The freshmen poured out of the teaching building after dismissal, bringing life to Spring Harmony Road.

The cool evening breeze of Nan City blew against their arms, but it couldn’t dispel the awkwardness before them.

Xia Xia: “Don’t be angry. Let’s discuss this. Maybe I can make it up to you some other way.”

She put on an obedient, demure act while secretly observing Xie Huai.

Xie Huai took off the phoenix eye bodhi bracelet from his wrist and played with it in his palm.

He raised an eyebrow: “Some other way? Whips, candles, or handcuffs and vibrators? Since you’re so sincere, I’ll give you a chance—you choose.”

“…I did struggle with it,” Xia Xia said. “You know, when signing in, I thought for a long time about what your name might be. You look a bit like a senior I know, so I specifically asked him, but he didn’t know either.”

During summer break, Xia Xia joined a freshman group chat. Many senior male students liked to chat with freshman girls there, and that’s how she met Lu Shuo. He had sent several messages to the group, essentially offering to teach the secret to make money at Nan University for free, but only to female freshmen.

Normally, Xia Xia wouldn’t have paid attention to such flirting, but when money was involved, she became somewhat interested.

She added Lu Shuo as a friend. Initially, he was very enthusiastic, pulling her into a small group chat where he spent an entire evening telling her about how he had made thousands selling bedding and desk lamps during the freshman registration period.

But whenever Xia Xia asked about where to wholesale items, how to transport them to school, or how to attract buyers, Lu Shuo would dodge the questions.

Xia Xia realized he was somewhat boasting, more interested in flirting than sharing experiences, so she gradually stopped talking. That’s when “Enchanting Little Demon” joined the group.

Though Xia Xia stayed quiet, she would occasionally lurk, increasingly feeling that Lu Shuo was unreliable and that this “Enchanting Little Demon” girl was somewhat foolish.

Enchanting Little Demon would constantly spam cute emoticons, and no matter what Lu Shuo said, she would immediately jump in with a “mwah” and type: [Senior, you’re so amazing!]

When signing in earlier, Xia Xia couldn’t remember Xie Huai’s name, but his actions of selling bedding and desk lamps reminded her of Lu Shuo’s boasts.

She borrowed Jiang Jingzhou’s phone to message Lu Shuo on QQ to ask, but Lu Shuo was also clueless, replying: [I only know junior sisters, what’s a junior brother to me?]

Xia Xia said: “That senior is called Lu Shuo. He also sold bedding last year. I thought you were working together. Do you know him?”

The girl’s gaze was thoughtful. Xie Huai’s expression changed slightly as he uncomfortably turned away: “Don’t know him. Get lost.”

Xia Xia moved faster than a rabbit, afraid Xie Huai would change his mind, turning to leave: “Okay bro, goodbye.”

Xie Huai: “…”

“Wait.” Xie Huai stood up. “Where did the counselor take the test papers?”

Xia Xia thought for a moment: “Probably back to her office.”

Xie Huai took out a notebook and threw it into Xia Xia’s arms. When she opened it to look, only one page had writing on it.

—Mosquito net 20, desk lamp 30, thermos 60.

Xie Huai: “Can you read? Sit here until I come back.”

He kicked the small stool under his foot: “If you dare to run…”

Hearing these words, Xia Xia could barely contain her smile from spreading across her lips. She quickly assured him: “Don’t worry, bro. I definitely won’t run. I won’t leave even if you chase me away.”

Xie Huai frowned: “Why so eager?”

Xia Xia smiled sweetly: “I’ll watch your stall very carefully.”

As soon as Xie Huai left, Xia Xia tossed aside the little notebook with prices.

After Xie Huai’s figure disappeared, a boy wearing glasses crouched in front of the stall looking at thermoses. He asked: “How much is this?”

Xia Xia sat up straight, corners of her mouth curving up in a professional and sincere smile: “Hello brother, the thermos is eighty.”

Xia Xia had a technique when it came to raising prices.

She didn’t raise prices for girls because most girls like shopping, and bargaining is an essential shopping skill. Raising prices might lead to haggling, and after wearing out one’s tongue, they’d still end up selling at the original price. But boys rarely bargain when buying things, so Xia Xia would raise prices depending on the situation.

If the customer dressed modestly, she’d raise it by five or ten yuan. If they wore brands like Adidas or Nike that students considered high-end, she’d raise it by fifteen or twenty.

But Xia Xia also had principles. While earning money for her living expenses, she absolutely wouldn’t hurt Xie Huai’s business.

If buyers thought it was too expensive and wanted to leave, Xia Xia would call them back with a warm smile: “Brother, don’t go. If you think it’s expensive, I can give you a discount.”

During summer break, Xia Xia worked several jobs, earning money to pay for her first year’s university tuition and accommodation fees.

The longest job she held during that time was promoting yogurt at a supermarket. Promotion work wasn’t restricted by gender or age—the most important thing was being sweet-tongued, talking appropriately to different people, sweet-talking customers, and being able to charm them into buying things.

After finishing that job, if Xia Xia hadn’t learned anything else, she had at least mastered calling people “brother.” She had once called a seventy-year-old grandpa “brother” for over ten minutes without batting an eye. That “brother” eventually left with two boxes of yogurt, and half an hour later returned with a group of old friends to take away twenty more boxes.

Influenced by those two months, Xia Xia had developed a habit of calling everyone “brother.” She had originally wanted to change this habit, but given the current situation, it wouldn’t be changing anytime soon.

