Dugu Yan was only Ye Lingling's best friend. When it came to the most important decision of Ye Lingling's life, all she could do was keep an eye on things.
The final decision still depended on what Ye Lingling and her family wanted.
Knowing Ye Lingling's mother, she probably wouldn't let Fang Xuan off easy after something like this happened to her daughter.
Even if he wasn't mainly to blame, it would make no difference.
Whose daughter wasn't the apple of her eye? Dugu Yan could imagine that if something like this happened to her, her grandfather would beat the other person until not even a scrap was left.
"Thanks for the warning. I'll handle it."
"All right, now that we've finished talking about that, it's time to discuss compensation."
As she spoke, Dugu Yan held out her hand in front of Fang Xuan and looked at him with a cheeky grin.
Fang Xuan stared at her, dumbfounded.
"Compensation? What compensation? I didn't do anything to you."
"How can you say you didn't? You stole my best friend away, causing me severe emotional trauma. Don't you think you should compensate me for my mental anguish?"
"I'm not asking for much. Just a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."
Dugu Yan spoke with such righteous conviction, but her grin made Fang Xuan feel as if she were robbing the rich to help the poor.
And Dugu Yan really was pretty broke. She wasn't nearly as wealthy as Fang Xuan seemed to think. She only got a few hundred in pocket money each month.
With prices in Heaven Dou City, that was nowhere near enough for her to spend as she pleased. Compared with Fang Xuan, she was dirt poor.
So this was perfect. Fang Xuan had so much money; she might as well fleece him for a little spending money. After all, he had stolen her best friend away.
But before Fang Xuan could say anything, Ye Lingling couldn't hold back.
"Don't give her anything. She's extorting you."
As her closest friend, Ye Lingling knew exactly what Dugu Yan was thinking. She immediately called her out without the slightest mercy.
"Ye Lingling, don't you think you're taking his side a bit too much?"
Dugu Yan glared at Ye Lingling, gritting her teeth. She'd originally planned to haggle with Fang Xuan.
But Fang Xuan hadn't said a word, and Ye Lingling had already stepped in and turned him down for her. She didn't even want to give Dugu Yan a single copper coin.
"This isn't about whose side I'm taking. What you're doing is inappropriate."
"You can't use my name to force him to do anything. Besides, this was my fault in the first place. If you do this, won't it make me look shameless?"
Ye Lingling knew exactly where she stood in all this.
Even though she was a girl, that didn't mean she could make unreasonable demands. Nor could she let her best friend use this sort of tactic to pressure Fang Xuan.
Even if Fang Xuan agreed, she wouldn't want him to. It would make her feel utterly ashamed, as if she were demeaning herself.
Seeing Ye Lingling put it that way, Dugu Yan realized she'd gone too far and hurried to apologize.
"I'm sorry, Lingling. I was wrong. Don't be mad. I just..."
"I'll give you a million."
Dugu Yan was just about to apologize to Ye Lingling when Fang Xuan suddenly spoke.
Not only did he refuse to turn her down, he increased the original amount tenfold.
"Fang Xuan!"
Ye Lingling panicked and tried to stop him, but Fang Xuan cut her off first.
"Don't worry. I'm not giving her this money for nothing. It's a service fee."
"A service fee?"
Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan were both dumbfounded. What kind of service could possibly cost a million? Even throwing money away wasn't done like that.
"What do you want me to do? Let me make one thing clear: I already have a boyfriend. Don't even think about making a move on me."
As she spoke, Dugu Yan instinctively took a few steps back and crossed her arms over her chest, looking wary.
Fang Xuan gave her a look of utter disgust.
"I'm not interested in you. I just want you to put in a good word for me with Lingling's mother, and help me figure out what to do next."
"That's all?"
Even after hearing him out, Dugu Yan still found it hard to believe. This money seemed far too easy to earn.
"That's all. If you can help me win over my future mother-in-law, I'll give you another million."
Money wasn't something Fang Xuan cared about all that much.
He was going to spend it anyway. It didn't matter how.
Besides, if he made Dugu Yan happy, maybe he could get an Immortal Herb out of Dugu Bo later.
Two million in exchange for a wife and an Immortal Herb—he'd be grinning in his sleep over a deal like that.
"Are you sure there aren't any other conditions?"
"Let me make this clear: I'm not forcing you. You're choosing to accept the money yourself."
Honestly, Dugu Yan was tempted.
A job with a guaranteed million, and this easy? Only a fool wouldn't take it.
Of course, that was assuming it wouldn't hurt Ye Lingling or turn out to be a trap.
"Of course. I can even give you the money right now. As long as you get it done, I'll give you a big bonus afterward."
That whole chain of promises left Dugu Yan's head spinning.
She'd never met anyone so generous, throwing around millions at a time.
And on top of that, he was young, handsome, and talented.
If she didn't already have a boyfriend—and if he hadn't already gotten together with her best friend—she'd definitely try to make him hers.
"Fang Xuan, don't do this. I'll handle things with my mother. I'll make sure she doesn't give you a hard time."
Seeing how determined Fang Xuan was, Ye Lingling grew anxious and tried to dissuade him again.
This time, though, Fang Xuan rejected her very firmly.
"Lingling, I told you, I'm the one who wants to marry you. So I should be the one to deal with the problems."
"I'm partly at fault too, so we're equals in this. I'll use my own methods to win you over. If I can't even get past your family, then I'm not worthy of marrying you."
Fang Xuan spoke with such conviction that Dugu Yan, standing to the side, was stunned.
She hadn't expected him to go this far for Ye Lingling.
At that moment, she couldn't help comparing Yu Tianheng to Fang Xuan in her mind.
If she and Yu Tianheng were in this situation, would he do the same as Fang Xuan?
Dugu Yan didn't know. People were different from one another. Maybe she'd never know the answer—or maybe the answer didn't matter in the first place.
"Ahem... um, can I say a couple of things?"
Just then, Yu Tianheng poked his head in through the doorway, looking a little awkward.
He'd heard every word Fang Xuan had just said.
Honestly, he was shocked. Fang Xuan's actions were as good as they could possibly be.
He'd also done everything Yu Tianheng himself could manage.
As Yu Tianheng searched his conscience, he knew that if he were in Fang Xuan's shoes, he couldn't do it.
It wasn't that he was incapable. He just didn't have Fang Xuan's nerve. The man was going all in.
"Damn, that kid's got guts."
That was what Yu Tianheng was thinking to himself, but Dugu Yan only found him more and more irritating.
"Yu Tianheng, get in here!"