170: Chapter 170 How about I kowtow to you?

After a brief introduction, she couldn't wait to start her research.

Chen Yiming waved her hand at Gu Changming. "Just treat this like home, make yourself comfortable!"

After saying that, she jogged back to the long table, plopped into her chair, and buried her head over the tabletop.

She grabbed a pen and began scribbling in an open notebook, occasionally stopping to bite the pen barrel while frowning in deep thought.

Gu Changming sat back on the sofa, not making a sound to disturb her.

The room fell silent, save for the rustle of the pen tip on paper, occasionally punctuated by Chen Yiming's unconscious muttering.

Gu Changming leaned against the back of the sofa, boredly observing the structure of her house.

With the other party ignoring him, it really was a bit dull.

While waiting, Gu Changming subconsciously picked up the coffee on the coffee table again.

Tsk, why is it still so bitter?

About an hour passed.

Chen Yiming suddenly slammed the table with a 'thwack' and sprang up from her chair.

She turned around, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Gu Changming, waving her hand vigorously.

"Come, come, come! Come take a look! I've worked out a rough framework and a line of thought."

Gu Changming stood up and walked over, stopping beside her.

Several draft papers were spread across the table, covered in dense symbols and equations, with scribbles and several blotted-out corrections.

Gu Changming glanced at them and immediately looked away.

Well, he had no talent in this area; he couldn't understand a single thing.

Chen Yiming excitedly tapped her fingertip on one of the papers.

"Look! I've figured it out!" Her tone carried a hint of seeking credit.

"I've thought about it. To quickly boost strength and constitution, the most direct path is bloodline enhancement!"

"I plan to use a high-level exotic beast bloodline as the main ingredient, then pair it with other herbs that can significantly activate the medicinal properties... Hmm, I've calculated the specific proportions. Once you drink it, it will definitely meet your requirements."

As she spoke, her tone couldn't help but become airy and buoyant.

"And if we're lucky, you might even randomly obtain a skill fragment from the source beast of the bloodline! Though the probability isn't high, what if!"

After she finished, she waited expectantly for Gu Changming's reaction.

Gu Changming looked at her excited face, then at the incomprehensible drafts on the paper.

He nodded. "That's quite good."

After Gu Changming spoke, the excitement on Chen Yiming's face faded slightly, and she suddenly became a bit bashful.

"Um..." For some reason, she suddenly started giving assurances. "My logic is definitely sound! The biggest point expenditure will be that high-level exotic beast bloodline, but that's only needed for the final refining stage."

"Besides, I've made similar bloodline potions before. I have experience, so I definitely won't mess up at that step!"

Gu Changming listened, unsure what she was getting at.

Seeing that he didn't interrupt, Chen Yiming continued, "The highest failure probability... is actually the earlier stage of mixing the ratios for the herbs and auxiliary materials. This requires testing; it might take several adjustments to find the optimal balance..."

"But don't worry! These herbal materials themselves don't cost many points. Even if I fail a few times, the consumption won't be too high! Really!"

"Oh."

Gu Changming finally understood.

If you wanted money, you should have just said so sooner instead of hesitating for so long...

"I don't know much about refining potion, so just do what you need to do," Gu Changming said, reaching out to operate his interface. "I'll transfer the points to you first."

Chen Yiming was stunned for a moment, not expecting him to be so straightforward.

Then she glanced at the system prompt appearing before her eyes:

[Do you accept the points transferred to you: 50,000 points?]

Seeing that number, Chen Yiming's eyes widened slightly, and she looked at Gu Changming with a look of astonishment.

She had originally intended to coax ten or twenty thousand out of him first to test the waters... Why did he transfer it all? And it was five thousand more than previously agreed upon.

"Is forty-five thousand a bit too little?" Gu Changming said. "Let's stick with the fifty thousand we discussed earlier."

He was truly a bit worried that she might end up increasing the failure rate just to control costs.

Hearing this, Chen Yiming suddenly bolted upright from her chair.

She then looked up at Gu Changming and suddenly grabbed both of his hands.

Her eyes were incredibly bright at this moment, and her tone was more sincere than ever before:

"Brother, I really don't have anything to give you in return."

She sniffled, her expression extremely earnest:

"How about I kowtow to you?"

She wasn't faking it or doing it for effect; she was truly moved.

At the same time, she felt a bit guilty. She had been thinking about tricking him out of ten or twenty thousand points first to have some fun experimenting, but she hadn't expected him to trust her so much!

"There's no need for that." Gu Changming held her hands down.

Given her strength, he didn't doubt for a second that if he weren't holding her up, she might actually have knelt down for him.

"Just make sure you refine that potion properly for me."

Chen Yiming took the chance to stand straight and haphazardly wiped away the tears overflowing from her face with the back of her hand. "Definitely! Don't you worry! Trust me!"

...

The next day.

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

At the alchemy table, Chen Yiming was still wrestling with a pile of bottles and jars. Her hair was even more of a mess, but her eyes were still full of excitement.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the person on the sofa move.

It was Gu Changming; he seemed about to wake up.

As if realizing something, Chen Yiming's body suddenly tensed up.

Immediately after, she quickly glanced at the point balance in the corner of her vision:

...Crap.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She hadn't even bought the high-level exotic beast bloodline yet, and thirty thousand points were already gone? Who used her points behind her back?!

And...

She looked down at the mass of weirdly colored, bubbling failed medicinal liquid in the crucible before her, her expression freezing.

It seemed... there wasn't any substantial progress either.

By this time, Gu Changming had already sat up, raising a hand to rub his brow.

Chen Yiming immediately withdrew her gaze and quietly, quickly swiped her fingers a few times to delete all the materials and herbs she had selected in her shopping cart.

After doing this, the pressure in her heart lightened considerably. A brilliant smile instantly bloomed on her face as she turned to look over.

"You're up?" she asked in a lighthearted tone, as if nothing had happened. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to go buy some breakfast?"

Gu Changming glanced at her and shook his head. "No need. How far along is your research?"

Chen Yiming's face panicked for a split second, but she immediately followed up, "Almost there! It's going smoothly! I feel... I'll be able to get it done in a few days!"

Looking at her expression, Gu Changming knew she was lying.

However, having been mentally prepared for this, he didn't intend to expose her.

"Then keep at it," Gu Changming said, standing up. "I'm going out to buy something to eat. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

Hearing this, Chen Yiming also bolted up.

"I'll go with you!"

If she let Gu Changming wander around outside alone and he happened to hear some bad rumors about her, it would be all over!

"Hmm?" Gu Changming looked over.

Chen Yiming immediately forced a smile. "Haha... well, buying herbs and materials directly from the Mall is quite expensive! We have to save our points... If we go to the Trading Area to buy them, the prices are much cheaper!"

Gu Changming blinked. "You're quite considerate of your client."

"Haha... isn't that only natural?" Chen Yiming laughed guiltily, quickly grabbing a jacket to throw on and following him in a few steps.