Chapter 113: Card Rental

Seeing the way he pursed his lips on that beautiful face, looking all sulky, Yun Qimu couldn’t help but chuckle, her eyes crinkling with amusement. “Ahem, if you’re really interested in cards, I actually have another one called ‘Pegasus Soaring’ that I could rent to you.”

Wu Xingyu looked up at her, tilting his head in confusion. “Rent?”

“Yeah, rent,” Yun Qimu glanced back at him, lips curling into a smile. “What, you thought you could buy it? Dream on. Cards are so rare—there’s no way I’d sell, even if you offered everything you own. Especially a top-tier card like ‘Pegasus Soaring’—it’s one in a million. I can’t even guarantee there’ll ever be a second one.”

She had reason to say this. In her previous life, in that full-immersion online game, cards like the ‘Pegasus Soaring’ she’d drawn, or the ‘Peach Blossom Spring’ in Xiao Zhuzhu’s hands, were truly unique. At least, before she died, she’d never seen a second card with the same name appear.

Otherwise, back then, riding on the fame of ‘Thousand-Li Horse’, she’d become the most famous, anonymous master thief in the virtual world overnight. If there had been more of those cards, her legendary status would’ve crumbled long ago.

Wu Xingyu silently lowered his head, looking at the gemstone ring on his finger.

Could all his wealth really not buy a single card?

Aside from the ring on his hand, he had thirteen more spatial buttons.

Spatial buttons, as storage items, couldn’t be stacked, which was why he’d ended up looking like a nouveau riche, with all eight fingers covered, plus more on his ears, neck, and belt.

But the in-game storage compartment was different—it could stack items, and you could even store multiple spatial buttons inside, grouping them as similar items.

Wu Xingyu was especially pleased with this, so he only kept one gemstone ring on his hand, and put all the rest into the game’s storage compartment.

After all, as much as he loved money, he still had a sense of aesthetics.

Seeing him fall silent, just staring at the ring on his finger, Yun Qimu’s gaze lingered on his hand for several seconds, a faint pang of jealousy in her heart.

“Ahem.” Yun Qimu snapped back to herself and continued, “I just thought, since you’re about to head out on a trading run, and you can’t use flying cars or mechs outside, you’ll need some kind of transport. That’s why I’m offering to rent you ‘Pegasus Soaring’. You’ve probably heard Pei Yu and the others mention it—it’s as fast as a flying car. With it, you’ll save a lot of time on the road. Any merchant knows that timing is everything—if you’re even a bit late, prices can drop, and you could lose out on double the profit. Who would you complain to then?”

After her analysis, Wu Xingyu completely agreed. They were both money-minded, and he was especially sensitive about anything involving profit.

He nodded seriously. “Alright. I’ll rent it.”

Yun Qimu’s face lit up with a smile. She immediately handed him a cup of her homemade danmu fruit tea. “Let’s drink and talk.”

Wu Xingyu was momentarily stunned, then took the cup, his eyes full of curiosity as he stared at the intricately carved bamboo cup, complete with lid and straw.

Following his gaze, Yun Qimu raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Looks interesting, right? It’s not just pretty, it’s practical too—keeps drinks warm, and the lid pops back on automatically when you put the straw in, so it won’t leak. This was something Xiao Yu drew from a card. That kid has the weirdest luck—always drawing these little practical everyday items.”

Though she said this, there was a hint of pride in her smile.

Wu Xingyu, who could only draw spirit coins, was green with envy. He wished he could draw something this useful.

He moved his lips, his dark eyes fixed on the bamboo cup. “Are there many of these?”

Yun Qimu immediately understood. “Not really, just five. The three of us at home each have one, so there are only two extras. One is in your hand, and there’s just one left. So, unfortunately, we can’t sell any.”

“Mm.”

The two of them shared a moment of regret for the lost business opportunity.

Then Yun Qimu straightened up and said, “Alright, let’s get back to the rental terms for ‘Pegasus Soaring’. Since we’re partners, and I get a share of the trading profits, I’ll give you a good deal—10 spirit coins per day. How about it?”

Wu Xingyu lifted his dark eyes, his long, thick lashes framing his striking cat-like eyes, making his already beautiful face look almost unreal. Right now, those eyes were full of surprise as he looked at Yun Qimu.

He clearly hadn’t expected her to offer such a low price this time.

Taking a sip of the sweet danmu fruit tea, the taste lingered in his mouth, softening the lines of his usually cold, beautiful face.

Then he asked, “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. If you think it’s too low, I can always raise it—”

“No need. Let’s go with 10 spirit coins per day.” Wu Xingyu agreed on the spot, and immediately took his cup and dragged Yun Qimu off to sign the contract.

Yun Qimu sat back on the stone stool, chin in hand, watching the joy on his beautiful face, her dark eyes sparkling with amusement. This fool really thought he’d scored a great deal.

Tsk tsk, he’s almost too easy to trick.

Wu Xingyu sat up straight, returning to the restaurant profit-sharing issue. “You’ll handle hiring the chef. I agree to a 50-50 split of the net profits.”

Now it was Yun Qimu’s turn to be surprised. “Are you serious?”

Wu Xingyu nodded earnestly. “I am.”

In fact, he was calculating in his mind—hiring a chef for 10 spirit coins a day was way cheaper than what he’d budgeted for a top chef.

In the Empire, a top chef’s salary had soared to 50 million energy coins a month, and even an ordinary chef made at least a million. Compared to that, the price Yun Qimu was offering for Song Wusao was ridiculously low.

His main concern had been the high cost of hiring a chef. Now that Yun Qimu had one, it solved the biggest budget issue for the restaurant, so a 50-50 profit split wasn’t so hard to accept.

He still felt like he was losing out a little, but with the sweet danmu fruit tea and the 10 spirit coin card rental, he could swallow it.

Meanwhile, the main AI, waiting for these two penny-pinchers to start haggling: [ ]

Little Matchstick scratched his head. This wasn’t what he’d expected at all. Weren’t they both supposed to be money-grubbers? Weren’t they both supposed to be stingy? So why, when they met, did they start giving way to each other?

Look at them—each letting the other have a little, both smiling and drinking tea together. Anyone watching would think they were on a date."