The question came out of nowhere. Even the calmest person alive would have been caught off guard.
But Ye Zhibai didn’t panic.
Haha, bet you didn’t see that coming!
I’m sharp as a tack—I won’t let your loaded question throw me off balance!
Ahem… okay, maybe I panicked for a split second.
What was a loaded question?
That was exactly what Lin Zihan had asked.
Think about it. On the surface, her question sounded pretty scandalous. But would she and Yun’er answer honestly?
Of course not!
Asking about family chit-chat was one thing, but dropping a bombshell like that? They’d stay silent or flat-out deny it. Who in their right mind would openly admit something so embarrassing?
A question doomed to go unanswered? Yeah, that was a pointless prying if there ever was one.
Ye Zhibai opted for silence to avoid saying the wrong thing.
Overly cautious Little Zhibai decided to hand off the hot potato to Yun’er, whose silver tongue was a hundred times sharper than hers.
Come on, Yun’er—tell her last night had been calm and peaceful!
Ye Zhiyun rose to the occasion.
After exchanging a quick glance with her sister, she answered nonchalantly.
But the moment she opened her mouth…
Ye Zhibai’s already stoic expression turned downright glacial.
“You can keep that ‘worse than a beast’ line for yourself. But aside from that… yeah, you nailed it. Last night was pure bliss, total happiness. I was loved by my sister, I… ahem, that’s your answer. Quit prying—it’s none of your business.”
“Ha… ha?!”
Hahaha. The real danger was a loaded question getting a straight-up honest reply.
Yun’er!!
Why spill the beans like that? To flex your virtue of brutal honesty?
Look at Zihan—you’ve got her so spooked her maid cap’s gone crooked!
Right now, Ye Zhibai’s biggest regret was wandering out of her little room for no good reason.
No matter how stunned Lin Zihan’s gaze grew, Yun’er remained unflappable, calmly sipping her tea.
The more shocked you are, the better I feel.
Yun’er wasn’t trying to brag. Happiness was hers to savor privately—no need to broadcast it.
But Lin Zihan was a different story!
Yun’er had always sensed some inexplicable threat from her. It was a woman’s sixth sense screaming at her loud and clear!
So she’d flash her battle record.
It was just like in a game. Spot my godlike K/D on the leaderboard, and you’d lose all nerve to lane against me.
Knowing when to back off was a mark of good character.
Ye Zhibai tried to slip away in the chaos.
Too bad Yun’er had a death grip on her arm.
Gazing at the blissed-out possessiveness lighting up Ye Zhiyun’s face, contrasted with the utter dead-inside look on Little Bai’er’s…
Lin Zihan’s pupils shrank in shock!
But she recovered almost instantly.
Haah… was this really that shocking?
It was Ye Zhiyun, after all—the queen of swift, decisive action!
Back in the day, she’d kick Lin Zihan’s ass every time they crossed paths, no hesitation, flying kicks every single time. Nothing that woman did should surprise anyone anymore!
Lin Zihan forcibly shoved down the weird flicker of irritation bubbling up inside her.
Then her trademark smile bloomed naturally toward Ye Zhibai.
“Little Bai’er, just a friendly heads-up: go easy, okay~? Take care of that body. Overindulgence comes with all sorts of risks… like your legs right now?”
“Oh… sure…?”
Someone dig me a hole to crawl into!
Who’d have thought the day would come when a friend had to warn me to “go easy”?
In a way, wasn’t this straight-up social suicide?
Yun’er… wuu, look at the mess you’ve made! How am I supposed to show my face around my friends (all one of them) now? If I get slapped with the “pervy” label, I’ll never live it down!
Ye Zhibai might have a heart of stone and an icy demeanor, but the shame burning inside her brought a faint blush creeping across her cheeks.
Yun’er caught it dead to rights.
Without a word, on pure instinct, she pressed her left cheek against Ye Zhibai’s soft, bouncy right one and rubbed!
Was this some kind of magnetic pull?
“Woo…! Sis, you’re so cute! Hug!”
“Mmph… stop… quit fooling around. Calm down.”
“Ehehe… don’t mind the third wheel, Sis! Some feelings just can’t be bottled up!”
