Chapter 520: Chapter 28 Where the Heart Resides_3
Budman’s plea for help gave him an inspiration. He realized this could be an opportunity, a chance to kill two birds with one stone.
“Master, stop at the curb.”
Qin Qianbai paid the fare with the bills she had temporarily borrowed from her neighbor and got out of the taxi. She went to the supermarket, and about five minutes later, she came out carrying a small bag and headed home.
The windows of Gongsun Ce’s place were lit up; the young man must have returned. Qin Qianbai tiptoed towards her door, hoping to evade the invisible force and slip into her home unnoticed.
But his ability didn’t seem to rely on sound. She had hardly reached the door when Gongsun Ce’s door opened. The youth with grey hair poked out his head, listlessly asking, “Did you go shopping?”
Qin Qianbai hid the groceries at once and replied sternly, “It’s none of your business.”
“Ah?” Gongsun Ce nodded and said, “Ah, okay, I used telekinesis to move your furniture in. Goodnight then.”
Qin Qianbai waited until her neighbor went back inside before she entered her home carrying the bag. She soaked the white rice in water, prepared the walnuts in advance, and then put the prepared ingredients into the freezer. After washing up, she went to bed with peace of mind.
That night passed in silence.
The next morning, as usual, Gongsun Ce woke up startled from a nightmare.
“Ugh… Ah!”
He clutched the blanket, his eyes bewildered, feeling as if he was wandering in a fog. Gongsun Ce dragged himself out of bed, his vision clouded by greyish white, and he couldn’t see anything clearly.
He stood there dazed, not knowing how much time had passed, when he heard a knocking sound not far away.
“I’m coming!”
Gongsun Ce responded instinctively and walked towards the source of the sound. With each step, the grey-white fog from the dream dispersed, revealing a clear door within his view.
Gongsun Ce pushed the door open, and the morning air, along with sunlight, rushed in. Standing at the door was a black-haired girl in white. She hid her hands behind her back, her bright eyes unlike any remnants of a dream.
He heard the girl ask, “What would you do if I owed you a hundred thousand?”
Gongsun Ce’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head, and he immediately felt a chill pass through his gut, running over his heart and shooting straight to his forehead, invigorating him more than any cooling oil could.
As the fog in his vision cleared in an instant, Gongsun Ce felt dizzy from the weight of reality. He took in a sharp breath and exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, “What the hell did you smash last night?!”
“I said ‘if.'”
“Tell the truth!”
Qin Qianbai looked at him reproachfully, “Hypothetically.”
Gongsun Ce really felt relieved and replied gruffly, “What do you expect? You hope that I’ll pay it off for you? That I’ll casually hand over three hundred thousand and coolly say ‘keep the change’?”
“Mhm.”
…Weird.
Why do I feel she’s actually happy to hear me being sarcastic?
“…Did something upset you?”
Qin Qianbai tilted her head and asked, “So what would you do?”
“First thing’s first, I’d get the full story. If you were being extorted, I’d use a trick to sort it out. If you stirred up trouble on your own, I could help you negotiate with the other party to agree on installment payments. Unless you’re in a really big situation—like needing urgent money for an illness or your house is about to be mortgaged, no one would agree to such a large loan.”
Gongsun Ce explained helplessly, “It’s not about the amount. Money, like favors, is tricky to handle; borrowing too much makes everyone uncomfortable. A person always thinking ‘I owe him a hundred grand’, how can they treat the other equally?”
Even the best of friends, under the weight of a favor, may start seeing each other as a benefactor or creditor, changing the nature of the relationship. Once it gets skewed, it’s hard to put it right again.
Qin Qianbai nodded, “That makes sense.”
The girl brought out the object hidden behind her back, which was a small sand pot with a handle. Upon opening the lid, a pot full of light purple sweet soup came into view, emitting the fragrance of dates and walnuts.
She said earnestly, “I’ve made some walnut jelly to thank you for your help these past few days.”
Gongsun Ce was completely bewildered, feeling a wave of dizziness.
This unexpected event was beyond his experience. What’s this? What in the world?
It’s not like he’d never had this kind of thing before… There was a time when Kardesia was into baking and many in the class had tasted her homemade sweets… but damn… A girl personally delivering homemade desserts…
Was he hallucinating from watching too many cartoons? Did such things actually happen in real life?
“Ah, thanks, thank you.”
Gongsun Ce took the pot instinctively, sniffing the aroma, which seemed quite appealing.
Out of the blue, he said, “Look, this is quite a lot and I can’t finish it by myself, why don’t we eat it together?”
As soon as he said it, he felt he might be misunderstood, “I didn’t mean that—”
“Sure.” The young lady agreed.
“Oh.” Gongsun Ce scratched his head, finding himself suddenly clumsy, unable to think of any clever words to say.
He sensed that the young lady seemed quite happy, although he couldn’t figure out why. With an inexplicable feeling of elation, he dumbly said, “Oh.”