---

“You just say we’re breaking up like that? Did I even agree?”

Jiang Song slammed his fist onto the table. The vintage coffee table shook, and the round mug sitting on it wobbled and rolled, coming to a stop beside Ling Yu.

Ling Yu paused slightly. The man before her, with his blue-streaked hair, was the epitome of the current cool guy aesthetic.

His brow was furrowed, and he propped one hand on the table, blocking the sunlight like a mountain.

It was a clear threat.

Ling Yu clicked her tongue and used one hand to steady the overturned mug.

Seeing that the wealthy and powerful Ling Yu wasn’t as furious as he expected, Jiang Song raised his voice, “You—”

“Shh.” Ling Yu held a finger to her lips and glanced around meaningfully.

This was a high-end coffee shop with a quiet and elegant atmosphere.

Located in the central area of Yuncheng, surrounded by tall office buildings, and directly opposite the Kaihe Law Firm, it was always bustling with white-collar workers, even on weekdays.

The shop was full, and the European-style turntable at the front was playing soothing music. The wind chimes hanging above the door jingled with every customer who entered or exited.

Ling Yu was sitting in a discreet corner by the window. She had originally planned to keep a low profile, but Jiang Song’s outburst had drawn a few curious glances.

“Public place,” Ling Yu tapped lightly on the table. Her peach blossom eyes curved into a crescent moon, and she gave him a look of understanding.

The scattered sunlight fell on her fox-like eyes, like a layer of watery mist.

She was wearing a mismatched low-cut, lacy sweater with a short, beige coat over it. Her high-waisted jeans ended just below her navel, revealing a slender waist.

Her long black hair, which usually cascaded over her shoulders, was now braided into a fishtail.

The end of the braid brushed against her delicate neck, creating a striking contrast between black and white.

Jiang Song was momentarily stunned. This was the first time he had seen Ling Yu, the vixen, dressed so simply and casually. Her innocent and sweet appearance made her face look even smaller, highlighting a youthful beauty that was both sweet and alluring.

Jiang Song was momentarily distracted, and the words he was about to say died in his throat.

He turned his head and cautiously glanced out the window.

Yuncheng was in the midst of a harsh winter. Fine snow fluttered in the air, and through the snowflakes, Jiang Song looked across the road at the Kaihe Law Firm office building.

The person he was meeting hadn’t finished work yet.

Jiang Song let out a sigh of relief. He had come all the way from Jiangcheng to Yuncheng this time, not for pleasure, but to ask a favor.

The person he was meeting was a senior lawyer at the Kaihe Law Firm across the street.

If Jiang Song had come in person, it was clear that the other party was no ordinary person.

Even though she hadn’t officially appeared in court yet, her personal achievements were more outstanding than many veteran senior lawyers.

Especially half a year ago, in a nationally shocking financial fraud case, Lawyer Gu had single-handedly, with her excellent anti-reconnaissance ability, overturned the predetermined outcome at the final trial.

Almost half of Kaihe Law Firm’s achievements this year were due to her.

Jiang Song had been on the waiting list for an appointment for half a year before he finally got the chance to meet Gu Qing.

The timing was perfect, right before Gu Qing was about to graduate with her master’s degree and start appearing in court.

Before coming, Jiang Song had even taken the time to learn about Gu Qing’s personality and preferences.

He had chosen a well-fitted suit and arrived at the coffee shop an hour early to wait.

He just hadn’t expected to run into Ling Yu, the wealthy socialite…

Everyone in the circle knew that Ling Yu was extremely generous to her ex-boyfriends. She was the only wealthy woman in the Jiangcheng circle who only dated heartbreakers and even gave them money after breaking up. The only catch was that once they broke up and met again, Ling Yu would become completely ruthless.

Thinking about his breakup fee, Jiang Song checked his watch. He confirmed once again that there was still half an hour before the agreed-upon time. Time was tight, but a quick in-and-out… should be enough to avoid being late.

