Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Oh Wow, Isn’t That Her Rich Patron?!
Qian Qi changed into clean clothes in the warehouse, wrapped the magic lightning lion horn in scrap paper, and stuffed it into an empty tin box.
As she worked, her eyes slid to the lightbrain on her wrist—wrecked beyond recognition—and her mood cratered on the spot.
Earlier, when that wave of magic beasts had chased her down, she’d protected the Earth Tuber Fruit in her hands. The result? Her already battered lightbrain got chewed to pieces.
Still, she hadn’t taken a loss. She’d smashed every one of their teeth.
Hands on hips. Proud.
Now the only question was whether this thing could even be repaired, and how much it would cost… and she was flat broke. Not a single coin. Forget repairs—getting back to school was a problem.
She scratched her head in frustration and returned to the director’s office.
The moment Xiang Wen Yun saw her, she jumped up. “Qi Qi, where did you go? You were gone so long I thought you’d left.”
“Just wandered around.”
Qian Qi cleared her throat. Her gaze flicked over the faint redness at the corners of Xiang Wen Yun’s eyes, and she awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. “Um, Director… can you lend me a little money? I’ll pay you back as soon as I get back.”
“You ran out of living expenses, didn’t you?” Xiang Wen Yun sighed and shook her head. “I asked before and you still wouldn’t admit it. Wait a second—I’ll transfer it to you.”
“Ah. About that.” Qian Qi coughed. “I… need cash.”
Xiang Wen Yun paused, but didn’t press her. “All right. Wait here.”
She left and returned a minute later with a bag. She handed it over. “The money’s inside. When you’re out, don’t be stingy about eating. Look at you—put on a little weight and you’ll be prettier.”
Inside were two sets of clothes as well. Clearly, Xiang Wen Yun knew she didn’t like bright colors—both shirts were clean white.
Qian Qi rubbed the fabric between her fingers, then looked up. “Then I’ll head back.”
“Okay.”
Xiang Wen Yun nodded gently. She turned as if to grab some fruit—only to see Qian Qi burst out the door like her life depended on it, vanishing down the hall.
“That child…” Xiang Wen Yun shook her head, helpless. Watching Qian Qi’s retreating back, she murmured, “Next time… who knows when we’ll meet again…”
—
After asking around for directions, Qian Qi rode the subway to a mall that did lightbrain repairs.
Awakeners might have high status, but ordinary people still made up most of the population here. Even with fancy tech like lightbrains, the subway and malls still supported basic cash payments.
The moment she stepped into the mall, cool air washed over her. She scanned the first floor and quickly locked onto a lightbrain store.
Some things really were universal. Communication shops always camped out by the entrance.
She strode in. A clerk rushed over with a dazzling smile. “Sir, what can I do for you?”
Qian Qi stared at her for a beat. “…Can you repair lightbrains?”
The clerk’s smile twitched, stiffened, and then she vaguely pointed toward the back. “Over there.” Then she walked off like she’d never seen her in her life.
Qian Qi scratched her head and followed. In a cramped corner sat a small desk with a sign: Lightbrain Repairs.
She hurried over, dumped the mangled lightbrain onto the desk, and asked the repairman, “Uncle, can this still be fixed?”
The repair clerk uncle glanced at the pile of shattered parts, then up at Qian Qi’s intimidating face. For a second, he looked like he thought she was here to start trouble.
But then he caught the desperate hope in her eyes and sighed. “How am I supposed to fix something this busted? Just buy a new one.”
Qian Qi’s shoulders sank.
The uncle saw her expression sharpen and immediately backpedaled. “I mean—sure, it can be fixed, but half the parts are destroyed. By the time you pay for replacements, you might as well buy a new one.”
He even gave her a sincere little look that screamed, Trust me.
Qian Qi hesitated, then reluctantly nodded.
Right then, the clerk from earlier reappeared as if she’d been lurking nearby, suddenly bright as sunshine. “Sir, want a new lightbrain? We’ve got a bunch of new models in!”
Qian Qi looked at her, genuinely impressed. Wow. Same vibe. Shameless, fast, fearless.
She asked with brutal honesty, “Cheapest one. How much?”
The clerk’s smile froze again, but business was business. She led Qian Qi to a counter and pointed at a display of older models. “These are the cheapest.”
Qian Qi checked the price tag. Even the cheapest was six thousand. Xiang Wen Yun had given her a thousand, and the subway had already eaten seven.
“Can I use it first and pay after?” Qian Qi tapped her broken wrist. “My lightbrain’s shattered. I can’t pay without it.”
