My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 51

Ren Chenxi frowned as she held the pouch, scrutinizing every stitch she had once painstakingly made. Wait. Something was wrong. At the bottom of the bag, there was a patch of messy, crooked yellow stitching. That terrible needlework was definitely not the product of her own maxed-out crafting skills.

Who ruined my bag like this? It completely destroys the aesthetic!

As Ren Chenxi stood there scowling at the velvet pouch, Tang Ying and Lu Ping happened to drop by. The moment Lu Ping saw the bag in Ren Chenxi’s hand, she gasped in surprise. “Oh? Isn’t that Senior Mu’s candy bag?”

“Her candy bag?” Ren Chenxi repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, it’s Senior Mu’s!” Lu Ping answered with certainty. “She bought it from another girl!”

Hah. So, the chocolate gift I gave her ended up with someone else, and she had to buy the bag back? Was Mu Ning out of her mind? Giving it away just to spend money buying it back—was she just trying to show off her wealth?

Ren Chenxi had already guessed the bag’s rocky history, but Tang Ying was still in the dark. She grabbed Lu Ping, demanding the gossip. “What happened? Why would Senior Mu buy a candy bag from someone else?”

“It was back when school started, before the apocalypse, when Senior Ren hadn’t returned yet. One day, Senior Mu saw a girl using that bag as a coin purse. She chased the girl down and paid a huge price to buy it from her!”

“Wait, Senior Mu paid a high price for a plain old coin purse? Why?”

“I heard some other girls talking about it. Apparently, Senior Ren originally gave the bag to Senior Mu, but she was in a bad mood that day and just gave it away on a whim. Later, she probably regretted it, so she bought it back.”

“Ohhh! So it was a gift from Senior Ren! Senior Mu bought it back at a high price… but then why is it with Sister Xi now?!” Tang Ying stared at Ren Chenxi, her eyes practically sparkling with the thrill of juicy gossip.

What do you mean ‘candy bag’? I gave her a whole bag of hand-crafted, multi-flavored chocolates! I only made the velvet pouch because I accidentally made too many chocolates!

To think that a bag meant for sweets had now become a sack for crystal nuclei.

Maintaining a wooden expression, Ren Chenxi opened the pouch and showed the Level 4 nuclei inside to Tang Ying and Lu Ping. “Mu Ning just gave me the deposit for the generator.” A Level 4 nucleus was roughly the size of a piece of candy; a bag this full should contain exactly 50 of them. Regardless, a rich “sugar mommy” like Mu Ning wouldn’t bother embezzling a couple of crystals… Wait.

This bag contained the deposit from the base. When Qi Sheng gave Mu Ning the deposit, did he give it to her in bulk? Did Mu Ning have to use her own bag to collect it?

Just as Ren Chenxi was feeling suspicious, Chen Gu came running up the stairs, panting for breath. “Sister Xi… Qi Sheng is here in person. He says he wants to see the crystal generator…”

Before Chen Gu could finish, Ren Chenxi interrupted him. “Where did the nuclei in this bag actually come from?”

“Uh… they’re… they’re from Qi Sheng…”

“Qi Sheng hasn’t actually given the deposit yet, has he? He came here to see the generator first, planning to pay in full once he’s satisfied,” Ren Chenxi stated with absolute certainty.

Ren Chenxi’s sudden interrogation caught Chen Gu off guard. He froze for a moment, then began scratching the back of his head nervously, stammering through an explanation. “Uh, no… the deposit was from Qi Sheng… he… he…” After struggling for words, Chen Gu gave up and sighed. “Fine. Actually, the Boss used her own crystals to cover the deposit…”

Although Qi Sheng and the Boss were on good terms, and Qi Sheng valued her highly, it was impossible for him to trust her completely. Human nature is a complex beast. Even before the apocalypse, there were plenty of people who would smile to your face and stab you in the back; it was ten times worse now. Qi Sheng hadn’t built the Nanhai Base through sheer luck; his capability and shrewdness wouldn’t allow him to hand over trust—or 50,000 Level 1 nuclei—that easily.

The base was desperate for power. They had confiscated almost all solar panels and spent a fortune commissioning ability users to scavenge more from other cities. However, that didn’t mean Qi Sheng would trust a generator he hadn’t even seen just because Mu Ning vouched for it.

Even if Qi Sheng was willing to risk 50,000 nuclei to appease a Level 5 ability user like Mu Ning, it didn’t mean Mu Ning wanted to owe him that favor. If she accepted such a significant gesture, it would be much harder for her to leave Nanhai Base later without feeling indebted to him.

To avoid the messy entanglement of favors, Mu Ning had simply paid the 50,000-unit deposit herself. Although she didn’t understand why Ren Chenxi insisted on a deposit before showing the machine, it didn’t matter. She had the crystals, and… she found it very difficult to say no to Ren Chenxi.

