Chapter 186 Big Duck: How Could I Doubt Seele? She Is My Sister, After All
In the early morning, when Bronya woke up, she found that Seele was no longer by her side. Due to her hangover, her head felt heavy and groggy. Holding her forehead, Bronya sat up, hearing movement coming from the living room. She fumbled for her slippers, pulled open the door, and walked out, only to find the air filled with the aroma of food.
Following the scent, Bronya bumped right into Seele, who was coming out of the kitchen.
"Ah, Sister Bronya, you're awake? Happy New Year!" Seele's expression was perfectly natural as she handed a small bowl to Bronya. "Brother Su Mu made some sobering soup and breakfast... but according to his customs, the first day of the New Year should be vegetarian."
She pointed toward the dishes on the table. Bronya took a look: lettuce, cauliflower, peanuts, stir-fried tofu, and a sweet date soup. As for the symbolism behind these dishes, Bronya had a rough understanding—they embodied the people's hopes for the new year: promotion and wealth, good health, and safety in travel.
"Happy New Year, Seele." Bronya took the sobering soup from Seele's hand. After drinking it, her headache seemed to lessen slightly.
"How is it? Feeling better?" Seele asked with concern.
Feeling Seele's care, Bronya felt a warmth in her heart, yet a simultaneous, unbidden sense of guilt rose within her. Bronya, Seele is your most beloved sister. Why would you have such a dream—dreaming of your sister and your lover being intimate... What on earth is inside your head!
Bronya shook her head vigorously. Everything she had seen last night—she couldn't be certain now whether it was reality or an illusion! Her gaze drifted toward the sofa in Su Mu's home. In the fragments she saw last night, Seele and Su Mu were right there...
As if possessed, Bronya walked toward the sofa. She stared blankly at it, saying nothing.
"What's wrong, Sister Bronya?" Seele followed behind her, curious. "Is something wrong with the sofa?"
"No, nothing. I just thought this sofa looked quite nice," Bronya replied casually as she sat down.
The sofa at Su Mu's place was a multi-functional piece where the back could be lowered to turn it into a small bed. However, he hadn't bought it himself; it was there when he moved in. Apparently, Himeko had a friend at a furniture store who happened to have a wholesale set. Kiana's sofa was the same model, just a different color; Su Mu's was a cool gray.
Sitting on this sofa, Bronya couldn't stop the images of Seele and Su Mu overlapping from flooding back... Was it a dream? Or was it real? No, no, it had to be a dream... definitely a dream. Bronya didn't want to admit it, didn't dare to admit it... Seele's worried face entered her vision, and Bronya only felt a surge of guilt. She was actually doubting Seele? Doubting that Seele would do such a shameful thing? How could she doubt Seele? How could she—
But regardless, Bronya could not forget the images she saw. On the contrary, when she looked at Seele's pure and lovely face, her mind would invariably superimpose that face occupied by desire, immersed in the joy of intimacy. It was completely different from the Seele she usually knew...
Even though she couldn't confirm if it was a dream, just thinking of that seductive version of Seele made Bronya's breathing quicken. That image of Seele kept surfacing in her mind, lingering for a long time.
"Bronya, Happy New Year!"
Su Mu, coming out of the kitchen, also smiled and offered his New Year greetings. He then pulled a large red envelope from his pocket and stuffed it into Seele's hand.
"Brother Su Mu, what is this?" Seele looked at the red envelope, puzzled.
"I should have given these to you last night, but you both fell asleep, so I thought I'd give them today." Su Mu smiled slightly. "This is 'Lucky Money,' a tradition of our Shenzhou."
Bronya spoke up at this point: "But isn't lucky money usually given by elders to juniors?"
Su Mu acted as if it were obvious: "Seele calls me 'Brother,' so isn't she my cute junior? Isn't it normal for me to give Seele lucky money?"
Bronya froze, looking at the smiling Su Mu and the smiling Seele holding her envelope. There was a peaceful atmosphere between them... She held her forehead, her heart feeling bitter. Bronya, oh Bronya, what are you thinking? Su Mu said it clearly; he views Seele as a junior... yet you had such a shameless dream...
