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

Jian Qiuluo had a very, very long dream.

In my dream, I was in a small basement with hand-drawn star charts and analysis reports covering the walls. On the table sat a Christmas tree made of old magic books, its green wrapping paper gleaming warmly in the candlelight.

Blue Daisy took the caramel cookies out of the oven; the edges were a little burnt, but the aroma filled the whole room.

Ruixiang, her younger sister, lay on her back, humming the old song in a tone that was completely off-key. Every time she hummed a line, she would ask her older sister Jianqiuluo if she sang it well. Every time, she would say it was good, and Ruixiang would smile and hum it again.

Chikuro sat on the sofa in the corner, a tactical analysis manual with its edges curled open on her lap. She held two cups of freshly brewed jujube tea in her hands. She handed one cup to Chikuro without saying anything, only slightly curving the corners of her mouth.

Then the scene in the dream began to fade.

The candlelight went out first, the laughter faded into the distance, and the figures disappeared one by one into the mist.

Jian Qiuluo slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing you see is a face that is sleeping soundly.

Her short, light blonde hair was scattered messily on the sofa cushions, and her long eyelashes cast two small, light shadows under her eyelids.

His lips were slightly parted, his breathing was even and long, and there was a little drool at the corner of his mouth.

Her hand was still on Jian Qiuluo's shoulder, her palm warm, her fingers slightly curled.

Jian Qiuluo instantly recalled what had happened last night, and then she jumped up from the sofa as if she had been launched by a spring.

As a result of the large movement when he jumped, his knee hit the armrest of the sofa with a dull thud, and he staggered and almost fell over.

Mi Ye was awakened by her series of movements. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Her golden hair was messy like a jellyfish, and there were red marks on her face from the sofa cushions. She looked up at Jian Qiuluo in a daze.

Jian Qiuluo stood by the sofa, her back pressed against the edge of the bar counter, her hands frozen at her sides, unsure of what to do.

Memories flooded back like a tide, and she actually fell asleep!

My original plan was to run away with him when there were fewer people around, so how could I have just accepted his lap pillow, been comforted by his head pats, and even slept on his lap all night?

Mi Ye stretched, loosened her stiff shoulders from sleeping, stood up from the sofa, and walked over to Jian Qiuluo.

Because of the height difference, she had to stand on tiptoe to look Jian Qiuluo in the eye, and gently placed her hand on the top of Jian Qiuluo's head and rubbed it.

"Did you sleep well last night? You seem to be feeling better."

crit.

Jian Qiuluo's ear tips instantly turned red. Her fingers gripped the hem of her cotton coat, and her lips moved for a long time without saying a word. Finally, she took a deep breath, bowed, and shouted "Thank you!" at a volume that could almost wake up the whole street.

Then he straightened up, grabbed a handful of Loren from his pocket, not even bothering to count how much it was—it was definitely worth far more than the price of those drinks from last night—slammed it on the bar, turned and stormed out.

She pushed the wooden door open and it bounced back, the copper bells on the door frame making a series of erratic noises as if they had been knocked unconscious.

Her cotton-padded coat got caught on the doorknob, and she stumbled, almost falling into the snowdrift in the back alley. She turned around and hurriedly pulled the coat out before disappearing into the alleyway.

Miya stood still, her hand still raised in mid-air in the gesture of patting someone's head, and then slowly lowered it.

"They ran so fast! Did you pay too much? I didn't even have time to say anything."

She turned her head and looked at the crumpled Loren on the bar, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"There are so many witches like this. They seem indifferent on the outside, but they can't resist a pat on the head or a hug. Is it the contrast that makes them cute?"

She stood by the bar for a while, stretched her shoulders, and then went to the restroom to wash her face with cold water.

The cool sensation dispelled the lingering drowsiness, and I looked up at myself in the mirror.

The red marks on her cheeks from the sofa cushions had faded, but a tuft of hair was still sticking up. She used her tentacles to press it down several times before it finally went away.

After brushing my teeth, I changed into the new clothes I had prepared last night and turned around in front of the mirror to make sure the collar and cuffs were neat and tidy.

Zimi Lu came downstairs dressed and ready, holding a steaming cup of coffee in her hand.

