“This is a chicken carcass… this is flowing-meat noodles… this is a silly burger 🤤… this is… THIS IS—”  
“FRIED PORK CHOP!! 😆”  

Hua Xin swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth as she watched the golden-brown, crispy cutlet being lifted from the sizzling oil—its rich, savory aroma drifting through the air…  
…only to be placed onto someone else’s plate.  

…………  
🥺  

The girl didn’t linger. She marched forward with determined strides.  
One more glance, and her wallet would explode.  

(Why won’t that fried pork chop just float into my hands on its own…?)  
(So disobedient.)  

She wasn’t hunched over like before, eyes glued to the ground. Instead, she lifted her chin slightly, gazing ahead—her lips curving upward unconsciously. Her mood was genuinely good.  

Hua Xin carefully weaved through the crowd, backpack slung over her shoulder, walking slowly but steadily. If she stayed alert, she wouldn’t bump into another hurried stranger like last time.  

The initial terror of stepping out alone had been softened—greatly—by the kindness of the baozi vendor auntie.  

She was starting to… dare to look at the world.  
At least it no longer felt like a flood or a beast waiting to devour her.  

No one paid her any mind. No one knew who she was.  
And… there were good people out here!  

She remembered the meat bun she’d savored bite by bite—the rich beef filling, the juicy broth still vivid in her belly.  

She should definitely come out again next time.  
Maybe bring the auntie a carton of milk with the furthest expiration date! 🥰  

————————  

More shops were opening—not just breakfast stalls anymore. Hua Xin looked around with quiet curiosity at the colorful storefront signs and the greenery lining the streets.  

(That tree is so tall…)  
(“Shanghai Housewife”? 🤔 What kind of weird bubble tea shop is that? Doesn’t seem as good as Mixue Ice Cream & Tea.)  
(Do they give you a “housewife” if you buy bubble tea? 🥵 …Wait, I don’t even have a “niuniu” anymore. Bye.)  
(Huh? Didn’t Mixue just launch a new product? I’ll try it once I snag a coupon~)  

A few steps further, she passed a glittering gold jewelry store and couldn’t help but sigh wistfully:  
It’d be nice to work there.  
Steal one gram a day… two grams… a thousand grams 😋…  
Then I’d never have to worry about money again.  
(Well… except for worrying about prison meals.)  

Though her eyes gleamed with dangerous thoughts, she quickly sobered up.  
Remembering Old Liu’s warnings about “peanuts” (a euphemism for execution), she decided against it.  
With her tiny frame, she wouldn’t even need bullets—a fully charged stun baton for a few seconds would knock her out cold.  

She pulled her gaze back and checked her phone navigation, carefully following the route: turn left at the end of Basan Street.  

What should’ve been an ordinary street corner turned into the most fateful encounter of her life—the person she’d dreamed of, longed for, would fight heaven and earth for…  
Her soulmate…  
Her dream…  

…Coin. 😍  

There it lay—dusty, crumpled, half-covered in leaves—yet still faintly recognizable by its original azure hue. The banknote seemed to lock eyes with Hua Xin.  

Coin: ”Yi qi ba...?”  
Hua Xin: “Huh? 😎”  
Both: “Kimi no namae wa?” (What’s your name…?)  

RMB!!!! 😋  

Pat.  
Without missing a beat, she stepped on it.  

Pretending to tie her shoelaces, she crouched down in a flash, snatched the crumpled ten-yuan note from under her shoe, stuffed it into her pocket, and stood back up whistling a carefree tune.  

Hua Xin: Nothing happened.JPG  

(So you can actually find money just by going outside…?)  
(I’m rich! I’m rich! WOW!!!……)  

She darted into a quiet alley, pulled out the precious ten-yuan bill, gently brushed off the dirt and dust, then carefully smoothed out every crease with tender care.  

Turning toward the rising sun, she held the note up to the light.  

It was real…  
So this was the feeling of getting something for nothing? 😭  
This… was the joy of manna from heaven? 😭  

She tucked the bill reverently into her pocket and walked on, a mix of melancholy and resolve stirring in her heart:  

“Maybe from now on…”  
“I should go out for two hours every day?”  
“That’s 300 yuan a month… Wait—what if I find 100 yuan a day?”  

