Chapter 53: Resort to force? Can I stage a fake injury scam then?

After finishing her class, Li Shuyun hurried over to find Li Hongsheng.

With a newly purchased towel in hand, she rushed breathlessly into the Dean of Magical Flora’s office, only to find her grandfather sitting at his desk, replaying their recent bargaining showdown in his mind.

"This deadlock is tough to break..." Li Hongsheng muttered, touching his chin in deep thought. "Right now, I don't have any leverage against her, I know very little about her, and yet I need something from her. There is genuinely no way to outmaneuver her absolute monopoly as the sole seller."

He had been too hasty. He should have kept his composure, thoroughly researched this person named Qian Qi first, and only then formulated a bargaining strategy.

Li Shuyun lowered her gaze to the draft paper on the desk. It was densely covered with notes detailing his dialogue and actions with Qian Qi, along with analyses of their respective advantageous and disadvantageous positions. It was obvious he had spent a lot of time pondering it.

Li Shuyun wasn't surprised. This was simply Li Hongsheng's habit; as the Dean of the Magical Flora Research Institute, he always had to handle securing sponsorships and investments all by himself.

However, upon seeing a particular line of text, she couldn't help frowning. Pointing at a specific statement made by Qian Qi on the paper, she asked, "Grandpa, you and the president didn't even prepare a cup of tea?"

Li Hongsheng froze, then slapped his forehead hard.

He had messed up. He had made a huge mistake.

Perhaps it was because Qian Qi was a student in his own department that he had subconsciously placed her in an inferior position, joining forces with the president from a standpoint of superiority in an attempt to take advantage of a student.

Taking advantage of her was one thing, but not even offering tea? Who asks someone for a favor and doesn't even provide basic hospitality?

No wonder Qian Qi's attitude had grown increasingly rigid towards the end, to the point where she refused to say another word and simply walked out.

Li Shuyun sighed helplessly and sat down nearby. "Putting that aside for a moment, Grandpa, have you gathered the ten million?"

"No. You know what our family's financial situation is like," Li Hongsheng said, lowering his head to continue pondering his bargaining tactics.

"Didn't you borrow some from your friends?" Li Shuyun offered a solution. "Once we buy the cultivation method for the Fire Kirin Lotus, we'll definitely be able to pay it back."

Li Hongsheng paused and remained silent.

When no answer came for a long time, a sense of foreboding rose in Li Shuyun. Her voice pitched up in disbelief, "Grandpa, you didn't go and borrow from all of them again beforehand, did you?!"

Li Hongsheng tried to defend himself. "I had no choice! Your parents keep a tight grip on the money, so my only option was to borrow from my old friends..."

He had borrowed too many times and failed to repay them; where on earth was he supposed to find the shamelessness to ask again?

Li Shuyun twitched the corner of her mouth. She felt that in this regard, her grandfather really couldn't hold a candle to Qian Qi. Back then, Qian Qi had managed to successfully grow the Fire Kirin Fruit, and its quality was dozens of times better than her own deformed fruits. Moreover, the Fire Kirin Lotus she left behind had now produced another fruit.

When she calculated it all, Qian Qi had practically made a killing.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Li Shuyun asked.

"I borrowed money from little Zheng. Right now, the two of us are brainstorming ways to drive the price down a bit more." Remembering something, Li Hongsheng looked at Li Shuyun with hopeful anticipation. "Yunyun, do you know Qian Qi's weakness? I'm planning to use that as my trump card!"

Li Shuyun: ???

She felt that Qian Qi's biggest weakness right now was that she was in a good enough mood not to beat him up!

"Grandpa, you must never threaten Qian Qi!" Li Shuyun warned him with utmost solemnity. "Do not test her patience. Don't let her smiling face and pleasant demeanor fool you; she used to be a ruthless person. What are you going to do if you push her too far and she attacks you?"

"She'll attack me?" The old man instantly grew even more excited. "Then can I stage a fall to extort her? Do you think extortion would work?"

Li Shuyun: ???

God help me! Grandpa, do you or do you not understand the severity of the situation?!

"She will actually hit you!" Terrified that her grandfather was going to get beaten up, Li Shuyun had no choice but to reveal the truth. "She used to destroy a lot of students' magical flora assignments and got into countless fights. Even when I cultivated a finished Grade-E Fire Kirin Lotus, she managed to shatter it completely with her bare hands and survive without any sodium bicarbonate solution!"

