Chapter 83: I’m Not Afraid

“Let’s hear what kind of deal you’re offering,” Li Huan said, taking another sip of red wine. His expression, half-hidden behind the glass, carried a trace of mockery.

Seeing Li Huan broach the topic himself, Gu Zexi’s smile deepened. He had thought he’d need to put in some effort to wear the man down, but Li Huan seemed almost impatient now. Apparently, the lure of a million was enough to make him yield to any condition. Pleased with himself, Gu Zexi reclined into the sofa and said smugly, “You’re a clever man, Mr. Li. Surely you’ve already guessed.”

“I don’t know what tricks you used to get together with Su Ci, but I doubt her family would approve of your relationship. Since that’s the case, why not just give up? Here’s my offer: I’ll pay you a million in cash. Afterward, you can find any woman you like. That’s all there is to our transaction—simple and straightforward. I don’t think you need any more time to consider.”

Li Huan mused silently. The rich always measure love in currency. Of course, discussing something as lofty as love with someone like Gu Zexi was pointless—he likely didn’t even know such a thing existed. For him, money equaled women; that was his guiding principle.

When Li Huan remained silent, Gu Zexi wasn’t disappointed. In his mind, Li Huan probably realized that accepting a million for a love that was never real was a win-win proposition. “Of course, I’d like you to do me one more small favor...”

As he spoke, Gu Zexi retrieved an exquisite box from beneath the table and slowly opened it. Li Huan glanced inside—it was the very jade necklace he’d bid four million for at the auction. Quite a grand gesture.

“Is this necklace also for me?” Li Huan asked shamelessly, though he knew perfectly well Gu Zexi wanted him to act as an intermediary and deliver the necklace to Su Ci. Still, he couldn’t resist teasing him.

Gu Zexi’s mouth dropped open in surprise, but he soon regained composure and smiled. “Su Ci is someone who values her feelings deeply. If you, her ex-boyfriend, deliver this necklace to her and tell her you’re not right for each other... well, that’s the only way she’ll give up on you.”

Li Huan frowned in silence. Truly insidious—having the ex-boyfriend deliver a love token from the current suitor to his own girlfriend. The harm this would do to Su Ci was obvious. Yet what amused Li Huan was that Gu Zexi genuinely regarded him as a rival in love—it was almost laughable.

Gu Zexi pushed the box toward Li Huan. Under the light, the jade shimmered with a lively brilliance. Li Huan looked down at it, and suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind: “A wondrous item with unique spiritual properties. If absorbed, the host can instantly level up the system.”

Li Huan’s expression shifted. He was about to ask a question when the voice vanished. He tried again but received no reply. Looking back at the jade necklace, his face grew more peculiar.

He vaguely remembered that at the “novice loli” stage, he could only increase his system’s energy by absorbing it from food. But there was another way: items with special spiritual aura could break through the level cap and be absorbed directly. It was clear from the system’s prompt that this jade necklace belonged to that rare category.

Under Gu Zexi’s expectant gaze, Li Huan slowly reached out and picked up the necklace, wanting to examine it more closely. The moment the jade touched his skin, a stream of cool, invisible energy slithered like a spirit snake into his body. At once, the numbers on his energy panel began to soar.

His internal energy had been close to three hundred points, but with the infusion from the necklace, it surged past four hundred in seconds, and the flow showed no sign of stopping.

Li Huan savored the cool sensation coursing through his meridians, invigorating his entire body. As his energy points skyrocketed, a powerful force seemed to awaken within him, swelling as if he were a balloon about to burst.

Startled, Li Huan glanced down at himself, but saw no outward change. All the energy absorption and potential awakening was happening inside; the transformation was invisible to the world.

A heavy rumble sounded in his mind as the energy counter broke through five hundred, then continued to climb. The system’s prompt rang out: “Host energy increased. Advanced to Level Two—Mature Lady stage. Host body upgrade enhanced. Skill acquired: Strength Augmentation (permanent skill). In transformation mode, attack power matches host mode, and augmentation can be boosted by energy points, increasing by 25%. Maternal Aura activated!”

What use is a “maternal aura”? he thought bitterly. Still, gaining an enhancement skill meant he could potentially stack it with low-level teleportation. Combining the two might raise his teleportation speed by a tier.

One detail gave him pause: the enhancement skill could only be activated after transforming, and “maternal aura” likewise only worked in that state.

What a ridiculous transformation system. Who was the lunatic who designed this thing? It shattered all sense of dignity.

The energy counter finally stopped at 650 after a brief fluctuation. The jade’s spiritual energy was fully drained. Li Huan glanced down and noticed the jade’s luster had dimmed. Alarmed that Gu Zexi might notice, he quickly returned the necklace to its box. But Gu Zexi’s expression remained unchanged, as if only Li Huan could see the difference. For an ordinary person like Gu Zexi, such inner changes were imperceptible.

“I can’t help you,” Li Huan said, pushing the box back. He stood, looming over Gu Zexi. “You’re not worthy of Su Ci.”

Gu Zexi, who had been waiting for Li Huan to nod and grovel with flattery, ready to dismiss him with a sneer and a warning to stay away from Su Ci, was utterly taken aback by the rejection.

He turned down the offer—and the million? Damn it! If you weren’t going to accept, then why bother making a show of handling the necklace? You’re clearly just toying with me!

“Are you sure?” Gu Zexi raised his head, his gaze turning frosty, his tone chilling. “Once you walk out that door, what awaits you is endless retaliation. You can try me.”

“I’m not scared of you,” Li Huan retorted with a cold snort. Head held high, he strode from the room without so much as closing the door behind him.

Gu Zexi stared at the ornate box, his hand gripping his glass so tightly the joints bulged. But in the end, he was all bluster; no matter how hard he squeezed, the glass wouldn’t break. With a curse, he hurled the glass at the wall and slammed a fist onto the box.

To be fair, Qiu Ze had at least been honest in his business: though he gouged the rich at auction, both the jewelry and the packaging were top-quality. The box for Gu Zexi’s jade necklace was made of sandalwood with a metal framework, extremely sturdy. When Gu Zexi punched it, the box held firm, but his knuckles gave way with a crack, blood streaming down—damn it, fractured!

Now that relations had soured completely, Gu Zexi gave up any hope for Li Huan. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. When it connected, he said, “Wang the Cur, I just ran into an old acquaintance…”

Once outside, Li Huan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Gu Zexi hadn’t realized the jade’s spiritual energy was gone, but Li Huan wasn’t sure if the necklace would change after being drained—perhaps it would crumble at a touch. Either way, it was no longer his concern; he’d returned the necklace, and any trouble it caused would be Gu Zexi’s alone.

At the same time, Li Huan was elated. Previously he’d had to rely on food for energy, a slow process that would have required consuming all sorts of tonics to reach five hundred points. Now, with the leap from novice loli to mature lady, he could draw energy not just from food, but directly from the life elements in the air. It was a complete transformation—like those ancient cultivators who started out needing grains for sustenance, but eventually could live without food altogether. Of course, Li Huan’s situation was different; he still needed to eat, but he could now draw energy directly from the environment, bypassing the complicated process of food metabolization.

He was tempted to try out his new skills, but the enhancement ability required transformation to activate. With so many people around, he wasn’t about to let others witness him enter Room 1706 as a man and emerge as a voluptuous woman—the commotion would be unimaginable.

By the time he returned to his seat, the fifth piece of jewelry was already up for auction. Li Huan was uninterested, and so were Sun Feifei and Li Ruotong beside him. Only Filon Cui sat expressionless, sipping wine at her own pace, exuding a languid, captivating air.