My wife is a witch princess

Chapter 45 Gold Coins, I should have sold them after all.

Song Che understood, but he was also confused.

So after the consecration ceremony, Xia Li really gained the ability to read minds?

He couldn't help but take another look at the silver-haired girl in front of him, and sure enough, a line of small print had appeared on the label above her head:

Mind Reading Countdown: 30 Days (Only Valid for You)

...So you're just targeting me, aren't you? You're not giving me any privacy at all!

Song Che muttered to himself, still somewhat skeptical, and then mischievously shouted in his mind: Xia Li, you big believer!

"What is a giant telepathic sphere?" Xia Li blinked, looking confused. Then, as if she understood, she whispered, "I think... I really can read minds now."

Remove the word "[seems like]".

Song Che inwardly complained, while simultaneously calming his mind and minimizing unnecessary internal thoughts. He cleared his throat and said, "It seems you can only read my mind... But that's fine too, from now on, if there are things I need to remind you of, I can just think about them in my mind."

For example, would you like to go out tonight?

"Go." Xia Li said almost without hesitation.

Song Che turned his head and looked at Tao Xiang, who was nestled to the side.

This time, they didn't lie.

His tone softened: "A good child is one who doesn't lie. Don't steal in the future, be a good person, you... are actually quite cute."

"C-cute..." Momoka's eyes widened slightly, then she lowered her head in a fluster. "Could you... not praise me...? My personality is dark and withdrawn, I'm not cute at all."

"Fine," Song Che said with a hint of sarcasm, "then you're a gloomy, cowardly bastard."

"...Thank you," Momoka whispered, sounding a little embarrassed. She shook her head, her expression becoming unfocused. "I think... I can sense the location of another gold coin, but it's very blurry... There are six... eight, thirty... no, no, why does it keep changing?"

Song Che didn't quite understand what she was muttering, but the word "gold coin" caught his attention. A gold coin isn't light, and even if its purity isn't high, it's probably worth seven or eight thousand.

Thirty pieces? That's over two hundred thousand.

For him, this is definitely not a small amount.

...Well, he doesn't have any grand ambitions. He just likes having more money and a more stable life.

After finishing her rambling, Tao Xiang looked up at Song Che with pleading eyes: "Brother... can you give me a steamed bun first? My stomach is really empty..."

"We're out of steamed buns. There's some left over from breakfast, want some?"

"Eat! I'll eat anything, I'm very easy to feed!" Tao Xiang nodded vigorously, gesturing with her bound hands, "I can survive for half a month just on water!"

"You said it yourself." Song Che raised an eyebrow.

Tao Xiang was stunned, her eyes drooped, and she looked aggrieved: "...I...I can only go hungry for half a month at most...I can't go any longer, or I'll really die."

"Just kidding, I don't need your food." Song Che waved his hand.

His real intention, of course, was to obtain the remaining gold coins. However, the source of the coins was unclear, and having too many at once could easily be considered money laundering. He needed to find a way to convert them into cash gradually. He picked up the remaining half of a steamed bun from the table and handed it over: "This is all I have. Once you find the gold coins, I'll improve your meals."

"Brother... my hands are still tied..." Tao Xiang pitifully shook her wrists.

Song Che stepped forward to untie her ropes, while warning her, "Listen, you can only stay at my house temporarily. If you dare to cause any damage, I will kick you out immediately, or let Bruce bite you."

"I won't cause any trouble!" Momoka quickly assured her, rubbing her reddened wrist. "Once you're better, I'll turn back into a cat. Just give me a corner to curl up in."

"Okay." Song Che didn't really think she could cause any trouble; Bruce was more than capable of handling her.

He tidied up the scattered books on the table, leaned against the wall, and began checking his phone messages, browsing for easy part-time jobs. Song Che was no longer a child under someone's protection. His experiences in the other world had taught him that money was always a good thing. If he couldn't keep up with his high school studies, he had to find another way out for himself. Unless he could get into a good university, the road ahead would be just as difficult.

Two weeks from now it will be next month. Aunt Lan sent a message saying she's found a place to stay and will meet up with him when she gets back. This saves him the trouble of explaining Xia Li's background, or... it might also allow Aunt Lan to get to know Xia Li a little earlier.

However, the most frustrating thing is that my grades have remained stagnant.

Thinking of this, Song Che couldn't help but sigh.

"I can go to the Adventurers' Guild to make money," Xia Li suddenly said.

"There's no adventurers' guild here. Besides, you can't do anything without an ID card." Song Che shook his head; this was also what he was worried about.

