Chapter 28: Liuli Street

"Tell me, what are you doing right now?"

Lita pointed with her finger at the cardboard box Yun Mu was holding in her arms and asked.

"These are painting tools I bought," Yun Mu explained. "I just went to the Painter Association to register for Senior Painter certification."

"I see."

Lita's golden-brown pupils shifted. She didn't have much of a concept of what a Senior Painter certification from the Painter Association entailed, but she felt that with Yun Mu's painting skills, she would certainly be able to register successfully, so she didn't feel particularly surprised by this.

"Then, do you have a place to stay now?" she looked at Yun Mu and asked.

"I'm looking."

Yun Mu gave her a somewhat strange look.

"Why are you asking this?"

"Hehe." Lita put her hands behind her back, gave a little chuckle, and said:

"I was thinking, would you like to come live at my place? My house happens to have a spare room I don't know what to do with. How about four—no, wait, three Gold Frost Coins a month?"

"Such a coincidence?" Yun Mu was a bit suspicious.

Although it felt a bit too coincidental, she really did need a place to stay right now, so she asked: "How are the water and gas bills calculated?"

"Free!"

Lita said without hesitation, though after saying it, she revealed a sheepish expression and added: "Although it's free, you can't go too overboard, though."

"I understand that." Yun Mu nodded first, then showed a hesitant look and said: "But three Gold Frost Coins a month is a bit expensive. I'm afraid I won't even have money for food after paying the rent..."

"Didn't the Guard Hall just give you a bounty of 15 Gold Frost Coins?" Lita looked at her in confusion.

"... This." Yun Mu was momentarily speechless.

"Sigh." She sighed, stopped pretending, and laid her cards on the table: "Believe it or not, this is really all the money I have left."

As she spoke, she took out her remaining three Gold Frost Coins and two Silver Frost Coins from the inner lining of her coat.

"What have you been doing these past two days..."

The corners of Lita's mouth twitched slightly. She couldn't understand how the fifteen Gold Frost Coins she had sent out just yesterday morning had dwindled to this little by today.

"Although I really appreciate your kindness, Lita, I really don't have any money," Yun Mu said with some regret.

She was actually quite interested in Lita's proposal, but as things stood, it seemed unlikely.

If nothing went wrong, she would probably go to the outer ring of the city and find a rental for about 10-15 Silver Frost Coins a month.

Or perhaps stay at the Gray Stone Inn for a long term, and move out once she had money?

Just as Yun Mu was thinking this, Lita suddenly spoke up: "It's okay, my house includes meals."

"Really?"

If you put it that way, I'm interested!

Yun Mu suspected she might have misheard, so she asked again: "Three Gold Frost Coins a month, water and gas bills completely free, and even meals included—is that true, Foster Mother?"

"What kind of nonsense is that?" Lita glared at her reproachfully, her face inexplicably blushing.

As soon as she finished speaking, she added: "Of course it's true, but you have to do me a few small favors."

"What favors?"

"You'll know once we get there."

Lita didn't say exactly what needed to be done, only taking her to hail a Steam Taxi.

"Oh right, you don't have anything else to do right now, do you?" Once they were in the taxi, Lita looked at her as if she had just remembered something.

"No." Yun Mu shook her head.

If she had anything else to do, she would have said so long ago; she wouldn't have waited until now.

"That's good." Lita breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the taxi driver and said: "Driver, to Liuli Street."

"Liuli Street?" Yun Mu was a bit surprised.

"What's wrong?" Hearing Yun Mu's words, Lita looked at her.

"Nothing, it's just..."

Shaking her head, Yun Mu informed her of the commission she had accepted at the Painter Association, though she didn't mention the specific location where the editor lived, only saying that the person's home was also on this street.

"That's nothing strange," Lita explained. "Liuli Street is the neighborhood with the most wealthy people. Basically, anyone with some assets lives on this street."

Yun Mu really didn't know this, because that area wasn't where her predecessor had been active.

To be precise, there probably weren't many pickpockets operating near Liuli Street; after all, whether it was the security environment or anything else, it was certainly much tighter here than on normal streets.

"We're here."

The driver's voice sounded from the driver's seat. Because the distance wasn't very far, the driver only charged the two of them one Silver Frost Coin.

After paying the fare, Lita led Yun Mu out of the Steam Taxi.

Yun Mu held the cardboard box filled with painting tools in her arms, following behind Lita, curiously observing the surrounding buildings.

Unlike other parts of Frostfall City, where most buildings were plain and simple and almost all looked like they were stamped from the same mold, it was different here.

The buildings on both sides of Liuli Street mostly looked very solemn, and while the style of each building was different, they all adopted the same overall aesthetic.

The walls of the buildings were mostly made of smooth stone, paired with murals carefully carved by craftsmen, appearing exceptionally luxurious.

Besides that, although she couldn't feel it, she noticed that along the street of Liuli Street, there were actually many outdoor heaters!

"How much coal must this burn every day," Yun Mu clicked her tongue in secret.

Unlike the Energy Tower, which relied on water vapor and geothermal heat exchange to raise the temperature, these heaters, which were invented long before the Energy Tower was built, were essentially no different from radiators.

The effect of this thing indoors was plain for all to see, but outdoors...

Damn it, isn't this just showing off wealth? It's purely having too much money and nowhere to spend it.

Of course, Yun Mu could actually understand this behavior.

Whether it was stupid or not was one thing, but it certainly made more people break their necks trying to live here. Don't ask; this is exactly the vibe they want.

"This is my home."

Lita, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and pointed at the building in front of her.

"This is it?"

Yun Mu looked up at the three-story square building in front of her, constructed entirely of elegant gray and pure white stone, and with its massive viewing windows, she briefly wondered if she had transmigrated again.

"Sisilaiya Cafe?"

She looked at the wooden plaque hanging in front of the building's Gate, then looked back at Lita; if she remembered correctly, Lita's surname seemed to be Sisilaiya.

"This is my mother's surname; for some special reasons, my surname did not follow my father's," Lita said, seeing Yun Mu's thoughts and explaining to her.

"Could it be a matrilocal marriage?" Yun Mu thought to herself after hearing Lita's words.

"It's not a matrilocal marriage, it's just that my old man won't say, so I don't know the specific reason either."

Without even needing to look at Yun Mu's expression, Lita guessed what she was thinking and said.

"I see."

Although her inner thoughts had been guessed, Yun Mu didn't feel particularly embarrassed.

After all, as long as one is a normal person, almost everyone would think that way after hearing Lita's words.

The fact that the other party guessed her inner thoughts without even looking at her proved this point.

PS: Hontoni sumimasen!

Sigh, did you think I was going to delay the second chapter again?

Just kidding, don't be so nervous.