Chapter 93: Jingtian

Han Xuan’s thoughts were completely unknown to Chu Susu.

After breakfast, the two of them went out together to walk Pipi and tidy up the house.

Such intimate and everyday behavior always gave her the illusion that they had crossed the line from lovers to “husband and wife.”

While Pipi was frolicking on the community lawn, Han Xuan suddenly said:

“There’s something I need to tell you. Yesterday when I went to that bar, it wasn’t just for sketching…”

Her tone was somewhat serious, stirring some guesses in Chu Susu’s heart.

“For Qiao Qian?”

“Yeah.”

Han Xuan nodded. “After hearing you talk about Qiao Qian’s situation, I went to that bar and sat for a bit. I deliberately ordered a few drinks and chatted with one of the salespeople there.”

Chu Susu understood in her heart that in such a noisy environment, no one would notice what Han Xuan was doing.

So this “chatted a few sentences” meant she had gotten some crucial information from the salesperson.

“Go on.”

Under the cover of the lights, no one could tell if Han Xuan’s eyes were purple or some other color.

In any case, she smoothly made the bar salesperson dizzy and woozy, and then they obediently spilled the bar’s “secrets.”

“You were right before. This bar does have quite a few ‘Bar Ts.'”

Theoretically, the profession of Bar T wasn’t illegal; after all, it was just accompanying guests to drink and chat, part of the service industry.

But many guests came to the bar to drown their sorrows, and when they were in a bad mood and received comfort, they easily developed feelings for the patient comforter.

Naturally, they would want to maintain contact outside the bar, like chatting online or taking them out to eat, or even investing emotions.

Rich women didn’t care about this small money, but for ordinary people, the expenses added up big time.

A relationship built on piles of money required constant spending to maintain.

“You mean Qiao Qian’s money was spent on the Bar Ts at this bar?”

“Right.”

According to the bar salesperson’s confession, about a few months ago, Qiao Qian had come to their bar alone to drink.

At the time, she had been wronged at work and ordered a large bottle of liquor, but just drank it silently by herself.

The person who appeared by her side to comfort her was Yu Zize, a pretty and considerate girl.

She patiently listened to Qiao Qian vent her grievances without pushing her to buy drinks, instead gently advising her.

Qiao Qian fell hard soon enough.

Love at first sight didn’t make sense anyway.

But seeing Yu Zize wasn’t that easy. With so many people in the bar usually, she had to serve other customers—how could she stay by Qiao Qian’s side all the time?

The only way was to spend more money to help her meet her daily sales quota.

Under the bar salesperson’s subtle guidance, Qiao Qian did just that.

That night, Yu Zize smiled happily, and the bar’s atmosphere team played along, all praising Qiao Qian for her generosity and giving face.

Such things happening once or twice was fine, but in the Imperial Capital where everything was exorbitantly expensive, Qiao Qian naturally couldn’t keep it up.

She tried reducing her visits to the bar and inviting Yu Zize out elsewhere, but got rejected.

And the attitude turned cold abruptly.

Qiao Qian hurriedly explained that the bar’s expenses were too high for her to bear, and she’d definitely come back after payday next month to help Yu Zize hit her quota.

Yu Zize smiled and gave her an idea.

“Why don’t you take out a loan?”

Qiao Qian was stunned. “A loan?”

“Yeah.” Yu Zize led her on patiently. “The bar expenses are at most a few thousand or tens of thousands—repaying that should be easy, right? Borrow this month, and pay it back with next month’s salary.”

Qiao Qian hesitated. “But…”

“But what?” Yu Zize’s face darkened on the spot. “You say you like me, but you’re not even willing to make this little sacrifice?”

Under her goading, Qiao Qian took out the first loan.

At the start, the amounts were still manageable, but gradually, this pattern of spending ahead got addictive.

Second loan, third… until the thirteenth or fourteenth, Qiao Qian realized the hole couldn’t be filled anymore.

Living loan to loan only turned the debt into a bottomless pit, with astronomical numbers on the bills that were shocking to behold.

Qiao Qian panicked.

The debt collectors called her workplace. She already had conflicts with her superiors, making her situation even worse.

Moreover, an employee defaulting on debts outside affected the company’s reputation too. A few days later, the company fired Qiao Qian.

The reason for dismissal was entirely her own fault, utterly disgraceful, so when she later interviewed at other companies, as long as the HR did a background check, she was doomed to fail.

Qiao Qian completely lost her income.

She came back to the bar in despair again, and the familiar bar staff and salespeople crowded around. But after hearing about her situation and knowing she had no spending power left, their attitudes suddenly turned cold.

Qiao Qian’s parents didn’t know her sexual orientation, let alone that she owed such a huge sum.

Now she was truly at the end of her rope.

Chu Susu hadn’t expected it to really start with a Bar T—this was too shocking.

After hearing it all, she frowned, keenly realizing one fact. “Did you also track down Qiao Qian?”

Some details didn’t seem like something a bar salesperson would know.

