After Pampering Her 5 Beast Husbands, the Villainess Struck It Rich

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Another Kind of Liking

A smile touched Bai Zhi’s face. Then she heard the staff member say, "We will have an SS-level superpower user escort you home. If you do not require this service, you can simply sign your name here."

After inspecting the document, she said, "I do."

She then stepped aside, letting Xiao Yu and the others see the Crystal Stone.

The Crystal Stone was a little larger than a fist, while the brown rock next to it was less than half a fist in size.

Xiao Yu walked up to the Crystal Stone and reached out to touch it. A gentle warmth spread into her palm. She exclaimed in surprise, "It really is warm."

The Crystal Stone was a bit like a modern-day hand warmer, but unlike a hand warmer, this stone maintained a constant temperature indefinitely.

Xing Fan leaned in closer too. "This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Crystal Stone like this. It looks like there’s a fire inside."

The staff member explained, "That’s the Crystal Core. This stone can be cut into several pieces. If you carry one with you in the winter, your hands and feet won’t get cold."

Bai Zhi took a look. It could be cut into six small pieces and carved into pendants, one for each person. The rest could be divided into another six portions, which would be nice to hold for warmth during the winter.

Bai Zhi was the type who was particularly sensitive to the cold, so she would definitely keep a piece with her.

This Crystal Stone was actually a bit like a discovered piece of Jade. A top-grade imperial green of this size would be worth hundreds of millions on its own, and that’s not even including an S-Class companion stone.

Since this companion stone wasn’t very large, it would need to be combined with many other materials to be refined into a weapon.

This was also why the other bidders had hesitated after the price hit eighty million. The companion stone was too small, requiring a top-tier Artifact Refiner and other materials to be successfully refined.

If this companion stone had been about the same size as the Crystal Stone that was warm in winter and cool in summer, the price would have been at least several tens of millions higher.

At that price, Bai Zhi might not have been able to win it.

Xing Fan said, "This Crystal Stone will look beautiful no matter what it’s carved into. If you’d like, I can help you come up with a design."

Bai Zhi was pleasantly surprised. "Really? Would it be too much trouble for you?"

Xing Fan shook her head. "I love tinkering with things like this."

Bai Zhi suddenly remembered that Xing Fan had also seemed interested in the Crystal Stone earlier. She asked curiously, "Didn’t you like this Crystal Stone too? Why didn’t you bid on it?"

Xing Fan answered candidly, "I just enjoy collecting Crystal Stones. I’ll buy them if they’re within a reasonable price range, but this one far exceeded my estimate, so naturally, I passed. If I could have won it, I would have added another special Crystal Stone to my collection. But since I couldn’t, I have no regrets. It just means it wasn’t meant to be mine."

Bai Zhi thought for a moment and said, "How about this? When it’s cut, I’ll give a piece to you."

Xing Fan raised an eyebrow, a hint of her unique pride in her expression. "That won’t do. I just had an idea for a design for you and your Beast Husbands. Separately, they are beautiful gems, but when fitted together, they form a single, gorgeous Pendant. If you give me a piece, it’ll ruin the aesthetic. I’m not about to get in the middle of that."

’What Xing Fan is describing sounds a lot like modern matching sets for couples.’

After a moment, she added, "If you feel guilty that I didn’t get the Crystal Stone, just don’t compete with me next time you see a pretty one."

Bai Zhi met her gaze, and they shared a smile. "Deal. From now on, I’ll keep an eye out for you. If I see a nice one, you’ll be the first person I call."

Xiao Yu’s eyes went wide. "Hey, you two aren’t including me!"

Xing Fan teased, "You should probably hurry up and slip away before your fiancé tracks you down. Be careful, or you might not be able to escape."

Xiao Yu instantly paled with fright. "AHHH!! You jinx! Quick, spit, spit, spit! Say you didn’t mean it!"

Xing Fan played along. "Spit, spit, spit. I didn’t mean it."

But even so, Xiao Yu still glanced around warily, as if afraid he would pop out from somewhere.

Xiao Yu seemed to decide this wasn’t enough. She added, "Nope, I have to go now."

With that, she quickly said her goodbyes to Bai Zhi and Xing Fan and left in a flurry.

The whole exchange took less than a minute. Bai Zhi watched Xiao Yu’s retreating figure, a little stunned. "What was that...?"

Xing Fan explained teasingly, "Her family arranged a marriage for her with a Beastman fiancé, but she didn’t want him. So she ran away from the Main Star to find her uncle here. Turns out, her fiancé followed her."

Bai Zhi was confused. "Is her fiancé ugly? Is that why Xiao Yu doesn’t like him?"

Xing Fan shook her head. "He’s actually quite handsome, with SS-level spiritual power. He’s also her childhood sweetheart."

Bai Zhi found it even stranger. "Then why is she so against it?"

Xing Fan had a helpless look on her face. "Xiao Yu thinks he’s too clingy. If she doesn’t reply to him for more than a few minutes, he’ll video call to ask why she’s ignoring him. If she stays in one place for more than an hour, he’ll show up. He won’t let her marry any other Beast Husbands—she can’t even glance at another Beastman. Xiao Yu couldn’t stand it, so she went into hiding."

’Isn’t that just another form of affection, though? If Xiao Yu was truly unwilling, he probably wouldn’t even be able to find out where she is.’

It did, however, remind her of Yue Junxiao that morning.

Xing Fan glanced at the time. "I should get going too. I’ll draw up the design and send it to you later. Take a look and let me know if there’s anything you want to add. You can tell me anytime."

Bai Zhi nodded. "You’re leaving already? I was planning to treat you to a meal."

She smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Did you forget? You already treated me to roasted beast meat yesterday. Besides, inspiration is fleeting. I just got an idea from looking at that Crystal Stone, so I want to sketch it out while it’s fresh."

"My cooking skills are decent. Next time, I’ll cook a meal for you myself. You can’t refuse then."

Xing Fan was a little surprised; she hadn’t expected Bai Zhi to know how to cook. Though she figured the food would just be edible, her ingrained politeness kept her from saying more. She simply smiled and agreed, "Alright."

Then, Bai Zhi and Hu Yan also left Xing Lang. The SS-level superpower user from Xing Lang truly did escort them all the way home, only leaving after confirming the buyer had arrived safely.

’I can’t believe I’m getting the super VIP treatment here in the Interstellar Beast World.’

Hu Yan opened the door and said to Bai Zhi, "The Grey Family may not be a top-tier family on the Main Star, but they have a solid foundation. It wouldn’t hurt for you to be on good terms with them, My Lady."

Hearing this, Bai Zhi looked at him in surprise. "You know about Xiao Yu’s family?"

’Hu Yan and the others had been on Blue Star all these years, which made me subconsciously assume they were from Blue Star. But seeing that Hu Yan also knew things about the Main Star, a suspicion immediately bloomed in my mind. Does he just know a lot, or is he not actually from Blue Star himself?’

Hu Yan replied with a calm expression, "I knew you were going to the Xing Lang auction, so I looked it up on the Star Network."

Hearing his explanation, Bai Zhi nodded, simply chalking it up to him being thoughtful. After all, you could find a lot of information on the Star Network.

She had looked it up that morning too, just not as thoroughly as Hu Yan had.