I'll treat you next time

Seeing the money already in his account, Li Yu felt a warm glow and said, "Thanks, boss! May you strike it rich!"

Yukino Yukinoshita and Kato Megumi, standing to the side, looked at Li Yu with expressions that were a mix of amusement and exasperation. Yukino glanced at the sky outside the window and immediately prepared to take her leave.

"I plan on heading back now. Li Yu, if you have time tomorrow, come help me with mine." As she spoke, a thought occurred to her, and she immediately pulled out her phone to transfer ten thousand to Li Yu.

Seeing the money, Li Yu looked at her in surprise. Yukino Yukinoshita explained, "I'm paying you now so you don't hike up the price later!"

She was only joking, of course. In reality, she suspected Li Yu might be in need of money; otherwise, he wouldn't have sought out Asuna at this hour and gone to the trouble of coming over to set up that magic circle.

Seeing Yukino Yukinoshita's actions, Kato Megumi also took out her phone and transferred the money to Li Yu.

Li Yu was surprised to see Kato Megumi follow suit, but he accepted it with a pleasant mood.

"Thanks for the tips, bosses. You can give me the materials now. Once I've processed them, I'll bring them over tomorrow and draw the magic circles for you directly." Li Yu was feeling absolutely wonderful.

With thirty thousand in the bank, Li Yu wouldn't have to worry about money for a while. He could get by for a good stretch, and if he ran low, he could just take on a few more commissions.

Surely others in the class would have needs, right? These were all excellent opportunities to make money.

However, the price for the others in class wouldn't be the same. A price hike—a price hike was absolutely necessary. Only by raising prices could he maintain his lifestyle.

"Then here are the materials. How about you come over after school tomorrow?" Yukino Yukinoshita naturally had no objections; she even handed over the materials she was holding, as did Kato Megumi.

Seeing this, Li Yu took the two bags and nodded. "Fine. I'll head to your place tomorrow afternoon and get those magic circles finished for you."

He took the money and agreed to the task. With the materials in hand, Li Yu finalized the arrangement with the two of them.

"Let's help Asuna restore her room before we head back. It's getting late." Yukino Yukinoshita nodded, glanced at Asuna's room, and made the suggestion.

No one had any objections to Yukino Yukinoshita's proposal, so the group began helping Asuna move the items back into the room to restore it to its original state.

Once finished, they said their goodbyes. Asuna walked the three of them to the elevator and watched them leave before returning to her room to prepare her own dinner.

Li Yu, Yukino Yukinoshita, and Kato Megumi went downstairs together. Once they reached the ground floor, Li Yu bid them farewell. "You two head back first. I'm going to go sign my rental contract."

The two nodded. Kato Megumi raised her right hand and waved at Li Yu. "See you at school tomorrow, then."

"See you tomorrow!" Yukino Yukinoshita also nodded. After waving goodbye to Li Yu, they walked off together toward their residence.

After seeing them off, Li Yu went straight to the property management office, hurried to sign the rental contract, and paid six months' rent upfront.

Since he had the money now, he figured he might as well pay a bit more and keep the rest as a reserve. By the time he finished, the management office was closing for the day.

Once he had the keys, Li Yu quickly returned to his place, packed his things, and began moving into his new home.

After two or three trips back and forth, Li Yu finally finished moving. Fortunately, he didn't have much—mostly just his clothes and some kitchenware.

The larger furniture didn't belong to him; it belonged to the landlord, and he had no right to move someone else's property.

With his belongings in the new place, Li Yu let out a sigh of relief. He was hungry, but since he hadn't bought any groceries today, he had no choice but to order takeout.

The new place had a refrigerator, so he could stock up on ingredients in the future and avoid running to the market every day.

Just as Li Yu was about to take out his phone to order food, a knock sounded at his door. Li Yu froze, hearing the noise.

"Coming! Who is it?" Puzzled, Li Yu ran to open the door and saw Asuna.

"Li Yu, are you all moved in?" She had seen him walking back and forth moving his things while she was cooking, and now that things had gone quiet, she had come down specifically to ask.

"Yuki, yeah, I'm all done. I was just about to order some takeout." Li Yu had wondered who it could be; it turned out to be Asuna.

"Don't bother with takeout. I knew you wouldn't have time to cook, so come eat at my place. I've already prepared dinner." Asuna smiled and extended the invitation to Li Yu.

It had to be said, Asuna was truly beautiful and kind-hearted. She was so thoughtful that it made Li Yu feel a bit embarrassed about having taken her money.

But the feeling was fleeting. He earned the money with his own skills, so why should he feel embarrassed? Just as Li Yu was about to decline, Asuna added, "If you don't come, the food will go to waste. I can't eat all of this by myself."

Waste food? That wouldn't do. Since that was the case, Li Yu couldn't refuse. He immediately said, "Alright. I'll treat you tomorrow. I'm quite confident in my cooking skills."

You treat me today, I treat you tomorrow—that was fair. Asuna naturally trusted what Li Yu said, and was even a little expectant.

"Then I'll look forward to it. With your talent for learning, I'm sure you must be super skilled in the kitchen, right?" Asuna's hobby was cooking.

Perhaps she could ask Li Yu for some culinary advice; after all, he must have studied more than she had, otherwise he wouldn't be so confident in his claim.

Having agreed, Li Yu grabbed his keys and followed Asuna upstairs, returning to her home.

On the dining table sat two bowls of rice and several dishes. Asuna had prepared them specifically; although they were simple home-cooked meals, they were visually appealing and smelled delicious.

"This is great, Asuna. I never imagined your cooking would be this good." Li Yu hadn't started eating yet, but just the aroma alone told him it was excellent.

Facing Li Yu's praise, a bright smile appeared on Asuna's face. "Hurry and try it, see how it tastes!"

She urged Li Yu to sit down quickly, then took a seat across from him. At Asuna's invitation, Li Yu didn't stand on ceremony; he picked up his chopsticks, grabbed some food, and began to eat.

After just one bite, Li Yu gave a thumbs up. "It tastes amazing! Asuna, you'll definitely be a virtuous wife and good mother in the future. There are so few women in this day and age who can cook!"