It seemed her plan to make money had to be moved up.
Inside the cafeteria, after buying a Healthy Set Meal, Qi looked at her strained wallet and once again realized the reality of her current situation.
Her desire to spend money wasn’t high.
Aside from some necessary expenses, she preferred to save.
Ever since she had earned her very first bit of income entirely on her own, this was the first time she had encountered a situation like today’s.
Of course, the chocolate was an exception.
Those five pieces of chocolate had already been stored in her dormitory; she would only take them out to eat when she had an uncontrollable craving.
Today’s Healthy Set Meal still consisted of two pork chops.
When the cafeteria lady handed her the tray, she even reached out and affectionately rubbed Qi’s head.
Qi felt like this was a losing trade, but it didn’t matter.
She had found Jiang Wanli eating alone again.
“Sister Xiao-Li—good afternoon!” The black-haired girl sat down next to her and gave an enthusiastic greeting.
“This is today’s Friendship Fee.”
“Do you have to give this Friendship Fee every single day?”
Jiang Wanli laughed helplessly as she looked at the extra pork chop in her bowl.
“Of course. As your only friend, I naturally want to give all the delicious things to you, Sister Xiao-Li!”
“You… there isn’t a single word of truth in your mouth,” Jiang Wanli teased, though she didn’t refuse the food.
“Hehe! Sister Xiao-Li, are you curious why I suddenly started calling you ‘Sister’ again?”
Jiang Wanli, who was about to start her lunch, blinked.
Before she could answer, Qi continued.
“Because ‘Sister Xiao-Li’ is ‘Sister’ plus ‘Xiao-Li’—it’s double the closeness!”
“Do you really like me that much?”
“Of course! After all, you’re so beautiful and gentle, Sister Xiao-Li. Among all the people who fell in love with you at first sight, I probably wouldn’t even make the list!”
Qi truly admired herself.
Even though she had only been in this body for a short week, she was already able to play her advantages to the fullest.
Acting cute came to her naturally!
Although she still hadn’t figured out what use Jiang Wanli might be to her, giving her a few more compliments was never a bad thing.
For the rest of the time, they enjoyed their lunch in silence.
Jiang Wanli rarely initiated topics, and Qi didn’t disturb her too much.
Even when they did talk, it was just ordinary conversation.
Qi didn’t praise her constantly; a line or two once in a while was fine, but any more would seem insincere and make the other person feel uncomfortable.
After finishing lunch, Qi said goodbye to Jiang Wanli and returned to the dormitory.
There were no classes in the afternoon.
The learning atmosphere at this School was quite relaxed.
Even the curriculum was divided into the Full Course System and the Main Course System, giving students the freedom to choose.
The Main Course System consisted only of Language, Math, and English, with classes only in the morning.
However, aside from the rich second-generation kids who would directly inherit family businesses, Special Admissions Students would usually choose the Full Course System.
Of course, Qi—who treated class as a form of meditation—didn’t count.
Exams were also divided into comprehensive and core subjects.
The latter was purely for show.
Only those who participated in the exams for all subjects were eligible for scholarships.
Among the four exams each semester, the monthly scholarship for the top ten in the two monthly exams was 10,000.
The midterm and final exams could even reach 50,000.
If one stayed in the top ten for every exam, the annual scholarship alone would be 240,000.
Qi was envious, but she had self-awareness.
‘I still need to consider other ways to make money.’
Her previous method of making money, while not exactly honorable, allowed her to balance a full school schedule with a high source of income.
Such good opportunities were rare.
It just wasn’t very applicable now.
In the bathroom, Qi looked at her current appearance and sighed with some helplessness.
In the past, she didn’t just pick any beautiful rich woman to flirt with.
She found those who yearned for love but were unable to pursue it due to family pressure.
That was how she achieved those platonic relationships where the most intimate contact was holding hands.
Her primary role was to provide emotional value.
So, rather than love, Qi felt it was more like a transaction.
This allowed her to better play the role of the perfect “lover” in the other person’s heart.
Qi never said this explicitly, but both parties understood.
However, not every employer followed those rules.
Whenever Qi noticed the relationship was about to take an irreversible step forward, she would proactively leave and cut off contact.
The premise for establishing such a romantic relationship was her former identity as a male.
A young lady looking for romance wouldn’t look for a cute girl, right?
Even if it were possible, there would be a long period of wooing required, and her savings wouldn’t last that long.
Choosing a male target was even more impossible.
It was too dangerous; they weren’t bound by family rules.
Moreover, as someone who was originally male, Qi found it psychologically difficult to accept.
So, she had to find other ways.
It just so happened that there were no classes in the afternoon, so she had plenty of time.
But she had no experience in other fields, so she could only observe more.
Life at school didn’t have too many waves.
Most people’s lives were repetitive.
Ever since she was caught sneaking chocolate that one time, Qi had naturally been pulled into that small group by the other girls.
At first, she refused, but she found that staying in the group didn’t require her to do anything.
She just ate snacks and received a piece of chocolate every day.
Those who came to hit on her were also driven away with their help.
The benefits were immense, so Qi accepted them with a clear conscience.
She had essentially achieved chocolate freedom.
As for Jiang Wanli, although their daily contact wasn’t long, as long as Qi went to eat at noon, she would always run into her in the cafeteria.
Whether she arrived early or late, their communication was quite close.
Because of this, the number of times she was mentioned on the forum increased exponentially.
There were new pictures of her every day in the “Beautiful Girl Photo” section, and a bunch of people claimed she would definitely have a spot in the upcoming School Beauty Contest.
Based on her unique features alone, she wouldn’t lack votes.
‘Young masters who only have half a day of classes are truly leisurely,’ the black-haired girl couldn’t help but sigh.
A few days passed like this.
At noon, Qi pushed open the dormitory door and met the curious gaze of her roommate, Su Xiaoqie, who was sitting in front of a computer.
“What’s wrong?” the black-haired girl asked.
She subconsciously reached for the top of her head and smoothed down that stray lock of hair.
“Are you avoiding Jiang Wanli?”
Su Xiaoqie moved her chair closer and couldn’t help but ask.
“Huh?”
“Here, look.”
The roommate held her phone up to Qi’s eyes.
After seeing the content, Qi’s face darkened.
It was a picture of her looking through the glass at the entrance of the Chinese Food Area.
There were also shots of her looking at her phone outside, as well as a view from inside the restaurant that captured both Jiang Wanli and the little cowlick standing up on the other side of the glass door.
There were several sets of pictures.
Each one was clearly composed and had definitely been selected with care.
One didn’t even need words to see the “story” being told.
Who took these! They made her look so stupid!
“The comment section says you stayed outside for an hour and eventually left without even eating. Everyone is saying the two of you had a fight,” Su Xiaoqie explained bit by bit, suppressing a smile.
“I only skipped going today, and yet it was all caught on camera. There’s really no privacy when people are watching you,” Qi sighed helplessly.
“So, did you really have a fight?”
“It’s not a fight, but I am indeed avoiding Jiang Wanli.”
The black-haired girl walked to her desk and took a sip from her water cup.
“I just… feel like Jiang Wanli is difficult to approach.”
“Huh? Why do you say that? Isn’t everyone’s evaluation of the transfer student that she’s gentle and easy to get along with?”
Su Xiaoqie became more interested and even sat up straight.
At this, Qi nodded in agreement.
“That’s exactly why…”
‘I can’t sense a shred of malice in her.’
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