Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1166: Bubbles

"Acting major?"

Ren Ziling glanced toward the kitchen—since returning from the balcony, Luo Qiu hadn't said a word. He just walked straight into the kitchen and closed the sliding door behind him. Who knew what he was doing in there?

"I'm sorry, Miss Ren," Song Ying quickly put on a sincere, apologetic face. "I've had a lot of schoolwork lately, and there’s an exam coming up with one of our department's teachers. I was about to lose it... So I danced in the street to blow off some steam."

Ren Ziling still frowned.

Song Ying felt a chill run down her spine. "It was just a sudden idea, I didn’t expect Miss Ren to be so nice... You know that feeling, right? Like riding a tiger and not being able to get off. And I had no idea that Junior Luo Qiu was actually your son!"

Ren Ziling's frown didn’t ease.

Song Ying braced herself. "To be honest, I hadn’t seen Junior Luo Qiu in a long time... I heard he transferred, so I never expected to run into him. Miss Ren... Are you listening?"

"So it was all fake..." Ren Ziling said blankly.

"I'm really sorry..." Song Ying didn’t dare meet her eyes. "I know the prank was too much… I’m very sorry!"

Her apology seemed genuine... but Ren Ziling suddenly couldn’t tell if it was real or fake—more importantly, this kid was such a drama queen.Ren Ziling sighed. "So, the foreign encounter and love at first sight... all fake?"

"Fake..."

Ren Ziling sighed again and looked at Song Ying’s stomach. "Then... your belly is fake too?"

"Of course." Song Ying nodded.

She’d been attending elite schools since she was young, and her grandfather Song Tianyou placed immense importance on tradition… As a princess of the Song family, she lived quite a disciplined life—especially when it came to relationships with men.

Ren Ziling collapsed onto the sofa, hugging a pillow, and ranted like crazy, "Didn’t you say you were an acting major?! Couldn’t you act for two more days?! Would it have killed you?! I would've gone along with it!! What’s wrong with letting me be happy for a few days?! Do you think I’m that pathetic?! I swear—my grandson…!!"

“Uh…” Song Ying opened her mouth slightly but didn’t know what to say.

Even though she had been told about Ren Ziling’s unusual personality by Akiko in advance, meeting her in person was truly another level.

Suddenly, Ren Ziling stopped mid-rant, sprang to her feet, and stormed toward the bathroom like a sulking child. "Not happy anymore!" she shouted. “My grandson…”

Shortly after, Luo Qiu finally walked out of the kitchen. He gave a brief glance at the awkwardly frozen Song Ying and calmly asked, "Handled?"

"I guess… sort of?" Song Ying laughed sheepishly.

Luo Qiu nodded. "It’s late. Head back."

Song Ying froze. "I mean, yeah it’s late… but it’s kind of inconvenient now. I won’t bother you guys, really."

Luo Qiu smiled slightly, saying nothing.

"Fine, fine, I get it, I’m leaving." Song Ying rolled her eyes. "So heartless..."

Reluctantly, Miss Song left… What the heck? He didn’t even offer to walk her out?

As she was closing the door—

"I’ll contact you tomorrow," Luo Qiu suddenly said.

"Hmph, as if I care whether you do or not!" Song Ying snorted and closed the door, then gently shut the security door outside without disturbing anyone.

…

Ren Ziling came out drying her hair and plopped onto the sofa. "Where’d that girl go?"

"She went home." Luo Qiu walked over with a bowl of something and placed it on the table. "Drink this."

"What is it?"

"Hangover remedy. Drink it if you don’t want a headache tomorrow."

"Oh..." Ren Ziling obediently picked up the bowl and sipped. It actually tasted pretty good. "So, what were you two talking about out there? You're not hiding something from me, are you?"

Luo Qiu didn’t answer. Instead, he brought over a first-aid kit, sat down, and pointed at her foot.

“??”

"Disinfection. Medicine." Luo Qiu said with a straight face. "Or do you want to be unable to wear shoes tomorrow?"

That was from running barefoot while chasing the thief earlier… Ren Ziling laughed awkwardly and didn’t say another word, sipping her hangover remedy like a goldfish as Luo Qiu carefully treated the scrapes on her foot.

