Pristine Darkness

Chapter 37

More information is uncovered about Ke Qian as the mystery of the Anime Murders deepens. Just what did they do to Ke Qian, and why? Perhaps the issue under debate reflects a question we all face: why is it always so difficult to reconcile one's dreams with the realities of life?

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Translator: shl

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To say that no one was shocked was just not possible. Who would have thought that the insignificant Ke Qian could pull off something as big as this?

Thinking about it, though, he was indeed the only one could have done it. He was highly intelligent, and his grades in university had always been excellent. For so many days, he had been keeping long hours, cosseted in the studio, poring over goodness knows what information. He also went out by himself many times, using public transport, and no one knew where he was going. Moreover, only he could write and understand English, understand what 'angel investment' and 'investment feasibility report' meant.

However, the human heart is fickle. Yes, this news was a delight to all. But, it had been unexpectedly achieved by Ke Qian, the person they were always bossing around. This made them all feel rather uneasy.

It seemed, though, that Ke Qian was completely oblivious to their discomfort. Seeing that everyone was silent, he energetically started to expound his plans, trying to convince everyone. ". . . With this sum of money, we don't have to worry about our livelihood for at least the next two years, and also won't have to rush around looking for work. I can draw up a short-term plan for the studio. We can participate in major domestic competitions, and even in competitions abroad. Once we have established our reputation, there will be a steady stream of business opportunities. We can buy better costumes, equipment and props, we can set up an official website and weiboaccount, we can promote Xiaofeng and Lu Ji as our star cosplayers . . ."

In the end, some people smiled on hearing him, and it seemed as if he had set the atmosphere on fire.

At this time, Jiang Xueran asked a single question. "So, is this money for all of us to use?"

Ke Qian hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Yes!"

"We should think it over carefully," said Jiang Xueran.

". . . ok."

Ke Qian was renting a place in a civilian residential building* near their studio. That evening, they left the studio together; only Ke Qian was not with them.

*T/N 民居 (min ju) - China has many types of traditional or typical residential buildings, according to the geographical, climatic and lifestyle conditions of the people living in each area (see https://baike.baidu.com/item/民居). For example, in Beijing, the traditional residential arrangement is the 'courtyard' style, where buildings are laid out around a square or rectangular courtyard.

Lu Ji was a little hesitant. "What do you all think? I think Ke Qian's proposal is pretty good. It's just that, if I don't find a job but work for the studio, I'm not sure if my family would agree."

Rong Xiaofeng said, "We don't have to not work, we could always work part-time, and that would be good enough. Two million! We could buy lots of good clothes, and we could even rent a better studio. Do you think we could even distribute some of the money so we could each spend it as we wish?"

When she expressed this idea, everyone laughed.

Xu Sheng said, "Part-time work, distributing the money - I don't know if Ke Qian would agree."

Everyone was a little shocked.

Wen Xiaohua said, "Jiang ge, what do you think?" Everyone looked at Jiang Xueran.