Two hours passed and Xie Huai hadn’t returned. By ten at night, there were hardly any people on the road.

Xia Xia had sold quite a few things for Xie Huai, making an extra hundred and twenty yuan above the original prices. She didn’t need to tell Xie Huai about this money; she could use it first to buy bedding for her emergency.

Another customer came to the stall. She looked up and saw Jiang Jingzhou’s face.

Jiang Jingzhou: “Isn’t this Xie Huai’s stall? Why are you managing it?”

Xia Xia took a few seconds to react, finally understanding who he meant by Xie Huai: “He went to find the counselor.”

Jiang Jingzhou smiled: “I know. I just came from Teacher Yi’s office. Xie Huai went there after eight, saying he hadn’t written his name on the test paper and forgot to sign in when he left. You know Teacher Yi—she didn’t believe Xie Huai and kept him in the office lecturing him for two hours.”

Xia Xia: “Senior, you know Xie Huai? And that Cai Yun from my dorm, you mentioned her this morning too.”

Jiang Jingzhou casually picked up a pig-shaped desk lamp to look at it: “Cai Yun came to school last week. I’ve seen her in Teacher Yi’s office several times. Young as she is, she’s quite something.”

His lips curved upward with a hint of mockery.

Xia Xia had heard him mention Cai Yun several times, but never with a pleasant expression. She was tactful enough not to ask more.

Jiang Jingzhou turned over the lamp and saw the price tag of thirty yuan on the base. He took out a hundred-yuan note from his pocket and handed it to Xia Xia.

“Xie Huai was my high school classmate. If he hadn’t repeated a year, he would have been in my year.”

He smiled: “That guy is even more… interesting.”

Xia Xia took out the change purse: “Here’s your seventy in change.”

“Keep it,” Jiang Jingzhou stood up. “Don’t tell Xie Huai I was here.”

Xia Xia put the money from Jiang Jingzhou into Xie Huai’s bag, then counted out the hundred and twenty yuan she had made from marking up prices, in case she couldn’t explain it when Xie Huai returned.

Although Xie Huai’s bedding was cheaper than the supermarket’s, the money she had earned tonight still wasn’t enough, and given their history, he might not give her a discount.

Xia Xia was determined to make a few more sales before Xie Huai returned. She couldn’t hope for sheets and pillowcases, but she needed to at least buy a mattress and quilt tonight.

Just as she was about to put the hundred and twenty yuan in her pocket, someone approached the stall.

Xia Xia looked up, first seeing his feet—he wore black sports shoes with an understated white embroidered logo on the side, unremarkable at first glance.

Most girls aren’t very sensitive to shoes, but Xia Xia recognized this pair.

Before the college entrance exam, Ping Jiapeng often took her for walks around the track during evening study breaks.

The weather in Chang City was already very hot in June. The white school uniform T-shirts would be soaked with sweat, then quickly dried by the warm evening breeze.

Ping Jiapeng wouldn’t let go of her hand. He pulled out his phone to show Xia Xia pictures: “My dad promised me that if I pass the exam, he’ll buy me these shoes. Only five hundred pairs worldwide, twenty-eight thousand yuan each. Aren’t they nice?”

Xia Xia couldn’t understand why anyone would spend so much money on a pair of sneakers. Ping Jiapeng laughed and told her: “Shoes are a guy thing. No guy doesn’t like shoes, just like how you girls like buying bags. Everyone wants Gucci, Chanel—it’s the same principle.”

At the time, Xia Xia had seriously told him: “Well, I don’t want those.”

Some people can have everything they want, never having to struggle for a livelihood or worry about their future.

While others have to use all their strength just to survive.

Ping Jiapeng didn’t understand.

She still remembered that night, the gentle moonlight on the handsome profile of the youth as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and laughed carefreely in her ear: “Don’t be modest with me. Once we’re in university, I’ll buy you whatever you want.”

Xia Xia didn’t dwell long in memories. She stared straight at the shoes on the newcomer’s feet.

Her memory was very good—she couldn’t be mistaken. These were exactly the ones Ping Jiapeng had shown her that night. Even with Ping Jiapeng’s family background, he had to beg his father for half a day to get them as a reward, yet this person was just casually wearing twenty-eight thousand yuan on his feet!

Xia Xia’s eyes lit up like a cat seeing fish, a dog seeing meat, a miser seeing a gold mine.

To Xia Xia, those weren’t just shoes—they were money, they were light, and they were all her hope for having a soft bed to sleep in!

She looked up to see the person’s hand reaching for a thermos on the stall.

“Brother, the thermos is one hundred and eighty.”

Xia Xia named an outrageous price, thinking to herself that someone wearing such expensive shoes probably wouldn’t mind a mere hundred and eighty yuan. While a hundred and eighty for a thermos might sound expensive, it was still reasonable. If he thought it was too much, she could compromise—one hundred and fifty wouldn’t be out of the question…

The person’s hand stopped mid-air. In that split second, Xia Xia had already made her calculations and turned to smile at him: “If you want it, I can give you a discount…”

The rest of her words got stuck in her throat, dry, and unable to produce a single sound.

Xie Huai screwed the lifted lid of the thermos back on, saying carelessly: “Oh, one hundred and eighty?”

He counted the items on the stall: “Ten thermoses missing, at one hundred and eighty each—if you can’t produce one thousand eight hundred, I’m going to have to make things difficult for you.”

Xia Xia: “…”

“Bro…” she said weakly.

“Don’t call me that.” Xie Huai said coolly. “Are we that close?”