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

It started snowing again.

Fine snowflakes fell gently from the gray-white sky, draping the entire Bellavita in a thin layer of silver.

Miya stood at the entrance of Nightingale's Nest, buttoning her cotton coat one button at a time to the top, wrapping her scarf around her neck twice, pulling her cat-ear cotton hat down to cover her pale golden hair, and covering half of her face completely with a cotton mask.

She was wrapped up like a round glutinous rice ball, with only her big, honey-colored eyes peeking out.

The suitcase was lent to her by Flores; it was dark brown and had four wheels that made it easy to push.

The box contained a newly bought thick quilt, a change of clothes, a first-aid kit given to me by Bie Chenye, a bag of potato chips that Korika had secretly slipped in, and a small bunch of flowers that Zimi Lu had placed in a hidden compartment.

Miya found out they were already on their way to the subway station, so she could only send each of them a touching cat emoji.

The subway station was much busier than usual.

The platform was crowded with new female students dragging their suitcases. Some were wearing brand-new school uniforms, some were wrapped up tightly like Miya, and others were waving goodbye to their parents who were seeing them off.

The dark blue school uniform of Moon Forest stood out in the crowd, with gold thread embroidery on the collar and cuffs shimmering under the lights.

Miya pulled her mask up a bit to make sure the cat-ear hat covered her hair completely, then dragged her suitcase and squeezed into the carriage.

Fortunately, no one recognized her on the subway.

She huddled in the corner of the carriage, the cat ears on her hat swaying gently with the swaying of the train.

The tunnel lights outside the window rushed past, occasionally flashing past a few GG signs. One of them happened to be the admissions GG for Moon Forest, with a photo of Principal Andreas smiling with her eyes closed, and a line of text written next to it.

"Welcome to Moon Forest Magic Academy."

Miya recalled the chillingly gentle smile that Andreas had given her when she leaned close to her face, and silently looked away.

When the train arrived at the station, she dragged her suitcase out of the subway exit, and the main gate of Tsukinomori was right in front of her.

The magical runes inlaid on the silver-white metal gate glowed with a pale blue light in the snow, and glowing vines hung down from the wall, their branches bent under the weight of the snow, occasionally shaking off a small amount of snow.

The square was full of freshmen dragging their suitcases. Some were looking up at the magnificent teaching building in amazement, some were taking pictures with their phones to let their families know they were safe, and several senior female students wearing volunteer vests were handing out freshman guides.

A senior student with a high ponytail stood at the entrance holding a stack of freshman handbooks. She greeted everyone she saw with a "Welcome to Moon Forest." Her voice was hoarse, but her smile was still radiant.

As soon as Mi Ye entered the school gate, she was surrounded by several volunteer senior students.

Leading the group was a short-haired senior student wearing a red armband. She looked down and saw Mi Ye, a round little dumpling, struggling to walk through the snow with a suitcase almost as big as herself.

"Little sister, where are your parents? Why are you dragging such a big suitcase all by yourself?"

Another senior student with pigtails immediately helped her lift her suitcase over the steps, while a tall senior student came from the other side to look down at Miya's hat.

"Where did you buy these cat ears? Why don't the cat ear hats I bought have such a soft and fluffy texture?"

"No, no, what's your major? We'll take you to your dorm!"

Before Mi Ye could even say she could move, her suitcase had already been carried from the main gate all the way to the dormitory building by several enthusiastic senior students.

Along the way, she was constantly asked about the cat-ear hat link, how she takes such good care of her skin, what shampoo she uses to make her hair so smooth, and whether she could pet her because she's so cute.

Miya remained huddled inside her scarf, giving vague answers. She thought to herself that the hat was indeed useful; everyone was so focused on the hat that no one recognized her as the tentacle monster.

The dormitory building is a four-story building made of red bricks. The walls are covered with vines that are dormant in winter, and after being covered with snow, it looks like a layer of white lace curtains.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, a wave of warmth rushed in, melting the snowflakes on her eyelashes into tiny water droplets.

The dormitory supervisor was a kind-looking witch. She smiled as she checked Mi Ye's admission information, then handed her a key with a small wooden tag engraved with her room number on the key ring.

The room is at the end of the corridor on the third floor.

