TRWSB – Chapter 205 How much is your betrothal gift?

Qi Heng, carrying his weary body, returned to the villa.

As he pushed open the door, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight, catching him off guard.

“It’s so late and you’re still up. Sitting in the dark here—are you trying to scare someone to death?” Qi Heng rubbed his forehead, clearly exasperated.

“I’ve been waiting for you a long time. You and Qi Shaorong talked forever,” Zuo Yunfei said, clearly displeased.

Qi Heng glanced at Zuo Yunfei and said helplessly, “Not everyone is as free as you, Young Master Zuo. We were discussing work, nothing else.”

Zuo Yunfei curled his lips. “Talking that long—was Qi Shaorong squeezing you dry? You don’t have to listen to him, you know.”

“The young master is doing it for my sake. Gold coins don’t fall from the sky,” Qi Heng replied.

Zuo Yunfei folded his hands behind his back and cast a cool, sidelong glance at Qi Heng. “You’re really good at defending him.”

Qi Heng yawned and said, “I’m going to sleep now. If you’ve got nothing else, you should rest too.”

Zuo Yunfei: “…”

As Qi Heng walked away, Zuo Yunfei ground his teeth in frustration, muttering to himself: “Not everyone is as free as me”? What’s that supposed to mean? Does he think I’m just freeloading here?

Zuo Yunfei, full of pent-up frustration, wandered into the courtyard.

“Still not asleep, Young Master Zuo? Is there something wrong with the guest rooms?” Qi Shaorong stood in the corridor and called out to him from a distance.

“No issues. They’re fine,” Zuo Yunfei replied.

“Glad to hear it,” Qi Shaorong said cheerfully.

“When you’re under someone else’s roof, you should be mindful of your place. When you’re relying on others, you can’t ask for too much,” Zuo Yunfei said in a flat tone.

Qi Shaorong furrowed his brows. “Sorry, what was that?”

“Nothing. Young Master Qi, I’ll head to bed now. Excuse me,” Zuo Yunfei said.

Qi Shaorong nodded. “Alright.”

Just as Zuo Yunfei turned to leave, he added, “Young Master Qi, no matter how much you try to make things difficult for me, I won’t give up. I will marry Qi Heng.”

Qi Shaorong nodded with a smile. “Okay, I’ll be waiting.”
This guy hasn’t even gone to bed yet and he’s already dreaming.

Early Morning.

Qi Heng walked into the dining room with a worried expression. “Young Master, have you seen Zuo Yunfei?”

Qi Shaorong shook his head. “No. What’s wrong?”

“He’s gone.”

“Morning is the best time to get things done. Don’t worry—he’s a grown man, he won’t just vanish. Maybe he went out to look for work. I mean, twenty billion is a lot of money. He can’t just expect it to fall from the sky,” Qi Shaorong said.

Qi Shaorong shook his head again. “You’re not even married to him yet. No need to start worrying over him already.”

Qi Heng: “…”

“I’m not worried. I just think making that much money isn’t easy,” Qi Heng muttered.

Qi Shaorong nodded. “Of course it’s not. Poor kid—protected by his family his whole life, hasn’t seen how harsh the real world is. All talk, no experience. Let him go out and get a taste of reality. Then he’ll understand that earning money is hard, and it’s not wise to make big promises so easily.”

Qi Heng: “…”

Zhuang Hao looked at the tired-looking Zuo Yunfei and said, “Young Master Zuo, you look exhausted. What have you been up to?”

“Went to the Mercenary Guild. Took on a job,” Zuo Yunfei replied.

Zhuang Hao smiled, clearly impressed. “You’re really putting in the effort! What kind of job was it?”

“Repairing a lightning pool,” Zuo Yunfei said calmly.

Zhuang Hao chuckled. “That’s not an easy task.”

Zuo Yunfei took a deep breath. “It’s manageable.”

“You’re doing this to prepare for marrying Qi Heng, right?”

Zuo Yunfei frowned. “Yeah, but that family is too stingy. They only offered five hundred thousand as payment.”

Zhuang Hao patted him on the shoulder comfortingly. “That’s already generous. There aren’t many rich people left in the Yuan Kingdom. Even heroes can be brought low by poverty. But seriously, if you keep earning money at this rate, unless you change who you’re into, you might end up single for life. At the current trend, Qi Heng’s ‘market value’ is only going to keep rising.”

Zuo Yunfei looked at Zhuang Hao, slightly puzzled. “Qi Shaorong asked me for twenty billion as a bride price. How much did he ask from you?”

Zhuang Hao froze for a moment, the smile on his face stiffening. “Uh… he never mentioned it.”

Zuo Yunfei looked at him thoughtfully. “Qi Heng’s just a steward. Qi Shaorong is the real boss. Based on what he asked from me, I figure if he were to name a price for you, it’d be at least forty billion.”

Zhuang Hao: “…”
That’s a terrifying thought.

Zuo Yunfei looked at Zhuang Hao with suspicion and said, “Young Master Zhuang, have you ever considered that the reason your relationship with Qi Shaorong hasn’t worked out is because you haven’t offered a bride price yet?”

Zhuang Hao: “……”

“From the looks of it now, your problem might actually be bigger than mine. If your bride price is forty billion, how are you planning to make that money?” Zuo Yunfei asked.

Zhuang Hao: “……” That was indeed a very thought-provoking question!

