“Hahaha! Sorry, sorry. Look at me… Zhibai, come sit over here! Let Auntie get a good look at you. This girl… she’s so fresh and lively!”
“……”
Whoa, “fresh and lively”? That’s a new one… Yeah, right!
Does Auntie think I’m some freshly pulled daikon radish? A dewy, crisp one straight from the veggie market?
Even the aunties at the market don’t stare at radishes that intently!
Ye Zhibai, already crippled by social anxiety, had nearly cracked under that intense, despairing gaze earlier. If Auntie Fang had stared just a few seconds longer, she would’ve bolted back to Sister Liang’s room to knead Guang Yu’s cheeks for stress relief.
Behind her, Chi Yuliang placed both hands on Ye Zhibai’s shoulders, gave a wry smile, and gently nudged her toward the living room sofa.
Pfft… Sorry, Little Bai. No helping it.
With how you look right now, anyone would doubt their own eyesight.
Ye Zhibai’s body stiffened as she lightly patted her butt and gingerly settled onto the blue leather sofa, perfectly embodying the image of a donkey too timid to relieve itself.
Across from her, separated by the coffee table, sat Fang Wenyuan on the auxiliary sofa.
Chi Yuliang beat Fang Wenyuan to it, pulling out a fresh set of tea ware from under the table. She leaned forward to switch on the automatic kettle, glanced around, then headed straight to the cabinet by the balcony to rummage for the family’s best tea leaves.
The rising hum of the kettle heating up mirrored Ye Zhibai’s own anxious, fluttering heart.
Sister Liang…! Sister Liang! Don’t rush off for tea leaves yet!
Kick off the conversation first!
Without Sister Liang to carry the scene, Ye Zhibai realized just what a useless lump she was.
What do people usually chat about in situations like this to break the ice?
She had no clue. In two lifetimes, she’d never met anyone’s parents!
Well, Ye Qinghe didn’t count—that was her own old dad, easygoing as they came.
But in truth, she didn’t need to scramble for a topic.
Fang Wenyuan cast another appreciative glance at the silver-haired girl sitting primly opposite her. Feeling pleased once more, she smiled kindly.
“Zhibai, by the way, what’s your family name? Yuliang’s been talking about you nonstop lately, but she never mentioned your full name.”
“Um, Auntie, my humble surname is Ye.”
The words had barely left her mouth before Little Zhibai regretted them.
She didn’t even ask for my “humble” surname!
Why’d I go throwing around “humble” like I’m some noble? Do I think I’m that fancy?!
Luckily, Fang Wenyuan paid no mind to such trivial slips—or rather, didn’t notice at all, too busy admiring.
“Ye Zhibai… Ye Zhibai… What a lovely name. ‘Zhi’ evokes fragrant herbs and wooded groves, ‘Bai’ like floating catkins against the leaves—so poetic. And it suits you perfectly; you’re as beautiful as your name. Hmm… though the name rings a bell?”
“An illusion.” Ye Zhibai shot back instantly.
“An illu… illusion? Oh, right! Cough, yeah, definitely just an illusion, haha!”
Fang Wenyuan suddenly recalled which name it rhymed with.
But she bit her tongue just in time.
Better not bring up that name and stir up Yuliang’s sad memories!
Seeing Yuliang return with a freshly opened packet of fine tea, Fang Wenyuan deftly shifted the topic.
“Speaking of names, I especially love the characters ‘Zhi’ and ‘Bai.’ They have this elegant, serene feel—like vast blue seas and boundless skies.”
“Ha… Thanks, Auntie. You really know your stuff.”
“Oh, no, I can’t compare to you young folks. Auntie just reads a bit in her spare time.”
The water boiled.
Chi Yuliang lifted the kettle and poured tea for the two, chuckling as she exposed her mother’s false modesty.
“Mom, back in your day, wasn’t a top graduate from Capital University’s literature department more than just ‘a bit of spare-time reading’?”
“A real hero doesn’t brag about past glories. It’s been over twenty years since college—I’ve forgotten it all. Still gotta keep reading on my own.”
