Guang Yu’s flare-up came quickly and faded just as fast.
Cough, cough—not that it meant anything else!
It simply meant that her unusual state had lasted only a few minutes before she completely returned to normal.
The car door must have pinched the base of her tail earlier—no wonder her reaction had been so extreme.
Ye Zhibai said nothing about it… After all, she wasn’t an idiot. She had figured out the reason behind Guang Yu’s sudden episode.
This was one matter best left unspoken!
The sports car had been cruising along the ring road for ten minutes now. Guang Yu knelt on the back seat, her face pressed to the window, her starry-blue eyes glimmering with endless starlight.
She gazed at the scenery rushing past outside: the towering skyscrapers in the distance, the ceaseless flow of traffic. A grin stretched so wide across her face it refused to close!
She was this close to leaping out of the car and throwing herself into the heart of it all!
Everything was so utterly new and wondrous to her.
Her tail had been whipping around like a propeller ever since, and at one point, it had slapped Ye Zhibai right across the face. Enraged, Ye Zhibai had yanked out a fistful of fur!
While Guang Yu remained entranced by the city’s bustling streets and sights, Ye Zhibai pulled out her precious new Pineapple 14 phone. She blew the fox fur off the screen, entered the unlock code, and swiped open QQ.
Glancing at the top-left corner of QQ, she confirmed that she had switched her account status to “Invisible Offline.”
She had done it just before bed last night—a sudden realization that had struck her then.
Why the change?
Wasn’t it obvious?
A dead girl whose phone had been tossed away, with QQ showing as online every day? Who would buy that!
The only thing troubling Ye Zhibai was that yesterday, the moment she had woken up in the hospital and logged into QQ, she hadn’t thought to adjust the status right away.
It should… be okay, right? No one would have noticed so quickly and gotten spooked?
Haha… Didn’t QQ stay online for a few hours even after the phone shut down? It was within the margin of error!
In any case, sliding open QQ now revealed a message feed much like last night’s.
She had culled her university-related friends down to just a handful, leaving the interface mostly empty—save for the “2D Anime Hobby Exchange Group,” where that pack of fools was still flooding the chat with nonsense.
Heh, not like me. I don’t spam groups.
With practiced ease, Ye Zhibai opened the anime group and dropped a “bubbling” emoticon.
In that split second,
Her phone chimed with a flurry of private message notifications.
Perplexed, Ye Zhibai glanced up. They were from the group admin, Little Qiu—a string of picture previews.
Holy crap, sending me lewd pics in broad daylight?!
The proper lady that she was, Ye Zhibai discreetly tapped with her slender fingers to open the chat with Little Qiu.
At the same time, she tilted her body at just the right angle—like someone furtively viewing unsolicited study materials in public, careful not to let anyone peek.
But in the end,
They weren’t lewd pics at all.
Little Qiu had sent a bunch of cat photos.
Ragdoll cats, Garfield cats, tabby cats.
“Yezi! Check out my cat legion—aren’t they gorgeous? You said you picked up a cat yesterday, right? Keeping it? Send a pic! And why’s your status been offline this whole time? I thought you’d vanished.”
Sorry, but in a certain sense, I
really have vanished.
Oh, right—this was just a cat flex.
Rather than replying immediately, Ye Zhibai lifted her phone and patted Guang Yu’s shoulder, beckoning her over for a look.
“See people’s cats? Groomed to a shine. Now look at you when you’re a cat… all you do is sleep.”
“You wouldn’t seriously mistake me for one of those, would you? Lmao—these cats are so average. They can’t even shapeshift. Compared to me? Total trash.”
You’re the freak who assumes all cats are like you!
And quit misusing slang you just picked up online!
Well… Little Qiu wanted photos, but that wasn’t convenient right now.
Ye Zhibai fired off a few evasive replies, the gist being—next time, for sure.
Understanding as ever, Little Qiu didn’t press, dropping one last message before vanishing.
“Alrighty, send pics next time! I’m a veteran cat expert. It’s rare to find a group member who owns one—I gotta swap cat-rearing tips with you!”
Pfft. Sometimes, Little Qiu sounded just like a real girl.
The mischievous, sprightly kind.
But no way~ Everyone claimed group chats were full of girls, but anyone who knew better knew the truth.
Ye Zhibai shook her head, banishing the fanciful notion.
