Chapter 66: Jiang Xiaoyue's Breakdown

After closing the shop for the night, a careful tally revealed that although the system had squandered most of the spirit crystals these past few days, Fang Qi had still made a handsome sum.

With the resurgence of customers, even the fifty-odd computers could reach full capacity during peak hours, and a full day’s earnings comfortably exceeded six or seven hundred crystals; even taking a mere ten percent cut, Fang Qi’s daily income amounted to dozens of crystals, and by his count, the total had already breached the three-hundred mark.

This was no small sum, sufficient to purchase a flying artifact.

"I’m practically part of the car-owning elite now!" At this thought, Fang Qi’s mood brightened considerably.

Yet inside the shop, a little girl was wiping down the premises, her face awash with tears: "Sob... when will I ever earn enough money... I want Sprite so badly... I want to play Diablo so badly..."

...

The following day.

If one were to ask what brought Jiang Xiaoyue the greatest joy each day, it was dining—breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

To be fair, as an underage girl, her life held no pleasures beyond eating, lacking even a decent beverage, a matter in which Fang Qi behaved rather ungenerously.

Consequently, Fang Qi provided her with alternative activities every day, such as watching him drink Sprite, or watching others drink Sprite.

Of course, these might not have been intentional acts on his part, but regardless, such was the reality.

Take the morning, for instance.

"Little Qi, buying steamed buns again?" For some time now, Aunt Wang next door had been looking at Fang Qi with increasing warmth, "Three steamers again today?"

"Has your cultivation broken through recently?" Aunt Wang remarked, "Your appetite is certainly growing!"

"Mm-hmm." Fang Qi paid the money and entered the shop carrying three large steamers of meat buns.

As for the fact that the little girl beside him devoured two full steamers of large meat buns for a single breakfast, he had already grown too weary to explain, for no one would believe it anyway.

The shop had opened quite early today and there were no customers yet, so the two sat before the counter; Jiang Xiaoyue ate elegantly, yet by no means slowly, leaving Fang Qi to wonder whether the girl possessed some black-technology spatial pouch in her stomach to manage so many buns.

After finishing a bun, Jiang Xiaoyue suddenly noticed Fang Qi staring intently at her and grew instantly wary: "Stinky boss, what are you trying to do?"

"I think I need to dock your wages," Fang Qi said earnestly, "otherwise this shop will surely be eaten into bankruptcy by you!"

"Creeeak... creeeak..."

Make no mistake, Jiang Xiaoyue was currently sharpening her teeth toward the slaughter, or rather, toward her boss.

Jiang Xiaoyue felt an almost overwhelming urge to bite him.

Just then, she watched as Fang Qi deftly produced a bottle of Sprite and took a blissful sip.

"Ah... how can you be like this!" Jiang Xiaoyue felt on the verge of tears.

"Boss! A bottle of Sprite!" Just as Fang Qi finished his sip, Xu Zixin walked in and ordered a bottle of Sprite.

"The Sprite here at the boss's shop really is the best!" Xu Zixin took a long, delightful gulp.

"I want to drink it so badly..."

Jiang Xiaoyue cast a look of utter disdain at Fang Qi nearby.

In response, she watched him take another blissful sip of Sprite and ask, "What are you looking at me for?"

Seeing others drink Sprite and play Diablo every day, the little girl’s resistance was gradually being eroded to sub-zero levels.

"Must I really wash clothes and cook for this wretched boss?"

"No! This princess is a person of principle!" The little girl gave a cold snort, "The wretched boss is definitely doing this on purpose, I won't fall for his trap!"

"Boss! A bottle of Sprite!" At this moment, An Cheng and his companions arrived.

"Alright." Fang Qi opened the refrigerator to look.

One, two, three, four, five.

Only five bottles remained.

"Only five bottles left!?"

Fang Qi froze.

"Only five bottles left?!" Jiang Xiaoyue immediately pressed against the refrigerator, her large eyes staring intently inside.

Meanwhile, An Cheng and his group numbered three people, and with their purchase of three bottles, only two remained.

Just then, two figures with white hair and white beards appeared at the entrance.

"Boss! Give this old man two bottles of..."

"Ah—! Stinky boss! I want to drink Sprite! At worst, this prin... at worst, I'll learn cooking!"

Jiang Xiaoyue finally grew desperate.

"Uh..." Fang Qi naturally did not know that Jiang Xiaoyue’s internal monologue was so rich, and said strangely, "What does learning cooking have to do with drinking Sprite? Besides, you’re only learning now, you won't earn any money to buy Sprite yet."

"Can’t you just consider it as me borrowing three spirit crystals from you!?" Jiang Xiaoyue held tightly to a bottle of Sprite, refusing to let go in her huff.

"Borrowing?" Fang Qi blinked, but did not refuse.

"...One bottle of Sprite is three spirit crystals." Fang Qi expressionlessly placed three spirit crystals on the counter and said, "We’ll consider how many months it will take to pay it back once you finish your training."

"This princess feels she should just go back, grab a few hundred or a thousand spirit crystals, and crush this damned boss to death!" Jiang Xiaoyue was once again reduced to tears, "No, if I go back, I’ll never be allowed out again... This princess hasn't even played Diablo yet..."

Jiang Xiaoyue bit her silver teeth tightly and said awkwardly, "Can you borrow me one more spirit crystal..."

"For what."

"To buy a cookbook..." Jiang Xiaoyue’s voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, her little head nearly burying itself into the ground, feeling that if there were a crack in the floor right now, she would certainly crawl into it.

...

On the other side, Song Qingfeng, An Cheng, and the others had entered the game early; having reached Act II and witnessed the splendor of Master Mishan at the boss’s place yesterday, they had all hired this honest-looking mercenary.

Consequently, when Song Qingfeng returned to Act I to farm gear from Andariel, he ran ahead shortly after teleporting out of the Catacombs waypoint, only to find upon looking back that the old gentleman was huddled in a corner, shivering...

Of course, there was the even more miserable An Cheng, who, during a Teleport, accidentally landed them both right into a massive swarm of Sand Beetles; Master Mishan took off running at full speed, and in the blink of an eye, only An Cheng the Sorceress was left abandoned amidst the insects...

After experiencing this firsthand countless times, the group gradually developed a thorough understanding of this honest-looking mercenary...

To the point that they nearly cursed aloud several times.

Mishan, look at what the hell you’ve done!!!

...

As for the matter of the official novel, Shen Qingqing checked the manuscript in her hands once more to ensure there were no errors before coming to the internet cafe.

The two parties had already finalized the agreement: Fang Qi would provide the plot, Shen Qingqing would pen the text, and Shen Qingqing would be responsible for arranging the publication.

As a fan of the lore, Shen Qingqing desired a high-quality Diablo novel and was not driven by money at all.

A sixty-forty split was not a massive fortune for either party, but the accounts naturally needed to be kept clear, and so the matter was settled.

...

Meanwhile, far away in Yanhai City.

Inside a magnificent grand hall.

A delicate-looking young maiden sighed: "I want to play Diablo so badly... why did Father send this lady to Yanhai City instead of Jiuhua City... I wish I could just go out on missions on my own like Senior Sister Zhou..."

"Junior Sister Ye, what is Diablo?" several disciples traveling with her asked curiously.

"Diablo..."

...

.