Chapter 75 Part 1

Shen Chenyun’s cooking skills were excellent. Not only did the dishes she prepared look mouthwateringly appetizing, but they tasted absolutely divine once they hit the tongue.

For all these years, she and her daughter had relied on each other for survival. Whenever the original host wanted to eat something, the woman would learn how to make it—even if she had no clue how to cook it at the time.

By now, Shen Chenyun’s culinary prowess had advanced to the point where no matter what her daughter craved, she could simply pick up the necessary ingredients and whip it up.

School weeks were hectic. After dinner, the original host still had homework to tackle, so they stuck to simple home-cooked meals.

Weekends brought more leisure time, allowing for more elaborate dishes.

Bai Qian had mentioned the night before that she wanted fish today, so Shen Chenyun naturally indulged her. Fish tasted best when freshly killed, so she waited until the afternoon—guessing the girl would be home soon—before heading to the supermarket’s seafood section to have one butchered on the spot.

A few minutes later, Bai Qian returned home.

She dropped her backpack and poked her head into the kitchen, where she saw the woman sliding the sections of fish meant for frying into a pot of sizzling oil.

Rather than just standing there watching, the girl washed her hands first and sidled up to ask what she could do to help.

Shen Chenyun didn’t turn her down. Instead, she directed her to fetch the flavor enhancers.

“There should still be some Sichuan peppercorns left. Mom remembers putting them in the crisper drawer of the fridge last time—they’re in a white plastic bag. Qianqian, can you hunt them down?”

Bai Qian scoured the fridge top to bottom, even digging into the freezer compartment, but came up empty. She had no choice but to ask, “Mom, are you sure you put them in the fridge? I can’t find them anywhere.”

“That’s impossible. Mom last—” Shen Chenyun cut herself off mid-sentence. She turned around, flashing an awkward smile. “Mom forgot. The day before yesterday, Auntie Zhang from across the way stopped by and asked for some, so I gave her the rest. How about we skip the peppercorns this time, Qianqian? Would that be okay?”

To Bai Qian, boiled fish without those numbing Sichuan peppercorns was like fries without ketchup or flat, room-temperature cola—it had the essence of the flavor, but it was missing that perfect punch.

Without hesitation, she decided to make a quick run to the store. “Then I’ll go buy some. Mom, we’ve got everything else, right?”

“We do. Mom picked up the rest this morning. Just grab the peppercorns, Qianqian.”

“Got it.”

Bai Qian snatched up her phone and headed out, shutting the door behind her with brisk efficiency as she bounded downstairs.

She certainly hadn’t expected to run into Jiang Yusheng in the neighborhood. After all, she knew exactly where Little Rabbit lived.

Her first glimpse was of a figure charging toward her from a distance, running at an impressive clip. She figured the person must be training for some kind of race.

No one needed to push that hard just for a casual workout.

But as the runner drew nearer, something felt off to Bai Qian. Hadn’t she seen this exact scene somewhere before?

And didn’t that increasingly clear figure look a little familiar?

The hunch was confirmed when the girl was just dozens of meters away.

The one sprinting over from that direction had spotted her from afar. Her body reacted just like it had during last time’s PE class—no consultation with her brain, just a blind, irrational dash straight ahead.

In the same way, it was only when she was nearly upon her that her sluggish wits finally kicked in.

She skidded to a halt, mortified as she realized what an idiot move she’d pulled—again. Cursing herself under her breath, she spun on her heel to retreat.

“Senior Sister, what are you doing here?”

Bai Qian tossed out the question as she closed the distance. Jiang Yusheng had barreled forward too recklessly, forcing them—once more—into an awkward face-to-face.

She took a quick step back, putting a bit of space between them.

It wasn’t reluctance to get close to the girl. No, it was an instinctive worry: she’d worked up a sweat from that run. Better keep some distance so the smell wouldn’t carry over.

Unaware of her inner turmoil, Bai Qian glanced past her.

Gu Wanching was strolling over, basketball in hand, dribbling it idly along the path Jiang Yusheng had taken.

Each bounce thudded crisply against the ground, mirroring the frantic pounding of Jiang Yusheng’s heart in the wake of her exertion.

“I’m here with my friend to shoot some hoops,” she said once she’d caught her breath, offering a simple explanation.

Bai Qian nodded toward Gu Wanching. “That senior sister heading our way—is she the friend you mentioned?”

The basketball danced effortlessly in the other girl’s palm, and Bai Qian instantly understood why Jiang Yusheng was in the neighborhood today.

—In the original plot, the female protagonist came to their complex every Sunday with Gu Wanching to play basketball.

Friday was supposed to be the day the two of them threw down, but it had been switched to a basketball game instead. Bai Qian figured it probably had something to do with the match coming up next month.

Jiang Yusheng had no intention of answering Bai Qian’s question.

In the past, whenever Bai Qian called her Senior Sister, she couldn’t help blushing. Today, though—maybe because she’d just finished some intense exercise before they met—even hearing the title didn’t bring any color to her cheeks.

Jiang Yusheng hadn’t even had a chance to feel pleased about that when she got pissed off by Bai Qian addressing Gu Wanching as Senior Sister.

Sure, it was true!

But how could she call someone else Senior Sister?!

A wave of sour jealousy bubbled up, driving Jiang Yusheng to do something no good little rabbit would ever do—

Without so much as a glance at Gu Wanching behind her, she pursed her lips and corrected Bai Qian in a clearly unhappy tone. “She’s the same age as you. You don’t need to call her Senior Sister.”

Lying was addictive, she realized.