They say you dream at night what you think of by day. Was this truly the scene she wanted to see? Seeing Seele seeking pleasure with Su Mu... No, no, no. It was too absurd. It had to be the alcohol, it had to be...
Bronya took several deep breaths, finally deciding to pull herself together so the two wouldn't notice anything amiss.
"Bronya, if you want lucky money, you can have it too. Just call me 'Brother' once." Su Mu teased, waving another red envelope in front of her.
"Hmph, I have no interest in calling someone younger than me 'Brother'." Bronya forced her spirits up and retorted.
"Just a joke. This envelope is for you." Su Mu stuffed the envelope into Bronya's arms.
Bronya glared at him: "Are you treating me as a junior too?"
Su Mu shrugged: "Not at all. It's perfectly normal to exchange red envelopes between peers. It's just for the festive spirit and good luck in the new year; it's not that formal."
And that proved to be true. Next, as Kiana, Raiden Mei, and even Himeko came by to offer New Year greetings, Su Mu gave everyone a red envelope.
"I didn't expect to still receive red envelopes at my age... Oh my." Himeko marveled at receiving one, then pulled out her own prepared envelopes to distribute.
Although this woman was rarely serious, she still remembered she was a teacher and an elder... However, seeing the five credits in the envelope, Kiana immediately kicked up a fuss.
"Wait, Himeko-sensei, why is there only five credits in this envelope?"
Himeko looked at her like she was an idiot. "Is five credits not enough? It's just for luck. Be happy I didn't give you loose change!"
Su Mu explained to Kiana that the amount in red envelopes varied depending on the region of Shenzhou. Kiana looked grief-stricken. "What kind of tradition is this? Putting five or ten credits in an envelope! Isn't there a kind of red envelope where you stuff tens of thousands at once?"
Raiden Mei stood by with a face full of sweat. "That kind of envelope is for bribing people, isn't it? And tens of thousands—are you serious? You'd need a custom-made envelope just to fit a stack that thick."
Fortunately, Su Mu was more generous, putting five hundred credits in each person's envelope, which finally kept Kiana quiet.
"It's only five hundred. Why are you so happy?" Bronya asked, puzzled as she watched Kiana beam with joy. Five hundred should be nothing to Kiana, right?
Kiana shook her head and said solemnly, "Bronya, you don't understand. If these five hundred credits were lying on the side of the road, I wouldn't even pick them up. But their meaning is extraordinary because Su Mu gave them to me!"
Bronya: "?" Seele: "?" Raiden Mei: "?" Himeko: "?" Su Mu: "???"
Faced with Kiana's startling remark, Su Mu was shocked. What does 'extraordinary because I gave it' mean? By all rights, he had already made Kiana a lot of money; why was this five hundred credits special?
Realizing the others were looking at her strangely, Kiana coughed and tried to cover her words: "N-no, I mean, the envelope Su Mu gave is much more generous than Auntie Himeko's! It makes me feel respected, so the meaning is extraordinary!"
The confused gazes dispersed; after all, Kiana was known for saying startling things, and everyone was used to it. Seeing that she had fooled them, Kiana mumbled to herself. The reason the money was extraordinary was, of course, because it was her money to begin with! Since he was the culprit who ruined her plan to become the richest by losing money, she had to fleece him hard. Five hundred credits was small, but it was Su Mu's first step in "repayment"!
After breakfast, Kiana suggested they all go to the mall on the first day of the year. Arc City's HOMU Mall didn't close for the New Year; people in this world had a strange obsession with that yellow rabbit. According to Kiana, the mall had a lucky draw during the Spring Festival. First prize was a Remi car, second prize was a seven-day trip to the Maldives, and even third prize was a color TV. Other prizes included fans, microwaves, and other appliances. Supposedly, the winning rate was 100%, though what you won was up to luck. Even winning a pack of tissues counted as "winning."
