VAP - Chapter 9
Chapter 9: The Sleeping Beauty Whose Words Are Law (8)
After many days, Qi Jiu herself finally stepped out of her room. The real-world sunlight spilled onto her head, making her already fair, translucent skin seem almost transparent.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Yue Du felt that Qi Jiu was even paler than before. She had every reason to suspect that the host's fairness was entirely due to being cooped up at home.
Ever since she got the puppet talisman, Qi Jiu hadn't gone to school again.
But this time, she was heading to another province. She couldn't very well have one Qi Jiu on a plane and another in a classroom, could she? So, she had to request leave in advance and stopped sending the puppet out.
The Qi family's driver was waiting in the parking lot. Upon seeing Qi Jiu, he quickly rose to his feet and greeted her, “Miss Qi.”
Qi Jiu nodded coolly, yawned, and headed straight for the back seat.
The driver was usually only responsible for taking the young miss to and from school. When he was suddenly told they were going to the airport, he found it strange but didn't ask any questions.
However, seeing her traveling so light—just a small crossbody bag and nothing else—he asked hesitantly, “Miss Qi, aren't you bringing any luggage to the airport?”
“I have everything I need. There's no point,” Qi Jiu replied, leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed.
The driver said, “Oh…”
He fastened his seatbelt, thinking to himself, Today's Miss Qi seems much more spirited than usual!
He had no idea that for the past few months, he had only been seeing the stiff puppet Qi Jiu created with a talisman. It was a good day if it even managed a few words with him.
Qi Jiu's home wasn't far from the airport. Even with some traffic, they still reached their destination within half an hour.
There was still some time before boarding. Qi Jiu leisurely passed through security and sat waiting in the first-class lounge.
Conveniently, there weren't many people in the lounge.
“Do you want something to eat?”
Yue Du stayed alone in the mental space, dutifully playing the role of a voice-activated butler. The moment Qi Jiu spoke, she could instantly pull all sorts of delicacies from the system's inventory and lay out a full spread for her.
Qi Jiu said listlessly, “No appetite.”
Yue Du: “Then let's discuss how to complete the mission?”
Qi Jiu sighed. “Not in the mood.”
Yue Du was beginning to understand just how formidable this person was—so lazy she was taciturn to a fault, as if one extra word would send her into a dream on the spot.
She was actually a bit better in the mental space, where she could speak at length… perhaps she found it more convenient for a consciousness to talk without having to move its mouth.
Yue Du temporarily gave up on communicating with her host.
She sat alone in the empty mental space, idly splashing the lake water as she devised several plans to complete the mission.
First, hack into Z University's student system, alter the roster, and add Qi Jiu's name.
This plan would most likely fail. She only brought it up to give it a shot; it wouldn't matter if it didn't work.
Second, have Qi Jiu audit Professor Xing's lectures.
That probably wouldn't work either. An auditor couldn't be compared to an officially enrolled student, so it was unlikely to satisfy the Main System's mission requirements.
Third, she could transmit physics knowledge that surpassed this world's scientific level to Qi Jiu.
With her intellect, she could probably grasp those theories and theorems with ease. A physics prodigy would burst onto the scene, and she would naturally be able to form a connection with Professor Xing.
…Though at that point, it would be debatable who was the student and who was the teacher.
Fourth, find Professor Xing directly and entice him. Whether with money, fame, or rare items from the system store that were hard to find in this world, there had to be something that could sway him in exchange for accepting her as a student.
However, the protagonist might be a scholar of noble character who would refuse to take an ordinary high school student as a disciple, no matter what benefits were offered.
In short…
Why would the Main System issue such a mission!
While Yue Du was racking her brains, Qi Jiu was perfectly content to relax.
For some reason, whenever Yue Du tried to talk to her, she was dismissive. But when Yue Du ignored her, she would go out of her way to get her attention, as if terrified of being overlooked.
“Mental labor and physical labor, which do you think is more tiring?” Qi Jiu asked.
