Xing Wei had achieved her goal.
She knew the strength of the woman before her—as an S-rank magical girl, what Mo Shuhua could reach far exceeded anything a C-rank like herself could manage.
Mo Shuhua picked up her work bag and stood up, speaking with deliberate seriousness.
“I’ll report your theory to the state. May your plan succeed.”
With that, Mo Shuhua slung her work bag over her shoulder and left.
Long after walking out of the pizza shop, she finally stretched with a yawn—and could no longer hold back the smile she’d been suppressing all day.
“Scored a free meal. Victory!”
A good life might really be just that simple.
When you’re tired, someone gives you a chance to rest. When you’re thirsty, someone hands you a glass of water. When it rains, someone holds out an umbrella.
Maybe those things seem small to some people—but for most, they’re lifelong dreams they may never realize.
But Mo Shuhua had made it happen.
“Time to go home and sleep.”
She walked to her car, opened the door, sat down, buckled up, hit the ignition, and drove away.
On the other side of the night, Ye Jinyi finished the last sip of her soda.
Her round little belly said it all—pure satisfaction.
“So full~”
Seeing Ye Jinyi’s blissed-out expression, Xiang Yujie, who was cleaning up dinner, finally felt at ease.
“Xiaoyi, do you want anything else to eat?”
Hearing that, Ye Jinyi, already stuffed, quickly shook her head.
“Nope, I’m full! Thank you for taking care of me, Auntie!”
Ye Jinyi got up from her chair, ready to head back to her rental room.
“Bye-bye, Auntie Xiang, bye-bye, Huimengyi! I had a really great time today.”
She waved and turned to leave the Hui household.
Huimengyi and Xiang Yujie waved goodbye in return.
Huimengyi: “See you, Ye Jinyi.”
Xiang Yujie: “Come visit again anytime, Xiaoyi.”
Ye Jinyi reached for the door handle and nodded with certainty.
“Mm! I definitely will. See you next time!”
With that, she closed the door and left.
Back in her tiny apartment, Ye Jinyi immediately stripped off all her clothes, jumped onto the bed, hugged her pillow, and rolled around in glee.
Food, clothes, shelter, transportation, and money—she had at least solved one of them.
Food was no longer a worry.
That happy strawberry cake would be taken care of by her amazing big sister!
Suddenly, her stagnant life seemed to have a little light again.
As long as she could keep her identity hidden, Ye Jinyi believed she still had hope for the future.
That might sound pitiful, but for someone like her—someone who had never truly succeeded before—even the smallest bit of progress felt precious.
True happiness could be that simple: a beautiful hope to chase, giving you endless motivation.
She rolled around on her bed for a long time before exhaustion finally pulled her into sleep.
Hopefully, tonight would bring her a good dream.
As the night departed with the moon’s footsteps, a new day began again in the east, with the first pale light of dawn.
Though winter sun came late, the cycle of returning warmth was speeding up, little by little.
“Gugugugu~”
Birdsong outside the window stirred the sleeping Ye Jinyi.
Tossing and turning under the intermittent chirping, she finally sat up in bed with great reluctance.
“Good Morning~”
Her head was groggy, and the ahoge on top of her head swayed back and forth, like it had lost its balance.
After waking up a bit more, Ye Jinyi grabbed her clothes from beside the bed and put them on.
She climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
“Ugh, my body feels awful…”
Ye Jinyi looked at her reflection in the mirror—she really was a mess.
“Now that I think about it… ever since I turned into this, I haven’t taken a single bath…”
She realized her current body definitely needed a good cleaning.
Girls needed better hygiene—it was basic common sense.
To be honest, Ye Jinyi had been wanting to take a proper bath for a while now.
But with no spare cash, it wasn’t something she could afford to think about. Her bathroom was so tiny it barely allowed for two basic tasks: using the toilet and brushing her teeth.
As for bathing?
Back at the company, she used the employee bathhouse—classic freeload.
In that regard, the Heavenly Court Group really had done something decent.
A clean workhorse made leadership more comfortable than seeing a dirty one.
Thinking of that, Ye Jinyi made up her mind.
“Alright, decision made! I’m going out for a soak today!”
With her goal set, Ye Jinyi began packing her things.
Her apartment didn’t have a place to bathe, but she did have shampoo, body wash, a shower puff—things the company never provided.
She packed them all into a bath tote and left her rental apartment.
As she walked out of the complex, she noticed an electrician uncle standing on a ladder, installing a camera on the building next door.
This ancient, forgotten neighborhood… was actually getting surveillance?
Curious, Ye Jinyi walked over and asked, “Is the property management finally putting up cameras?”
Hearing someone speak, the uncle paused his work and turned to look.
A little girl?
“What’s up, kiddo?”
“Mm…”
Ye Jinyi paused, then repeated her question.
“I mean, is the building management installing cameras now? I thought they’d long given up on this place.”
“Oh, this?” the uncle caught on.
“You’re right, this isn’t from property management—it’s a government project. They’re installing these to enhance citywide safety. Even old neighborhoods can’t be overlooked!”
With that, the uncle turned back and resumed his work.
So that’s how it is?
Ye Jinyi got the picture and didn’t ask further.
Leaving the complex, she opened her phone and searched the map for a reasonably priced bathhouse.
“Ooh, it has a soaking pool—and hot springs? Nice!”
Satisfied, she set the navigation and headed over.
Upon arrival, Ye Jinyi marched straight to the front desk with her bath tote.
“One bath ticket, please!”
She started hopping up and down in front of the receptionist, trying to get noticed.
No helping it—she was just too short these days.
“Uh…”
The receptionist stared at the bouncing tuft of black hair in front of her, a little speechless.
“You don’t need to jump, sweetie—I can see you. Are you here alone?”
Realizing she’d been seen, Ye Jinyi stopped hopping.
“Yup, just me.”
