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

After the meal, when Mi Ye and the other two parted ways at the entrance of the first canteen, their steps were much lighter than when they arrived.

Before leaving, Corona Borealis turned back and called out, "Don't be late for the next club activity." Fig gently poked her lower back with the handle of his umbrella, and the two of them playfully continued towards the activity building.

Mi Ye watched their figures disappear around the corner of Peach Blossom Avenue, pulled her cat-ear hat down to make sure it covered most of her face, and then walked alone along the main road towards the dormitory.

She decided to go back to her dorm and lie down for a while.

All freshmen are to gather for a physical examination at 7 p.m., and there is a little free time before that.

Logically, she could wander around the campus. Moon Forest is so big, and she's never even been to the library. The path she and Bie Chenye walked together under the lotus leaf umbrella on the back hill should be covered in snow by now. But while she was eating, she heard from Corona Borealis that many freshmen were waiting for her on Peach Blossom Avenue this afternoon, some even coming from other campuses specifically to wait for the tentacle monster. It's safer to stay in her dorm.

The dormitory building was quiet, and most of the freshmen were still out exploring the campus or participating in club recruitment.

She gently turned the key to unlock the door and pushed it open.

She assumed her other roommate was still outside and hadn't returned, but as she took off her shoes, climbed the ladder, and prepared to climb onto her own bed, she heard a rustling sound coming from above the bed by the window, and a head still damp with sweat peeked out from behind the bed curtains.

His short black hair wasn't completely dry, the ends clinging damply to his cheeks, and his dark gray eyes gleamed faintly in the dim light.

Asase was wearing a loose white nightgown, with the blanket pulled up to her chest, and she was holding a cloth that she was applying to the katana.

Miya stopped in the middle of the ladder, one foot on the step and the other dangling in mid-air.

The last time she faced Asase was by the lake in the Mirror World. Asase's family's katana was stuck in the gravel. She used her hardened tentacles to block the forward slash, then tied her up in a ball. The Empty Lice dissolved her school uniform. With her mouth gagged by the tentacles, Asase made a series of indistinct protests of shame and indignation, and was finally sent out of the examination room by the teleportation beam.

To put it bluntly, she beat the other person up badly, and now the other person's bed is diagonally opposite hers.

Asase looked down at her, her expression calm, without embarrassment or hostility, as if she were looking at an ordinary roommate she had just bumped into.

She spoke as she wiped the knife.

"Oh, it's you. I came back just now and saw that your bed was made but you weren't there. I saw you in the back row at the opening ceremony today. That cat-ear hat you were wearing was really nice. Where did you buy it?"

"...a clothing store near the Central Market."

Miya answered subconsciously, then added a sentence after she came to her senses.

"What happened before—"

"You played very well before."

Asase interrupted her.

She folded the maintenance cloth and placed it in the small iron box by the bedside. She sheathed her katana and leaned it against the bed ladder. Then she changed her position and lay on the edge of the bed, resting her chin on her hands folded on the edge of the pillow.

"After I got back, I watched the replay of the live stream. I didn't hold back when I swung my sword, and you took it head-on. Later, when you used your tentacles to block the forward slash, that angle of deflection wasn't luck; it was something you practiced, right?"

"You lost to Corona Borealis too. I fought her last year. I only lasted two of her Chaos Bullets before I was eliminated, but you took more than a dozen of her bullets head-on and even managed to kill her."

"So there's no need to apologize. You won fair and square. But I'll fight you again in the next simulation battle. I'll find a way to deal with the tentacles then."

Miya stood there, gripping the ladder's handrail, unsure how to respond.

She had prepared a whole speech of apologies, but Asase's words left her speechless. In the end, she could only hum in response, her face quietly turning red.

Seeing her like this, Asase didn't tease her any further. She just smiled slightly, turned over, lay back on the bed, and continued reading her book.

Seeing that the other person was no longer looking at her, Miya quickly climbed onto her bed, pulled the curtains halfway up, pulled the blanket up to her chest, took out her phone, and opened MikuFans.

She was looking for some short dramas to pass the time, but the first recommendation on the homepage hit her squarely in the face, with the video title written in bold pink font.

[What exactly makes a loli-like mother so adorable?]

Miya instinctively wanted to swipe away from the video, until she discovered that the video's cover was a candid side profile photo of her when she worked at a bar. She was wearing a maid uniform, standing on tiptoe to place a vase on the bar counter, with warm yellow light shining on her profile. She herself didn't even know she had ever had that expression.

She bit her lower lip, pulled the curtains halfway back up, made sure Asase across from her was focused on flipping through a book and hadn't noticed her, then took a deep breath and turned on the video.

