This topic was best left there.
Otherwise, continuing the conversation might easily touch on Ye Zhibai’s blind spots in knowledge.
What virtue or ability did she have to discuss work matters with a top student from Capital University?
Only by knowing one’s own limits could one stand undefeated.
—As long as she ignored the topic, her ignorance wouldn’t be exposed.
Zhibai Insights—archived.
With that, all the dishes had arrived.
The female server approached timidly, carrying the ultra-luxurious fruit platter that the restaurant owner had specially instructed her to offer as a gift.
She asked if the two needed anything else.
The question received only a cold response from Ye Zhibai.
—Please close the screen properly.
After that, there was no need to linger.
Got it!
Without a word, the server hurriedly pulled the three-panel screen shut, set down the fruit platter with trembling arms, and made a tactical retreat!
This silver-haired beauty’s aura was just too intimidating!
Her expression and gaze made it seem like she was thoroughly displeased with the restaurant!
If she was displeased, that was one thing—but the consequences would be dire!
Sob sob sob, the boss had said that if these two weren’t satisfied, the restaurant would shut down and everyone would be out of a job!
Including the boss himself.
So, would she get the day off tomorrow?
Ye Zhibai watched the server flee in a hurry.
A puzzled feeling stirred in her heart, along with some indescribable frustration.
“That’s weird, huh… I was clearly very polite just now, even said ‘please,’ so why does it feel like she was angry… Tsk.”
“Ha… Little Bai, I don’t think she was angry. I think she thought you were angry.”
“Me… angry?”
How would she not know that!
Ye Zhibai blinked in bewilderment, pointing at herself with a finger.
Then, she remembered the thing about her face being like an ice cave.
“……”
She had no expression at all.
But Chi Yuliang somehow felt that Little Bai’s gaze had gone a bit vacant!
Chi Yuliang quickly waved her hands, trying to console her with a wry smile.
“Ahem, Little Bai, some things are just innate, nothing you can do about it. Actually, you could try smiling? Come to think of it, since we reconnected, the only time I’ve seen you smile was at the Tomb Garden! Hmm… Look at you. Do you feel unhappy when you’re with your sister? So stingy with your smiles~ When you do smile, you look so beautiful.”
“Sister Liang… To tell the truth, since I woke up, that was the only time I’ve smiled.”
“……”
Chi Yuliang’s hand, which had just picked up her chopsticks, froze midair.
Her expression solidified as well.
“Eh…? Little Bai, you’re serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“You don’t smile normally?”
“Not just smiles—even crying is off the table. I’m a total ice block; managing expressions is incredibly hard for me.”
You think that smile I gave you was just the tip of my icy emotional iceberg, blooming with vibrant colors.
Truth is, that one smile was almost my entire pitiful repertoire.
I’d already given you everything I had! No more left!!
Difficulty making expressions… that was a bit beyond Chi Yuliang’s understanding.
Unable to freely express her inner feelings through facial cues.
Poor Little Bai.
Chi Yuliang had only taken a few bites before setting her chopsticks down.
A good big sister was always concerned about her little sister’s state, no matter the time.
“Little Bai! Don’t give up. I think this isn’t because you don’t want to smile—it’s because you haven’t had the right trigger.”
“Trigger…?”
“Yeah! Like… telling jokes! How about I tell you a corny one?”
“Sure.”
Yay! Sister Liang’s corny jokes.
She hadn’t heard one in years!
Chi Yuliang hesitated slightly, rummaging through her mind for one, then had a flash of inspiration!
“Ah… Got it! Little Bai, brain teaser time—get ready!”
“Mm-hm.”
“Why did Xiao Hua cross the road?”
“Because Xiao Hua wanted to get to the other side.”
“Hiss…!”
Is that really so surprising!!
Sister Liang, this is one you told me when I was a kid!
And! Little Guang, you’ve heard it before too—don’t gasp like that when I get it right, acting all shocked! What’s with the pretense!