Yue Du answered her absentmindedly, “Physical labor, I guess.”
Qi Jiu smiled. “Then, which is more tiring, several days of mental labor or a few hours of physical labor?”
Yue Du said, “Mental labor… wait, what are you trying to say?”
Qi Jiu didn't answer right away. She pressed a slender, pale fingertip to her lips before saying nonchalantly after a moment, “I'm not trying to say anything.”
Yue Du: “…” Yeah, right!
Yue Du rolled her eyes in the mental space.
She always felt that her host had her own ideas but refused to voice them, keeping them bottled up inside.
—Mischievously sly.
What else could she do, stuck with a host like this? She could only try out her own ideas first and ask again if they failed.
Before long, a lounge attendant came over and politely informed the first-class passengers that it was time to board.
Qi Jiu looked at her watch and complained to Yue Du, “I suddenly don't feel like going. Maybe I should just sit here…”
Before she could finish, as if she could see Yue Du's expression, she added with a strong sense of self-preservation, “Just kidding.”
Yue Du said grimly, “You'd better be.”
Qi Jiu reluctantly had her ticket checked and boarded the plane, led to her seat by a flight attendant with a standard smile.
She had always been the type to never stand if she could sit, and never sit if she could lie down. Thus, while the other passengers were just getting settled, this young miss had already drawn the privacy curtain, pressed a button, and was lounging comfortably in her seat, reclined to one hundred and sixty degrees.
In a little world of her own.
The flight attendant who was about to go over and ask the young lady if she needed anything: “…”
They hadn't even taken off yet, but this passenger drew the curtain and reclined her seat right after boarding. Did this mean she didn't want to be disturbed?
So… should they still bring her drinks and snacks?
In the end, no drinks or snacks were brought over. It wasn't that the flight attendant refused, but that Qi Jiu was too picky to give them a second glance.
Perhaps because she had slept enough at home before, this time, Qi Jiu had no intention of falling asleep at all, and that ever-present sense of weariness had lessened quite a bit.
Her eyes were slightly downcast, her lashes veiling half her pupils. They were like two black glass beads half-hidden beneath a dark veil, tempting one to uncover what lay within.
Yue Du stayed quiet with her for a while, then after a long moment, suddenly asked, “Did you used to come out before?”
This “come out,” of course, didn't mean leaving the house.
Yue Du found it a bit strange.
Qi Jiu's personality didn't seem suited for long-distance travel, yet she handled the whole process with practiced ease. From entering the airport to boarding and reclining her seat, she was clearly not a first-time flyer.
Qi Jiu: “Ah, you mean for travel and such?”
Yue Du: “Mhm.”
“When I was little, I probably came out often, wandering around everywhere,” Qi Jiu said, recalling. “Later, after my mom left and my dad got busy, I lost interest in pretty much everything.”
After speaking, she pondered quietly for a moment, then said seriously, “My stepmother even tried to tempt me with a trip around the world, but in the end, they went on their own. When I think about it, what's so fun about all that? Staying at home suits me better.”
Yue Du noticed her tone during the first part was flat and a little stilted, as if she were telling someone else's story.
The lazy declaration that followed, however, sounded like a genuine, heartfelt sentiment.
A true representative of the modern “zen” youth. No, “zen” wasn't quite right. This was bordering on complete apathy…
The flight took off.
Then the flight landed.
Aside from sitting up once to casually glance out the window, Qi Jiu remained sprawled on her seat like a salted fish, neither moving nor speaking.
Yue Du switched from the host's perspective to a third-person view and silently recorded the scene of Qi Jiu looking out the window.
What a rare sight! To get Qi Jiu to sit up when she didn't have to—that sky must have held some kind of magic.
Snap, snap. A keeper for the memories.
Author's Notes
Yue Du: This sky actually made Qi Jiu sit up!
Qi Jiu: …
Actually, the young miss just wanted to adjust her posture.
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