Miss Witch, even if we're poor, we can't sell ourselves!

When the wooden door of the Nightingale's Nest was pushed open, the brass bells hanging on the door frame rang out in a series of clear sounds.

Before Miya could even put down her backpack, a light green figure sprang from the direction of the bar, carrying the sweet smell of popcorn and unrestrained laughter, and crashed solidly into her arms.

"Yaya-chan——!!"

Korika clung to Miya, her light green short hair brushing against her neck, and her yellow-green eyes shining as if someone had lit two lamps inside them.

"You're amazing! Do you know how many people have been watching you on MikuFans these past few days? I counted for you, the final clip alone got over a million views from just one account! When you trampled that purple-haired shorty under your feet, I screamed right there in the store until Zimi Lu covered my mouth—"

As she spoke, she rocked Miya back and forth.

"I never stepped on her."

Miya was shaken until she felt dizzy, and her backpack slipped off her shoulder.

Korika didn't care about these details at all; in her eyes, Miya's victory was the most amazing thing in the world.

Before Mi Ye could change her shoes, she grabbed her hand and spun her around in place.

Zimi Lu stood behind the bar wiping glasses, her light purple short hair gleaming softly under the warm yellow light.

She smiled slightly, placed the cleaned glass on the bar, and spoke in a calm tone that Miya was very familiar with.

"While you were gone, Korika would project your battle videos onto the bar's big screen every night and play them on a loop. She even made a support banner with screenshots of your tentacles and hung it right above the bar counter. Look."

She pointed to the wall behind the bar.

There was indeed a hand-drawn poster hanging there, depicting Miya standing by the lake with her tentacles fully extended, and next to it, written crookedly in bright green highlighter, "Little Miya is the strongest in the world!"

Miya glanced at it, then silently looked away.

It's so embarrassing, she won't be able to sleep tonight if she keeps watching.

The curtain in the kitchen was lifted, and a familiar aroma of braised beef brisket in red wine wafted out.

Flores walked out carrying a tray, her long, black hair casually draped over her shoulders, and the hem of her burgundy fishtail dress swayed gently with her steps.

Welcome back.

Flores' voice remained languid and composed, and the smile on her lips was warmer than usual.

"Miss Martial Arts Competition, your schedule last week was more eventful than any drama I've encountered in the more than ten years this bar has been running."

"Hehe~"

Miya stuck out her tongue, sat down on the bar stool in front of the bar, picked up a piece of garlic bread and stuffed it into her mouth.

The bread crust was crispy, and the aroma of garlic and butter melted on her tongue. She squinted her eyes and let out a satisfied hum.

The food at Bie Chenye's place these past few days wasn't bad, but returning to a familiar place and eating familiar flavors finally eased the tension in my heart.

"Alright, alright, let's eat first."

Flores clapped her hands and pushed a steaming plate of roast chicken in front of Miya.

Dinner was very plentiful.

Besides the beef brisket and roast chicken, there was also freshly made creamy baked broccoli by Sylvie, garlic bread baked by Belle herself, and a celebratory sparkling water specially made by Purple Rice Dew, topped with a few edible flower petals, which were said to have been stolen from Flores' private collection.

Korika kept talking, saying that everyone had been waiting for Miya to come back these past few days, that she had watched the analysis videos posted by the content creators on MikuFans several times, and that there were thousands of replies to posts about Miya on the forum.

After finishing their meal, Korika pulled a game controller from under the bar and handed it to Miya.

"I haven't played games in ages! You just got back today, you have to play a few rounds with me!"

Zimi sighed, but had already sat down on the stool next to her and picked up another handle.

Sylvie said, "You guys play, I'll watch." Belle wore the Empty Lice on her head and ran around, but bumped into the corner of the bar and knocked over Korika's sparkling water. Korika then chased after her and tickled her.

Flores sat on a high stool, sipping red wine and watching the farce unfold, the corners of her mouth never leaving her lips.

After playing countless rounds of the game, it was late at night, and everyone said goodnight and went back to their rooms.

Mi Ye climbed to the third floor and pushed open the bedroom door.

Her room was still the same.

The small bed was by the window, the desk was against the wall, and the wardrobe door was not closed tightly, revealing the neatly hung uniforms inside.

There's another small succulent plant on the windowsill; Kelica probably put it there.

The blanket was folded neatly, and a plush bunny rested on the pillow—the one Korika had secretly placed there last time, which she hadn't taken away since.

She took a quick shower, changed into her pajamas, and placed her phone next to her pillow. The screen lit up and showed the time: 1:40 PM, which was already quite late.

She opened MikuFans, and Little Ghost's live stream was still lit up.

This can be considered her bedtime ritual.

No matter how late it is, as long as Little Ghost is still playing, she will click in and listen for a while.

Sometimes it's a complete song, sometimes it's just a few lines of impromptu humming, and sometimes the other person doesn't sing anything at all, just chats with the audience while live streaming, their voice soft and gentle, like a cloud drifting in from afar.

But there was no singing in the live stream today.

When Mi Ye clicked in, San Yue Xia was halfway through her sentence, her voice hoarse and nasal.

"I have a bit of a cold today, so I can't sing. I'm sorry to have kept everyone waiting."

A few scattered comments floated by: "It's okay" and "Drink more hot water."

San Yuexia's voice was already weak, and it became even more pronounced after she caught a cold. Her voice would drop involuntarily at the end, as if she had to exert a lot of effort to finish a sentence, which sounded pitiful.

