Chapter 163: Ah, the Celestial Jade Tycoon has Returned
"If battles can be turn-based, why can't life be a game of Celestial Jade?"
Within six standard hours, this simple philosophy had gone viral.
Having played to her heart's content, Qingque felt a familiar weariness begin to settle in. Once the initial rush of novelty faded, a quiet sense of emptiness crept into the corners of her heart.
'So tired,' she thought, the tiles feeling heavy in her hands.
The Heliobus that had taken up residence in her mind saw its opening and began to stoke the embers of her greed.
"Is this really all? Are you truly satisfied with just this?" its voice whispered.
"What else is there?" Qingque mumbled, her energy flagging.
"Don't you want to go further? To achieve more?"
"Isn't this already pretty great…?"
"You can have more! So much more!" the spirit hissed, its voice a seductive promise.
"But… I'm already very happy," Qingque replied. A contented smile lingered on her lips, but a thin veil of confusion clouded her eyes. It was the look of someone who had just woken from a long, beautiful dream and couldn't quite separate it from reality.
"Not enough! It's far from enough!" the Heliobus insisted, its tone growing urgent. "Have you forgotten what you said? You were going to promote Celestial Jade to the entire universe! You were going to buy the Divination Commission and make Fu Xuan your personal cleaning lady!"
"That was…" Qingque's gaze grew hazy for a moment. "That was just… me talking nonsense, right?"
"Was it? Don't you think that exact thought every time Fu Xuan forces you to work overtime? Don't you look at the high-and-mighty Divination Commission and dream of one day grinding it under your heel? Every single time you get caught slacking off…"
"Right… is that right?" Qingque murmured, her own resolve wavering.
"Yes! Yes! You have the mind of a strategist, a brilliant tactician! Of course, you can do it! There's no problem at all… Ahhhhhh~~~!"
The insidious whisper cut off with a wet, slurping sound. Rekka, who had been observing the proceedings with mild amusement, casually reached out and plucked the parasitic Heliobus right out of Qingque's consciousness. Helping it stir up a little chaos had been fun, but the creature was getting ahead of itself. It was time to go.
Qingque snapped back to reality with a jolt.
"What just happened…?" she blinked, feeling as though she'd woken from a long slumber. Her head was still buzzing with faint, tempting echoes.
"President Que, here is the quarterly report."
Rekka held up a ridiculously thick data slate, a perfectly neutral expression on his face.
"…Ah? President Que? Who's that?"
"You, of course," Rekka said plainly. "You are President Qingque of the Celestial Jade Group. 'CJG' for short."
Qingque stared. "?"
"Uh, is this some kind of prank show? I'm just an ordinary little diviner from the Divination Commission! Is this… a new hidden camera program or something?"
Incredulous, she took the heavy slate. Her expression shifted from utter confusion to wide-eyed horror, and finally, to a state of deep doubt about her own sanity.
"You are currently the hottest rising star in the business world of the Xianzhou Luofu," Rekka informed her.
"But yesterday, I was just slacking off and daydreaming about how great it would be if everyone could just play cards openly! I absolutely did not mean to start some massive, cross-galaxy conglomerate! All these business operations… all these contracts…" The implication hit her like a physical blow. She'd have to work overtime until she coughed up blood.
"President Que, last night you grabbed my hand, tearfully denounced the overtime culture of the Divination Commission, and swore to build a world where everyone could slack off freely and play tiles to their heart's content. As of this morning, all the merchants in Aurum Alley have invested, and the first batch of physical Celestial Jade parlors has already opened in three neighboring star systems."
"I… last night?" Qingque squeaked.
"Yes. Last night, you signed twelve strategic cooperation agreements, held three emergency board meetings, and personally interviewed seventeen new hires."
Slowly, inch by agonizing inch, Qingque began to slide down in her chair, seeking refuge under the table.
"Just let me die."
"President Que, you cannot die," Rekka said, crouching down to speak to her earnestly in her new subterranean office. "The company has just launched. If its core figure disappears, the stock price will collapse."
"I don't care if it collapses!" came her muffled, despairing voice from under the table. "I never wanted to be some president!"
"I'm just a humble diviner at the Divination Commission! My dream is to slack off, not to be some interstellar business tycoon!"
"It's too late, President Que. You signed the documents yourself last night. You even pressed your thumbprint on them. The neighbors in Aurum Alley, those major merchants—everyone has invested real, hard-earned credits. If you say you're quitting now, that constitutes absconding with funds and defrauding investors. For a crime of that magnitude, there's a cozy little cell waiting for you in the Shackling Prison."
"I… just how much bad liquor did I drink yesterday?!" she wailed.
"You were perfectly sober," Rekka replied without missing a beat. "Your gaze was resolute, your tone powerful. You even stood on a chair to give a speech, declaring that you would make Grand Diviner Fu Xuan wear a janitor's uniform and serve you tea every day."
Qingque gasped. Her vision swam with darkness. "If the Grand Diviner finds out I said such treasonous things, she'll definitely make me work overtime until the heat death of the universe…"
"Being a boss isn't that scary," Rekka offered, trying a different tack. "You have money now. You can hire people to do the work for you. Or you could form a dedicated team that does nothing but play Celestial Jade with you all day."
Qingque's ears twitched. She seemed tempted. But she quickly shook her head so hard it rattled. "No, no way! Don't try to fool me with that sweet talk. A boss has to manage the books and handle all sorts of emergencies. If a branch loses money, I'd have to go inspect it! That's not slacking off—that's raising the bar for slacking off to a height I can't even see from here!"
A sudden thought struck her. "Wait a minute. Who even are you?"
"I am your chief strategist, head of staff, and personal secretary," Rekka announced. "Rekka."
Qingque looked down at the dense, beyond understanding data on the report. The corner of her mouth twitched. Finally, she placed the slate gently back on the table as if it were a live bomb.
"So much money… If it really goes bust because I quit, those merchants who invested…" she muttered, her voice trailing off into a horrified whisper.
"I'm doomed!" she cried, clutching her head. "What do I do?!"
Qingque felt as though the sky itself had collapsed, and she was the one left holding it up. This was the sort of crisis that should be handled by the Grand Diviner—who, despite being similarly short, actually had the ability to hold up the sky.
"Grand Diviner, Qingque has returned."
"Hm? She's back?" Fu Xuan looked up from her mountain of files, a puzzled expression on her face. But as she saw the cautious, skulking figure of her subordinate peeking around the doorframe, and then glanced at a message on her jade abacus, Fu Xuan fell silent for a moment.
"Let her in," she sighed. "The events of the past two days were not entirely her fault."
Qingque crept into the office, moving as if the floor were made of eggshells.
"Grand Diviner…"
"Ah, if it isn't President Qing, gracing us with her presence at work." Fu Xuan raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, her voice dripping with cool sarcasm.
The day before, Qingque had publicly declared her intent to acquire the Divination Commission and put its master to work. If Qingque were actually allowed to manage the Commission, Fu Xuan was certain it would be bankrupt by nightfall.
"I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare!" Qingque said, bowing frantically. "I'm just a lowly little diviner at the Commission, Grand Diviner!"
"And how is that company you registered yesterday doing?" Fu Xuan inquired, her gaze sharp.
"I've handed it over! It's all handed over!" Qingque babbled. "Hehe, Grand Diviner, please be discerning! That company truly wasn't my idea. I was just bewitched by a Heliobus and spouted some nonsense. When I woke up, the contracts were signed, the company was registered, and the employees were already hired… With such a hot potato in my hands, what else could I do but pass it on?"
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