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

As darkness falls, the light in the mountains and forests changes much faster than in the city.

Just moments ago, golden dappled sunlight filtered through the tree canopy, but in the blink of an eye, it turned into a gray-blue twilight, as if someone in the sky had turned on a dimmer switch, changing the entire mountain forest from afternoon mode to dusk mode.

The distant horizon was low, and clouds rolled in from the other side of the mountains, carrying a wind that smelled of earth and grass.

Bie Chenye looked up at the sky, then looked down at Mi Ye, his brows furrowing slightly.

It's going to rain.

She untied her sleeve from her wrist, then tied it back up, a faint worry creeping into her voice.

"The rain comes quickly in the mountains, and the roads become very slippery, so let's stop here for today."

Miya followed her gaze to the distant, leaden-gray clouds that were pressing in, and nodded.

She knew it was time to go back.

The amount of information she received today was so overwhelming that her brain could barely process it all, from the sea of ​​consciousness to the magic tree to flesh and blood magic to sensing life force. She needed to go back and digest it properly.

"Then I'll walk you to the school gate—"

"No, no!"

Mi Ye quickly waved her hand, afraid of delaying the teacher.

"Teacher, you go ahead with your work. I'll take the subway back by myself. I came here by myself too."

Bie Chenye stood at the door of the wooden house, watching Mi Ye bend down to tie her shoelaces, ready to set off.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something, perhaps to tell someone to be careful on the road, but then swallowed the words back.

Miya turned around and took a few steps, then looked back once more.

Bie Chenye was still standing at the door, his dark blue robe fluttering slightly in the mountain wind, and the red flower on his head looked somewhat dim in the hazy sky.

Behind her was a dark wooden house, behind her were endless mountains and forests, and above her head were increasingly low-hanging dark clouds.

Bie Chenye stood there with a faint smile on his lips, raised his right hand and waved it lightly at Mi Ye, meaning to hurry up and leave, then turned and went back into the house.

That silhouette made Mi Ye's heart ache.

A person, a house, a forest, and a red flower picked from who-knows-where.

Miya bit her lower lip, stopped walking forward, and turned to run back, her little leather shoes making a clattering sound on the dirt path.

Before Bie Chenye could react, she felt her clothes being gently tugged. Looking down, she saw Mi Ye tilting her head back, her two fingers pinching the edge of her robe, her eyes shining like two small nightlights in the twilight.

"Teacher, let me treat you to a meal."

"You just said you've been here alone for several years and haven't even been to the cafeteria much. The hot pot outside is delicious, so I'll treat you."

Bie Chenye was stunned.

Her eyes darted around quickly, her social anxiety instincts urging her to shake her head, to find an excuse, to hide back in the wooden hut filled with herbs.

But Mi Ye was holding her hand, and the warmth emanating from that small palm made it impossible for her to say "No need" out of her throat.

"……hot pot?"

She managed to squeeze out just those two words.

"Yeah, hot pot, the lively kind."

Mi Ye emphasized the word "lively," then tugged at her sleeve and gently shook it.

"Let's go, let's go together."

Before Bie Chenye could refuse, Mi Ye pulled her out of the courtyard. She looked at the blonde little witch who was tugging at her clothes and running ahead, her lips moved, but in the end she didn't say anything. She just quickened her pace and caught up with Mi Ye.

……

The Moon Forest campus at dusk is a completely different world from that during the day.

The crowd of new students had dispersed, the recruitment tents for clubs had been taken down, and only a few forgotten flyers remained at the foot of the statue in the square, spinning in the wind on the bluestone slabs.

The streetlights weren't on yet, but the glowing vines had already begun to emit a faint blue light, climbing along the stone walls and arches on both sides of the road, like the first stars illuminating the entire campus before nightfall.

The central avenue, bustling like a vegetable market during the day, is now only frequented by a few students hurrying by with their textbooks. Their footsteps echo in the empty corridor, sounding exceptionally clear.

Mi Ye and Bie Chenye walked side by side. One was less than 1.5 meters tall, and the other wore a dark blue robe. Their silhouettes, one tall and one short, were cast long and thin by the last rays of twilight on the ancient stone road.

As Miya passed a patch of low bushes, she suddenly stopped.

A few pale green lights floated above the bushes, drifting slowly in the air.

One or two floated in front of her. She reached out her hand, and the specks of light landed on her fingertips, lingered for a moment, and then floated away.

"Teacher, what is this?"

Her voice was soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing these fragile little creatures.

Bie Chenye squatted down next to her, stretched out his finger, and let a speck of light fall on her fingernail.

