your abilities all along?”
Ling Qiu smiled faintly. “What do you think?”
Shen Meng was genuinely happy for him. “That’s wonderful! Now you can pick any university in the country!”
“That’s right.” Ling Qiu took a university application form from the podium and asked, “Which university are you applying to, Shen Meng?”
“Oh... I applied to Jiangnan University...” Shen Meng seemed a little down. She’d originally planned to wait for Ling Qiu’s results and then apply to the same university... but now, seeing how high his score was, she realized how ridiculous her plan had been.
“Mm.” Ling Qiu responded casually, then picked up his pen and filled in the four characters: Jiangnan University.
“OK, done.”
When Shen Meng saw the school name Ling Qiu had written, she hurried to correct him: “Hey, Ling Qiu, you made a mistake! Why did you write Jiangnan University?”
“I didn’t make a mistake.” Ling Qiu smiled. “That’s exactly what I want to put. Didn’t I say before, I’d go to the same university as you?”
“Ah???”
Shen Meng was stunned.
But then, her cheeks turned red as an apple. She didn’t know why, but she felt incredibly honored, happy, and sweet inside...
But she quickly shook her head. “No... no, we were just joking before. You can’t let a casual joke from me affect your future... I’ll go ask the teacher for a new form, and you fill it out again!”
She dashed out of the classroom, genuinely concerned for Ling Qiu’s future.
Ling Qiu just smiled and didn’t stop her. He quietly placed his completed application form on the podium, put his hands in his pockets, and walked away.
When Shen Meng returned with a fresh application form, she found that Ling Qiu had already disappeared.
...
At the school gate.
Ling Qiu was walking along the roadside when a car horn sounded behind him.
He turned to see a car pull up beside him. The window rolled down, revealing Song Ningxue’s cheerful face.
“Ling Qiu, get in.”
Ling Qiu didn’t hesitate, opening the door and getting in.
“You’re very agreeable today,” Song Ningxue observed, clearly in a good mood.
Ling Qiu replied, “We’re about to part ways. Thinking that I won’t get to see Director Song’s lovely face much anymore, I had to see you one last time.”
“Don’t say such unlucky things,” Song Ningxue shot him a glare. “Can’t you speak properly, even at a time like this?”
Ling Qiu chuckled. “I just saw you were in a good mood and thought I’d tease you. What happened—something good?”
Song Ningxue said, “Not something good, but something very surprising.” She shot Ling Qiu a meaningful look. “I didn’t expect it, Ling Qiu... you hid your talents well. 690 points, that’s the top score in Jiang’an City.”
Ling Qiu rubbed his ear. “I’ve heard that enough times at school today. Director Song, since we’re parting ways, don’t you have anything else to say?”
Hearing the word “parting” again, Song Ningxue fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Do you have any plans later?”
“No.”
“Then how about we have a meal together?”
“Sure.”
“Actually, my family just finished preparing a meal. Let’s eat at my place.”
Ling Qiu shrugged. “Anywhere’s fine, as long as I get to keep admiring your beautiful face.”
“Oh, hush! Even if you’ve graduated, you’re still my student.”
Though she said this, Song Ningxue’s face was all smiles.
If anyone saw this scene, they would be stunned. The famous ice queen Song Ningxue, in front of Ling Qiu... showed not a hint of coldness.
Before long,
The car pulled into a villa complex.
Looking up, the words “Scenic Villa” stood out in bold.
Ling Qiu narrowed his eyes, feeling a sense of familiarity—wasn’t this the same neighborhood that the bespectacled fat guy had bragged about during the exam break room, the one with houses worth millions?
“Director Song, is your family sitting on a gold mine? Living in a mansion,” Ling Qiu teased.
Song Ningxue gave a wry smile. “Sadly, we’re moving out next month. But it doesn’t matter, I never liked big houses anyway. ...Hm? Isn’t that Shen Meng?”
As she spoke, they saw two figures ahead—an older woman and a young girl, the latter supporting the former—standing at the door of a villa, ringing the bell.
It was Shen Meng and her mother!
Ling Qiu quickly guessed: it was probably as that bespectacled fat guy had said earlier, inviting old neighbors over for a meal.