The Last Expense, an Old-Fashioned Little Girl (Bonus Update)

Lin Yu: "!!!"

Hiss!

Aunt Ruxue is just as terrifyingly sharp as ever!

The number she casually mentioned matched exactly what Lin Yu had calculated in his head.

Indeed, there was still a difference of 3,165 yuan!

Judging by Maomao's calm expression, it definitely wasn’t an oversight.

There must be something else she hadn’t mentioned right away.

To have raised a girl like Maomao, Aunt Ruxue is truly impressive.

Maomao leisurely finished her water, gripping the bottle in her hand, and said:

"Aunt Ruxue, the remaining 3,165 yuan was spent on items in this box."

"Even if I won’t be living with everyone forever, I’ll at least be staying for a while longer."

"Everyone has taken such good care of me, and today, you’ve all helped me so much."

"So, I prepared a gift for each of my roommates in the apartment."

"Spending money on making friends… I think that should still count within the challenge, right?"

At this point, Maomao looked questioningly at Du Ruxue.

Since Aunt Ruxue had set the rules of the challenge, the final say was naturally hers.

If she insisted that this money, spent on others, shouldn’t be part of the 30 million yuan,

Maomao’s challenge today would be considered a failure outright.

Lin Yu looked at Maomao’s stubborn little face,

unsure whether to praise or scold her.

She clearly knew this last 3,000 yuan fell into a gray area of the rules.

Wouldn’t it have been easier to buy something that definitely fit within them?

Besides,

when Lin Yu reviewed Maomao’s list earlier, he absolutely hadn’t seen any mention of gifts for everyone!

Then again,

he hadn’t calculated the total amount in the morning either.

From the look in Maomao’s eyes, this didn’t seem like a last-minute decision.

So, this little schemer had deliberately left out the gifts when showing Lin Yu the list.

Lin Yu: "..."

Oh, you clever little Maomao!

You knew full well that if you’d listed them, Lin Yu would’ve told you to remove them.

So, for once, you played it sneaky.

On second thought,

this was also something Lin Yu admired about Maomao.

Even under Aunt Ruxue’s strict rules, she still wanted to follow her heart,

deciding what to buy and where to spend the money.

Aunt Ruxue should be proud to have raised such an outstanding girl.

All eyes were now on Du Ruxue.

Everyone waited for her response.

"Maomao, seems like you’ve learned quite a few tricks living in this apartment."

"Even figured out how to play the emotional card?"

"If I said it didn’t count, wouldn’t that make me the villain of the entire apartment?"

Maomao: "!!!"

That wasn’t her intention at all.

She quickly shook her head and said:

"No, no! I just genuinely thought… it was worth buying. I didn’t overthink it."

Du Ruxue raised a hand, stopping Maomao from continuing.

Truthfully, what she wanted to test had already been answered during Maomao’s report.

This last little thing was inconsequential—Du Ruxue didn’t care.

She was just feeling a bit down and wanted an excuse to give Maomao a hard time.

"Fine. If the final amount adds up, I’ll consider it a pass."

"Hand out your gifts, and make sure to clarify the prices."

With that, Du Ruxue lost interest and walked over to the sofa,

leaving the scene to Maomao and the girls.

After all, they really would be living together for some time.

Letting Maomao comfortably give gifts to everyone wasn’t a bad thing.

Hearing Aunt Ruxue count the gifts as "spending on herself," Maomao silently sighed in relief.

"Xiashan, help me out," she said, stepping forward.

"Let’s start with Lin Yu."

Lin Yu felt a little awkward but didn’t refuse.

Since he was first, his reaction would set an example for the others.

If he pretended to politely decline, someone else might actually refuse later.

So, Lin Yu said to Maomao:

"Normally, I wouldn’t casually accept gifts."

"But since this is tied to whether you can keep living here, I’ll take it!"

"Maomao, thanks for thinking of us."

These words weren’t just for Maomao—they were for everyone listening.

Next, Xia Xiashan took a box from the crate and handed it to Maomao,

who then presented it to Lin Yu.

Lin Yu stared at the box: "..."

What the—

Am I your old man or something?

An electric razor?!

Maomao really has no clue how to gift peers, huh?

We’re young! Even a music box would’ve been better!

An electric razor is so old-school!

How can a young person be this outdated?!

Internally, he roasted her a thousand times,

but outwardly, he kept a straight face and smiled:

"Ah, a razor. Great gift. Very… fitting for me."

The moment he said it—

"Pfft—"

A faint chuckle rose from the crowd.

Lin Yu didn’t even need to turn around to know it was Ying’er laughing.

Really? Was it that funny?

Careful, or you’ll get a scolding when we get home!

"Next is Ying’er’s gift—a limited-edition virtual pet."

Mo Shangying immediately bounced over to Maomao in shock:

"No way! You actually got it? How did you manage that?"

Maomao blushed slightly and said,

"It was all thanks to Xiashan. She knows a lot of people in Pingchuan."

Lin Yu, standing nearby: "…"

Wait a minute?

Weren’t we all supposed to stick to old-school gifts?

How did this turn into favoritism?

For Ying’er, you went all out with something this meaningful?

"The next gift is for ‘Water.’ I know you’ve been studying lighting theory and shot composition,

so I got you a set of professional books. I looked it up—most film grad students read these."

Chi Qingshui clutched the gift like a treasure, visibly moved:

"I barely helped at all, so I feel a bit guilty accepting this."

"But I feel the same as Lin Yu…"

"If taking this gift helps you out, then I’ll gladly accept it!"

Lin Yu, wounded yet again: "…"

As the gifts were handed out one by one,

Lin Yu noticed a common thread.

Perhaps,

from the very beginning, Maomao had set a budget for the gifts.

The number of people, the total cost—

each gift averaged around 200 to 300, perfectly balanced without playing favorites.

Even those not present received something.

When the last gift, meant for Shen Buyao, was revealed, the total sum landed exactly at three million.

Du Ruxue leaned back on the sofa, satisfied, and said,

"Well done. Now come over and hear about the next challenge."

Maomao stood her ground, mustering the courage to say,

"Aunt Ruxue, there’s one more gift left—one I bought with my own money…"

"It’s for you!"

…

(Extra update delivered! That’s all for today. See you tomorrow, everyone! Goodnight!)