Volume 4 Chapter 18
by Golden DragonVolume 4 + Chapter 18: Qianxue’s Choice
“Choice?” Hearing Bai Yuxuan’s words, Qianxue looked up at her in astonishment.
“I will use every bit of funds at my disposal to buy you out from Wang Shiman. Moreover, the costs for your mother’s treatment, kidney transplant, and your sister’s schooling will all be covered by me, but!” Here Bai Yuxuan raised her index finger.
“My help to you is not without cost.”
“Then what do you want in return? Repay you with principal and interest a few years from now?”
“Not at all. Do you take me for a fool? I could invest that money in countless ventures far more profitable than lending it to you for interest. So this is an investment, and the object of my investment is you. Actually, Wang Shiman is the same, she took you in as an investment in your future potential. But where I differ from her is this, what she invests in is the hope that you will become exactly what she envisions, whereas I invest in the future you will carve out by pursuing your own dreams.”
“A future carved out by pursuing my own dreams?”
“Exactly. Wang Shiman is still too narrow-minded. She sees only your future as an idol, as an entertainer. But idolhood is a fleeting career, especially for you, who crossdresses as a woman, I’d wager you wouldn’t even last the full ten-year contract before retiring. What I invest in, however, is an outstanding student with versatile talents, and the future potential of such a young man is in no way comparable to that of an idol with a mere decade-long career.”
“But what practical benefit does that bring you?”
“I’m buying your favor. Every cent I spend on you now becomes a debt of gratitude you owe me. In the future, you will repay that favor with something of equal value, and as interest, you will stay by my side all the while. Because there are still many things I wish to accomplish, and I need someone who can support me at critical moments. So until that debt is cleared, you will be that person by my side.”
“In other words, I become your subordinate until I repay the favor?”
“Is that really how you interpret it?” Bai Yuxuan pressed her forehead with a sigh.
“If you don’t get it, never mind, but I’ll say this in advance, I won’t give you much time to deliberate. I’ve already bought two plane tickets back to Xijiang, departing three days from now. If you don’t come to me by then, I’ll return alone. I suggest you seriously think about how you want to live your life from now on. Anyway, it’s getting late, let’s part ways here. I won’t see you off today.”
“All right, take care on your way.” With that, Qianxue turned and headed toward the dormitory.
“Wait!” Just then, Bai Yuxuan suddenly caught up and pressed something slightly warm into Qianxue’s arms. When he opened it, he found it was a roasted sweet potato.
“Learning about that contract today made me so furious that I called off the fancy feast. But I still have to give you some perks, after all, it’s cold, and you’ve been training for so long. Take this to eat on the way, it’ll also warm your hands.” Having said that, Bai Yuxuan turned and walked toward her hotel.
As she walked, she pouted to herself. Qianxue really was as dense as a block of wood, could a relationship of mutual support and companionship ever be that of a subordinate and a superior? She had already put it so tactfully… oh well.
Meanwhile, Qianxue cradled the sweet potato Bai Yuxuan had given him, feeling the warmth spreading through his palms, as if he were holding a tiny living creature in his hands.
At that moment, moonlight spilled over the departing black-haired youth, and Qianxue suddenly found Bai Yuxuan dazzlingly radiant, as though chasing after her would bring him boundless hope. With that thought, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Who would have imagined that the once cold and ashen-faced youth could one day become a source of hope for him? So Qianxue ate the sweet potato as he walked back to the dormitory, finishing it just as he reached the door. A warm current spread from his palms and stomach, enveloping his entire body with its comforting heat.
That night, Qianxue had a dream. In the dream, his father’s investment never failed, his mother remained healthy, and his younger sister was a mischievous brat who spent all her time gaming and reading manga, a world apart from the girl who now balanced her studies with frequent hospital visits to care for their mother. The only thing unchanged was her fondness for acting spoiled around him. Yet strangely, he found himself more drawn to this version, the one in the dream.
And in that dream, thanks to his family’s prosperity, he still enrolled in Sakura Academy, where he and Bai Yuxuan became bosom buddies, bickering and horsing around every day, utterly carefree.
When he woke, Qianxue began to ponder whether accepting Bai Yuxuan’s proposal might lead him to such a life. In the end, he chose to trust her. After the noon break, he invited Bai Yuxuan to the rooftop and told her his decision.
Upon hearing Qianxue’s decision, Bai Yuxuan extended a hand toward him.
“Thank you, for believing in me.”
“No, I should be the one thanking you for giving me hope!” With that, he grasped her hand.
Then Bai Yuxuan smiled, not the sly, unsettling grin of old, but a smile of genuine joy. Bathed in the midday sunlight, Qianxue suddenly thought her smile looked incredibly sweet.
(If only one of us were of a different gender… No, no! What am I thinking!) Qianxue quickly shook his head.
That movement startled Bai Yuxuan, who feared he might be changing his mind. She immediately stiffened her expression again and said to him,
“You’ve already agreed, no backing out, even if you want to!”
“Ah, no, it’s just that I ate too much at lunch and got a bit drowsy.”
“Oh, I see. Good, good.” Relieved by his explanation, Bai Yuxuan let out a breath.
“But what about Wang Shiman…?” Qianxue grew anxious again.
“Don’t worry. I’ll negotiate with her. I’ll offer terms that satisfy her and get you back.”
“And if she asks for too much, should we just forget it?”
“Hmph, Qianxue, you really underestimate me. I am, after all, the heir of Xijiang’s most prominent family. I doubt there’s any condition she could set that I can’t meet. Besides, you’re not yet sixteen, when you signed those clauses with her, you lacked full civil capacity. If you breach those terms, all it takes is paying her some compensation. At worst, I’ll double whatever she’s spent on you these past years.”
“But Bai Yuxuan, I want to see her in person when we break ties.”
“Why? Aren’t you afraid of her?”
“Of course I am. But she did have kindness toward me. If not for her, my mother might have died of illness long ago, and my sister and I might have starved on the streets. So at the very end, at least let me go and explain it to her myself, even if I have to endure her reproach.”
[Translator’s Note: Please join the Gravity Tales’ Discord Server, if you want to hang out.]
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