The sight of these maidens frolicking in the mud was breathtaking and utterly captivating. It was just a shame—Lin Zihan’s freshly smoothed mud patch would probably need redoing soon.
After five minutes of fierce back-and-forth, the final outcome emerged.
No surprise there: the reckless Little Zhibai ended up with her arms pinned by Lin Zihan’s legs, captured and pressed firmly beneath her.
“…”
Damn it. I’m not convinced.
I’ve got the skills for mud play, but she’s stronger!
Is this what they mean by overwhelming power trumps all?
The battlefield was a disaster. Both girls were covered head to toe in mud, and Ye Zhibai had even lost a shoe in the chaos!
Her little white sock was now a muddy mess!
Lin Zihan crossed her legs, applying just enough pressure to hold Little Bai’er without hurting her, a triumphant smile beaming on her face.
“Hmph hmph, how’s that, Little Bai’er? Ready to admit defeat now?”
“Fine. You win.”
“Yay!”
Don’t think for a second I surrendered because of your strength. If I flipped over, I could still turn the tables.
My quick surrender had a good reason.
Lin Zihan was having way too much fun. She’d completely forgotten her ladylike poise as the Eldest Miss—or rather, when she was this happy, no one could fuss over little details.
But even if you’re carefree, don’t cross your legs like that! Especially not right by my head!
In that position, her maid skirt had ridden up, revealing her little bear panties just inches—maybe ten centimeters—from my face!
Another little secret uncovered: Zihan might be eighteen and seem all mature and elegant, but she still wears childish bear undies?
As her good friend, I’ll keep that under wraps. No problem. Rest easy.
But honestly… in such an intense mud battle, anyone in a skirt was bound to have a wardrobe mishap.
Only then did Ye Zhibai notice that Zihan’s gaze kept darting—fighting it but failing—to the left.
What are you looking at?
Perplexed, Little Zhibai followed the direction of Lin Zihan’s eyes.
There it was: her own dress hem, soaked and muddied, had flipped up completely!
Her snowy white panties, complete with a little bow tie, were on full display for Lin Zihan!
Good thing it hadn’t ridden higher— she wasn’t even wearing a bra up top!
Ye Zhibai casually stood up, smoothing her skirt back down. She let her gaze wander after the butterflies flitting through the flowers, pretending nothing had happened.
Zihan had been staring so intently earlier. She must’ve wanted style tips to ditch those childish bears.
Yeah, that had to be it.
Lin Zihan’s emotional intelligence was top-notch.
Seeing the view disappear, she shifted into a duck-sit position amid the mud and turned to Ye Zhibai with a radiant smile.
“Little Bai’er, our friendship just leveled up.”
“Yeah… I guess so.”
And why not?
We’d rolled around in the mud together. In terms of friendship value, even Peppa Pig and Suzy Sheep couldn’t compare!
But that wasn’t what Lin Zihan really meant.
She shook her head lightly, raising one slender finger. She flicked off the mud first, then wagged it with a grin.
“No, no, no. I mean something even deeper than that! In other words, we understand each other way better than when we first became friends.”
“That’s true, but what kind of understanding are you talking about…?”
“We know each other’s panty styles now! Isn’t that understanding each other better?!”
Pfft!
I thought you were going to say something mundane. Instead, it’s this explosive and wildly creative!
Wait.
She said “each other.”
Meaning Zihan realized I’d seen hers too…!
First things first: I have to deny it. It wasn’t on purpose.
Ye Zhibai’s face showed no hint of panic—her calm only made Lin Zihan’s cheeks flush slightly.
Even her voice softened, turning all sweet and melty.
“Little Bai’er… you can’t tell anyone, okay? I still pick my undies like I did as a kid… Pretty childish, right? But I love them… Bears are so cute.”
“Y-Yeah… sure. My lips are sealed.”
“Mm! Thanks, Little Bai’er!”
Well, well.
Bears are cute, no doubt.
But Ye Zhibai suddenly realized Lin Zihan’s personality might be even cuter than she’d thought!
Staring at that mischievous smile on her mud-streaked cheeks, Ye Zhibai grasped a sudden truth.
Maybe… this playful, childish, giggly side—eager to share her hobbies and thoughts—this was Lin Zihan’s true nature, hidden beneath her usual poised elegance?
She probably hadn’t shown it once in a whole year. But today, Ye Zhibai had seen it all.
Bonus: the bears!
Yun’er had said the once-mischievous Eldest Miss Lin changed dramatically in just a few years, maturing overnight. Baffling.
Now, Ye Zhibai thought she understood some of it.
Growing up was sometimes just a facade.
Yeah, Zihan was right.
As friends, we really did understand each other better now!
The two girls chatted happily amid the mud—one bursting into laughter, the other cool and aloof.
Who says opposite expressions can’t communicate? Ye Zhibai called bullshit!
Suddenly—
Ye Zhibai heard the small door by the floor-to-ceiling window of her room slide open.
Lin Zihan stopped smiling.
Ye Zhibai stayed cool.
They both looked over.
