CHAPTER 43 RAMBLING IN PROGRESS
You are a deity, for goodness’ sake, can you have a little more dignity? Real deities openly accept offerings, but you want to steal drinks!
This kind of bizarre story wouldn’t be believed even in a book.
Just as Ye Zhibai was about to explain her strategy to Guang Yu, Ye Zhiyun returned with two cups of iced drinks.
She was all smiles, every moment spent with Ye Zhibai made her happy.
“Sister, look at this. I remember you like this flavor, right? Lemon Vitamin C, with konjac pearls and extra ice. You used to order this all the time when we were younger, just like me~”
Oh… I think besides ordering the same thing as you, I really had no other choice back then.
——Just copying you!
Ye Zhibai didn’t have a picky palate; rather, her limited finances in the past didn’t allow her to be choosy.
She gently said “thank you” and took one of the cups from Ye Zhiyun.
Her eyes inadvertently caught the drink name and… the price sticker.
A full twenty yuan.
One-fourth of a baseball cap.
“……”
“Sister? What’s wrong? Is it too cold? Do you want to switch? Mine has less ice.”
“No… this is fine.”
Ye Zhibai lightly shook her head, quietly took the straw, pierced the lid, and started sipping in small gulps.
This time she wasn’t even shocked.
Anyway… maybe she’s the one lacking common sense.
Ye Zhibai knew there were drinks that cost dozens of yuan, but due to her past financial situation, she almost never visited such ice drink shops.
Since she didn’t visit, she gradually lost touch with them.
Only during holidays, her birthday, or after a particularly successful exam, would she treat herself to a “Miyu Ice City” drink.
A six-yuan drink, very affordable.
The cool sensation sliding down her throat was truly the most romantic gift of summer!
Ye Zhiyun wasn’t in a hurry to drink her own cup; watching her sister enjoy the drink was much more delightful than drinking it herself.
She sat close to Ye Zhibai, propping her chin with one hand, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, and gazed at Ye Zhibai with doting eyes.
Sigh… putting it simply, being stared at by a beauty of Yun’er’s caliber, even in a non-creepy way, is a bit uncomfortable…
Of course, it’s also uncomfortable in a creepy way.
Ye Zhibai drank as quickly as possible because…
Guang Yu was beside her, swallowing her saliva!
As the water level in Ye Zhibai’s cup kept dropping, Guang Yu’s mouth hung open, eagerly hoping Ye Zhibai would quickly down the drink and pass it to her!
She was practically drooling!
The plan to let Guang Yu drink was ready… but being constantly watched by Yun’er made it hard to execute!
Forget it.
Rather than worrying about whether the mischievous fox could drink, she should care about the real kind person.
Ye Zhibai quietly put down the drink and turned her gaze to Ye Zhiyun.
“The head maid… how is she?”
“The head maid?” Yun’er blinked, smiling and waving her hand. “She’s on standby nearby right now. I know what you’re concerned about, sister. I’m not clueless… I understand. I won’t blame her for today’s events. In fact, I’ll give her a raise because her decision today clearly improved your mood, and that’s a fact.”
As she spoke, Yun’er held up the student ID hanging around her neck and squinted with a satisfied smile. She couldn’t be happier.
Hearing this, Ye Zhibai let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew… Alright, the head maid indeed took this risk for me. She…”
“Stop! Let’s leave it at that, sister. You don’t need to say any more!”
“Hmm?!”
Why not?!
Can’t I even summarize?
Ye Zhiyun crossed her arms and raised a finger, her expression serious and earnest as she explained.
This didn’t look like a joke at all.
“Because I don’t want you to feel grateful to anyone other than me. Simply put, I don’t want you to have any sense of psychological gratitude toward anyone other than me. So, I’m giving her a raise; this kindness is repaid, and you don’t need to think about it anymore. I have to make this clear!”
Why do you have to say that out loud?!
Ye Zhibai understood. Yun’er had been jealous of the cat-like Guang Yu last time, and now it was even more extreme.
You’re even wary of the head maid?!
The diligent and conscientious head maid who watched us grow up?!
Ye Zhibai, frightened, lowered her head and took another sip of her drink, not daring to mention the matter again.
The world is vast and full of strange things.
Some things swelling in Yun’er’s heart were not something Ye Zhibai could control or comment on.
Ye Zhibai took another sip… the drink level kept dropping, nearing the bottom… Guang Yu’s heart was bleeding!
With this issue settled, Yun’er’s expression returned to normal.
She also inserted her straw into her drink and suggested,
“After finishing this drink, sister, let’s go home. Although there are many places in the school I want to show you… sigh, today’s temperature is really not suitable for outdoor activities. Even if you haven’t had enough fun yet… let’s go home and rest. I’ll bring you back tomorrow, okay?”
