The Debtor Calls the Shots... Right?
Jingxing nearly dropped the box of lenses in his hands.
"Th-thirty billion?" He stared at the Herta Puppet, wondering if Imaginary Energy had burned out his ears too. "Ms. Herta, do you know how much one of my paintings sells for on the Zhuming Xianzhou?"
"No, and I don't care to know." The Herta Puppet folded her arms, her tone utterly matter-of-fact. "This genius's time is worth that much."
"But you said before that you'd get the research data—" Jingxing had thought that was the price he had to pay.
"The data is the consultation fee." The Herta Puppet held up a finger and wagged it. "But these lenses are curios. The consultation fee and the price of the goods are two different things."
Jingxing opened his mouth but couldn't find a word of rebuttal. She wasn't just arguing for the sake of it, either. If a curio made by a member of the Genius Society went up for auction, plenty of people would surely be willing to pay thirty billion Credits.
The problem was, he couldn't come up with that kind of money. Even if he used all the compensation money he'd saved, it wouldn't be enough.
As for selling paintings... Jingxing quickly did the math in his head. The most expensive painting he'd ever sold was the one General Huaiyan's granddaughter had bought for five thousand Strale, equivalent to a million Credits. He'd been happy about that for half a month.
To make thirty billion, he'd need that Miss Yunli to buy thirty thousand paintings. He'd have to paint from now until the next Amber Era.
"Sorry, I can't afford it." He honestly held out the box of lenses to the Herta Puppet.
"I can see that." The Herta Puppet shrugged without a hint of surprise, but didn't take the box. "You've already used the lenses, so they're secondhand now. Keep using them for the time being. We'll treat the thirty billion as a debt."
"Debt?" Jingxing's mouth twitched. "Does the Herta Space Station run a lending business too?"
"I'm not interested in useless financial services, but we can discuss paying off the debt with goods."
As soon as she finished speaking, a soft female voice came from around the corner of the corridor. "If he can't afford it, I'll pay."
Jingxing stiffened and turned. Ruan Mei had come back at some point and was leaning against the corner, her eyes fixed on him past Herta.
"You haven't left yet?" The Herta Puppet frowned in displeasure.
"I was going to, but I heard your conversation." Ruan Mei walked over slowly, her voice as soft as ever. "I'll pay the thirty billion, on the condition that Mr. Jingxing cooperates with my research."
She said it as though discussing the most ordinary purchase.
"I refuse." Jingxing spoke almost the instant she finished. Cooperate with her research? Heaven knew what she would do to him.
Ruan Mei stopped and stared at him, then gave a soft "I see." Though her tone barely changed, Jingxing could tell she was a little disappointed.
"Never mind, then." She turned to Herta and gave a slight nod. "Let him find his own way."
With that, Ruan Mei really did leave this time.
Jingxing breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could wipe the sweat from his brow, a cold snort from the Herta Puppet drew his attention back.
"You've got some nerve, turning down even Ruan Mei." She looked up at him, her expression somewhere between mocking and satisfied. "Still, smart move. I don't dare imagine what you'd run into in her lab."
"So what do you mean by 'paying off the debt with goods'?" Jingxing brought the conversation back on track.
The Herta Puppet rubbed her chin and pretended to give it serious thought before snapping her fingers. "Simple. Collect curios for me while you're out there. Little things I don't already have in my collection. The rarer, the better."
Jingxing's interest stirred. He was a painter, destined to travel all over the galaxy in search of inspiration. Collecting curios would hardly interfere with his usual work.
"Do paintings count?" he ventured. "The paintings I make might someday—"
"Your paintings aren't worth a thing to this genius right now," the Herta Puppet said mercilessly. "When they're worth something, I'll naturally bid on them. But until then, forget it."
Jingxing rubbed his nose. He remembered what Yaoguang had said: "Your paintings will appear on the Xianzhou, in Penacony, and in the Genius Society." He'd taken it for Xianzhou-style courtesy at the time, but now he wondered if he'd end up working to increase his own value just to pay Herta back.
"No objections." After settling his thoughts, Jingxing nodded. "Deal."
"Your word isn't enough." The Herta Puppet turned and walked away. "Come sign a contract with me."
They signed the contract in the station master's office.
It was much brighter than Herta's room, with a row of portholes along the wall and a deep blue planet visible outside. When Jingxing entered, a pink-haired girl stood behind the desk, her uniform crisp and a station master's nameplate pinned to her chest. She paused at the sight of the Herta Puppet, then smiled with a hint of resignation.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Herta."
"Asta, draw up a contract for him." The Herta Puppet plopped down on the sofa. "A debt settlement agreement. Subject of the agreement: several curios. Party A: Herta. Party B: Jingxing. Valid until I decide he's paid me back."
Asta looked up at Jingxing. There was even a hint of sympathy in her gaze.
She cleared her throat. "Actually, if it's only thirty billion, I could cover it for you personally—"
"It's his debt to me. It's not your place to cover it." The Herta Puppet interrupted Asta's kind offer without looking back. "I want curios, not money. You've got plenty of that on your card, don't you?"
Asta could only give an apologetic smile and say no more. She deftly pulled up a contract template, changed a few terms, and pushed it in front of him.
Jingxing skimmed through it. The terms themselves were fair, with nothing unreasonable added. He promptly signed it.
By the time he left the office, the space station's lighting had already shifted to a warm nighttime yellow. Jingxing returned to his guest room and threw himself onto the bed.
In the space of a day, he'd landed himself thirty billion in debt. Once he left here, he still had to return to school and finish his graduation project, or his degree would slip through his fingers.
Just then, feeling somewhat troubled, Jingxing took out his phone. The screen lit up, revealing a message in the notification bar—
[Robin: Did you make it?]
Jingxing stared at the message for a while, then tapped the screen with his fingertips.
[Jingxing: Yeah, the trip went smoothly.]
[Jingxing: It's just that what happened after I arrived was a little...]
[Robin: What happened? Did Ms. Herta give you a hard time?]
[Jingxing: No. It went pretty smoothly. I just almost got taken away by another genius to be sliced up for research.]
[Robin: ???]
[Jingxing: Just kidding. Anyway, the problem with my eyes is fixed. Ms. Herta really is a genius.]
[Jingxing: What about you? How's your injury?]
This time, Robin was much slower to reply. It was quite a while before her message came—
[Robin: Much better. I started trying some vocal exercises today.]
[Jingxing: ...Aren't you rushing it? Rest a while longer. You need to take good care of your voice.]
[Robin: I'm only humming a few lines quietly. It won't affect anything.]
[Jingxing: Mr. Sunday didn't stop you?]
[Robin: He can't control me.]
[Robin: But the Family meeting starts tomorrow, so he'll be keeping a closer eye on me. I might not be able to reply to your messages right away.]
Jingxing stared at the smiley face at the end of the message and couldn't help sighing.
He could just imagine what she looked like right now.
[Jingxing: Be careful. Don't collapse again after a while.]
[Robin: I won't.]
[Robin: Besides, singing onstage is my dream.]
[Robin: I don't want to waste a single day.]
[Jingxing: I know.]
[Jingxing: Then hurry up and get better. When you make your comeback, I'll come see your first performance.]
[Robin: It's a promise.]
Jingxing stared at those words and smiled. He placed the phone face down on his chest and closed his eyes.