Chapter Fifteen: Neither Arrogant Nor Submissive

“A small matter? What is it?” Zheng Qiuyin asked casually.

As a Rank Two Awakened, Zheng Qiuyin could tell at a glance that Qin Jing was just an ordinary person. In this situation, she felt that even granting Qin Jing a bit of her time for conversation was already showing him a great deal of respect. After all, she had no idea where he had managed to obtain the beauty elixir, an extremely rare treasure—especially for women.

But Qin Jing didn’t see things the same way. Not being an Awakened himself, he had no idea how those who had gained abilities after the resurgence of spiritual energy looked down upon ordinary people. Thus, he was distinctly displeased with Zheng Qiuyin’s attitude.

“No need. The deal is done. You two may leave now.” Qin Jing raised his hand and made a gesture of polite dismissal.

“You...” Zheng Qiuyin was taken aback, then, half amused and half exasperated, said bluntly, “Is it because we weren’t friendly enough that you’re refusing to tell us?”

Qin Jing raised an eyebrow. “By coincidence, we’ve worked together once before. If you’re willing, I’m quite open to further cooperation. But now it seems I was overestimating myself.”

He admitted it outright.

Zheng Qiuyin was at a loss for words. She couldn’t very well say, “You’re just an ordinary person—how dare you expect to collaborate with someone like me?”

Zheng Qiuying, already sulking, immediately snorted coldly at his words. “Qin Jing, you think too highly of yourself. Even without you, we’re not afraid of Wang Keng. As for financial losses, those are secondary.”

Qin Jing shrugged and smiled. “Exactly. That’s why I say I can’t afford to overreach. The two of you are free to leave.”

“You!” Zheng Qiuying was livid, pointing at him. “You promised me before: the second bottle of beauty elixir—one and a half million, sell it to me!”

“Oh, so you do want it after all.” Qin Jing feigned sudden realization and, reaching into his bag, produced a bottle of the beauty elixir, placing it before the two women. He gestured. “Here it is. One and a half million. Cash only. Bring the money, and you can take the bottle.”

“Ah!” Zheng Qiuying was dumbfounded, and even Zheng Qiuyin looked puzzled. The two sisters had assumed Qin Jing had realized the true ‘value’ of the beauty elixir and was setting conditions to drive up the price. But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case at all.

Zheng Qiuyin looked at Qin Jing thoughtfully and asked, “Did you know Hu Chaoyang from before?”

This woman was frighteningly sharp. Qin Jing sighed inwardly and nodded. “That’s right. We have some bad blood. What I want to ask of you is simple: let Hu Chaoyang serve his full sentence. I checked with the police—his case is flexible, could be as little as three months, as much as three years.”

“It really is a small matter.” Zheng Qiuying gave a wry, amused smile. Straightforward and simple in nature, once she realized she’d ‘misjudged’ Qin Jing, she felt all the more that he’d been helping her all along—especially since he’d sold her the beauty elixir. What a good person he was!

With that in mind, she looked at her older sister.

Zheng Qiuyin’s face was expressionless. She knew she’d misjudged the situation, but so what? It hadn’t caused her any real loss.

“That Hu Chaoyang dared to steal and sell my car. Even if you hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have let him off easily. I’ll take care of that small matter. As for the second bottle of beauty elixir, I’ll buy it at the original price—no need for a discount. But I have a condition.”

Qin Jing’s heart skipped a beat. He could more or less guess what she was after, so he deliberately asked, “Very well, Miss Zheng. State your condition. As long as it’s within my power, I’ll do my best to help.”

“Where did those two bottles of beauty elixir come from?”

A short question, but Zheng Qiuyin’s expression turned solemn after she spoke. If there was a stable production channel for this elixir, the profits would be unimaginable.

“Beauty elixir? I heard you mention it before. Is that the name of the liquid in that little bottle? I bought it off someone once. If I recall, the seller said it was some kind of homemade concoction.”

Qin Jing put on his trademark look of confusion. Ever since he’d decided to sell the beauty elixir to Zheng Qiuying, he’d been rehearsing his story. Fortunately, his collection depot acquired all kinds of odds and ends every day, so this explanation was watertight.

And besides...

“As expected—if you knew the truth...”

But Zheng Qiuyin wasn’t disappointed. She easily believed Qin Jing’s story. The rest of her thought went unspoken: If you knew what this really was, you’d never sell it so lightly.

“Do you two still want the waste paper?” Qin Jing seized the chance to change the subject, gesturing toward the warehouse in front of them. “I rented this place temporarily. It’s got plenty of space—enough to store one hundred thousand catties of waste paper. Starting tonight, I’ll be arranging for trucks to bring it over in batches. I hope you can send people to inspect and receive the goods.”

“Alright, I’ll arrange it.” Having received the answer she expected, Zheng Qiuyin’s interest flagged. She responded offhandedly, then left with Zheng Qiuying.

Qin Jing was drenched in cold sweat. Although the transaction with the Zheng sisters had gone almost perfectly—fulfilling all his immediate needs and even sending his ‘enemy’ Hu Chaoyang to jail—he still saw many flaws.

“To have offended Wang Keng and the Phoenix Society behind him—that’s a major problem. And even if Zheng Qiuyin isn’t suspicious now, if one day I become an Awakened, she’ll surely recall recent events. That’ll be trouble.”

“In short, GDP has brought enormous change to my life, but all the changes revolve around collecting and selling—none of it has made me an Awakened. Without that, I have no right to speak among these extraordinary people.”

“Does Zheng Qiuyin look down on me? Does she think I can’t tell? But so what if I can? I still have to accept reality. All of this comes down to one thing: I lack power. So, for now, my most urgent task is to find a way to become an Awakened myself!”

“Even if it’s not for the sake of trading with these Awakened, for the sake of my own future, I need to become one. After all, according to Jessica, after the spiritual energy resurgence, the future of Earth will belong to those with extraordinary powers!”

“If only I could enter the world of myth. From my deductions and Jessica’s words, in that world, spiritual energy has reached its peak—there are immortals, gods, buddhas, and demons everywhere. Even if I were to pick up any random legacy and return to Earth, I’d be invincible!”

Standing there, countless thoughts swirled through Qin Jing’s mind as he pondered the path he needed to take next.

---

Thanks to Xiao Ye’s Finale and Old Wine for their generous rewards. My status has been updated to an A-level contract. Cute plea for support—hehehe.