Chapter 44 – No Freeloading Starts with Me

“Xi! This weekend, you have to spend both days with me!”

Lin Xi froze. This was the first time she’d ever seen Zhao Xinning act so forceful.

Was she… a little mad, too???

Lin Xi immediately agreed. “Sure.”

She was more than happy to hang out with Angel-sama.

The last time they’d gone to the amusement park together, Shi Yu had shown up first, and then a Dark Realm Disaster had barged in to ruin things. They hadn’t gotten to enjoy themselves at all.

“It’s a promise, okay?” Zhao Xinning held Lin Xi’s hand. “This weekend, we’re going on a date. Ah, no, I mean we’re going out to have two full days of fun!”

“Going out?” Lin Xi hesitated a little. She was a bit short on cash lately, and that bastard Shi Yu still hadn’t paid back what she owed. Lin Xi couldn’t do anything about her, either.

Zhao Xinning noticed Lin Xi’s awkwardness. “Xi, don’t worry about the expenses. I’ll pay for everything.”

Ah. This-

Was Xinning secretly rich???

Among the people Lin Xi currently knew, Xia Xun was the wealthiest.

That was normal. She was a Magical Girl, after all-a high-risk profession. No, Xia Xun herself was very strong, so maybe it didn’t count as high-risk for her?

In any case, Xia Xun was definitely loaded.

Next, Shi Yu should be pretty rich lately too.

She had clearly made off with a haul, but Lin Xi hadn’t seen Shi Yu spend any money. Besides, Shi Yu drew NSFW illustrations, so her commission fees should have come in by now, right?

And she still hadn’t paid Lin Xi for modeling for her. Damn it!-

Lu Yi had also gotten a cut of that “dirty money,” but Lu Yi was a foodie Neko, so her spending on good food was no small amount.

The poorest one was Lin Xi.

“Xinning, how can I just spend your money?”

Only the Scum of Humanity, Shi Yu, would do something like spend someone else’s money without a second thought.

Lin Xi planned to borrow some from Lu Yi.

She wasn’t close to Xia Xun, and if she went to Shi Yu, she was afraid Shi Yu would charge loan-shark interest. So her only option was to borrow from Lu Yi.

Zhao Xinning said, “It’s fine, because I made a lot of money recently.”

“Huh?” Lin Xi was startled. “You got a part-time job? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I guess it counts as a part-time job,” Zhao Xinning said. “I’ll tell you, but you can’t laugh at me.”

“I won’t. How could I laugh at you?”

“I started writing novels.”

“Huh?!”

“You promised you wouldn’t laugh at me.”

“No,” Lin Xi praised her, “Xinning, you’re amazing!”

If it had been anyone else, Lin Xi absolutely would have laughed at them.

After all, a novelist? Not even a dog would take that job!

But Zhao Xinning wasn’t just anyone. She was an angel. How could a mere human-no, a mere witch-dare laugh at an angel?

Being praised by Lin Xi made Zhao Xinning feel sweeter than if she’d eaten honey. “Come on~ What’s so amazing about that~”

Lin Xi said, “Being able to earn manuscript fees is amazing.”

In Lin Xi’s eyes, novelists starved nine meals out of every three days. They might as well go beg on the street.

Since Zhao Xinning had actually made money, Lin Xi sincerely thought she was amazing.

“So, Xi, leave all the expenses for our outing to me.”

Zhao Xinning had started writing novels quite a while ago. The reason she had only told Lin Xi today was because she’d finally earned manuscript fees.

She had to make money. Lots and lots of money!

Only with money could she keep Lin Xi-oh no, only then could she take Lin Xi out properly and have fun.

“No, no, no-” Lin Xi shook her head.

No freeloading starts with me.

When Lin Xi watched videos on “CiliCili,” she always liked, commented, and subscribed in one click.

When she read “Sweet Potato Free Novels,” she always tapped “Support Out of Love.”

She did her tiny part for those creators so they wouldn’t starve nine meals out of every three days and end up begging on the streets.

