After dinner, the two girls took hold of Dong Hui’s arms on either side and led her away from the kitchen as she was preparing to wash the dishes.
“Jiang Ling and I have a clear division of labor at home. She cooks, and I do the dishes,” Lu Yuyao said with a smile.
“Just leave the washing to the two of us.”
Dong Hui couldn’t resist their persistence and stopped protesting.
Older people tended to sleep early, and usually, Dong Hui would have already retired to her room to rest by this time.
She reminded the two not to stay up too late and then headed back to her room.
“I only said that on a whim to make Grandma happy. Don’t be angry.”
Lu Yuyao didn’t say anything while they were washing the dishes, but Jiang Ling could feel a thick aura of resentment floating around her just by standing nearby.
Hearing what she said, Lu Yuyao turned her head and looked at her expressionlessly, her eyes clearly signaling her displeasure.
“You’re just talking nonsense.”
“I was wrong, okay?”
Lu Yuyao didn’t actually care that much.
Suddenly, she seemed to think of something and looked at Jiang Ling with a beaming smile.
“Jiang Ling, I think I have some inspiration.”
“What kind of inspiration?”
Jiang Ling was stunned.
Lu Yuyao’s topics jumped a bit too fast for her to keep up.
“Inspiration for drawing… that.”
Lu Yuyao bit her lip, too embarrassed to say those two words out loud, so she used “that” instead.
“However, I need your help.”
“Me?”
Jiang Ling pointed a finger at herself, and water droplets that hadn’t been wiped off trickled down her hand.
“How can I help you…? Just say it. If I can help, I will.”
Jiang Ling didn’t think too much of it.
After all, she had just upset Lu Yuyao by saying the wrong thing, so she couldn’t bring herself to refuse her request now.
Lu Yuyao blinked, a strange spark of excitement appearing in her eyes.
She hooked her finger, signaling Jiang Ling to lean in.
When Jiang Ling heard what Lu Yuyao whispered, her pupils dilated.
“You want me to cosplay and be your model?!”
“No, no, no way.”
Jiang Ling’s face was full of resistance as she took several steps back.
If it were a normal drawing, it would be fine, but she would never agree to be a model for a lewd drawing.
“Don’t worry, it’s just to gather some material for inspiration. The final drawing won’t be shared with anyone else; only you will see it.”
Lu Yuyao acted like a little devil, her words chipping away at Jiang Ling’s psychological defenses step by step.
“And I won’t make you wear anything too revealing. It’ll just be a regular cosplay outfit.”
‘A drawing based on myself.’
Jiang Ling was a little tempted, especially after getting Lu Yuyao’s guarantee that it wouldn’t be shared and that the clothes wouldn’t be revealing.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and confirmed with Lu Yuyao once more,
“Are you sure it won’t be leaked?”
“I’m sure.”
“And you won’t draw it to be incredibly lewd?”
“Um… probably not.”
“?”
“I won’t.”
Lu Yuyao held up four fingers, giving a solemn guarantee.
“Then I guess I’ll reluctantly agree.”
Jiang Ling sighed, telling herself it was just punishment for her slip of the tongue earlier.
‘It’s definitely not because I’m curious or anything.’
Seeing Jiang Ling agree, a brilliant smile bloomed on Lu Yuyao’s face.
In her mind, she was already beginning to ponder what kind of outfit would suit Jiang Ling best.
One thing was for sure: her interest in drawing had returned.
“Then I’m going back to my room to sleep.”
Lu Yuyao yawned.
She was feeling a bit tired now, so she said goodnight to Jiang Ling and headed back to her bedroom.
Jiang Ling nodded and returned to her own room afterward.
Since she had napped in the afternoon, she wasn’t sleepy yet.
Jiang Ling pulled out her phone and opened her usual writing software.
She couldn’t neglect her work.
Even though she had a sufficient buffer of chapters, she was currently in her Recommendation Period.
If something happened that prevented her from writing and she exhausted her buffer, it would be extremely painful.
***
One hour passed, and she finished today’s task.
Jiang Ling closed her eyes and gently rubbed the bridge of her nose to relieve the strain.
The phone screen was too small; staring at it for a long time made her eyes ache.
Additionally, Jiang Ling was used to supporting her phone with her pinky finger, and after several days of this, her pinky was starting to feel a bit sore as well.
