Chapter 11: I'm Absolutely Furious!

“So, is there anything else?” Ling Qiu asked with a yawn.

In contrast to Ling Qiu’s nonchalance, Song Ningsnow was practically a volcano ready to erupt! She glared at Ling Qiu, her fury burning so fiercely that she was momentarily at a loss for words.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going then.” Ling Qiu turned to leave, hand on the door.

“Stop right there!” Song Ningsnow barked.

“Tsk…” Ling Qiu turned back, “Now what?”

“You… you…” Song Ningsnow was fuming, her chest tight with grievance and anger, but when it came time to speak, she realized she had nothing to say.

The only thought in her mind was that she couldn’t let Ling Qiu leave so easily! But she had no idea what reason she could use to make him stay!

“If you dare walk out that door… I’m warning you, Ling Qiu… you’ll have to deal with the consequences yourself!”

She had struggled to find any words at all, and in the end, that was the only threat she could muster.

A threat? Ling Qiu merely smiled, didn’t even spare her a glance, and walked out, shutting the door behind him with a bang.

In the corridor, Ling Qiu slid one hand into his pocket. Absentmindedly, his other hand brushed at the lip print Song Ningsnow had left at the corner of his mouth, catching a strange scent.

“Hm?” He paused, bringing his fingers to his nose.

That scent… was it the aura of the Underworld? No, not quite. There was ghostly energy, yes—but no trace of balefulness about it. In fact, it brimmed with spiritual vitality.

Without another thought, Ling Qiu wiped the lipstick off onto his King Yama ring. Instantly, the ring began to hum and glow.

A faint, sharp sound followed, and to his surprise, the ring emitted a golden light.

“Golden light?!” Ling Qiu’s heart leapt with delight. “Is this… the power of the Ten Kings of Yama?”

In the Underworld, among all the shades and spirits, only the aura of each of the Ten Kings of Yama could make his ring shine with golden light.

A smile played across Ling Qiu’s lips. “Ksitigarbha, you were right—only by immersing myself in the mortal world can I encounter the fateful opportunities of the Ten Kings of Yama. Who would have thought that this Song woman, the disciplinary director, would be such an opportunity?”

He recalled the game of chess he’d once played with Ksitigarbha, and the cryptic hints the latter had let slip.

The Ten Kings of Yama were not merely titles in the Underworld, but a primordial power, diffused into countless strands that had woven themselves into the myriad worlds, attaching at random to certain mortals—people from the human realm included.

These individuals, once they died and entered the Underworld, would become candidates for the Ten Kings of Yama.

Ling Qiu didn’t expect the bearers of the Ten Kings’ spiritual lineage on Earth to possess much power. All he needed was a lead.

“So, Director Song… Song. Could it be that within her bloodline is the aura of the Song Emperor, one of the Ten Kings?”

At the thought, Ling Qiu turned on his heel, opened the door, and stepped back inside.

The door closed with a snap.

Hands in his pockets, Ling Qiu fixed his gaze on Song Ningsnow.

She had been wearing an expression of defeat, but the moment she saw Ling Qiu return, her eyes narrowed and a hint of satisfaction flickered across her face. “I thought you were braver than that. What’s this, regret? Come to beg me, have you?”

Ling Qiu smiled faintly. “I want to discuss something.”

Song Ningsnow frowned instinctively. “What is it?”

“Let me think…” Ling Qiu stroked his chin with exaggerated gravity, then clapped his hands. “I’ve got it. From now on, you’ll be my girlfriend.”

“What?!” Song Ningsnow almost choked on her own breath.

Was Ling Qiu out of his mind?

“Get out. Now!” she spat, her anger boiling over.

Ling Qiu nodded, undisturbed. “Actually, it was out of respect that I offered to make you my girlfriend. Truthfully, for all your looks, I’m not sure you’re quite a match for me. How about this: I’ll lower my standards a bit. How about a one-night stand?”

The more she listened, the more stunned she became. There were so many things wrong with what he was saying—but the thing that really stung Song Ningsnow was that this boy had actually said she wasn’t good enough for him!

“I’m not good enough for you?!”

Song Ningsnow’s head was spinning with rage, her face flushed, all semblance of her authority as disciplinary director lost. “Do you have any idea how many men in Jiang’an City are pursuing me? Which one of them could you, a mere high-schooler, compare to? And you dare say I’m not good enough for you?!”

No sooner had she finished than a wave of regret washed over her.

What was she doing, arguing with a student like this?

But Ling Qiu, with complete seriousness, replied, “To be honest, your looks are indeed exceptional in this world—your figure is just right in all the right places, and your sense of dress, though formal, has its own appeal. The lace-trimmed nude stockings you wear with your pencil skirt set off your shapely legs quite nicely. Still…”

He paused, then continued gravely, “Compared to my main wife, your beauty is, at best, slightly above average.”

The room fell silent.

Song Ningsnow was completely petrified.

It felt as if ten thousand wild horses were stampeding through her mind—accompanied by the beat of ‘If I Were a DJ, Would You Love Me’ blasting in the background.

At that moment, Song Ningsnow felt utterly humiliated.

She, always proud and aloof, would never have dreamed she’d be reduced to such a state—flustered and aggrieved by a high-schooler, unable even to mount a retort, while his provocations soared out of reach, as if brushing shoulders with the sun.

She was being led by the nose at every turn!

The frustration was infuriating.

“Tsk, you really are hopeless at comebacks,” Ling Qiu muttered, seeing her once again lost for words. He couldn’t be bothered to say more. “I remember there’s a new lakeside restaurant in East City. The ambiance is nice. Seven thirty tonight, I’ll wait for you there. As much as I dislike these so-called dates, since this is a one-night stand, out of respect for you, I’ll go through the basic motions. Dinner, you get drunk—or pretend to—and then we find a couple’s hotel. I’ll spend the night with you.”

With that, he turned to leave, but paused at the door. “Director Song, you’re making a profit here. Do you have any idea how many beauties in this vast world have begged me on their knees for this body, and I refused them all?”

The door shut with a bang.

Song Ningsnow’s mind was buzzing.

Even now, she couldn’t keep up with Ling Qiu’s way of thinking!

Just then, her phone rang. Seeing it was her mother, she quickly tried to compose herself, suppressing the tangle of emotions within. Before she could speak, her mother’s voice rang out, issuing an order:

“Ningsnow! Listen, the young master of the Zheng family is here today. He wants to have dinner with you tonight at the new lakeside restaurant in East City. Seven thirty sharp. Don’t you dare be late!”