"I knew it—my son couldn’t be a scumbag… ow ow ow! Be gentle! Gently—"

Luo Qiu sighed, "If it hurts, then don’t take your shoes off and chase thieves next time. This isn’t a TV drama."

"Got it, I won’t." Ren Ziling blinked, then used her foot to nudge Luo Qiu’s hand playfully. "By the way, what’s up with that Song Ying girl? I’ve never heard of you having any female friends. She seems to really like you… My son~ Come on, spill—OW OW OW!! I WAS WRONG!!"

"All done." Luo Qiu stood up. "Wear sneakers tomorrow. And don’t forget socks."

"Hey hey… Come on, tell me~" Ren Ziling slithered across the sofa like a snake.

Luo Qiu, already heading back to his room, casually turned off the living room lights.

…

Only a desk lamp lit the room. Luo Qiu sat at his desk and pulled a photo album from the bookshelf. He opened it and flipped through the pages in silence.

A while later, he opened the door again. Seeing that Ren Ziling had gone to bed and was sound asleep, he quietly left the house.

He vanished, then reappeared.

Now Luo Qiu stood on the rooftop of the tallest building in the city—he didn’t immediately return to the club.

He reached out, and beams of arcane light appeared in front of him—as if he were standing before a massive wall made of hundreds of screens.

Each tiny screen showed something different.

Different angles, locations, perspectives… but all displaying the same event—a cash transport robbery from years ago in this very city.

"Warning! Warning! You’re surrounded! Drop your weapons immediately!"

"Report! The suspects are heavily armed… they’ve gone mad! What do we do?"

"Open fire! Don’t let them escape!!"

"Ah—!! Help! I’ve been shot!"

"Snipers in position! Awaiting orders!"

"Careful… They’ve got grenades!"

"Captain Luo is down! Send backup! Hurry!!"

Luo Qiu reached out, and all the screens fast-forwarded simultaneously… At the moment a single bullet was fired, all the screens instantly froze on the same frame.

A terrified face appeared on every screen… In the end, all the screens dimmed, merging into a single image—composed of hundreds of screens—of that same face.

The person who fired the final shot.

Luo Qiu stared in silence, then waved his hand to disperse the lights. Head lowered, he said nothing.

…

In the night sky, a figure darted rapidly—it crossed nearly the entire city in a single breath, like it was searching for something.

Suddenly, it stopped—having found something—and quickly descended.

As soon as it landed… the True Dragon of Divine Land, Long Xiruo, frowned, “Was that anomaly just now caused by you? What… what are you doing here?”

"Getting some fresh air."

Turning around… Luo Qiu faced the visibly anxious Long Xiruo. She had probably returned to the city later than he had—though even now, he hadn’t thought to greet her.

Long Xiruo was still frowning and walked over, holding a smartphone that kept emitting rapid "ding ding ding" sounds—like a group chat being flooded with messages.

"Do you hear this? That one blast of yours just dragged out a bunch of old monsters who’ve been in seclusion for twenty years. This group is full of panicked, clueless chatter—I have no idea what to even say! If you really wanted to end the world, just do it already! Stop scaring people for no reason… What are you trying to do?! Show the world how terrifying you are?!"

All this time, though Long Xiruo had always been wary of this guy and the mysterious shop behind him, she understood better than anyone how laughable the so-called invincible True Dragon of Divine Land seemed in front of him.

But Luo Qiu never gave her the feeling of someone wanting to destroy the world. He always seemed more like an observer—maybe from some higher realm beyond this world.

Yet just moments ago—within a mere ten seconds—the Dragon Veins of all Divine Land had gone into turmoil. If not for the recent eruption of the Twelve Ancestral Veins at Mount Tai, which had left the earth’s ley lines in a weakened state, the resulting catastrophe would’ve been unimaginable. Even so, it had taken all her effort just to calm the major veins.

Afterward, Daoist and Demon factions' communication channels exploded—especially considering this was only days after the Mount Tai incident’s press conference.

The True Dragon of Divine Land was no longer merely overwhelmed—"under siege from all sides" wouldn’t even begin to describe her situation.

Back then at Mount Tai, it took the full combined efforts of the Daoist and Demon worlds, the Management Bureau, herself, and even the national apparatus just to barely contain the chaos. Yet now this guy had gone and caused another frightening disturbance in the blink of an eye.