The blogger's ID is "[I'm shipping couples today]".

The video gets straight to the point right from the start.

[Ladies, today we're going to break down a topic that's been generating a lot of discussion on Bella Vita's various social media platforms recently: What exactly is the appeal of the "loli mom" archetype?]

[The case study is our lovely Nightingale's Nest maid, the one who is suspected of winning first place in the martial arts competition. Although she has never admitted it, those who know, know.]

[All materials below are from publicly available live stream recordings and street photography submissions. Please contact me if there are any issues so I can remove them.]

Then the scene cuts to various clips of Miya working at the bar.

There's a photo of her carrying a tray, moving between the booths, her apron tied too tightly to accentuate her slender waist; a photo of her standing on tiptoe to place a vase on a high table, her calves slender and shapely; and a photo of her crouching down to hand tissues to a customer, her light golden hair falling on either side of her face.

The blogger continues to analyze.

First, let's look at the little maid herself. She is estimated to be less than 1.5 meters tall and has a petite figure. This size would create a natural and adorable height difference when placed next to an ordinary adult witch.

[But that's not the point. The point is her behavior: handing hot towels to guests, pouring honey water for drunk people, squatting down and gently asking if they are okay, including the time she was photographed giving Academician Meredith a lap pillow, which went viral on social media.]

These are all very typical caregiver behaviors. So, when someone who seems to need to be cared for is actually taking care of others, this role reversal itself creates an adorable and endearing contrast.

Then the blogger continued posting in a smiling tone.

This kind of contrasting charm is what we often call trying to appear mature and calm on the surface, but actually being incredibly shy. Being a "loli" is an objective condition she cannot change, but being a "mother" is a behavioral instinct that she unconsciously reveals. Her protective instincts and sense of dependence are triggered at the same time, which is the core charm of the "loli mother" attribute.

[To use a somewhat imprecise but vivid analogy, in her presence, you simultaneously experience two completely contradictory impulses: wanting to be cared for by her and wanting to care for her. These two impulses don't contradict each other; instead, they reinforce each other. We can't make a choice in this contradiction, so it directly transforms into affection. That's why this attribute is so powerful.]

The comments scrolled wildly at the top of the screen.

My sister is absolutely right; this is exactly how I've felt!

[I used to think I just liked cute things, but after watching this video, I realized something.]

Last time I went to Nightingale's Nest, she poured me a glass of warm water, and I was in a great mood all day.

[It's said that Nightingale's Nest has issued a notice that the maids will only be able to work on weekend evenings from now on.]

[Is this for real? I want to book in advance!]

Miya's face was so red it looked like she was steaming.

Her fingers gripped the edge of the duvet cover; she wanted to turn it off but couldn't bear to, she wanted to keep watching but felt her heart beating too fast.

The video ends with a short, slow-motion shot of her being helped by Bie Chenye after the martial arts test. She is slightly frowning and pouting at Bie Chenye, saying she doesn't want to drink jujube tea anymore.

The comments scrolled across the last few rows.

[Waaaaah, this rice is so good!]

[So after saying all that, all I really want to ask is, when will the little maid do her next live stream?]

[I'm the best!]

The video ends, the screen goes black, and two options automatically pop up: replay and favorite.

Miya checked to see if Asase was peeking at her, then quickly tapped her favorites with her index finger, covered her face with her hands, and let out a muffled wail through her fingers.

She patted her cheeks to calm herself down, then picked up her phone again and went to her profile.

Then she froze.

The number next to the number of followers is a little over 20,000.

She has never posted a video, and has only done a few live streams. The most recent one was when she drew doujinshi of Xiaoye and Xiesta. Her account bio is still the one she filled in casually when she first registered.

What exactly is it about her that these people are paying attention to her?

She opened the comments and browsed through them casually. Some people said they were waiting for the older sister to update the book, some commented that they were true fans of Little Maid, and a few of the latest comments said that they came after watching the Lolita Mom's analysis video, and came to see Little Maid in person.

Miya stared at the number 20,000 for a while, then opened her notes app, created a new document, and typed a line of text on it.

Account maintenance plan (to be determined)

She saved the memo, locked the screen, placed the phone next to her pillow, pulled the blanket up to cover half her face, and then looked out the window.

The wooden sign on the peach branch outside the window swayed gently in the wind. She felt that this half-day had been more tiring than yesterday at the bar. Her heart was being repeatedly bombarded by various videos about herself on MikuFans, and she was about to give up.

But with only 20,000 followers... I think I can reach 30,000 when I post a video someday.