Chapter 37: This is no "damn idiot"—this is clearly her precious little darling.

As soon as Qian Qi returned to school, she was targeted by Chen Tong.

That fool Chen Miaomiao had gone off God knows where and hadn't even reported Qian Qi's whereabouts, which was the only reason he had just learned of her return. Having missed an opportunity to kill her off-campus, Chen Tong had no choice but to shift his focus back to the school grounds.

However, these matters were not yet urgent.

Behind a large tree, Chen Tong hid in the shadows, his eyes fixed on Qian Qi’s slacker-like silhouette, filled with malevolence and greed. Although his family was wealthy, they were only wealthy; they lacked true power. There were too many rich people in this world, which was why Mo Yinqiu and Gu Liheng had been impartial when dealing with the conflict between him and Qian Qi—they simply did not fear his family’s status.

To be feared, one must possess power that others dread, or things that others desperately crave. Like, for instance, the Hemostatic Magic Potion.

Thinking of the potion’s heaven-defying efficacy, Chen Tong felt a surge of restless ambition. He knew full well that once he monopolized the distribution channels or the preparation methods of the magic potion, he wouldn't just be dealing with ordinary people; Awakened ones from all over the world would be groveling and fawning at the feet of the Chen family! At that point, he wouldn't even need to dirty his own hands to deal with a mere Qian Qi; countless people would be lining up to do his bidding!

"She left school this time—it’s highly likely she went to restock," Chen Tong thought, his pulse quickening as he began to tail her.

...

Back at school, Qian Qi immediately transferred 50,000 to Xiang Wenyun. After a moment of hesitation, she sent another 30,000, her heart aching. Damn it, the 30,000 she had just gotten her hands on hadn't even warmed up before being sent away. An ordinary person could never imagine the depth of her heartache!

Of course, she didn't do this out of pure kindness. Whether the Guangming Orphanage was sold or seized by the authorities, the existence of that E-rank dungeon would be exposed. Once it became public property, she would no longer be able to monopolize it. Therefore, she could not let the orphanage go under. To Qian Qi, money was important, but one needed to be alive to spend it. Since she was carrying a fortune, she had to become strong enough to protect her assets. Thus, the stat bonuses from the dungeon were absolutely essential for her.

"Consider it the cost of transferring the orphanage to me. Once the dungeon is of no use to me, I’ll stop sending her money," Qian Qi decided, feeling that she had been more than benevolent.

"Right, next up, time to deal with the Defense Fruits."

Qian Qi picked up her little stool, rummaged through the trash bin at the back of the school infirmary, and retrieved a clean, brand-new small cardboard box.

"Hahaha! Saved another 10 bucks!" Qian Qi couldn't help but stand with her hands on her hips and laugh toward the sky.

Chen Tong, trailing her, was speechless. *Is she sick? How can someone be this stingy?!*

Feeling both speechless and disgusted, Chen Tong twitched his brow and followed Qian Qi to the Skill Department’s dueling plaza. Setting down her stool and tossing the Defense Fruits from her pocket into the cardboard box, Qian Qi cleared her throat and began to shout:

"Handsome men, beautiful ladies! Stop for a moment if you're tired of walking, rest a while if you’re tired of fighting, and if you’re feeling bored, come have a chat with yours truly, Qian Qi!"

"Qian Qi’s products are top-notch—if you know quality, take one home! Super Defense Fruits! Eat one and defend against D-rank magical beast attacks!"

"You might not be able to hold your breath underwater for 10 minutes, and you might not last 10 minutes in bed, but our Defense Fruits will definitely let you hold out for 10 minutes under the assault of a D-rank magical beast!"

"A real man eats Defense Fruits! A real woman... tackles the men!"

The System, which was monitoring Chen Tong, was stunned: (￣□￣；) ... *Where the hell did you learn that ad copy?*

Qian Qi’s advertising slogan was truly novel and bizarre. It immediately attracted a crowd of Skill Department students. Many, having already heard of Qian Qi’s reputation on the forums, assumed she was selling the Hemostatic Potion again and began asking:

"Big boss, are you selling the Hemostatic Potion?"
"I want 10 packs!"
"Hey, hey, why are you buying so many? Don't tell me you're planning to resell them?"
"What are you talking about! I'm buying them for my family! My parents go into dungeons all the time; with the Hemostatic Potion, their survival rate increases dramatically, don't you get it?"

They all pulled out their light-brains, ready to transfer funds, but when they looked down, they found only ten small, brown, candy-sized fruits in the box.

"Not selling Hemostatic Potions today!" Qian Qi pointed at the box, smiling brightly. "Today we’re selling Defense Fruits. Eat one, and you’ll be immune to all D-rank magical beast damage for 10 minutes!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd gasped in unison. "What? Immune to all D-rank damage? Even fire and lightning damage?"

"Of course!" Qian Qi patted her chest confidently. "I tested them myself!"

"Tsk." From within the crowd, someone sneered, "You're so stingy—you’d actually be willing to test them yourself?"

Qian Qi looked toward the source of the voice and frowned immediately. *How is it this idiot again?*

The person who had spoken was none other than Chen Tong. He was blending into the crowd, looking at Qian Qi with undisguised disdain. He had heard that Qian Qi had made the principal pay and do the heavy lifting just to sell her potions. How could someone who wouldn't even spend money on a new box be willing to consume such a precious Defense Fruit?

Seeing Qian Qi frown, Chen Tong felt validated and grew even more sarcastic. "It looks to me like these Defense Fruits were plucked straight from a magical plant. Everyone knows that magical plants—whether the leaves or the fruits—cannot be consumed directly. Even for an Awakened one, eating them would leave behind side effects."

"Qian Qi, the Hemostatic Potion might be safe, but aren't you being too irresponsible by feeding students raw magical fruit?"

Chen Tong’s argument was logical and well-founded, causing the eager students to hesitate.

"He's right. Eating magical plants directly does have side effects."
"If she really tested them herself, she should be lying in the infirmary right now."
"If she's not in the infirmary, then she's definitely lying."

Once a merchant starts lying, they lose all trust. The crowd looked at Qian Qi and the Defense Fruits with growing hesitation and suspicion.

Seeing the crowd back away, Chen Tong triumphantly added fuel to the fire. "And who doesn't know you're a bottom-of-the-barrel student? The Hemostatic Potion couldn't possibly have been made by you; you must have just been a distributor!"

"Gaining the students' trust and then immediately selling them fruits with side effects—Qian Qi, you’re being incredibly underhanded."

The accusations Chen Tong piled onto Qian Qi were so severe that even the eavesdropping System was enraged.

[What is this piece of trash saying? If he doesn't want his mouth, he can donate it to someone else!]

"Oh~ don't say that, Senior Chen~" Qian Qi’s frown suddenly vanished, and she smiled brightly. "How could he be a piece of trash? This is clearly my little darling~"

[???] *Are you into that kind of thing?*

Qian Qi smiled mysteriously. She sat on her small stool, spread her legs, and rested her arms on her thighs. Leaning forward slightly, she said with a roguish air, "Young man, you can eat anything, but you can't just say anything."