Now, a single thought was gradually solidifying in Ye Zhibai’s mind.
—I need to see exactly how I turned to ash in my previous life!
See it through to the end, and it will all come full circle.
As spring turns to autumn—wonderful, simply wonderful.
Ye Zhibai was right in the middle of plotting her grand plans for the future when she heard Guang Yu’s light, airy voice, half complaint, half plea for help.
“Ye Zhibai, the floor isn’t getting clean. This towel just isn’t cutting it.”
“No kidding. Your towel’s bone-dry—how do you expect to clean anything with that?”
“Oh, right, wet it first. Got it.”
Guang Yu wasn’t exactly the most diligent when it came to housework.
After all, the Deity had never done chores in her life.
Earlier, Ye Zhibai had told her to grab a towel and wipe up the drink Guang Yu herself had spilled on the floor.
But instead, she just grabbed a completely dry towel and started wiping back and forth!
Wasn’t that just making it stickier the more she rubbed?
Maybe Ye Zhibai shouldn’t have even mentioned getting the towel wet.
Because Guang Yu… she actually picked up Ye Zhibai’s water cup and dumped the remaining half-cup of water straight onto the towel!
“Guang Yu, I meant for you to wet the towel at the faucet… not use my water cup. And anyway… you already wrecked my last cup when you were brushing your teeth. What’s your beef with water cups?”
“Jeez, why so picky? It’s just swapping the order around—no big deal. We’ll fill your cup up at the faucet later. Half a cup to a full one—you’re coming out ahead!”
What a logic demon.
Even a logic professor would have to bow down to her.
Ye Zhibai didn’t want to get outsmarted again. She let out a soft sigh, about to put away the fountain pen on her nightstand and head to bed.
That’s when a knock came at the doorframe.
“Sister, you still awake? Can you open the door?”
“Hold on, let me put my shoes on.”
Ye Zhibai responded in her usual cool, detached tone.
As she rolled out of bed, she didn’t forget to give Guang Yu her six-word directive.
“Turn into a cat, hunker down, stay put.”
This instruction was crucial.
She couldn’t have Yun’er come in every time and not see the cat. Sure, they said they had a pet cat, but if it was never around, she couldn’t keep claiming it was off in the flowerbeds. Cats weren’t butterflies—they couldn’t live in the flowers all day.
But Guang Yu, this troublemaker, was being anything but cooperative.
“Aww~ I don’t wanna transform yet. Floor’s not done, and I’m tired.”
“Quit arguing—transform now.”
Yun’er was still waiting outside.
In her panic, Ye Zhibai lifted her snow-white little foot and gave Guang Yu’s butt a gentle nudge!
“Mmph…!”
One had to say… Ye Zhibai had severely underestimated the lightness of Guang Yu’s delicate, petite frame.
It was just a light tap.
But the fox girl went tumbling forward with a thud!
The floor was wet from cleaning, so she slid across the surface for over a meter!
—The entire floor was spotless in an instant.
Well then, floor-cleaning master Guang Yu, one-tap effortless operation—easy and hassle-free?
Guang Yu sprawled on the ground, puffing out her cheeks as she glared back at Ye Zhibai.
With no other choice, she put on another impromptu size-shifting show.
Her figure shimmered and shrank into the form of a little brown cat. She hopped onto a chair, curled up, and stayed still.
If you’d just done that from the start, you could’ve skipped the kick. Why make it harder on yourself?
Only now did Ye Zhibai feel safe enough to go open the door.
It had taken a bit longer—Yun’er must be getting impatient.
She turned the lock and flung the door open as quickly as she could… only to freeze in shock.
Standing at the threshold was Ye Zhiyun, holding a key in her hand, poised to unlock the door herself!
“……”
“……”
The sisters stared at each other, both frozen mid-motion.
Ye Zhiyun hurriedly hid the key behind her back!
She even whistled casually, pretending nothing had happened.
Ye Zhibai reeled from the shock. So locking the door was pointless after all!
She had a key!
“Hee hee, good evening, Sister~”
“Mm, good evening.”
Fine. She was acting like nothing happened.
So I’d pretend I saw nothing too.
Playing dumb—what was that if not peak emotional intelligence!
