The Empress Gets Paid

The fifteenth of the following month

"No... no! Why hasn't my salary come in yet...?!"

Early in the morning, Long Yue broke her usual habit of sleeping in. She got up at the crack of dawn, washed up, then curled her legs up on the sofa. As her hot milk cooled, she stared unblinkingly at her bank account.

After getting her id card, this bank card had been opened under her name. It was her personal and only bank card, specifically so her salary could be deposited into her account.

The Demon Supreme had told her that salaries were generally paid on the fifteenth of the following month. She had been looking forward to getting paid ever since last month, and yesterday she had been so impatient that she wished she could cast a spell to speed up the flow of time throughout the world and skip straight to today.

Unfortunately, she had no spiritual power, so that idea was dashed. All she could do was wait.

Because she had been too excited to sleep well the night before, she woke up early. The first thing she did was open her mobile banking app, ready to welcome the first salary of her life.

She had even taken the day off for it.

Yet when she opened the app full of anticipation, all she saw was a big fat zero—not even half a digit...

What was going on? Where was her money? Why hadn't it been paid yet...?!

"Morning, Empress. This is rare—why are you up so early today?"

Lin Fan got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom. The moment he saw Long Yue sitting on the sofa, staring at her phone and biting her finger, he was greatly surprised.

The last time he had seen her get up this early was when she had gone to the bathroom for the first time...

"Demon Supreme, why hasn't this Empress received her money...?"

Long Yue looked up at Lin Fan pitifully, her large watery eyes making her look as though she were about to cry.

Over the past month, she had scrimped and saved, streamed diligently, and broadcast for more than ten hours a day. She had barely ordered takeout or snacks, all so she could get paid today and buy the things she liked. Yet she had not received her salary at all!

Then what had all her hard work and persistence over the past month been for...?

Lin Fan was startled by her pitiful appearance. He had not expected the Empress to be so upset just because her salary had not arrived.

It seemed she truly wanted a salary of her own...

"Empress, it's only seven o'clock. They haven't even started work yet. Even if they're paying salaries, they'll have to wait until they're at work."

"Don't worry. Unless something unexpected happens, your salary will definitely be paid today. It might be after noon, or in the afternoon."

"Really?"

Hearing Lin Fan say that, Long Yue felt slightly relieved, but she still asked anxiously:

"You aren't lying to this Empress, are you?"

"No. When has this Venerable ever lied to you?"

Lin Fan could not help but laugh at Long Yue's cautious expression.

Still, he could not blame her. Whenever she streamed lately, the people in her livestream always tricked her into doing all sorts of things.

They would tell her to press the power button again to activate the computer's hidden mode, or have everyone in the livestream say that it was lagging when it clearly was not. They had toyed with her so much that she had become wary of everyone...

"Your milk's going to get cold."

Lin Fan pointed at the milk in front of Long Yue to remind her.

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

Only then did Long Yue remember the hot milk she had left sitting for so long. She hurriedly picked it up and drank it with two slices of bread, then ran back to the bedroom, grabbed the remote, turned on the air conditioner, and happily dove under the covers.

She had deliberately taken the day off. Since her salary had not come in yet, there was no point waiting around. She might as well take the rare opportunity to catch up on sleep.

She had been getting up at nine every morning this month for her streams, and it had been ages since she had enjoyed a comfortable lie-in!

She had to make up for it today!

Lin Fan turned back and looked at Long Yue, already lying in bed beneath her little blanket. He helplessly shook his head and took the cup from the table to wash.

He vaguely remembered that, at first, no matter how much the Empress stayed home watching dramas and scrolling through her phone, she would always find time to help clean the house. Whenever she was free, she would lend a hand in the kitchen. She never troubled others, and her standards of cleanliness were impeccable. Sometimes, she would even supervise him and make him clean.

Now, just so she could sleep in, she had left her cup on the table after drinking her milk...

Still, it had to be said that she seemed to be fitting into this world more and more. He did not know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing...

Can't find it by title? Try searching for the author instead—it may simply have been renamed!

"Yawn~"

At noon, Long Yue woke up, stretched comfortably, and yawned.

She had never slept before, but somehow, she had gradually come to enjoy the feeling of sleeping...

Lying in bed, doing nothing and thinking about nothing, closing her eyes and covering herself with a little blanket—it was so addictive that she could not stop. It inexplicably made her feel as though she were trapped in a dream barrier, so comfortable that she did not want to wake up...

The mortal who invented beds and pillows was truly a genius!

"You awake? This Venerable cooked noodles for lunch. They're ready to eat."

When Lin Fan noticed that Long Yue was awake, he called from the kitchen toward the bedroom.

"Mm, this Empress is coming."

Long Yue answered softly, picked up the remote to turn off the air conditioner, then got up and walked over to sit at the dining table in the living room.

Just then, Lin Fan brought over a large pot of noodles and set it on the table.

The noodles in the pot glistened with oil and broth, accompanied by several fried eggs, plenty of greens, and lean meat.

Long Yue took a bowl, picked up some noodles with her chopsticks, then ladled a spoonful of noodle soup into the bowl. She opened a jar of mixed rice sauce, added some in, stirred it all together, and began eating with relish.

While eating, she casually opened her mobile banking app again to check. The moment she looked, she cried out in shock.

"Whoa!!"

"What is it?" Lin Fan asked in confusion.

"My salary! This Empress's salary has arrived!"

"This Empress actually made so much money last month?!"

Long Yue was overjoyed. She even stopped eating her noodles and excitedly held her banking app out in front of Lin Fan.

There was a huge sum of nearly forty thousand more in her bank account.

She had only streamed for half a month last month, yet she had received so much money!

In only half a month, she had earned enough to buy an entire computer!

"Hehe~ Demon Supreme, did you see that? This is this Empress's strength~!"

"As long as this Empress takes action, making money is naturally no difficult matter~"

Long Yue held up her phone, boasting smugly with a proud little smile, having completely forgotten how miserable she had been when she was first looking for work.

"As expected of the Empress."

Lin Fan did not dampen her spirits. He was sincerely happy for her and congratulated her.

The Empress had barely rested during her streams lately, and he had seen how hard she worked.

With her livestream's popularity and discussions rising every day, he had expected her to make this much money in half a month.

The household expenses should be taken care of from now on...

"Perfect timing. This Venerable has good news too—my work has passed the contract review and officially begun serialization!"

Lin Fan took the opportunity to announce the latest development in his writing journey.

After nearly two months, he had finally passed the editor's review, signed a contract, and begun publishing with recommendations!

"Whoa! Then congratulations to you too, Demon Supreme!"

"Today really is a day worth celebrating! How about tonight we...?"

Long Yue paused, smiling at him.

Lin Fan understood immediately and asked with a smile:

"A little splurge tonight~?"

"Hehehe~"

With that, the two exchanged smiles. Neither needed to say more; at that moment, they reached an unspoken agreement...