Chapter 69 You Actually Bought Her

Chapter 69: You Actually Bought Her

Xi Qianyue waited in a private room by the window, where she could watch the scene outside, so she wasn't exactly bored.

From afar, she spotted Qi Chengyun's carriage. Though the carriage itself was modest, his pair of fine horses—one brown, one white—stood out clearly.

Sure enough, the carriage pulled up at the entrance of Guangju Tower. Qi Chengyun hopped down nimbly, his steps light as he hurried forward.

Her eyesight was sharp enough to catch the smile on Qi Chengyun's face.

At that moment, she unabashedly sized up the man below. Then, as if sensing something, the elegant young gentleman suddenly looked up and caught her gaze dead-on.

When their eyes met, Qi Chengyun flashed a brilliant smile, and Xi Qianyue couldn't help but clear her throat to hide the flutter in her heart.

Soon, Qi Chengyun appeared in her private room, still smiling.

It had been over ten days since they last met at the estate.

Xi Qianyue smiled and said, "Sixth Young Master Qi, you look rosy-cheeked today. Has your health fully recovered?"

Qi Chengyun paused. "Indeed, fully recovered. Miss Xi, you honor me with your presence—are you here to eat?"

"I'm embarrassed to say this—Sixth Young Master Qi, you're my most valued guest, yet I've never personally hosted you. So, to keep a valued customer like you happy, and since your birthday is coming up, I've prepared a small gift. Please accept it as a small token of my appreciation."

Xi Qianyue handed him the fan, and Qi Chengyun was clearly delighted.

"Is this 'The strong grass withstands the gale' written by Master Wuwu?"

"Exactly so."

"This fan is so precious, yet you're willing to give it up. I should give you a grand gift in return that suits your taste."

Xi Qianyue quickly declined, not knowing that Qi Chengyun was already silently thinking about what gift to give.

The manager, sharp as ever, had already ordered a table of exquisite dishes to be served. Xi Qianyue ate happily.

"Your restaurant is so grand, catering only to the rich and powerful—it must be quite profitable. My little shop is pretty small in comparison."

Qi Chengyun eagerly encouraged her: "If Miss Xi is willing, we could go into business together."

Xi Qianyue's mind began to race. She could contribute many recipes, and if she invested in this restaurant, she'd be making money without lifting a finger.

But she also felt it would be taking too much advantage of him.

Qi Chengyun saw her hesitation. "My restaurant hasn't added new dishes in a long time. If you could send a good chef or provide some recipes, that would already be a big help."

Xi Qianyue reassured herself, telling herself that everything here was like a big dream.

Eventually, she'd go back to real life anyway. Everything here was just a story in a book.

Wouldn't any normal person, even if they got caught up in a book's plot, quickly snap out of it?

Everything here was fictional.

Why not be more daring?

Xi Qianyue made up her mind. "That's great. I can provide new recipes as my technical investment. Just give me ten percent of the profits."

Qi Chengyun clearly saw the change in Xi Qianyue's expression and wondered why she'd suddenly agreed. But for him, this was good news.

"Ten percent is too little. How about twenty percent?"

Xi Qianyue quickly refused. "No, I'm just providing a few recipes. Ten percent is already plenty."

The two settled the deal and then chatted about other things.

Xi Qianyue hadn't forgotten her main purpose and asked, "Where has that Miss Bai gone?"

Originally, she should have asked: Did you have anything to do with Miss Bai's disappearance?

But she still held back for the sake of tact.

Qi Chengyun smiled faintly, finally bringing up Bai Zhining.

"As per our agreement, I bought her and put her in the back courtyard."

Xi Qianyue was startled. "You actually bought her? When?"

"It's been about twenty days."

Xi Qianyue was shocked. Since Bai Zhining had been bought, her fate had been completely changed—so why was she still here, and why hadn't she been sent back?

Qi Chengyun saw Xi Qianyue's expression change drastically and asked worriedly, "Is something wrong?"

Xi Qianyue abruptly stood up. "Sorry, I have something urgent to do."

She didn't spare a glance at Qi Chengyun's expression or care what he thought, rushing straight out the door, leaving a stunned Qi Chengyun behind.

Even after returning to the Marquis's residence, Xi Qianyue was still dazed and couldn't snap out of it.

"System, hasn't the original female lead's storyline been completely rewritten? Why can't I go back? Am I going to be stuck here forever?"

Xi Qianyue was terrified—she didn't want to stay here forever.

"I regret to inform the host that while some plotlines have been rewritten, not all the major ones have been changed. Keep working hard!"

Xi Qianyue was about to lose it. "Isn't it enough to rewrite the male and female leads' ending? What other plotlines do I need to rewrite?"

"Sorry, but this system can't do anything. I can only remind the host that the main plotlines haven't been rewritten yet."

Xi Qianyue sat in a daze. It was her own fault for only skimming the book without carefully reading the main plotlines and characters.

Weren't Yang Xingxian and Bai Zhining the original male and female leads?

Were they just side characters?

Didn't the book mainly focus on them?

But she hadn't even read the later parts of the book!

Xi Qianyue fumed internally for a while before finally calming down. She'd thought—how could the task be this simple? If it were just rewriting Yang Xingxian and Bai Zhining's fates, that would be way too easy.

But what exactly was her mission?

The maidservants were deeply worried, not understanding why the mistress had suddenly become so upset, then locked herself in her room, forbidding anyone from coming near.

Xi Qianyue suddenly realized that if she couldn't go back, she'd have to live here forever. And what about her body in reality?

Here, three years equaled one day in the real world. Her family contacted her about every two days. Sometimes they'd send WeChat messages, and she could ignore them—her parents would just think she was sleeping. But if it went over three days, that definitely wouldn't work.

If she didn't reply to her WeChat messages within twenty-four hours, her mother would definitely call.

Fortunately, her parents had a key to her apartment, so even if they were worried, they'd come to her place first. Her body was still alive—probably in a coma or just deeply asleep, and at worst, she'd be taken to the hospital.

Xi Qianyue felt a bit more at ease—if she went back to her real life within six years, she'd be safe, and her parents probably wouldn't even notice.

Even if she stayed here nine years, which would be like a three-day coma in the real world, her parents wouldn't be too anxious; she'd wake up after a day in the hospital.

There's no way she'd fail this stupid task after all these years, right?

Thinking about how she'd lost her cool today, Qi Chengyun was probably suspicious of her now, thinking she and Bai Zhining were hiding some kind of secret.

Well, she'd see him tomorrow and try to explain it away smoothly.

With her mind made up, she started searching the system for new recipes again.

Since she had to stay here for now, she might as well focus on earning silver.