“Shaorong never mentioned it,” Zhuang Hao said awkwardly.

“So, just because Qi Shaorong hasn’t brought it up, you’re planning to freeload off him?” Zuo Yunfei asked.

Zhuang Hao: “……”

Zuo Yunfei patted Zhuang Hao’s shoulder and said, “Young Master Zhuang, that’s really not a good look for you.”

Zhuang Hao: “……” He couldn’t believe he was being lectured by Zuo Yunfei of all people—how humiliating.

+++++

“Young Master.” Yi Fan entered Qi Shaorong’s study.

“Ah Fan, you seem really cheerful. Did something good happen?” Qi Shaorong asked, noticing the sunny expression on Yi Fan’s face.

Yi Fan smiled and said, “Nothing much, I just happened to overhear Zuo Yunfei and Young Master Zhuang chatting.”

Qi Shaorong blinked in surprise. “What were those two guys talking about?”

“Zuo Yunfei asked Young Master Zhuang how much bride price you had asked for.”

Qi Shaorong narrowed his eyes. “Oh?” So if Zhuang Hao were to propose, how much should he charge him?

Yi Fan looked at Qi Shaorong with interest and said, “Zuo Yunfei said you’d ask for at least forty billion.”

Qi Shaorong: “……” Forty billion? Even if Zhuang Hao sold himself, it still wouldn’t be enough!

Yi Fan looked at Qi Shaorong and said, “I think Zuo Yunfei was actually being too conservative. Young Master, if Zhuang Hao wants to marry you, forty billion is nowhere near enough—it should be at least a hundred billion.”

“Ah Fan, you sure think highly of me,” Qi Shaorong said with a forced smile. At that price, he’d probably never get married in this lifetime.

“Young Master, you’re the person I admire most in this world,” Yi Fan said sincerely.

Qi Shaorong: “……”

“Where are they now?” Qi Shaorong asked.

“Young Master Zhuang seems to have taken Young Master Zuo out shopping,” Yi Fan replied.

Qi Shaorong narrowed his eyes and murmured, “Those two really seem to get along quite well.”

+++++

Zhuang Hao and Zuo Yunfei attracted a lot of attention while walking down the street. Many people were sneaking glances at Zuo Yunfei.

With Zuo Yunfei’s strength, those prying eyes couldn’t hide from him.

Zuo Yunfei crossed his arms, his brows tightly furrowed.

“Zuo Yunfei, what do you think of my home country’s local culture?” Zhuang Hao asked enthusiastically.

Zuo Yunfei shot Zhuang Hao an annoyed look and said, “Not much.”

Zhuang Hao chuckled awkwardly. “Don’t be so picky, Young Master Zuo. The people here are actually pretty kind and hospitable. You seem quite popular.”

Zuo Yunfei stopped walking, looked at Zhuang Hao, and said, “A few girls over there are saying that you and Qi Shaorong must be having problems, and that I might be your new flame.”

Zhuang Hao took a deep breath and said with a conflicted look, “I’m not into your type.”

Zuo Yunfei turned and locked eyes with Zhuang Hao, sneering coldly, “Same to you.”

He quickly looked away, brows still furrowed.

Zhuang Hao looked at him and asked, “What’s wrong? Did I scare you?”

Zuo Yunfei shook his head. “No. It’s just that one of the girls said we look like a perfect match when we gaze into each other’s eyes. While I think she must be blind, I figure it’s best not to look at you again to avoid more misunderstandings.”

Upon hearing that, Zhuang Hao promptly stared straight ahead.

+++++

Shen Yuan hurried over to Zhuang Hao and Zuo Yunfei. “Ah Hao, out having fun?”

Zhuang Hao nodded. “Yeah.”

Shen Yuan looked at Zuo Yunfei curiously. “That gentleman looks unfamiliar.”

“Let me introduce you. This is Young Master Zuo, Zuo Yunfei,” Zhuang Hao said.

Shen Yuan lowered his voice and asked, “Isn’t he the one involved with Qi Heng?”

Zhuang Hao nodded. “I think so, but there’s a twenty-billion-dollar gap between them—might as well be the distance to the stars.”

Shen Yuan: “……”

“Twenty billion?” Shen Yuan asked in disbelief.

Zhuang Hao nodded. “Yeah.”

“Young Master Zuo, Qi Shaorong asked you for a bride price of twenty billion?” Shen Yuan asked.

Zuo Yunfei nodded and gave a simple “Mm.”

Shen Yuan looked at him with deep sympathy. “Young Master Zuo, going after someone like Qi Shao isn’t easy, huh?”

Zuo Yunfei stood with his hands behind his back and didn’t reply.

“Let me tell you, Young Master Zuo—if you’ve got the money, better get it done quick. Qi Shaorong, that shameless guy, hikes the price really fast,” Shen Yuan warned.

Zuo Yunfei frowned. “Will he raise the price?”

“Of course! There was a guy named Hailing before who got burned real bad by him,” Shen Yuan said without hesitation.

“In the past? What about now?” Zuo Yunfei asked.

“Now? Now that guy keeps his wife on lockdown and won’t let him near Qi Shaorong,” Shen Yuan replied.

Zuo Yunfei nodded and muttered, “Once I’m with Qi Heng, I’m keeping him far away from that bastard Qi Shaorong too.”

Zhuang Hao glanced at Zuo Yunfei and thought to himself: This guy still thinks he has a chance with Qi Heng? Delusional.