Chapter 166: Trouble

After shaking off Yu Shixue, Ling Wu stood on the viewing balcony to look at the scenery.

Where the water met the sky, the afterglow of the sunset gradually faded; seagulls flapped their wings against the dim horizon, leaving behind a few scattered ink dots. The cruise ship sailed leisurely, a faint light came from the lighthouse, and the sound of the surging tide was exceptionally quiet and gentle...

Ling Wu rested his hands on the railing, the briny sea breeze brushing past his hair tips and the corners of his eyes, making one feel comfortable and relaxed.

The sky was high and the sea was vast; the birds were free.

Ling Wu's tense nerves could not help but relax. He rarely took out his phone, aiming the camera at the soaring birds, placing the horizon in the middle of the grid lines, with the sky and sea each occupying half, and capturing the distant lighthouse as well, freezing the beauty of the moment.

He rarely recorded his life, but on a whim, he sent the photo to Jin Shaoyu as well as his senior brother and teacher at the Federation.

The Chairman seemed to have a thousand things to do, sending back two characters in a very concise manner, filled with a cold aura: Read!

The spirited Marshal was enjoying his tea, feeling quite leisurely. Seeing that his most beloved student had disappeared for so long and had suddenly, for the first time ever, sent a picture, he first pondered for a long while, then snorted coldly and made a video call.

"Beep—"

Seeing no one around, Ling Wu answered.

The Marshal swallowed his tea. The old man on the screen had graying temples and a few wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. His features were born with a heroic air, and his weather-beaten eyes held a touch of kindness settled by the passage of time.

The Marshal's expression changed immediately, his beard blowing and eyes glaring as he began to scold him: "Ling Wu! You little brat, you still know how to answer the phone? You've really grown up and your wings have hardened; you ran off without even saying a word!"

"........." Ling Wu had long expected this day. He waited quietly for him to finish scolding, then said: "Teacher, I'm out, please scold a little more gently."

The Marshal snorted coldly: "When are you rolling back?"

"Soon." Ling Wu looked at the sea: "In a few more months."

He lowered his head, his soft hair blown into a mess.

The Marshal was soft-hearted after all, the little old man rambling on: "Alright, alright, I can't be bothered to talk to you. Hold your phone steady, what are you messing around with? It's like you don't know how to video call. Who wants to look at this pitch-black, crappy sea?"

Ling Wu aimed the phone at his own face.

The Marshal saw the thin chin on the screen and sighed repeatedly: "You've lost weight. Is that brat Jin Liangjin not feeding you?"

When he narrowed his eyes, his aura was exceptionally sharp, and he was full of vigor when scolding people.

"Teacher, how is your health?"

"My health is top-notch." The Marshal said: "It's you, have some time to care less about others and pay more attention to yourself."

Ling Wu leaned on the railing, tilting his head, a bit like when he was a child acting spoiled. The eyes hidden by his eyelashes held some melancholy: "Teacher, I miss you all... The cherry tree I planted in the courtyard will bear fruit when spring comes. You and Senior Brother should eat a few more for me."

The road ahead was uncertain, and life and death were unpredictable.

The sound of the sea breeze in the receiver was loud; the Marshal didn't hear the melancholy in Ling Wu's tone. He pursed his lips in displeasure: "It's still a long way until spring. The fruit from that cherry tree of yours isn't sweet; I tasted it last time. Wait until you come back and we'll change to a new variety."

Ling Wu curved his eyes: "Okay..."

A male voice from behind interrupted his words—"Ling Wu? What are you doing here?"

Ling Wu turned his body slightly and saw a young man standing at the entrance of the viewing balcony with a refined and handsome appearance and snow-tender skin. When those eyes looked over, there was a hint of disgust.

The one he had seen on the deck earlier.

Xie Qingge hadn't expected that he would run into Ling Wu just by wandering around, and even hear the other party say things like "miss you" to the person on the other end of the phone. He leaned his body forward, taking advantage of the moment Ling Wu turned around to see the part of his phone that was accidentally exposed.

He didn't recognize the person on the screen. Although the features were three-dimensional and the bearing was extraordinary, the age didn't look young.

His expression instantly turned disdainful, and he said with great contempt and mockery: "Ling Wu, even if Young Master Jing doesn't like you and is engaged to someone else, you don't have to lower yourself like this, video calling an old man here and saying you miss him. Isn't it disgusting?"

Ling Wu looked down at his phone screen, not even casting a glance at Xie Qingge: "Teacher, I'm hanging up first, let's talk when we have time."

"Beep—"

Seeing him ignore him the whole time, Xie Qingge gritted his teeth in anger.

