"Qingque, have you finished your work for the morning?"
"Eek!"
The voice that suddenly came from behind startled Qingque so badly that she jumped.
"I finished all my morning reports before coming out, so please don't tell the Lord Diviner... Wait, who are you? I don't think I've ever seen you before."
Qingque scratched her head and looked him over, finally confirming that she really had never met this person.
Unexpectedly, Lingchen's expression changed at her words, a trace of hurt creeping onto his face.
"Little Sparrow, don't you remember me? We used to play together when we were kids."
"Really?"
The way Lingchen called her "Little Sparrow" made her doubt herself. Surely no one would address someone so intimately on their first meeting.
"Sorry, maybe I forgot."
Although she was certain her memory was excellent, Qingque didn't want any trouble, so she decided to chalk it up to forgetfulness.
Besides, perhaps she really had forgotten. Xianzhou natives lived long lives and met plenty of people. Who knew how many she had met as a child?
The three Vidyadhara beside them looked from Lingchen to Qingque, their eyes sparkling.
"Ah, that really hurts. It took me so long to finally see you again, Little Sparrow, and now
"you're still just as petite and adorable."
The sadness on Lingchen's face vanished in an instant as he jumped straight into reminiscing.
"Back then, you wanted to play with mud, and so did I. Unfortunately, there was only dry dirt around, so we had a brilliant idea and started peeing-"
"Stop, stop, stop! Sir, I can assure you that absolutely never happened when I was little."
Qingque's face darkened, and she pulled out her phone.
"Please tell me who you really are, or I'm reporting you to the Earth-Balance Commission."
"All right, I'll talk. Actually, I'm a good friend of your Lord Diviner. I had nothing to do today, so I came out to admire the scenery, and happened to spot you here. Little Sparrow, you wouldn't want me telling Fu Xuan about this, would you?"
"Do you really know the Lord Diviner?"
Having already been tricked once, Qingque clearly no longer trusted him.
"Of course. Honest, no tricks. She even drank the milk tea I gave her yesterday."
"Wait, so you're that man!"
Perhaps those words flipped some switch, because Qingque's expression instantly filled with grief and indignation.
There's a story here!
Lingchen's eyes lit up.
"You know which man I am? What if you've got the wrong person?"
"Impossible. Those aren't Xianzhou clothes," Qingque said. His nonstop patter had left her a little dazed earlier, but now that she looked, his clothing was clearly different from hers.
"Besides, the Lord Diviner was only supposed to go out on a little errand. But instead of her coming back, I got a mountain of reports to write. Six whole stacks! I didn't get to sleep until after two yesterday."
She left out Fu Xuan's other arrangements and instructions. With three Vidyadhara present, some things were better left unsaid.
"And yet you're still so energetic today."
"It's different for Xianzhou natives."
Perhaps because of what he had just said, Qingque was no longer particularly wary of Lingchen, though she was still a little annoyed.
But then she remembered the message Fu Xuan had sent her afterward yesterday, saying there was someone extremely important she needed to observe.
Forget it. Qingque immediately calmed herself.
"So what should I call you? Boss Qingque?"
"Please don't. I can't live up to that title. Just call me Qingque."
This man was an Emanator. Fu Xuan's message yesterday had given her quite a fright.
"All right, Little Sparrow. But aren't you afraid Fu Xuan will catch you playing Imperial Jade here?"
"It's fine, as long as you don't snitch." Qingque looked utterly confident at the mention of this. "I developed a special technique to counter the Lord Diviner's divination tracking. Only I can use it, and I just need to run a calculation every so often."
"Oh? Then why does someone with such talent only get passing marks on every work quality assessment?"
*?!!!*
"L-L-L-Lord Diviner~!! What brings you here?!"
This time, Qingque was truly frightened. Even her face drained of color.
She turned around shakily and saw her three fellow players enjoying the show behind her. She also saw Fu Xuan standing with her hands on her hips, her amber eyes fixed firmly on Qingque.
