Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 9 - Electronic Pet

The teacher who came up to the rooftop was a bit bewildered. 

He wasn't Class A's homeroom teacher, but he recognized Huang Haotian, who was lying on the ground with a cigarette sticking out of his crotch.

He glanced at the other tough-looking boys, then at Ye Chuan, who was coughing like he had tuberculosis. The teacher subconsciously believed Ye Chuan's words.

"This… they're into that kind of thing?" the teacher muttered. Even though he had been teaching for decades, he had rarely seen something so outrageous. 

He instinctively turned his attention to Ye Chuan.

"Are you alright, student?"

"I'm… I'm fine, sob." Ye Chuan immediately sniffled, burying his head in Luo Xi's shoulder with a wronged expression, as if his eyes were stinging. 

Luo Xi played along, gently patting the back of his head with her soft hand.

"It's okay, it's okay."

Just then, Huang Haotian seemed to recover, struggling to sit up, using almost all his strength.

"You—bull—shitter!"

He propped himself up, the cigarette in his crotch still emitting sparks in the rooftop wind, causing everyone to exchange bewildered glances.

"It was him! He beat all four of us down, and then he stuck a cigarette in my… hiss, damn it." 

Huang Haotian pulled out the cigarette, then pointed at the aggrieved-looking Ye Chuan.

"He… He's using my lines!"

But as soon as Huang Haotian finished speaking, the others looked at him strangely. Even Zhao Ruyan, who had come along, had a bizarre expression, as if asking what kind of avant-garde performance art he was putting on.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Ow… that hurts so much." Huang Haotian clutched his stomach in pain.

"You're saying, he took down all four of you by himself?" 

The teacher pointed at Ye Chuan, who obligingly continued coughing, his pale face making him look like a seriously ill patient.

"Yeah."

"Aren't you guys the aces of the Taekwondo club? Beaten up by such a skinny guy?" The teacher gave him a bewildered look. 

He was convinced that Huang Haotian was playing some kind of game, and after being caught, was trying to shift the blame onto Ye Chuan.

Huang Haotian was also stunned. Yeah.

How could he have taken all of them down?

He was the city's Taekwondo champion!

Huang Haotian suddenly became confused. 

Could it be that what he learned was really just for show? Several of them combined couldn't beat one skinny guy.

The physical pain was far less than the shattering of his martial arts pride. Huang Haotian stammered, unable to speak. 

"I, no, how could he?"

"Enough! All of you, come to my office!" The teacher finally lost his temper. 

"Bullying your classmates is bad enough, but with such a clumsy excuse!"

"Huh?"

After the boys were taken away by the teacher, only Ye Chuan, Luo Xi, and An Shiyu remained on the rooftop.

Ye Chuan raised his head and looked towards the stairwell. "They're gone?"

"They're all gone." Seeing Ye Chuan instantly revert to his usual self after putting on a pitiful act, Luo Xi tugged at his arm. 

"How did they bully you?"

"Just a bunch of losers." Ye Chuan smiled, but couldn't help but cough violently. "Cough, cough, cough, cough!"

"Why are you coughing so badly?" Luo Xi sensed something was wrong and patted his back. "Should we go to the infirmary and get you checked out?"

"No need, I just got a bit heated last night," Ye Chuan said. "It's nothing."

Luo Xi still looked worried. She turned to An Shiyu. "You try to persuade him too."

"He's not a child, he knows if something's wrong with his body." An Shiyu crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. 

She could clearly see that those guys were the ones who got beaten up by Ye Chuan. She put her hands in her pockets and turned towards the stairwell.

"I'm going back."

"Shiyu—"

Seeing An Shiyu swagger away, Luo Xi sighed helplessly and then glared at Ye Chuan. 

"Don't do anything dangerous like that again. So many people, it's dangerous."

Ye Chuan nodded with a smile.

"And!" Luo Xi's voice suddenly rose. She put one hand on her hip and poked Ye Chuan's nose with her slender finger.

"Don't say you'll kick my ass in public again! That's too much for a girl!"

"Alright, I'll do it in private."

"That's more like it—no, not in private either!" Luo Xi said angrily. "People who don't know us might think we're dating."

"Good point, it would affect my search for a rich woman," Ye Chuan grinned.

Luo Xi didn't reply, just let out a soft snort.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough." Ye Chuan's face turned pale and bluish as he started coughing again, feeling slightly dizzy.

Seeing that something was wrong with Ye Chuan, Luo Xi became worried. 

"Are you okay? Didn't you go to the hospital yesterday? What did the doctor say?"

Ye Chuan remained silent.

"It's nothing, just a minor issue," he finally said after a few seconds, exhaling slowly.

But as Ye Chuan took a few steps forward, Luo Xi noticed him swaying, and fearing he might fall down the stairs, she quickly stepped forward to support him. 

"Don't push yourself, let's go to the hospital and get you checked out again."

"No money, beautiful Luo Xi," Ye Chuan replied instinctively.

"I have money, I'll give you all my allowance," Luo Xi said.

"Just help me down the stairs." Ye Chuan suddenly remembered that he wasn't exactly poor anymore.

"I'll find time to go to the hospital."

"That's good."

"Hold on tight, I might fall."

"Oh…"

"Are you wearing… padding?"

"Do I need to?!"

...

School ended in the afternoon, and the sky outside was painted orange, casting a warm glow on the translucent tiles.

Ye Chuan packed his things. Tomorrow was the weekend, so he could spend more time with Bai QianShuang and see if he could raise her favorability—of course, teaching her how to survive in this society was the most important thing.

And his illness. Since he hadn't obtained any healing items yet, he should go to the hospital and get some proper medication.

"ChuanChuan, I'm going to the broadcasting club."

"Oh."

Luo Xi also had club activities. After saying goodbye to Ye Chuan, she left. 

A little later, she had to go help her stepfather at his barbecue stall. Despite her busy schedule, she was always full of energy.

After watching Luo Xi leave, Ye Chuan took out his phone and checked on Bai QianShuang.

[Bai QianShuang is hungry.]

[Bai QianShuang started cultivating to distract herself.]

[Bai QianShuang is even hungrier.]

…

In the log, Bai QianShuang was practically writing "starving to death". 

Ye Chuan also noticed that the chibi version of her was lying motionless on the bed, like a toy with no battery.

"Why does it feel like I'm raising an electronic pet?" Ye Chuan put away his phone and quickened his pace towards the school gate.

He'd buy more groceries today.

(SHMOLL: I am going to kill the author if this turns out to be a harem. Luo Xi, my boat is already sailing awayyy~)

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