The afternoon sunlight flooded the playground, and a refreshing breeze swept across as I strolled by the artificial lake on campus, bringing a pleasant feeling to my heart.
After walking around the lake and buying lunch boxes from the campus Lawson convenience store, Lu Qing and Wen Le headed back to their dormitory together.
The dormitory area was built outside the campus, about a kilometer away from the school gate, still within the bounds of Tianhe University Town.
This university town housed seven universities, including some prestigious institutions: a renowned foreign language university, a top-tier law school, a comprehensive first-tier university, a first-tier business school, a second-tier engineering college, and this newest art academy.
Due to the high concentration of schools and students, the dormitory areas were divided into phases - Phase One, Phase Two, Phase Three student apartments, and so on.
Lu Qing's dormitory was in Phase Four of the university town. Walking along the street, both sides were lined with various shops and stores, offering everything from food to entertainment.
"Tsk, students' money is really easy to make. Have you noticed that fruit shop owner near our dorm? I remember he was quite normal when we were freshmen, but now look at him - he's wearing a gold chain! I heard he even bought two apartments in the back street. Sure, it's in the suburbs, but it's still in Tianhai City, and the housing prices there are no joke..."
Wen Le kept mumbling, always ready to pass judgment wherever he went.
Lu Qing remained neutral on the matter. After all, an adult's life experience was on a completely different level from that of college students. If someone could make money, good for them; plenty couldn't, and he wasn't concerned about such things.
What he was concerned about was...
On the left side of the road, outside a café decorated with life-sized anime girl standees, a twin-tailed female student in a maid outfit and cat ears was walking towards them, holding a thick stack of flyers—
"Hey students! Just finished class? Got some time? Why not come to our shop and enjoy a lovely afternoon tea? We have maid sisters who can play board games with you~"
The girl, wearing heavy makeup, spoke in a affected voice to attract customers.
Wen Le, who had zero resistance to anything anime-related, immediately grabbed Lu Qing and tried to drag him inside:
"We've got time! Come on, let's go in and check it out. Hehe, I've always wanted to experience a maid café!"
He rubbed his hands together with a lecherous grin, his eyes fixed on the girl.
But before they could take a step, Lu Qing pulled him back.
Lu Qing returned the flyer to the girl and shook his head expressionlessly, "No need, we're busy. Maybe next time."
"Oh... well, alright. Kurororo Café welcomes you both anytime!"
The maid looked disappointed but still waved at them with a smile before running off to attract other customers.
"What the hell, man? I just saw their menu - coffee's only about 50 yuan. I really wanted to experience it."
Wen Le beat his chest in frustration, completely baffled by Lu Qing's quick rejection.
"Calm down."
Lu Qing said as they walked, "If you want to experience a maid café, there are better options. This one's just not very legitimate."
"Not legitimate? What's not legitimate about it? I like it when things aren't legitimate!"
"..."
Seeing him start to act up, Lu Qing couldn't be bothered to explain further and just kept walking toward the dorm.
"Come on, tell me what's wrong with them. I thought they were fine." Wen Le persisted, as he always liked to get to the bottom of things and wouldn't give up until everything was explained clearly.
"Fine, I'll tell you. Listen up."
"First."
"Did you notice anything off just now?"
"No."
"What did she call you, remember?"
"I think... 'student'?"
Wen Le thought for a moment before answering with a head slap.
"Exactly. Next question, what should a proper maid call customers?"
"Uh..."
Wen Le paused for a few seconds before showing signs of realization.
He turned to look at Lu Qing and asked, not entirely sure, "Am I right in thinking she should call customers 'Master'?"
"So you do know something about maid culture."
"Damn, you rejected them just because of that?"
Wen Le adjusted his glasses helplessly, not knowing how to describe his friend's perfectionism.
Lu Qing stopped again and pointed back with his thumb.
Looking in that direction, they could clearly see the female student still trying to attract customers at the store entrance.
"See what she's wearing?" Lu Qing asked.
"Yeah, a normal maid outfit."
"Look again. Is it really normal?"
"Huh?"
Wen Le hesitated, squinting as he examined with scholarly attention.
After about twenty seconds, when the girl in the distance started to notice, Lu Qing pulled him back and decided to reveal the answer directly:
"First of all, that's not a proper maid outfit - it's the cheapest knockoff you can buy for 50 yuan on Taobao. It's neither English nor Japanese style, but the typical 'Chinese style.'
The workmanship and design are far from authentic standards. I don't believe someone wearing such an outfit can provide precise maid services."
"?! What?"
He continued, speaking like an expert, "Secondly, proper maids don't wear cat ears - they wear lace accessories, white headbands, or ribbon hair ties.
Cat ears aren't standard maid attire; they're actually a type of adult novelty item. Standing on the street wearing them to attract customers shows a lack of understanding. To put it another way, if she's not embarrassed, I'm embarrassed for her."
"??"
"Finally, if you really want to experience a maid café, I recommend 'Maidream Manor' in the City Development area or 'Black and White Mansion' in the Coastal district. At least the money you spend there will get you about 80% of the Akihabara service standard, far better than this 'board game shop' that's just trying to scam college students."
"??? Holy crap, bro, how do you know so much about this?! This is..."
After hearing Lu Qing's explanation, Wen Le was dumbfounded.
Although he hadn't deeply studied maid culture, he was still an experienced anime fan and had heard some related information.
But what Lu Qing said was completely new to him, and he could tell these points were well-founded - he couldn't argue against any of it.
"I just know a little bit. Anyway, I need to get back to the dorm to write. If you still want to go, suit yourself, just don't drag me into it."
Lu Qing didn't want to waste any more time and quickened his pace into the dormitory area.
"...Wait up!"
At this point, Wen Le naturally wouldn't go back either, but his roommate's level of expertise had once again caught his attention.
He couldn't help but wonder, "Damn, with this level of research... don't tell me... were you writing maid stories before?"
...
...
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