Long Xiruo’s eyes widened. “Are you trying to kill me from exhaustion?!”

“…I’m sorry.”

“You think a simple ‘sorry’ is enough—”

Long Xiruo was about to erupt—but then froze. She suddenly realized something. On this man’s face, she didn’t see his usual calm or courtesy. He looked more like… an ordinary person.

She cautiously asked, “Did… did something happen to you?”

Luo Qiu let out a long breath. “A bit, yeah. But it’s okay. I… should be able to handle it. What happened tonight wasn’t intentional. I didn’t expect things to unfold this way… but don’t worry, I brought it under control. As for Mount Tai—what couldn’t be covered up will only lead to more bizarre events. Just consider tonight one of them.”

“What do you mean?”

Luo Qiu said calmly, “With the resurgence of spiritual energy, the consequences it’ll bring… Lady Long, you should understand that as well.”

Long Xiruo fell silent. Luo Qiu seemed to have returned to his usual self again—somehow, that unsettled her even more. Especially since her phone was still buzzing nonstop.

The True Dragon of Divine Land angrily turned her phone off and stuffed it into her clothes. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes, grabbed one, and was about to light it without thinking.

But Luo Qiu was just quietly watching her.

Lady Long awkwardly shifted her eyes, shoved the cigarette back into the pack, and grumbled, “Don’t get the wrong idea! I don’t smoke often—just once in a while!”

“I’m feeling much better,” Luo Qiu smiled faintly. “If you want to smoke, go ahead. The toxins probably wouldn’t last a second in your body.”

“…You’re really okay?” Long Xiruo tested again.

Luo Qiu shook his head, looked up at the slightly waning moon, and said softly, “If it’s not too much, Lady Long… would you stay with me for a bit? The moon’s nice tonight. Of course, if you want anything, I’ll give you a discount.”

“Hmph… You think I’m like you?” Long Xiruo snorted coldly. “All about profit, shameless merchant! Why should I keep you company just because you asked?”

But she didn’t leave.

Luo Qiu gave a small smile, then looked up at the moon.

Long Xiruo stared at him, growing increasingly uncomfortable. She opened her mouth several times to say something but couldn’t get the words out. The silence became so awkward, she didn’t know what to do with herself.

“Don’t you have a clingy little maid always following you around?” she finally couldn’t help blurting out. “Why not ask her to keep you company?”

“Because Lady Long happened to appear at just the right time,” Luo Qiu exhaled. “Before that, I just wanted some time alone.”

She eyed him, stepped closer. “Wait… don’t tell me you had a fight?”

“Being able to argue might actually be a good thing,” Luo Qiu said cryptically.

“What does that even mean…” Long Xiruo grumbled and rolled her eyes. “Alright, spill it. What kind of messed-up situation is it this time? You’re shady, but you don’t seem like the type to lose control for no reason.”

Luo Qiu stared at her for a while without saying anything.

“What are you looking at!”

Luo Qiu smiled slightly. “Lady Long… have you ever seen the entire world?”

“Huh?” The True Dragon blinked in confusion. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting today? Did you eat something weird—huh?”

She suddenly sensed a strange force… faint, like the movement of an ant—barely perceptible.

But the scene before her changed dramatically in an instant.

She saw the stars fill the sky. She saw the moon, now seeming much closer… and she saw the entire world.

Half of it blue and white, half shrouded in darkness, slowly rotating… directly beneath her feet.

The True Dragon of Divine Land felt a boundless weakness—this was a place where her connection to the land’s power could not reach.

“Just like this.”

The voice… still echoed, defying all known principles.

Luo Qiu spoke slowly, extending his hand to grasp something in the void—he reached toward the great sphere in the center of the stars.

Due to the altered perspective, the planet now looked small enough to fit in his hand. Held in his palm like a delicate blue bubble that could burst with a squeeze.

“What are you trying to do?!” Long Xiruo suddenly shouted in shock.

After a long pause, Luo Qiu slowly lowered his hand, looked at her, and said quietly, “Nothing. There are still things I care about in this world… How could I bear to destroy it just yet?”

“P-Put me down!!” the True Dragon of Divine Land roared in panic.

Her heart pounded violently.

(End of Chapter)