The desire to save up for a computer grew stronger in Jiang Ling’s heart…
maybe she could borrow Lu Yuyao’s computer.
She had thought about it before but was afraid Lu Yuyao would ask why.
Thinking about it now, as long as she came up with a random excuse, Lu Yuyao wouldn’t suspect anything.
‘Yeah, I’ll discuss it with her after we get back.’
Ding.
Hearing the notification sound from her phone, Jiang Ling wondered who would be messaging her this late at night.
Ah… it was her big boss.
[Are you free right now? Let’s play a couple of rounds.]
Jiang Ling checked the time; it was only 9:00 PM… and it was still the holiday.
She didn’t seem to have a reason to refuse.
[Let’s do it!]
The pocket money was coming her way.
A smile played on Fang Chenxi’s lips.
She had thought Jiang Ling might refuse, so the prompt agreement was a pleasant surprise.
A second later, she sent over a red envelope.
She always preferred to pay before starting the session.
Fang Chenxi was bored at home.
The National Day holiday was supposed to be a time for going out, but she had been scrolling through her phone for ages without finding a companion to hang out with.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t find one; she just didn’t want to.
Jiang Ling and Lu Yuyao should have arrived at the New Village by now.
She wanted to send a message to say hello, but she felt like she might be disturbing them.
Fang Chenxi stared blankly at her chat log with Jiang Ling.
She had been like this almost the entire day.
Feeling like she was becoming a bit obsessive, she had gone out for a five-kilometer run to clear her head.
She had just finished a shower after returning, but in the end, she couldn’t suppress her loneliness.
Fang Chenxi sent a message to Jiang Ling using her Boss Xi account.
After receiving an affirmative answer, the joy on Fang Chenxi’s face was unstoppable.
[Did you go out for the National Day holiday?]
Boss Xi asked, seemingly just engaging in casual conversation between friends.
Jiang Ling hesitated for a moment but decided there was no harm in saying it.
After all, Boss Xi was out in the open, while she was still in the shadows.
[Yeah, I’m staying at my hometown for a couple of days.]
[Hometown? Is it in Lotus City?]
[Mhm.]
The conversation stopped there.
Even if Boss Xi asked further, Jiang Ling would only give vague responses.
She was truly afraid of this unknown High School Student showing up at her door, especially since the girl had a history of asking Jiang Ling for an offline meeting.
After two rounds, Jiang Ling was starting to feel sleepy.
Mainly because she felt like she had zero participation in the game.
Fang Chenxi hard-carried every round, beating the opponents so badly they barely dared to leave their tower.
At this rate, thirty minutes would have been enough for two rounds.
Unfortunately, in these two matches, the opponents were incredibly stubborn.
they just hung on and refused to come out.
Fang Chenxi could only rely on lane management and macro play to slowly bleed them dry.
Jiang Ling simply played Yuumi and attached herself to her, piling on one compliment after another without repeating herself.
However, playing for an hour like that was mentally exhausting.
After telling Boss Xi she was tired, she collected her payment, said goodnight, and logged off.
‘Today is the first day of the recommendation, right?’
Jiang Ling had just plugged her phone in to charge and was about to close her eyes in bed when she suddenly remembered.
She bolted upright, opened her phone, and checked her data for the day.
Her usual daily increase in collections was between 200 and 350, but today it had reached over 500!
A huge success!
Jiang Ling was instantly wide awake.
With a beaming smile, she went to share the good news with Ji Qingyan.
[Master, I have good news!]
Jiang Ling sent a screenshot of her backend data to Ji Qingyan.
Very quickly, the “typing” status appeared next to Ji Qingyan’s name.
Ji Qingyan wasn’t asleep yet either.
[Congratulations, those results should be quite good.]
[Hehe.]
[So, when can you stop calling me Master?]
Ji Qingyan sat at her desk, the small lamp casting a warm glow over her, making her look even more serene and elegant.
She had a smile on her face as she looked at the message from Jiang Ling.
‘Master…’
Ji Qingyan’s face turned slightly red.
Being called that by Jiang Ling always made her feel a bit strange.
But regardless, the success of Jiang Ling’s new book was a good thing, which made her very happy.
It proved that neither of their efforts had been in vain.
Ji Qingyan’s finger hovered over the screen, her expression hesitant.
After a moment, she typed out a few words.
[Have you gone out to have fun lately?]
This was the first time she had ever shown interest in someone else’s private life.
She felt a little nervous.