The clerk’s face fell like a dropped curtain. Suspicion flashed in her eyes. “Sir, activation requires real-name verification. If you activate it, it becomes secondhand.”
And who knew whether his account even had money? If she let him bind it and he refused to pay, she’d be the idiot.
Qian Qi hadn’t expected that rule. She sighed at the counter. “Then forget it…”
Maybe she should buy a phone. If phones even existed here.
Or she could hunt for a secondhand lightbrain.
Money burned fast. If she could save, she had to save.
She was halfway through that thought when a voice behind her shouted with pure excitement, “Big Shot Qian Qi!”
Qian Qi’s ears perked up. Her rich-person radar lit up like a siren.
Oh, she knew that voice.
She turned—and there was Little Wang jogging toward her, grinning like he’d just found treasure.
Qian Qi hurried forward too. “Classmate Little Wang!”
Her tone bounced like she’d just met a walking wallet. She was already reaching for her defense fruit. “I’ve got—”
Little Wang barreled right up to her, eyes wide and shining. “Big Shot, what are you doing in my store? Buying a lightbrain?”
“…Your store?” Qian Qi slowly looked around at the luxurious decor. “This place is yours?”
Little Wang laughed and waved his hands. “Mine? No, no. My family’s. Didn’t you know? We run a chain of lightbrain stores.”
Then he pointed proudly at the most extravagant display in the center. “See that newest model? My uncle’s family developed it!”
Qian Qi: Oh-ho.
That was better than “big spender.” This was big spender with infrastructure.
She rubbed her face and put on a carefully practiced expression of trouble. “Not gonna lie—my lightbrain broke. I was trying to buy a new one.”
Translation: Can I take it now and pay later, because I’m broke.
Little Wang didn’t even blink. “Say no more! I’ll get you the newest model—free!”
Qian Qi’s brain short-circuited. Free?
She stared at the newest-model lightbrain like it was a holy relic. “Ah—wow. That’s… really not necessary. You’re being too polite~”
Little Wang looked dead serious. “Polite? Big Shot, you saved my life. If you hadn’t shown up and used hemostatic medicine in time, I’d be dead. I wouldn’t be standing here.”
He almost said something else and coughed hard. “A life-saving debt should be repaid with—cough—the newest-model lightbrain! Don’t be polite with me!”
Then he turned and barked at the clerk, “Go! Pack up the newest model for Big Shot Qian Qi!”
The clerk’s face went white. This time her smile didn’t freeze—it panicked. She hurried to box up the newest-model lightbrain and placed it in Qian Qi’s hands with trembling care. “Honored guest, I’m so sorry about earlier…”
Little Wang’s expression turned sour. “What happened?”
Before Qian Qi could answer, he snapped at the clerk, “Don’t tell me you saw Big Shot Qian Qi dressed poor and thought she couldn’t afford a lightbrain!”
Big Shot Qian Qi, who absolutely couldn’t afford it: …You didn’t have to say the “dressed poor” part out loud.
Also, this was Guangdong Province rich-guy rustic style. Taste. Learn it.
Qian Qi waved it off. “Classmate Little Wang, your clerk was doing her job.”
She didn’t care about small things like that. She lifted the lightbrain in her hand. “Thanks. Seriously.”
Saving money mattered.
But building necessary business ties with a little rich patron? That mattered even more.
Little rich patrons led to big rich patrons. Big rich patrons led to a whole herd of big rich patrons. And a whole herd of big rich patrons led to her sweet, peaceful retirement.
Qian Qi leaned in and waggled her brows. “By the way… I just got something good recently.”
Little Wang’s eyes lit up like a signal flare. “Oh! I get it.”
He waggled his brows right back and pointed toward the back room. “Come, come—let’s talk inside!”
Ten minutes later, Qian Qi walked out of the store with thirty thousand more in her account and a brand-new lightbrain on her wrist, wearing the satisfied glow of someone who’d just won a small war.
After she left, Little Wang came out too. He tightened his grip on what he’d bought from her and told the clerk, “If that big shot comes again, you pack the newest model for her and put it on my tab.”
A life-saving debt couldn’t be repaid with money. The Wang family wasn’t about to miss a chance to befriend a big shot over a little petty profit.
You had to stack favors. Favors became connections. Connections became thick thighs to cling to.
And speaking of connections—his Second Grandpa was entering a D-rank instance tomorrow.
He had to sell the defense fruit to Second Grandpa before he went in.
How much, though…
He nodded to himself. Family price.
One hundred thousand.
Second Grandpa would definitely be touched.