Chapter 159: The Bet with Ji Lin
"Here you go. These are the red packets I prepared for you all."
Seeing that the girls had just about finished their meal, Rovel pulled out three crimson envelopes and handed them out to Kiana, Mei, and Bronya.
"Red packet? What is that?" Kiana swallowed the last bite of her food, blinking at the bright paper in her hands.
"It is a traditional custom in Shenzhou, commonly referred to as 'New Year's money'." Fu Hua pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, her tone slipping into its usual scholarly cadence. "In the past, it strictly meant money wrapped in red paper given by elders to children during the Lunar New Year. It symbolizes a prayer for happiness, peace, and good health in the coming year."
She paused, letting the girls examine the envelopes. "Nowadays, it serves more as a general blessing. The strict age and identity boundaries have blurred; giving it to elders, peers, or juniors can all be considered New Year's money. Especially in regions near Nanwu City, you might even see people handing out small-amount red packets on the streets. Those are locally known as Lai See."
Look at that. A perfectly professional explanation.
"Are you sure... this is considered a 'small amount'?" Kiana peeled back the flap of the envelope. Her blue eyes widened to the size of saucers as she stared at the thick, heavy stack of crisp bills stuffed inside.
Since Rovel rarely found anything worth spending his personal funds on, his bank account remained absurdly flush. The last time Himeko had jokingly demanded five hundred thousand just to fire a single shot from the Hyperion's main cannons, she had ultimately waved off the payment. That left him with plenty of spare cash to spoil his household.
"This... is all for me?" Kiana pulled the red packet tight against her chest, hugging it as if she feared Rovel might suddenly snatch it back. The sheer volume of cash seemed to have flipped a hidden, money-loving switch in her brain.
"It is all yours," Rovel said, offering a mild smile. "But do not spend it all recklessly in one place. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to act like a traditional Shenzhou parent and 'properly keep' your New Year's money for you."
"Mm-hmm!" Kiana nodded vigorously. Joy radiated from her face as her mind clearly began racing with lists of expensive snacks and limited-edition merchandise. Even though she was technically the former young lady of Massive Electric Corporation, the thrill of cold, hard cash in her hands left her beaming.
Beside her, Bronya quietly slipped her envelope into her pocket. The silver-haired girl did not suffer from any financial anxiety, but this unexpected windfall meant she could comfortably top up her account and roll for top-tier equipment in the Homu Universe gacha.
"And this one is for you, Class Monitor." Rovel extended a fourth envelope toward Fu Hua.
"Tha... thank you..." Fu Hua blinked, momentarily stunned by the gesture, before carefully accepting the red paper with both hands.
The gift exchange continued as Himeko and Theresa brought out their own presents for the group. Rovel eagerly unwrapped the package handed to him, only to stare blankly at the contents.
"...Is this bitter melon pillow a joke?" Rovel fixed Theresa with a hollow, deadpan stare.
Across the table, Fu Hua held up a neatly folded set of formal menswear. "Why... did I receive a suit?" Her glasses nearly slipped right off her face.
"Ah!" A sudden yelp broke the confusion. Kiana dropped her gift onto the floor as if it had burned her fingers. Rovel leaned over to inspect the damage, only to see a thick stack of advanced academic workbooks spilling across the carpet.
"Practice problems? Theresa, your tactics are absolutely ruthless," Rovel muttered, suddenly feeling that his plush bitter melon wasn't quite so terrible after all.
"Kiana, if you manage to finish that entire set of practice problems with passing marks, I will give you an even better reward," Theresa chimed in, crossing her arms with a smug grin. "For instance... I might just share a method to help you quickly promote to an A-rank Valkyrie."
"I will work hard!" Kiana instantly scooped the workbooks off the floor, hugging them with grim determination. She clearly hated the idea of studying, but the allure of an A-rank Valkyrie promotion was too strong to resist.
The rest of the gifts were far more normal. Mei received a beautiful set of high-end kitchenware, and Bronya unwrapped the latest VR game release.
Rovel looked around the room, then down at the lumpy green vegetable plushie in his lap.
"Why does my gift feel like an afterthought to make up the numbers?" Rovel retreated to the corner of the room, crouching down and tracing imaginary circles on the floor. "It is like someone completely forgot to buy me a present, panicked, and just grabbed something out of their own personal collection..."
"Rovel, do not be sad!" Theresa hurried over, her face flushing with guilt. "Act... actually, your gift has a hidden effect! Just like Kiana's! Yes, exactly! That is it!" She nodded rapidly, sounding very much like she was trying to convince herself.
"What hidden effect?" Rovel stopped tracing circles and looked up at her.
"Well, cough, you have to discover that yourself." Theresa averted her eyes, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "You are so smart, Rovel. You can definitely guess it, right?" She tossed the metaphorical hot potato right back into his lap.
"...!" Rovel fell silent for exactly one second. Then, his eyes widened as a look of deep realization washed over his features. "I understand! Theresa is implying that she wants me to sleep with her!"
If that were the case, the value of this plushie was truly immeasurable.
"Who wants you to sleep with them?!" Theresa shrieked, her face turning the color of a ripe tomato. She snatched the bitter melon pillow right out of his hands and smashed it directly into his face.
"So it wasn't that..." Rovel slumped back against the wall, radiating a gloomy aura.
