Of course I can

Chu Ge knew perfectly well that this would blow her mind, yet he had tossed it straight to her anyway. Naturally, there was a hint of revenge and twisted amusement in it. Did she really think he was some spineless doormat who would fawn over her?

Still, getting all that out in the open made him feel much better. It had also helped him sort out his relationship with her.

Sure, I want her, but that doesn't mean I'm going to grovel. Whatever happens, we should lay everything out and deal with it. You've messed with my book so much that I don't even know whether it's doomed, and now I'm supposed to support you for no clear reason and get beaten up by you too? I'm not an idiot.

If I'm going to die, I'll die with my head held high. Go ahead and kill me if you've got the guts. See whether your world still exists afterward.

Chu Ge went back to writing, refreshed and invigorated. Even his thoughts seemed to flow much more smoothly.

Outside, Qiu Wuji's hand trembled around the phone. Her view of the world had indeed suffered a severe shock, almost on par with discovering that someone else had written her entire world.

Young women walking openly down the street with bare white arms and long legs-fine, she could accept that. There were temptresses in the Demon Sect who dressed like that too.

People kissing and rolling around in bed on television-fine, she could accept that as well. After all, they weren't actually doing the deed, and everything below their necks remained covered.

But this?

Only three spots were covered. You could see practically her entire body! And she was wriggling around for other people to look at, as though she feared they might not get a clear enough view!

Qiu Wuji's world had no shortage of bandeaus, breast bindings, bellybands, and other such "inner defenses." Thanks to a certain Creator God's peculiar tastes, they were described in painstaking detail, right down to a few lines about the patterns on a bellyband. But nobody wore those out in the open for people to look at!

Judging by what Chu Ge had said, this was perfectly normal!

What kind of world was this? No wonder a grown man like him wrote about such things. Apparently, he had seen plenty of them!

He isn't planning to coax me into wearing this for him, is he?

At that thought, a trace of murderous intent resurfaced in Qiu Wuji's eyes, then quickly faded. He had warned her beforehand... "Some things might make you feel terribly embarrassed, but they're perfectly normal."

Who in their right mind would think this was normal!

But...

Qiu Wuji glanced at Chu Ge's back as he typed and sighed softly.

He has a point... have I been taking too much for granted?

From his shared living arrangements, the plain furnishings, and the way he diligently wrote to earn his meals, he clearly wasn't well-off. He might even struggle to support himself. And now, out of nowhere, he had another person to provide for...

At least according to Qiu Wuji's understanding of the world, lodging cost money, and so did food. How could she enjoy what he provided for free with such an easy conscience?

The less she wanted him lusting after her, the more she ought to be independent, right?

After some thought, Qiu Wuji finally entered the room and stood behind Chu Ge. "I'll pay you for my food and lodging."

Chu Ge was studying his document and thinking through the plot. Without turning around, he said, "I noticed you changed clothes. Are they conjured, or did you attach a storage ring to your Primordial Spirit and bring it out with you? If it's the latter, be careful about moving things over. Don't go messing around with treasures. Bringing some ordinary gold or silver to exchange for money might work, but don't bring too much. Keep a low profile."

Qiu Wuji fell silent for a moment. "I didn't attach anything to my Primordial Spirit... I may not be able to bring objects out. My clothes and sword are both conjured."

Chu Ge turned around in surprise. "Then what are you going to use to pay for food and lodging? Conjure a lump of gold and scam someone with it? Or find a job?"

With a stern face, Qiu Wuji said, "Rob the rich to help the-"

"Don't. That's illegal in this world... oh, actually, it's illegal in yours too. It's just that you're above the law over there. Here, you're a five-hundred-thousand-yuan reward."

Qiu Wuji: "..."

Chu Ge rubbed his chin. "How about livestreaming your sword routines? You'd be a guaranteed hit."

"Livestreaming?"

"Hmm, it's basically performing on the street, just through a different medium. People can watch from home. Like television, except it happens in real time."

Qiu Wuji's expression remained blank. "Then you might need to add a patch saying Qiu Wuji was hit on the head with a hammer. Though that wouldn't fit your so-called logic, so I doubt it would even take effect."

Chu Ge froze.

