Recalling Yun’er’s pose as she swung that wooden stick like a god descending to earth, Ye Zhibai couldn’t help but shudder.
Ugh, there was nothing more to say.
Yun’er hadn’t been acting on a whim at all. She had harbored a deep grudge against Lin Zihan for a long time!
Those other issues weren’t so bad.
Ye Zhibai didn’t particularly care about how the Lin Family’s business had collapsed. Even if someone explained the details of such corporate dealings to her, she wouldn’t understand them anyway.
As a lifelong poor soul, grasping concepts like that was a real long shot.
What truly piqued Ye Zhibai’s interest was the scene she’d witnessed right before her eyes.
The source of all evil—Lin Zihan wearing an eyepatch. Was she suffering from chuunibyou?
Ye Zhibai scooted closer to Guang Yu, practically smooshing the scummy fox’s face against the window glass!
This way, she could put a little distance between herself and Yun’er.
She had no choice; being pressed too tightly together was getting a bit too much for Ye Zhibai to handle.
Yun’er’s softer, fluffier cotton candy brushing against her own slightly smaller one, combined with the car’s occasional jolts, created all sorts of strange sensations.
Guang Yu: You think you’re too good for this, huh?! Bumping into me doesn’t faze you, does it!
“Yun’er, did you notice Lin Zihan’s side-swept bangs earlier?”
“Ah… yeah, I saw. Why is Sister still talking about her? Anyway, why did you suddenly move so far away? Come over here…”
“No, I’m just a little curious. I saw her wearing an eyepatch earlier, covered by those long side-swept bangs. Do you know anything about it?”
Ye Zhibai was a master at dodging the main issue.
We’re talking about this, so let’s not get sidetracked by the seating arrangement, okay!
Unable to hold her sister close, Ye Zhiyun felt a pang of disappointment.
But she would do her best to answer her sister’s questions!
She leaned her head back, her black hair spilling across the seat.
Half-reclining, Ye Zhiyun gazed up at the panoramic starlit roof of the sports sedan, her tone carrying a hint of uncertainty about where to begin.
“Lin Zihan… sigh, Sister, I’ll just come out and say it. According to her own account, she lost sight in her left eye, so she wears the eyepatch to cover it.”
Eh…?
Ye Zhibai’s heart skipped a beat.
As someone who had known misfortune all her life, she could not bear to hear tales of others’ suffering!
But the conversation had already started. There was no turning back once the arrow was loosed.
Ye Zhiyun had no interest in dwelling on such matters and didn’t want to burden her sister with these troubling details.
So, the explanation fell to the Head Maid, who knew everything and had her ear to the ground.
“Eldest Miss, I don’t know if discussing this will affect your mood. But if you wish to know, then please hear it out.”
“About five years ago, Lin Zihan’s father couldn’t handle the pressure of the company’s bankruptcy, nor the mockery from friends and relatives. Family conflicts piled up as well. After paying off the debts, he chose to divorce his wife, leaving with nothing, abandoning the family and everything they had built.”
“…Was there some hardship that drove him to it?”
“No, it was simply family discord.”
“……”
To put it plainly, the father had ditched his wife and daughter and run off!
What a deadbeat!
Perhaps Ye Zhibai, who had grown up without parents in her previous life, had no right to judge.
But she had to say it.
Having family was a blessing in itself.
It was the most vital, irreplaceable bottom line.
Ye Zhibai suddenly felt a weight settle on her chest.
She abruptly yanked a handful of fox fur from Guang Yu’s tail—the part Yun’er couldn’t see!
A little stress relief!
“So… you’re saying she lost sight in her left eye? How did that happen?”
Ye Zhiyun gazed out the window, propping her chin on one hand as she replied.
“That’s her story, anyway. She started wearing the eyepatch in middle school, right around the time the company went bankrupt and her father fled the home. The mental strain was too much; she cried constantly, day in and day out, until suddenly, her left eye went blind.”
“She really… can’t see from it?”
“We’re not sure, but she did change her whole look after that… Sister, you saw her side-swept bangs hairstyle. She wasn’t like that before. Back in her bratty childhood phase, she had straight-across bangs.”
“……”
It was confirmed.