After Ling Wu hung up the video, he tucked his phone into his pocket with one hand. With the lighthouse light behind his rounded head, his side profile looked cold yet soft. When those eyes looked over calmly, it was quite impactful. His tone was polite: "Excuse me, do I know you?"

His humble and polite manner made Xie Qingge appear completely unrefined.

Xie Qingge clenched his fists, the veins on his forehead throbbing. The culprit who made him lose face at the Academy and be abandoned by Yin Huaiyu didn't even remember him at all.

Why?

Ling Wu was surrounded by everyone like the moon among stars, while he was trampled into the mud. What made him even more disgusted was that Yin Huaiyu had only agreed to date him because he thought he looked a bit like Ling Wu.

This made Xie Qingge, a man, feel a great humiliation.

He hated Ling Wu to death.

Xie Qingge's original background wasn't bad, but he had to work hard to get a single glance from an heir of the Four Great Families, while Ling Wu didn't have to do anything and was born into such a noble family. He had everything, yet he still pretended to be indifferent to the world and as pure as a chrysanthemum.

Isn't it hypocritical?

Isn't it disgusting?

【Turns out you've been jumping around for so long, the supporting male lead doesn't even know you at all, hahaha... amazing!】

【Clown!】

【It's normal that the supporting male lead doesn't know him. It seems he and this supporting male lead Xie Qingge only met once in the third-floor cafeteria. Later, Xie Qingge even reported the supporting male lead for cheating on the forum, thinking he could anger someone? As it turned out, the supporting male lead didn't even have a forum account at the time. In the end, Young Master Wei came out to warn him, and Xie Qingge deleted the post in a dejected manner.】

【A substitute is just a substitute. In terms of quality and upbringing, he is completely crushed by the original. You really can't blame Young Master Yin for not being able to go through with it, dumping you in two weeks...】

【Xie Qingge is also quite pitiful. Looking for a substitute is the most disgusting thing!】

【Yin Huaiyu is not a good person!】

Ling Wu saw the comments on the bullet screen. Had he met this person in the cafeteria with Chu Yi? He really had no impression of it. And the rumors about him cheating on the forum, were they clarified by Wei Ranxu?

But so much time had passed that bringing it up again lost its original meaning.

But Ling Wu could confirm one thing: Xie Qingge was not here with good intentions.

Xie Qingge was furious, wanting to tear Ling Wu's beautiful face off and trample it under his feet. His features were a bit distorted due to his emotional fluctuations: "You damn well don't know me?!"

"Ling Wu, just keep pretending. I know your type best. You pretend to be noble on the surface, but in reality, you're a rotten person to the core. You must be very proud that you made Yin Huaiyu dump me."

"Do you think they would still like you if they knew your true colors?!"

Ling Wu instantly saw the shadow of Jin Bei on him; stupid people were all the same.

Ling Wu's expression remained unchanged: "First, I haven't done these things. Second, every debt has its debtor. Whoever dumped you, go find them, or perhaps it's that you feel you can't afford to offend Yin Huaiyu, so you can only cowardly vent your anger on me."

"Right?"

Xie Qingge's face turned deathly pale, as if he had been poked right in the lungs.

Of course, he could not afford to offend Yin Huaiyu.

There were not many people in the entire Beidu City who could afford to offend him.

Ling Wu walked toward him; the youth had a tall, slender build that was thin but not frail. Behind him, waves surged, and those eyes were as sharp as if they could peer into one's heart, leaving Xie Qingge's weak thoughts with nowhere to hide. Leaning slightly forward, he exuded a sense of oppression: "Why don't you dare to look for Yin Huaiyu? Do you think I am easy to bully?"

The two rhetorical questions made Xie Qingge shudder with fear.

He was a bully who feared the strong and picked on the weak, judging people to suit his own interests. Previously, when the forum was flooded with abuse and slander against Ling Wu, the person involved had never gone to the forum to clarify things. Xie Qingge clearly did not know that Ling Wu had no forum account at the time, and merely felt that Ling Wu was a pushover based on the other's seemingly "avoidant" behavior.

Otherwise, Xie Qingge would not have dared to provoke him at this critical juncture when Ling Wu had regained his status as the Eldest Young Master of the Jin Family.

Before Ling Wu left, he placed a hand on his shoulder and pressed down firmly; his expression was smiling, yet it inexplicably made one feel afraid: "I don't care what you want to do, behave yourself."

Xie Qingge took two steps back, and by the time he regained his senses, Ling Wu's back had quickly disappeared from the viewing balcony.

He slammed a fist hard against the wall: "Just you wait!"