Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1278: Sister and Brother

“Have housekeeping prepare some food, and also some suitable clothes.”

Inside the room, the young beastkin girl sat on the floor, wrapped in a bath towel.

Although she was holding a cup of hot tea, she still watched the man who had subdued her so effortlessly with clear vigilance. Perhaps so she could understand more easily, they had been speaking in her native language ever since.

Miss Maid had once worked part-time as a top-tier mystical fashion designer, so she had an instinctive grasp of sizing. She nodded upon hearing this, not even needing to measure—she had already judged by eye.

An A cup.

Miss Maid walked over to the phone and dialed room service. Unexpectedly, the one who answered was Peter Chen.

Truly diligent.

“How may I help you?”

“Could you prepare some clothes?”

“Of course… clothes?” Peter Chen, who had been waiting in housekeeping for this suite’s line to ring, paused slightly. Hearing the woman beside Young Master Qiu, he asked curiously, “What kind of clothes would you like?”“Hmm, do you have women’s sailor uniforms? As small as possible. And underwear as well… would that be okay?”

“Of course! They’ll be delivered to your room shortly.” Peter Chen agreed at once, and the call ended.

He hurried off to arrange the clothes, but couldn’t help feeling puzzled along the way. That lady had excellent proportions—wearing a smaller size would be rather… suggestive?

“Could it be that Young Master Qiu has some special preferences…”

Peter Chen muttered to himself, wondering whether to pass this information on to Miss Ying on the other side of the globe—maybe it could mean another promotion or raise.

…

Having the hotel prepare food was normal. As for clothes, they could have done without—but having spent rather freely lately, Boss Luo preferred to save where he could.

Besides, this wasn’t the wilderness, and the hotel was efficient enough.

Food and clothes arrived together in less than fifteen minutes. Luo Qiu stepped into another room to give them privacy, while Miss Maid took the food and clothes and spoke with the beastkin girl—simple enough.

When You Ye brought the girl back, the beastkin seemed to have lowered much of her guard, though her expression still showed unease.

Luo Qiu asked curiously, “What did you do?”

“I just treated her wounds and told her we might be able to help,” Miss Maid smiled gently. “Though we’ll need payment afterward. Compared to goodwill of unknown origin, she trusts paid help more.”

As expected.

Luo Qiu didn’t object to business. He examined the young beastkin—she looked about fourteen or fifteen in human terms.

The clothes, however, were… odd.

A short-skirt sailor uniform with red-and-white stockings. It was hard to know where to begin criticizing—perhaps the person preparing the clothes really understood something?

“Mr. Chen seems to have misunderstood something,” Miss Maid said with a glimmer in her eyes.

Even a misunderstanding didn’t explain a sailor uniform.

Boss Luo pretended not to notice and nodded. In the end, he went against his original intention and changed her clothes again.

The change happened instantly, without any dramatic effect.

Simple cropped jeans, a short-sleeved shirt, white flats, and a plain jacket. Boss Luo had never been good with fashion—but it was better than that sailor outfit.

“The clothes from earlier would’ve been more convenient for moving,” the beastkin suddenly said seriously, trying to keep her expression natural despite her shock. “Are you… a magician? I’m starting to believe you might really be able to help me.”

Only a magician capable of such instant changes—and that binding power—could do this.

“Think of it that way,” Luo Qiu said, ignoring the first comment and smiling. “What should we call you?”

“Lale.”

“Like ‘tulip’…”

Luo Qiu nodded slightly. “Miss Lale, we do provide paid services to our clients. What would you like us to help you with?”

Lale fell silent for a moment, then finally made up her mind. As he had said, with such power, if they wanted to harm her, it would be effortless.

“I want you to help me find my younger brother. His name is Oga.”

She clenched her teeth and explained her situation. “My brother and I were captured by damned beastkin traffickers. They planned to ship us to an auction. But while passing through here, the ship was suddenly attacked. Some strange people boarded and fought the traffickers. In the chaos, many beastkin escaped. My brother and I got separated while fleeing. I could’ve found him by scent, but then it rained and washed everything away… I—I can’t find him.”

She grew frustrated.

A young beastkin girl, taken to a distant land, lost in an unfamiliar city with a foreign language, escaping only to be separated from her family.

“Your brother’s name is Oga, right?” Luo Qiu confirmed.

She nodded.

Luo Qiu extended his hand. To Lale’s astonishment, he pulled a parchment scroll from thin air, glanced at it, and said, “I think I’ve already found where your brother is.”

“Really?!”

She rushed forward excitedly, almost throwing herself at him—but a gentle force stopped her.

“You?”

“Don’t worry. Your brother is safe for now.” Luo Qiu rolled up the scroll and looked at her thoughtfully.

“The payment?” Lale asked cautiously.

Luo Qiu nodded.

Information came at a cost. Once a transaction took shape, it was considered begun.

“Then… one month,” Luo Qiu said after a moment. “Miss Lale, I need one month of your time.”

Lale was startled. She had been prepared to pay a price, but one month still made her hesitate.

She clenched her teeth and nodded firmly. “Alright! As long as you really help me find my brother, I—I’ll stay with you for one month! But… I won’t accept anything too perverted! And you—you must use protection!”

At that moment, Boss Luo was glad he wasn’t drinking tea.

This felt oddly familiar.