Jiang Song glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Ling Yu was looking down, without her usual aggressive demeanor. She was elegant and serene, appearing harmless and kind, as if she didn’t want to cause trouble.

If she took the initiative to compensate him, then everyone would be happy.

A calculating glint flashed in Jiang Song’s eyes, and then he nodded obediently.

However, one second, two seconds, three seconds… a minute passed.

The expected compensation didn’t come. Ling Yu simply pushed her rimless glasses up the bridge of her nose with the back of her hand. Her white, plump fingertips returned to the laptop keyboard, and she completely ignored him, focusing intently on filling out the internship application form.

Completely ignored, Jiang Song’s face turned red. As time ticked by, he took a deep, hurried breath and raised his voice again, “Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you have a little money. We were only a couple for less than a month, and then you disappeared. I’ve been looking for you for three whole months. After all the trouble I went through to find you, you’re just breaking up with me unilaterally. Ling Yu, we’re both adults, can you at least have a conscience? It’s not too much to ask for a reason, is it?”

“Do you really want a reason?” Ling Yu lifted her eyelids and carefully reviewed the internship application on her laptop screen. After making sure there were no typos, she clicked send to submit.

Only then did she tilt her head and give Jiang Song a look, “As you said…”

Ling Yu narrowed her eyes and looked at him lazily, her tone casual, “You know, I have a little money. If I don’t give you a reason, I’ll give you money, okay?”

Her skin was so white that the soft light from above cast a porcelain-like glow on her face, making her look translucent.

Jiang Song was momentarily entranced and forgot his original purpose.

Involuntarily, he stared at Ling Yu’s smooth, white neck and took a step forward, unconsciously leaning in.

••••

The man’s breath suddenly pressed close. The gentle mask on Ling Yu’s face slipped away. She elegantly picked up the coffee cup with her slender fingers, her wrist blocking between them. Leaning forward slightly, she pressed the rim of the cup against Jiang Song’s chest, which was inches away.

His eyes were slightly heated.

Ling Yu took in his infatuated expression, and the emotion in her eyes faded. Meeting his gaze, her fingers suddenly released.

“Clatter!” The coffee cup fell from her hand to the ground, and the fragrant coffee flowed down the man’s neat and tidy suit.

“Darling, you’ve overstepped.”

Ling Yu’s voice was low. Her black and white eyes fell lightly on him, like needles pricking him. A chill ran down Jiang Song’s spine.

In the previous second, Jiang Song, who had been aggressive and taken the initiative, was instantly sobered up as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water.

No matter how harmless Ling Yu looked, she was still Ling Yu. Her rules were always clear, and many people in the circle were afraid of her.

Miss Ling’s status was one thing, but more importantly, Ling Yu herself was quite something.

Even though she was slender with a tiny waist, she was quite skilled in martial arts.

Jiang Song knew he couldn’t beat this woman. Seeing that his custom-made leather shoes were stained with a puddle of coffee from the suit, he cursed under his breath, hurriedly pulled out a tissue, avoided Ling Yu’s gaze, and wisely retreated to a safe distance.

Ling Yu lazily narrowed her eyes. A layer of disgust appeared in her jet-black, transparent eyes. She had inadvertently inhaled the man’s cologne.

The nausea that had been churning in her stomach hadn’t subsided.

Based on her past experience, if she had let Jiang Song go any further, she would have probably vomited all over him.

Ling Yu suppressed her nausea and took out a wet wipe, and rubbed her fingers that had been contaminated by the man’s scent back and forth.

[He is…]

Ling Yu: [An ex.]

There was a brief silence from the electronic voice in her head: [Didn’t the host say that the man in the Hawaiian shirt you met yesterday was…]

Ling Yu hummed, her expression unchanged: [He’s also an ex.]

[…] With such obvious words, the air of a “sea queen” was overwhelming. The system didn’t know what else to say.

