Oscar barely reacted as he watched Lin Kong walk past without so much as a sideways glance, treating them both like thin air. He continued along at his leisurely pace, but Ning Rongrong immediately grew anxious.
She had finally managed to persuade Oscar to cover for her, so why had another person who knew about it appeared? Wasn't this just adding another layer of trouble for no reason?
"Hey! Stop right there!" Ning Rongrong shouted at Lin Kong's retreating back, her tone full of spoiled, imperious arrogance.
Lin Kong kept walking, heading straight ahead as though he hadn't heard her.
"Lin Kong! I told you to stop!" Ning Rongrong raised her voice, her little face puffing up with anger.
But Lin Kong seemed to have mastered selective deafness. He still didn't turn around.
Only then did Ning Rongrong belatedly realize that if force wouldn't work, she would have to try a softer approach. She took a deep breath, lowered her stance, and softened her tone. "Lin Kong, Lin Kong, could you stop for a moment?"
This time, Lin Kong finally stopped. He slowly turned around, his calm gaze settling on her, and asked lightly, "What is it?"
Ning Rongrong seethed inwardly, silently grumbling that this fellow had deliberately played deaf and dumb the first two times. But she needed a favor now, so she could only swallow her displeasure. With difficulty, she forced a strained smile and said quietly, "Um... about me skipping class, could you cover for me too?"
Lin Kong raised an eyebrow and bluntly asked, "Do you think that would help?"
"Yes, yes... maybe, maybe a tiny bit..." Ning Rongrong's voice grew quieter and quieter, her confidence dwindling with it. By the end, even she felt her words were feeble and hollow.
With a single remark, Lin Kong had exposed what Oscar hadn't dared say aloud-stop deceiving yourself. All those what-ifs, all those tiny possibilities-this supposed cover-up was nothing but wasted effort!
"Trash assignment! Trash Flender! Trash Shrek Academy!" With her secret hope punctured, Ning Rongrong instantly flushed with anger and shame. She erupted on the spot like a kitten with its fur bristling, planting her hands on her hips and unleashing a torrent of curses, all of them words of helpless rage.
Oscar rolled his eyes as he listened, silently grumbling, If I weren't a food-type Soul Master with barely any fighting ability, and if she weren't a fairly pretty young girl, I'd have snapped back long ago. I'd have argued this out with her properly and defended Shrek's reputation!
Lin Kong merely stood quietly to one side and watched, neither interrupting nor trying to stop her. His eyes even held a faint hint of someone enjoying a show.
After cursing for quite a while, Ning Rongrong's throat had grown somewhat dry. Only then did she belatedly stop. Looking at the empty fields before her, she suddenly felt a little dumbfounded.
She had finished cursing and vented all her anger, so what was she supposed to do next?
It seemed... it seemed that aside from venting her emotions, she hadn't accomplished anything at all!
Ning Rongrong found herself riding a tiger she couldn't dismount. She could only stiffen her neck and cling to her last shred of stubbornness. "I don't care. I'm skipping class anyway! I couldn't care less whether you cover for me!"
Hearing this, Oscar merely said flatly, "I'm going back to running laps." With that, he strode off on his own.
Ning Rongrong stamped her foot hard in anger, feeling utterly stifled. Why is this guy so dense? Doesn't he know to follow obediently behind me and do whatever I say?
Seeing her stubborn refusal to yield, Lin Kong shook his head helplessly. Without another word, he stepped after Oscar, leaving Ning Rongrong with only his cold, retreating back and a lightly tossed remark:
"What an idiot!"
"What did you say?!" Ning Rongrong's fury shot straight to the top of her head. She jerked her head up and shrieked at Lin Kong's back, "What gives you the right to call me an idiot?!"
Oscar ran ahead with his head down and steady strides. Lin Kong followed close behind, his breathing even, as though he were taking a leisurely stroll rather than running laps.
Ning Rongrong chased after them furiously and blocked Lin Kong's path with her hands on her hips. Her chest heaved, her little face flushed bright red, and her voice was full of indignant accusation. "What gives you the right to call me an idiot? Flender's obviously making things difficult on purpose, assigning a task that's impossible to finish. He just wants to torment me!"
"Skipping class is the smart choice! Oscar's the idiot for running like a fool!" The more she spoke, the angrier she became, pointing at Lin Kong's nose. "And you! You're an idiot too! Both of you are idiots!"