Hua Xin froze.  
Then—her eyes blazed with a greed the world had never seen before:  

“A MONTH… THAT’S THREE THOUSAND YUAN!!! 😈”  

——————  

Twenty minutes later.  

“Wait…”  
“Isn’t Chenghua Street the way to Shanghai University? 😦”  
“Where the hell did this navigation send me?!”  

Hua Xin stared blankly at the large road sign: “ERXIAN BRIDGE.”  
The area was completely deserted—no people in sight.  

Below the bridge, traffic roared endlessly. Cars surged like a river of steel. Her acrophobia kicked in instantly—she gasped and stumbled backward two steps.  

Her mind conjured a horrifying vision:  
She slips off the bridge… crashes onto speeding cars… gets bounced around like a ragdoll… reduced to pulp… carted straight to the crematorium… turned to ash…  

😨  

Crouching low beside the railing like a frightened cat, she clutched her phone, eyes wide with panic.  
She didn’t want to go to the afterlife yet! She hadn’t even had meat today! 😭  

“I didn’t take a wrong turn…” She frowned, zooming in on the map, scrutinizing the route.  

(Thinking.)  
(Confused.)  
(Silent.)  

After staring at two nearly identical roads, she quietly put her phone away, lowered her head, and retraced her steps as if nothing happened.  

Haha—of course no one gets lost reading maps!  

Her face flushed red as she kicked a helpless pebble.  
Who are you calling directionally challenged?! Who?! 😡  

——————  

Century-Old Sour & Spicy Noodle Shop  

Xia Yan took a sip of room-temperature mineral water, his brow furrowed in confusion. His gaze—unapologetically direct—landed on Lin Qingyu, who was meticulously eating her noodles, one strand at a time.  

What’s this about?  
Is she deliberately wasting time?  

His bowl had been empty for ages, yet Lin Qingyu still had half left.  
Twenty minutes… just to eat a bowl of sour and spicy noodles?  

Xia Yan couldn’t understand why she’d suddenly changed tactics.  
Back when they first met, she played the classic “play-hard-to-get” game—aloof yet alluring.  
But now? She was acting clingy, almost… desperate.  

“What? Is there something on my face?” Lin Qingyu finally looked up.  
Her pale, cool features were now stained with a faint sheen of red chili oil—striking, seductive, and full of contrast. Paired with her innocent, questioning eyes…  

Yet Xia Yan felt absolutely nothing.  
Not a flicker of desire.  
Not like the burning lust he’d felt just looking at Hua Xin’s photos.  

He spoke gently: “It’s getting late. I still need to bring food back for Mu Feng and the others.”  

“Oh… sorry…”  
“My stomach’s sensitive, so I always eat slowly…” Lin Qingyu said apologetically, then reached hastily for a napkin—  

Clatter!  

She accidentally knocked over her half-full glass bottle of soda. Her eyes snapped shut in panic.  

“You can take your time, senior,” Xia Yan said calmly, standing up and leaning slightly toward her.  
He caught the bottle mid-fall with perfect precision, then sighed. “No need to rush.”  

A fleeting blush crossed Lin Qingyu’s cheeks as she looked up at him:  
“Okay…”  

They weren’t actually close—just Xia Yan leaning forward slightly—but from a certain awkward angle…  
…it looked exactly like they were about to kiss.  

And from the perspective of Hua Xin—who had just arrived at school, drawn by the scent of sour and spicy noodles—it was unmistakable:  
They were shamelessly making out in public.  

She recognized those “Jian Fu Yin Fu” traitors instantly. Of course—they were in cahoots!  

Her small fists clenched inside her sleeves, her beautiful eyes blazing with fury and betrayal.  

Hua Xin: “I’LL KILL YOU BOTH! 😡👊🏻 AAAAAH—WU YI QI BA—BA BA BA—LIU YI LING—MENG AAAAAH!!!”  

Invincible Cat-Cat Punch: “Did I just get cheated?!” 😨