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

Miya's fingers slowly slid from Meredith's temple to behind his ear, and then down along the tendons at the back of his neck.

The guest's breathing became deep and even, the rise and fall of his chest became smoother, and his delicate but tired face finally relaxed completely, the faint vertical line between his eyebrows also smoothed out.

She fell asleep.

Miya's hand stopped in Meredith's hair, not daring to move again, afraid of disturbing this rare peace.

She looked up and silently mouthed something towards the bar.

"blanket."

Korika, who was wiping the glasses, put down her glass and walked over. After seeing the guest on Miya's lap, her voice suddenly became unstable.

"The night is vast and boundless—"

She lowered her voice and squatted down next to the sofa, her finger trembling as she pointed to the sleeping guest on Miya's lap.

"Damn, do you even know who this is?"

"I think her name is Miss Meredith, she's from the academy—"

"Meridis! Meridis from MikuFans! The super popular blogger in the education section! The one with almost two million followers!!"

Korika felt like she was about to explode, but she desperately tried to keep her voice down.

"She can get over ten million views on a single science video, more than the official college account has! How did she end up in our shop and sleeping on your lap?!"

Miya looked down at the sleeping face resting on her lap, then looked up at Korika, her expression saying, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"blanket."

She repeated it.

Korika gave her a look that said, "You're such a waste of talent," and then turned and ran to the storage room to get a blanket.

Miya lowered her head again, her fingers continuing to gently and slowly comb Meredith's hair.

At the same time, she finally noticed something that Korika hadn't noticed when she came over.

Several pairs of eyes were being cast toward this corner from all over the bar.

A customer holding a martini at the bar was whispering to his companion, his eyes constantly glancing this way out of the corner of his eye.

Two young witches in the booth opposite were pretending to take selfies with communicators, but the camera angle was clearly pointed at themselves.

Even Sylvie, who was taking orders for another table of customers, couldn't help but glance at her a couple more times.

Miya's face gradually burned, and even her ears began to turn red.

She dared not move, and had to endure the numbness in her legs.

Behind me, I could hear the sound of guests pushing open the door, the clatter of a Zimilu cocktail shaker, Belle's lively laughter from a booth in the distance, and the quiet light from the crystal chandelier above, all mingling with the faint scent of shampoo on Meredith's deep brown hair.

Corica finally returned, carrying a neatly folded light gray cashmere blanket.

She helped Miya unfold the blanket and gently covered Meredith with it. She whispered in Miya's ear, "Call me if you need anything," and then retreated, turning back every few steps.

The blanket was soft and had a clean, sun-dried smell.

Meredith's eyelashes twitched, but she didn't wake up. Instead, she shrank deeper into the blanket and subconsciously leaned her face against Miya's legs.

Miya remained motionless, her fingers gently patting Miya's shoulder through the blanket, like coaxing a child who had finally fallen asleep.

……

The voices in the bar gradually changed from lazy whispers to lively clamor, probably because several more groups of customers had arrived.

Corica's laughter, the crisp sound of Belle clinking glasses with guests, and cheers erupting from a booth.

Meredith frowned slightly, then slowly opened her eyes.

It took her a while to refocus on the world before she realized she was resting her head on the lap of a little girl dressed as a maid, covered with a light gray blanket, with the crystal chandelier above her still casting an amber light.

She sat up abruptly.

The blanket slipped off her shoulders and piled up around her waist, a few strands of hair clung to her cheeks, her gold-rimmed glasses were askew, and her deep blue eyes, still misty from just waking up, were clouded with moisture.

"...How long did I sleep?"

"About an hour."

Miya pulled her numb leg back, trying her best not to grimace, but her right leg was completely numb, and moving it felt like being pricked by countless needles.

"You looked so much that you needed rest, so I didn't wake you."

Meredith put on her glasses and looked around.

The bar was much more crowded than an hour ago, and several tables of customers seemed to be looking in their direction.

She looked away and turned her gaze back to the little maid in front of her.

Miya's right leg was curled up in an extremely unnatural position, clearly quite numb, but there was no impatient expression on her face, only a sincere concern that brought tears to one's eyes.

I gave her a lap pillow for over an hour, didn't wake her up, didn't try to sell her any drinks, and even had a colleague help me get a blanket.

Meredith reached out and gently placed her hand on Miya's head.

"...Aren't your legs numb?"

"It's a little numb..."

