Pregnant with the Empress’s Alpha Heir - Chapter 8

Two hundred thousand wasn’t much, but it at least solved the immediate crisis.

Yu Zhitao settled into a budget apartment nearby with Ah Jiu.

At night, she browsed her smart terminal for part-time job listings.

“The cost of living in the Upper District is high, but even the most basic part-time jobs pay around 100 credits per hour.

“If I move to the Middle District, rent and other expenses would be much cheaper, but there aren’t any high-paying part-time jobs there.”

As she read, she scribbled calculations in her notebook.

After a while, she clutched her head in frustration. “No way. With these ordinary jobs, there’s no chance I can save up three hundred thousand in two months.”

Ah Jiu happened to walk out of the bathroom just then. Seeing her like this, she toweled her hair and said, “Look for something else.”

Yu Zhitao jolted, then perked up and typed four big characters into the search bar.

“Imperial Law.”

Ah Jiu frowned. “Why are you looking that up?”

Yu Zhitao mumbled, “Isn’t it said that all the ways to get rich quick are written in the criminal code?”

Ah Jiu patted her head like she was scolding a misbehaving child. “Stop joking around.”

Yu Zhitao drooped her head. “I was just kidding.”

Feeling dejected, she picked up Xiao Jiu, who was resting by the bed, and cuddled the kitten, rubbing its soft belly.

That afternoon, she and Ah Jiu had gone to the supermarket to buy supplies for the kitten.

She hadn’t realized how expensive it was to raise a pet in this world until they checked out, their wallet had instantly shrunk by four digits.

Xiao Jiu, of course, was oblivious to her distress.

Being held by Yu Zhitao, it thought its owner wanted to play and happily purred while pawing at her fingers.

As she teased the kitten, Yu Zhitao raised her hand to close the search page, when a pop-up ad caught her eye.

“Ancient Text Restored: Suspected New Language of Early Humans Rediscovered.”

She read the headline aloud slowly before clicking in to check.

The webpage displayed several photos of the so-called “ancient text,” and the more Yu Zhitao looked, the wider her eyes grew.

“Isn’t this just, sheet music?”

Ah Jiu glanced over at her words.

The universe was vast, filled with countless star domains of varying sizes. The Huaqi Star Domain, where Yu Zhitao now resided, was one of the top powers.

For millions of years, the major powers had been locked in constant warfare, engaging in endless star battles. But in recent years perhaps due to exhaustion or the stabilization of territorial boundaries they had tacitly halted expansion and instead became obsessed with uncovering the past.

Recently, archaeological discoveries related to ancient history had grown increasingly popular.

And the “ancient text” Yu Zhitao was looking at now was anything but unfamiliar to her Earth-born soul,

It was just an ordinary musical score in standard notation.

Realizing this, she quickly searched for information about Earth-era musical instruments based on the webpage’s details.

The StarNet had no records of Earth not even the Milky Way Galaxy could be found. But from numerous archaeological findings, it was clear that the humans of the star domains were descendants of a branch of humanity from millions of years ago.

People had forgotten their origins they could no longer recognize Earth-era writing or artwork but through advanced technology, they had managed to restore some surviving fragments of artifacts.

For instance, Yu Zhitao soon found familiar instruments like the guzheng, piano, and pipa among the recovered relics.

They were all categorized under ancient musical instruments, but so far, people in the interstellar era didn’t seem to know how to play them.

Yu Zhitao suddenly had an idea!

“Ah Jiu…” she consulted the person beside her, “Do you think if I applied to be a performer at a restaurant or bar and played the guqin for guests, anyone would hire me?”

Ah Jiu lifted her eyelids slightly at the question.

She asked, “You can play the guqin?”

Yu Zhitao pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “Just a little.”

For work-related reasons, she had studied the guqin for a while.

She wasn’t a master, but she could play a few pieces without issue. There was still a guqin score available online as long as she followed it closely, she was confident she could reach a performance level suitable for restaurants.

Ah Jiu lowered her head in thought. “I’ve never heard of anyone bringing ancient instruments to a performance setting but maybe you could give it a try.”

Yu Zhitao nodded firmly.

“I really should try. Look, any part-time job for a resident performer pays around 1,000 credits per hour.

“Even if I only worked two hours a day, that’s still 2,000 credits. After deducting the 300 credits for daily housing in two months, I could earn nearly 100,000!”

The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. She immediately placed an online order for a guqin.

These reproductions weren’t cheap. After browsing, she found that the cheapest guqin still cost 2,000 credits.

To ensure performance quality, she gritted her teeth and bought a mid-range guqin, spending nearly 5,000 credits.

Fortunately, the seller was reliable and promised a refund if the quality wasn’t satisfactory.

Feeling much more at ease, Yu Zhitao hugged Xiao Jiu and curled up under the covers.

Ah Jiu turned off the voice-activated light, plunging the room into darkness.

The apartment had two single beds, with Yu Zhitao and Ah Jiu sleeping less than a meter apart.

