Chapter 138 - 3.34

The next day, Xu Jiaqi woke up to a rather frantic knock in the door.

"Miss Xu! There is someone looking for you. It's- the Dragon of Xi has visited us, saying that he seeks your company!"

'...That fast? I thought he said he would be roaming around first..' Xu Jiaqi was still sleepy when the subordinate came to interrupt her sleep, so she was rather absent minded as she thought about the situation, trying to judge it with composure.

Xu Jiaqi let out a long sigh as she nodded towards the subordinate who came. "I will go there right now. Thank you for informing me."

Xu Jiaqi rushed to get ready and presented herself in front of the others in the shortest time possible.

He Yiyuan had been escorted to the main hall, and many eyes were secretly watching him as he casually stood in his position, humming a happy tune as he waited for the one he sought to appear.

Then, her figure finally came forward amidst all the other ones.

"Really, were you that excited to meet me? I'm grateful, but how could you be so rash as to knock on the front door?" Xu Jiaqi leaned against the entrance of the hall He Yiyuan was casually standing in, sighing as she walked closer towards him and greeted him properly.

Although they had a rather peculiar first encounter, He Yiyuan was still a King, and the closeness that they temporarily displayed last time couldn't be done this time around.

"Why? Do you think I should've went through the back door instead? Wouldn't that be just the same as declaring that I am afraid of facing Xian Ruo?" He Yiyuan snickered.

"You and your meaningless pride... I understand. I shall be your guide for the rest of the time you spend here. Are you content with that, or do you pose a different idea?" Xu Jiaqi massaged her temples and said. "The fact that you announced my name directly.. Haah, I would've preferred it if you thought about me a bit more."

Xu Jiaqi did say for  him to refer to her when he reached here, but she didn't expect him to directly tell her to come out.

"Hmm... I would love that. Please take care of me, lady advisor." He Yiyuan maintained his innocent look, as if he did nothing wrong and he hadn't heard a single word from Xu Jiaqi.

"You have been calling me lady advisor over and over again, but even I have a name."

"I know. Xu Jiaqi, isn't it? It's a pretty name. Could I call you with a nickname?"

"I apologize, but not for now."

"Aww~ I understand. Then, at least, I shall change my address to be Miss Xu."

"...Thank you very much." Xu Jiaqi was actually rather surprised that He Yiyuan was willing to be this accommodating to her when she hasn't done anything substantial for him. It was a bit uncanny.

They talked some more along the way. Xu Jiaqi kept her professional attitude and truly showed him around. Naturally, she only displayed what was on the surface and didn't go deeper into each place.

In total, since they had quite the leisure attitude in their trip, the day almost ended by the time they were done.

"How is it?" Xu Jiaqi tilted her head as she questioned the other.

"Do you want me to be frank? It is super.. underwhelming. At least, it's not something that I thought you would already be creating with the time you had in your hands. But I know that I haven't misjudged you, so there must be something you are waiting for.. How interesting. It's definitely something to look out for, but as of right now, I don't think that it is anything spectacular."

"Is that so? Anything else?" Xu Jiaqi was not bothered in the slightest about his comments and accepted it straight away.

"..The real reason I came here. Why I paid this visit. I would like to propose something, for the better of you and me. Would you like to hear it?"

"I hope it's not something pointless like inviting me to your side again. That will never happen, no matter how hard you try to advocate for it."

"No, no, no. It's nothing like that. I wanted to ask if you want to form a formal coalition with my Kingdom. With you as the center, naturally. I won't permit any other delegate."

Xu Jiaqi's eyes perked up, and her attention was drawn. "Elaborate further."

"I want an open coalition. One that wouldn't deeply involve any of our lands, and would just be a business agreement between two capable beings. The ones in charge shall be me and you. The things we will cover varies, but the main point behind it is that we will keep an amiable relationship between the two lands."

Naturally, Xu Jiaqi was laden with suspicion right off the bat. 

A delicious offer. There were many other small powers that would jump and frighten themselves to death upon hearing this kind of thing. 

An offer that would completely change one's life, turning it upside down. 

"What is it in me that you see? For someone like you to utter such.. phrases, there must be a strong reason behind it. Why do you value me so much when I haven't even launched anything yet?"

"I value the future, and I value all the chances that my Kingdom could possibly get. I value you, because I know that there is something you possess that the future will have to bow down to."

Hearing that, Xu Jiaqi had mixed feelings. The thing He Yiyuan talked about was certainly that of her future plans. Her desire to overtake the world. However, rather than stopping her, this man actually wanted to choose to ally with her and reap the possible benefits that could come out in the future.

"It seems like I have gotten a good grip at what  your principles truly are. Whatever it is, it's fine as long as you survive and thrive in your wealth, huh?"

Clearly, He Yiyuan did not care if he wasn't the strongest power. He just had to survive, and being at the peak of power lowered his chances of survival in a sense. 

Such a man... was it really alright to ally with him?