Chapter 4
Chapter 4: I Was Definitely Not Trying to Freeload
“Ah—!”
Chen Miao Miao stumbled backward, so startled she nearly sat down hard on the floor.
“Miao Miao, you ruined me!” Qian Qi stepped in, her expression turning colder by the second. “Because of your wrong answer, I almost died!”
“How was I supposed to know you were going to steal fire qilin fruit?!”
Chen Miao Miao shrieked. She had zero intention of taking responsibility for Qian Qi’s injuries. She knew Qian Qi—once she latched on, she never let go.
She might even beat her to death.
Qian Qi narrowed her eyes, lips curling. “Funny. I don’t remember saying I stole fire qilin fruit.”
Chen Miao Miao froze.
Oh no.
She’d said it out loud.
“N-no, I—I just… you said you stole a fruit, and I remembered what you asked yesterday, so I connected them without thinking!”
She scrambled for an explanation, words tripping over each other. “That’s all! So I guessed it was fire qilin fruit!”
“Is that so…” Qian Qi’s face softened piece by piece, like she hadn’t been radiating murder a second ago. Her voice turned syrupy. “Miao Miao is so smart. You definitely didn’t mean to give me the wrong answer.”
“Of course I didn’t!”
Chen Miao Miao pressed a hand to her chest, forcing her heart to slow. For one terrifying moment, she’d been convinced she was done for.
“Don’t overthink it,” Chen Miao Miao said quickly. “Anyway, I’m going out.”
She yanked on her coat and fled the dorm like it was on fire.
Qian Qi watched the door swing shut, then hung the damp laundry on the clothesline. She wiped her wet hands on her shirt and moved to the windowsill.
When she’d skimmed through the original owner’s memories, she’d already felt something was off about Chen Miao Miao.
The old Chen Miao Miao never dared to yip at her. She kept her head down, made herself small. Even meeting Qian Qi’s eyes for a second used to make her shake.
But now she had the nerve to shout?
Someone was backing her.
Through the window, Qian Qi watched Chen Miao Miao hurry across the courtyard, practically jogging. Qian Qi’s eyes narrowed, sharp and dangerous.
Who was propping her up?
And why had the original owner stolen fire qilin fruit in the first place?
A translucent panel snapped open in front of Qian Qi.
[Are you confused?
Are you dying to know the answer~? Just pay 97 yuan and all mysteries will be solved~]
Qian Qi stared.
Then stared harder.
“…I have exactly 97 yuan on me. It’s borrowed. And you still want to strip me clean?”
[Yes!]
Qian Qi’s expression brightened like she’d just seen the light. She rubbed her hands together, shameless and eager. “System Lord, you’re incredible~ From the moment you appeared, I could tell you were noble and refined. No other cheat could compare. You must be the strongest System in all the worlds!”
[Hmph. You flatter me.]
“So… could this one be free~?”
[Get lost. No haggling.]
“Tch.” Qian Qi’s face flipped like a switch. “I’ll figure it out myself.”
That 97 yuan was her lifeline. There was no chance she was handing it over.
Besides, solving mysteries could wait. She was broke, and she still needed Classmate Miao Miao to keep feeding her.
“Fine. Let’s check my skills.”
She pulled the fire qilin fruit from her pocket and used Analysis Technique.
A neat info box popped up.
[Name: fire qilin fruit
Magic plant: fire qilin lotus
Rank: E-rank
Effect: slightly increases blazing hound’s firepower; no other special effect
Market price: 20,000 yuan per fruit]
“Twenty thousand?”
Qian Qi’s eyes went round. Weren’t magic plants supposed to be useless? Cheap? Not worth the dirt they grew in?
Then why was this thing worth that much?
And blazing hound…
She opened her lightbrain and searched. The answer came up fast.
A blazing hound was an extremely common E-rank magic beast. Low-level canine contracts were easier to form, with smaller backlash, so most rookie beast tamers started with them.
And fire qilin fruit just happened to boost a blazing hound’s strength.
That, apparently, was why the Magic Plant Research Institute still existed. Magic plants might be useless to humans, but some were helpful to magic beasts. Even if only a few species had confirmed benefits, that was still real profit.
So fire qilin fruit wasn’t the rule. It was the exception.
“Huh.” Qian Qi nodded, grudgingly impressed. “And you need a planting license too.”
