"Back to work tomorrow? But it’s only the first day of vacation," Cheng Xiaonan said in disbelief. "How can your boss work you this hard? That’s just awful."

"Yeah, yeah, I have no choice," I replied with a helpless expression. "She just messaged me to remind me not to be late tomorrow morning."

It was the truth. I wasn’t lying.

"Alright then."

Reluctantly, she let me go. After we parted ways and boarded the bus back to campus, I turned to Xu Qianqian. "Has the club president always been like this?"

Xu Qianqian shook her head blankly. "I don’t know. She doesn’t talk to me much… Xiao Xi probably knows better than anyone about this."

"…You’re right."

It was wrong of me to treat you like a super idiot who answers every question honestly. Even idiots have some smarts.

"By the way, Xiao Xi, when are you leaving campus?" Xu Qianqian asked. "I’ll pack up and leave tomorrow morning. Aunt Zhang said we must vacate the dorm by the day after tomorrow at the latest."

Hmm. So I really can’t stay in the dorm over summer break. I paused, then mumbled vaguely, "Around the same time, I guess."

Guess I’ll have to turn to Qin Ning—see if the shop has staff housing. But I’d already checked. No such space existed, and the place wasn’t suitable for sleeping anyway.

What to do? If all else fails… ask someone kind for help?

Not a bad idea. But who? I glanced at Xu Qianqian beside me. Seemed plausible.

Then I shook my head. If I’m working, I need a solid routine: early to bed, early to rise. Summer-break students do the exact opposite—sleeping in, staying up late.

I couldn’t ask Xu Qianqian to adjust her schedule for me. That’d be selfish—bothering someone and demanding they accommodate me.

Same went for everyone else: Qin Xue, Cheng Xiaonan… no one fit.

"Xiao Xi, you’re shaking your head again," Xu Qianqian leaned closer, her big eyes sparkling with curiosity. "What’re you thinking?"

"Nothing. Just wondering… how many points I’ll get on the exam. Maybe I can snag a scholarship."

"Wah!" Xu Qianqian slumped. "Don’t remind me of exams… waaah, Xiao Xi, you’re such a devil."

A faint smile touched my lips. Yep, totally on purpose—to mess with you, you endlessly curious little idiot.

After leaving poor Xu Qianqian silently wiping tears, I refocused. Since no one at school worked, only work-related contacts remained.

The girls I’d hired were friendly, but their families weren’t well-off. Bothering them out of the blue felt wrong.

Except… there was one person who was financially comfortable—Qin Ning.

No, no, no. How absurd. I chuckled at my own fleeting thought. Qin Ning isn’t *anyone* to me—why do I keep defaulting to her? Besides, crashing at your boss’s place? Way too intimate for a superior-subordinate relationship.

Yet strangely, though I’d instantly rejected the idea, it lingered. Grew roots.

What if… I mean, *just* what if… she said yes? The big boss’s mansion—a life experience I’d never had in over twenty years.

The "best" place I’d ever stayed was a company-booked hotel room: two hundred yuan a night.

Ugh. Now the thought clung even tighter.

Xu Qianqian kept stealing cautious glances at me, lips parting then closing. She wanted to speak—but feared another sharp-tongued jab from me.

Her instinct was right. I *would* do that. Then I realized why she stared—I gently touched my cheek. Burning hot.

Enough. Decision made: tomorrow at work, I’ll casually probe Qin Ning. Just one question. If she shows the *slightest* hesitation, I’ll find another way.

For now, I’d convinced myself.