Anyone truly familiar with Rovel knew he would never actually get depressed over something so trivial. However, Theresa did not quite grasp the depths of his teasing nature. She genuinely thought she had hurt his feelings.
She stared at his slumped shoulders, her guilt slowly overriding her embarrassment. Her expression softened.
"...At most, we can just take a nap together..." she mumbled, staring at the floor.
Rovel slowly blinked. Had he actually just unlocked a hidden route?
"Alright, you are not allowed to be sad anymore!" Theresa snapped back to her usual bossy tone, pointing a finger at him. "I did not forget on purpose! Stop looking so gloomy, or else... I will smash you flat with the Oath of Judah!"
Satisfied that her threat had thoroughly intimidated him, Theresa marched over to the sofa, sat down, and took a victorious sip of her chilled bitter melon juice.
A few minutes later, Himeko leaned in close to Rovel, lowering her voice. "Actually, Theresa originally ordered a pair of custom combat gauntlets for you. But there was a logistical issue with the delivery, so she had to scramble and grab a bitter melon doll from her quarters on the Hyperion."
"It is fine." Rovel flashed a thumbs-up, a sly grin tugging at his lips. "I ended up getting something far better than gauntlets anyway."
"...Theresa did not agree to some strange request of yours, did she?" Himeko eyed him with deep suspicion. Knowing Theresa's soft heart, if she saw Rovel acting genuinely hurt, she might have actually caved to whatever nonsense he proposed.
Rovel merely kept that smug smile plastered on his face, refusing to elaborate. Some victories were best enjoyed in absolute secrecy.
"It is finally almost midnight!" Kiana dashed back into the living room from the balcony. "Class Monitor said the streets would be super lively at twelve. Is that true?"
"It is. Look outside, people are already starting to set off fireworks." Rovel gestured toward the window, where a few distant streaks of light whistled into the night sky, popping into modest clusters of sparks.
"Is it just a few fireworks?" Kiana leaned against the glass, her shoulders dropping in disappointment. She had seen standard fireworks plenty of times; there was nothing particularly fresh or exciting about a handful of scattered explosions.
"What if it was the entire city?" Rovel asked softly.
The exact moment his words hung in the air, the clock struck midnight.
Time seemed to freeze for a fraction of a second. Then, the night sky above Nanwu City erupted.
An unimaginably brilliant ocean of fireworks bloomed across the horizon. Massive chrysanthemums of gold, cascading willows of emerald, and rapid-fire bursts of crimson and sapphire painted the heavens, dyeing the clouds in seven radiant colors. The sheer scale of the display turned the midnight sky as bright as dawn.
"Wow!! So many?!" Kiana pressed her hands against the glass, her eyes reflecting the dazzling explosions. "Mei! Bronya! You guys have to come out and see this!"
Drawn by the deafening, joyous thunder echoing across the city, Mei and Bronya hurried to the balcony, instantly captivated by the stunning view.
Standing quietly near the edge of the room, Fu Hua watched the vibrant lights wash over Shenzhou. She gently exhaled a long, quiet breath, watching her homeland safely transition into another year.
"Hmm? Where did Rovel go?" Himeko looked around the living room, belatedly realizing the young man had vanished into thin air.
High above the lively apartment, Rovel stood alone on the chilly rooftop. He looked out over the gorgeous, endless sea of fireworks and spoke into the crisp night air.
"How is it? I did not lie to you. Is it spectacular?"
A slender figure quietly materialized beside him.
The brilliant flashes of light reflected in her dark eyes. She looked down at the thousands of glowing windows in the city below, listening to the faint, echoing laughter of the people drifting up from the streets. Standing here, immersed in the warmth of the modern world, she finally seemed to understand.
She understood why the original Ji Lin had fought so desperately to protect all of this so long ago.
"Thank you, Rovel." Ji Lin turned her gaze toward him. Her once dull, lifeless pupils now carried a faint, unusual luster.
Back in the dark abysses of Jiuyou, she had given him a grim ultimatum.
Only by killing me can Chiyou be stopped and completely destroyed.
So... do it.
She had closed her eyes, quietly waiting for Rovel to strike her down with the Xuanyuan Sword and send her on her final journey.
But Rovel had refused. He had lowered the golden blade and offered her a second path.
"How about we make a bet? Let's bet on whether I can solve this crisis."
He had driven the Xuanyuan Sword into the stone floor and extended his hand toward her.
"If I win, let me take you to see the prosperity of Shenzhou."
Ji Lin had stared at his palm, completely baffled as to why he would propose something so reckless.
"Then what if... you lose?" she had asked.
"I... will not lose!" Rovel had declared with absolute certainty.
It was an absurd, unequal, childish gamble. Yet, in that fleeting moment, she felt as if she were looking at the true Yellow Emperor. From the second she had stepped into Jiuyou centuries ago, she had never allowed herself any option other than victory.
Just like him.
Ji Lin had reached out and grasped Rovel's hand. In doing so, she reconciled with her centuries of hatred. She reconciled with her crushing loneliness.
Through that simple bet, Ji Lin transformed into Rovel's second Stigmata.
Drawing upon her power, Rovel had instantly crossed the battlefield using the technique [Six Realms: Heaven], arriving at Fu Hua's side just in time to stop her from sacrificing her memories to unleash the Taixu Sword God.
He had not let Ji Lin down. He won their wager in the most dazzling manner possible.
And that single ray of light he brought into her world had completely shattered the darkness in her heart.
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