“Fine, fine, I heard you, Yun’er. You said it yourself—if I don’t wear it, you can wear it instead!”
“Guang Yu, did you record that just now?”
Guang Yu did not.
Because Guang Yu had already gone off to pluck some scallions.
Hiss… damn it, no evidence.
Poor Little Zhibai had already braced herself for the risk of being forced to don cat ears and a tail and meow like a kitten, but she didn’t dare speculate further.
All she could do was pin her hopes on Yun’er keeping her promise.
“Sis, I believe you’re an honest and trustworthy good girl. You absolutely mustn’t disappoint me, okay?”
Today, Ye Zhibai had gone out to meet her new online friend dressed in a classy khaki plaid skirt outfit.
The style was refreshingly new.
Ye Zhibai looked down and saw not only the tips of her feet wiggling inside lace-trimmed white socks but also the eye-catchingly expensive genuine leather belt cinched around her waist.
The understated, unflashy belt subtly pulled in Ye Zhibai’s slim waist.
It shaped her figure while highlighting her elegant poise.
This was Yun’er’s impeccable taste in clothes—she always managed to dress her sister up beautifully!
This outfit~ on anyone else, it would just be clothes. But on Big Sis, it truly brought out what “flawless white jade” meant.
Heh heh, speaking of flawless white jade, Big Sis was even more like it without any clothes on… Bah! What the hell am I thinking again?!
In short, gazing at her sister—whose poise and beauty were both maxed out—Yun’er propped her chin on one hand and nodded rapidly in satisfaction.
“Mm! Perfect!”
“Really…? Let me check the mirror. This outfit… it doesn’t look weird, right?”
“Hey…! Sis, are you doubting me? How could I ever pick something weird for you!”
Little Sis, it’s not that I don’t trust you.
It’s that I don’t trust myself.
Even though Ye Zhibai had been living as a girl for over a full month now—a decent amount of time—she was still completely clueless about women’s fashion.
When it came to something she inwardly resisted, even a year wouldn’t make her want to proactively learn or engage with it.
So every time she went out, Yun’er handled picking her outfits. Luckily, Yun’er loved the job and took it very seriously.
Actually, back when she saw Yun’er rummaging in the closet, Ye Zhibai should have spoken up right then about wanting simple pants and a long shirt.
But she’d been distracted thinking about the cat ears and tail, missing the perfect moment.
The consequence of that slip-up? Yun’er swiftly presenting the chosen skirt outfit with both hands.
That said… to be fair, when Ye Zhibai stood in front of the floor mirror inspecting herself, she had to admit this plaid skirt was actually pretty nice.
Setting aside her personal hang-ups, the clothes themselves were beautiful.
And most importantly, the skirt hem was long enough! It securely covered her knees—very reassuring!
That was one of Yun’er’s little schemes.
At home—the nightgown hem—could be short.
Outside—skirt hems—had to be long!
She hoped Big Sis would understand.
It was a bit selfish, but otherwise, Yun’er would be jealous every single day. She didn’t want to stew in a vat of vinegar forever.
While helping Ye Zhibai tighten the belt at her back, Yun’er admired the world’s most exquisite beauty without forgetting the main topic.
“I figure Big Sis already guessed. Since I didn’t stop you from meeting your online friend, that means my investigation on her passed—no danger or issues.”
“That’s about what I’d expect. From our chats, she seems like a good kid.”
“Tch, to earn that kind of praise from Big Sis… I’m almost jeal—cough, never mind that. Sis, do you know your online friend’s real name, by the way?”
“N-no… You even found that out?”
“Of course! Her real name is Su Yuqiu, a native of Qihai City. After summer break, she’ll be a senior at West City Qibei Middle School—she just turned eighteen this year. Her family’s well-off; her parents were part of the early successful entrepreneurs. They run a chain restaurant business—not huge, just a small-to-medium enterprise—but income-wise, they’re easily in the top one percent of high-income households in Qihai City.”
“That’s… surprisingly detailed?”
“You bet! This involves Big Sis—how could I not dig deep? Oh, right… everything else checks out normal. Except for one thing… that struck me as odd.”
“Tell me.”
With her outfit on, Ye Zhibai headed to the yard, pretending to close a window while actually signaling Guang Yu to head out.
The scallions you’re plucking? You’ll pay for them eventually. Enjoy it while you can—you’ll cry later.
The two sisters took the cat with them out of the room and into the living room, where Yun’er explained the “oddity” she’d mentioned.
“The odd part is her school. Qibei Middle School ranks in Qihai City’s top three for education, sure, but it’s a far cry from our old school, Qihai No.1 Middle School. And her home is even closer to Qihai No.1. Choosing schools like that raises some questions.”
“……”
How about you investigate if her ancestors ever tossed pebbles into a clear river?
We’re not going that deep, come on!
“Yun’er, I don’t think that matters.”
“Me neither~ Maybe it’s because of her parents’ work.”
