By all intuitive accounts, Little Zhibai felt a little aggrieved.
Consider this: she’d mustered every ounce of courage to confide in the one person she trusted most with such an embarrassing matter, only for that trusted confidante to tell her to shut her nonstop yapping little mouth!
Ye Zhibai could only brew tea in silence, employing her still-clumsy technique to pour the cooled contents from the teapot into the tea set.
The tea seeped into the vessels and gradually vanished, mirroring the chill that had settled over her heart.
Fine, if she doesn’t want to hear it, then she won’t.
Not talking about it wouldn’t stop her from living her life just fine. At worst, she’d drink a bit more water to stay hydrated… it wasn’t like she couldn’t handle it.
Chi Yuliang’s silence stretched on for a full minute and then some.
During that time, she rose to her feet.
At moments she let out long sighs interspersed with short ones, at others she held her breath in deep concentration.
She even wandered over to the edge of the pavilion by the lake, gazing out at the distant water and staring vacantly at the big fish swimming past.
Ah… was that a cat battling a huge fish in the lake? Had her mental state deteriorated to the point of hallucinations?
But all of that—and nothing more—lasted only a minute.
From Ye Zhibai’s vantage point, when Sister Liang turned back from the lakeside vista, she wore the same gentle smile that embraced all the world.
The lake breeze traced patterns across the fabric of her floral maxi skirt. Chi Yuliang held her hands elegantly clasped in front of her, her mid-heeled shoes tapping a pleasant rhythm against the pavilion’s wooden floor—steady, but not ponderous.
She didn’t return to her original seat.
Instead, she circled around to Ye Zhibai’s side and settled sideways onto the armrest of the wooden chair where Little Zhibai sat.
“Sister Liang…?”
“It’s all right.” Chi Yuliang reached out to rest a gentle hand on Little Bai’s shoulder, the gesture indulgent and soothing all at once. “It’s closer to you here. I just figured it out—what you told me must have left you feeling really unsettled…”
“True…? A little.”
In the distance, Ye Zhiyun could be faintly seen fidgeting anxiously, hopping from foot to foot after witnessing Chi Yuliang’s move.
But for now, Chi Yuliang set aside any concern for her feelings.
A trace of sorrow tinged Chi Yuliang’s starry eyes, her words brimming with heartache and laced with resolve.
“I’m sorry, Little Bai… I should have realized sooner. Children from great families often harbor all sorts of peculiar fetishes. I never imagined Miss Zhiyun would be that sort of person… You’re turning to me for help, aren’t you? Poor thing—even though you’re sisters… she forces you into such… such unspeakable acts…! And those other shameful things too…! It’s utterly deplorable, utterly without morals. And that Miss Lin you mentioned… she’s after you too? She seems so refined and gentle… but she wants to take advantage of the situation? What does she think my Little Bai is… Pretty and adorable, tolerant—so ripe for the taking? There’s no justice in that.”
“Ha…?”
“Here’s what we’ll do: sister won’t go back to school. Grad school? Career prospects? To hell with them all! Little Bai, your sister isn’t afraid of your family’s power. I’ll whisk you away to roam the world, far from those demonic clutches. Just the two of us… we’ll go as far as we can! Sure, our living conditions won’t be as luxurious as yours now, but I know freedom means everything to you. You’d never willingly sink into Ye Zhiyun’s grasp, right?”
Her speech rang with fervor, surpassing even Guang Yu’s heroic flair while snatching fish from the water.
The light of concern in Sister Liang’s eyes dazzled Ye Zhibai so fiercely she nearly had to shield her face.
That urge to pull her into an embrace and offer warmth left Little Zhibai short of breath!
Wait, wait—Sister Liang, you’ve rattled on without pause, but let me get a word in!
“Sister Liang, hold on… Er, no—just pause for a second and listen to me. I speak slowly, so you’ll have to wait.”
“It’s fine, Little Bai… Take your time. I’ll map out our escape route. Ye Zhiyun… she won’t catch up to us.”
“What I’m saying is, there’s no need to run. You got it all wrong—I wasn’t forced. I went along with it willingly.”
“Does that mean…!” Chi Yuliang’s expression grew even more pained. “In just one summer break… Little Bai, have you already succumbed to desire? Fallen completely?”
“No!”
“Eh?”
Even Ye Zhibai, whose voice was always so even and monotone, infused that single “No” with a note of exclamation!
Your wild misunderstanding deserved no less!
