Chapter 106: Gaze |
With a dull thud, light flashed beneath Ji Jue’s hands. A faint tremor rippled along the sword blade, and before it could be restrained, it began to buzz uncontrollably. As it cracked open, lines of fractures appeared along the overloaded sword spine, spreading all the way to the guard.
It collapsed completely.
After days upon days of being struck by hundreds, even thousands of successful or failed Dissociation Technique attempts, the long-suffering sword had finally been pushed past its limit. Like a camel that finally had its back crushed by a straw, it expired in humiliation.
From those cracks, a single strand of dreamlike light slowly rose, landing in Ji Jue’s hand. Deus Ex Machina instantly absorbed and digested it.
“Phew…”
Ji Jue tilted his head back in satisfaction and let out a long breath, almost tearing up. Finally, he got a taste of it, his first bite since returning from the rift realm.
It’s pure and good. That’s the flavor. So good. So intense.
Feeling the flood of fragmented visions rushing toward him, along with the agony of seemingly becoming steel itself, Ji Jue clenched his fists, his fingers flexing open and closed. At last, he had taken another step forward on this long journey of the Ember Path. He wanted to congratulate himself.
But his happiness did not last long. He once again looked at the progress on his wristwatch. After the number “1” was filled in, the number “2” finally showed a trace of color so faint it could barely be seen without a magnifying glass. The progress wasn’t even at one percent. It had to be measured beyond the decimal point.
Ji Jue couldn’t hold it in anymore. A wave of sorrow surged up from within him. Life was unbearable. There wasn’t even the slightest bit of hope left.
Like this, drained due to spirit matter scarcity and battered by reality’s cruel blows, he trudged out of the workshop like a walking corpse and collapsed straight onto the sofa.
He fell into a deep sleep until he was shaken awake again by Ye Chun. Outside the window, the sun had already set. The dim daylight had faded, and it was evening.
Ye Chun had already changed into a simple black formal dress. Her hair was neatly pinned up, her makeup flawless. For the first time in a while, she wore a necklace and bracelet, and carried a small handbag.
“Got plans tonight?” She looked at the dazed Ji Jue, already guessing his answer, and waved her hand. “Working doesn’t count.”
“No.”
“Good. Hurry up, get ready, and come out with me,” Ye Chun beckoned, looking rather pleased. “Aren’t you short on money lately? I’ve got you a job. If it works out, I get a referral fee.”
Holy crap, money?!
Ji Jue’s eyes immediately lit up, all traces of sleep vanishing. He shot upright from the sofa like a corpse coming back to life.
Ye Chun asked, “Do you have anything formal to wear?”
“Uh… I do have something, but…”
“Yeah, I figured.”
Ye Chun had seen his formal outfit before, and the cuffs were already fraying. The fit was barely acceptable. It could maybe pass as background filler at a graduation ceremony or some formal occasion where he blended into the crowd, but for a standalone appearance like this, it was better not to wear it at all.
She gave him a once-over and finally nodded. “Forget it. Just wear what you have now. Change into a plain T-shirt.”
“Is that really appropriate?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” She turned and headed upstairs without caring. “We’re going to a concert hall, not a Central City parliamentary meeting. No need to be that serious. Go wash up, I’ll wait for you.”
After Ji Jue washed his face and changed into clean clothes from the workshop, Ye Chun came downstairs. Her hair, previously pinned up, had been let down again. After removing her accessories, she had switched into jeans and a T-shirt as well, only wearing a knitted cardigan over it.
From a young lady of noble lineage attending a formal banquet, Ye Chun once again became the relaxed senior who strolled casually on the streets. Easygoing and cheerful, she felt close again, within reach. Because of that, Ji Jue no longer stood out awkwardly, but he couldn’t help but pause.
“What are you standing there for?” Ye Chun tossed him the car keys. “You know the way to the concert hall?”
“The one at Lunar Square in Gracefield District?”
“Yes. You drive,” Ye Chun said, walking ahead. “Good thing you changed clothes. If we’re quick enough, we can still grab dinner before it starts. I’m starving.”
Ji Jue grinned and gave a confident wave. “I guarantee we’ll reach it in ten minutes!”
***
In reality, it took only six minutes.
With the assistance of Deus Ex Machina, Ji Jue drove like a storm tearing through the congested peak-hour traffic. Weaving effortlessly through the packed lanes as if there was no one else on the road, he left countless drivers staring at his disappearing taillights in frustration, cursing as he sped off.
Not only did they manage to squeeze in time for dinner, there was even enough spare time for Ye Chun to touch up her makeup. Before the performance at the concert hall began, they entered at a leisurely pace.
Only after sitting down did Ji Jue realize this was actually a private room.
By the time they arrived, the performance had already started. The person who had invited them was, ironically, late due to traffic. Rumor had it that on the way here, they were startled by a car that came barreling through, crashed into a guardrail, and had to take a taxi instead.
In response, Ji Jue could only maintain an expression of innocent righteousness under Ye Chun’s hard-to-describe gaze. He pretended, very earnestly, to watch the performance on stage.
According to the program booklet he had been given, the troupe performing was the famous Radiance Theatre Troupe from the Empire. This was the final stop of their Federation tour.
As an internationally renowned troupe, their performance in Cliff City was so in demand that tickets were nearly impossible to obtain. Before they even went on sale officially, all seats had already been snapped up through various channels, leaving even scalpers with no room to maneuver.
The audience was made up of the wealthy and powerful. From the private room, Ji Jue recognized several familiar faces from TV, and even a few Chosen Ones among them, though everyone seemed long used to each other’s presence.
