On the stone path leading to the back door of the Kastian manor.
Ailiya walked steadily, holding a thick stack of shopping lists in her hand.
The early autumn breeze ruffled her silver-white short hair, bringing a hint of coolness.
And less than twenty meters behind her, an extremely eye-straining stealth scene was playing out.
Crack—
That was the sound of someone stepping on a dry branch.
That was the muffled thud of someone hitting their head on a marble base while trying to hide behind a statue.
Ailiya didn’t even need to confirm; she could clearly picture in her mind Leo’s ridiculous posture with his butt sticking out and peeking around.
This kid’s movements were so heavy that he was practically making sure everyone could hear him.
When passing by a fountain, Ailiya finally stopped. Without turning around, she spoke in a calm tone to the air.
“Young Master, your movements right now are enough to scare away even the deafest mouse in the kitchen.”
The horse-head statue behind her instantly fell into dead silence.
After a few seconds, a golden head poked out awkwardly.
“Ahem… …”
Leo coughed dryly to hide his embarrassment, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked out pretending to be passing by casually.
“Who’s following you? This road isn’t yours alone. I… I just happened to be going this way too!”
“Is that so?”
Ailiya turned around, her ice-blue eyes calmly looking at him.
“Then may I ask what business the Young Master has at the back door?”
“I…”
Leo’s eyes darted, landing on the bill in Ailiya’s hand, and immediately puffed out his chest.
“Tomorrow is the farewell banquet. The estate must need a lot of shopping! As the male head of the Kastian family, I should personally go to the market to inspect the quality of the supplies, so those unscrupulous merchants don’t cheat us!”
This excuse sounded high-sounding, but with his guilty face, it really didn’t carry any conviction.
Ailiya stared at him for two seconds. Just as Leo thought he would be mercilessly exposed and ridiculed again, Ailiya surprisingly nodded.
“The Young Master speaks sense.”
Ailiya slightly turned sideways and made a “please” gesture. Free labor, why not use it.
“The carriage is already waiting at the back door. Since you are so responsible, today’s heavy lifting will be entirely entrusted to you.”
“Fine! I’ll carry it! This young master’s strength is huge now!”
Leo, delighted that Ailiya didn’t drive him away, happily trotted ahead.
West City, Fengyue City, the busiest market. The clamor of voices, all kinds of hawking sounds endless.
Ailiya, holding the list, moved extremely efficiently among the stalls.
“Fresh lamb chops, two racks. Fine truffles, wrap them up. And these barrels of fruit wine…”
Her arithmetic was very fast, and her bargaining was relentless, often making shrewd merchants speechless with just a few words and forcing them to lower prices.
Meanwhile, Leo, following behind, had completely become a human shelf.
He carried large and small bags in both hands, with two strings of dried sausages hanging around his neck, tired like a bulldog sticking out his tongue.
“Hey, Ailiya, aren’t we done shopping yet?”
Leo complained.
“Didn’t we already buy enough?”
“The ingredients for the banquet are complete.”
Ailiya stopped in front of a general store, scanning the shelves.
“Now I need to purchase some estate maintenance supplies.”
Saying that, she turned to the shop owner.
“Strong stain remover, give me ten barrels. Also, the thickest black iron wire rope used for tying large goods, twenty meters. And the most absorbent coarse linen cloth, three large rolls.”
The owner was stunned, looking at this incredibly beautiful silver-haired girl, hesitantly.
“Little girl, what do you need so much strong stain remover for?”
“That’s not your concern. Just settle the bill according to the list.”
Ailiya expressionlessly placed a few silver coins on the counter.
Leo beside her was also dumbfounded, struggling to poke his head out from between two bags of flour.
“Ailiya, why are you buying these? Is the estate that dirty?”
Ailiya turned her head and gave Leo a deep look.
In those ice-blue eyes, a glint of something creepy flickered that made Leo feel a chill.
“The Young Master is very perceptive.”
Ailiya stated an extremely terrifying fact in a calm tone.
“At tomorrow’s banquet, there might indeed be some stubborn stains that need to be dealt with, or some large trash that needs to be bundled and tied up.”
Leo gave a dry laugh. He just thought Ailiya was using her characteristic sharp tongue to complain about the hard work of cleaning, not thinking deeply about it.
After buying the last items, the two carried their loads back to the carriage.
Passing by a shop selling jewelry and crafts, Leo’s pace suddenly slowed.
His gaze fell on a finely crafted silver hairpin.
The hairpin was shaped like a bird in flight, edged with a few small blue crystals, the color very much like Ailiya’s eyes.
“Can’t walk anymore, Young Master?”
Ailiya stopped and turned to look at him.
“W-wait a minute!”
Leo put down his bags, quickly walked to the stall, pulled out a dozen silver coins and threw them to the owner, grabbed the hairpin, and ran back.
He stood in front of Ailiya, slightly out of breath, cheeks flushed, eyes wandering, not daring to look directly at her.
“Here, for you.”
Leo awkwardly thrust the hairpin forward.
“Consider it a tip from this young master for your hard bargaining!”
“I think the color matches your uniform well, so you don’t have to dress like a wooden block every day, lifeless.”
Ailiya lowered her head, looking at the hairpin handed to her.
After using Appraisal, a system notification automatically appeared in her vision:
[Sky-blue Silver Hairpin]
[Quality: Common (White)]
[Attributes: No magical fluctuations, Durability 5/5]
[Evaluation: Aside from being slightly pretty, useless.]
‘She made an extremely rational data assessment in her mind.’
‘No attribute bonuses at all—that’s just trash taking up inventory space.’
‘According to her old habits, she would definitely immediately throw it into a shop for copper coins.’
‘But looking at this kid whose ears were red from nervousness…’
‘If she refused with her usual words, she could almost foresee that this brat would start shouting and making a fuss, even stubbornly refusing to admit defeat and throwing a tantrum, wasting a lot of time.’
To avoid unnecessary trouble, she extended her hand, which was wearing a white glove, took the hairpin from Leo, and casually pinned it on the side of her silver short hair.
The blue crystal shimmered faintly in the sunlight, adding a touch of youthful vitality to a face that was originally cold and unapproachable.
“As an additional tip from the employer, I accept it.”
Leo stared at Ailiya wearing the hairpin, completely dumbfounded.
“Cough… you’re welcome. This young master has plenty of money. If you want anything in the future, just say it.”
Leo suddenly turned around, frantically picked up the bags on the ground, and strode toward the carriage.
But his stiff, mismatched steps completely betrayed his wildly pounding heart at the moment.
Ailiya followed behind, watching his ridiculous posture, and reached up to touch the cold hairpin by her ear.
“Little brat.”
She muttered softly, then looked up at the sunset sky gradually tinged with evening colors.
This is truly delicious