Since she had covered the deposit, Mu Ning didn’t want to deal with the transaction herself. She had Zhang Tongqi deliver the pouch to Ren Chenxi and sent Chen Gu to inform Qi Sheng about the “affordable” generator to see if he was interested.

Chen Gu knew Qi Sheng would buy it. What he hadn’t expected was for Qi Sheng to be so impatient. The moment he heard about the generator’s efficiency, he rushed over to see the “miracle” for himself.

Well, since Qi Sheng was already here, there was no point in Chen Gu hiding the truth about the deposit anymore. Once Ren Chenxi and Qi Sheng met, the truth would come out anyway. It was better to confess now than to have a clumsy, embarrassing mismatch in their stories later.

Hearing Chen Gu’s confession, Ren Chenxi weighed the “candy bag” in her hand and forced a faint smile. “Where is Qi Sheng now? I’ll bring the generator to him. He doesn’t know I have a spatial ability yet.”

“Oh! I get it. Qi Sheng is over at the men’s building. I’ll help you carry it over.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” As Ren Chenxi spoke, she discreetly converted the nuclei in the pouch into crystal points. She quickly accessed the System Mall and purchased a Crystal Nucleus Generator.

The purchased generator appeared in her backpack instantly. All she had to do was manifest it from the slot.

Looking at the brand-new, compact, and exquisite “generator” that suddenly appeared on the floor, Chen Gu looked at Ren Chenxi with doubt. “Sister Xi, are you sure this is the generator? Did you… pick the wrong item?” This thing was barely half the size of their modified lightning generators!

“I didn’t pick the wrong one. This is it. Let’s go; you’ll see for yourself in a moment.” Ren Chenxi led the way downstairs.

Chen Gu had no choice but to lug the generator and follow her. As they passed the second floor, Mu Ning opened her door and stepped out. She caught the eye-signals Chen Gu was frantically sending her and calmly said to Ren Chenxi, “I’ll go with you to see Qi Sheng.”

Although seeing the bag she had once used to woo Mu Ning made Ren Chenxi feel awkward, she was about to make 50,000 crystal points. She decided not to expose Mu Ning’s secret payment on the spot. After all, without that deposit, she wouldn’t have been able to “spawn” the generator in the first place.

Ren Chenxi had imagined Qi Sheng, a Level 5 dual-variant user with strength and speed, to be a hulking, muscular brute. Instead, she met a lean, scholarly-looking man wearing glasses who looked more like a university professor.

The moment Qi Sheng saw Ren Chenxi, he blinked in surprise, then immediately offered a polite smile. “Ah, is this the ability user you brought back today, Mu Ning? Welcome, welcome! Please treat the base as your home. If you don’t mind, call me Brother Sheng. If you have any problems, just come to me.”

Ren Chenxi knew how to play the social game. She responded with practiced sincerity. “Brother Sheng, I’m Ren Chenxi. So you’re the leader of Nanhai Base? You certainly have a distinguished aura! Mu Ning told me you’re a Level 5 user; I feel very lucky to have found a base made so secure by a leader of your caliber.”

“Haha, you flatter me! Nanhai Base is my life’s work, built with the blood and sweat of my brothers. Naturally, we do our best to make it better and safer.” Although he knew she was just being polite, what man doesn’t like to be praised? Especially by a beauty like Ren Chenxi. Qi Sheng’s smile became more genuine, and he reached out to shake her hand.

“Qi Sheng, didn’t you come here to see the generator? If you don’t want it, I’ll take it myself.”

Mu Ning’s cold interruption cut through their pleasantries like a blade.

“Oh! Right! The generator!” Snapping out of the conversation, Qi Sheng turned his attention to the matter at hand. He asked Ren Chenxi urgently, “Sister Xi, where is this generator you mentioned? Can I take a look? Don’t blame me for being cautious—I heard the largest survivor base in City A was researching this, but they never released their results. To find a ready-made one in your hands, I just…”

“I completely understand, Brother Sheng,” Ren Chenxi said, cutting off his explanation with a smile. She did understand his skepticism, but it also confirmed that this “hands-on” leader wouldn’t have handed over a massive deposit so easily. Luckily, a certain “sucker” had already taken care of that for her.

Casting a subtle glance at the expressionless Mu Ning, Ren Chenxi pointed to the machine in Chen Gu’s arms. “Brother Sheng, this is the crystal nucleus generator. You just open this lid, put the nuclei inside, and it starts producing power. The output works just like any other generator. Oh, we should probably get a portable power station to test the output…”

Ren Chenxi was about to ask Chen Gu to grab one of their units when Qi Sheng waved a hand dismissively. He pulled a small portable power bank from his pocket. “This one has a 10,000 mAh capacity and it’s completely dead. It’s perfect for a test.”

This guy is really thorough. Definitely not easy to fool.

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