35: Want a kiss?
Xia Weiyu turned off the mute button and waited a long time for the other party to hang up, but then another call came in.
"Why aren't you answering?"
Su Chen turned his head to take a look and happened to see her phone screen; the caller ID showed the word "Bank".
"It's nothing."
Xia Weiyu hurriedly ran outside.
Su Chen usually wouldn't bother with others' private matters, but the "Bank" caller ID he just saw caught his attention.
There are a few reasons a bank calls: marketing or asking you to repay a loan.
Only when receiving the latter would someone be so hesitant and reluctant to answer.
Thinking of the Empress's family background, that call just now might be about some debt issues.
Helping the Empress pay off her debts? This was a favor he could manage.
He still had 50 million in savings, which might help Xia Weiyu with her urgent needs.
If it wasn't enough, he could sell some Spirit Stones from the System space; selling a few could bring in a lot of money.
His recent sudden increase in strength was also thanks to Xia Weiyu. Since she had helped him so much, he should naturally lend her a hand when she was in trouble.
Besides, lending money was a small matter. Lending this bit of money, if managed well, could lead to hundreds more consecutive lottery draws.
He'd break even instantly; it was a guaranteed profit.
Help her? Of course he would!
Even if the Empress didn't give him lottery tickets then, he would still help.
After a few minutes, Xia Weiyu finally hung up. There was a hint of disappointment in her eyes, but she quickly forced a smile as if nothing had happened.
Su Chen thought about it and asked anyway:
"If you're having any difficulties, you can tell me. Although we haven't known each other long, we're teammates and have gone through hardships together."
"If there's trouble, I'll help if it's within my power. No need to be polite."
"For example... regarding money."
Even if Xia Weiyu was in debt, it shouldn't be too much. He hoped his 50 million plus would be enough; if not, he'd really have to sell off his assets.
Hearing the words "borrow money," Xia Weiyu opened her mouth but found it hard to ask.
After all, it was over three million. Ordinary people might not earn that much in a lifetime.
No one would casually lend that much to a friend they'd only known for a few days.
If she spoke up and Su Chen also thought it was too much, it would make him lose Face.
Her feelings were complicated. Although she wanted to borrow some, she had only known Su Chen for a few days.
Seeing Xia Weiyu remain silent, Su Chen didn't press her.
"Is there a problem? If you've run into any trouble, I can help."
After hesitating for a long time, Xia Weiyu still didn't ask about borrowing money. She only mentioned what had been discussed on the phone:
"I... that was the bank calling just now."
"They know I'm an Ability User now, and they want me to do a d-rank mission for them."
Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but the other party explained that the mission was actually C-rank difficulty. If she could handle it for the reward of a d-rank mission, they could appropriately reduce her family's debt for this month.
"That works. Since we just finished a mission, if you have a suitable one here, you can pick it first."
Xia Weiyu added:
"But this mission's difficulty is a bit high. Six teams have already failed and returned."
"Tell me the details."
Hearing this failure rate, Su Chen also felt a bit of a headache.
"There's a villa in the suburbs of Ku County that's been haunted, which is why it hasn't been sold."
"They remembered I'm an Ability User and said I could give it a try. Although the reward for a d-rank mission isn't much, they can privately reduce some of my debt."
"That's what they were calling about just now. I said I'd consider it and give them an answer later."
After hearing the details, Su Chen was slightly surprised.
"The Ability Association usually takes the initiative to solve this kind of thing. Why didn't they go to them?"
"They did. Although things keep happening, it's only inside the villa."
"Not only have there been no deaths, but no injuries have occurred either. The lives of the neighbors haven't been affected."
"The Ability Association has limited resources. They went a few times but found no clues, so they stopped wasting energy on a villa where no accidents had occurred."
"That's why they posted it as a mission to clear up the issues inside the villa."
"Then, following instructions, they posted it as a bounty mission for the Ability Association to solve."
"This villa was forcibly repossessed from someone who couldn't repay their loan. It's just a small villa, selling for about a million or so."
"Since the profit is limited, the bounty they can provide won't be much."
"They're only willing to post it as a d-rank mission. Strong people think the money is too little and don't want to bother, while six groups of weak people have gone and ended up failing."
"Someone who's always in contact with me happened to think of me. They said if I can solve the haunting, they can appropriately reduce my debt."
"This mission would be a big help to me, but it might be a loss for you guys."
Because she thought of this, she had been hesitant to speak up.
"Alright, then contact them. We'll take this mission."
Xia Weiyu was a bit afraid:
"But Su Chen, even though no one has died in that villa, six teams in a row have failed..."
"Don't you trust my strength?"
"No! Not at all."
"Then what are you afraid of?"
"The mission reward is only 500 yuan, and it makes you run back and forth... How about this: the reward will be split among the three of you, and I'll compensate you more later."
"You're being too formal!"
Su Chen got off the bed, sat down beside Xia Weiyu, and held her hand to comfort her.
"You're not treating me like a friend!"
Xia Weiyu hurriedly shook her head. "No! No..."
Su Chen added, "Of course I'll help a friend in trouble. It just so happens my strength hasn't fully recovered, so taking a simple mission first is fine."
"Even though six teams failed, aren't the people okay?"
"The risk of failure is small too. We can just go for a trip and treat it as practice."
"Maybe it's some mutant animal. The reason no one's been hurt might be because it's too weak. Solving it shouldn't be too hard."
Xia Weiyu not mentioning the debt was probably for his sake. After all, borrowing money is the easiest way to make enemies.
Someone in debt like her would understand this best. He'd wait two days.
Once this mission was over, he'd go straight to the bank and pay off the money for her.
Otherwise, if Xia Weiyu was troubled by such small things every day, unable to sleep or eat well, it would be his failure of responsibility.
[Ding! Gained favorability from Xia Weiyu. lottery ticket +100.]
"Thank you. Su Chen, you've helped me so much these past few days. I'll definitely repay you well in the future!"
"Not at all, not at all. You've helped me a lot too."
...The caregiver's chair was meant for one person, but now the two of them were squeezed into it.
Holding Xia Weiyu's slender hand, Su Chen realized that in his focus on getting her to agree, he had moved a bit too close—close enough to feel her breath.
This distance was even closer than when he was feeding her earlier.
He hesitated slightly, but his hand involuntarily wrapped around Xia Weiyu's waist.
Should he kiss her?
Seeing Xia Weiyu, who had already closed her eyes and showed no sign of displeasure, he knew she had given her silent consent.