She refused to freeload even off strangers, let alone Zhao Xinning, an angel.

But Zhao Xinning insisted, “If you don’t agree, I’m going to get mad.”

Lin Xi: “…”

She might as well give in.

“All right, Xinning.”

“That’s more like it. Between you and me, my money is your money.”

Lin Xi: “???”

Angel-sama was a little too selfless and noble, wasn’t she?!

…

The moment Lin Xi walked into the classroom, she sensed something was off.

Why had the whole class suddenly gone quiet after she came in?

Why was everyone looking at her?

This was way too weird!

Wasn’t this the kind of treatment only the homeroom teacher got? Why was she getting it?!

The bizarre scene sent a chill down Lin Xi’s spine.

Could it be… Shi Yu sold me out?

No.

If everyone knew she was a witch, they would have screamed and run off without a trace by now.

Lin Xi hurried toward her seat. Once she sat down, she planned to message Shi Yu, who had arrived before her, and ask if something major had happened in class.

“Miss Lin Xi!”

Someone called out to her.

“Mm…” Feeling a little guilty, Lin Xi turned around. The person who had stopped her was a cute girl with twin ponytails and glasses.

Lin Xi had basically memorized the names of everyone in class by now. This girl’s name was Su Xiangxue, and she was the class’s study committee member.

“Wh-what is it?”

“Miss Su Xiangxue?”

Lin Xi didn’t remember owing any homework.

After coming to this world, she had found that the high school curriculum was pretty similar to the one in her original world, so academics were no problem at all.

In fact, Lin Xi was confident that in the next monthly exam, she would absolutely score higher than that Cuddle Witch whose head was full of nothing but cuddling.

Su Xiangxue took out her phone.

In this world, students were allowed to bring their phones to school. After all, if a Dark Realm Disaster spawned at school, having a phone made it easier to call for help.

Of course, you couldn’t play with your phone during class.

Remember, no playing with your phone in class, folks!

Su Xiangxue held the phone screen up in front of Lin Xi.

“The person taking a photo with Miss Xia Xun… that’s you, right?”

Lin Xi glanced at it. Sure enough, it was the photo she’d taken with Xia Xun in front of the movie theater yesterday. “Y-yeah. What about it?”

Su Xiangxue suddenly cried out excitedly, “That’s amazing!”

“Miss Lin Xi! So you and Miss Xia Xun are actually that close?!”

“And none of us even knew!”

In an instant, Su Xiangxue and the other girls all crowded around Lin Xi.

Lin Xi’s status in class shot up from her original position as a “semi-invisible person” straight to “class celebrity.”

The girls were incredibly envious that Lin Xi had such an intimate photo with Magical Girl Xia Xun.

One after another, they transformed into gossip-hungry spectators and started asking Lin Xi about her relationship with Xia Xun.

“Miss Lin Xi, you’re way too low-profile,” Su Xiangxue said. “If I were that close to Miss Xia Xun, I’d have made sure the whole school knew ages ago.”

Lin Xi: “…”

It looked like she needed to clear things up.

Lin Xi didn’t want to cause trouble for Xia Xun. She and Xia Xun were only ordinary classmates to begin with.

She didn’t want to ride on Xia Xun’s popularity, and she was also afraid to.

She always kept one thing firmly in mind-a witch had to stay away from a Magical Girl.

Only a reckless Cuddle Witch would dream of cuddling up to a Magical Girl.

“Everyone, please calm down and listen to me until I’m finished.”

After a long round of explaining, Lin Xi finally managed to get the whole story across.

“So, everyone understands now, right? Miss Xia Xun and I are just ordinary friends.”

The gossip-hungry crowd gradually dispersed. Su Xiangxue also said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Miss Lin Xi. I really am sorry for causing you trouble.”

“It’s fine.” Lin Xi smiled faintly.

Returning to her seat, Lin Xi let out a long breath.

Mm. Being a “semi-invisible person” in class was still much more comfortable.