"Am I not allowed to come outside? Or do you think I ought to stay in the Divination Commission every moment of the day?"
"N-no, that's not it. Um, I..."
"It seems I still don't know you well enough."
P.S. I went back to my village today, so I'm a little short on time.
There are still two more chapters. They might be a bit late. Sorry, everyone.
Chapter 25: Little Qingque Here Is Probably Done For
Seeing that the Lord Diviner had arrived, the three fellow players knew they probably wouldn't get to enjoy any more juicy gossip.
After a couple of curious glances, they ignored Qingque's pleading eyes, greeted Fu Xuan, and left.
Qingque had won a mountain of things from them today. Had she won even one fewer round, they might have mustered the courage to put in a token good word for her, despite Fu Xuan being her boss. Unfortunately, their losses today had left them reeling.
"Lord Diviner, I was wrong."
Qingque surrendered on the spot.
"Ah... Never mind. Standing here will only make a spectacle of us. Come with me first."
Sensing the gazes turning their way, Fu Xuan sighed softly.
What else could she do? Qingque genuinely excelled in all kinds of areas, and she genuinely wanted to nurture her. But Qingque refused to apply herself, wanting nothing more than a cushy post where she could slack off.
"Can I come too? I'm pretty curious about the Divination Commission."
Lingchen pointed at himself. If he wanted to grow closer to her, he naturally had to show his face more often.
"Do you really have that much free time?"
Fu Xuan was somewhat speechless. Why was this man curious about everything?
"I really do."
Qingque wholeheartedly agreed. This fellow had almost told everyone they used to play with pee-soaked mud together. If that wasn't proof he had too much time on his hands, she would eat her Imperial Jade tiles as snacks.
"Then come along. You don't usually have anything to do anyway. How about I arrange some work for you? With your abilities, you should be able to handle it easily."
A strange sense of satisfaction suddenly rose in Qingque's heart, as though she were watching someone else about to step into the same pit she had.
"...I'll pass. My life's pretty good as it is. Didn't Jing Yuan mention drinking tea and taking pet birds for walks? I do have a source of Credits, at least."
Fu Xuan eyed Lingchen suspiciously. Had this man perhaps pilfered those Credits from someone else?
Qingque, meanwhile, looked at Lingchen with envy. She wanted that kind of life too.
Check in, System.
[Ding! Checked in before Qingque, a diviner of the Divination Commission. Reward obtained: Qingque character card.]
Checking in with Qingque got me Qingque?
Lingchen couldn't help looking Qingque over carefully. She was so tiny, yet who would have thought she brought such luck?
As expected of Qingque the tile player. What luck.
"Um, Mr. Lingchen, is there something strange about me? You keep looking at me."
Walking behind Fu Xuan, Qingque had also noticed Lingchen's gaze.
She glanced herself over. Her shoes were clean, too. Nothing was wrong.
"Nothing. I was just thinking that if Boss Qingque starts an Imperial Jade corporation someday, even Fu Xuan might have to rely on you."
"Hey, please don't say things like that! I swear to follow the Lord Diviner until my dying breath."
Seeing Fu Xuan slow her steps as well, Qingque hurriedly declared her loyalty.
At the same time, she felt a little bitter. She had thought she was safe on the way back, since Fu Xuan hadn't mentioned her playing Imperial Jade again. She had been trying to make herself invisible, but this Mr. Lingchen simply wouldn't leave her alone.
"Right. If you hadn't spoken, I would almost have forgotten. Explain why you only ever get passing marks. Don't tell me that's the limit of your abilities. After all, even I, the Lord Diviner, can't divine Boss Qingque's whereabouts."
Fu Xuan gave a cold laugh. With abilities like these, Qingque refused to put them to proper use, instead insisting on matching wits with her superior.
So that's why my divinations always showed Qingque at the Divination Commission. Next time, I'll use a different method.
