Volume One, Chapter 130: The Newly Crowned Master of Empty Promises

At the same time, the livestream chat exploded.

"Sisters, I just got here. Are these two an official couple? I want to ship them!"
"We’ve been shipping them for a long time now! Hahahaha!"
"Exactly! Every scene with the Young Master is hilarious."
"Pass it on: the Young Master is a comedy king."
"Wait? Sis, why did you stop talking?"
"Holy cow, what did that girl do? Did she get banned???"
"Honestly, doesn't anyone else think Mu Ling is cute too? Plus his interactions with his wife—he’s the comedic pillar of the whole stream!"
"I know, right! Look at his face, he looks like someone stole his dinner. Hahahaha!"
"Sigh, poor Xing Qiao, such a little child."

Qin Yu, now full and satisfied, glanced at Xing Qiao out of the corner of her eye. The girl was sitting obediently, staring at her shoes. The cloth shoes on her feet were already tattered, with her toes peeking through the holes.

Qin Yu looked around but didn't see Lu Hualing, nor was there a trace of Mu Ling.

"Where did they go?" Qin Yu muttered to herself, only to hear a tiny voice reply, "In the small woods over there."

Xing Qiao didn't look up, just pointed to her left.

Qin Yu gave her an approving look and praised her without hesitation, "Good observation skills."

Xing Qiao acted as if she hadn't heard, keeping her head down and staring at her toes.

Deep in the small woods, a man in sportswear stood in the sunlight, clutching a stick. He stared unblinkingly at a mass of dark mist in front of him, declaring in a cringe-worthy, dramatic tone, "Bring it on!"

Mu Ling snorted, holding a wooden stick in his own dark, shadowy hand. "Fighting you? I’d be embarrassed if others saw me!"

"Real men don't talk trash! Hurry up!"

"..."

Qin Yu, who had just approached, was left speechless: ?

The viewers in the livestream were rubbing their hands in excitement.

"Ahhh! Are the human and the ghost about to fight over the heroine? The plot is so cliché, but I love it!"
"Wipe that drool off your chin, sister, it’s dripping onto my screen."
"Can the Young Master win?"
"Of course! Because the Young Master has 'money' power!"
"Pun deduction!"
"Why do I have such an indescribable thought in my head?"
"Brother, same!"
"What kind of riddle are you guys talking about?"
"You wouldn't understand; this is men's talk."
"6."

Qin Yu hid in the bushes. She wanted to see what kind of nonsense these two were up to. However, rustling sounds drifted over, though they didn't sound quite right. Qin Yu frowned in confusion; this didn't sound like a fight at all. She leaned in to listen closer...

"You’re full of it! Clearly, I won! My stick is way straighter than yours, okay?"
"You’re the one full of it! Mine is the straight one! I won!"

Qin Yu: ??? No, what are this man and this ghost even doing?

Five minutes later, Lu Hualing emerged, rubbing the back of his head. Xing Qiao was still staring at her fingernails and didn't even react to his footsteps. If Lu Hualing hadn't come specifically to find her, he probably wouldn't have noticed the person under the tree.

"Xing Qiao, right? Come with me."

Xing Qiao wasn't used to this nice-sounding name yet and took a beat before looking up. "Where to?" Her eyes were full of deep wariness.

"To buy you some decent clothes. If you follow me around looking like that, I’ll lose face."

Xing Qiao showed no mercy, hanging her head back down and saying slowly, "I'm following Dian Qiu, not you."

Lu Hualing had been trying to look cool, but his face felt metaphorically slapped. "You kid, can't you be a little cuter?"

Xing Qiao was as stingy with her words as gold; she didn't reply.

Lu Hualing was completely defeated. He rubbed his forehead in frustration and surrendered, "The Master told me to take you. She said the money will be deducted from your wages."

Upon hearing "the Master," Xing Qiao finally stood up and climbed into the car naturally.

Lu Hualing watched her swift movements, blinking in surprise. Is this really the same autistic kid from before?

Elsewhere, Mu Ling was wearing a mournful expression. He had a very obvious bump on his head and covered it, crying out, "Xiao Yu, you tried to kill me!"

Thinking about how the bump on his head was bigger than the one on Lu Hualing's, Mu Ling felt a sense of injustice.

Qin Yu patted his head gently, though she thought to herself: *Nonsense, that guy is the financier, could I actually go for the kill?*

Out loud, she said, "That just goes to show that I treat you differently~"

Mu Ling's brain worked at high speed, and he actually felt like that might be true.

"But it hurts so much!"

"Pain is good! It’s because I’m frustrated that you aren't living up to your potential! I just hope you stop thinking about brawling with him! The position of my first assistant is always reserved for you~"

The little black ball's face scrunched up in deep emotion. "Xiao Yu, you're too good to me!"

"Hahaha, that sounds exactly like the empty promises my boss feeds me."
"Mu Ling is literally acting out my current state /bitter tears/"
"The worst part is that when I hear those empty promises from my boss, I actually believe them /facepalm/"

"Xiao Yu, where are we going now?"

"To meet up with Ye Puming."