Once Ye Zhibai decisively gave the correct answer without a hint of amusement, Chi Yuliang felt deeply guilty.
She suddenly drooped her head in dejection!
“Wah… Sorry, Little Bai. Your sister has been so busy studying these years, I haven’t kept up with new jokes. I… I thought changing the name would make it fresh, but… nope, same old thing!”
Of course it wasn’t the same!
The original had Little Red—not that switching to Xiao Hua helped.
Even if you swapped it to Little Yellow, Little Black, Little Guang, Little Purple, or heck, even Tom! It was still the exact same corny joke!
Turns out Sister Liang’s corny joke inventory hadn’t been updated in all these years!
Phew… She’d almost forgotten that sometimes, Sister Liang could be a bit adorably airheaded~ But that’s what made her feel the most human.
Come to think of it…
After figuring that out, Ye Zhibai suddenly recalled Little Guang’s sharp intake of breath earlier.
You stupid fox! Don’t tell me you didn’t get that swapping Little Red for Xiao Hua meant you had no idea why!
Little Guang: I thought Xiao Hua was a flower! How was I supposed to know plants cross roads? Makes no sense!
This one corny joke sparked a century-level brainstorm between the two in the private room, plus one fox.
In the end, Chi Yuliang decided to table the topic.
“Alright… Little Bai, wait till I get home and look up some new ones. I’ll tell you later. Let’s eat first—the food’s getting cold.”
“Agreed.”
Enough brainstorming on that.
Mastering smiles wasn’t something achieved overnight.
Once the meal officially began, Ye Zhibai noticed the lazy Susan on the round table spinning at an unusually high frequency.
Of course, it wasn’t Little Guang doing it; she was elegantly preparing her wasabi paste from her bag for the meal.
The one spinning the platter was Sister Liang.
As it turned, Ye Zhibai realized the best dishes kept rotating right in front of her.
Ah, this…
“Sister Liang, you eat too—no need to take care of me.”
“Mm-hmm, Little Bai’s still growing; you focus on eating well. Your sister here? I’ve long passed the stage where I need all that nutrition.”
Jiggle~~~ Jiggle—that sound effect popped into Ye Zhibai’s mind unbidden.
Facts spoke louder than words.
Gazing at the substantial weight at Chi Yuliang’s chest, plainly visible.
Ye Zhibai found no grounds to argue.
Luckily, she’d ordered plenty today—even stuffing herself wouldn’t finish it all!
So Sister Liang had better eat up and replenish that overabundant nutrition.
After sampling the flavors,
Chi Yuliang subtly parted a small gap in the screen beside her with a finger, peering out toward the window beyond the private room.
In the distance, she could see the golden-lit main gate sign of Qihai University at the end of the road.
And farther still, the uniform silhouettes of the university buildings.
She withdrew her finger, letting the screen fall shut again.
Confirming their location, Chi Yuliang gracefully swallowed her food before asking Ye Zhibai in a gentle tone.
“By the way… Little Bai, this was your old university stomping grounds, right? I saw plenty of college students on the way here.”
“Yeah, Campus Forest Road at Qihai University—head straight from here and you reach the main gate.”
“University City really has that vibe. It’s only been a few days since I graduated, and coming back to this atmosphere… kinda nostalgic.”
“True… Mm?”
“Little Bai, what’s up?”
Ye Zhibai chewed the fish in her mouth.
Suddenly, some associations clicked, and she nearly choked on a bone!
Thankfully, a glance at Little Guang chowing down on her wasabi steadied her with a surge of irritation, dislodging the bone.
Ahem.
She pinched the tiny fish bone from the corner of her mouth.
Ye Zhibai sorted out her earlier thoughts in her mind.
University naturally evoked its unique atmosphere.
University atmosphere meant the vibrant youth, the last verdant years before burning out as a corporate drone.
Burning youth…
Brought to mind those detestable normies!!
Some burned their youth holed up in dorms, glued to phones gaming all day.