"Please don't, Lord Diviner. Just call me Little Qingque." Qingque's lips trembled, and her face fell. "I'm only helping the other diviners fulfill their wishes. Every day, when I go to the Divination Commission and see them striving for their futures, with determination in their eyes strong enough to kill a hundred Denizens of Abundance, and such deep yearning for tomorrow, I feel terrible. I always want to do something for them."
"So you only get passing marks every time?"
"Exactly. If I fall behind, everyone else can move ahead. That way, little by little, everyone can fulfill their wishes.
"I'm realizing everyone's dreams with my own two hands. It's all for everyone's future at the Divination Commission, Lord Diviner."
Lingchen gave her an emphatic thumbs-up.
There's a reason she's Boss Qingque.
"I see. I'm very pleased that you wish to contribute to everyone at the Divination Commission.
"In that case, stay by my side and help me these next few days. Afterward, I'll promote you. Consider it a reward for thinking of everyone."
"No, please don't, Lord Diviner. You know my abilities really aren't up to it. Yesterday's work already wrung my brain dry. Today, I'll have to drink Six Bullets."
"Ah, it seems I haven't cared enough for my subordinates. How about this? Once we return to the Divination Commission, I'll allocate some funds for you to buy that Six Bullets stuff. No, buy its nutritionally enhanced version, Six Bombs. That should help build up your health so you can work better by my side."
Looking at Fu Xuan's perfectly serious expression, Qingque was on the verge of tears.
She had worked so hard to finally settle into her current position as an ordinary diviner. She had even been about to take over managing the archives, something she had looked forward to for ages. Now it had all gone up in smoke.
After working overtime yesterday, she had suffered four nightmares in the few short hours she slept. Only after getting up that morning and placing her Imperial Jade tiles on the dining table to look at while she ate had her mood improved.
She had never expected everything to take such a sudden turn for the worse.
Little Qingque here is probably going to drown in work.
Seeing Qingque looking so wilted, Fu Xuan laughed coldly to herself. She had finally caught her chance. This time, she would make Qingque work to her heart's content and thoroughly straighten out that habit of slacking off.
Chapter 26: Could He Be Her Boyfriend?
The Lord Diviner certainly commanded some authority within the Divination Commission. Even when Lingchen followed Fu Xuan into her private office area, no one dared whisper about it.
They merely watched curiously as the Lord Diviner returned from her outing with a man and a woman in tow.
They knew the woman: Qingque, a diviner of the Divination Commission. Although she held the lowest rank, everyone in the commission knew she was certainly hiding her talents, and they treated her with due respect.
She always earned passing marks on every assessment. Some sections required subjective answers, yet she still managed to hit the passing threshold every single time. That alone demonstrated her skill.
Besides, although she always seemed to be slacking off, diviners who had worked at the commission for some time knew she had already finished her work.
What was more, anyone with eyes could tell that Fu Xuan, the Divination Commission's Lord Diviner, thought highly of Qingque. Sometimes she took Qingque along on errands, and when she went out on business, she even had Qingque cover for her. She was clearly grooming Qingque as her successor.
Were they envious? Absolutely. The Lord Diviner was one of the Xianzhou Luofu's Six Charioteers, a position almost at the very pinnacle. Who wouldn't be envious?
But they were all diviners, and most suspected Fu Xuan had divined that Qingque would become the future Lord Diviner, which was why she spared no effort in nurturing her.
There were, of course, a few particularly jealous diviners. The Luofu had a large population, after all, with no shortage of wicked people, petty people, or people whose hearts had slowly turned rotten.
But as for the other man...
They genuinely had no recollection of him. Judging by his clothes, he didn't seem to be a Xianzhou native, which ruled out the possibility that he was Fu Xuan's relative.
Could it be...
Shock appeared in the eyes of some diviners.
Was he the Lord Diviner's never-before-seen boyfriend?!
That had to be it. Although their Lord Diviner was full of authority, her sternness did nothing to conceal her charm. Her looks, strength, and status were all first-rate. Someone like her certainly had no shortage of admirers.
Unfortunately, no one dared actually make a move. Her status alone crushed the hopes of ninety-nine percent of them.