At the same time Stelle awakened, Jing Yuan's nightmare unfolded.
"Eight hundred times twelve hundred… nine hundred sixty thousand. Yes! Done!"
At home, Jing Yuan, wearing glasses, flicked the beads of his abacus with a satisfying clack, finally pulling a stack of credits from the pile in front of him. He strode out of the room confidently, calling, "Little Guinaifen! Yanqing! I'm here to pay you back!"
"Teacher, what are you talking about…?"
Yanqing, dressed in factory worker attire with dark circles under his eyes, trudged out of the room next to Jing Yuan's, exhausted. "Is it time to head to the factory again? Your energy is impressive, Teacher. Yanqing will learn from you…"
"Yanqing."
Jing Yuan smiled warmly, stuffing the stack of credits into Yanqing's hands. "This is the money I owed you, repaid with the highest Xianzhou bank interest—twenty-five thousand credits in total. Count it."
"The money… you borrowed?"
At this, a spark of hope flickered in Yanqing's eyes, but it quickly faded. He counted on his fingers, muttering, "With another twenty-five thousand… let's see… that means I only need to work another six hundred and seven years to pay off Boss Gui's debt. That's great…"
Jing Yuan: "?"
"Yanqing, what are you talking about?" Jing Yuan asked, puzzled. "When did you owe anyone money? Who's Boss Gui?"
Yanqing gave a bitter smile. "Teacher, are you still half-asleep? Didn't we both owe Boss Gui eighty million credits and sign indentured labor contracts to pay it off?"
"Oh, I get it… Master, you must be succumbing to mara. That's great—you'll finally be free…"
Jing Yuan grew more confused. "Hold on… Yanqing, what are you talking about? Who's Boss Gui? What gives them the right to make you sign an indentured contract? That's illegal on the Xianzhou!"
—"Old Jing, you're getting senile if you don't even remember who I am."
A leisurely voice sounded as Guinaifen descended from upstairs, arms crossed, wearing middle-aged women's pajamas with a face mask on. "If you're going mara-struck, go to the hospital. Don't waste precious work hours."
"Little… Little Guinaifen?"
Yanqing hurriedly tugged at Jing Yuan's sleeve. "Teacher, are you crazy? That's Boss Gui!"
"Little Guinaifen?"
Guinaifen's brows shot up, and she snapped, "How dare you! 'Little Guinaifen' is a name only my Sushang can call! Look at yourself—what's your status?"
"As for you, Jing Yuan, since it's your first offense, I'll deduct a hundred from your wages. Let that be a lesson!"
Jing Yuan: "Wait… Little Gui—er, Boss Gui, what's going on with you all? Isn't this my house? Why are you here?"
Guinaifen snorted. "Your house? Get it straight—this estate was mortgaged to me long ago. Ugh… mara's such a hassle."
She strode up to Jing Yuan, pulling out two contracts. "Here, look closely. The first is the mortgage contract for the house. The second is the indentured repayment contract. With interest, you owe me eighty million credits. Got it?"
"Hand it over!" Guinaifen snatched the stack of credits from Yanqing's hands without hesitation. "If you have money, pay it back immediately! What do you think I'm providing food, clothing, and shelter for?"
Eighty million in debt? Mortgaged the house? Signed an indentured contract?
Jing Yuan was baffled. Seeing the serious expressions around him, he began to doubt himself. Could this all be true?
—Swish!
In the moment of Jing Yuan's doubt, a flood of memories surged into his mind: his life's savings invested in stocks, lost entirely; borrowing money for streaming equipment, for buying traffic, for show props—all lost…
Did I do all that?
He, the former General of the Divine Strategy, reduced to this after retirement?
Jing Yuan suddenly recalled: he was at the age where mara could strike, causing sporadic memory loss. He'd been convincing himself he was living a happy, ordinary life with Boss Gui and Yanqing, hustling for a living.
But in reality, that was just a wishful dream.
"Boss… Boss Gui, I was wrong. I-I'm just old, struck by mara. Please, give me one chance. Don't deduct my wages, okay?" Jing Yuan said sadly.
"You filthy slacker, get lost! I don't care if you're mara-struck or not. I've got thousands of workers—if everyone was like you, how would I maintain order? Get to work!"
Guinaifen turned away in disgust, but then she glanced at the table of credits in Jing Yuan's room…
"Well, well? Jing Yuan, you've been hoarding all this money and didn't tell me? Has your conscience been eaten by a dog?"
Guinaifen stormed into Jing Yuan's room, sweeping her hand. "I'm taking it all!"
Jing Yuan, crying, grabbed her sleeve. "Boss Gui, this is the money for my life's dream. I saved it for half my life. I just want to leave the Luofu and see the galaxy. Please don't take it. When I return, I'll work for you forever…"
"Get lost! You think that sob story will fool me? What's wrong with me taking my own money?"
"I'm the one who's pitiful here. If everyone under me hid money like you, I'd go bankrupt! You bastard."
"Let go! Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me!"
"… "
And so, Jing Yuan watched as Boss Gui walked off with his life's savings, his heart breaking, his entire world darkening.
…
As soon as Huohuo arrived, she spotted Stelle and Phantylia locked in a stalemate from a distance. In her view, the two were like players in a turn-based game, moving one after another—boring as hell.
"Tch… Why's it just her? Where's Old Jing?"
Huohuo scanned the area and saw Jing Yuan sleeping peacefully on the ground. Her face darkened. She grabbed his collar and shook him hard. "Hey! Old Jing! How can you sleep at a time like this? Wake up!"
Jing Yuan: zzz…
Huohuo: ? Wait, he's out cold, huh? Hmph~
Huohuo thought for a moment, then raised her small hand high and slapped him hard. "Jing Yuan! The enemy's here! Wake up!"
Jing Yuan: "… "
Slap!
Huohuo: "Jing Yuan! If you don't wake up, don't blame me for using extreme measures!"
Jing Yuan: "… "
Slap slap slap!
Huohuo went all out, delivering a triple slap. "You left your work behind and made me clean up your mess, and now you're sleeping so soundly?"
Jing Yuan: "… "
Slap slap slap slap slap!
"For retiring! For being a hands-off boss!"
Slap slap slap slap slap!
"For putting all your expenses on the Skysplitter's tab!"
Slap slap slap slap slap!
"Give me back my vacation! Give me back my easy job!"
Slap—
After one of Huohuo's heavy hits, Jing Yuan jolted awake, forcibly pulled out of the nightmare state, looking bewildered. "Ugh… I finally paid off the eighty million. Huh? Huohuo? Why are you here?!"
"You old fox, burning bridges after crossing!"
But Huohuo didn't notice Jing Yuan waking up, lost in her own world. In his panicked gaze, she slapped him again, landing a solid hit on his face.
Jing Yuan, awake for barely two seconds, was knocked back into sleep by Huohuo.
===
New Genshin Fanfic is Up!