Chapter 81
Chapter 81: Qian Qi Is Kind, Generous, and Never Holds a Grudge
Li Hong Sheng told Qian Qi to wait in the same meeting room as last time. Qian Qi had a good memory and found it without trouble.
She’d barely sat down when the door flew open and a researcher barged in. The moment he saw her, his whole face lit up, and he rushed over like he’d spotted a lifeboat.
“Classmate! You really came! Please—help me!”
Qian Qi looked him up and down. “Who are you?”
Her memory was… selective. And today it wasn’t feeling charitable toward strangers.
“I’m Wei Zhen!” he blurted, pointing toward the front seat at the table. “You remember me, right? The one who talked about Chai Yin fruit! I even said you, a student, didn’t know a damn thing—remember?”
“Oh!” Qian Qi slapped her thigh, suddenly enlightened. “Don’t remember.”
Wei Zhen: ?
He didn’t have time to be offended. Panic was chewing through him.
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is—you said Chai Yin fruit could make magic beasts go blind. If it really causes blindness… is there a way to fix it?”
After the Institute approved his sales plan, Chai Yin fruit had sold out fast. Beast tamers fed it to their contract beasts and left glowing five-star reviews.
Except for one.
One contract beast had gone blind after eating it. And of course its master wasn’t some nobody—he was a powerful figure.
Three days, the man had said. Fix the beast’s eyes within three days, or he’d expose the whole thing publicly and make sure the Magic Plant Research Institute could never sell Chai Yin fruit again.
If that happened, Wei Zhen’s position would be the first thing to go. The Institute’s reputation would follow. Selling magic plants and byproducts would become a nightmare. Funding would shrink again. Years of work would turn to ash.
Wei Zhen had reported it to the director. He wanted to ask Qian Qi for a solution, but Li Hong Sheng had only sighed and said getting an answer from Qian Qi would be “very difficult.”
Wei Zhen hadn’t known what that meant.
He just knew he couldn’t afford to fail.
He drew a shaky breath and bowed his head. “Classmate Qian Qi… I was wrong before. My research wasn’t rigorous enough. I need to know how to fix it—and where my research went wrong.”
Then, voice tight with desperation: “Just tell me. I’ll do anything.”
Every researcher who stayed at the Magic Plant Research Institute did so with the same stubborn belief: develop magic plants that help humans and contract beasts. Prove the work is worth something. Make “magic plant researcher” a title you could say with pride.
It was selfish.
It was faith.
And they couldn’t watch the Institute fall apart.
“Classmate Qian Qi,” Wei Zhen begged, eyes bright with panic, “please.”
Qian Qi rubbed her chin. “Fine.”
Wei Zhen froze mid-sentence. “Huh? Fine? You’ll tell me?”
She nodded once. “Yeah.”
Then she tilted her head. “Spring and autumn Chai Yin fruit aren’t the same. Last April’s batch was what you used for experiments, right? No issues.”
Wei Zhen’s breath hitched. He nodded hard.
“But the November batch,” Qian Qi went on, “you only started using after the April batch ran out. Which means you didn’t start testing the November fruit until this March.”
Wei Zhen’s eyes widened.
Qian Qi shrugged. “Autumn Chai Yin fruit produces a toxin after one month of fermentation. After another month, the toxin breaks down on its own. You tested it during the safe window. You missed the toxin window.”
Wei Zhen’s face drained.
“And now it blew up fast,” Qian Qi said, almost cheerfully. “Which means you got unlucky. The new batch is April fruit, right? And the contract beast that went blind is a fire-element contract beast?”
Wei Zhen swallowed. “…Yes.”
“Chai Yin toxins hit different beasts differently,” Qian Qi explained. “Some get blurry vision for a few days and recover. Fire-element ones? They go blind. Guaranteed.”
Wei Zhen’s fingers fumbled over his notes. “Then—then how do we cure it?”
“Easy.” Qian Qi held up a finger like she was lecturing. “Grind Chai Yin roots into powder. Mix it with Cloud Seven Grass leaves and Flowing Water Lotus fruit. Feed it to the beast. The toxin clears in under two days.”
“Two days?!” Wei Zhen blurted.
Qian Qi gave him a look. “What do you mean, ‘two days’? That’s already slow.”
Wei Zhen blinked.
“I tailored it to the Institute’s budget,” she said, dead serious. “This is the cheap version. If you want it cured in minutes, you’d need to grow a C-rank magic plant. Can you do that? No? Then stop complaining.”
Wei Zhen flushed. “N-no, cheap is good. Cheap is perfect.”
He thanked her so fast he nearly tripped over his own words, then rushed out to try the remedy.
The door hadn’t even clicked shut before it slammed open again.
Li Hong Sheng burst in, face carved with tragedy, and barreled straight toward Qian Qi.
“Qian Qi! Open your eyes and save this old man!” he wailed, practically vibrating with grief. “My Chai Yin fruit has gone wrong! I made someone’s contract beast go blind! They said if I can’t cure it, they’ll kill me! You have to save me! I can’t die yet! I still want to earn more money to buy your potion formulas! How can you bear to watch me die?!”
Qian Qi stared at him.
Somewhere in the building, reality took a cautious step backward.
Wei Zhen, halfway down the hall, popped his head back in, bewildered. “Director… she already told me the cure.”
Li Hong Sheng’s wailing cut off like someone yanked a plug. He turned slowly, stiff as a statue. “What did you say?”
“I said classmate Qian Qi already told me how to fix it.”
Wei Zhen smiled awkwardly. “She didn’t even ask for anything.”
Li Hong Sheng stared at Qian Qi.
Then, cautiously, “She… didn’t charge money?”
Wei Zhen blinked. “What money?”
Li Hong Sheng’s brain short-circuited.
He’d been so sure Qian Qi would demand a huge fee that he’d spent the whole morning borrowing money from friends and practicing his bargaining face in the mirror.
And now?
She’d just… said it.
For free.
Somehow, the realization left him feeling weirdly hollow.
Li Hong Sheng: I must be sick. Why do I feel disappointed?
Qian Qi, bright-eyed: “Want to fix that? You can always give me a few million.”
She rubbed her fingers together meaningfully.