“Uh… Sister? Are you thirsty right now? Do you want some water? Let me check if there’s any bottled water in the car… If not, we’ll pull over first and grab a bottle from the supermarket before we go on.”
“…Huh? Water? I’m not thirsty. Why are you suddenly asking?”
“Why? It’s because you’ve been licking your lips ever since you got in the car, Sister. Ah, just like you’re doing right now.”
“……”
Ye Zhibai’s little tongue, which had been sneaking out toward her lips, froze in place.
She sheepishly pulled it back, pretending nothing had happened.
Little gestures like that—on the ride home, Yun’er, sitting next to Ye Zhibai, had already spotted them several times.
Sister’s lips didn’t look dry at all.
Far from it—they looked plump and moist, like jelly, nothing like the dryness of thirst.
If anything… watching Sister’s little habits like this was giving even Ye Zhiyun the urge to lick her own lips.
~~~
But that impulse wasn’t to lick her own lips. No, it was to lick Ye Zhibai’s.
Sigh… thoughts like that couldn’t be acted on right away, of course. She’d have to wait until they got home, then sincerely ask Sister for permission.
Who could blame her? There was still that shameless golden-haired woman in the passenger seat!
Lin Zihan was the culprit… Fine, hitching a ride was one thing, but Ye Zhiyun had even offered to arrange a separate car for her. Yet the woman had shamelessly put on a teary-eyed act and begged Sister to let her ride in the same one!
What a despicable little schemer, spouting nonsense about not wanting to waste gas money on another car. She was just exploiting Sister’s aversion to extravagance and waste. Ye Zhiyun knew exactly what she was really after!
Unaware of why Yun’er had suddenly started gnashing her teeth, Ye Zhibai continued struggling to control her unruly tongue.
Yun’er, you know… licking your lips doesn’t always mean you’re thirsty.
It could also mean you’re hungry.
Of course, Little Zhibai wasn’t thirsty, and she wasn’t hungry either.
She was just replaying a recent tragedy.
Her lips still bore traces of Sister Liang’s gentle bounce and softness.
Leaning into the pressure as Yun’er squeezed against her shoulder, Ye Zhibai used the momentum to pass the squeeze along to Guang Yu, who was once again flattened into fox-pancake shape, her face smooshed against the window.
“Guang Yu… Don’t you think Sister Liang is spoiling me too much? Should I have a serious talk with her? Even as a little kid, she wasn’t this intense… We’re grown up now. We can’t just act on impulse like that.”
“Hah, you self-absorbed jerk. If you weren’t squishing me like this, I’d sink my teeth right into your arm.”
“No, I mean… Sure, we used to be close, but who goes straight for the lips like that? Sigh… Sister Liang is so refined, and as a girl, she should have way more self-awareness than me—thousands, millions of times more. Maybe it’s the atmosphere…? Yeah… Every time we meet, it’s like we’ve been apart for ages. Especially just now. I guess I can understand.”
“Fine, fine, whatever. You clearly aren’t listening to a word I say. It’s all about your precious Sister Liang. Squish me to death; I don’t care.”
“Sister Liang said she’ll mail us some snacks tomorrow.”
“Squish away! If you squish me dead, thank you very much!”
A fox who wouldn’t bend for snacks? That would just be a dumb fox.
Ye Zhibai mentally tabled the issue for now. After all, she had the distinct feeling that Yun’er had designs on her tongue—if it darted out, it’d probably get intercepted mid-air.
At Sister Liang’s house, Ye Zhibai had been the little sister.
But in front of Yun’er, she was the big sister.
Ye Zhibai always had a clear sense of her role. Like right now: as Yun’er leaned on her shoulder, Little Zhibai deliberately kept her posture steady, using Guang Yu’s head to brace her own shoulder. That kept the other shoulder stable too, letting Yun’er’s head rest even more comfortably.
“Hee… The long-lost scent of Sister. Slurp… Hmm? I’ve been thinking it since earlier, but why is there a milky smell? Lin Zihan, did you buy milk to drink?”
“Huh?” Lin Zihan, chilling peacefully in the passenger seat, hadn’t expected to get dragged into this. “No! Why would I buy milk? I can’t afford milk!”
Wuwu, don’t say it, Zihan! Ye Zhibai wanted to cry—if you keep talking, you’ll remind me of those humble days gone by, and the tears will start flowing!
No one in the car had bought milk.
Ye Zhibai figured the milky smell Yun’er had caught was probably coming from her own body.
Ahem… After all, they’d been all cuddled up at Sister Liang’s for so long. Picking up a little flavor was only natural.
A breeze later, and it’d dissipate on its own.
The Head Maid piloted the Maybach at a steady clip. The plan was to drop Zihan home first, then ferry the two young misses back to the estate.
By now, they weren’t far from the north gate of Lin Zihan’s residential complex.
Ye Zhibai had noticed from the moment they set off that Zihan was unusually quiet today. Normally, when she was bustling around the courtyard, her chatter was endless—more than a bee buzzing in the flowers!
Well… bees don’t talk, so more than Cat-shaped Guang Yu flitting through the blooms!
What was with the silence today? Bad mood?
Ye Zhibai decided to check in.
Caring for friends was paramount. She couldn’t just ignore it.
“Zihan, why aren’t you buzzing like a bee today… Whoa, why so quiet?”
Great. When words failed her, it was better not to ask after friends at all. One slip, and it sounded like she wanted to break up.
Hearing the angel’s call, Lin Zihan snapped her head up and peered at the back seat through the rearview mirror.
Talk about perfect timing— the little project she’d been tinkering with the whole ride had just wrapped up right as Little Bai’er called out.
With a brief wind-up, she playfully twisted halfway around through the gap between the driver and passenger seats, presenting her handiwork to Little Bai’er.