Miya pushed open the door and found that the dormitory was much more spacious than she had imagined.

Three beds, with a bunk bed and a table underneath, are arranged against the wall.

Each table is equipped with a table lamp, a bookshelf, and a small wardrobe, with a full-length mirror embedded in the inside of the wardrobe door.

Several peach trees are planted outside the window, and many peach blossoms are still in bloom. I don't know which teacher used magic to keep them blooming. They are covered with peach wood plaques left by the older students. Some have words of blessing written on them, some have doodles drawn on them, and some have names and dates engraved on them. They turn gently in the wind, like a string of silent wind chimes.

Snow fell on the peach branches, and occasionally a gust of wind would blow it down in a flurry, accumulating a small pile of white on the windowsill.

One of my roommates had already made his bed and put his suitcase under the table, but he wasn't there; he was probably at the cafeteria or exploring the campus.

Miya chose a bed by the window, climbed the ladder, flipped the mattress over, and put on the thick quilt she had brought.

The duvet cover was light blue with white sheep patterns printed on it. She fluffed up the pillows, folded the duvet into a neat square, and placed the plush bunny at the foot of the bed.

I got out of bed, arranged the things on the desk, adjusted the lamp, and hung my backpack on the back of the chair.

Not long after I finished making the bed, there was a gentle knock on the door.

Miya jumped down the ladder and opened the door, where she saw a very familiar little witch standing.

Her dark red hair was still so short and curly, and her eyes widened instantly when she saw that it was Miya who opened the door.

She changed her red dress into a dark blue school uniform from Tsukimori, the hem of which just reached her knees. She was dragging a light gray suitcase in one hand and carrying a bag of daily necessities in the other, with a shampoo bottle sticking out of the bag.

"Y-you-you—what are you doing here?!"

Xiao Ye subconsciously took a half step back.

"This is my dorm room. Is this yours too?"

Miya took the luggage from Xiaoye and carried it into the room, pointing to the remaining bed.

"This is the only one left, I'm sorry to have to make do with it."

"...It's okay."

Her voice was much softer than before, so Mi Ye automatically chose the bed for her that was closer to the heater, the one by the door.

Xiaoye stood in the middle of the room, looking at the bed, then at Miye, then at the peach branches outside the window, then at the shampoo in his hand, standing there not knowing what to do with his hands and feet.

Mi Ye didn't think too much about it, and reached out to take Xiao Ye's suitcase and hoisted it onto her shoulder.

"I'll make the mattress for you. New mattresses need to be flipped over to air out, otherwise they'll sag after a while. Did you bring a blanket? And a pillow?"

"I brought it...it's in the box."

Xiao Ye watched as Mi Ye carried her suitcase up the ladder, deftly flipped the mattress over, and took out a quilt from the suitcase. It was a dark green quilt cover with a soft fabric and several small black cats sitting on it.

Miya shook out the quilt and spread it out, fluffed up the pillow and placed it at the head of the bed, then tucked the four corners of the sheet under the mattress and pressed them down neatly.

"Okay, do you want to leave your shampoo in the bathroom? You should probably bring your shower gel too, and your slippers too. Where are your slippers?"

Xiaoye did not answer.

Miya shifted her gaze from the shampoo to Xiaoye's face and found him standing there blankly, looking up at her, still clutching the empty duffel bag in his hand.

Then the other person took a small step forward and secretly slipped a piece of candy into Mi Ye's hand. The candy was wrapped in transparent cellophane and contained amber-colored hard candy with a small dried flower petal embedded in the middle, somewhat like the orange-flavored handmade candy sold in Luo Yan's shop.

After she finished stuffing it in, she immediately pulled her hand back, took a half step back, looked down at the floor, and her ear tips were a little red.

"...Thank you. This is a thank you gift for helping me move my things and make my bed. It's nothing more than that..."

The peach branches outside the window swayed in the wind, and the wooden plaques hanging on them gently collided, making a rumbling sound.

Looking at the other person's face, which was as red as a peach blossom, Miya wondered if that flirtatious attitude she had shown earlier was only for strangers.

She put the candy in her pocket, jumped down from the ladder, and patted Xiaoye on the head.

"Thanks! We'll be roommates from now on, please take care of me."