Thirty minutes later, Ah Da struggled to pull out a huge black pearl from the bottom, a Luminous Pearl.
"Will this be enough, I wonder?" Ah Da said, sitting beside it, touching the Luminous Pearl in confusion.
That evening, when Qin Yu returned to his room, he saw Ah Da pushing a huge black pearl towards him, almost as tall as she was, pure black, unlike any pearl she had previously presented.
Qin Yu stood still, watching to see what she intended to do.
The Luminous Pearl was smooth and round, heavy, and since the bedroom floor was flat, it didn't take much effort to push, so Ah Da rolled the Luminous Pearl to Qin Yu's feet.
She moved too quickly and barely managed to stop it with her body, making the scene somewhat comical, which made Qin Yu unable to hold back a smile.
The young girl said to him, "This is for the money for that dress and shoes, this is a Luminous Pearl, it should cover some of it, the rest I will repay slowly."
Qin Yu raised an eyebrow, was she actually intending to repay him?
He was not short of money, but seeing her put so much effort into it, something stirred in his heart. Qin Yu bent down, picked up the young girl along with the Luminous Pearl, and walked over to sit on the couch.
Ah Da was placed on a glass coffee table.
Ah Da straightened her skewed clothes and hair, standing on the coffee table, her pale, interlaced fingers in front of her, nervously looking at the indifferent man across from her on the couch seat. He held up the Luminous Pearl as if he was carefully "inspecting" it.
The man was dressed in casual gray, laid-back and carefree, his arms rested on the armrests of the couch, the muscles in his arms smoothly contoured, his long, distinct finger knuckles holding the Luminous Pearl.
Ah Da had seen Luminous Pearls being sold at various major auctions before, much smaller than hers yet auctioned for much more than her Green Jade Incense Burner.
Having not spoken for a long time, Ah Da became anxious.
"What do you think...",
Can't you just say something...
Qin Yu lowered his hand, his deep, dark eyes lifting to look at her, his lips slightly curving into a leisurely smile, "It's acceptable."
Ah Da breathed a sigh of relief; since he said it was acceptable, all the dresses in the cabinet were now hers.
"That's great, thank you."
She couldn't hide her smile; it bloomed across her face, her eyes curving into crescents, like the flowers of spring. Qin Yu watched her, unaware of the complexity in his dark eyes.
She was too innocent and pure, transparent at a glance, every expression and thought displayed on her face, indisputable.
"Are you this happy?" he heard himself ask.
Ah Da opened her eyes wide, black and round, happily saying, "Of course, now I can wear all those beautiful clothes whenever I want, hehe, they are all mine."
Qin Yu twisted the Luminous Pearl in his hand, chuckling sarcastically with a hint of unnoticeable resentment, "What? You couldn't wear them whenever before? Did I restrict you?"
"No, no, that's not what I meant," Ah Da waved her hands, eager to clarify, afraid he might misunderstand, explaining, "Staying here is already an imposition, plus you light incense for me every day. Spending your money on top of that doesn't feel right. I know money is hard to earn."
"You bought out the entire store last time; I don't even know how much you spent. The clothes are for me to wear. It's only right that I give them to you. Anyway, don't worry, I have money."
Ah Da utterly missed the strangeness, patting her chest and earnestly saying every word with sincerity.
Qin Yu laughed softly, his smile void of warmth. He leaned forward, forcibly pinched the young girl's chin with his fingers, and asked her.
"Do you have money? How much?"
Forced to tilt her head back, Ah Da clasped the man's fingers with both hands, whimpering, "I have... a little..."
"Is that so? Give it all to me," the man said, then leaned back his hand.
Ah Da's eyes widened in surprise, "All... to you?"
Qin Yu hummed affirmatively, sitting on the sofa like an emperor, with his long legs crossed, his face clear and handsome to the extreme, radiating an aloof coldness that kept people at bay.
Ah Da shook her head with reddened eyes, refusing, "No, I can't give it all to you, I still need to keep some for later use."
She still needed to find Bronze Sword and Little Porcelain Bottle; without money, it was absolutely impossible.
Qin Yu looked at her indifferently as she cried, "Wasn't it you who said you would pay? Now, you can't bear to part with it?"
Tears hung in Ah Da's eyes as she said dumbly, "Are those clothes that expensive? Then... can we return some of them? It's too much, I can't wear them all."
Qin Yu said mercilessly, "No."
Ah Da felt utterly hopeless, thinking of all her treasures she had to give to Qin Yu made her unable to hold back her sorrow. From her large, gem-like eyes, tears welled up and fell, instantly turning into pearls that clinked crisply onto the glass coffee table.
This was her first time crying in front of Qin Yu.
Even Qin Yu was startled by this miraculous sight. He couldn't help but slowly reach out his hand, catching the tiny pearls that fell from the young girl's cheeks. They were irregular in size, some clear, others murky, each bearing a hint of her warmth.
It was miraculous.
Holding the tiny pearls in his palm, Qin Yu couldn't help but chuckle, realizing that those pearls really were her tears; so large and so numerous, how many times had she cried?
"You... you're still laughing!" Ah Da accused him with her big eyes reddened, her statement disordered by her anger, "I knew it, Bronze Sword was right, you humans are so greedy, especially the capitalists, always wanting to take everything."
"Who is Bronze Sword?"
Does this little fool have friends? Qin Yu frowned.
Ah Da bit her lip and turned her face away, "I won't tell you; you are an ugly capitalist."
The tears had stopped.
Qin Yu, somewhat helpless, grabbed the young girl and pulled her in front of him, pinching her little face, "Do you even know what a capitalist is? Using big words at such a young age."
Ah Da looked at him, her voice hoarse from crying, "Then are you a capitalist? Also, I am older than you."
She had lived for thousands of years, although now in a smaller body, Ah Da felt like crying again from frustration.
Qin Yu, exasperated, realized he was actually following her train of thought, when originally he just wanted to scare her a bit.
"Does it matter if I am a capitalist? But you cry whenever money is mentioned; do you care about money that much?"
Unexpectedly, she was a little money-grubber.
Ah Da sniffled, sitting steadily on his hand, rubbing her eyes, "It's just you bullying people."
Unexpectedly, Qin Yu found he could no longer be tough with her. Seeing her like this, he naturally wanted to comfort her, casually pulling out a tissue to wipe her face.
The surroundings quieted down, Ah Da letting him wipe the corners of her eyes and cheeks, although the tissue rubbed a bit painfully.
Soon, her cheeks were pinched between two fingers, the man's sculpted features looming close, his deep black eyes like abysses, Ah Da frozen as if rooted.
He said, "You were right, I am a businessman, and businessmen value profit. The things I gave need no payment from you, but if you insist on settling the accounts, then show some sincerity."
"Understand?"
Ah Da covered her forehead where he had poked, "By sincerity, do you mean for me to be ruined?"
"Sincerity means satisfying me, and I hold all the rights to interpret it," Qin Yu smirked.
Ah Da incredulously said, "You... there's no one like you!" This was outright thuggery.
Qin Yu remained silent; in fact, the young girl's blustering had no intimidating power at all, soft and gooey like a petulant kitten, making one's mood significantly better.