Others burned it dashing around the city with their love interests in tow!
The gap between people was that obvious.
And Sister Liang—she’d just finished four years of university, hadn’t she?
In looks, personality, and smarts, Sister Liang was prime normie material!
So, a total normie like her…
During college… did she have a burning-youth romance?
Logically, this shouldn’t concern Ye Zhibai much; it was private, maybe not her place to ask.
But… for some reason, she really wanted to know.
Like the fish bone she’d just eaten—once it crossed her mind, not asking felt like a thorn in her throat.
If a bone was stuck, pull it out.
If a question nagged, ask it.
Under Chi Yuliang’s concerned gaze, Ye Zhibai lifted her little head.
“Sister Liang, did you have a boyfriend in college?”
“Eh?!”
Ye Zhibai wanted to explain: I’m not being nosy, okay! I just—
Eh, whatever.
I am being nosy!
Ye Zhibai’s light purple eyes truly sparkled with a lively gleam as she stared straight into Chi Yuliang’s eyes, waiting for an answer.
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Chi Yuliang didn’t react right away.
But only for a moment.
She met Ye Zhibai’s gaze without flinching.
Her own eyes soft and warm like spring water, she gave her adorable Little Bai the honest answer to that curious question.
“Nope! Ahaha… Actually, my roommates even teased me about it. They all found partners one by one, but big sis here stayed a total singleton right up until graduation day~ They even spent a hundred yuan on a huge banner and hung it from the dorm window to celebrate my twenty-two years of being single when I graduated!”
Good grief!
Talk about ruthless roommates!
Though Ye Zhibai wasn’t sure why, the answer eased a strange tension in her chest. Still, she found it baffling.
“That doesn’t make sense… Sister Liang is so pretty, and such a good student too. Shouldn’t guys have been lining up to chase you?”
“Hehe, thanks for the compliment, Little Bai… Sigh, I still get a headache thinking about it. More than once during college, I hinted in class speeches and department talks that I wasn’t interested in dating, but the love letters kept piling up anyway.”
What a total normie!
Chi Yuliang shook her head helplessly at the memory.
“I was going to throw those letters away, but it felt like such a waste. So I saved them up and sold them as scrap paper after graduation—got over twenty yuan for them! Lucky I didn’t toss them.”
Whoa!
Sister Liang, you’re really living up to the orphanage’s thrifty traditions!
Ye Zhibai was stunned speechless in her mind.
She had no idea what to say.
Finally, she settled on the one question lingering in her heart.
“But… why didn’t Sister Liang want to date? Everyone says romance is such a big part of youth…”
“Mm-hmm, that’s true~ So, what’s the reason for that?”
Chi Yuliang teased on purpose.
Her gaze roamed playfully over Ye Zhibai, building the suspense.
Once Ye Zhibai’s expression turned blank and her lips pouted slightly,
Chi Yuliang backed off with a grin, raising one finger in a joking tone.
“Maybe it’s because big sis hasn’t met anyone as amazing as Little Bai since the day she was born?”
“!”
How was I supposed to know I was that great?
Chi Yuliang wagged her finger and added,
“After all, Little Bai is my one and only lit… Wait, that’s not right anymore. Now it’s because Little Bai is my one and only little sister! With you on my mind, how could there be room for anyone else~ Right?”
“Th-that… doesn’t sound right.”
Weren’t we just talking about romance?
This is straight-up family talk!
After Ye Zhibai voiced her confusion,
Chi Yuliang covered her ears, shook her head, and replied with playful mischief.
“La la la, I can’t hear you~~ We were totally talking about family stuff, weren’t we?”
“……”
You’ve got me all turned around!
Sister Liang, quit shaking like that—the cotton candy’s jiggling too!
Not just dizzy from the logic, but from the motion now!
Watching her dazed Little Bai count backward on her fingers,
Chi Yuliang smiled in utter contentment.
Tonight’s meal really hit the spot—savory, sweet, and perfect.