“Alright… that’s fine, but…” Ye Zhibai decided to say it now, or she might not get another chance, “I have one last place I want to go.”
“If it’s just one destination… alright, tell me, sister, and I’ll arrange it. Is it in the school? Or near our home?”
“In the East District.”
“Pfft!”
The drink Yun’er had just sipped almost sprayed directly onto Ye Zhibai’s face!
Fortunately, Yun’er managed to control herself with her everlasting love for her sister, preventing this disaster.
But forcing down the drink caused her to choke severely!
It wasn’t because the East District was far away.
But rather…
“Cou—cough! Sister?! You actually… even know about the East District? You used to not even know the name of the street outside our house!”
“……”
You know, Yun’er, even though I know the East District now, I still don’t know the name of the street outside our house.
Ye Zhibai nodded, indicating she knew about the East District.
Now Yun’er was even more confused: “No, sister… why do you want to go to the East District? Ah! Did some jerk on the phone yesterday try to trick you into going to the East District? I’ve heard about this; nowadays, there are scammers like that online. Tell me where in the East District, and I’ll send the maid team and the bodyguard team over there. See if I don’t crush those scumbags into dust!”
Your imagination sure runs wild!
Even I didn’t think of that possibility!
Ye Zhibai quickly raised her hands to calm her down.
“It’s not like that, don’t worry. Listen to me.”
“Okay… I’m a bit nervous. My bad, my bad. Sister, go ahead and explain. Also, how do you even know about the East District… it feels like you’ve suddenly become so knowledgeable lately?”
Tsk…
Ye Zhibai knew very well that if she didn’t explain this clearly, there was no way she could go to the apartment in the East District.
Time to improvise again…
——My spontaneous nonsense skills!
Ye Zhibai kept a straight face, rested her chin on her hands, and looked at Guang Yu, whom Yun’er couldn’t see.
Staring at this fox-girl loli face, Ye Zhibai felt her brain become more active.
Finally, Ye Zhibai spoke.
“Yun’er… you’ve been wondering why I’ve been learning so much new knowledge lately. The reason I want to go to the East District… is the answer to that question.”
“…! Sister, you mean…”
“During the two years I was in a coma… I had a very, very long dream.”
With a melancholy expression, Ye Zhibai stared into the eyes of Guang Yu, who had no idea what was going on.
Guang Yu, don’t say anything, just let me stare at you to organize my thoughts.
Ye Zhibai’s impromptu speech (aka nonsense) began.
“That dream… it was really, really long. I dreamed of a hillside and a chessboard. There was someone playing chess with me, but I didn’t know what kind of chess it was. The type of chess doesn’t matter…”
“What’s important is that the person opposite me in the dream told me a lot of common knowledge about the world. I gradually learned to speak, understood the importance of communicating with people, and learned about the streets and alleys, mountains and lakes of our city.”
“Because it was a dream, I wasn’t clear about everything… but I remember that the person playing chess with me had a name very similar to mine, coincidentally, a homophone. His name was Ye Zhibai, and he was a man with a tragic life story. He… sigh!”
The life story part is too painful to talk about, even when making things up! It’s just too upsetting to mention!
Skipping that, Ye Zhibai turned to Ye Zhiyun, her light purple eyes calm and unflustered.
Because, they just look like this, even if she wanted to panic, she couldn’t.
“Yun’er… you might not believe this, but that’s how the dream was. I think my understanding of so many things comes from this very long dream. And at the end of the dream… this person named Ye Zhibai told me that his residence was in a rundown apartment in the East District. So… I’m curious and want to go take a look.”
If I don’t go, old man Zhang who collects scrap will clear out all my stuff at home!!
Yun’er didn’t speak immediately.
She seemed to be in shock.
The amount of information Ye Zhibai conveyed seemed to create an explosion in her mind.
She lowered her head in deep thought, frowning beautifully, clearly thinking hard about something.
Ye Zhibai nervously swallowed.
Did I make it sound too fake?
Learning everything in a dream… I wouldn’t believe it either!
But who would’ve thought.
When Yun’er looked up again after several seconds, her eyes were not filled with confusion but with boundless anger!
“Who the hell is that little punk?! Daring to talk to my sister in a dream?! And play chess?! This is intolerable! Sister! Besides this, did you encounter any other strange things in the dream? If you did, tell me, and I’ll grind this Ye Zhibai to dust!”
I should’ve guessed it, her possessiveness has taken over again!
And…
Please don’t grind him to dust, you don’t need to trouble yourself, he’s probably already dust now!
Suppressing the urge to cry, Ye Zhibai said the most crucial sentence.
“No… I think he’s already dead.”
“…Eh?”