Even if Xia Li were to take Tao Yao's place, various problems would still arise. Xia Li simply couldn't withstand scrutiny—there was no trace of her in this world, no one knew her, and even the timing of her appearance didn't match up. If any surveillance camera captured a silver-haired girl appearing out of nowhere, everything would be over.

"...You're worried about me." Xia Li paused, then said softly, "Then I can stay at home and not wander around."

"No, that won't be necessary. It's just that without legal status, many things will become very troublesome. For example, you won't be able to go to a major hospital if you get sick. But with me here, I can always take care of your daily needs, like food, clothing, and shelter."

"Don't I need to earn money?" Xia Li put her hands on her knees, looking calm, but her fingers kept curling up restlessly. "I'll go out and find some illegal work. It should be like in Hit Kingdom, where I can get some low-paying jobs without having to check my identity."

"Let's talk about it after you run out of that gold coin." Song Che was worried about Xia Li running around. "We won't do low-paying jobs. I'll figure something out. Even if we don't make money, we won't starve to death."

Leaving the peach blossoms aside for now, Song Che walked to Xia Li's side: "Take out your phone and search for a beginner's stargazing tutorial. If the weather's good tomorrow, you can give it a try. It looks... like it shouldn't be too difficult."

Xia Li opened her phone's browser as instructed, and a series of search history items popped up. Song Che glanced at them briefly; most were searches related to magic, while the remaining few were about how to make money.

Just as he guessed, Xia Li cared a lot about whether she could generate value, just like when she was a princess and always stood at the forefront of the forbidden battlefield.

...that's the easiest way to suffer a loss.

Song Che cautioned, "Although you can find a lot of information here, it's not necessarily all true. Especially regarding making money, many of them not only won't make you money, but will actually scam you out of your money."

Of course, Xia Li is currently penniless and doesn't even have an ID card, so the scammers who encountered her have probably run into a brick wall.

"I understand. That's why I've been looking for a legitimate adventurer guild... Recently I discovered that some games have something similar to guilds. Can you make money playing those?"

"There are those 'brick-moving' games where you can earn some money, but you need a computer. We can't play them on our phones."

"Oh." After several suggestions were rejected, Xia Li remained silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Then...am I useless now?"

"Don't worry, I'll find you something to do tomorrow... Now, take a look at a stargazing tutorial, and we'll go out tonight."

Song Che didn't say anything more, just stayed quietly to the side.

He does have more experience than his peers, but that experience may not be applicable in this world. Here, he is first and foremost a high school student. Secondly, he is an ordinary person, struggling to take responsibility for himself, let alone someone else.

...Perhaps, I'm just a hypocrite at heart.

He shook his head, no longer wanting to think about it. Life shouldn't be filled with trivial worries. As human beings, we should enjoy life and experience more; that's the right thing to do. He should visit the orphanage Tao Xiang mentioned when he has time and finally resolve his identity issue... Everything will gradually get better.

On the other side, Tao Xiang ate the two steamed buns she had just received in small bites, occasionally looking up at Song Che with a grateful yet complicated expression.

"Brother, I can do anything." She repeated softly.

"You don't need to do anything." Song Che waved his hand. "I just want to know a little about the situation."

"Ask away, I'll tell you everything I know."

"Where exactly is the orphanage where you and Tao Yao stayed? Is it close to Nanhui City?"

"It's in Taixi City. After we ran away, we wandered around for a while before finally arriving in Nanhui."

"Why did you run away back then? Don't tell me it was because of some prophecy."

"It's not a prophecy..." Momoka slowed her chewing, instinctively covering her forehead. "It's because of a... terrifying woman who threatened us."

She took a bite of her steamed bun to calm herself down: "That woman was terrifying... She was wearing a tattered veil, a tattered scarf, and a cloak, and she was barefoot... and you couldn't even see her face. She exuded an... ominous smell. It was the kind of smell that made you feel nauseous just looking at her, made you want to gag if you touched her, and made you feel like you might die if you stayed with her for too long."

"monster?"

"I don't know... I've never seen anything like that before." Momoka shrank her neck. "I know what I'm saying sounds suspicious, but I'm definitely not lying to you. She's like a madwoman... Sometimes she suddenly disappears and then suddenly reappears, but she hasn't appeared since last week. Maybe she's dead... It's good that she's dead, she scared us for so long."

"...Alright then." Song Che temporarily accepted this bizarre explanation. He took out the cracked gold coin, clenched it in his palm, and asked, "After the consecration, are there no other steps? Like incantations or rituals?"

"That's all, that's fine." Momoka nodded affirmatively.

"OK."

Song Che is going to sell it.