Cutting Corners and Skirts

As long as this woman stays here, he can receive a daily reward of two thousand yuan.

Isn’t that like a sunflower basking in endless sunlight?

In an instant, Ye Chuan’s gaze toward Bai Qianshuang changed—that was two thousand yuan a day, which would add up to sixty thousand in a month!

Even if zombies came knocking, he’d dare to tear them apart with his bare hands.

Ye Chuan couldn’t help but pull out a calculator and tap away.

“Clear.”

“Two thousand multiplied by thirty equals—sixty thousand.”

“Huh? Not bad. Sixty thousand per person, ten people would make six hundred thousand, right?” Just as Ye Chuan was happily crunching the numbers, Bai Qianshuang on the bed let out a soft whimper, her delicate, ethereal face furrowing slightly.

Thinking she was about to wake up, Ye Chuan froze when a clear tear slid from the corner of Bai Qianshuang’s eye, blooming like a plum blossom on the pillow. She murmured,

“Mother… Master…”

Then her body curled up slightly, like a helpless kitten abandoned on a street corner.

Ye Chuan’s smile stiffened for a moment before he composed himself, quietly watching the girl.

He reached out, using the clean part of a warm towel to wipe away Bai Qianshuang’s tears, then tucked her in and left the room.

Outside, the ground was a patchwork of broken cement and bricks, weeds and moss sprouting from the cracks. The damp earth gave off a musty odor—typical of an urban village alleyway where residents only bothered to patch the paths enough to make them walkable.

Ye Chuan reached the end of the alley and turned onto a sparsely populated street with scattered shops. He walked straight into a clothing store.

Inside, clothes were haphazardly piled on tables or hung on wire racks, the store’s motto clearly being “quantity over quality.”

“Well, well, what brings our little Chuan here?” An older woman approached, grinning.

“Auntie, got any cheap clothes?” Ye Chuan glanced away from the piles.

“What do you mean ‘cheap’? Nothing here’s expensive!”

“Got any women’s clothes for ten yuan?”

The auntie immediately scrunched her face in disgust. “No way, sweetheart. Ten yuan wouldn’t even cover the cost.”

“And why’s a strapping lad like you buying women’s clothes?” Then, as if struck by realization, she added,

“Oh, I get it—you’re doing that trendy cross-dressing livestream thing, huh?”

“I’m not cross-dressing. It’s for someone else,” Ye Chuan said flatly.

He’d tried it once. Made zero profit.

“What, got yourself a little girlfriend?” The auntie’s eyes sparkled with gossip. “Did Luo Xi finally take a liking to you? No way—a school beauty like her falling for you?”

Luo Xi was Ye Chuan’s childhood friend and neighbor, someone everyone on this street had watched grow up.

“Yeah, she’s not into me, so I found another pretty girl instead.”

Ye Chuan’s lazy reply made the auntie burst out laughing, slapping his shoulder hard enough to leave bruises.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, just remembered something hilarious.” She turned and rummaged through the clothes, eventually pulling out a black dress and stuffing it into a paper bag. “Ten yuan.”

“Heh.” Ye Chuan handed over the last bill in his wallet but noticed a red bag of fruits and vegetables on the table. He picked up a tomato.

“Auntie, you sell groceries now? Mind tossing in a tomato?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You think this is a buffet?!”

“Taking it anyway.”

“Go on, take an egg too.”

Satisfied, Ye Chuan left with the tomato, egg, and dress, calling over his shoulder,

“Auntie, just wait till I strike it rich.”

“Pfft, focus on graduating first.”

Inside the house, Bai Qianshuang woke to an unfamiliar ceiling and sat up.

“This isn’t the Tianxuan Continent. There’s no spiritual energy here.” She felt the near-depleted reserves of her own spiritual power, her gem-like eyes dimming with sorrow. Without her strength restored, she couldn’t avenge her mother and master.

And that man from earlier seemed eager to send her away.

Staggering to her feet, Bai Qianshuang thought,

I should leave. I can’t drag others into this.

Just as she struggled to lift her spirit sword and head for the door, a crisp click sounded—Ye Chuan walked in just in time to see her swaying unsteadily.

“Whoa, what are you doing? Get back in bed!”

“I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

“Not at all. You can stay forever—actually, that’d be perfect.” Seeing his cash cow about to collapse, Ye Chuan hurried to support her. The moment his hands touched her, she shuddered and jerked away.

“I… can manage.”

Back on the bed, Bai Qianshuang clutched her sword, studying Ye Chuan with wary confusion. “You wish for me to stay?”

He’d clearly been eager to shoo her out earlier. Why the sudden change?

Her guard shot up.

This man must want something.

“Just rest here and recover,” Ye Chuan said. “I can rent a room to you.”

Rent?

Bai Qianshuang’s voice cooled. “I’ve lost my storage pouch. I have nothing… except this sword.”

Her meaning was clear: she wouldn’t hand over her only weapon.

Ye Chuan caught her drift and scoffed. “You think I’m trying to extort you? You’ve passed out in front of me twice. If I wanted to do anything, I’d have had my way with you already.”

Bai Qianshuang blinked, not fully grasping some of his phrasing, but his point stood—if he’d wanted to act, he wouldn’t have waited. And in her current state, she was powerless.

“My apologies,” she murmured.

“Change into this first.” Ye Chuan handed her the bag. “Your clothes are torn to shreds, and walking around like that’ll just make people stare.”

Bai Qianshuang took the bag, gave him a hesitant nod, and said, “Thank you.”

Ye Chuan turned and left.

When he returned later, he found Bai Qianshuang curled under the blankets, her fair cheeks tinged pink as she stared at him with an odd expression.

“What? Doesn’t the dress fit?” Ye Chuan frowned.

“The clothes… are strange.”

“This is normal here. Your outfit’s the weird one.”

After a pause, Bai Qianshuang reluctantly pushed the covers aside.

The girl wore a black spaghetti-strap dress, her legs distractingly pale. One hand pressed nervously against the skirt, her shy, flustered gaze locking onto Ye Chuan—who froze for a second, stunned.

Wait, is this the style of the dress that auntie gave?