VAP - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: The Sleeping Beauty Whose Words Are Law (15)
Yue Du’s eyes widened slightly at her words.
After all, she had laid out the stakes so clearly; normally, there was no reason for Qi Jiu to insist on gifting the points.
After a moment, she frowned. “Why? Do you want me to get a physical body sooner?”
Qi Jiu chuckled softly, her tone matter-of-fact. “Of course. I want my all-powerful butler. Don’t forget, you still owe me a promise.”
Did Yue Du want a body?
She did, but not desperately.
What she truly needed were points. More than obtaining a body for herself, she wanted to accumulate enough points to revive Yue Hao as soon as possible.
Even so…
“I don't recommend you choose to gift the points,” Yue Du said calmly. “Whether it's because I barely did anything this mission and don't deserve the larger share, or out of consideration for future missions, I have every reason to refuse.”
Qi Jiu said lazily, “Wow, so resolute. But can you actually refuse?”
Yue Du was silent. “...I can't.”
She really couldn’t.
The rules were clear: the host held the dominant position in the relationship. Qi Jiu could gift whatever she pleased, but Yue Du couldn't refuse. It was a complete lack of system authority.
Then again, what system would ever refuse points?
Qi Jiu continued splashing the water, teasing her nonchalantly. “Well, that settles it. I request to gift 400 points to—”
“Stop! Just listen to me first!” Yue Du cut in hastily.
Qi Jiu obediently paused. “Alright, I'm listening.”
Yue Du breathed a sigh of relief and tried to reason with her. “First, thank you for the kind thought. I do need the points, but gifting so many in one go won't do either of us any good.”
She couldn't see Qi Jiu's expression, only hear her soft, slow breathing and the gentle lapping of water. For Yue Du, who was accustomed to reading facial expressions during negotiations, this left her feeling uncertain.
So, she silently activated the mosaic function and switched to a face-to-face view of her host.
Facing that exquisitely beautiful face, Yue Du took a deep breath. She could see that Qi Jiu was seriously considering her words, so she continued, “If you gift me eighty percent of your earnings from your very first mission, the Main System will just assume I manipulated you into giving up your points. Then I'll be sent back to the Main God's space for investigation.”
Qi Jiu's eyes were closed, and she seemed thoughtful. “Oh… it's that serious?”
“It is. The consequences completely outweigh the benefits!” Yue Du stressed firmly.
In truth, she was bluffing. The Main System wasn't so idle that it would pay attention to such a trivial matter.
And even if a host was swindled by their system, so what? It wasn't like they could file a complaint.
Qi Jiu remained silent for a long time after that.
It wasn't until she rose from the bathtub, a snow-white robe obscuring the mosaic, that she spoke again, her voice patient. “Then tell me, how many points can I give you without attracting your Main System's attention?”
It seemed she was dead set on giving her something.
Yue Du quickly calculated the points needed for the next mission and offered a conservative number. “How about 125 points? We can just call it an even split, 375 each.”
“Are you sure?”
“It could even be less, really. I didn't do much this mission. I feel I don't deserve it.”
“Who pushes away a good thing when it's offered? Oh, right. You're not a person.”
Seemingly amused by her own words, Qi Jiu chuckled, shook her head, and chose to gift 125 points to Yue Du.
“…” Yue Du's feelings were complicated as she listened to the notification that the points had been transferred.
Qi Jiu was likely the only host so willing to part with her points, and Yue Du was likely the only system who would go to such lengths to push them away.
Including her initial points and the daily accumulation over the past few months, Yue Du's current total was 470 points.
In the System Store, a standard human body cost 2,500 points.
All in all, she had a long way to go.
Wearing her bathrobe, Qi Jiu sat leisurely on the edge of the bed, toweling her damp hair.
After a few moments, she sighed. “It would be great if you could come out. You could help me dry my hair.”
Yue Du knew just how lazy she was and played along. “Yes, yes.”
“So don't overthink it. Just consider it me spending points to buy your body. It's a worthy investment no matter how you look at it,” Qi Jiu added, her eyes curving into a smile.
“...Perhaps.”
Yue Du frowned. Mulling over the words, she suddenly felt there was a certain ambiguity to what her host had said.
What did she mean, “buy your body”?
While that was technically the outcome, the phrasing sounded off no matter how she thought about it.
Qi Jiu lazily toweled her hair for a bit longer before growing impatient. Too lazy to hold a hairdryer, she simply wrapped her hair in the towel and lay down, intending to let her long, wavy hair air-dry.
Yue Du said helplessly, “You should wait until your hair is dry before you lie down, or you'll really get sick.”
Seeing that Qi Jiu was about to bring up her strong immune system again, Yue Du quickly added, “Even if you don't get sick, you'll feel uncomfortable tomorrow morning.”
Her argument preempted, Qi Jiu reluctantly rolled over, expressing her resistance through her actions.
Yue Du sighed.
At times like these, she felt like a doting mother trying to enforce a child's proper routine, full of patient, heartfelt advice.
And Qi Jiu was the disobedient giant baby—pampered, lazy, and completely helpless without someone to look after her.
Just as Yue Du was trying to figure out how to coax her host into sitting up, Qi Jiu's phone rang.
“Who is it?” Qi Jiu asked without moving, her eyes still closed.
Yue Du checked. It was an unsaved number, but her database contained information on its owner.
The call was from Qi Tianhe.
Qi Tianhe was Qi Jiu's father, the current head of the Qi family.
Although she had never heard Qi Jiu mention him, based on the information Yue Du had gathered over the past few months, she could confidently label him a "scum dad."
