Chapter 37

Chapter 37: This is clearly her little treasure

As soon as Qian Qi returned to school, Chen Tong locked onto her. Chen Miao Miao, that foolish woman, had no idea what she was doing and hadn’t reported Qian Qi’s movements. That was why he only now learned she had left campus.

He had missed a chance to get rid of her outside, so he set his sights back inside the school. But there was no need to rush.

Hiding in the shadow behind a big tree, Chen Tong stared at Qian Qi’s lazy gait. In his gloomy eyes, cruelty and greed flickered.

His family had money, but only money. They still lacked real power. In this world, rich people were everywhere. That was why Mo Yin Qiu and Gu Li Heng hadn’t taken his side when dealing with him and Qian Qi. They weren’t afraid of his background at all.

If he wanted people to fear him, he needed power others feared or something others craved and couldn’t get. Like Hemostasis Potion.

Thinking about the potion’s unbelievable effect made Chen Tong restless. He knew that if he could monopolize the supply or the recipe, not just ordinary folks but Awakeners across the world would bow and flatter the Chen family. Then a mere Qian Qi wouldn’t even require him to get his hands dirty. Plenty of people would be eager to help.

“She left campus this time, most likely to restock,” Chen Tong thought, and he began to tail her.

Back at school, the first thing Qian Qi did was transfer 500,000 to Xiang Wen Yun. She thought about it, winced, and sent another 30,000.

It was awful. She hadn’t even warmed up that newly earned 30,000, and it was already gone. No one could imagine how much it hurt.

Of course, she didn’t do this because she was too kind. Whether Bright Light Orphanage changed hands or got taken over from above, the E level Dungeon there would be exposed. Once it became public property, she wouldn’t be able to monopolize it.

So she could not let Bright Light Orphanage shut down.

Money mattered, but you needed to be alive to spend it. With a lot of cash on her, she had to grow stronger to protect her wealth. For that, the Dungeon’s attribute rewards were necessary.

“I’ll treat it like the orphanage is being transferred to me. When that Dungeon stops being useful, I’ll stop sending money,” Qian Qi decided. That still counted as being fair.

“All right, time to deal with the Defense Fruit.”

She grabbed a small stool, went to the trash bin by the back door of the School Clinic, and dug out a clean, brand-new little paper box.

“Ha ha ha, saved 10 bucks!” Qian Qi threw her head back and laughed with hands on hips.

Chen Tong, who was tailing her: […]

[What is wrong with her? This stingy?]

Twitching with disgust, Chen Tong followed Qian Qi to the Skills Department’s duel plaza.

She set down the stool, tossed the Defense Fruit from her pocket into the little box, cleared her throat, and began to hawk: “Handsome guys and pretty girls, if you’re tired of walking, take a break. If you’re bored, come chat with me, Qian Qi!”

She lifted the box and sang out: “Qian Qi products are top tier. If you know quality, take some home. Super Defense Fruit. Eat one and you’re protected from D level Magibeast damage!”

She waved bigger and added: “In water you might not hold your breath for 10 minutes, in bed you might not last 10 minutes, but our Defense Fruit will keep you standing under D level Magibeast attacks for a full 10 minutes!”

Then she finished with a flourish: “Real men should eat Defense Fruit. Real women should beat men!”

[System, currently watching Chen Tong]: (????) [Where on earth did you learn those ad lines?]

Qian Qi’s weird but catchy pitch drew a crowd of Skills Department students. Many already knew her name from the forum and thought she was selling Hemostasis Potion again. They called out one after another: “Boss, selling Hemostasis Potion?” “I want 10 packs!” “Hey, why buy that many? Planning to resell?” “What are you talking about? I’m buying for my parents. They go into Dungeons a lot. With Hemostasis Potion, their odds of surviving go way up!”

They pulled out their Light-Brains to get ready to transfer money, but when they looked down, the box held only ten brown, candy-sized berries.

“Not selling Hemostasis Potion today,” Qian Qi said, pointing at the little box with a smile. “Today it’s Defense Fruit. Eat one, and for 10 minutes you’re immune to all D level Magibeast damage.”

Everyone gasped. “What? Immune to all D level damage? Even Fire Affinity or Lightning Skills?”

“Of course,” Qian Qi said with a confident thump to her chest. “I tested it myself.”

“Tch,” someone sneered in the crowd. “You’re that stingy and you’d still test it yourself?”

Qian Qi looked toward the voice and frowned at once. It was that big walking disaster again.

The speaker was Chen Tong, mixed into the onlookers, eyeing her with open contempt. He’d heard how she made the principal spend money to help sell Hemostasis Potion, and he couldn’t believe someone too cheap to buy a new box would eat a rare Defense Fruit to test it.

Seeing her frown, Chen Tong seemed to take it as encouragement. He turned even more snide: “That Defense Fruit looks like it was picked straight off a Magiplant. Everyone knows Magiplants can’t be eaten raw, leaves or fruit. Even Awakeners will have side effects.”

“Maybe Hemostasis Potion is safe, but feeding classmates raw Magiplant fruit is being irresponsible, Qian Qi.”

What he said sounded reasonable, and the students who had been excited began to hesitate.

“He’s right. Raw Magiplant does have side effects.”

“If she really tested it herself, she’d be in the School Clinic right now.”

“If she isn’t in the clinic, she must be lying.”

Once a seller is caught lying, trust is gone. Eyes turned to Qian Qi and the Defense Fruit, full of doubt.

Seeing them pull back, Chen Tong smirked and poured on the oil: “And everyone knows you’re a poor student. There’s no way you made Hemostasis Potion. You probably just bought it.”

“Now that you’ve won trust, you want to sell raw Magiplant fruit with side effects. That’s low, Qian Qi.”

Even the System listening on the side got mad. [What a total idiot. What is he even saying? If he doesn’t want that mouth, he can donate it!]

“Hey now, don’t talk like that about Senior Chen,” Qian Qi said, her frown melting into a sunny smile. “How could he be a total idiot? He’s clearly my little treasure.”

[System: ??? You’re into this now?]

Qian Qi gave a secretive smile, sat on her small stool, spread her legs a bit, and rested her elbows on her thighs. Leaning forward, she drawled like a street tough: “Kid, you can’t just eat whatever you want, and you can’t talk however you want.”