Free Web NovelChapter 33: Chapter 33: A New Way to Make Money
"..."
"...Are you sure you’re not mad?" Sonia Quincy looked at the shattered bowl by her feet, finding it hard to believe.
For once, Felix Preston’s gaze shifted away. "I-I’m really not mad..."
As he spoke, he bent down and squatted, carefully picking up the shards from the floor. "Jasper Linden is a pretty decent guy. He sees that pregnancy isn’t easy for you and even knows to send some money for our child. A man like him, foolish with his money, is a rare find these days..."
"..."
The words sounded nice, but the sheer passive-aggressiveness in his tone was practically radiating onto Sonia’s face.
Sonia crossed her arms, looking down at the man squatting on the floor, and deliberately feigned a look of temptation. "Well, in that case, I guess I’ll just accept the money?"
"..." Felix Preston’s head snapped up, his eyes wide as he glared at Sonia.
Sonia casually picked up her phone from the countertop, pretending to swipe her index finger across the screen a few times. "Since you’re not mad anyway, there’s no reason for me to refuse the money. This is 100,000 yuan, you know. That’s enough to buy formula for our baby for ages."
"I’ll do it!"
The words had barely left her mouth when Felix suddenly shot up from the floor. He snatched the phone from Sonia’s hand and turned his back to her, fiddling with something.
"This money is from Jasper Linden for the child. As the child’s father, I have the right to accept it on his behalf."
Sonia raised an eyebrow. "You really accepted it?"
Felix nodded. "I really did."
With that, he turned off the screen and placed the phone back on the countertop.
"Don’t move around. I’m going to get a broom and sweep up these shards."
Sonia obediently replied, "Okay."
Keeping his head down, Felix swiftly grabbed the broom and cleaned up the debris from the floor. After sweeping, he took out a mop and mopped the entire kitchen.
"Um, I’m going to take a shower first."
He seemed especially busy tonight. The moment he finished cleaning the kitchen, he grabbed a towel and went straight to the bathroom to shower, not even sitting down for a moment.
Sonia said, "Go ahead."
"CLICK!"
The bathroom door clicked shut. Sonia glanced back at it before picking up the phone Felix had left on the counter.
Felix had closed Alipay from the background after "accepting the money." Sonia reopened the app and tapped on the notifications tab, only then seeing how Felix had "accepted" it.
First, he had returned the 100,000 yuan to Jasper Linden in full. Then he sent Jasper a message—
"I don’t want your money. My husband may be bankrupt, but he still has money and is working hard to earn more. I’m not short on cash, so don’t send any more, or I’ll get angry."
"Actually, no. My husband will get angry."
After sending the messages, Felix had promptly blocked Jasper Linden on Alipay. Even if Jasper wanted to send money again, he no longer had the chance.
"So awkward..." Sonia put the phone away and looked toward the bathroom, where the sound of the shower was running. She couldn’t help but laugh helplessly.
She had originally planned to just let it go, to pretend she hadn’t seen Felix’s sheepish little actions. But after a few seconds of hesitation, she couldn’t resist going over to tease him.
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—"
She walked to the bathroom door and raised her hand to knock.
The sound of the water inside stopped abruptly. Felix’s muffled, grumpy voice came from within.
"What’s wrong?"
Sonia feigned ignorance. "The money Jasper Linden transferred to me suddenly vanished. Do you have any idea what happened?"
"...No." Felix was dead serious, even when lying. "I have no idea. None at all."
Sonia suppressed a laugh and played along. "All right, then. I guess that’s that. If the money’s gone, it just means it wasn’t meant to be mine."
"Exactly," Felix immediately agreed. "You two have absolutely no fate together."
Sonia said, "Okay, you can go back to your shower."
Hiding inside, Felix secretly let out a sigh of relief. "Okay..."
Sonia didn’t tease him anymore. She turned and went back to her room to continue working on her unfinished design sketches.
She had posted two design sketches on the Spudster app, and Mina Jennings had bought them both. To increase interest in her designs, she had deliberately added a note under both images: "Copyright sold."
Some of her followers quickly noticed the note and flooded the comment section—
meme: Holy crap, you sold the design rights that fast? You’ve only been on Spudster for less than ten days!
WhyDoesEatingCostMoney: As expected of the artist who captivated me with a single image. That’s some serious skill, amazing!
PoorIMoveRichIDebauch: Both designs sold? Who was so quick? I just sent your designs to a shop on Taobao yesterday!!
ItEndsUpTheSame: Seriously, it’s one thing for your designs to be good, but to sell the rights this fast? Are you sure you’re not some famous designer using a new account?
Sonia leaned back in her chair with her tablet, replying to the comments while tweaking some details in her work.
The fans in the comment section were very active. The moment Sonia posted a reply, they would immediately comment again.
PoorIMoveRichIDebauch: Bloom, sweetie, which studio did you sell your designs to? When can we expect to see a sample?
This was a sensitive question, so Sonia didn’t dare reply right away. She took a screenshot of the comment and forwarded it to Mina Jennings, asking if she could reveal the studio’s name. Only after getting an affirmative answer from Mina did she tag the studio and pin the comment, giving them a bit of free publicity in the process.
Sonia had registered her Spudster account less than ten days ago, but thanks to those two designs, her follower count had quickly surpassed two hundred. Seeing how fast she had sold her work, a fan asked her a question in the comments.
This question suddenly gave her an idea for a new path that could both make money and boost her reputation.
ItEndsUpTheSame: So when is Bloom’s new design coming out? Can I make a wish? I want a necklace that would suit Whisperwind!
"Whisperwind" was a game character. The mobile game he belonged to had exploded in popularity over the past two months, and its hype remained high on all major platforms. Even Sonia, who had just transmigrated, knew about it.
’A necklace for Whisperwind...’ Sonia seriously considered the idea and realized it was completely feasible!
As one of the most popular game characters in this world, Whisperwind came with a massive built-in fanbase. If she could ride that wave of popularity, wouldn’t the name "Bloom Preston" become widely known much more easily?
Then, when she sold her designs, she’d have the confidence to jack up the price!
The benefit was too tempting. Sonia didn’t hesitate for long before replying to the fan.
Bloom Preston: Wish granted. Await further arrangements.
As the saying goes, a single stone sets off a thousand ripples. The moment Sonia sent that reply, the netizens and fans in her comments went wild. Over a hundred people replied to her comment, begging and shouting for a chance to make a wish too.
Sonia was bombarded with notifications. Her private messages exploded.
"Oh my god..." Looking at the wide variety of game characters mentioned in her private messages, the corners of Sonia’s mouth curled up uncontrollably. ’Now I’ve got my work cut out for me...’
"Sonia, you have a prenatal check-up at the hospital tomorrow. Remember to keep your schedule free."
Felix tossed this sentence in as he passed by her room after his shower, drying his hair with a towel.