Li Shuyun took a deep breath and said loudly, "If you end up getting your bones broken, I am not going to the hospital to wait on you!"

Li Hongsheng blinked. After a long moment, he slapped his thigh in delight. "That's my girl! I've got inspiration now. Tomorrow, I'll threaten her with expulsion for bad conduct!"

Li Shuyun: ???

So after all I said, you didn't listen to a single crucial point?

...

Li Hongsheng extended another invitation to Qian Qi.

This time, he invited her and the president to a restaurant in the city center.

Li Hongsheng had practically spent a small fortune, ordering an entire table full of dishes, which showed his determination to successfully conclude this transaction and negotiation.

Upon seeing the table laden with fine food, Qian Qi’s face immediately lit up with joy. Normally, she would never bear to spend money on such good food, and since Li Hongsheng was being so generous, she naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony.

Just as she raised her chopsticks to dig in, Li Hongsheng suddenly spoke up. "Qian Qi, I heard that you used to frequently fight with your classmates and even destroyed their magical flora assignments?"

Qian Qi’s chopsticks paused mid-air.

She raised an eyebrow. It seemed that this old man was playing for keeps this time.

She put down her chopsticks and nodded. "That's correct."

There was nothing to deny. When she first transmigrated here, she had asked the system whether the original owner had done those things and if there was any hidden backstory.

The system had confirmed with absolute certainty that the original owner had indeed done them.

Therefore, she had no intention of whitewashing the past self, nor did she intend to whitewash herself for inheriting this body.

"As for the losses suffered by those classmates, I will compensate them later," Qian Qi said, resting her chin on her interlocked hands. Her smiling eyes concealed the emotions swirling within her. "I'm sure they won't hold it against me."

Li Hongsheng froze, clearly not expecting Qian Qi to respond this way.

However, it was no big deal; this was merely the appetizer.

Li Hongsheng pressed on. "But these incidents have already happened, causing a very bad impact. Furthermore, I heard that you charged fees to do assignments for your classmates."

"Not only that, but without the permission of the Magical Flora Research Institute, you've also been selling magical flora byproducts and fruits to the students, peddling uncertified products with complete disregard for their safety. This kind of conduct severely damages the school's reputation and causes all sorts of adverse effects."

"As the dean, I have the authority to expel you!"

Li Hongsheng glanced at Qian Qi, whose expression was gradually growing darker, and took a sip of tea in a somewhat better mood.

He felt it was more appropriate to leverage his authority. Although it might trigger a backlash, he believed that someone as smart as Qian Qi would surely understand the pros and cons.

If she were expelled, she would lose her source of magical flora seeds. The moment his Magical Flora Research Institute issued a statement claiming that the items Qian Qi sold had chronic side effects, no one would ever dare patronize her business again.

Even if someone dared, she would have to spend the rest of her life hiding in dark corners, peddling her wares in secret.

This was equivalent to inflicting a thousand casualties on the enemy while suffering eight hundred yourself. If Qian Qi wanted access to more advantageous resources in the future, she would surely figure it out.

Qian Qi touched her chin.

It wasn't as though she hadn't considered the possibility that Li Hongsheng might threaten her with expulsion.

Although she could still make a living farming and feeding herself using her memories from her past life if she left the school, making money that way would certainly be slower than cultivating magical flora and brewing magical potions.

If she wanted a sweet, peaceful retirement, she had to obtain dual degrees from both the Magical Flora Department and the Magical Beasts Department. Only then could she gain access to official sales channels and preferential policies.

Qian Qi wanted to make money openly, rather than living a life of constant anxiety hiding in the gutters.

However, she couldn't just grant Li Hongsheng a price reduction for free.

The reason she had been so uncompromising earlier was precisely to push Li Hongsheng into a desperate corner, forcing him to summon the courage to burn his boats and negotiate with her properly.

Only by doing so could she reap "benefits" beyond mere money.

Qian Qi’s interlocked hands covered the lower half of her face. Hidden behind them, the corners of her mouth slowly split into a wicked and sinister grin.

"A price reduction is not entirely out of the question."

She spoke slowly, her shoulders trembling slightly with excitement. A pair of pitch-black eyes flickered with the cunning and malice of a thousand-year-old fox, and because she failed to keep her expression in check, her entire person exuded a distorted and perverted aura.

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