A wave of bitterness welled up in her heart. Lin Zihan stood there alone, silently pulling her foolish hand—still searching for a ring that no longer existed—from her pocket.
Life was always playing all sorts of jokes on her.
It had been that way from the past right up to the present.
If only she’d been a little more optimistic just now, if only she’d smiled a bit more… she wouldn’t have thrown away the ring, and she could have given Little Bai’er her gift.
Under Ye Zhibai’s puzzled, tilted-head gaze,
Lin Zihan glanced back slightly, using her peripheral vision to peek at the trash can in the back of the classroom.
Her golden shoulder-length hair draped down, making her whole figure seem somewhat lost and forlorn.
In truth, she could just fish it out of the trash can and reweave the ring.
But even if she didn’t mind the dirt… Little Bai’er wouldn’t accept it.
—What was thrown away was thrown away.
The once proud and haughty Eldest Miss Lin let out a faint sigh that only she herself could perceive.
But when she turned back to face Ye Zhibai again,
the melancholy on her face had vanished completely, replaced by a smile a hundred times brighter than the sunset!
Tucking her right hand, wrapped in its Band-Aid, behind her back, Lin Zihan planted one foot forward and the other back, standing tall.
She was thrilled!
“No worries, no worries! Hehe, I was just pranking you~ Bye for now, Little Bai’er! Mama’s calling me home for dinner!”
“Oh… okay. Hmm? I just remembered something.”
“Huh? Does Little Bai’er need something else?”
“Hang on, let me find it.”
You don’t have anything for me.
But it feels like I have something for you?
This time, it was Ye Zhibai rummaging in her pocket.
Besides her phone, the only thing in Ye Zhibai’s pocket was this little trinket she’d just picked up outside, so it was easy to find!
With a simple grope around,
Ye Zhibai pulled out the item clutched in her hand and held it up in front of Lin Zihan.
—It was a slender vine that she’d folded into a loop in her pocket and now unfurled upon taking it out.
Actually, the moment Ye Zhibai had seen the vine ring Lin Zihan pulled out earlier,
a single thought had popped into her mind.
—Don’t underestimate weaving vines, okay!!
Lin Zihan had no knack for picking materials at all!
The workmanship on her previous ring had been meticulous, sure, but the vine she’d chosen was terrible!
It had no flexibility at all; it would probably deform and loosen up after just a few days.
Back at the orphanage, Ye Zhibai had been one of the best at weaving vines, so she felt this inexplicable competitive urge about it!
And the one in her hand now was something she’d casually picked up from the roadside on her way to the pharmacy.
Ye Zhibai had taken one look and known this slender vine was perfect!
See? Even my random roadside find is way better than yours.
In a flat tone, Ye Zhibai pointed at the vine in her hand, ready to explain its secrets to Lin Zihan!
“See this… it’s way better for crafting than the one you picked before. It’s softer, more elastic. The highest-quality vines are often the simplest-looking ones. I spotted this one at a glance just n—huh…?”
?!
Are you crying because you’re so moved by my superior vine-picking skills?!
No way, no way!
Ye Zhibai was just showing off her little vine find.
But Lin Zihan… even though her playful smile was still lingering on her face,
the instant she saw the vine in Ye Zhibai’s hand, a tear suddenly traced a path down her right cheek, dripping to the ground.
Ye Zhibai only caught sight of that tear for less than two seconds.
Lin Zihan hurriedly turned her back.
She tilted her head up, sniffed hard, shook her head vigorously, clapped her hands to her cheeks, and when she turned around again, she was once more a happy, tear-free good girl!
“Wah! Thank you so much, Little Bai’er! Is this for me? Then I’ll take it!”
Lin Zihan snatched the vine right up.
She held it high to inspect it, lowered it to look closer, tilted it in the sunlight.
In short, she couldn’t put it down!
Hey!!
I didn’t say it was for you! I just wanted you to look at it!
Well… whatever.
She was so envious she cried earlier, so giving it to her’s fine.
She could always pick up another one later.
Little Zhibai turned regretfully, her silver hair brushing past Lin Zihan and carrying the pleasant scent of shampoo.