"Good morning, did you spend the night on the sofa?"

"...Yeah, she bumped into the door frame when she left."

"I know, I heard you."

Zimi Lu picked up her coffee and took a small sip.

Good luck on your first day of school.

Korika came downstairs yawning, her short, light green hair sticking up in all directions. When she saw Miya, she rushed over and hugged her, mumbling something about Miya leaving, sob sob sob.

Miya reached out and ruffled Korika's head. Her light green short hair brushed softly against her palm, like the fur of some small animal.

"I'll still come back to work on weekends; it's not like I'm never coming back."

Korika lifted her head from her embrace, her eyes brimming with tears, her nose red, but her mouth had regained its usual fighting spirit.

"You said you'd be back this weekend! And you'd play games with me then! You promised to help me rank up last time, and you still haven't kept your promise!"

Miya agreed to everything, gently peeled Korika off her and handed her to Zimi Lu, who was drinking coffee next to her, before returning to her room to pack her things.

The newly bought cotton coat is hanging on the closet door handle. The school uniform has been checked from the collar to the hem to make sure there are no loose threads.

She divided the snacks she bought while shopping yesterday into several portions and placed them on the table. The labels read: Corica's potato chips, Zimilu's coffee beans, Sylvie's vanilla tea, Belle's chocolate, and a bottle of red wine for Flores. Although it wasn't anything particularly expensive, the label had a small flower on it, which Flores would probably like.

Then she took an envelope out of the drawer.

The off-white envelope was carefully selected by her from the stationery store in the Central Market; it was Miya's favorite color.

She opened the envelope and poured a thick stack of Loren onto the table.

Fifty thousand Loren, each one was saved up by her this month.

Nightingale's Nest pays around five thousand Loren per month. Flores provides room and board, so she doesn't have many expenses. Apart from buying clothes and occasionally eating a bowl of noodles, she has almost no extra spending.

Adding to the 10,000 yuan transferred by Lu Yue, the income from live streaming rewards, and the payment from Luo Yan's purchase of herbs, her savings reached approximately 58,000 Loren after selling that batch of herbs from the Mirror Realm.

After deducting the 50,000 that needs to be repaid, there is 8,000 left.

Eight thousand Loren isn't a lot of money in Bellavita, but it's enough for her to eat at the Moon Forest Cafeteria for several months, buy a few textbooks, and occasionally go back to that noodle shop on weekends to order a few bowls of dry noodles—more than enough.

She neatly folded the 50,000 Loren and put it into an envelope. Then she tore a piece of paper from her notebook and wrote a few lines with the dip pen that Bie Chenye had given her.

Miss Reminal, I'm returning the money I owe you. Interest wasn't calculated, because you said it wouldn't be. Thank you for your kindness.

Although the money Reminal gave her would only amount to 10,000 Loren in Mi Ye's hands after conversion, if she were to be a little sweet-talking and return 10,000 Loren as a token of her appreciation, Miss Reminal probably wouldn't say anything.

However, doing so still made her feel uncomfortable. Miya didn't want to shamelessly take advantage of anyone anymore. Fifty thousand it is. If Reminal saw it, she would think she couldn't earn it!

Moreover, once the other party receives the envelope, she should have another fifty chances to draw. The thought of this made Mi Ye's sadness from the massive blood loss lessen somewhat by her anticipation.

She folded the note and tucked it between the banknotes, picked up her backpack, walked to the door, and glanced back at the room.

On the desk lay the doodles she hadn't finished drawing last night, the plush bunny on the bed nestled beside her neatly folded pajamas, and the succulent on the windowsill looked adorable in the morning light streaming through the glass.

She gently closed the door, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and went downstairs.

Inside the bar, Corica had already prepared hot cocoa, Zimilu was wiping glasses behind the bar, Sylvie was putting the glasses she had washed the night before back onto the bar rack one by one, and Belle was squatting in the corner changing the water in the vase. However, the bar manager was nowhere to be seen, and Miya assumed that he had gone to sleep in.

So he went to the bar and put Flores's bottle of red wine and the snacks for the others on the table.

See you next week, everyone!

She waved and pushed open the wooden door, the morning light shining through the snow onto her face.