Ye Zhibai definitely couldn’t just bluntly bring up such a bizarre topic.
Worst case, she could always lock her door at night from now on, right?!
By some happy accident, the two of them tacitly agreed to set the subject aside for the time being.
Ye Zhiyun suddenly tilted her head and leaned it against Ye Zhibai’s shoulder. In a soft whisper, she said something that left Ye Zhibai utterly baffled.
“Sis… now that you’re back, before we go grab breakfast… shouldn’t we resume our ‘morning chats’? Wuu… without them, these past two years have been absolute torture every single day!”
“?”
Morning chats?!
Given Yun’er’s level of eccentricity, that phrase sounded ominous right off the bat!
No, no, no—truth was, Ye Zhibai had no clue what it even meant.
She flicked her eyes toward Guang Yu for help, but the scummy fox was still clutching her belly, pawing wildly at a bag of cat food through the window. No backup there.
Ye Zhibai shrank back against the wall and answered honestly. “Sorry… I don’t remember.”
“No… Sis, don’t worry about it. I should be the one apologizing. I just thought… you’d remember this. It’s fine! We can do it again, and maybe that’ll jog your memory!”
“……”
Do… do it again?!
Do what?!
Hey, hey, hey… I’m a proper lady here, a paragon of virtue! Don’t go getting any funny ideas, little sis!!
Ye Zhibai braced herself, ready for whatever challenge came next.
But… reality turned out nothing like she’d imagined.
She only felt a small hand gently stroking the top of her head.
Ye Zhibai’s squinted eyes slowly opened.
There, on Yun’er’s delicate, lovely face, was an overflowing smile.
Her palm was tenderly caressing Ye Zhibai’s head, careful not to muss a single strand of that silvery-white hair, following its natural flow with utmost gentleness.
Even Ye Zhibai herself felt a thread of comfort weaving through her, finding herself enjoying it.
No one had ever stroked her head before… or rather, no one had ever wanted to offer her that simple warmth.
And now, Ye Zhiyun was doing exactly that.
Ye Zhiyun kept up the motion, fulfilling a wish she’d held for two long years. Yet her words carried a hint of melancholy.
“Sis… still don’t remember?”
It was adorable.
A stark, heart-melting contrast to the serious girl from yesterday.
Yun’er’s pleading gaze was simply too moving to resist.
Whatever weirdness she’d shown last night, right now she was nothing but an innocent kid craving her big sister’s affection, pure and simple.
Ye Zhibai racked her brains.
Imitation.
This body of hers, before her soul arrived, had been nothing more than Yun’er’s mirror image.
If Yun’er was making this gesture, then there was only one thing she could do in response…
—Mirror it right back.
Ye Zhibai straightened her posture, swallowed hard, mustered her courage, and slowly raised her slender, jade-like hand, reaching forward.
At last… it settled gently atop Ye Zhiyun’s silky black hair.
It was just such a simple action.
Yet Ye Zhibai clearly saw Yun’er’s eyes well up with tears in an instant!
So the morning chats… were just the sisters stroking each other’s heads like this, soothing their souls.
“Sis…! You do remember!”
I don’t remember at all!
It was pure blind luck, like a cat stumbling over a dead rat—you know that, right?!
No, wait.
This was the moment to play it cool: “It was a gamble, and I won.”
But Ye Zhibai had no time for that!
Because Yun’er was hugging her again—again!!
A wave of floral fragrance hit her, followed by Ye Zhiyun’s tight embrace.
No matter how many times it happened, the soft, springy feedback against her chest was something Ye Zhibai could never get used to.
Too… too wondrous. Ye Zhibai lifted her arms to prove her innocence!
But to Ye Zhiyun, that gesture only screamed big sis’s aloofness.
And that aloofness… thrilled her so much she shivered all over!
By the time Ye Zhibai felt the tremor, Ye Zhiyun had already buried her face in her chest, nuzzling and acting all coquettish.
“Sis… could you hug me back too?”
Hug… hug my foot! Was this heart-pounding stimulation really okay first thing in the morning?!
And to top it off, Guang Yu was right there fanning the flames.
Ye Zhiyun truly couldn’t see her.
Guang Yu went all out like a cheerleader, bouncing around with cheers—but her movements were light and silent.
Her voice suddenly echoed directly in Ye Zhibai’s mind, inaudible to Ye Zhiyun.
“Go for it! Go for it! Human! Hug her! Snuggle! Snuggle!”
Guang Yu was dying for them to get all cuddly!
The sooner they truly bonded heart-to-heart, the sooner she could check off her mission and head back to the Heavenly Realm!
Aaaah, so annoying!
Ye Zhibai couldn’t take the pressure from both sides anymore.
She gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, leaned forward, and gingerly wrapped her arms around Ye Zhiyun.
“Like… this?”
“Mm… Sis, hold me a little longer…”
A little longer… and my poor heart might give out.
She held on as long as she dared.
In the process, she could hear contented little hums slipping from Yun’er in her arms—pure, relaxed bliss.
Ye Zhibai felt her blood pressure spiking… and after what felt like enough, she finally let go.
Now, Ye Zhiyun looked fully recharged with “big sis energy,” her face radiant! Even those dark circles under her eyes seemed to have faded.
“Great! Sis! Let’s go eat breakf—”
Ding-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling.
The doorbell rang. It was the one at the villa’s main entrance, out beyond the living room. Ye Zhibai heard it for the first time.
Ice instantly frosted over Ye Zhiyun’s eyes.
“Who’s that… this early? Ugh, so annoying. Oh—Sis, wait here in the room for a sec. I’ll check who it is and be right back. Oh yeah, there’s a washstand in the outer courtyard if you need to freshen up. The bathroom’s at the end of the first floor if you wanna shower, but I’d say wait till after breakfast. Right… who the heck is ringing nonstop this early?!”
Ye Zhiyun couldn’t bear to waste even a second without talking to Ye Zhibai. Even with the doorbell going nuts outside, she rattled off all that advice first.
Ye Zhiyun headed out to answer the door, leaving for the moment.
The instant the door clicked shut, Ye Zhibai whipped a sharp glance at Guang Yu.
The scummy deity froze in place.
Bouncing around? You were bouncing around just now?
Ye Zhibai’s voice turned icy. “She… can’t see you?”
“Ri-right! When I’m in cat form, everyone can see me. But in human form, only you—with the divinity granted by the Mother God—can. Well… I could make myself visible if I wanted, but this is the whimsy of a deity! Pretty cool, huh!”
Guang Yu planted her hands on her hips, smug as could be!
All that complicated stuff… Ye Zhibai didn’t get it.
She had just one question.
“So… why didn’t you just stay like this yesterday? When Yun’er came in, why turn into a cat? If you’d stayed human, she wouldn’t have seen you anyway.”
Ye Zhibai felt like she’d claimed the high ground in smarts.
But she’d clearly underestimated Guang Yu’s brainpower.
“Didn’t I say yesterday? Staying human is exhausting! Turning into a cat let you adopt me, so I can roam the house freely now! Duh, so dumb! Ugh… but thinking about those four vaccine shots yesterday, maybe I should’ve stayed human. Total loss!”
“……”
Sure, she talked like she deserved a smack.
But damn if she wasn’t sharp after all!