Right. The Qiu Wuji I wrote is ridiculously proud and aloof. How could she possibly perform for an audience?

Come to think of it, she couldn't find a regular job either. How could she get one without an ID card? Even livestreaming required ID. Starting a book on Qidian and writing whatever the hell she liked would still require an ID card and a bank card...

After thinking it over, robbery seemed to be the only option. A top cultivator of her generation, and for the moment, she couldn't even figure out how to earn money in a modern city.

Chu Ge hesitated. "Actually, you could write webnovels like I do. If necessary, I could use my ID and bank card to run a second account. It's just that the income would go straight into my account. I don't know whether you'd be willing."

"An ID card... something like a travel permit or a sect life token?"

"Exactly. In your sect, you can't get anywhere without a life token. You have to scan it to use the teleportation formations between peaks, and you even need it to pick up a daily task at the general affairs hall. You know better than I do what happens without one. It's much the same here. If you only interact with me, it doesn't really matter, but once you need to deal with anyone else, you won't be able to do anything."

"What if I conjure one, or steal one?"

"...Would that work with your sect's life tokens?"

Qiu Wuji was silent for a moment. "If I write books like you, it doesn't matter much whether the money goes into your account... I don't need money. I only want to cover the expense of feeding and housing me, so I can have a clear conscience. But the question is..."

She paused. "Does writing something guarantee you'll get paid?"

Chu Ge froze again.

Does writing something guarantee you'll get paid?

Zhang Qiren's empty room stood there in blatant mockery.

Even he didn't know when he might have to pack it in, leave this line of work, and find a factory job. Qiu Wuji was a cultivation genius, but that didn't make her a genius at making up stories. On the contrary, her thinking was orthodox, her manner stern and restrained, and she disdained lies. Someone like that might actually be rather bad at inventing stories.

Unless he added another patch: Oh, Qiu Wuji is actually very good at making up stories.

It felt strange no matter how he looked at it.

As though she had guessed his thoughts, Qiu Wuji said calmly, "I don't need you to impose more abilities on me... I, Qiu Wuji, have roamed the world unchallenged. I refuse to believe I can't even find a way to earn a living. I simply haven't thought of one yet."

Chu Ge nodded. "Yeah, I believe that... then we'll take our time looking. I'll help you think it through."

Qiu Wuji studied him for a long moment, then suddenly asked, "Are you so eager to help me find a way to earn money because you want help with your expenses?"

Chu Ge said evenly, "That's one reason. I won't deny that money's tight and I can't afford to support another person. There are two more reasons. Want to hear them?"

"Please, go ahead."

"To let you know that I'm not obliged to fawn over you for free. Unless you return to the world inside the book, you'll have to put in your own effort if you want to live in this world permanently. That's the second reason."

Qiu Wuji held back from asking what he meant by "fawn." It sounded grating, but from the context, it didn't seem to mean anything literal. Instead, she asked, "And the third?"

"The third... only a Qiu Wuji who can live independently in this world has truly broken free of her existence within the book." Chu Ge took a deep breath. "I told you, this is the path I seek. Maybe you thought I was just saying something that sounded nice, but it's the truth."

Qiu Wuji gazed steadily at him, then suddenly smiled.

Once again, Chu Ge's heart gave an involuntary leap.

Had he ever seen her smile before? He couldn't remember. Perhaps she had sneered, or worn one of those ambiguous half-smiles?

This seemed to be her first real smile. Like melting ice and snow, like flowers blooming, it filled the entire room with fragrance. Its radiance truly seemed beyond anything of this world.

Then Qiu Wuji said softly, "Take me to buy a set of clothes from this world... consider the money a loan."

Looking at her smiling face, Chu Ge knew he had stirred Qiu Wuji's pride: her determination to "conquer the problems of everyday life" and "become part of this world."

Why shouldn't I be able to live independently in this world? Why should I have to hide?

Why should I live under someone else's roof, eating his food and staying in his home?

The Creator God believes I must break free of the book and become part of this world to be a real person. That is his path. Is it so difficult? Of course I can.

Thanks to Mr. Corleone for the 10,000 tip, Simple Bored Pig for the 1,717 tip, and Fallen Leaves R and Lu Beiting for the 1,500 tips...

(End of chapter)

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