Two months ago, during a routine check of the dimensional energy, the main system discovered that in a female lead-centric novel without a romantic subplot, the female lead was deeply affected by reader resentment and had developed a crazy desire for destruction.

To save the plotline, the main system sent the love repair system 008 to match a host on-site and complete the “deeply in love female supporting character” mission.

The main data matched Ling Yu, and to the system’s surprise, Ling Yu was a wandering soul from another world, and her soul and body were not compatible. She had at most one year left to live.

008 detailed the difficulty of the mission and the reward of a natural death after completing the mission. The human and the system had the same goal and reached an agreement almost effortlessly.

It just didn’t expect Ling Yu’s conditions to be so bad…

008’s voice was filled with despair. It asked with a glimmer of hope: [There won’t be another ex, right?]

Ling Yu shook her head seriously: [Be confident, there can be dozens more.]

[…] 008 was struck dumb, took a deep breath, and said, [Why didn’t you mention your experience as a “sea queen” when we signed the contract? The contract requires both parties to be honest so that the difficulty of the mission can be accurately assessed.]

008 became more and more angry, and his voice was hoarse: [This makes it very difficult for me. Our goal is to reform the cold-blooded, vengeful, blackened female lead in a novel without a romantic subplot. The host can’t possibly love her wholeheartedly, care for her, unconditionally cling to her, and output love in a thick-skinned manner. How can the mission of reforming Gu Qing be completed?]

Ling Yu thought of Gu Qing’s cold, indifferent, and world-weary face, and couldn’t help but frown.

She had been in Yuncheng for two months, using various means to get into H University and share a dorm room with the female lead.

However, in all this time, Gu Qing had been back to the dorm very few times.

Ling Yu had been the center of attention wherever she went, growing up, and had excellent social skills. But when she met Gu Qing, she faced a major setback.

These days, she had been trying everything she could, even acting like a lapdog, going to any lengths to get the other’s attention.

But Gu Qing’s gaze towards her had never changed. The woman was cold, indifferent, and seemed to care only about money. She had almost no empathy.

To be honest, it was kind of interesting to try and win over someone like her.

Ling Yu smoothed her hair and laughed unexpectedly, [Don’t worry…]

[How can I not worry?] 008’s tone was agitated. [You not only like men, but you also have a whole pond of fish… Your ex-boyfriends are as numerous as the sands of the sea. How can a fickle straight woman like the host love the female lead?]

008’s chip was almost overheating.

Ling Yu interrupted it with a smile, [I don’t like men.]

When a man got too close, she would feel nauseous.

But Ling Yu didn’t like women either. She liked herself more.

As soon as she said this, 008 was not comforted but was about to cry: [Oh my god… you don’t like them but you have frequent boyfriends… I never thought you were this kind of person, with no moral bottom line, cheating and fooling around.]

008 became more and more excited, his head filled with yellow waste.

Ling Yu gave it a thumbs up and interrupted it with a sarcastic smile: [Your imagination is amazing. Too much can lead to a brain drain. I suggest you drink a few more bottles of Brain Gold.]

The system hiccupped: [Huh?]

Ling Yu said seriously: [To nourish your brain.]

There was a moment of silence in her mind. After bullying the outspoken system, Ling Yu seemed to have a conscience and finally did something human: [I have a skin allergy to the opposite sex.]

The system whimpered, and Ling Yu shrugged: [You’ve seen the specific symptoms before. With my disability… how else can I cheat?]

008 was speechless, recalling that in the two months they had known each other, Ling Yu had indeed maintained a necessary social distance from all men. Apart from her flippant tone, she was a conservative in her actions.

[If you don’t care about looks or money, why does the host act like a “sea queen”?]

Ling Yu glanced at Jiang Song, who had taken off his suit jacket, and the smile on her lips faded. Thinking of Ling Taiguo, a cold glint flashed in her eyes: [Don’t ask, just say there’s too much money…]

System: “…”

---

T/N: “Sea Queen” refers to a woman who has many romantic relationships or flings.