[Alright, rich-lady sis, are you planning to send it today? If so, I'll go arrange the stock right now]
[Star-cutter: Not today. If needed, I'll contact you again]
Unknowingly, she had already spent 100,000 credits.
Jingliu let out a sigh, sincerely hoping Baiheng could crash a few less star skiffs this month.
She continued scrolling through the guide.
[Make sure to win over the people around him. They might play a decisive role at a crucial moment]
The first person Jingliu thought of was Jing Yuan.
Ever since he had taken her as his master, she had patiently taught this disciple.
As long as Jing Yuan was willing to learn, she never held back in teaching him, but her teaching methods couldn't exactly be called gentle...
Counting the years, she had taught him from when he was in his teens until he was nearly twenty now. You could say she had already won over someone close to Zero.
She continued reading the document.
[If he takes the initiative to give you a gift, then you must buy something even more expensive in return (I think at least a seven-figure gift counts as sincere)]
Seven figures worth of credits...
At a glance, Jingliu knew this had to be Dan Feng's idea again.
That Lord of the Moon, who casually wanted to hire eight servants for Yingxing, clearly didn't have normal concepts of money.
Let's put that aside for now. Suddenly pulling out a million credits for a gift would be way too much.
When she actually received a gift from him, Jingliu, while happy, also started worrying.
Zero's position in the Divination Commission wasn't high, and the pay was average.
When he ordered milk tea, he would even choose the "second cup half-price" deal...
Maybe his life wasn't that easy.
When she once escorted him home, Jingliu noticed his courtyard and had a guess in her heart.
Maybe he had bought real estate? Was he in debt?
But Zero had never shown any sign of it before, and would even treat her and Baiheng to drinks.
One moment she'd transfer him credits under the excuse of buying milk, the next he'd return the gesture with a gift.
She had to find a way.
As for what way... definitely not Dan Feng's method of pulling out a million-credit gift.
Zero would surely refuse, or if he accepted, he'd only repay it with something even more expensive.
Jingliu thought for a while, and decided to keep it simple, no gifts, just directly spend credits.
One hundred thousand, several hundred thousand, amounts like that were easier to accept.
Once their relationship grew closer, maybe then he could accept.
After deciding on the amount, the Swordmaster opened the forum again.
[After receiving a gift, you must give feedback. For example, return a kiss, or share it on social media, ]
Jingliu fell silent.
Returning a kiss was going way too far...
She could only manage the latter.
The Swordmaster, awkward in her movements, opened her account. She had almost never posted anything herself on social media, usually just resharing other people's posts.
For example, Baiheng's nine-square collages from parties that she had edited to perfection, or reposting victory announcements from various Xianzhou at her superior's request.
Jingliu thought long and hard, hesitantly typed out a short sentence, then paused at the image-selection step.
She remembered one line from the guide, "Treat him as the exception."
If all the shared pictures were the same, then it wasn't really an exception, was it?
So Jingliu took a new photo. This time she herself wasn't in the frame, only her courtyard and the moon lamp.
[Star-cutter: An unexpected gift, thank you. I really like it]
Heavy internet users Baiheng and Jing Yuan were the first to see this post.
[Baiheng: Wow! That's such a huge lamp! It must look so pretty when lit! I wanna go take a picture!]
[Jing Yuan: (●__●)]
Jingliu agreed to Baiheng's request, and then very naturally ignored Jing Yuan's comment.
Same picture, but why did her own disciple always manage to make things sound so dumb?
Then came the late arrivals, Dan Feng and Yingxing.
[Dan Feng: Doesn't seem as good as milk tea]
[Baiheng replying to Dan Feng: Why've you been saying that so much lately? Broken record much!]
Jingliu, "..."
That guy Dan Feng, truly relentless.
[Yingxing: That speed... Can't you guys wait until I save up seven figures?]
Jingliu didn't understand Yingxing's reply and could only send back a question mark.
"Save up seven figures", for someone who lost money just by going to work every day, wasn't that far too difficult?
She hoped the Armorer would wake up to reality soon, and give up on that goal.
Jingliu reread her friends' replies. From Baiheng's words, she noticed something was off.
Did Baiheng not know about her and Zero?
Looked like Jing Yuan and the others hadn't told her...
For a moment, Jingliu didn't know how to bring it up.
If her friends teased her after finding out, she would just get embarrassed and angry, then compose herself and accept it with forced grace.
But if she had to say it herself...
Jingliu sighed, raised a hand to cover her face, then lowered it again with her usual cold, untouchable Swordmaster expression.
Surely Jing Yuan and the others would eventually tell Baiheng.
So she thought, and went back to studying the guide, until it was nearly time for Cloud Knights to assemble. Then she got up and rejoined the ranks.
The rarely seen General Tengxiao happened to show up that day, standing in front of the troops to give the usual speech.
Then a sharp-eared Vidyadhara stepped forward, whispered a few words to the General, and left.
The General had to cut his words short, dismissed the troops after a few encouragements, and hurried off in the Vidyadhara's direction.
As the soldiers dispersed, Jing Yuan walked over.
His face carried a smile with hidden meaning. Jingliu only needed one glance to know this boy wanted to tease her, so she struck first, telling him to practice his sword.
Seeing his disciple's bitter face, Jingliu's mood instantly brightened.
Once Jing Yuan obediently finished his sword practice, Jingliu spoke again, "Tonight, come eat with me near the Divination Commission."
Jing Yuan, "Huh? With who else?"
"You, me, and Zero."
At her words, Jing Yuan's smile slowly faded.
In a flash, he saw through the truth.
'Master, if you're inviting Zero to dinner, what exactly is going on between you two?'
Jing Yuan decided to bluff, "Master, I actually already made plans with Dan Feng tonight, we're going to..."
Jingliu noticed the white-robed figure behind her disciple, raised her brows slightly, and said in her calm, unruffled voice with a hint of teasing,
"You can refuse him now."
Jing Yuan stiffly turned his head to look.
Clad in white robes, black-haired and blue-eyed, with dragon horns atop his head.
The dragon lord stood with arms folded, his expression seemingly cold. But Jing Yuan, who knew his friend well, instantly saw that Dan Feng was here just to watch the fun.
Dan Feng asked calmly, "Refuse what?"
Suddenly, Jing Yuan didn't want to speak anymore.
Outsiders thought the Lord of the Moon was aloof and arrogant. Only close friends knew his true nature.
And Jing Yuan, once a frequent victim, had plenty of experience.
On the surface he played the role of a pure, untouchable little immortal dragon. In reality, he was a picky, clueless, mischief-loving dragon.
From head to toe, Dan Feng's clothing and accessories were all the latest Luofu fashions. His favorite pastime was putting on a flawless cold face, embarrassing people, and tearing them down on purpose.
If he learned of something like this, he'd surely feign surprise, "Is that so? Jing Yuan never asked me out."
If Dan Feng himself accidentally got implicated, he'd drag others down with him, his specialty was persecution.
"I wanted to invite Jing Yuan to eat near the Divination Commission, but he said he had plans with you."
When Dan Feng heard the words "Divination Commission," he raised his brows. Ignoring Jing Yuan's desperate look for help, he spoke with a tone of amusement, "Is that so? I haven't heard anything of the sort."
Jingliu, taking advantage of the moment, lectured, "This isn't a battlefield. What are you scheming about in Luofu? Better to use that time to practice your sword more."
Jing Yuan, "..."
He glared fiercely at Dan Feng.
'You bastard, watching the fun and letting me suffer! Who wants to be the lightbulb here!'
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