The tangled history between Qi Tianhe and Qi Jiu's birth mother, An Ruosu, was a classic, melodramatic tale—as cliché as it was tragic.
Qi Tianhe was born into a wealthy family—the Qi family—making him a second-generation heir. Back then, however, the Qi family was just a minor house, barely registering in the circles of high society.
That was until Qi Tianhe, using his handsome face and silver tongue, won the heart of An Ruosu, the eldest daughter of the An family. He successfully married the high-society belle, thereby forging a connection with the powerful An family.
If that were all, he could have been called an opportunist, but not necessarily scum.
The problem arose later. As the Qi family's fortunes rose, the An family's declined due to poor decisions by its patriarch. An Ruosu's parents, desperately seeking aid, were killed in a car accident.
In such a situation, a husband and wife should have supported each other and weathered the storm together.
But Qi Tianhe did not. He unhesitatingly filed for divorce and immediately married the "white moonlight" of his youth. The wedding, pregnancy, and birth of a second child followed in a seamless procession, stopping just short of an outright scandal over an illegitimate child.
Of course, rumors circulated that the second child had been conceived while he was still married to An Ruosu… but the truth of the matter was never confirmed.
An Ruosu was a gentle, dignified lady from a prestigious family. She spoke in a soft voice and had a delicate constitution, looking as if a strong gust of wind could knock her over.
But when it came to the divorce, she was resolute. “Fine, we'll divorce. But what's mine is mine. Don't even think about taking my daughter or the family assets!”
And indeed, Qi Tianhe failed to get them. Not wanting to make the affair too ugly, he ultimately relented through gritted teeth.
Qi Jiu was eight years old that year. After the divorce, she lived with her mother for the next three years.
On her way home from work, An Ruosu was in a car accident. She was conscious at the scene, but after being rushed to the hospital, she died despite their efforts to save her.
It was like a curse, causing the members of the An family to leave this world in the very same way, leaving behind an eleven-year-old Qi Jiu.
She had no other relatives. Qi Tianhe, who had been absent for three years, suddenly reappeared to take custody of his daughter.
Of course, his "custody" made little difference; it was merely a change in the guardian's name on paper.
In fact, if not for today's phone call, Yue Du would have assumed Qi Tianhe wasn't Qi Jiu's guardian at all, but just some stranger who happened to share her blood.
This was simply because she had been in her host's mental space for several months, and this was the very first time she had seen him contact Qi Jiu.
—And this was after Qi Jiu had spent a month alone in another province!
Yue Du glared at the number on the screen, feeling as if she could see the scum dad's hypocritical face from a thousand miles away and slap it.
Right, she still had to answer her host's question.
“The call is from Qi Tianhe,” she said sullenly.
“Then ignore him…” Qi Jiu rolled over, but then she changed her mind with a sigh. “Never mind. Answer it for me.”
Yue Du did as she was told, putting the call on speaker. She knew Qi Jiu wouldn't bother sitting up to hold the phone to her ear.
A moment later, a deep, middle-aged man's voice came through the phone.
“Xiao Jiu, how have you been?”
Qi Jiu couldn't be bothered to answer him properly, offering only a dismissive, “Heh.”
Qi Tianhe seemed accustomed to this and didn't get angry. “Well, it seems you're doing fine, then.”
“I won't waste time. Dad's calling about something important. Come home tomorrow. We'll have a family dinner.”
Qi Jiu raised an eyebrow. From that expression alone, Yue Du knew exactly what she thought of his words—she didn't believe a single one.
“I'm in S-City. I can't make it, and I don't want to.”
“You child, aren't you supposed to be in school? Why did you run off so far?” Qi Tianhe's tone suddenly turned stern.
“I am in school. That's why I took a leave of absence.”
The line went quiet for a moment before Qi Tianhe softened his voice. “Fine, do as you please, as long as you're happy. How about this: can you come back next week?”
Qi Jiu said coolly, “I don't think so.”
“Then when will you be back?”
“Depends on my mood.”
“Qi Jiu!”
“I just have to be there before next month, right?” Qi Jiu scoffed. “I turn eighteen next month. Isn't that what you wanted to 'discuss'?”
Qi Tianhe was at a loss for words. After a moment of silence, he heaved a deep sigh. “Fine. Just come back whenever you have time. And don't forget, your Auntie Yang will make your favorite chestnut-braised chicken—”
Qi Jiu said directly to Yue Du, “Hang up.”
Yue Du quickly ended the call, and the grating voice on the other end finally vanished.
Qi Jiu folded her arms behind her head and sneered. “Like hell I like chestnut-braised chicken.”
Yue Du knew Qi Jiu was indifferent to chestnuts. She soothed her like a child. “Don't pay him any mind. Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll buy it right now. Top-tier delicacies from another world, things they've never even heard of.”
The phone call seemed to have chased away all of Qi Jiu's drowsiness. She sat up listlessly and placed her order. “I want that all-fish banquet from the day before yesterday.”
“Of course,” Yue Du said indulgently. “Already redeemed.”
“With the sweet coconut milk?”
“Included. And there's dessert, too.”
Qi Jiu's mood visibly improved.
After a leisurely dinner, Qi Jiu's hair was almost dry.
She let her long hair fall loose, sank back into the covers, and stretched. “Book a flight for tomorrow,” she said, her voice hazy with sleep. “We'll head back when I wake up.”
“Okay. Good night.”
Yue Du replied softly.
Author's Notes
Congratulations to Qi Jiu for obtaining a new title—Giant Baby (not)!
Sleeping Beauty — Koala Spirit — Salted Fish — Giant Baby. What a nonsensical transformation.
Clap, clap, clap.
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