You think it doesn’t matter, so why bring it up!
Heh heh, Yun’er just wanted Big Sis to praise how thorough she was.
If she didn’t mention even a tiny doubt, the whole investigation would seem pointless!
Everything was ready.
Ye Zhibai was about to head out.
As usual, Yun’er wouldn’t follow “openly.” Big Sis had agreed to meet her online friend alone—if she tagged along, it’d make Big Sis break her word. Yun’er wasn’t that stupid.
Ye Zhibai slipped on her little white sneakers and glanced around.
“Zihan isn’t working today?”
“Big Sis mentions her again… Sigh, she didn’t come. She called in sick—said she wasn’t feeling well.”
“Oh… Okay, I’ll message her later to check in and tell her to take care. Oh, and Yun’er—if she comes in this afternoon, pass a message for me.”
“Sure, what message?”
“Tell her I still love her.”
“?!!!!”
What does it mean when rosy cheeks suddenly drain to ghostly white?
That was Ye Zhiyun’s change right then—vivid as could be!
S-Sis… what did you just say…?
I’ll explode on the spot right now if you don’t watch it!!
The invisible Guang Yu tugged wordlessly at Ye Zhibai’s sleeve, signaling that her mouth had screwed up again.
Ye Zhibai got it instantly.
She wanted to slap herself.
Language skills, can you stop glitching out like this?!
Ye Zhibai quickly backpedaled.
“Cough… What I meant was, online friends are online friends. Zihan is the first friend I ever made. I just wanted to say… making a new friend won’t affect our friendship. That’s all.”
“…! Whew… You scared me to death, for real. Sis, don’t do that—you nearly gave me a heart attack and cut my life short!”
“……”
Sorry, really. I’ll make my mouth watch it next time.
In any case, Ye Zhibai felt it was necessary to pass that message to Zihan.
She wasn’t so naive as to think friendships lasted without effort. Such a precious treasure needed regular polishing to shine bright.
Mm… maybe because she’d never had friends before, she valued friendship extra dearly?
Ye Zhibai could be pretty thoughtful sometimes!
As for why pass it through Yun’er instead of telling Lin Zihan herself?
Come on—did anyone expect a socially awkward, tsundere type like her to say “Our friendship is rock-solid” to a friend’s face like some normie?!
Something that embarrassing? No way Ye Zhibai would say it herself!
Not long after Ye Zhibai left.
Ye Zhiyun pulled out her long-unused detective gear from the closet: the brown trench coat and matching disguise sunglasses.
No need to spell out what she was about to do.
She wouldn’t follow openly, but that didn’t mean she’d stay home obediently.
But before heading out.
Ye Zhiyun turned expressionlessly toward the empty, quiet living room and kitchen behind her, tossing out a cold, emotionless line.
“You heard all that, right?”
And from what should have been an empty kitchen came a pleasant voice, out of nowhere.
“Mm, of course I did~ Little Bai’er’s words of friendship care~ No joke, I was this close to tearing up.”
“Quit going nuts here.”
Ye Zhiyun glanced back icily, just as the kitchen’s sliding door slid open.
The one who’d been hiding in the kitchen and was now stepping out, beaming with heartfelt relief, was none other than Lin Zihan.
She really wasn’t joking.
Hearing Little Bai’er talk about friendship like that, as the person in question, her heart had warmed right up!
Lin Zihan wasn’t there to work today—you could tell from her casual clothes instead of the maid outfit.
The sight of her smile irritated Ye Zhiyun.
She simply slipped on her sunglasses, turned away to don the trench coat, her black hair whipping dramatically—cool as could be.
“Lin Zihan, I advise you—don’t meddle. I’m tailing my sister to keep her safe. What’s your excuse for following?”
Excuse?
Mm… Lin Zihan herself wasn’t quite sure.
Protecting Little Bai’er’s safety was clearly not her responsibility. She had no real combat prowess and might not even hold her own against a somewhat larger Little Kitty.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, she just felt the urge to follow along and see what was going on.
Even she couldn’t put it into words.
This was the first time in Lin Zihan’s life that she had cared so deeply about something beyond her own daily routine.
“Reasons? I’m not entirely sure myself~ I just feel like if I can catch another glimpse of Little Bai’er from afar, I’ll be content for the whole day!”
“You’re nuts—really annoying. Heh, I should’ve told big sis right then that her so-called good friend was skulking in the kitchen, waiting to tail her. I wonder if sis would still want to be friends with you after hearing that.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong with that? If I tell Little Bai’er that her dearest little sister started tailing her without permission—and even mobilized the full might of the Maid Corps—I wonder what Little Bai’er would think~”
“You dare?!”
“You dare, and so do I!”
“……”
“……”
When both sides were evenly matched, neither able to claim the moral high ground, it was inevitable that nobody would gain the upper hand.
After all, who wasn’t a stalking maniac deep down?
Today’s pursuit team was destined to be larger than usual!