The hand that had just used flesh magic to turn a withered branch into ashes was now steadily holding a firefly smaller than a grain of rice, without moving an inch.

"This is a summer insect, which only appears at dusk in late autumn. Its life cycle is very short, lasting only a few nights from its emergence in March to its death in April. However, through some kind of flash magic, it can live into winter and sleep peacefully in the blanket of snow."

"Without a mouth, they don't eat. After emerging from their molt, the only thing they do is glow, find companions, mate, and then die quietly. Glowing is the entire life language of summer insects."

Miya looked down at the fireflies flickering on her fingertips, carefully cradling the light with her fingernail and gently placing it back onto the leaves of the bush.

When they reached the middle of Central Avenue, Mi Ye took out her phone and sent a message to Flores, asking her where the best hot pot was. As she typed, she continued walking and almost bumped into a lamppost, but Bie Chenye quickly pulled her back.

After she regained her balance, she awkwardly stuck out her tongue at Bie Chenye, then looked down at her phone.

Flores replied quickly, as if she were idling behind the bar.

She suggested going to "Boiling Soup" on Seventh Avenue in the Loren district, saying that their spicy broth and shrimp balls were the best in Bella Vita. She told me to mention her name and the owner would give me an extra serving of handmade noodles, and even included a location link and a cat giving a thumbs-up emoji.

Looking at the cat emoji, Miya realized that Flores and Korika had indeed caught the odor from spending too much time together.

She replied with a thank you to the store manager, then put her phone back in her pocket.

Just as I reached the school gate, the sky above me finally gave way.

The first raindrop hit Mi Ye's nose, making her shiver from the cold.

Then came the second drop, the third drop, and more and more raindrops poured down from the leaden clouds, pattering against the stone pavement with a dense crackling sound, and his teacher hadn't brought an umbrella either.

"Wait for me a moment."

Don't go to the pond at night, squat down, and gently press your right hand on the stem of the lotus leaf.

Miya saw a dark red halo appear on her fingertips, almost blending into the twilight.

Then the stem of the lotus leaf stretched, thickened, and bent at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the lotus leaf itself also quickly expanded, growing from the size of a washbasin to the size of an umbrella.

Bie Chenye grasped the stem and gently lifted it; the entire lotus leaf, along with a small section of roots, emerged from the soil.

She walked back to Mi Ye's side and held the emerald green lotus leaf umbrella above Mi Ye's head.

"Although I can't create inanimate objects, I can still borrow some vitality from plants."

She stood in the rain, supporting herself on a lotus leaf. The shoulders of her dark blue robe were already soaked by the rain, but she didn't care at all. She just tilted the lotus leaf a little more towards Mi Ye.

"It'll do, it's better than nothing."

Mi Ye looked up at the emerald green lotus leaf that covered half the sky above her, smelling the faint fragrance emanating from its veins, and thought to herself that this was much cooler than an umbrella.

They walked in the rain, supporting themselves on lotus leaves. If Mi Ye held up the lotus leaves, the height was not high enough, and if Bie Chen Ye held them up, it was too high. In the end, the two of them each held onto the stem with one hand and walked side by side on the empty street.

Raindrops fell on the lotus leaves, making a crisp "plop" sound, like Mr. Frog gently tapping a small green drum on his head.

The hot pot restaurant is located deep on Seventh Avenue, with a row of red lanterns hanging at the entrance, which are particularly eye-catching in the rainy night.

Above the wooden door frame hangs an old plaque with two characters blurred by steam.

[Boiling water]

The moment the door was opened, a cloud of white mist mixed with the aroma of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns rushed out.

The restaurant was bustling with activity, every seat was taken, and a warm yellow pendant light hung above each table, reflecting on the bubbling red oil broth in the copper pot, turning the whole restaurant into an amber color that whetted the appetite.

The waitresses, nicknamed "Little Witches," moved between tables and chairs carrying platters of sliced ​​meat and vegetables. Every now and then, someone would call out for more broth. The bubbling of the pot and the clattering of cups, plates, and bowls blended together, creating a lively atmosphere like Chinese New Year.

Miya stood on tiptoe by the door for a while and finally got an empty seat by the window.

She pulled Bie Chenye by the sleeve as they walked through the packed hall, settled down, spread out the menu, and pushed it in front of Bie Chenye.

"Teacher, please order whatever you like, it's on me today."

Bie Chenye looked down at the menu, his fingers lightly tracing lines across the paper.

She looked up, her dark eyes shining brightly in the dim light of the hot pot restaurant, with a thin layer of moisture in them.

"Thank you."