Chapter 47: The Self-Cultivation of a Canary (12)

This time, Ling Qiong seemed blessed by luck, drawing two cards in one unprecedented stroke. One was “Knowledge Is Power,” its face adorned with images of school buildings. The other was “Radiant Colors,” the card resembling a dazzling light exhibition.

School…

Come to think of it, the original host was still a student. That meant—she could leave?

Ling Qiong, brimming with happiness, went cheerfully to find Shen Han Deng.

He was in his room, unmoved as she entered, focused on twisting a Rubik’s cube in his hands.

At last, she could see her beloved child.

Ling Qiong exhaled softly and sat beside him.

“Who said you could sit? Get up.”

“Master, I wish to go to school,” Ling Qiong ignored the remark, stating her request directly.

Shen Han Deng didn’t even pause. “No.”

“I want to go with you,” Ling Qiong insisted.

The card was meant for Shen Han Deng, so the school must be intended for him as well.

Shen Han Deng’s hand froze mid-turn, and he glanced sideways at her.

“With me?”

“Yes.”

He withdrew his gaze, twisting the cube with force, its clicking echoing like he was wringing someone’s neck.

“You know my situation. Even stepping outside requires layer upon layer of approval.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you doing this on purpose?”

“If you wish, you can go,” she replied confidently.

Shen Han Deng let out a derisive laugh. “If wanting was enough, I wouldn’t be here now.”

Ling Qiong patted her chest, making a solemn promise. “You didn’t have me before, but now you do. You’ll be lucky. If you want to go, you can go. Trust me.”

Shen Han Deng: “…”

He’d never seen someone boast so shamelessly.

…

He didn’t take Ling Qiong’s words seriously. How could Zhou Jing possibly let him out, let alone to a place like school?

But the next day, Zhou Jing actually sent people to arrange for Shen Han Deng to attend school, saying he could enroll.

Shen Han Deng: “…”

Had Zhou Jing lost her mind?

“I heard there’s been a change at the company,” Kelly reported to him. “Zhou Jing’s treatment of you has become too blatant over the years. Some are dissatisfied. She wants you to appear to placate them.”

“I see.”

Kelly asked cautiously, “Master, about school…”

Shen Han Deng pondered for a moment. “Go.”

If Zhou Jing wished to use him, it was also an opportunity for him. Leaving this place would make things much easier.

He remembered Ling Qiong’s words.

---

“Do you think Ye Qing Tang is one of Zhou Jing’s people?” Kelly couldn’t figure out that girl. She appeared innocent, obedient, and adorable, but sometimes, meeting her gaze, Kelly felt she wasn’t so easy to handle.

Kelly said, “Hard to say.”

Shen Han Deng lowered his lashes, murmuring, “Ye Qing Tang…”

---

After middle school, Shen Han Deng gradually lost access to school. At first, he had tutors and was allowed to take exams. Later, the tutors were gone, and he studied on his own. He even took the university entrance exam and was admitted. But after that, he never attended, as Zhou Jing arranged for his leave.

Now, returning to school, Shen Han Deng was already meant to be a sophomore.

Ling Qiong happened to be at the same university, though in a different major.

Sitting in the car, Shen Han Deng watched the crowds at the school gate, lost in thought.

His last visit felt as though a whole century had passed.

He drew a breath, opened the door, and stepped out.

Ling Qiong followed, concern etched on her face like a worried father. “We’re in different departments. Will you be alright on your own?”

Shen Han Deng glanced at her and strode into the campus.

Ling Qiong: “…”

Hey!

---

Ling Qiong parted ways with Shen Han Deng and returned to the original host’s dormitory.

The room was lively, but as she pushed the door open, the noise abruptly ceased.

The dorm was packed, clearly with people who didn’t belong there.

“Ye… Qing Tang?” a girl in a spaghetti strap dress exclaimed in shock and disbelief.

Then, the silence was broken by murmured discussions.

“That’s Ye Qing Tang?”

“She’s that pretty?”

In their memories, she’d been a girl with hardly any presence.

How did she suddenly—

Now, the girl before them shone from head to toe, golden hair framing a small face, vibrant and dazzling.

“Is she really Ye Qing Tang?”

“How did she come back?”

“Didn’t she… do that outside thing? I thought she’d dropped out.”

“Wow, I heard her dad’s a gambler, sent her to entertain rich men. Seeing her now…” The speaker looked her up and down, clearly convinced that the rumors were true, given her dramatic transformation.

Their voices weren’t loud, but in the cramped dormitory, every word reached Ling Qiong’s ears.

The original host’s gambling father had caused several scenes, witnessed by classmates, inevitably leading to gossip.

---

She hadn’t expected the rumors to have grown so wild.

“Feel free to speak louder, I can hear you anyway.” Ling Qiong entered, smiling. “Say it to my face—it’s more thrilling.”

Everyone: “…”

The girl was confident and bold, her presence somehow intimidating them.

Tension settled in the dorm.

“Why so silent?” Ling Qiong lifted her chin, her clear voice echoing across the room. “Go on, let me hear it.”

Her face wore a smile—innocent and cute—but her aura was unbreakable, strong and commanding.

Those who’d felt justified now dared not speak.

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is human nature.

“Um… I have something to do, I’ll go first.” One girl hurried out.

Another added, “I need to go to the library.”

“I have a group project to finish…”

“I’ll leave too.”

Those not belonging to the dorm made excuses and left.

Soon only two girls remained: the one in the spaghetti strap dress who’d first recognized her, and another with twin ponytails, sitting on the bed, staring at her as if she were a monster.

Ling Qiong hooked her right foot behind the door and shut it with a loud “bang,” startling them both.

Four beds in the room.

The original protagonist was gone, but it looked like the school had filled the vacancy.

On that bed, there were blankets and belongings.

Ling Qiong glanced at her own bed—it was piled high with stuff, impossible to sleep there.

The twin-ponytail girl regained composure and asked, “Ye Qing Tang, how did you become like this?”

“Do I need to report to you about my transformation?”

“You…” The girl faltered, then smirked, “Is what they say outside true? Are you really out there…”

Ling Qiong replied, “Out there doing what?”

She wrinkled her nose. “That sort of thing.” How else could she have changed so much? Her father was a gambler…

Ling Qiong pressed, “What sort of thing?”

The twin-ponytail girl snorted, “Don’t you know yourself? Must others spell it out?”

*

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