In the dark, Yu Zhitao turned onto her side, facing Ah Jiu’s direction.

She asked, “Ah Jiu, what are your plans for the future?”

Ah Jiu’s back was turned to her.

After a moment of silence, she replied, “What, don’t want to take care of me anymore?”

“That’s not it,” Yu Zhitao said. “But we can’t just keep going like this forever.

“This morning, with those people at the bar, did you get into a fight?”

At the time, there had been too much going on, and since they were outside, she hadn’t pressed further.

But that didn’t mean she hadn’t noticed anything.

Ah Jiu’s voice came through the dark. “No.”

Yu Zhitao was taken aback.

She smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I just thought that man seemed really afraid of you, so I assumed you two had.”

Ah Jiu replied, “He did something wrong, so of course he was afraid.”

She knew what Yu Zhitao was implying, but by her standards, what had happened that morning was far from a “fight”,

After all, the other party hadn’t even had the chance or ability to fight back.

Yu Zhitao chuckled. “You really are amazing, making them realize their mistakes like that.

“I know you’re not what they call ‘useless.’ You’re far more honorable and capable than them.”

Ah Jiu shifted slightly. “Honorable?”

Yu Zhitao nodded vigorously under the covers. “Yeah!

“Even though we haven’t known each other long, you’re really dependable. When you got the money this morning, you didn’t have to return it to me. I mean, I did use those 300,000 credits to get you to, uh, come home with me.”

Ah Jiu tugged at the blanket.

“You’re the strange one here.”

Yu Zhitao puffed out her cheeks. “Then why are you still willing to follow me?”

Ah Jiu replied, “Boredom.”

Yu Zhitao felt a little dejected and turned away. “Going to sleep.”

She thought Ah Jiu was calling her question boring, but in reality, Ah Jiu was simply referring to the monotony of her own life.

She had no plans for the future. Yu Zhitao had just happened to appear and gotten entangled with her, so she went along with it.

Ah Jiu thought to herself once she figured out how to repay the remaining 100,000 yuan, she’d find another place to hole up and wait.

Wait for what?

The thought gave her pause. She frowned and closed her eyes.

The next day.

Early in the morning, the excellent Starfield Logistics delivered the guqin to Yu Zhitao.

She adjusted the tuning based on memory and played a simple practice piece.

Throughout the process, Ah Jiu kept glancing over.

Yu Zhitao asked, “How does it sound?”

Ah Jiu pondered for a moment. “Unique.”

Yu Zhitao sighed. “Well, that’s something. I’ll have to rely on being ‘unique’ to stand out.”

After practicing until she was somewhat proficient, she took Ah Jiu and headed out. Little Jiu, being too young, was left behind in the temporarily rented apartment.

They hailed a cab and visited one restaurant after another based on the locations hiring musicians.

But her hopes were quickly dashed.

After visiting multiple restaurants, the moment the managers heard she played the guqin, they dismissed her without even listening.

This era had its own instruments, which had completely dominated the live music scene in restaurants. The so-called guqin might sound novel, but to modern ears, it was just a crude relic from millions of years ago,

Fine for display in a museum, but utterly unfit for actual performance.

After a whole day of fruitless effort, Yu Zhitao and Ah Jiu arrived at an upscale bar as night fell.

In the Upper District, almost everything was high-end, but this one, judging by its entrance alone, was the cream of the crop.

Mustering every ounce of courage, Yu Zhitao walked in.

But unsurprisingly, the bar manager rejected her outright upon learning about her instrument.

Ah Jiu followed Yu Zhitao out and, seeing her dejected, said bluntly, “I’ll go back and talk to them again.

“They should at least hear you play before making a decision.”

Yu Zhitao stopped her. “Forget it. No need to pressure them.”

She forced a smile. “If restaurants don’t want guqin performances, I can always busk on the streets. Who says I have to stick to this place?”

Ah Jiu was momentarily taken aback before nodding. “Mm.”

Honestly, Yu Zhitao’s optimism and cheerfulness at times could slightly affect her, stirring faint ripples in her otherwise stagnant heart.

Just as they were about to leave the bar, someone brushed past them.

Then, the person stopped and exclaimed in surprise, “Little lamb?”

Recognizing the voice was directed at her, Yu Zhitao instinctively turned. “You?”

Kui Meng’s gaze swept past Ah Jiu before settling on her. “Ah, so I was a step too late. Someone else has already ‘devoured’ you.”

Yu Zhitao gave an awkward laugh.

Kui Meng tilted her head, her attention drawn to the ancient zither A Jiu was holding. “This is a members-only club. Since you’re not members, I assume you’re not here for drinks?”

“What’s that you’re carrying?” she asked.

Yu Zhitao gave a brief explanation.

Kui Meng tapped her lips and smiled with captivating charm. “I see. Follow me, then.”

Yu Zhitao exchanged a glance with A Jiu.

“Let’s go see,” Yu Zhitao said.

A Jiu, ever indifferent, simply trailed behind her once the decision was made.

Support Pregnant with the Empress’s Alpha Heir