Chapter 59: Someone Bullied Me!

Time passed swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, the new school term arrived.

This time, the campus that Ling Qiu would enter was—

Jiangnan University.

“Ling Qiu, tell me, why won’t you let me send someone to pick you up?”

Ling Qiu received a call from his aunt, Xu Wanxi, while waiting in the train station lounge.

He smiled faintly. “What’s the point of picking me up? I’d rather not get labeled as ‘the Ling family member’ as soon as I arrive in the provincial capital.”

“At least… shouldn’t you meet with Deng Ruyan?” Xu Wanxi was nearly speechless. “Last month, Deng Ruyan managed to squeeze some time out of her busy schedule and wanted to meet you, but you flatly refused. You said you’d be coming to the provincial capital anyway, so it would be better to meet at the start of school. But now…”

Ling Qiu chuckled. “I’ll meet her if I feel like it, but right now, I’m too lazy.”

With that, he hung up directly.

On the other end, Xu Wanxi was left amused and exasperated.

This brat really had an attitude. When Ling Qiu refused last time, Xu Wanxi felt uneasy. When the matter got to Deng Ruyan, she responded lightly, “Let him be. Whenever he wants to meet, let him meet.”

Honestly, Xu Wanxi hadn’t expected the Deng family, a powerful clan known for their decisiveness, to be so tolerant of Ling Qiu, which surprised her…

Just what did Deng Ruyan see in Ling Qiu?

Or perhaps…

The Deng family was that committed to keeping promises?

After a moment of silence, Xu Wanxi sent a text to Deng Ruyan from her personal number: “Ling Qiu said to set another date.”

Over half an hour later, Deng Ruyan’s private number replied: “Let him decide.”

“…”

Xu Wanxi pondered for a while, then couldn’t help but laugh. “This little rascal… truly lucky, yet why doesn’t he cherish it?”

To be fair, Deng Ruyan was such an exceptional beauty that even as a woman, Xu Wanxi felt a flutter in her heart.

She could not fathom how Ling Qiu managed to stay so composed.

…

“Express train 9527 has arrived at the platform. Ticket holders for express train 9527, please prepare your luggage and queue up for boarding…”

At that moment, boarding began.

Ling Qiu, carrying a simple backpack, had his ticket checked and boarded the train.

Yet—

Just as he stepped onto the train, a little girl with a pink backpack entered his view.

What drew Ling Qiu’s attention was the unique aura surrounding her.

“Hm?”

Ling Qiu hesitated for a moment.

Then he shook his head, thinking he must be mistaken.

Indeed, Ling Qiu noticed a golden glow around the girl, reminiscent of the power of the Yama King. But after checking his Yama Ring carefully, he found no reaction.

After boarding, Ling Qiu sat by the window.

As luck would have it—

The little girl’s seat was directly across from Ling Qiu.

He now saw her clearly. Her lips were rosy, teeth white, cheeks plump and pink, lively energy between her brows, and her large eyes blinked brightly. Her eyelashes were thick and long. She held her train ticket, confirming her seat, and muttered to herself, “Hm, this is it.”

“Heave-ho.”

The girl let out a breath, struggling to place her pink backpack on the table.

Zip—

She opened the zipper and took out snacks, an iPad, headphones, and other items.

Then she settled in, put on her headphones, started watching anime, munching snacks, giggling whenever she found something funny.

There was nothing much to say about this.

But—

Because she was so adorable, traveling alone, and her backpack and clothes were all high-end international brands, it was clear she was a rich girl.

So—

Many passengers in the carriage cast their gaze her way.

Ling Qiu noticed… a shifty-eyed middle-aged man kept glancing over, clearly scheming something.

Buzz—

The train began moving, speeding up, everyone settled in.

The little girl noticed Ling Qiu, blinked, took out a packet of sweets from her bag, and offered it to him. “Big brother, would you like some sweets?”

Her voice was crisp, innocent, lively.

Ling Qiu smiled gently. “Thank you, little sister, but I’ll pass.”

“Oh~”

She nodded obediently and put her headphones back on, engrossed in her anime.

There were few passengers on this train, so the seat beside the girl was empty.

The middle-aged man who had been staring at her stroked his mustache and sat down. “Little girl, what are you watching?”

The girl had no wariness at all. “Oh, I’m watching ‘Cells at Work.’”

“Is it good?”

“Very good, very good.”

“Let me watch with you, alright?”

“Here.”

The girl popped a sweet into her mouth, and moved the iPad to the side, inviting the man to watch with her.

“…”

Ling Qiu was both amused and troubled.

Such a young girl, barely twelve or thirteen, traveling alone, completely unguarded—did her family not worry?

Ling Qiu, wearing headphones and arms crossed, leaned lazily against the window.

He didn’t look directly, but kept a watchful eye on the girl and the man.

Sure enough—

Within moments, the man became ever more familiar with the girl, then pulled out a chocolate bar. “Here, have some chocolate, it’s really sweet.”

The girl politely shook her head. “Thank you, uncle, but I don’t want any.”

The man stroked his mustache and insisted, “I ate one of your sweets just now. To be fair, you should have one of mine, otherwise uncle will feel embarrassed.”

The girl blinked and slowly took the chocolate, putting it in her pocket without eating it. “Thank you, uncle, I’ll save it for later.”

Seeing she didn’t eat it, the man frowned, then took out a bottle of water. “Then have a sip of water…”

By now, many passengers were aware.

Instinctively, everyone felt this mustachioed man was up to no good, and worried for the girl, but… no one spoke up. After all, that’s society nowadays—not that there aren’t good people, just that those who meddle rarely have good outcomes.

“Thank you, uncle, I’m not thirsty.”

The girl remained polite.

“It’s really tasty.”

The man opened the bottle and held it to her nose.

Instantly—

A strange odor wafted from the bottle.

No one else noticed, but Ling Qiu did—his sense of smell was sharp!

Hm?

Inside the bottle… was there some kind of sedative?

The girl tried to refuse again but, as the scent reached her, her large eyes blinked, her gaze lost focus…

After a moment, she dazedly picked up the bottle. “Thank you… uncle…”

And then—

She was about to drink it!