No—rabbits were the ones who got hooked on it.

Bai Qian blinked in surprise. Gu Wanching was the same age as the original host?

That didn’t line up with the original plot at all.

She kept her expression neutral as she probed further. “I figured Senior Sister’s friend would be around your age. She’s not from our school, is she? I’d have seen her if she was. So how’d you two meet, Senior Sister? Neighbors or something?”

Jiang Yusheng’s lips, already pressed thin, turned into a straight line at the barrage of questions about Gu Wanching.

She hated it!

Why wouldn’t she stop bringing up that Gu Wanching?!

I’m standing right here in front of you!

Can’t you talk about me for once?!

The more she dwelled on it, the angrier she got. Her pretty little face scrunched up as she sourly cut her off. “We don’t get along at all! Stop asking me—I don’t know anything about her!”

She was furious!

She should’ve just come to shoot hoops by herself!

Stupid Gu Wanching!

Bai Qian was even more shocked. This was the total opposite of the original plot’s character dynamics.

In the story, the female protagonist and Gu Wanching had that classic love-hate bromance. They annoyed the hell out of each other constantly, but they always had each other’s backs.

Put simply, they were like a pair of socks—stinky together, but you couldn’t get by with just one.

That thought eased Bai Qian’s mind a bit. At least the two of them never admitted to being friends in public.

With the Gu Wanching situation sorted, Bai Qian shifted her focus back to the girl. Her face looked off, and Bai Qian’s gut told her this fluffy-eared little hothead was sulking again.

She had no idea what had set her off, and a quick mental recap didn’t turn up any obvious reason for Jiang Yusheng’s sudden mood swing. She was debating whether to change the subject when Little Rabbit beat her to it.

“You’ve been grilling me this whole time. I haven’t even asked you—why are you here?”

She gave herself a mental thumbs-up.

Nice one!

Topic successfully changed!

No more Gu Wanching talk!

Bai Qian chuckled helplessly. “Senior Sister, I just came down from the building. What do you think brought me here?”

One second Jiang Yusheng was patting herself on the back; the next, her own brainless question had her face flaming red.

She couldn’t bear to meet Bai Qian’s eyes anymore. Whirling around, she spotted Gu Wanching heading their way.

The heat drained from Little Rabbit’s cheeks in an instant. She glared at her with wide eyes, those watery pools brimming with a clear message: get lost.

Go away!

Stay back!

Gu Wanching wasn’t a mind reader, and she sure as hell couldn’t decode emotions from a stare. Seeing Jiang Yusheng fixed on her like that, she called out, “Jiang Yusheng, who’s your friend? Never seen her around before.”

That confirmed it for Bai Qian—their relationship was exactly like in the original plot.

She opened her mouth to say hello, but the fuming Little Floppy Ears beat her to it, grinding out through clenched teeth, “Gu Wanching, aren’t you heading home?!”

“Huh?”

The words stunned her for a second, making her forget all about the basketball she’d smacked to the ground. It bounced back up, free from her palm’s control, and zipped off a short distance with gleeful abandon.

The thunk of it smacking the telephone pole snapped Gu Wanching out of it. She bent to grab it, and the instant her fingers closed around the ball, she whipped her head toward the pair in the distance.

Locking eyes with Jiang Yusheng’s—fierce on the surface but too soft and dewy to intimidate—struck her with sudden inspiration. She hugged the ball to her chest and, rising smoothly, already had the perfect comeback in mind.

The girl first pretended to casually glance at Bai Qian, whom she hadn’t noticed before. At the sight of her, a flicker of understanding passed through her eyes.

So pretty. No wonder she had Jiang Yusheng wrapped around her finger, reduced to this childish, foolish state.

For all her griping, when it mattered, Gu Wanching still had Jiang Yusheng’s back.

She smoothly picked up the girl’s earlier lie and even kindly built on it. “Yeah, I was planning to head back, but your mom just called me. She said she won’t be home to cook tonight. Didn’t you mention you were hungry? Why don’t you grab something to eat out before going home? It’s getting late, so I’ll take off first.”

With that, Gu Wanching didn’t wait for a reply. She grabbed the ball and strode off with casual flair.

Jiang Yusheng had zero interest in thanking her.

She had only just told Bai Qian that their relationship wasn’t great, and now Gu Wanching was claiming her mom had called. Anyone could tell who was lying.

Little Rabbit ground her two distinctly human front teeth—unlike those of an ordinary rabbit—cursing Gu Wanching up one side and down the other in her mind.

Then the girl beside her suddenly spoke up. “Is Senior Sister hungry? Perfect timing. We’re about to have dinner at home. If you don’t mind, why don’t you come back with me and join us?”

Jiang Yusheng silently took back every curse she’d just hurled.

Gu Wanching, you’re my best friend today!

A Lop-Eared Rabbit’s heat period was much like her susceptible period. Both brought along something extra that didn’t normally appear.

The latter sprouted ears; the former, a fluffy round tail.

She clearly wasn’t in heat right now, and she didn’t feel any tail on her body. But after hearing Bai Qian’s invitation, she suddenly had the distinct illusion that her invisible, transparent tail was quivering with excitement.

She wasn’t human, though. As a Lop-Eared Rabbit, how could she fail to show some restraint?

So Jiang Yusheng put on her best cool-guy act. “No need. I’ll just grab a bowl of noodles nearby.”

Invite me again! Quick!

Come on, hurry!

The second time, I’ll say yes!!!

Bai Qian had already caught the sudden spark of light that burst in the other’s eyes at the invitation.