Back in South America, with that woman who possessed dimensional observation abilities…

He glanced at Miss Maid, surprised to find no gentle smile like last time—if anything, she looked slightly amused.

Perhaps… this was a good thing.

Luo Qiu waved at Lale and said solemnly, “Miss Lale, I think you’ve misunderstood me. What I mean is that the value of this information is one month of your life. That is to say, after you find your brother, I will take one month of your lifespan as payment. You don’t need to stay with me for a month, and I… don’t have any strange hobbies.”

“My… life?” Lale asked in confusion, her mouth slightly open.

How could one give up life—and for a specific period of one month?

Luo Qiu explained, “Put it this way. Finding your brother would normally take time, and we’re helping you save that time so you can find him very quickly. Conversely, if you searched by ordinary means, your brother might encounter danger, and you might not reach him in time. Our service allows you to avoid such risks, so the reward is naturally higher. At present, exchanging time for payment is the most cost-effective option for you—after all, you’re only buying information about your brother’s location.”

Lale shook her head. She didn’t understand, nor did she know where the value of losing one month lay.

She said firmly, “If you say one month, then one month. As long as I don’t have to stay with you.”

Ignoring the last remark, Luo Qiu made a final confirmation. “Miss Lale, are you willing to pay one month of your life to purchase this information about your brother’s whereabouts? You’re young, so you may not yet truly value the length of life—but when you reach the end of your life, you may regret losing this month.”

“Enough talk!” Lale frowned.

The idea of paying with life was simply too unbelievable. She was more inclined to think he was just being kind, using this as a joke to make her accept the help more easily.

Still… human magicians were never good people.

“Then let’s sign the contract.” Luo Qiu waved his hand, and a parchment contract unfolded before her.

She hesitated for a moment, but urgency ultimately overcame reason. Gritting her teeth, she pressed her handprint onto it.

Miraculously, although she couldn’t read the contents, the meaning of the contract instantly imprinted itself into her mind.

Paying with life… did such a thing really exist?

In the end, she received from Luo Qiu the parchment containing information on her brother’s current location. It appeared to be a map.

On the map were two markers: one red, one blue. The blue marker was an arrow. Lale looked up in confusion.

Luo Qiu said, “The blue arrow marks your location, and the red marker marks your brother’s. You’ll be able to find him easily—it’s not far.”

Lale nodded, said nothing more, opened the window, and climbed out. She quickly vanished into the night.

…

Miss Maid walked over and closed the window, then turned back with a light smile. “She seems rather impatient.”

Luo Qiu said with a half-smile, “By the way, why did Peter Chen prepare clothes like that?”

Miss Maid blinked. “Master… would you like to see?”

Luo Qiu laughed. “You’re becoming more and more like a shape-shifting witch.”

Miss Maid walked over slowly, knelt beside Luo Qiu, took his hand, pressed it to her cheek, looked up at him, and softly asked, “Master… would you be willing to become my demon king?”

He lowered his head and kissed her.

This time, it was on the lips.

…

…

Night.

The social services center had already closed, but Will stayed behind.

When words fail, music can be a good way to communicate—Will had always believed that if played with sincerity, it could convey meaning to others.

The child looked only thirteen or fourteen. Though delicate enough to be mistaken for a girl, he was indeed a boy. Will’s two colleagues and bandmates had clocked out early, joking that they didn’t want their orientation challenged.

Will simply couldn’t watch someone suffer without reaching out to help. So he stayed late, temporarily taking on the role of a counselor.

There wasn’t a good way to ease the boy’s anxiety, so Will tried an imperfect solution—he brought his acoustic guitar over.

Punk rock was out of the question; he chose gentle country music instead.

Ever since eating, the boy had been curled up in the corner, afraid of everything. When Will approached with the guitar, he even began to tremble.

Later, Will saw the bruises on the boy’s back.

Some were old, others still vivid and red—clear signs of prolonged abuse. Will couldn’t imagine what kind of cruelty it took to harm such a delicate child.

“I mean no harm. I just hope you can calm down,” Will said in the gentlest voice he could manage. “It’s safe here. No one will hurt you. Please trust us—we’ll help you… even if you can’t understand me.”

The boy only trembled more as Will drew closer.

So Will smiled and sat down in front of him. After adjusting the guitar strings slightly, he began fingerstyle playing.

“Hometown’s Original Scenery.”

Despite his love for punk rock, the first time he heard this piece from a distant land, he fell in love with it instantly.

“This is a piece a friend from the East taught me when he came here to study music,” Will said as his fingers moved.

The sound rose like the wind over open fields—deep and lingering.

Gradually, the delicate boy became less afraid. He stopped trembling and focused more on Will’s hands.

Drawn in by the sound, he slowly calmed down, his eyes growing moist. He subconsciously touched his face and realized he was crying.

Will noticed but didn’t stop. He finished the piece, then fetched a tissue and offered it to the boy.

The boy hesitated, then timidly accepted it and murmured something softly.

Will couldn’t tell which language it was, but that didn’t hinder their exchange—it was probably a thank-you.

Will smiled, lifting the guitar slightly. “Would you like to try?”

The boy seemed to understand, hesitated, then nodded.

Will handed him the guitar and began adjusting his posture, guiding him to hold the rosewood instrument correctly.

“This is called a fret, this is the fretboard. Starting here is the first fret…”

Even if he wasn’t sure the boy could understand, Will patiently taught him all the same.

(End of Chapter)