There stood Ye Zhiyun, who had rushed over at the noise, frozen in place.
She stared at the mud-covered duo, tangled up in a most undignified mess.
Little Yun’er’s heart churned with a storm of emotions.
Her face paled.
A thousand words boiled down to one.
“Haah… Big Sis really has been led astray by that fox spirit. Hold on, Sis… I’ll go change into shoes good for flying kicks.”
“Yun’er, come back. I can explain. She can explain too.”
Explaining wasn’t hard.
Ye Zhibai quickly clarified: it was just a mud-rolling game.
Fun once in a lifetime, but not for repeats.
Yun’er sighed deeply after hearing it.
“But… but Big Sis never played this game with me! Damn it… how dare that fox spirit beat me to it!”
“It’s like this.” Lin Zihan reverted to her usual composed self. “Zhiyun, it’s just a game~ But someone as serious and proper as you could never understand the fun Little Bai’er and I had. After all, you’d never stoop to playing it~”
“You…! Nonsense. If it makes Sis happy, what’s that matter?”
Ye Zhibai had a very bad feeling.
Yun’er… I advise you not to.
Our all-purpose washing machine shouldn’t handle that kind of load.
But it was too late.
A woman’s competitive spirit and drive to win were ironclad, unbeatable on every front.
Ignoring Ye Zhibai’s calm attempts to stop her, Ye Zhiyun charged forward uncalmly—a ten-meter sprint, leaping straight into the mud pit!
Ye Zhibai didn’t even bother shielding her face from the mud splatters.
Fine.
Now it was Mud Lin and Mud Ye times two.
Yun’er stepped into the mud, grimacing at the unpleasant squish, but her determination to play with her sister held firm!
Even her voice rang with righteous fervor.
“Sis, how do you play this? What should I do now?”
“…”
How the hell should I know?!
I’d been dying to escape this mud pit as fast as possible after that last round!
Lin Zihan felt the same.
Mud play was a spur-of-the-moment thrill. Once the fun wore off and sanity returned, it was a hard pass.
Ignoring Yun’er’s resolve, Lin Zihan kicked off her waterproof boots and stepped onto the firm, dry ground nearby with her clean little feet. She turned back with a big smile, extending a hand to Ye Zhibai.
“Come on~ Little Bai’er, hop out. Game over. Time to wash the clothes and take a bath.”
She then turned to look at Ye Zhiyun, whose face was full of surprise and brewing anger.
And she even deliberately put on a very shocked expression!
“Ah! Sorry, sorry! I didn’t notice. Does Eldest Miss Ye really want to play in the mud? That’s so unexpected… But sorry, Little Bai’er and I don’t like playing with that stuff. It’s way too unsanitary. Come on, let’s go!”
“Lin—Zi—Han!! You die right now!!”
“Little Bai’er, run! Zhiyun’s flipping out again!”
But she didn’t dare run.
Ye Zhibai shook her head helplessly at Yun’er and could only think:
—Next time, be smarter. Don’t get carried away.
“Sister, I suggest you don’t hang out with someone as sly as a fox next time. Foxes are canines, after all—rounding it off, Lin Zihan is basically a dog!”
“Woof woof woof! So what if I’m a dog? Then I’ll be Little Bai’er’s dog~”
“Get lost! You think you’re worthy? The only one who can be Sister’s dog is me.”
“……”
Ye Zhibai took off her white socks and stepped onto the flat ground as well. She had no idea what to make of this.
Fighting over the title of “dog”… She didn’t think that was anything to be proud of.
Now all three of them were out of the muddy field.
Which meant only Guang Yu… had been spared.
So sometimes, sleeping through things and just slacking off really could dodge some headaches. There was nothing wrong with that.
Amid the sounds of Yun’er and Lin Zihan launching into another round of fierce verbal sparring,
Ye Zhibai suddenly heard something off-key.
The sound was all too familiar to Ye Zhibai.
It made her frown at once, a bad feeling surging up.
—It was the sound of a big scallion being yanked out!
Oh no!
Ye Zhibai whipped her head around. There, in the flower field less than ten meters away on the other side, Little Tea Cat was bravely padding into the mud. She clamped a big scallion in her mouth, her little paws helping out as she furrowed her cat brows and yanked it free with a mighty tug!
Guang Yu! You damn cat, unyieldingly pulling up scallions till the bitter end, huh!
Guang Yu, for her part: Pulling up scallions was a matter of attitude. She hadn’t had the chance earlier, but now? This was her heaven-sent moment!
Lin Zihan spotted the scene too.
She blinked in astonishment, filled with deep regret for doubting Little Bai’er’s words before.
“Little Bai’er… the cat really is pulling up a scallion. This… this is just absurd.”
“I know. It’s always been like this.”
Ye Zhibai forgot all about rushing off to wash her clothes and bathe.
She turned to Yun’er and Zihan,
and issued her most resolute command of the day.
“Change of plans: catch that cat and beat her. Show no mercy.”
“Got it!” “Understood, Sister!”
“Meow?!”
