Chapter 128: Really? I don’t believe it
"So, you were explaining to earlier?"
"Yes."
"This is what they call 'overthinking'?"
"Maybe..."
Xu Qing sorted through his thoughts, feeling a newfound clarity. He lowered the hand pressing against his forehead, contemplated briefly, and asked, "When I explained earlier why I was reluctant, did you feel a bit happier?"
"...Yes," Jiang He admitted reluctantly. Although she trusted him, his explanation did bring so happiness.
"Then my concern wasn’t misplaced."
Xu Qing felt a sense of relief, as if defusing a hidden mine. If he hadn’t realized this, continuing with their usual dynamic would have led to problems sooner or later. She wasn’t a pet, and Jiang He couldn’t be treated like one.
"Our current way of interacting isn’t healthy. It’s only because of your unique situation that it’s been like this. But now that you’ve grown a lot, it’s no longer suitable to treat this as a habit."
Jiang He thought about it and asked, "Unhealthy, as in... lacking freedom?"
"To be precise, it’s about respect," Xu Qing corrected. "We’re equals."
"Respect, equality?" Jiang He fell into deep thought.
"When I hold you down... is that disrespectful?"
"Yes," Xu Qing said seriously. "That’s very disrespectful."
"Then we’re even." Jiang He turned back to her ga.
"..."
Xu Qing froze for a mont and then let out a long breath.
After clarifying things, he figured she’d understand the deeper aning over ti, rather than the two of them falling into a habitual pattern where one arranged everything while the other waited passively, only to grow frustrated and explode later.
"Do you have any thoughts about this?" Xu Qing asked, pouring himself a glass of water before squeezing into Jiang He’s seat beside her, watching her play her ga.
"Thoughts about what?"
"I’ll respect you. That’s the foundation of being together. Things like holding down are just teasing, strictly speaking. Flirting, though I don’t particularly enjoy it."
"Oh," Jiang He replied without looking up, focused on her screen as she fought monsters to earn money.
"That’s it?!"
"You’re interrupting my ga!"
Jiang He wrinkled her nose and scooted aside slightly.
Xu Qing scooted closer.
Jiang He moved again.
Xu Qing followed.
"..."
Finally, Jiang He put down her controller, turned her head, and stared at him.
"Playing gas during such a beautiful ti—what a waste. We should discuss you moving into my room..."
"Why should I move into your room?" Jiang He asked.
"We’re a couple. Couples living together is normal. It’s early spring; the heating’s off, and it’s still a bit cold at night. Cuddling will keep us warr..."
"You can use an extra blanket."
"You’ll feel cold too," Xu Qing insisted.
"I won’t."
"You will."
"I don’t want to have kids."
"You... Wait, what?" Xu Qing was stunned. "Who said anything about kids?"
"You want to move into your room because you want kids," Jiang He accused, her tone implying she’d seen through his sches. "At night, I can’t keep holding you down. If we sleep together... we’ll have kids for sure."
"Do you even know how kids are made?"
"By sleeping together."
"Just sleeping doesn’t make kids! If we just live together to get used to it, I can see if you snore. If you do, you can move back out."
Jiang He couldn’t stand Xu Qing’s nonsense. She shoved him off the chair with all her might and sat cross-legged, occupying the whole seat. She huffed, "You think I’d fall for that?!"
"..."
For so reason, Xu Qing felt like she didn’t really understand.
"A thousand-year-old granny..." he muttered, sighing as he went back to the couch to turn on his computer and start working.
Doing that was impossible; one rabbit kick from Jiang He could cost him half his life.
The spring sunshine of March arrived, and the weather gradually ward. Thick winter clothes were packed away, replaced with light spring wear.
Jiang He watched the price of gold coins rise sharply. Mixed in with the rchant chat group, she overheard discussions about Labor Day event outfits. Sensing the peak, she confird it with Xu Qing before hastily selling off her month-long inventory.
"Each recovery and drop causes the price to fall further."
"That’s normal," Xu Qing said. "In two years, it might drop by half. It could go down to 60-70 million for a dollar. That’s just market trends."
Looking at her new earnings, Jiang He felt a bit uneasy.
She had thought that grinding coins could at least sustain her, but after months of observation, she easily discerned that the value of gold coins was steadily declining.
"Likewise, your efficiency in farming coins will keep improving. With new maps and increased drop rates, though it won’t fully counter the depreciation, it’ll offset so of it," Xu Qing explained.
"Coin farming isn’t sustainable," Jiang He concluded.
"Cooking is sustainable. Go cook," Xu Qing urged, stopping his writing.
On his notepad, a dense list of options like online stores, video editing, short-form content creation, and ga testing was written out. He circled one after another, preparing for Jiang He to try them all.
"Do you have anything you enjoy doing?" he asked while drawing circles.
"Cooking," Jiang He replied from the kitchen.
"Pick sothing else. You can’t go out to be a chef unless we open our own restaurant. Even then, we’d have to avoid inspections... And it’s not that easy. It’s not like in your ti when a straw hut and a pot were enough to set up shop."
"We didn’t have straw huts for restaurants either," Jiang He retorted, pausing before pointing outside. "What about those who sell food with pushcarts? They just need a cart and a pot."
"You want to sell stir-fried rice?"
Xu Qing imagined Jiang He pushing a cart and frying rice on the roadside. He couldn’t help but laugh. A female martial artist from the Kaiyuan era being chased by city inspectors—what a picture.
"Physical businesses don’t suit you for now. Even with skills, your identity won’t pass. If we were desperate, night market stalls could work, but we don’t need that."
"Why would that be desperate? Making money is all that matters."
"It’s different. A stall ans being chased by inspectors, enduring the elents, and freezing in the winter... We study so we can develop better options in the future. That applies to you now too. Learning is your top priority."
"I don’t see the difference," Jiang He replied.
"It’s about different classes. That instability can only provide basic subsistence..." Xu Qing trailed off.
"What’s wrong?" Jiang He asked, poking her head out from the kitchen. "I think subsistence is enough. Besides, I can smash stones on my chest."
"Stability... subsistence..." Xu Qing frowned. Suddenly, he realized sothing unsettling.
"You smash stones on your chest?" he asked, glancing at her.
"No, it’s a technique, but it’s definitely tougher than yours."
"I don’t believe you."
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