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

When Mi Ye pushed open the dormitory door, a warm breeze rushed in, peeling away the lingering chill from her cotton-padded coat layer by layer.

Asase leaned against the headboard, holding a romance novel with a cover printed with gorgeous gold lettering, her eyes intently scanning the pages.

When Miya came in, he merely raised his chin as a greeting, and his attention quickly returned to the description of the protagonist arguing in the rain.

Xiaoye's bed curtains were drawn tightly shut, and a strange rustling sound came from behind them, as if someone was rummaging through the blankets looking for something, or doing something they didn't want to be discovered.

Just as Mi Ye took off her cotton coat and hung it on the back of the chair, Xiao Ye's bed curtains were suddenly lifted a crack from the inside.

A head with messy red hair poked out, two suspicious blushes on its face, and a thin layer of sweat on its forehead.

Her eyes met Mi Ye's gaze, and she felt as if she had been electrocuted, her shoulders jerking in shock.

"You're back! How did the medical checkup go? Did it go smoothly?"

She pulled the blanket up to her chin.

"...It went quite smoothly. What were you doing in there? Your face was covered in sweat."

"Nothing much! It's just a bit hot! The heating's on too high!"

Xiao Ye quickly shrank back behind the bed curtains, which swayed back and forth several times before finally settling down.

Miya was a little confused, but she didn't press the matter further. She picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip.

Asase closed the book, clipped the bookmark to the bedside table, and glanced at Miya.

"Why are you so late? Our Group B finished testing almost an hour earlier than you."

"The queue was too long. There seemed to be a minor malfunction in the machine when a few girls ahead of us were having their magic power tested. We waited for ages."

Miya gave a mumbled reply.

She couldn't very well say that she was surrounded by a group of little witches outside the curtain, drooling and watching her with lust, and that she ran back in fright.

Asase probably didn't intend to delve deeper, and reopened the novel to continue reading.

Miya climbed the ladder to her bed, which was located by the window and had been decorated with great care.

A thick fleece blanket was laid on the light blue mattress, and the duvet cover was printed with a white sheep pattern. Several soft cushions were placed on the bedside table, one of which was a bread-shaped one given by Korika, and another of which was a little star given by Flores.

She adjusted the two cushions to their right angles, then snuggled into the covers, pulling them up to her shoulders and sinking her head into the soft nest formed by the pillows and cushions.

I was busy from morning till night today, with the opening ceremony, club recruitment, and queuing for medical checkups. My body was exhausted, and my mind was tired too.

She habitually took out her phone and opened MikuFans; sure enough, Little Ghost's live stream was lit up.

A soft singing voice came from the other end of the screen. Today's song was about stars, and the melody was very slow.

Mi Ye placed her phone next to her pillow, closed her eyes, and listened to the music flowing gently in the darkness.

My consciousness gradually blurred, like a feather soaked in warm water, slowly sinking to the bottom of the cup.

In my dream, there was a very bright sky, and a white-haired girl in a white dress walked out of the light. Her eyes were closed, but there was a faint smile on her lips, like the raindrops on flower petals after a spring rain.

She opened her arms and gently hugged Mi Ye. It was so warm, like being wrapped in a freshly dried quilt.

Then a pair of pure white wings unfolded behind them, the edges of the wings shimmering with a beautiful silver glow in the light, lifting the two of them together into the sky.

But when it flew to the highest point, the white light gradually turned black from the base of the wings, and the dark purple of the deep starry sky surged and spread like blood dripping into clear water.

The white-haired girl still smiled with her eyes closed, but the black wings could no longer support them. The two embraced each other and began to fall. The sound of the wind filled their ears, and the light above their heads grew farther and farther away, smaller and smaller, until it finally became a star that flickered faintly in the sky.

Miya suddenly opened her eyes, her heart pounding, her whole body drenched in sweat.

She picked up her phone from beside her pillow. The screen was still lit, and the live stream was still running, but her name was the only one left in the list of online viewers, hanging alone in the bottom right corner.

The little ghost's voice came through the earphones. He wasn't singing; he just quietly said, "It's time to end the broadcast. Goodnight, everyone." It sounded very lonely.

Miya suddenly felt something gently squeeze her chest.

In a one-person live stream, who is she saying goodnight to?

So I quickly opened the gift list and sent a set of starry sky milk tea, and a deep blue starlight effect exploded on the screen.

A soft "thank you" came from the little ghost's side, followed by a long silence before continuing, her voice sounding somewhat aggrieved.

"Can I ask you a question, miss?"

Miya tilted her head.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel like I'm already happy, but why do I always feel like crying?"

The little ghost's voice had a nasal quality.

Miya held her phone to her ear, staring at the small white flower icon at the top of the screen.

She remembered her past life.

I live alone, eat alone, play games alone until the early hours of the morning. When I win, there's no one to share it with; when I lose, there's no one to comfort me.

Back then, she would ask herself this question: I've tried so hard to be happy, so why do I still feel lonely?

Later, when I arrived in Bellavita, I met Flores, Corica, Zimilu, Biechenye, Meredith, and many other new friends.

I'm so busy every day that I don't have time to think about my old home, so busy that I've forgotten what loneliness feels like.

Mi Ye typed for a long time, typing several lines and then deleting them.

She herself was not satisfied with those overly formal and polite words of comfort.

In the end, I only sent one emoji.

"It's okay, I'll stay with you."

A little figure with outstretched arms followed behind.

The little ghost sent a hugging emoji back at almost the same time.

The two emojis quietly embraced each other in the chat box, neither of them saying another word.

After a while, the little ghost's voice was softer than before, but it carried a rare hint of laughter.

Thank you for always listening to me sing.

Miya held her phone to her chest, looked at the dappled shadows cast by the peach branches outside the window, took a deep breath, and then typed a line of text.

"Me too. It's so nice to have met you. Will you be broadcasting again tomorrow? I'll come listen again."

"Broadcast, sing your favorite song tomorrow."

Which song?

"It's that song about stars, you always send a lot more comments every time you listen to it."

Mi Ye paused for a moment. She had never told the other person which song she liked the most, but she would habitually send a few comments saying that it was nice whenever she listened to that song.

Realizing that the other person also cared about her, Mi Ye pulled the blanket up to cover the corners of her upturned mouth and sent a goodnight emoji. The little ghost also softly replied, "Goodnight, Hua Bao."

The snow started falling again outside the window. She put her phone next to her pillow, closed her eyes, and quickly fell asleep.