Han Xuan smiled, tacitly agreeing. “So, what do you think?”

This matter undoubtedly made the atmosphere heavy. Chu Susu said softly, “What can I think? Qiao Qian got sold and even helped count the money.”

There was no such coincidence in the world. This Yu Zize, or rather this bar, had clearly reached some kind of deal with the lending institutions, deliberately pushing Qiao Qian toward borrowing to scam suckers like her.

This was obviously illegal; suing should not be too hard.

Chu Susu’s mood was complicated for a moment. As a friend, she naturally sympathized with Qiao Qian as the victim, but at the same time blamed her for not daring to tell everyone honestly.

“But do you think Qiao Qian would be willing to sue?” Han Xuan pointed out sharply. “She can’t even afford lawyer fees anymore.”

“That litigation cost is nothing; Le’er and I can cover it for her.”

“Suing means making it public, and she doesn’t want her parents to know.”

That was true, and Qiao Qian’s parents seemed to include teachers—jobs in the system would definitely be affected.

This was also why Qiao Qian had the wild idea to use Chu Susu to connect with Han Xuan.

If she had any other choice, she wouldn’t resort to this.

Han Xuan said softly, “I can help her.”

“…Still, forget it.” Chu Susu felt a bit reluctant. “This has nothing to do with you.”

As a friend, she naturally hoped Qiao Qian could resolve this properly, but not at the cost of Han Xuan’s losses.

Han Xuan had been dragged into this by her; using her abilities might lead to unknown consequences.

Han Xuan seemed very relaxed, smiling faintly. “No price to pay.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“Really.” She said, “I won’t lie to you.”

But Chu Susu still didn’t believe it, thinking she was just saying this to reassure her.

Han Xuan sighed, looking at Pipi bounding toward them, and said slowly, “By the way, Qiao Qian knows quite a bit about my affairs. Want to know why?”

“Go on.”

Chu Susu was quite curious how Qiao Qian had found out.

“It was Xu Jiao. They happened to meet, and Xu Jiao told Qiao Qian many of my university stories, exaggerating wildly.”

If Han Xuan hadn’t mentioned it, Chu Susu would have almost forgotten about her.

Xu Jiao had initially tried approaching her, but after seeing Han Xuan was her friend that day, she vanished into thin air and never contacted her again.

She hadn’t expected this connection.

“And… Qiao Qian believed it?” Chu Susu found it unbelievable. “But shouldn’t Xu Jiao have portrayed you as terrifying? How did Qiao Qian dare?”

Han Xuan smiled faintly. “She really didn’t dare.”

So when she saw her at the bar, she nearly pissed her pants in fear.

“Moreover, it seems she didn’t fully believe what Xu Jiao said.”

“Oh…”

Han Xuan suddenly extended the topic:

“Susu, if the me in others’ mouths is completely different from the me you know, would you believe them?”

As she said this, her eyes were still watching Pipi at play.

Chu Susu paused. “The me in others’ mouths?”

“Yeah, like the day the Hunter came knocking.” Han Xuan smiled, but the smile was inexplicably bitter. “They said I kill without batting an eye, commit all kinds of evils…”

Chu Susu paused, then said firmly, “I don’t believe it.”

People can’t live in this world just listening with their ears; they also need to look with their eyes.

The Han Xuan she saw wasn’t like what they described, and couldn’t possibly become that.

Those purple eyes always hidden by contacts were demonic yet crystal clear.

There must be a pure soul behind them.

Han Xuan asked softly, “Will you believe me?”

“Yes.”

“Always?”

“Always” carried the weight of a promise, but Chu Susu hesitated for a second before nodding.

“I will.”

A hard-to-describe emotion surged in Han Xuan’s eyes: “Thank you, really.”

“No need to thank me…”

Before she could finish, Han Xuan leaned in and gently kissed her on the cheek.

The moment her lips touched the cheek, it was like flipping the switch on a box of memories, causing Chu Susu’s body to tremble ever so slightly, inevitably recalling last night.

Han Xuan always seemed so gentle.

Her footsteps were light, her voice was soft, and even when kissing her, it was as light as a feather falling.

Only when they were doing it did she become forceful, as if trying to meld her into her own body.

“Han…”

“Susu, I still have some company designs to work on today, so I’ll head back first.”

Caught off guard, Han Xuan stood up from the long bench in the neighborhood, smiling and saying goodbye before she could even finish.

Chu Susu felt inexplicably disappointed: “…Mm, okay. Want me to walk you out?”

“No need, I’ll just take the subway.”

The words Chu Susu hadn’t said were swallowed back down, and she didn’t bring them up again.

What she wanted to ask was—do you like me?

You’re so good to me, and we’ve had that kind of relationship, so you must like me, right?

So, should we be together?

Some words just popped into her mind in a flash, but Han Xuan’s interruption made Chu Susu realize that this might not be the right time.

Better to save it for next time when there’s a chance.

Speaking of which, New Year’s Eve was coming up soon.