She had just been about to scroll through the day’s news when she suddenly felt the vehicle slow to a gentle crawl.
Surprised, she looked up out the window—and spotted the gleaming golden sign for “Qihai No.1 Middle School” right beside them.
At the same moment, the Head Maid spoke up. “Eldest Miss, we’ve arrived. This is where the Second Miss attends school.”
The Ye Family’s convoy enjoyed unimpeded access through Qihai No.1 Middle School.
Normally, Ye Family vehicles parked in the lot outside the campus grounds, never venturing inside.
But with the frail Ye Family Eldest Miss aboard today?
The Head Maid didn’t want her walking any more than necessary, so she drove straight up to the teaching building.
Ye Zhibai was experiencing such a prime parking spot for the first time.
The sports cars formed a perfect square formation, neatly arrayed by the steps of the building.
Ye Zhibai reached for the door handle, eager for some fresh air, but before her hand made contact, the Head Maid hurriedly stopped her.
“Eldest Miss, please wait a moment!”
“Hm?!”
What was this? Hadn’t they said she could get out?
The Head Maid glanced around via the rearview mirror before explaining.
“It’s break time right now. The Grade 12 students are in the gymnasium for their Gaokao oath ceremony, but the Grade 10 and 11 students are still outside. If the Eldest Miss steps out now, it would cause a massive stir. That wouldn’t be ideal for our protection detail. Please, wait until the bell rings, and then we’ll go.”
“…”
Me… stepping out would cause a massive stir?
Why?
Sure, she had become this high-caliber beauty, but did they really need to avoid the crowd entirely?
It wasn’t until Guang Yu tugged at her hem and gestured toward the left-side window that she peered out.
Better not to have looked.
Now that she had,
Getting out of this car was impossible!
That direction overlooked the sports field.
Plenty of students had been milling about moments ago,
But now they had frozen in place.
They had all spontaneously clustered together, a dense throng staring straight at them!
Too far away for Ye Zhibai to catch their excited chatter, but judging from their jumping, cheering, and downright primal exuberance…
Their verdict on this sports car convoy?
Freaking awesome!!
Ah, so that was it.
With her peerless beauty on display, plus years of mystery as the Ye Family Eldest Miss,
Stepping out right now? Forget casually strolling the campus.
It would turn into an instant press conference!
The kind that made headlines!
Fortunately, fortune favored the opportune arrival.
The class bell rang before long.
Ding-a-ling—
Even if the students yearned for one last look at the luxury convoy and burned with curiosity about its occupants, a teacher’s palm always trumped idle wonder.
The crowd dispersed in a rush.
As they scattered, the maids from the other three cars bolted out.
They swarmed around Ye Zhibai’s vehicle, each cradling some item or other.
The Head Maid alighted and opened the door for Ye Zhibai. The moment Ye Zhibai’s feet touched the ground, the maids thrust their offerings forward amid a chorus of concerned voices!
“Eldest Miss, take this walkie-talkie! If you get lost, just press the button to reach us!”
“Here’s the parasol—the sun’s brutal. You don’t want to burn your skin!”
“Isn’t the parasol too heavy for the Eldest Miss to carry? Use sunscreen instead!”
“Quick, check the cars again—anything else we can prepare for the Eldest Miss?”
“…”
Ye Zhibai could scarcely believe it… People were actually bickering over such trivial concerns, all for her sake.
With a wry smile, Ye Zhibai patted the head of Guang Yu, who had just hopped out beside her.
Guang Yu tilted her head in confusion. “Ye Zhibai, what are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking they should have brought me here in a baby bus. And given me one of those kiddie smartwatch phones.”
“A baby bus…? Is that fancier than the car from before?”
“You’re too little to understand.”
“But I’m ten thousand years old…”
“…”
Stubborn as ever!
Ye Zhibai’s remark had been an exaggeration.
Yet the Maid Corps clearly possessed that very spirit!
The dependable Head Maid raised her palms, quieting the maids at once.
She eyed the items in their hands and selected only the walkie-talkie and parasol, passing them to Ye Zhibai.
Then the Head Maid stepped back, curtsied gracefully with a slight lift of her skirt, and offered her blessing.
“Eldest Miss, we wish you a wonderful time on your first school visit.”
“Um… sure?”
