Dozens of miles away from Lin Zihan’s residential complex stood the Ye Family Manor Residence.
At this very moment, a victory celebration was underway there too!
“Cheers!!”
“I really hope the Eldest Misses ace their Gaokao!”
“No need to hope—they’re blessed by heaven. The exams were a piece of cake for them!”
The clink of glass cups echoed continuously.
Cheers rose and fell in waves.
But these toasts weren’t involving any alcohol.
Everyone knew by now about Eldest Miss Ye Zhibai’s utter lack of tolerance for booze last time.
She really couldn’t touch a drop!
So at this evening banquet, there were only various fruit juices and colas on offer—no alcohol in sight whatsoever.
The Ye Family’s maids and bodyguards—all their staff—were gathered in the banquet hall, feasting and celebrating the Eldest Misses’ smooth sailing through the Gaokao.
But the guests of honor weren’t there.
In the sealed room at the far end of the banquet hall.
That was where the Ye Family was having their own private dinner.
In this excellently soundproofed and serene space, Ye Qinghe raised his teacup filled with tea, offering his old man’s blessing to the two daughters seated across the dining table from him!
“Zhibai, Yun’er! You’ve both grown up so fast. In the blink of an eye, the Gaokao’s already behind you! In my memory, you were still just babbling toddlers. Your mama took you to the zoo back then and said you were barely bigger than the monkeys there! And now… just like that, you’ve grown up! Time really flies, doesn’t it? Time flies!”
With that, he raised his teacup and downed it in one go—gulp, gulp, gulp!
Then he refilled his own cup.
Seeing this, Ye Zhibai’s right hand trembled as she held her orange juice.
Good grief.
Old Dad could make drinking tea feel like knocking back shots!
Impressive!
Ye Zhiyun leaned close to her ear and whispered a reminder.
“He’s thinking about Mama again… Sister, just ignore it. It’ll pass once the moment fades. He gets like this every holiday.”
Oh yeah—if you hadn’t mentioned Mama, she wouldn’t have caught the details in what Old Dad just said.
Our mom was a real character.
Comparing her own daughters to zoo monkeys! Talk about a unique perspective!
Actually, there was something Ye Zhibai had always been curious about.
With nothing much going on right now, it was the perfect time to ask.
“Yun’er, I’ve been wondering… why does our family have so many maids?”
“Eh… because the place is so huge? Lots of things need managing, so we have a ton of staff.”
“I know we have lots of employees. What I mean is, why do all the female ones have to wear maid outfits?”
“……”
The question left Yun’er stunned.
She clearly fell into deep thought.
See? She knew it—this was super suspicious!
For such a massive family, making every female employee wear maid outfits? And what was with this Medical Maid Corps?
Ye Zhibai figured no company should have such a bizarre corporate culture!
Glancing at Old Dad—he was the Chairman, a proper businessman. Sure, he teared up easily, but he’d never come up with something as… brilliant—no, as weird—as maid uniforms for staff!
Yun’er had gone quiet earlier because she’d been racking her brain, trying to recall how the family’s Maid Corps had come about.
Once she remembered the whole story, she gave a wry smile and answered.
“Ha… Now that you mention it, Sister, I almost forgot. We’ve been calling them ‘maids’ for so long it’s second nature. Our family’s Maid Corps didn’t start out that way—there was no such name, no maid outfits at first.”
“So when did it start?”
“We were still little back then. I don’t remember clearly, but from what I recall, the rule that all the female staff had to wear maid outfits for work was something Mama proposed.”
“……”
Well, there it was.
Ye Zhibai had a bold theory.
Maybe Mom was secretly a high-class 2D culture enthusiast!
Another weird hunch added to the pile.
When Ye Zhiyun turned to Ye Qinghe to confirm, his response was:
“Maid outfits? Yeah… That was Xiao Qing’s request. She said she loved the vibe. She said if maids were walking around everywhere in the house, it’d feel like being in paradise. Woo… My Xiao Qing, maybe she’s really in paradise now! Damn it!”
Ignoring the fact that her old dad was on the verge of tears again, Ye Zhiyun turned back to Ye Zhibai and summed it up.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. After Mom disappeared, Dad kept honoring her wish. So the Maid Corps thing stuck around—it’s really just the Ye Family staff under a different name.”
“I see.”
Maids walking around everywhere in the house?
A mom she’d never met.
Gotta hand it to her.
You get it!
The banquet continued, the table laden with gourmet delicacies from land and sea—even a massive cake, with “Soaring Academic Success” written on it in cream.
Whoa… This sudden abundance of fine living made Ye Zhibai grateful, sure.
But she still wasn’t quite used to it.
She might not be, but Guang Yu was totally in her element!
She got a huge pie under the table every meal! With wasabi!
Tagging along with Ye Zhibai meant eating like a queen—living the good life!
While inwardly roasting Guang Yu’s appetite for scarfing down three whole pies, Ye Zhibai pulled out her phone to reply to a message.
That little move immediately pinged “Yun’er Detection Radar” hard!
“Sister? You’ve been typing away since earlier—what’s that about? Oh, I’m absolutely not prying into your privacy! Totally not! I’m just curious, casually asking, yeah, super casual!”
Casually asking—yeah, right, after plotting it out forever.
Ever since getting back from the exam center, Ye Zhiyun had been on high alert.
Just thinking about Lin Zihan and that earlier Chi Yuliang having Sister’s contact…
It sent Yun’er spiraling into one of those classic young-person neuroses.
—Persecution complex.
Sure, they hadn’t shown any signs of it—acted like they just wanted to be normal friends with Sister.
Maybe that’s all it was right now.
But how could they resist Sister’s angelic charm?!
Today was fine, the day after fine.