Ye Zhiyun stepped into Ye Zhibai’s room.
She closed the door behind her and, with her back to Ye Zhibai, took a deep breath first.
Phew… Sister’s scent. Thank you for this gift from the Deity! Tsk, though that cat curled up over there is kinda in the way.
Feeling Ye Zhiyun’s less-than-friendly gaze, Guang Yu finally understood the good intentions behind Ye Zhibai’s “play dead” order.
Thanks a lot, Ye Zhibai. You’re such a kind human.
Next time, I’ll spike your water cup with wasabi.
Then, Ye Zhiyun’s eyes casually drifted to the fountain pen lying horizontally on Ye Zhibai’s bed.
Her expression changed in an instant!
A clear dimming, an unmistakable disappointment she couldn’t hide.
Ye Zhibai circled around to face her, hands clasped behind her back, tilting her head to study Ye Zhiyun’s face before asking flatly,
“Yun’er, what’s wrong?”
“You’re so cute, Sister… Ah, no! I mean, you’re still dwelling on what you saw in that dream, aren’t you?”
“Dream… stuff?”
Ignoring the first half of Yun’er’s words entirely, Ye Zhibai straightened her head.
It wasn’t her trying to act cute by tilting her head—she’d just been lying crooked on the bed earlier, and her neck was sore!
Ye Zhiyun walked to the bedside. She didn’t touch Ye Zhibai’s precious fountain pen, merely pointing at it with a finger.
“This fountain pen—you’ve been staring at it off and on since lunch, and you still haven’t put it away. What are you still thinking about? Tell me, okay? Even if I can’t help much… you could just vent your worries to me?”
“I’m wondering if the good teacher and friend from my dream has turned to ash yet…”
“Hm?”
“Never mind.”
It was tough to put that into words.
But talk about perfect timing.
Yun’er had come over with just the right suggestion.
And it dovetailed perfectly with what Ye Zhibai was mulling over.
Ye Zhiyun stepped forward until she was right in front of Ye Zhibai.
She took Ye Zhibai’s fingers in both hands, her words brimming with understanding for her sister.
“I was thinking earlier—didn’t you say the person from your dream was an orphan? You’re so kind-hearted, Sister, so you must be worrying if anyone took care of his funeral arrangements or how well it was done. Sigh… I hate to admit it, but in the dream, that person helped you understand this world. That’s a huge contribution.”
“You mean…”
“Yeah, I mean tomorrow, we send someone to look into what happened after his death—how the arrangements were handled. If nothing’s been done yet, we pay for a proper funeral with all the trimmings. That way, won’t all your worries just…”
“…go up in smoke?”
“!”
Far from just smoke—this would vaporize straight into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide!
Ye Zhibai was thrilled inside. This solved her dilemma perfectly!
But on the surface, she had only one word.
“Sure.”
Classic.
“That’s great! If you agree, Sister, that’s what we’ll do! But… the cremation process might not be something you want to watch. How about we skip that part and just pay for it? You can still attend the funeral itself?”
“No need. I want to watch the whole thing, observe it closely.”
“W-Well… okay then. Whatever makes you happy, Sister.”
And happy she was.
I’m so happy!
Watching myself get burned to ash—what other experience in the world could top that!
I’m practically dying of joy here, waaah!
With the matter settled, Ye Zhibai should have been ready for bed, awaiting her grand farewell someday soon.
But then Ye Zhiyun said something that sent Guang Yu into fits of silent glee!
“Um… Sister, we can worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes… but for now, it’s bedtime, right?”
Huh?
Sure enough, it was past ten, and even the kiddie shows were winding down.
But clearly, that wasn’t what Ye Zhiyun meant.
Her right hand suddenly pressed against Ye Zhibai’s soft little belly, startling Ye Zhibai into a momentary flinch… oh wait, no—she stayed super calm (on the surface).
To make it clearer, Ye Zhiyun leaned in close to Ye Zhibai’s ear, her lips almost brushing it, her heart pounding wildly as she whispered softly,
“Today… you saw my speech at school, right? Wasn’t Yun’er working really hard? So, Sister… could you give Yun’er just a little reward?”