Fair. Magic plants were dangerous. If anyone could grow them, the death toll would be a disaster.
But students in the Magic Plant Department at Awakeners University had special permission to grow them on campus.
Qian Qi turned to the girl on the bed. “Liang Yu Ting—how do you get magic plant seeds?”
“Huh?” Liang Yu Ting blinked. “Every semester, don’t we get to apply for ten seeds for free?”
Qian Qi had never planted anything. Her quota was untouched.
“Can I apply for fire qilin lotus seeds for free too?”
Qian Qi’s eyes lit up. Numbers started stacking in her head.
Ten seeds. One fruit per plant. That was 200,000 yuan.
“No way.” Liang Yu Ting shook her head. “Anything with real value costs extra. One fire qilin lotus seed is 1,000 yuan.”
It sounded like easy profit, but the success rate for magic plants was low. They were hard to grow. Even if you planted them, they might not fruit.
No fruit meant you’d burned time and money.
“Hm.” Qian Qi tapped her chin. “They’re hard to grow and yields are low… but my second skill, Miracle Hand, might increase output.”
She thought for a moment, then made up her mind. She’d get one fire qilin lotus seed and test it.
—
Most of the magic plants on the Back Mountain were tagged with their owner’s name. Qian Qi remembered clearly: the fire qilin lotus belonged to a second-year senior named Li Shu Yun.
She tracked down Li Shu Yun’s dorm, knocked, and pushed the door open when someone called, “Come in.”
“Which of you is Senior Li Shu Yun?”
A pretty girl turned her head—and flinched so hard her eyebrow pencil clattered to the floor.
“Q-Qian Qi?”
So her reputation really was that loud.
Under Li Shu Yun’s terrified stare, Qian Qi took out the fire qilin fruit and held it up like an offering. “Sorry, Senior. I was starving, got dizzy, and picked your assignment.”
Li Shu Yun tried to look to her roommates for help. They shrank deeper under their blankets, suddenly fascinated by the texture of fabric.
Swallowing hard, Li Shu Yun forced her gaze back to the fruit. “I-it’s fine. If you want it, just take it.”
This fruit wasn’t even top quality. It wouldn’t sell for much. And her family wasn’t short on money—she was here for the degree, not the cash.
“No.”
Qian Qi took three big strides forward and placed the fruit firmly into Li Shu Yun’s hand. Then, for emphasis—and maximum intimidation—she clasped Li Shu Yun’s hand in both of hers.
Qian Qi looked solemn. “Senior, I chopped part of your fire qilin lotus with my hoe. It probably won’t fruit again. Let me replant it for you.”
“Th-that’s really not necessary…” Li Shu Yun’s voice shook. With her hand trapped, she sounded like she was negotiating with a wild animal. “I-I can replant it myself. And fire qilin lotus seeds are expensive, you probably…”
She stopped, remembering Qian Qi was poor, and wanted to bite her own tongue off.
Afraid Qian Qi might take offense—and then take her head—Li Shu Yun hurried on. “Fire qilin fruit is really hard to grow. I’m the only one in the whole major who managed it, and it was pure luck.”
“Oh my god!” Qian Qi gasped theatrically. “Only you grew one? Senior, that’s incredible!”
Then she put on an anguished face, like a tragic heroine in a low-budget drama. “And you worked so hard, and I chopped it up. I’m unforgivable. I’m basically a criminal!”
She leaned in, eyes shining, and lifted Li Shu Yun’s hands again like she was holding something sacred.
“So, Senior,” Qian Qi said softly, “you’re definitely going to buy fire qilin lotus seeds, right?”
Li Shu Yun stared at her.
Then stared some more.
So… this wasn’t about replanting.
This was about freeloading a seed.
“…Right?” Qian Qi nudged, smiling wider.
Li Shu Yun’s upper body inched backward on instinct. “O-okay.”
For her, getting one seed wasn’t hard. As long as Qian Qi didn’t hit her, everything was negotiable.
Qian Qi left, satisfied, after swapping lightbrain numbers.
At the door, she turned back, all sweetness. “Senior, don’t forget. I’ll remind you.”
The door clicked shut.
Li Shu Yun stood there, eyes hollow.
That didn’t sound like a reminder.
That sounded like a threat.
When the room finally exhaled, Li Shu Yun’s face crumpled.
“Why the hell did I ever plant fire qilin lotus?!”