“……”
From that simple exchange, Ye Zhibai gleaned a crucial piece of info.
Holy crap.
Sitting before her was a conversation between the current Capital University academic god and the one from twenty years ago!
Sister Liang was adopted, and somehow that made for a household overflowing with scholarly prodigies?!
Ye Zhibai, who had just finished high school—not even receiving her diploma in the mail yet—hung her head in shame.
But then, after pouring the tea, Sister Liang abruptly steered the conversation her way.
“But Mom, Little Bai just aced the Gaokao, landing in the provincial top fifty. Once the official scores drop, she might even snag first place! Her results are right up there with mine from back then—super impressive!”
“Really…? Then Zhibai must be one hardworking girl…”
“Not just that—Little Bai’s an all-around gem. Mom, did you know? She’s super frugal. Last time we went out to eat, those leftovers I brought home? Little Bai hated to waste them, even though her family’s well-off.”
“Mm-hmm, great character—rare these days. I admire thrifty people!”
“And that’s not all… she’s got so many good qualities…!”
“?”
Ye Zhibai glanced left, then right, utterly baffled.
Sister Liang…
Why are you suddenly hyping me up like this?!
I won’t deny I’m decent in some ways, but nowhere near worthy of you gushing with stars in your eyes!
Chi Yuliang rattled off Little Bai’s virtues to her mom, even gesturing animatedly with both hands, her expression brimming with pride.
That pride… it outshone even her own achievements a thousand—no, a million—times over.
Little Bai, you don’t get it.
Sister’s been waiting for this day far too long.
Yes… Chi Yuliang was deeply grateful to this family, content in every way, filial to her parents.
But for the past decade or so…
There was one thing—a lingering knot in her heart.
Two years after being adopted, her mom had once spoken to her sternly, with heartfelt concern.
“Yuliang! You are not to go see that child at the orphanage anymore…! And you still ask why?
“Do you know? Fate is shaped by the people you surround yourself with. When I was young, our family was poor… Your dad and I pushed hard to study. If we hadn’t gritted our teeth, left our county high school, gone off to work and save while studying in the city, how could we have achieved what we did? You’re known by the company you keep. If we’d stayed in the county, mixing with those smoking, drinking slackers, our lives would’ve never changed!
“Don’t take this the wrong way—success demands sacrifice. Yuliang, since your dad and I adopted you, we want you to have a successful life. If you’re always running to the orphanage, playing in the mud with kids who never even went to middle school, how will you ever make it big? With your talent, and the good life we’re giving you, are you just going to throw it away?
“Don’t hate me for being blunt. For you now, they just aren’t good enough anymore. They can’t be your friends—they’d only hold you back. You need to connect with people who’ll push you forward…”
Good medicine tastes bitter, but cures the ailment.
Harsh words sting the ear, but spur action.
Chi Yuliang was never one blinded by sentiment, deaf to advice.
She was rational.
Terrifyingly so.
Her mom’s words came straight from the heart, drawn from her own hard-won experience—selfless.
She wanted to pull Chi Yuliang from the mire, beyond the orphanage’s low walls, to soar into her own vast blue sky, without regrets.
But…
A bird that had taken flight…
Never forgot to glance back at the ground from which it had launched.
She believed.
One day, Little Bai would come proudly before her parents, proving she wasn’t the “not good enough” failure they spoke of, unworthy to walk beside her.
Why was Chi Yuliang so confident?
Because she’d been watching all along.
Chi Yuliang had watched over her, escorted her through spring, summer, fall, and winter.
She’d seen Little Bai to the Gaokao twice, given her the fountain pen symbolizing victory each time, and even from university, kept inquiring after Little Bai through family contacts.
Looking back on it all…
When had Little Bai started gritting her teeth, striving to change her fate?
The answer was clear.
The day Chi Yuliang was taken away by her adoptive parents… at the orphanage gate, she had turned back, giving the young Ye Zhibai a resolute look.
Sister believes in you.
You have to believe in Sister too.
Our parting is only temporary.
We’ll meet again.
And… it will be a reunion grander, better than now.
Even if not on this earth.
Then, in that blue sky.