“Ta-da~ Little Bai’er, quick, look at this! What is it?”
“Sister, close your eyes! I have a bad feeling!”
Damn, Yun’er, that reaction—er, that defense—is lightning-fast!
But no matter how fast the reaction, it couldn’t outpace the speed of sight.
Ye Zhibai had definitely seen what Lin Zihan was holding out.
“Willow strips…?””Yup, a willow-strip ring~” Lin Zihan carefully placed the delicate woven ring in Ye Zhibai’s palm. “I picked up some willow strips in the complex earlier. Hehe, all thanks to Little Bai’er Master’s teachings. Ever since that vine incident last time, I’ve been slowly grasping the true essence of ring-weaving! Go on, Little Bai’er, judge it—the materials this time, and the craftsmanship. Way better, right?”
“It really is… And there are even twist-clasps. Your skills have leveled up.”
“If the apprentice is improving, it’s all thanks to the master’s guidance!”
I never actually taught you any ring-weaving techniques properly, you know?
Ye Zhibai toyed with the willow-strip ring in her hand. Honestly, compared to the vine ring still displayed on her bedroom bookshelf, the improvement wasn’t just a little—it was huge.
Well… at least she’d reached the level Ye Zhibai had been at as a kid!
She slowly closed her hand around this new ring and looked up to find Lin Zihan watching her with eager, sparkling eyes under her golden bangs—those crimson pupils practically twinkling with stars!
She wanted to slip it onto Little Bai’er’s finger herself, just like last time. Hehe… But honestly, that might be pushing her luck.
With a certain food-guarding tigress in the car, Lin Zihan had no desire to get tossed out midway.
Even if home wasn’t far, she didn’t fancy limping through the complex gates.
The “friendship vibe” unique to Ye Zhibai and Lin Zihan was in full swing, thick enough to make Yun’er want to uproot a willow tree in rage!
Willow strips… a willow-strip ring. So Sister liked cute little trinkets like that!
While mentally landing a critical hit on Lin Zihan, Yun’er felt like she’d discovered a whole new world.
She brushed her black hair, draped over Sister’s shoulder, to the side and leaned in expectantly to confirm.
“Willow… Willow strips are everywhere, right? Do you like them, Sister? I’ll go home right now and have the Maid Corps plant willows all along the Lake Heart Pavilion shore. In a couple years, we’ll chop ’em all down and make rings! As many as we want!”
“!”
Good grief, willow-tree slayer!
Ye Zhibai silently shook her head. She just wanted to say Yun’er didn’t need to massacre innocent willows like that.
Seeing this, Lin Zihan had a flash of inspiration.
She might not be able to take on the tigress, but the tigress couldn’t weave rings!
“Haa… Zhiyun, I advise you not to bother. Planting willows won’t help. You know what my biggest improvement was after my family went bankrupt?”
“You’re even more punchable than before.”
“This… well, that’s part of it.” Lin Zihan spun her index finger in a circle, bobbing her head with boundless pride. “Ahem! But the real key? I’ve gotten down to earth now! Little Bai’er actually loves planting flowers and stuff—things everyday folks can do, like weaving rings. My skills come straight from real life. But Zhiyun, no offense—you’re excellent at everything. It’s just… when it comes to being down to earth, you can’t hold a candle to bankrupt me!”
“What…!”
Hey, hey… Can we not make bankruptcy sound so superior? One’s bragging, the other’s envious—what optimists!
Ye Zhiyun itched to grind her teeth, but what could she say?
This Second Miss Ye hadn’t even known plants could be woven into rings before the last vine-ring fiasco!
Just as Lin Zihan said—she really wasn’t down to earth.
Lately, Yun’er had noticed Sister seemed to like everyday foods like chili sauce. She was making real progress on that front.
Crisis sense: incoming.
Oh no.
If I’m this out of touch, will Sister slowly start thinking I’m uncool—behind the times?
“No no no,” Ye Zhibai thought. “I think if we’re insisting on calling it tacky, maybe the down-to-earth one is actually it, oh?”
So what if Yun’er can’t weave rings.
At least, she’s stubborn!
“Just… just… This, what’s so hard about weaving a ring? If you just look at it once, wouldn’t it be a piece of cake?”
“Oh ho?” A mischievous, teasing glint flickered in Lin Zihan’s eyes. “Really? Zhiyun, no one’s good at everything. Weaving rings is quite the craft—I practiced it for ages! Honestly, I really don’t think you can pick it up just by watching once, Little Bai’er. What do you think?”
“Sister?”
Me?
If you’re asking me?
Ye Zhibai thought for a moment… Although she really wanted to give her little sister confidence.
But she soon shook her head as well.
No, Yun’er.
This cheap ring, down-to-earth, is my last act of stubbornness.
If even this comes so easily to you, then as your big sister, will I have even a shred of dignity left in the future!? (I don’t have any now either)
Seeing Ye Zhibai gently shake her head, Yun’er felt as if struck by lightning.
Sister, your Yun’er won’t be inferior to any woman in any aspect.
I want to prove this to you myself.
Ye Zhiyun half-lowered her head, her gaze toward Lin Zihan as cold as a blade.
However, her voice when speaking to her sister was gentle as water.
“Sister, do you have any extra willow branches? I want to try.”
“Uh… Yun’er, don’t take her seriously. It seems… there are no willow branches left.”
“Small problem.”
Snap!
“!”
Ruthless Ye Zhiyun.
Without any weaving tools, she surprisingly just pinched a few strands of her own long hair and yanked them out with a snap!
The wool comes from the sheep.
The raw material for the most heartfelt ring still comes from one’s own body, right?!
The competition hasn’t started yet.
Lin Zihan has already conceded defeat!
