“Liang Sheng, come tutor me—one thousand bucks an hour.” Lu Ziqing gazed at Liang Sheng with utter sincerity.
“That’s a pretty good idea…” But the praise was cut off yet again.
Song An’an clung to Liang Sheng’s arm, her big, watery eyes sparkling up at her in a full-on puppy-dog assault. “A-Sheng, I need a sous-chef for dinner. Help me out, and I’ll give you fifteen hundred an hour~”
“That idea seems solid too…” Well, Liang Sheng never got to finish that thought either.
“Liang Sheng.” An Hua sidled up close, batting her eyelashes. “Come over to my place and play some games with me~. Two thousand an hour. It’s so lonely… I mean, boring being home alone.”
Liang Sheng: “…”
Frankly, none of these ideas were sounding all that exciting.
Gu Yuqi let out a scoff and pulled Liang Sheng into her embrace. “Liang Sheng, just come keep me company at my place. Three thousand an hour for some chat.”
“I…”
Seeing the chaos unfold, Bai Zhen got a mischievous glint in her eye. She playfully nudged Gu Yuqi aside with a beaming smile. “Liang Sheng, during your break, come be my assistant. You can watch me film too. Five thousand an hour, plus lunch together.”
Liang Sheng stayed silent this time—she’d learned her lesson. She knew the instant she opened her mouth, another girl would jump in to interrupt.
Sure enough, the next one to leap forward was none other than Little Loli Zhen Zhu. She broke free from Teacher Dong Yue’s grasp and dashed to Liang Sheng’s side, tugging at her clothes. “Old Hag! Liang Sheng, take me out to play. One hour, and I’ll have Dad wire you ten thousand bucks!”
Money really did make the world go round. Liang Sheng broke into a sweat, though this kid was clearly a daddy’s little heartbreaker.
“Come on, say something, Old Hag!” Zhen Zhu yanked at Liang Sheng’s clothes in dissatisfaction, her eyes flashing a clear threat: agree already.
Dong Yue hurried over in embarrassment, crouching down to take Zhen Zhu’s hand. “Zhen Zhu, don’t say silly things. Sister Liang Sheng is super busy.”
But Zhen Zhu puffed out her cheeks, refusing to budge.
“How about this,” Dong Yue said, looking up at Liang Sheng. “Help your teacher organize some materials and lesson plans. I’ll give you ten thousand for it. Don’t listen to this kid’s nonsense.”
“No, no, no need!” Liang Sheng waved her hands frantically. How could she possibly accept money from her teacher? “I get it, Teacher. I totally understand…”
At those words, Zhen Zhu burst into theatrical sobs. “Wah! Aunt Dong is a big meanie! Meanie!”
The scene descended into total pandemonium. In the end, Liang Sheng teamed up with Dong Yue to scoop up the flailing Zhen Zhu—along with Bai Zhen, who had somehow gotten tangled in the mess—and deposit her into Dong Yue’s arms. Teacher Dong then whisked the bear child off to the next room.
Finally, some peace and quiet. Liang Sheng barely had time to exhale before yet another girl jumped in.
“Liang Sheng, I’ve got some medical research to do.” Mo Qingrou adjusted the glasses on her nose, her poker face lending her words an air of unimpeachable authority. “Come to the infirmary and assist me for an hour. Fifteen thousand when we’re done.”
Cha Susu jumped into the fray too. She had no idea what was going on, but seeing everyone shower Liang Sheng with such affection made her think they all wanted a piece of the action—like her, clinging to Liang Sheng’s thigh for clout. And how could the queen of green tea miss out? Cha Susu quickly wormed her way into the crowd.
“Little Sheng, we’re besties~” Her voice dripped with that signature tea flavor as she clasped Liang Sheng’s hand with feigned sincerity. “Just come chat with me, and I’ll be over the moon! You’ve helped me out so much already… As good sisters, I can’t bear to see you upset. Come keep me company, and I’ll give you twenty thousand!”
Cha Susu had no clue about the context, but she knew jumping on the bandwagon was always a safe bet.
Lu Ziqing was livid. She’d been the first to suggest it—what were these girls playing at?!
“Hey! Liang Sheng,” she snapped in frustration. “Come tutor me! Thirty thousand an hour!”
Liang Jin had stayed quiet the whole time. It wasn’t that she didn’t want in; her pocket money just couldn’t compete with these girls’.
Back home, her dad earned the cash, her mom controlled the purse strings—and Dad always listened to Mom. So Liang Jin’s allowance was kept on a tight leash. Asking for tens of thousands out of the blue? Mom would grill her for sure.
Sigh. The two big men in the Liang Family were both total henpecked softies.
At this point, the only ones truly baffled were Female Boss Lady Ou Lu, who still had no idea what was happening, and Ni Sihan, scratching her head in confusion.
The girls argued relentlessly, turning the room into a full-blown auction house. Their prized commodity—”the adorable Little Sheng”—had now skyrocketed to fifty thousand an hour.
Oh man, what a headache. Liang Sheng rubbed her forehead as her mind spun in chaos. How had things spiraled into this bidding war?
“Stop, stop, stop!!” Liang Sheng mustered her courage to halt the absurd “Liang Sheng Auction.” “It’s just a few tens of thousands, right!? Pfft, pocket change! I don’t care… don’t care, don’t care, boo-hoo… waa, I don’t care, okay?!”
She hadn’t actually lost any money, but Liang Sheng threw herself into the role so deeply that the mere thought of dropping that much sent her into heartbroken sobs.
Her dry, thunderous wails—with not a drop of real rain—only drew even more pity from her admirers. And just like that, they dove back into the fray, fiercer than before.
“…” Save me, save me, save me!
“How about…” Liang Sheng raised her hand timidly. “We play Rock Paper Scissors?”
“Rock Paper Scissors?” Lu Ziqing blinked. She wasn’t familiar with the term.
Liang Sheng covered her face. “You know, Rock Paper Scissors.”
The girls pondered it. Seemed fair enough.
But just as they were about to start, the victor burst back in: Zhen Zhu.
“Hmph~” The bear child, tear streaks still fresh on her cheeks, planted her hands on her hips like a champion and marched over to Liang Sheng. She promptly plopped down on Liang Sheng’s lap.
The other girls were furious, but they couldn’t very well fight a little kid over it.
“Zhen Zhu, sweetie,” someone said. “We all agreed earlier—two thousand an hour, no matter what.”
Zhen Zhu scoffed. “My family doesn’t care about a few thousand bucks. Don’t worry about it, Old Hag.”
“But we all settled on it, right?” Liang Sheng coaxed the little brat patiently. “We can’t let you take a loss.”
Zhen Zhu mulled it over. Fair point. Two thousand got her an hour with Liang Sheng; twenty thousand would buy her ten hours!
“Deal!” Zhen Zhu slapped palms with Liang Sheng, her little scheme sealed and her face beaming with smug triumph.
The other girls exchanged glances and weren’t having it.
“Liang Sheng, that’s not nearly enough cash. One more round!”
“Yeah!”
Amid the babble, Liang Sheng had no choice but to agree. This time, though, she watched with keen interest and suggested a new twist on the game.
