Chapter 21
Chapter 21: Made by Qian Qi, Zero Shady Additives!
The principal had barely managed to breathe again when the realization hit him.
He’d been used as a marketing prop.
He was so angry he couldn’t even speak. He just pointed at Qian Qi and thumped himself in the chest like he was trying to knock his rage loose.
What sin had he committed in a past life to end up with a student this slippery?
The students, meanwhile, had stars in their eyes. After witnessing that effect, a wave of “maybe I should buy one” rolled through the crowd.
“Classmate,” someone asked, still stunned, “did you really make this yourself?”
Instant hemostasis without scarring wasn’t something modern medicine could do.
Qian Qi lifted her chin. “What, you think I’m lying? This is the Magic Plant Department’s specialty!”
She slapped the medicine case like it owed her money. “Made with the most expensive machines and the most advanced handcrafted techniques. Absolutely zero shady additives!”
Technically true. The grinder alone had cost her a fortune, and she did make the stuff by hand. She wasn’t lying.
She leaned in and sweetened her voice like she was selling candy. “Made by Qian Qi. Honest with kids and elders alike, okay~”
Then, with exaggerated seriousness, she added, “These days aren’t peaceful. Buy some insurance.”
“What could be unsafe?” a student scoffed. “Our school security is strong. Even if an A-rank magic beast shows up, we won’t be scared!”
Most of them figured she was just fearmongering and shrugged it off.
Instead, they latched onto the part that didn’t make sense. “But aren’t magic plants useless to humans? How can you say you researched this from magic plants?”
Qian Qi patted her chest like she was awarding herself a medal. “Because I’m a genius.”
She grinned. “I’m a miracle.”
[Have some shame.]
Qian Qi’s smile didn’t wobble. “Fine. Circumstances. I’m actually a humble, low-key person, you know~”
She pointed at the pouch. “Classmate, it’s not just arm cuts. Severed limbs, ruptured arteries—I can stop and repair those too~”
The recipe said as much, and with her cheat ability boosting the magic-plant effects, it hit even harder. “For 1998, that’s cheap.”
The interested students wavered, exchanging looks.
Realistically, as students, they didn’t get seriously injured very often. Even in sparring, most wounds were minor. If they really got hurt, they could go to the school doctor or find someone from the Healing Department.
And even if Qian Qi talked a big game, “magic plants are useless to humans” was practically a religion at this point. A miracle potion that stopped a small cut was one thing. Healing severed limbs and burst arteries? That sounded like straight-up false advertising.
In the end, only a few rich students—mostly the ones allergic to scarring—bought a few bags. Everyone else drifted away.
Qian Qi wasn’t discouraged. For a first day, she considered it a win. New things always got stared at from a safe distance first.
She was packing up when she widened her eyes like she’d just spotted a rare animal.
“Ah! Principal, you’re still here?”
The principal stared at her. Expressionless.
He looked down.
Even while selling medicine, she still had a death grip on the hem of his suit jacket.
He would have loved to leave. Unfortunately, she was physically holding him hostage.
Qian Qi flashed a bright, shameless smile. “Hehe, Principal… about the medicine fee…”
The principal gave her a smile so fake it could’ve been printed. “You made me wait this long. I was thinking of just leaving without paying.”
“Oh, come on,” Qian Qi said, waving a hand, righteous as a saint. “If you don’t pay, tomorrow there’ll be a ten-meter red banner at the school gate telling the whole world the principal stiffed a student.”
The principal pinched the bridge of his nose.
How did she manage to say something that horrifying with that straight of a face?
“One thousand,” he ground out. “Right?”
Qian Qi rubbed her hands together. “Two thousand works too.”
“…You.”
His jaw worked like he was chewing nails. In the end, he transferred one thousand anyway. “This medicine is impressive. Did you really research it yourself?”
As angry as he was, his mind went to the front lines. Awakened and soldiers died all the time from blood loss before treatment. If this hemostatic medicine could be supplied—
Maybe it could save lives that never should’ve been lost.
Qian Qi took the payment and started packing her pathetic little stall, her face locked into a smile like a painted mask. “Principal, what are you talking about? Ask around the Magic Plant Department. I’m dead last. How could I possibly research something this strong?”
She giggled. “Everything I said earlier was to hype the mood. Starving and sleepless? Genius miracle? All made up to fool you. Don’t take it seriously.”
“Anyway, Principal, you keep working. I’m off~”
She scooped up her cardboard box and little stool and vanished like a greased mouse.
The principal stood there for a beat, then exploded. He wanted to rip off his shoe and hurl it after her. “That brat—she never changes!”
Su Ang, who’d watched quietly the whole time, stared at Qian Qi’s disappearing back, eyes dark and thoughtful.
She’d said things weren’t peaceful lately. Was that just sales talk… or did she know something?
The principal, remembering his own harsh words, cleared his throat. “Ahem. I didn’t actually plan to refuse payment. It’s just… that brat’s always pulling stunts. I wanted to scare her.”
Su Ang nodded. It had been obvious. Qian Qi was quick and sharp, and even the principal couldn’t keep up with her mouth.
“But,” the principal added, frowning, “why did you offer to test the medicine for her?”
Su Ang lowered his gaze, silver hair brushing his lashes. “No special reason. I wanted to personally feel the effect.”
His intuition was rarely wrong. If it worked the way it looked, it might be suitable for front-line soldiers.
And besides…
He really didn’t think the principal could win a war of words against Qian Qi. If they’d kept going, Su Ang had no doubt the principal would’ve been bled dry—financially.
The principal, blissfully unaware of that assessment, nodded. “All right. You have your reasons. I won’t pry. Come on—we have a meeting soon.”
Su Ang followed. After a few minutes, he spoke like something had just occurred to him.
“By the way… that classmate Qian Qi—isn’t she a girl? Why do you keep calling her ‘brat’?”
The principal stopped mid-step.
“…?”