Chapter 2583: Chapter 804: Homeward Journey

Just a day later, the Saturday night dance party at Shanglin Garden had already become somewhat blurry in Zheng Qing’s memory.

He couldn’t remember which witches he danced with that night, nor when Jiang Yu came to the dance floor to lead him away. He wasn’t even sure if he had fulfilled Michael Tabbot’s request to persuade Dylan to accept his Zombie Bride.

What Zheng Qing remembered most vividly were the thin strands of light on the ceiling, drifting like swimming dragons, casting a hazy and splendid glow.

That glow continued to flicker in front of his eyes, even as he sat on the back of the Haired Dragon on the return journey.

Of course, it could have been because he was traveling back at night, under a brilliant starlit sky, where the starlight stretched into thin lines as the Haired Dragon sped through the clouds, resembling the strands of light from that night under the ceiling.

"Wake up, snap out of it!"

Jiang Yu reached out and grabbed in front of Zheng Qing’s eyes, as if trying to catch his lost soul, and said irritably, "Are you still thinking about dancing with those pretty girls last night? Don’t be so reluctant to let it go. If you really miss it, I can take you to visit the Baddminton Winter Hunting at the end of the year!"

Zheng Qing shivered involuntarily and shook his head vigorously.

"Weren’t you the one who made me dance with them? My legs turned to jelly from all that dancing!"

He tried to look both irritated and wronged—at times like these, staying silent wouldn’t cut it, he needed to gain the moral high ground in order to carve out more space for himself to operate.

Sure enough, hearing the young man’s refutation, a rare moment of awkwardness crossed Jiang Yu’s face.

"Do you need help with a massage?"

She glanced at Zheng Qing’s legs and quietly suggested, "Or you could visit the school clinic for some physical therapy after returning to campus? It’s best to let this kind of fatigue-related pain heal naturally without magic."

Zheng Qing was quite tempted by the witch’s former suggestion.

But he knew when to quit while he was ahead, understanding that now wasn’t the time to take advantage.

"Hmm, it’s not so bad that I’d need to visit the school clinic." The warlock pretended to stretch his legs and ponder: "It’s just a little sore, some rest should fix it... What were you going to tell me during the afternoon art exhibition?"

He subtly shifted the topic.

On the second day of Spring Hunting, the young wizards mainly attended various concerts, art exhibitions, and hunting skill seminars. The event Zheng Qing mentioned was a small episode during the afternoon when Jiang Yu accompanied him to the collection exhibition by Madame Mestre.

"Oh!"

Jiang Yu raised a hand to her forehead, then opened her purse to spill out a pile of jade coins, which quickly accumulated into a small hill, shimmering with alluring colors beneath the starlight.

The crisp clatter of jade stones echoed far in the night, prompting even Damao, who had been steadily pressing forward, to turn and stare at the pile of jade coins dumped on its back with wide glistening eyes, saliva dripping from its mouth.

"Stop staring! It’s got nothing to do with you... just keep moving!"

The witch waved away the Haired Dragon, who was distracted, then sat upright in front of Zheng Qing, dividing the pile of jade coins into two parts, leaving one half in front of herself and pushing the other half to Zheng Qing: "I wanted to discuss earnings distribution with you at that time, but Beta Xi interrupted and made me forget... Here, these are your earnings from last night’s dances... As your agent and salesperson, it’s not too much for me to take half as a fee. Look, we split it evenly, these are mine, those are yours. Oh, and some clients paid in gemstones, herbs, and magic materials instead of equivalent value, but I converted them into jade coins for you."

The jade coins she pushed in front of Zheng Qing numbered about a hundred and fifty, which wasn’t much compared to Zheng Qing’s monthly ’arms dealing’ proceeds, but for most ordinary college students, it was a substantial amount—considering that as a scholarship student at the First University, the annual scholarship was only ten jade coins.

Zheng Qing stared dumbfounded at the jade coins in front of him, momentarily at a loss.

After a while, he tentatively asked, "... Dance earnings?"

He had just learned that what he did last night was paid companionship, which left him with complicated feelings. Especially since the witch used professional terms like ’clients’ and ’agent,’ making him feel both amused and helpless.

"Yes."

Jiang Yu also seemed to realize the peculiarity of the matter, avoiding the young man’s gaze, and nodded slightly, explaining softly, "At first, I was against it, but Vivian offered generous terms, and she made a valid point... Coming to Shanglin Garden already places a lot of pressure on you... but if you dance with many witches, the one from the Greenhill Mansion won’t find it easy to cause trouble for you."

Zheng Qing wasn’t sure if his expression was one of gratitude or helplessness.

He knew it was certainly very complicated.

"Thank you for your trouble."

The young man picked up a jade coin, feeling its smooth surface, and sighed. His thanks were not for the witch’s hard work but for the effort she put in restraining her emotions.

Undoubtedly, watching him dance with one witch after another wasn’t a pleasant experience for her.

"Making money is certainly difficult... but who doesn’t love the clinking of jade coins?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Jiang Yu raised two jade coins to her ears, tapped them, and with a playful smile on her face, she paused, seemingly remembering something, and then nonchalantly scooped nearly half of her pile to Zheng Qing: "Almost forgot... this is the money to buy a gift for Dong Dong! Initially, I planned to pick one or two of Madame Mestre’s collections during the afternoon art show, but after going through them, none seemed suitable for a child. So, you can help her pick something instead."

"No need, I have money." Zheng Qing attempted to push that small pile of jade coins back.

The witch held his arm and said slowly, "Your money is yours, my money is mine. Your gift to Dong Dong is your gift, and my gift to Dong Dong is my gift."

Zheng Qing had an epiphany and finally caught on: "Oh... What do you think would be a good present for Dong Dong? I mean, we could totally pool together for one gift."

Jiang Yu’s lips curved into a faint smile.

"She surely doesn’t lack pretty clothes or various magic books, nor is she short of jewelry or beautiful gemstones... Besides, those gifts are a bit too frivolous."

The witch pondered, her face expressing slight perplexity: "If she were a bit older, we could give her an hourglass or a pretty little rooster... At her current age... Hmm, when I was five, my family gave me a small estate as a birthday gift, so perhaps we can approach it that way, like buying Dong Dong a small shop in Beta Town? Three hundred jade coins could buy a decent little business!"

Zheng Qing stared at her, once again realizing the gulf between himself and the Aristocratic Wizards.