Lin Kong paused and raised a hand to pat Oscar beside him. The two stopped together and looked at Ning Rongrong, their eyes saying they were looking at an unreasonable little idiot.
Their gazes stoked Ning Rongrong's anger, yet somehow also left her feeling a little uncertain. She could only stiffen her neck and glare back, her chest heaving even more noticeably.
"You don't want to run, right?" Lin Kong spoke first, his tone calm.
"Of course! My choice is the smart one!" Ning Rongrong immediately straightened her back and declared loudly.
Lin Kong stopped looking at her and turned to Oscar beside him, his voice clear. "If it were you, what would you do if you didn't want to run?"
Without a moment's thought, Oscar blurted out, "Go to the dean! Ask him to his face what the point of the assignment is. If it really is unreasonable, argue it out with him!"
At those words, Ning Rongrong seemed to have been struck by an immobilization spell. Her eyes went round, her little mouth fell slightly open, and she froze on the spot. Most of the anger drained from her face, leaving only utter astonishment.
Only then did Lin Kong look back at her. Spreading his hands, he spoke a little more sternly. "Ning Rongrong, do you still think you're not an idiot now?"
"I... I..." Ning Rongrong opened her mouth but couldn't get a single word out. The lingering defiance in her heart crumbled before Oscar's words, "Go to the dean"-she had to admit that what she had just done really had been incredibly stupid.
"Do you know which two things you did wrong?" Lin Kong asked again.
Ning Rongrong's heart jolted. She admitted she had been wrong, but two things? When had she made two mistakes?
That doubt swept away her embarrassment. She abruptly raised her head, her almond-shaped eyes wide, and snapped, "Lin Kong, that's bullshit! When did I do two things wrong?"
Oscar's eyes widened too, and he looked at Lin Kong with open curiosity. Indeed, there had only been the matter of skipping class. Where had two things come from?
Seeing Oscar's reaction restored quite a bit of Ning Rongrong's confidence. She stepped forward, almost pressing up against Lin Kong, and lifted her chin as she demanded, "Go on! Say it! Don't think beating Tang San gives you the right to spout nonsense here!"
Lin Kong held up one finger, his voice calm but carrying an unquestionable force. "First, you chose to skip class and run away instead of going straight to Flender, pointing at his nose, and asking him to his face whether this assignment had any point at all."
Ning Rongrong's eyes abruptly flickered, and she guiltily averted her gaze-she had been so busy being angry that she hadn't even considered that.
"Second." Lin Kong held up another finger, his gaze settling on her with a trace of coldness. "You were dead set on getting Oscar to cover for you. You even hoped the cover-up would succeed, so no one would know your whereabouts. Did you ever consider that once no one knew where you were, it would mean you had no protection around you at all? You're so pretty. If an auxiliary-type Soul Master left her protection and ran into evildoers, what would the consequences be?"
"Tsk..." Lin Kong deliberately drew out the sound, that soft click of his tongue stabbing viciously into Ning Rongrong's heart.
Her face instantly turned deathly pale. A chill shot from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head, and cold sweat broke out across her back. Belated fear surged wildly through her-she had actually been hoping no one would discover she had skipped class? How was that clever? She had practically been pushing herself into an abyss of danger!
Calling her an idiot wasn't even enough to describe this anymore!
Just as Ning Rongrong stood chilled all over and unable to speak, Lin Kong suddenly spoke again, his tone light. "Third!"
"There's a third?!" Oscar cried out involuntarily, so shocked his eyes nearly popped out.
Ning Rongrong's face alternated between livid and pale. Unable to bear it anymore, she abruptly stepped forward until her face was almost pressed against Lin Kong's. Her voice trembled slightly with anger as she roared with a trace of hysteria, "Where did a third thing come from?!"
Whoosh!
Before her words had even faded, Lin Kong suddenly reached out and clamped a hand around her slender neck. He bent slightly, bringing his face extremely close. A dangerous, icy glint abruptly flashed through his calm eyes, and his voice was as cold as ice:
"Third-an auxiliary-type Soul Master like you, without even the strength to truss a chicken, actually dared to shout and bare your teeth and claws in front of a Battle Soul Master like me. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
Ning Rongrong's pupils contracted violently. Her mouth hung slightly open, but she couldn't make a sound.
At this moment, she finally understood completely.
Standing to one side, Oscar shook his head hard. As he looked at Lin Kong, his eyes were filled with admiration beyond measure.