Third-wheel Lin Zihan—with her golden bangs half-veiling one crimson eye—narrowed her eyes in an elegant smile.
She was truly happy for Little Bai’er.
Her friend was happy. That’s what friends were for, right?
But even Lin Zihan didn’t notice.
Unconsciously, she’d licked her lips and swallowed hard.
And deep in her heart… it was like some shackle had unlocked another notch with a sharp clank.
Eh…? Lin Zihan shook her head.
She forced her smile to hold.
For a second there…
Felt kinda weird, huh?
Before clocking out, Yun’er suddenly brought up the topic of Gaokao volunteer choices.
Ye Zhibai perked up.
Compared to that agonizing earlier subject, this was wholesome and on point!
Yun’er seemed a bit torn as she raised it.
“Gaokao volunteers, huh… Sis, any thoughts? Wait—no, do you even know what picking a university means here? Like, the whole application process?”
Who’re you underestimating?!
“I… might know, might not. But picking the best one can’t be wrong, right?”
“True enough. For top-tier, Capital University is the go-to.”
“Then let’s do that?”
Sweet! Sister Liang wants me there too.
“It’s doable… but Dad wants us picking something closer to home. He says it’s easier to visit often that way. Capital’s too far—you barely get home once a year. His exact words: Mom’s still out of touch, and if we go that far, he’ll probably shave ten years off his life.”
“!”
Lin Zihan had just swapped out of her maid outfit for her regular clothes. She cradled the neatly folded uniform as she stepped out of the bathroom.
Just in time to overhear the Ye sisters hashing out their Gaokao volunteers.
Whoa! Gotta hear what school Little Bai’er wants—this is intel!
Ye Zhiyun completely ignored Lin Zihan, who was lurking nearby like an eager golden retriever.
Propping her chin on her hand, she pondered aloud.
“Honestly, it doesn’t matter much which university. For us, it’s just a taste of college life. We’ll be back home running the company after graduation anyway, so it’s all the same.”
“Y-Yeah… true.”
Listen to her—did those words even come from the characters she’d learned?
Yun’er pressed on.
“But… if Sis wants to go to university, I’d lean toward the absolute best. Top academies have way richer traditions and atmosphere. Dad’s take, though… Capital University is pretty distant. Sis, let’s look into it together. No rush—volunteers aren’t due for a few days. Your choice comes first. Then we’ll work on keeping Dad from dropping those ten years. Weigh it all out.”
Nice one with “then.” Talk about filial piety.
Lin Zihan listened quietly from the sidelines.
Then she whipped her head away with a wry, self-mocking chuckle.
This was pointless.
Of course Little Bai’er and her sister had the freedom to choose. Life held no real risks for them—they could go wherever.
But Lin Zihan didn’t have that luxury.
If she scored Capital University, it’d be her only option.
Two and a half years of grinding through high school—for this very shot.
Distance from home? Near or far? She couldn’t afford to sweat the details.
Mom was counting on her to graduate, land a solid job, hit life’s peak…
Ahh… but man, sharing a campus with Little Bai’er sounds dreamy…
Too extravagant, though. Lin Zihan wanted to smack herself.
First and foremost, she couldn’t betray the tuition Mom had scrimped and saved for all those years.
Pfft… wonder if a Capital University grad’s salary will beat what I’m pulling in the Ye Family Maid Corps now?
Am I already at my peak?!
Ye Zhibai caught Lin Zihan in her peripheral—giggling to herself, hand clamped over her mouth with little squeaks.
Hit a funny memory?
Oh, right.
Gaokao volunteers could wait. Needed to see if Dad would actually drop dead ten years early over it.
More urgent: break some big news to Yun’er.
The Comic-Con date with Little Qiu was days away!
No time to waste on advance notice!
Ye Zhibai’s report.
Short and sweet.
“Yun’er, I wanna head out in a few days.”
“Hm? Where to, Sis?”
“Meet an online friend.”
“!””!”
Yun’er dropped the volunteer debate.
Zihan quit amusing herself.
Both women went wide-eyed, staring straight at Ye Zhibai in perfect sync.
A-Ah?
Did I just say something wrong?!