Ye Zhibai sighed and suggested,
“Let’s go. Head home early; it’s getting dark.”
“Okay! Hey, Little Bai’er! Once I make a ring with this vine, can I give it to you?”
“Hm? Sure, why not.” “Yay!! I’ll do my best! I’ll work on it tonight!”
That works out great.
Looks like my vine’s coming back after all!
For some reason, even though Little Bai’er said she was leaving,
Lin Zihan desperately wanted to say just a couple more words to her.
She used to think talking to anyone was just a waste of energy, but now… she actually felt this way!
But could she say as much as she wanted?
Of course not.
Ye Zhiyun was about ready to burst outside the classroom!
Band-Aids one minute, rings the next?!
Damn you, Lin Zihan—when did you get so close to my sister?!
With heavy steps, she barged into the classroom with a thud, like a muffled thunderclap exploding in her heart.
Her expression was downright ugly!
“Let’s go, sis! The weather’s turning; I think it’s gonna rain! No umbrella— we gotta bail quick!”
Ye Zhibai tilted her head toward the sky outside.
Ah… my God, look at that gorgeous sunset.
Clear skies for miles, not a cloud in sight.
Guang Yu was still leaning coolly against the wall, humming with a smirk.
See? It’s not the weather that’s bad—it’s someone’s face. Who? I’m not saying!
Seeing that Little Bai’er was really leaving this time and couldn’t be stopped,
Lin Zihan carefully stowed away her precious vine, then—with a frantic haste she hadn’t felt in years—pulled out her phone.
“Little Bai’er! Before you go, can we add each other as friends? Once the ring’s done, I’ll message you!”
“Ha?!” Ye Zhiyun’s mind nearly exploded!
She had no right to stop her sister from adding a friend, so she wouldn’t say a word.
She wasn’t the “cage imprisoning her sister” that Lin Zihan kept yapping about.
No rush, though—
In a situation like this, sis would definitely shut it down flat, right? Right?!
But who knew—Little Zhibai just dumbly glanced at Ye Zhiyun, then at the wide-eyed Lin Zihan holding her phone expectantly.
She pulled out her own phone.
“Oh, sure. No big deal.”
“Sis?!”
Wahhh! Sis’s bad-girl friend list is getting another addition!
Ye Zhibai thought this was totally normal.
If someone wants to add you and you snap “No way!”—how awkward would that be?
It’d be a total nightmare scenario.
Besides… Ye Zhibai instinctively felt Lin Zihan wasn’t a bad girl. On the contrary, she seemed pretty kind-hearted deep down.
—Because she was still thinking about making me a ring!
How’s she gonna give it back without adding friends!
Switching to the QQ account Yun’er had set up for her before, Ye Zhibai opened her QR code for Lin Zihan to scan.
With a beep, Lin Zihan stared at the new friend on her phone—the one with the Little Tea Cat avatar—and her heart soared!
Once the friend add was done, Ye Zhiyun hurriedly shielded Ye Zhibai behind her.
The look she shot Lin Zihan was sharp as knives!
“Lin Zihan… if you message my sister, watch your words. If I catch even a hint of anything improper! I’ll make good on my promise to beat you every time I see you.”
“Aiya~~ Scary, scary~ But Zhiyun, I don’t have time for you right now~ From this moment on, my phone’s home to an angel~ Hehehe, angel! Angel!”
“You’re crazy! Sis, let’s go!”
Lin Zihan clutched her phone, hopping and skipping about.
Ye Zhiyun hustled her sister out of there!
Ye Zhibai, still missing her vine, didn’t forget to remind her one last time before leaving.
“The ring… don’t forget.”
“You got it! Little Bai’er! I’d forget to breathe before I forget the ring!”
“Good to hear…”
“Sis!!”
Huh?! What’s wrong? I just meant the vine’s valuable!
Ye Zhibai and Lin Zihan weren’t on the same wavelength when they talked.
—But they were both happy.
Only Yun’er was taking nonstop damage!
Oh, and Guang Yu too.
Her suffering was totally different from everyone else’s.
Hers was hunger.
She wanted to go home!
She wanted big flatbread dipped in wasabi!
She was starving to death!!
