Brother Chuan, I've come to deliver your meal

"Hmm? A claw machine shop?"

Ma Hongjun stroked his chin, thinking: Did Ning Rongrong run all the way outside the academy just to visit this?

He decided to observe for a while first.

Inside the Happy Claw Machine shop, Qin Chuan was sitting on a chair behind the counter, staring blankly in boredom.

His legs were propped up on the counter, the sleeves of his grey-blue work uniform rolled up to his elbows. One hand supported his head, while the other mindlessly spun a Silver Soul Coin.

Not a single customer had come all afternoon.

Xiao Wu and the others had visited once in the morning. The four of them played one round, and only Zhu Zhuqing managed to win a black cat. After calculating, the revenue was four Gold Soul Coins, and his commission came out to eight Silver Soul Coins.

It sounded like a lot, but in this world, eight Silver Soul Coins were only enough to eat for two days.

Qin Chuan flipped the silver coin over and looked at the Spirit Empire emblem stamped on it.

"If I ran a business like this back in my original world, I would have gone bankrupt eight hundred times over."

He looked down at the grey-blue work uniform he was wearing.

This was the outfit he had on when he transmigrated. It had been three days, and he hadn't changed once. The clothes were already wrinkled, the elbows were starting to fray, and compared to the owners of other shops on this street, he looked incredibly shabby.

"This attire really won't do. I need to change clothes; it is a storefront, after all."

Just as Qin Chuan was pondering where to buy clothes, footsteps sounded at the entrance.

Short boots tapped against the stone floor—ta, ta, ta—with a light, rhythmic pace.

Qin Chuan looked up.

Ning Rongrong pushed open the glass door and walked in, carrying a paper bag, her face full of smiles.

A blue skirt clung to her slender waist, white silk stockings revealed a portion of her calves beneath the hem, and her short boots were polished clean. A stray lock of hair from her forehead had been blown loose by the wind, resting against her cheek.

"Brother Chuan, I brought you something to eat."

Only then did Qin Chuan take his legs off the counter and stand up.

"Ning Rongrong? Haha, thank you so much."

Ning Rongrong placed the paper bag on the counter and pulled out two oil-paper parcels and a bowl sealed with a lid.

"A beef sauce wrap, a scallion pancake, and a bowl of pork rib soup. Eat it while it's hot."

Qin Chuan's nose twitched; the aroma of the beef sauce wafted over, and his stomach let out a timely growl.

"You're welcome, it's nothing," Ning Rongrong said with a smile. "I was just passing by and bought it on the way."

Qin Chuan didn't stand on ceremony; he opened the oil-paper parcel and took a bite of the wrap.

Over the past few days, Qin Chuan had become quite familiar with Xiao Wu and the others.

Xiao Wu was the first customer to arrive, and being naturally outgoing, she started calling him "Brother Chuan" by the second day. Ning Rongrong followed suit, Zhu Zhuqing didn't call him that but wasn't distant, and Bai Chenxiang would give a nod whenever they met.

Qin Chuan chewed the wrap and mumbled, "Don't you have classes at the academy?"

"It's free cultivation time right now, no classes."

"That's nice."

Ning Rongrong watched Qin Chuan, her mind turning to other matters.

She remembered the prompt on the Crystal Ball clearly: helping the shopkeeper with chores or gaining the shopkeeper's favor would increase experience points. The highest rank was Supreme Member.

Helping with chores—that was simple.

Ning Rongrong looked around the shop. A thin layer of dust had accumulated on the glass panels of the six claw machines, several paper bags from Qin Chuan's previous meals were piled on the counter, and there were dust and footprints on the floor.

"Hey, Brother Chuan, how about I help you clean up? Look, these machines are covered in dust; let me wipe them down for you."

"Haha, how could I let you do that? You're here as a customer; if word got out that I made a customer clean, people would say I'm running a shady shop."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, I'm idle anyway. Come on, do you have a rag?"

Qin Chuan pointed to a corner behind the counter.

Ning Rongrong rolled up her sleeves, walked over to grab the rag, rinsed it in a bucket, and wrung it out.

She crouched down and started with the first machine in the normal section.

As the rag touched the glass panel, a layer of dust was wiped away, and the glass immediately became crystal clear. The colors of the dolls inside looked much more vibrant.

Ning Rongrong wiped very carefully, not even missing the bottom frame of the machine or the coin slot.

Qin Chuan sat to the side, glancing over from time to time. This girl was working more diligently than he ever did. When she bent down to crouch, her blue skirt dragged on the floor, and her calves, wrapped in white silk stockings, were taut.

Ning Rongrong finished the first machine, stood up to stretch her wrists, and moved to the second.

The second, then the third.

After finishing all three in the normal section, Ning Rongrong turned to the high-end section.

The machines in the high-end section were a size larger than the normal ones, and the dolls inside were much more exquisite. Kuromi, My Melody, Pikachu—they were colorful and looked beautiful under the lights.

Ning Rongrong wiped down all six machines, swept the floor with a broom, and finally cleared the trash from the counter.

She had been busy for a full ten minutes.

She straightened her back, a fine layer of sweat breaking out on her forehead, and wiped it away with the back of her hand.

Just then, a voice rang out in her mind.

[Congratulations to player Ning Rongrong! Assisted the shopkeeper with chores, Member EXP +5. Ordinary Member, current EXP 5/10.]

Ning Rongrong's heart gave a sudden leap.

She tightened her grip on the rag, her fingers sinking into the damp fabric.

It really worked! Doing chores really could increase EXP!

Ning Rongrong's breathing quickened for a second before she immediately steadied herself. Her expression remained flawless, save for the slightest upward curl of her lips.

She cast a swift glance behind the counter. Qin Chuan was still eating, completely unaware of the anomaly on her end.

Ning Rongrong placed the rag back into the bucket and circled the shop again, looking for any other chores to do.

Clean the windows? There were no windows. Wash the dishes? There were no dishes. Organize the shelves? The claw machines didn't need organizing.

Ning Rongrong tried wiping down the small cabinet behind the counter and even polished Qin Chuan's chair.

She waited for a long time, but no new notification sounded. The EXP did not increase again.

Ning Rongrong sighed inwardly. It seemed chores could only grant EXP once a day.

Then, she would try the second method.

Gain the shopkeeper's favor.

Ning Rongrong turned around and looked at Qin Chuan.

The young man was tall and lean, his hair slightly messy, his grey-blue work uniform wrinkled.

Ning Rongrong rested the rag on the rim of the bucket, walked to the front of the counter, and leaned forward slightly, bracing her hands on the edge.

"Brother Chuan."

"Hm?" Qin Chuan looked up.

Ning Rongrong's voice softened. "Brother Chuan, this... you look so handsome."

Qin Chuan laughed. "Thanks for the compliment. Just average, third in the world."

Ning Rongrong's thoughts raced. Complimenting his looks didn't work; there was no notification.

She had to step it up.

Ning Rongrong lowered her gaze, her fingers unconsciously picking at the wood grain on the edge of the counter, her voice dropping a few decibels lower.

"Brother Chuan... may I ask, do you have a girlfriend?"

A girlfriend?

Qin Chuan thought about it. He'd had one in his past life, but he hadn't brought her along when he transmigrated, and he had no idea which spacetime she was in now.

"No."

Ning Rongrong's heart took another step forward. She stared at the wood grain on the counter, not daring to meet Qin Chuan's eyes.

"Then... how about I be your girlfriend?"