In the minutes that followed, Chi Yuliang returned to her seat across from her, and Ye Zhibai launched into a laborious explanation.
She covered how she and Yun’er shared no blood ties—that she was merely an adopted daughter of the Ye Family—and clarified other details she’d never fully shared with Sister Liang before.
In the end, she landed on the perfect phrase to describe her situation with Yun’er.
Mutual love.
Those words alone unraveled every misunderstanding.
Though the mix-up was cleared, the shock widening Chi Yuliang’s eyes rivaled her earlier dismay. “Mutual… mutual love? Little Bai… you mean you and Miss Zhiyun are in love with each other?”
“More or less… Yeah… No ‘more or less’—that’s exactly it.”
At this point, even if she stubbornly denied it, her own body betrayed her—it never recoiled from Yun’er’s touch.
She’d started out plenty anxious around Yun’er, but now she accepted it with calm equanimity. That said it all.
Er… her body truly didn’t resist anymore?
Did that mean she really had fallen a little, giving in to it all?
Yun’er: Sister! Believe in yourself! Don’t let her lead you astray!
After hearing Ye Zhibai’s full account, Chi Yuliang had no appetite left for tea.
“Mutual love… but Little Bai and Miss Zhiyun—you’re both girls…”
“I’m not a gi—! Sigh, all right, yes, we’re both girls… But Sister Liang, feelings in this world come in all varieties… I’m no good at describing them. Anyway, this one’s real. I’m certain of it.”
“Between girls… but something like that…”
Chi Yuliang fixed her gaze intently on her Little Bai.
After appraising her for a moment and reflecting inwardly, she suddenly furrowed her brow, nodded, and spoke with firm conviction.
“Well… you’re right. I get it now—girls really can share feelings like that.”
How did you come around so suddenly?! Can a person’s values flip that fast?!
Chi Yuliang gave a start, then waved her hands with a wry smile as she hastened to explain.
“Ah, no no no… What I mean is, it’s not impossible at all. So many ‘impossibles’ are just shackles from outdated traditions… Yes, as long as Little Bai wasn’t coerced or exploited—that’s a huge relief…”
“But Sister Liang… why do you still look so heartbroken?”
“I’m not— this is just joy. Sob… Little Bai, don’t look at me. I need to check on the fish and the cat.”
“Sure… Oh, right—Guang Yu’s at it again with the fishing. We don’t even need to buy fish anymore; she catches them all.”
Sob sob—Little Bai, enough about the fish already.
Your sister feels awful right now.
I’d hoped for a chance to have you all to myself… Ahem, to keep protecting you. I figured the Ye Family was safe territory—no one would steal you away.
But who would’ve thought your own household cabbages would end up plucking each other!
Homegrown and home-consumed!
It took real effort to come to terms with reality; she half-wanted to head home and collect herself.
Yet Chi Yuliang was Chi Yuliang, after all.
She’d weathered countless hardships from childhood onward. What could truly break her spirit?
Nothing.
As long as Little Bai never said she hated her… nothing could.
Miss Zhiyun, you might have pulled ahead by a hair… Just a hair, mind you. But that doesn’t mean a thing.
The lead isn’t the finish line. Don’t define the end before it’s time.
This time, as Chi Yuliang gazed out at the lake, her contemplation lasted far longer.
She even bore witness to the Fox Maiden Loli’s grueling struggle as she hauled a massive fish ashore.
When she finally sat back down across from Ye Zhibai, the sorrow in her eyes had ebbed, replaced by a dawning light of realization.
“Little Bai, first things first: take good care of your health. If you can convince Miss Zhiyun to show some restraint, you should—it’s about being responsible to your own body. Judging by your complexion, I can tell you can’t hold your own against her.”
“Sister Liang… come on, I do have some pride.”
“Mm, oh right!” Chi Yuliang raised a single forefinger, as if a little lightbulb had flickered to life above her head with newfound wisdom. “Little Bai, you mentioned Miss Lin’s been pursuing you lately too, right? Haha… when did my Little Bai get so popular? You used to complain about having zero luck with romance. Now it’s like April’s here and the peach blossoms are blooming everywhere!”
“Mm… not exactly… Zihan sprang that on me out of nowhere—I’m still pretty baffled…”
“I see. Mind filling sister in on the details?”
Chi Yuliang’s eyes sharpened ever so slightly, though her smile remained.
But from then on, she hung on Little Bai’s every word with heightened attention.
