TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!,
===BREAK===
In the early morning, the Corporation's starship had already drawn close to the Xianzhou Luofu.
Jade rose early. After dressing neatly, they arrived at the main control room, gazing through the ship's viewport at the endlessly repetitive starfield beyond.
Not long after, the automatic door slid open once more.
Turning their head, they saw the junior colleague they had personally promoted.
Jade looked him up and down, then teased, "What, couldn't sleep last night because of your promotion and raise?"
Aventurine's condition truly wasn't great. Not only did he look listless, there were even faint bloodshot veins visible in his eyes.
For people of their caliber, that was hardly a normal occurrence.
"Yeah, pretty much." Aventurine yawned lazily.
He didn't explain that it was because everything had gone perfectly and he'd been too happy to sleep all night. Instead, he followed her lead and joked back, "So? I'm on the same level as you now. Maybe in a year or two, I'll be your boss. Annoyed yet?"
"Hahaha." Jade laughed with restrained elegance, reaching up to idly twirl her curled hair.
Far from being upset, they said cheerfully, "If that really happens, then you'd be the most successful investment of my life."
"A project with such tremendous potential, born from my own hands—I'd be happy beyond measure."
Though their words spoke of joy, Jade still let out a small sigh afterward. "Sigh."
"Hm? Feeling old?"
Aventurine hadn't expected his words to actually dampen her mood, so he deliberately used an irritating tone to divert her attention.
Jade hadn't been angry to begin with, but that remark genuinely made her laugh in exasperation.
"Never say a woman is old. Otherwise, you'll pay an unexpected price. What I'm worried about is something else."
With a trace of nostalgia in her eyes, her expression turned complicated. "Twenty years ago, there was a peculiar Galaxy Ranger who helped me close a major deal. I thought he'd take everything he could, squeezing the profit dry to the last drop. But instead, all he did was entrust two people to me for twenty years, asking me to care for them properly."
She shook her head and laughed. "Tell me—isn't that strange?"
You're asking the right person, Aventurine thought to himself.
But he had no intention of making this entire chain of events public.
Otherwise, every research maniac in the universe would come knocking, and he'd be annoyed to death.
Keeping this matter limited to family was the best choice. That said, choosing a Remembrance Pathstrider would require extreme caution.
Aventurine was perfectly clear inside, yet his expression betrayed nothing. As though hearing a completely unfamiliar story, he played along. "Oh? Really? Tell me more."
Jade recounted the events of that year and her contest of wits with that "Galaxy Ranger," step by step. "That man was extremely capable. With just one phone call and a few words, he left Opal completely speechless and storming out the door."
"Oh, that does sound impressive."
"Then he proposed a private meeting with me. Naturally, I…"
"Mhm."
"I should've told you about the Silverchain Galaxy project, right? Back then, the reason I succeeded was because…"
"Ah."
Jade spoke at length about that day. Suddenly, she let out a cold laugh. "Ha. He thought I didn't know his true objective. In fact, I saw through him long ago!"
She turned her head to look at Aventurine, her sharp, confident gaze startling him.
Perhaps because he'd rested so poorly the night before, that sudden stare actually made cold sweat bead on Aventurine's skin.
I… I've been seen through?
But then he reacted.
The Aeon of Equilibrium had already said it plainly—being exposed didn't matter. At worst, it would just mean humans coming to pester him for various reasons.
There was nothing left to panic about!
He stiffened his resolve and met Jade's gaze head-on. "What did you see through?"
"Actually," Jade said solemnly, "his goal had nothing to do with those two women at all!"
"Huh?"
Aventurine craned his neck; his eyes filled with surprise.
"Then what was it for?"
That question came entirely from the heart. At this moment, he genuinely felt like he was hearing a brand-new story.
"Heh heh." Jade crossed her legs and smiled with alluring composure. "Of course, it was to save the Silverchain Galaxy. He inverted cause and effect, presenting his true target as the difficulty of the transaction, thereby freeloading the Corporation's technology."
There was no hiding her admiration as she continued, "Such exquisite calculation. He not only achieved his objective but also gained extra profit on top of it. One could call it a grand game."
Brushing back her hair, a meaningful curve appeared at the corner of Jade's lips. "Of course, it was also because I chose not to expose him. After all, I had no reason to refuse performance that fell into my lap."
"Oh~~ that really was a grand game."
Aventurine wore an expression of sudden realization.
So that's what I was thinking back then?
Saving two unfortunate women was just incidental, while saving an entire galaxy was the real goal?
Wow. The scope of this just skyrocketed.
Watching Jade stand there, full of ambition and utterly convinced she'd seen through everything, Aventurine recalled every sad thing he'd ever experienced in his life, doing his utmost to hold back laughter.
If he told her the truth, this esteemed senior of his would probably be mortified beyond measure—so embarrassed she'd want to crawl into a crack in the floor on the spot.
Heh. No way I'm exposing time travel over something like this.
After finally steadying his emotions, he keenly seized an opportunity.
"Jade—where are those two people now?"
"At the orphanage I established," Jade replied. Collecting raw jade and carving from it a dazzling gemstone was part of her long-term investment philosophy.
When manifested concretely, that philosophy became adopting promising children and cultivating them into capable executives for the Corporation.
Speaking of this, she added with some vexation, "I originally prepared mansions and servants for them, as the ranger requested. But they refused outright. To take their mental state into account, I could only arrange for them to work at the orphanage, taking care of the children."
"Do you think… if that ranger finds out, he'll accuse me of breaking my word and come looking for trouble? Those stubborn people aren't exactly known for being rational."
Hearing her concern, Aventurine almost burst out laughing.
He restrained his emotions and replied in as normal a tone as possible. "If it's such a hassle, why not hand them over to me? I'm actually very interested in this matter."
"Hm?" Jade looked at him, falling silent without responding.
===BREAK===
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