Of course, the prerequisite was spending a thousand credits; one draw per thousand spent.
"We're going to the Golden Courtyard to pay our respects later anyway. We can't go empty-handed. We'll buy some fruit baskets and snacks to make up the amount." Kiana had already planned her shopping list.
The others didn't refuse her suggestion. Honestly, a group shopping trip like this hadn't happened in a long time. Back in university, Kiana and the others would often go out together for shopping and meals. But since graduation, everyone had been busy with work, and group activities were rare. Although Kiana, Bronya, and Seele were in the same company, their workloads made it hard to sync up. Not to mention Mei and Himeko, who had their own jobs. Because of this, everyone cherished this New Year break immensely.
Su Mu wanted to be intimate with Bronya or Seele, but seeing everyone together at last, he didn't want to spoil the mood.
"We used to have times like this often." "Yeah, but things are different now..." "How are they different?" "Everyone has their own life and work..." "I thought the difference you meant was having Brother Su Mu added to the group."
Su Mu felt quite helpless. Walking down the street, he frequently received odd looks. Being the only man among such a diverse group of beautiful women, he naturally became the focus of the entire area. While being surrounded by beauties felt good, it would be better not to be watched with such envious and hateful gazes. Sigh. Dealing with this on the first day of the year is a bit much.
...
After a trip through the supermarket, Su Mu ended up carrying numerous bags. Being the only male, the heavy lifting naturally fell to him. However, Kiana was "fair"—she stuffed the receipt into Su Mu's hand and told him to do the lucky draw with a grin.
"Mhm? Kiana, aren't you going to draw? You might win the car." Su Mu was surprised. He usually believed in Kiana's luck; if she drew, the baseline would be the Maldives trip. But if he drew, it was uncertain—he never had much confidence in his own luck. In his past life, his gacha pulls were always average—neither "unlucky" nor "lucky," a standard "Asian" pull.
However, since Kiana started it, the others joined in, egging Su Mu on. Su Mu looked at the receipt: a total of 1,520.83 credits, enough for one draw. The group went to the draw box at the entrance. After handing the receipt to the staff, Su Mu reached into the box and grabbed a ball.
What came out was a small white ball—the consolation prize. A pack of tissues.
"Told you so." Su Mu helplessly displayed the white ball and looked at Kiana. Kiana was about to mock Su Mu for being unlucky, but in that moment—
A notification sounded in her mind.
[System Prompt: Principal Su Mu has incurred a loss of 1518.83! Congratulations to the Host for receiving the first rebate! The New Year Gift Pack grants a hundred-fold critical hit! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 150,188.3!]
[System Prompt: The amount has been automatically deposited into your newly opened bank account in Switzerland.]
[Current Total Rebate: 150,188.3]
The mockery Kiana was about to speak died in her throat. Her eyes widened like copper bells as she stared intensely at the small white ball in Su Mu's hand.
No... wait? This works too? This counts as a loss? Are you kidding me?
[System Prompt: Given that the Host has been bound to the Principal for a year without receiving a rebate, you are too pitiful. Therefore, this system has decided to loosen the requirements.]
[As long as a project is handled, invested in, or even has its lead selected by the Principal, any loss generated can be rebated.]
Kiana froze. She remembered the system had loosened the rules last time. So since Su Mu selected Firefly as the head of Glamoth Studio, the project funds generated could be counted. But the problem was... does this lucky draw count as a "project"...?
[System Prompt: Given the Host's special circumstances, this is a one-time exception.]
You're invincible, kid.
Kiana held her forehead. She never dreamed that despite having a "cheat" like a web-novel protagonist, she was so incompetent and "salted fish" that the system itself couldn't stand it. Not only did it evolve, but out of pity, it handed her her first pot of gold. She had finally finished the beginner quest and received her first rebate—it should have been double the joy. Yet, Kiana couldn't bring herself to be happy.
"Is this telling me not to give up hope, and to keep moving forward on the path of becoming the richest by losing money?"
END OF CHAPTER
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