: Is My Life About to Change?

The afternoon sun streamed through the window, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

Yan Youyou explained club matters to Jiang Ling with a blank expression.

—The club has no rules, no funds, and no activities.

Her cool, clear voice echoed in the empty classroom, without the slightest ripple.

They talked for a long time.

Jiang Ling nodded silently, her gaze lowered, as if she were listening intently.

Suddenly, Yan Youyou stopped speaking abruptly, following Jiang Ling's gaze downwards, which landed on...

"I've said so much, where are you... looking?"

Jiang Ling was startled and immediately withdrew her appraising gaze, clearing her throat lightly:

"No... I'm just a little curious... whether the floor will be cold..."

Yan Youyou: ...

She stared at Jiang Ling silently for a few seconds, her gaze cooling even further. Jiang Ling touched his nose and awkwardly turned his head away.

■

You dare to act in front of me? I'll show you what I'm made of!

Of course, Jiang Ling inwardly condemned her immoral delusions.

Now, I've had a real feast for the eyes.

What is the price?

Yan Youyou silently put on her small leather shoes, which were not completely dry yet.

When she looked at Jiang Ling again, her beautiful eyes were now filled with undisguised disgust.

Pah! Down there!

Yan Youyou felt like vomiting.

Whether it's Wang Jiahao, the blond-haired guy in front of me, or the bishop who always comes to visit my mother at home...

Those guys looked at me with lewd eyes, their gazes filled with undisguised desire.

Their eyes were identical, as if they were sizing up a commodity waiting to be sold, prey or a tool that could be manipulated at will.

Yan Youyou hated that kind of look, the look of someone being treated like a tool.

From childhood to adulthood, she always persevered and endured alone, studying hard and learning diligently, just so that her mother would respect her and not treat her as a breeding tool that could be "traded" back to her rural hometown after she grew up.

Therefore, she studied hard and was admitted to Shilu University.

Based on her grades, she should have been able to attend a well-regarded private school in Zone C with a tuition waiver.

But Mom said the bishop's son needed the position more than she did.

Furthermore, the church gave their family a large sum of money to pay off their loans.

My mother burst into tears and repeatedly promised that she would not invest the money in Boqingge.

"Youyou, save Mommy! Just this once!"

"Mom swears she'll never touch Boqing again after paying off this debt!"

"I will go to church to confess and cleanse myself of my sins..."

"I'm your mother! I raised you with so much difficulty, how can you bear to watch your mother sell the house and we, mother and daughter, end up homeless?"

"Have some conscience! Think about it. Besides your mother, who else in this world cares about you?"

"In your life, your mother is the most important person!"

Yan Youyou remained silent.

That night, after much deliberation, she chose to believe her mother.

Now, Mom really doesn't gamble on horse racing or betting on Birmingham anymore. Although she still has a fiery temper and speaks harshly, she goes to church every day to convert and pray, and she is very devout.

A happy life seems to have returned.

However, the feeling of being treated as a tool since childhood is deeply ingrained in my heart.

She subconsciously hated anything that treated her as a tool.

The only person who ever made her feel at ease.

Only the "Cardboard Knight" with his cold tone and rude words.

The lecherous blond man peeping at her feet was nothing compared to the knight!

There is a contrasting example.

Yan Youyou's affection for the mysterious knight doubled again.

"Once I find a part-time job, I must buy a phone and add him on LINE," Yan Youyou secretly resolved.

Jiang Ling sighed, thinking to herself, "Look, look! If you have legs, then look! Now look what's happened, people think I'm a pervert."

Now that things have come to this, my enthusiasm has cooled.

Jiang Ling was too lazy to stay in the Supernatural Society, which had no supernatural elements.

"Nothing else, I'm leaving."

Yan Youyou coldly replied, "Hmm."

She prayed in her heart that Jiang Ling would never bother her in the club again.

He left the Occult Society.

It was 3 p.m., two hours before the match was scheduled to end after school.

"Forget it, I should think about what kind of part-time job I can find first." Jiang Ling remembered that there was a wall outside the school covered with part-time job postings.

Most of them are part-time jobs outside of school.

Upon arriving at the job posting wall, I found that quite a few people had already arrived.

The impact of this tuition fee increase is quite significant.