Mi Ye opened the gift panel, selected a relatively expensive gift, and after sending it, a large dynamic effect of a deep blue starry sky floated across the screen, accompanied by a message automatically generated by the system.

She manually added another sentence.

"Drink more hot water and get more rest. Don't push yourself."

When the starry sky effect exploded on the screen, there was a two or three-second silence on March Summer's end. Then the rustling sound started again, even softer than before.

"Thank you, it's always you... from the very beginning until now, you've always been here."

Her tone was cautious, as if she had received a gift she didn't know whether she should open it or not.

Miye sent a cat nodding emoji, then placed her phone next to her pillow and continued listening while lying on her side.

March Summer didn't sing; she just chatted casually with the viewers in the live chat.

She said it rained outside today, and the sound of the rain was very pleasant.

She said it was getting cold, so she added an extra blanket. The blanket was light blue with white lamb patterns on it.

He also said that once he recovered from his cold, he would sing the new songs he had learned for everyone.

Five minutes before the broadcast ended, most of the viewers had left, leaving only Mi Ye and a few others.

March Summer seemed to be hesitating about something, remaining quiet for a while, with only the faint breathing sounds brought on by her cold coming through the headphones.

"Time to end the broadcast."

she says.

Goodnight everyone. Tomorrow... tomorrow should be a bit better. If it's better, I'll sing.

Several other viewers sent goodnight messages, but Mi Ye did not.

She typed a line in the chat box, deleted it, typed it again, deleted it again, and went back and forth several times. Finally, just a few seconds before the live stream ended, she gritted her teeth and pressed send.

"Can I add you on WW chat?"

She had asked for it once before, but was politely declined.

Little Ghost suggested that it was better to keep some distance. Mi Ye later reflected on it and realized that she had indeed asked too abruptly. After all, in the other person's eyes, she was just a regular audience member who came to listen to songs. Anyone would hesitate if suddenly asked for her personal contact information.

But this time was different. Mi Ye couldn't quite put her finger on what was different, but she felt that the little ghost sounded more tired and needed someone to keep her company tonight than usual, and she didn't want that need to be unmet.

The other party remained silent.

Then she said.

"Okay, I've sent it to your inbox."

The live stream screen went dark.

Mi Ye opened her private messages and searched for the number the other party had sent. The profile picture was a white flower with delicate petals like paper and a pale yellow stamen. It bloomed quietly and elegantly against a dark background, and the nickname was Little Ghost.

Mi Ye sent a friend request, and a few seconds later, the request was accepted.

Miya stared at the notification that the other party had accepted her friend request, buried her face in the rabbit's fur, and let out a muffled cheer that broke halfway through. Her legs kicked unconsciously several times under the covers.

She herself didn't know why she was so happy, even though she had only added a friend.

She first sent a cat emoji, a white kitten peeking half its head out from the edge of the screen, its expression both obedient and tentative.

The little ghost replied with a voice message. About a second and a half later, Mi Ye put the phone to her ear and opened it.

The rustling sound was right next to my ear, closer and more real than in the live stream, as if the person speaking was lying on the pillow next to me.

……

【flos】: Good evening. Do you want some water? It's better to drink more warm water when you have a cold. Add some honey, but don't add lemon, as lemon irritates the throat.

[Little Ghost]: I drank it. I made honey grapefruit tea. What about you? Why aren't you asleep yet?

【flos】: I just got home and played a few games. I stayed at a friend's house for a few days before.

[Little Ghost]: At a friend's house?

【flos】: Yeah, I just got back today, and I should be going to school to register the day after tomorrow.

【flos】：Are you a student too?

[Little Ghost]: I'm not a student anymore; I dropped out of school a long time ago.

【flos】: Sorry, should I send a voice message too?

[Little Ghost]: No need, it's good to keep a little mystery. I can guess what you look like. You probably don't wear glasses, your hair is very light-colored, and you have a cute smile, right?

【flos】: I won't tell you.

That means you guessed correctly.

……

The two chatted like this until late at night.

Miya learned that the little ghost liked white flowers, especially the kind of wildflowers that bloom in inconspicuous corners.

The little ghost learned that Miya had raised a nest of pink and white jelly-like creatures, and that the jelly-like creatures would climb onto people's heads on their own.

Miya asked the little ghost if she had any pets. The little ghost said she couldn't keep any, but birds would occasionally fly over and land on the windowsill, and she would name them.

Miya asked what the bird was called recently, and the little ghost said it was called Piglet because it looked round and fat when it sat on the windowsill.

The streetlights in the back alley outside the window cast a warm yellow light through the gaps in the curtains, and occasionally a little witch returning home at night would walk by on the stone path.

The faint light from the phone screen shone on Mi Ye's face. Her cheeks were a little sore from smiling for so long, but she couldn't stop herself from doing so.

It was a strange feeling. She had never met this person before, and she didn't know what he looked like, how tall he was, or what color clothes he was wearing, but she just felt that this person was so real that it was as if she had known him for a long time.

……

It's getting late, you need to rest because of your cold.

Well, I see.

Goodnight, little ghost.

Goodnight, flos.

……

Mi Ye locked the screen, placed the phone next to her pillow, hugged her rabbit, turned over, and quickly fell asleep.

In March, Xia turned her head toward the moon, the moonlight wetting her long hair, and she drifted into a dream.