Not chuunibyou.
But this was far heavier than chuunibyou!
Ye Zhibai had been wondering earlier how Lin Zihan had changed so drastically in just a few short years. If she had endured such a family upheaval…
Yes, that was more than enough to flip a person’s personality upside down.
The Head Maid gripped the steering wheel tightly, sighing deeply as memories of those old events resurfaced.
“Sigh… Miss Lin Zihan truly is a pitiable child. Born into privilege, accustomed to arrogance, only to have her life upended at her proudest moment and forced to adapt to ordinary existence. She’s a half-blood—her mother is from Northern Europe. Now it’s just the two of them, scraping by on the remnants of their savings with a little flower shop that barely keeps them afloat.”
So she was mixed-race… No wonder. Ye Zhibai had thought her features were half local, half foreign, yet perfectly blended into an exceptional aura.
With that, the tale of Lin Zihan’s life up to now was laid bare for Ye Zhibai.
She really was a pitiful soul.
Ye Zhibai shrank back a little and whispered to the side.
“Guang Yu, did you hear that? The world is full of suffering; we must seize our joys while we can.”
“Mmmph! Mmmph!” (Seize my ass! You damn woman, let go of me! Stop squishing!)
Was timely joy an excuse to bully a fox? No—a deity!
Perhaps Ye Zhiyun caught the deep flicker of sympathy hidden in Ye Zhibai’s eyes.
Yun’er shifted her hips to the right on the seat and snuggled up beside Ye Zhibai.
Offering her the warmth of family.
She pressed in close, firmly.
Guang Yu: Mmmph?! (Piling on the pressure, huh?! You two with this routine!)
The car’s interior was plenty spacious—why crowd together like this? Were they nuts?!
This time, Ye Zhibai didn’t pull away.
After hearing Lin Zihan’s story, and considering their current destination…
She might have been recalling the long, grueling stretch of her previous life, when she had no one to rely on.
Yun’er closed her eyes, resting her head on Ye Zhibai’s shoulder, her voice calm and soothing, like a gentle narration.
“Sister… we don’t need to feel sad or sympathetic toward that girl. She hurt you before—called you mute, mocked you for not speaking. Maybe you think she was just young and ignorant… but her words have stuck in my craw ever since. The damage she did was real.”
“We’re not heartless. When she opened her flower shop and needed funds for eye treatment, the Ye Family provided humanitarian aid. We don’t owe her anything; we’ve already helped.”
“Isn’t it suspicious that she showed up today acting all chummy with Sister? Maybe you’re kind-hearted and think she’s turned over a new leaf, come to apologize for the past. Sure, it could be that… but people have both good and bad sides. How can you be sure she isn’t playing on your sympathy to claw her way back up?”
“If she has that kind of ambition, no one can fault her. But if she’s scheming to use Sister for it… heh, that’s a different story entirely. A pipe dream! It’s something I absolutely won’t allow. Sister, do you understand what I’m saying?”
Ye Zhibai turned her head, first glancing at the nearly flattened Guang Yu.
Then back, blinking her eyes.
And uttered those two magic words.
—”Got it.”
“Mm-hm, good! You have to guard your heart, Sister. You’re so smart; of course you get it!”
“……”
What exactly did I get?!
Yun’er had just rattled off a bunch of profound wisdom out of nowhere!
Ye Zhibai understood the words, sure.
But… she had only been wallowing in her own past sorrows!
You spring all this sage advice on me—logical as it is—and I wasn’t even thinking that far!
Fine, message received.
In the future, if she ran into Lin Zihan, she’d watch her words. Not hard!
Though… Ye Zhibai had to wonder, with Yun’er watching so closely, would she ever get another chance to see that pitiful girl?
Doubtful.
Just as Ye Zhibai’s thoughts were spinning in circles—and Guang Yu was on the verge of being squished into a fox patty—the vehicle’s speed began to slow.
Ye Zhibai happened to glance out the window.
—Her heart jolted.
The Head Maid eased on the brakes, bringing the car to a smooth stop before turning back to remind them.
“Eldest Miss, Second Miss, this is the destination you set earlier: Qicheng Apartment. We’ve arrived.”