As the curtain rose and a faint melody began to play, the low murmur of conversation gradually faded away.
The performance finally began. The lighting was excellent, the music was pleasant, and although the Empire-language lyrics were slightly difficult to fully understand, it wasn’t a major issue.
The dancers were especially flashy and beautiful. In particular, the blonde, blue-eyed woman at the very front stood out the most. She had an eye-catching figure and danced with graceful, alluring movements.
Even Ji Jue, a complete country bumpkin in this kind of setting, couldn’t resist taking out his phone to snap a few photos, occasionally bobbing his head along with the music in a deliberately pretentious way.
It made Ye Chun laugh.
“First time seeing you appreciate art like this,” she said. “So, what do you think?”
“Magnificent,” Ji Jue replied promptly. “It’s really like… music, and dance. Mm, and the dancing is very… ballet!”
Ye Chun turned her head away, barely holding back her laughter.
After knowing him for so many years, how could she not understand Ji Jue? His brain was pure engineering logic, terminally infected, completely beyond saving. There wasn’t a single artistic cell in his entire body. Forget classical musicals, he barely even had any exposure to modern music. The only songs he could sing were a few of the most widely circulated pop tunes, and even those were learned in advance for team-building karaoke sessions with his project group.
“You really should cultivate some appreciation for the arts.” Ye Chun sighed. “Look at the big shots in movies. Before they go off killing and burning things, they’re all listening to Mozart. If you don’t have any artistic taste, how are you going to get by in the world? Lacking style means you’ve already lost half the battle.”
Ji Jue looked confused. “What does a craftsman need style for?”
Besides, it wasn’t like playing a piece on the piano would make your opponent obediently stick their neck out for you to chop off. And if you really ran into an enemy, were you supposed to raise your hand and say, “Hey, wait a second, I’m really good at the cello?”
Sometimes Ye Chun’s train of thought was just too unhinged for him to follow. Still, seeing how focused she was on the performance, this dance show had to actually be quite impressive. He clapped along with the crowd, resisting the urge to play on his phone.
Soon, he felt Ye Chun’s phone vibrate.
“Finally,” she said, glancing at the screen. “In a moment, I’ll introduce you to someone. You two can talk directly after that. Once the middleman part is done, I won’t be involved anymore.”
“Is it troublesome?” Ji Jue asked, picking up on her reluctance.
“Actually, it’s not too bad. That guy’s personality is just a bit show-offy because he likes to be in the spotlight. He’s not the difficult type, and he’s actually quite a decent person. If I had to point out a flaw…” Ye Chun hesitated for a moment, then sighed with melancholy. “I just don’t really like the way he looks at me.”
Ji Jue froze for a moment, then immediately became alert.
Even someone like Ye Chun is bothered by that? Don’t tell me he’s some kind of perverted monster?
He immediately stood up and changed seats, sitting down right next to Ye Chun. Ye Chun was stunned for a second, and she had a conflicted look on her face.
Not long after, the door to the private room was pushed open. A chubby fair man walked in, wiping sweat from his forehead, slightly out of breath. He was dressed in formal wear like the other audience members outside, with a round face, glasses, and a friendly, hopeful smile.
“Ah, you’re already here, Ye Chun? Really sorry about being late. Honestly, I don’t know how these people drive nowadays. If I catch that guy, I’m definitely sending him back to driving school so he can retake his license test!”
After grumbling indignantly and exchanging greetings, the man turned his attention to Ji Jue sitting beside Ye Chun. His smile brightened even more.
“And this must be the Mr. Ji that you mentioned, right? Oho, truly a promising young man! Nice to meet you, nice to meet you!”
He extended both hands warmly, gripping Ji Jue’s hand and shaking it vigorously, looking at him like he was a lifesaver. Then he handed over his business card with both hands.
“I’m Chen Yubo[1]. I do a bit of import and export business. If there’s a chance, I hope we can work together!”
As the saying went, “you don’t strike a smiling face[2].” Especially when Mr. Chen was this enthusiastic and friendly, Ji Jue, who had been secretly on guard, ended up a bit confused. Besides, from the way he spoke with Ye Chun, it didn’t sound like they had any bad history.
It wasn’t until the man finally sat down, pulled the sofa closer to Ye Chun’s side, and casually took out his phone that things started to feel off.
He effortlessly shared a video of his family cat kneading biscuits. The conversation quickly drifted toward makeup products, hair conditioner, skincare routines, and then jumped to which recent TV drama couples were worth shipping.
Only then did Ji Jue notice it.
As the man shifted his posture, the slightly curved tie exposed a flashy pink inner lining. That expression on his face, that overly intimate, friendly smile, like a best buddy…
And then there was Ye Chun’s indescribably complicated, helpless look toward him.
Ji Jue’s face twitched. Finally, it all clicked.
Damn. So when she said “the way he looks at me”, she just meant the mutual appreciation of her gay bestie, huh?!
1. The surname “陈” Chen is the 5th most common surname in mainland China, but 4th most common in the world due to the larger overseas population. The given name combines “玉,” meaning jade, a material traditionally symbolizing purity, beauty, and high value, with “帛,” which refers to fine silk, something delicate, precious, and historically linked to wealth and culture. To me, it is the kind of name that suggests grace, refinement, and cultural sophistication.
2. “Don’t strike a smiling face” is a Chinese folk saying. It means that when someone shows a friendly attitude, smiles, or admits fault in a pleasant way, people often find it hard or awkward to continue being angry, criticizing, or punishing them.
It reflects a way of dealing with people that uses gentleness to overcome harshness, emphasizing resolving conflicts, easing awkward situations, or avoiding confrontation through a kind and pleasant demeanor.