What about the day after that?!
One day, Yun’er might wake up all cheery, only to find…
Whoosh, home gone. (Sister gone.)
Terrifying just to think about!
So yeah, Yun’er figured asking what messages Sister was sending was totally reasonable!
Staring into Yun’er’s sparkling eyes, which seemed brimming with aged vinegar…
Ye Zhibai scooted closer to Guang Yu. It wasn’t like there was anything secretive here.
But Yun’er’s vibe was kinda scary!
“I’m chatting with Lin Zihan.”
“Called it!”
“Just normal chatting.”
“Whew… Yeah, Sister taught me to stay cool. I messed up on that at the exam hall—I’ll fix it. Whew… So, Sister, what’d she send in your normal chat?”
Yun’er kept taking deep breaths to stay calm.
“Uh… She sent a selfie of herself. I thought it was pretty—I mean, the baby’s breath behind her…”
Bam!!
“Yun’er!!”
Ye Qinghe jumped, suddenly soured on his tea!
Ye Zhiyun had straight-up headbutted the table!
Guang Yu clucked in admiration: “Nice noggin, Ye Zhibai. You try banging yours too. Is your sister worshiping some god ’cause she aced the Gaokao? I suggest worshiping me.”
“Suggest you chow down on your pie and quit being delusional.”
Ye Zhibai gingerly poked Yun’er’s nape with a finger, trying to summon her back.
Pauses, huh—not a great habit.
Flat against the table, Yun’er tilted her head.
She gazed at Ye Zhibai with teary eyes!
“Woo… Sister thinks she’s pretty? She’s… she’s seducing you! No way—gimme the phone! I gotta chew her out! What kind of scumbag sends pics to someone else’s sister?!”
“I meant… the baby’s breath is pretty.”
The pause save worked.
Of course, Lin Zihan herself was pretty too.
No denying that.
But Ye Zhibai’s instincts screamed not to say it.
If she did, the banquet was over.
Ye Zhiyun took the phone and checked it out.
Lin Zihan’s photo was innocent enough.
Raised in the Ye Family, Yun’er had seen plenty of businesspeople’s scheming alongside her parents.
She could spot the subtle off notes beneath expressions.
For this “beaming” selfie from Lin Zihan, Yun’er frowned slightly.
Just one comment.
“That girl’s smile is faker than fake.”
“Yeah, I thought so too.”
“You could tell too, Sister?”
“Nah… Just that your smile feels way nicer, Yun’er.”
“Waaah! Sister, hug!!”
“Mmph…”
Suddenly bear-hugged!
Ye Zhiyun fist-pumped inwardly in triumph!
Take that, Lin Zihan—for starters, your smile fails!
Well… it was normal, really. In Lin Zihan’s current situation, a genuine smile would be the real shocker.
Once Yun’er let go.
Ye Zhibai promptly forwarded Lin Zihan a short video.
Shed spotted it earlier, while resting on the bed before heading to the banquet hall.
—A clip of people lining up to jump into a ditch.
Ye Zhibai had watched it without much reaction—just kinda weird.
But Guang Yu had rolled on the bed laughing like a dying fox!
Heard Lin Zihan was faking smiles?
Probably in a funk then.
Here’s this video for you.
Hope it cheers you up.
After locking her phone, Ye Zhibai heard Ye Qinghe getting down to business.
“Yun’er, have you decided which university you’re applying to?”
“I was thinking Capital University at first… but now, it depends.”
Good grief. She’d just finished the exam, her scores weren’t even out yet, and she already had this much confidence!
She thought back to the sight of Yun’er sketching in the exam room, which showed just how totally at ease she had been.
Uh… but what did “it depends” mean?
Yun’er took a light sip of her tea and smiled at Ye Zhibai.
“I’m waiting for Big Sis’s scores to come out. Wherever Sis applies, that’s where I’ll apply.”
“……”
Don’t put this much pressure on me!
Capital University’s prospective star student, why are you following me?
Old Dad, talk her out of it quick.
Your daughter’s ruining her future here!
Ye Qinghe pondered for a moment.
Then he nodded in approval.
“Mm, that’s fine. This way, you can look after Zhibai properly. Sounds good.”
—《Sounds good》.
Where was it good?!
Fine, now all the pressure was squarely on Ye Zhibai.
Good thing she’d copied decently during the exam! Otherwise, she’d really let Yun’er down!
Guang Yu had eaten her fill and drunk her fill.
When Ye Zhibai wasn’t paying attention, she swiped a bottle of wasabi paste and tucked it into her loose pocket.
Stocking up!
Just as dinner was wrapping up and Ye Qinghe was about to call an end to the evening meal, there was a knock at the door. A maid entered after he gestured his permission.
The maid stood respectfully with her hands clasped in front of her and bowed her head toward Ye Zhibai as she reported.
“Eldest Miss, there’s takeout for you outside. We wanted to bring it in for you, but the delivery guy said you noted it had to be picked up in person. So, what would you like to do…?”
“?”
Takeout?
Ye Zhibai was baffled.
I didn’t order any!
Her mind raced, and she immediately zeroed in on the most likely suspect: Guang Yu!
The maid was still waiting.
So Ye Zhibai hurriedly sent a Mind Transmission to Guang Yu to confirm.
“Guang Yu, did you secretly use my phone to order drinks and put a note saying I had to pick them up myself? Be honest—you wanted me to grab extra wasabi just for you, didn’t you?”
“Ah?” Guang Yu pulled the wasabi paste from her pocket and shook it. “I’m no poor fox—phooey! What fox? I mean, I’m a wealthy deity now! I don’t lack for a little wasabi.”
“Get to the point.”
“I didn’t order any takeout!”
“!”