【Seeking a pure-hearted young man, 185cm tall, skilled in playing Steel IV, and able to remove a 500-yuan coin stuffed in pork (preferred) – Contact Ms. Li at 100086××××××××】

[Construction site hiring laborers for tasks such as mortar pouring, pile driving, water leveling, and general labor. Meals and accommodation provided. Salary paid at the end of the year. Excellent benefits. Contact Mr. Ma at 1688×××××× for details.]

RoseKTV is hiring fruit platter hostesses. Female college graduates preferred (student ID required). Must have passed CET-4 or CET-6. Special commission available for those who can teach foreign languages. Contact Dean Chen at 114514××××× for details.

Jiang Ling: ……

Haha, as expected of Stone City, the Gotham City of the Underworld.

Even the most mundane jobs can be ranked at the top.

The third option, in particular, saw quite a few simply dressed girls hesitate before dialing the number.

no way.

In this society, being poor is the original sin—in a capitalist society, what else can you talk about if not money? Contribution? That's ridiculous.

Jiang Ling sighed.

Try checking job postings on recruitment websites; you might find something unexpected.

Just as he was about to look for part-time jobs online, his eyes inadvertently caught sight of a post at the very bottom of the job posting section.

[Household hiring (female), appearance preferred, 12 hours per week, hourly wage 1200 yen, details to be discussed in person – Mr. Zhang 199×××××××]

A thunderbolt flashed through my mind.

Jiang Ling remembered—in the story, Yan Youyou chose this [domestic service job] in order to earn money.

As expected, Yan Youyou encountered the situation where he had hired a housekeeper.

As everyone knows, housekeeping is considered the perfect partner for minotaurs in the underworld, and it's a storyline that brings tears to the eyes of pure love warriors.

In the original storyline, he "kindly" asked Yan Youyou to help clean the front-loading washing machine.

Then came the scene with Yan Youyou in the washing machine, where the black stockings abruptly turned gray stockings at the end...

Furthermore, Mr. Zhang is no good either. He claims to pay 1200 yen per hour, but Yan Youyou actually receives less than 200 yen.

That shady real estate agent is a beast!

"I definitely won't hire a housekeeper to help with the tidying up, but given Niu Niu Tian Dao's track record, there's a high chance that the world lines will converge again," Jiang Ling said, stroking his chin as he pondered how to change the plot.

[None of the blond-haired men near Yan Youyou]

Alright, let's keep the system panel running for now, and call the blond guy as soon as he appears next to Yan Youyou.

After all, the blond guy's detection range is 500 meters, so there won't be a situation where he succeeds as soon as he appears.

Just to be on the safe side, Jiang Ling edited three short messages and sent them to Yan Youyou.

[Wang Jiahao and his group are very likely to target you again.]

If you don't mind, you can send me a message every two hours to tell me where you are and what you're doing.

Of course, if you mind, please ignore these three messages.

The tone was very flat, without any hint of fawning, which probably wouldn't increase the impression.

On the other side, in classroom 301, Building B, Area A.

Yan Youyou, who had just finished a phone call with Mr. Zhang and arranged an interview time, received this unexpected message.

She paused for a moment, then read the three short lines of text over and over again.

My initial frustration from job hunting and previous unpleasant experiences inexplicably subsided, as if a ray of sunshine had pierced through a gloomy sky.

"Am I being cared for by him?" A faint blush flashed across Yan Youyou's pale face.

She typed a reply instinctively: 【Okay.】

No, no...

Yan Youyou suddenly realized something, pursed her lower lip, and seemed to have a shimmering light in her eyes.

Tell him my location and what I'm doing every two hours...

Isn't this just like a boyfriend checking up on his girlfriend?!

Could it be that he likes me?

The three common misconceptions boys have also apply to girls.

However, Yan Youyou felt no disgust whatsoever.

Instead, she felt a faint joy, especially the sentence "If you mind, please ignore these three messages," which touched the softest part of her heart.

For the first time ever, she replied: "I'm in apartment 301, 3rd floor, Building B, Area A, looking for a part-time job... no, I've already found one, a housekeeping part-time job..."

Yan Youyou was a little nervous, and her palms were slightly sweaty as she held the flip phone.

Ding-dong~

Okay, I understand.

I'm...I'm back!

Yan Youyou breathed a sigh of relief, then slumped onto the table, burying her burning cheeks in her arms.

The afternoon sun was scorching and dazzling, but it felt warm and cozy on the skin.

My life... seems to be about to turn around?