Miya was suddenly patted on the head, and her voice instantly stuttered, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the edge of her apron.

"But you're sleeping so soundly, I can't bear to wake you—"

"Thanks."

Miya's face turned red again, but this time it wasn't as red from nervousness; instead, it was a little bit from happiness.

Meredith looked at the adorable little maid in front of him and couldn't resist using his divine sense to investigate.

That's too low.

All of them are single-digit values.

Meredith has taught countless exceptionally talented students and seen too many brilliant geniuses. If this child were placed in her academy, he probably wouldn't even pass the lowest level entrance exam.

Her gaze continued to sweep down, then stopped at the last column.

Charisma: 99

Not surprising then.

No wonder she could sleep so soundly with her head on her lap; with that level of charm, you could relax just by sitting next to her without doing anything.

Meredith picked up the wine list on the table.

"What would you like to drink?"

Miya quickly waved her hand.

"I can't drink, and I'm just here to keep the guests company; I can't let them pay for my drinks—"

"Alcohol-free."

Meredith pointed to the special drinks section at the bottom of the menu, where there was a row of small print that said "non-alcoholic".

"This is sweet orange milk foam. The base is freshly squeezed orange juice and milk, topped with a layer of hand-whipped milk foam. It's very sweet and suitable for children."

Miya's gaze fell on the price list, and she almost choked on the air in her mouth.

One thousand two hundred Loren.

A non-alcoholic beverage.

"This is way too expensive—!"

"Not expensive."

Meredith took off his glasses and wiped the fog that had somehow gotten on the lenses with the corner of his shirt. His deep blue eyes stared straight at Miya.

"Your time tonight is worth the price."

Before Miya could say anything more, Meredith had already closed the wine list and handed it to the passing Zimilu.

"Sweet orange cream frosting, plus another serving of the lava chocolate cake from before."

Zimi Lu glanced at Mi Ye, her eyes saying, "How did you manage to charm the customer like this? Teach me!" before turning around and getting ready.

Soon after, the orange cream and cake were served together.

The stemmed glass contained a layered beverage: a bottom layer of pale orange juice, a top layer of white milk foam, and a small slice of dried orange placed between the rim of the glass.

Miya held the cup with both hands and carefully took a sip. The sweet orange juice and the creamy milk foam melted on her tongue, and her eyes lit up instantly.

"It's so delicious!"

Meredith looked down at her expression, which was as if she had found a treasure, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

The cake was quickly devoured by Miya. When she stuffed the last bite of chocolate cake into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's, and there was a little bit of chocolate sauce on her lips.

Meredith handed over a tissue, then took out his wallet from his trench coat pocket, pulled out a neat stack of Loren bills, placed them on the table, and pushed them in front of Miya.

One thousand Loren.

"tip."

Meredith's voice remained calm.

Mi Ye stared blankly at the stack of money.

A tip of one thousand Loren, wow, what does that even mean?

This is more than what she earned in half a month of hard work!

"Me—me—me—"

She held the stack of money in both hands, and her eyes involuntarily stung with tears.

"Thank you so much! Thank you so much!"

Meredith stood up from the sofa, put on her trench coat, and picked up her briefcase.

"...Miss Meredith?"

"It's too late."

Meredith lowered her head, buttoning her trench coat, her voice remaining calm.

"My daughter is waiting for me at home."

daughter?

Miya paused for a moment, then quickly jumped off the sofa, put on her shoes, stepped onto the floor, and jogged a few steps to catch up with Meredith.

"I'll see you to the door."

She escorted Meredith to the bar door.

A cool night breeze blew by, and the neon lights on the street stained the cobblestones purple and blue.

Meredith stopped in front of the car door and glanced back at Miya.

Those deep blue eyes watched her quietly from behind the gold-rimmed glasses, and then she reached out and gently touched the top of Miya's head.

"I'll come again next time."

The car door closed, and the driver Meredith had just called started the car, the dark blue sedan merging into the traffic of the night.

Mi Ye clutched the thousand Loren tip in one hand, while unconsciously touching her head where the other hand had been touched, a question inexplicably popping into her mind.

There are so many witches in this world.

How exactly do witches give birth to daughters?

She stood in the night breeze for a while, tilting her head, before deciding to go back and ask Zimilu.

Before asking, she carefully folded the thousand Loren and put it into the innermost pocket of her apron, unable to suppress the smile on her face.