One stone stirred up endless waves.
A single sentence could unleash a torrent of others.
Ever since Ye Zhibai uttered those words about “meeting an online friend,” she had come to deeply understand a term that once seemed utterly luxurious to her.
The term was “earnestly persuading.”
“Sis, you sit right here. This is serious—really serious! Listen to this part… Oh, right! Earlier this year, a guy named Wang ignored his family’s warnings and insisted on meeting an online friend from his game in person. He went but never came back—he vanished! See, Sis? Meeting online friends is incredibly dangerous! Oh… let me finish reading. Police investigation revealed that Wang simply couldn’t afford the fare back home and ended up stuck at the high-speed rail station… Hiss! What does that have to do with meeting an online friend? Bad example! Hold on, Sis, I’ll find a better one!”
“Little Bai’er… please, just listen to me. The internet’s waters run deep—you can’t navigate them. Online friends? You don’t know their backgrounds. Without nine years of compulsory schooling, you wouldn’t realize… the net’s full of demons and monsters. They lure you out under the guise of wanting to meet and befriend you, but their real aim is often your beauty! And worse—haven’t you heard about those kidney harvesters lately? Eek! Little Bai’er, just think about it—terrifying, right?”
“…”
On the point about her being some dropout who slipped through the cracks of nine years of compulsory schooling, Ye Zhibai figured that couldn’t be true.
But how had these two top-tier talents suddenly aligned on the same front?!
Ye Zhibai was dumbfounded. She’d barely finished mentioning the online friend and tried to explain when they dragged her to the sofa, pinning her down so she couldn’t move, lecturing her relentlessly, one after the other.
So they were bullying her for speaking slowly, huh!
Ye Zhibai obediently placed her hands on the hem of her nightgown draped over her thighs, waiting for a chance to speak.
Finally, a brief lull came in their storm of admonitions.
Ye Zhibai seized the moment and spoke up decisively.
“Don’t worry, the online friend is a good person—just a little girl.”
“Sis!!”
“？!”
Why are you yelling like that!
“Ahem… sorry.” Yun’er realized she’d been a bit harsh and quickly composed herself.
But Sis, don’t blame me—this is all out of concern. No choice.
“Sis… don’t jump to conclusions yet. I’m not pressing for details right now. Just answer a few questions first. How did you meet this online friend?”
Woo, Yun’er had finally gotten to the key point.
That’s more like it—we should discuss things properly, not charge in like it’s the bedroom. We need to talk it out, right?
Ye Zhibai nodded lightly and answered.
“In a dream… oh, no—in the group chats I’ve been trying out these past few days.”
She’d almost trotted out the all-purpose “dream” excuse again!
She couldn’t use that weird reason for everything—dreams might offer insights, but they didn’t add QQ friends for you.
Yun’er pressed on: “What kind of group chat?”
“2D… 2D culture?”
“…”
Ye Zhibai knew this answer sounded pretty reckless.
She definitely needed to elaborate a bit.
The icy beauty Ye Zhibai began counting off on her slender fingers, explaining its wonders.
“2D culture—it’s a subculture I’ve only recently learned about. It’s endlessly fascinating. Yun’er, I’ve found that people who get 2D otaku culture are mostly… well, good folks.”
“Sis… I’m sorry.”
“Hm?”
Why apologize out of nowhere? Even if you don’t know 2D culture, no need—everyone has their expertise. You’re way better than me at everything except this.
But then Yun’er just said that.
“It must be because I’ve spent too little time with you lately, driving you to chat with random 2D stuff online… Woo, I get it! It’s that virtual culture, symbolizing spiritual emptiness, right?” Woo, Yun’er knew a little after all.
After all, weren’t the doujinshi she sometimes read part of 2D culture?
Exactly—when Sis wasn’t around, and she had to amuse herself, it filled that spiritual void!
What void? Total nonsense!
That’s completely wrong…! Er, or maybe not entirely?
Before Ye Zhibai could defend 2D otaku culture, Lin Zihan shot her hand up like an eager student, jumping in to answer!
“Ah…! I know this one, I know! 2D culture, right? It’s like anime and stuff—super fun. Back in middle school, I saw classmates mimicking anime characters in class! Let me think how it went… Oh yeah, like this.”
Zihan really was a woman of action.
Good grief—right after she spoke, she actually struck the pose from her memory.
She suddenly brushed back the golden bangs covering her left eye, revealing the black eyepatch beneath. Her little face turned serious as she struck the coolest, most over-the-top dramatic pose imaginable!
Then, she splayed the fingers of her left hand naturally, holding it up beside her face, her expression turning pained as she clearly racked her brain for the line she’d once heard.
At that moment, Ye Zhibai confronted a horrifying possibility!
Was she imitating…!
“Ex…!”
“Stop.”
“!”
Ye Zhibai cut her off the instant that first syllable escaped.
Zihan, I can hear that chuuni line ten times in an anime.
But in real life? I’d explode on the spot!
And that middle school classmate who performed this in class—what ever happened to that guy?!
Everyone has an embarrassing past, but some are blacker than the darkest night.
Lin Zihan hadn’t actually recalled the exact line.
Little Bai’er is so sweet—she must’ve seen me blanking mid-performance and stepped in to save me.
She’s a total angel!
Lin Zihan let her golden bangs fall back, resuming her normal state with an elegant smile.
“Anyway, that’s the vibe of 2D culture, right?”
Not even close!
Who said 2D culture meant emptiness or chuunibyou? You two really know nothing!
Hey hey, Yun’er, quit giving Zihan that disdainful look—you’re both equally clueless here!
Ye Zhiyun coughed lightly, swiftly steering the derailing conversation back on track.
“Ahem, that’s beside the point. The important thing, Sis, is that we need to reach an agreement now.”
“…”
Just hearing “agreement” made certain spots on Ye Zhibai’s body ache faintly!
But this time, Yun’er wasn’t proposing anything outrageous.
“It’s fine if you want to meet the online friend—not everyone you meet online is a villain. But I’ll have someone investigate first. Sis, if I find anything impure about their motives or anything suspicious, you’ll drop the plan immediately, okay?”
“Mm, as long as it doesn’t disrupt her normal life… And what do you mean by ‘impure motives’?”
“For example, if it’s a guy, you absolutely can’t go.”
“Okay, and if it’s a girl?”
“Girls too…! Ahem, for a girl… I’d have to weigh it. If it’s a sly fox like Lin Zihan here, that’s definitely out too. Meeting online friends requires caution. Mm, caution.”
“Hey, hey, this sly fox Lin… hasn’t left yet.”
