Ye Zhiyun had to admit, she was pretty shocked.
Her sister had said before coming that the resident of this place had already passed away, and sure enough, he really wasn’t here anymore?
Learning everything in a dream like that—
It was truly unbelievable.
On top of that, she was actually a little jealous of that infuriating jerk who had barged into her sister’s dreams!
—Even though he was already dead.
If Ye Zhibai knew what Yun’er was thinking, she probably would have burst out laughing.
Hahaha, who would have thought that I, in my previous life, would be envied by a beauty like Yun’er? What a steal!
This was dying without regrets for real!
But as long as Yun’er’s feelings made her sister happy, that was all that mattered.
It wasn’t exactly appropriate to enter the home of the deceased right now, but if her sister wanted to, then no place in the world was off-limits.
Ye Zhibai had already stepped into the apartment where she had lived for many years.
The sudden gloom that assaulted her didn’t make her feel the slightest bit afraid or uneasy.
Ten years, huh.
Day in and day out, year after year, trudging back and forth to this rundown dump—she was used to it by now. What was there to fear?
The cramped space, less than thirty square meters, held a wooden plank bed, a wardrobe, a rickety desk, a small dining table, a so-called kitchen that was barely functional, and a bathroom so narrow it was infuriating.
This was all Ye Zhibai had owned in her previous life.
Could you even call a place like this a home?
Ye Zhibai didn’t think so. At best, it was a roadside inn for resting on life’s journey—and the cheapest, shoddiest kind at that.
Even so, as she stepped once more onto the creaky, dust-covered wooden floorboards, Ye Zhibai felt a surge of gratitude in her heart.
Yeah, no matter how dark it got, this former safe harbor of hers would never hurt her.
Creak.
What was that sound?
Creak creak.
Ye Zhibai steadied herself against the doorframe, and it seemed like from the direction of her hand… she heard a loosening screw or something.
“Sister! Watch out beside you!”
“Hm? Uh!”
Ye Zhibai’s reflexes weren’t slow at all!
The moment she heard Yun’er’s sudden cry of alarm, she instinctively leaped lightly to the side.
And just as her feet touched the ground again, a cloud of dust billowed up from where she’d been standing.
—The door panel had suddenly slipped off the iron bolt and crashed to the floor!
?!
The dead door was suddenly attacking the dead me?!
My little safe harbor really knew how to hurt me!
Without a second’s delay, Ye Zhiyun rushed over in the shortest time possible and pulled Ye Zhibai into her arms. She stared at the fallen door panel nearby, her heart still racing.
“Sister, you’re not hurt, are you? Let me check!”
“No need… I’m fine… Uh!”
Yun’er!
If you’ve got something to say, say it—don’t take advantage of the chaos to slip your cold little hands under my clothes and grope around!
Ye Zhibai quickly pressed down on her belly over her shirt, trapping Ye Zhiyun’s hand—which was still trying to slide higher.
What else was she supposed to do?
Ye Zhiyun had already confirmed the door hadn’t hit her sister. Since she was okay, of course she’d use both hands to help calm her down! What if she got too scared?
No no no, this is the real scare!
Heh heh.
The sight of Ye Zhibai and Ye Zhiyun locked in their little tussle made Guang Yu giggle foolishly.
So nice… so nice!
The Head Maid, who had been waiting and keeping watch outside, heard the commotion from within and hurried in anxiously.
Ye Zhiyun reacted swiftly, immediately withdrawing her hand from Ye Zhibai’s clothes.
And she smoothed her sister’s shirt back down.
Whew… if Sister got shy right now, that would be bad.
That side of her sister could only be seen by me.
This was Yun’er’s lifelong dream!
Once they got home, she’d continue the inspection!
The Head Maid hadn’t noticed a thing over there. The two young misses had always loved playing around together since they were little—it was normal.
Her job was to check for any safety hazards.
She took a quick look at the fallen doorframe, stood up, turned to the two young misses, and reported her findings.
“Eldest Miss, Second Miss, the doorframe fell because the latch was loose. It looks like that scrap collector old lady earlier failed to pick the lock and resorted to some rough methods to force the latch. There are clear signs of prying and impact.”
“…”
Scrap collectors were out here picking locks now?
Ye Zhibai patted down the front of her shirt, straightening out the wrinkles.
Damn it, my door lock held up for ten years without a hitch, and today it finally fulfilled its duty!
Yun’er’s expression wasn’t great right now.
She looked ready to go flip Liu Dayi’s house upside down.
Nearly smashing her sister… that was another score to settle.
Ye Zhibai guided her patiently and good-naturedly.
“It’s fine, Yun’er. There’s a saying: grudges beget grudges—when does it end?”
“So what you’re saying, Sister, is…”
“Later when we have time, we’ll get someone to dismantle her door too. That’s an eye for an eye—totally fair. Since it’s fair, the grudge vanishes. If she’s still not satisfied, we’ll take out her windows.”
“I see! As expected of Sister. Lesson learned!”
Perfect.
Ye Zhibai hadn’t come here to pick a fight with Liu Dayi.
Right now, she just wanted to retrieve what belonged to her.
The sacks outside were already bundled up and ready to unpack anytime, so Ye Zhibai decided to check the cabinets and wardrobe inside first.
She only had one wardrobe, so it was easy to find.
Guang Yu clutched the hem of Ye Zhibai’s shirt as she wandered through the dim space with her.
It was dark enough already, but faint slivers of light seeped through the tiny windowsill, making it half-lit and eerie!
Guang Yu reminded her nervously.
“Hey… Ye Zhibai, turn on a light or something. It’s pitch black in here.”
“It’s the middle of the day—what light? Also, you’re a deity… no night vision or anything?”
“I told you my divine power is suppressed! Back in the day, I could’ve turned this little place to ash with one glance! Whatever, is that the switch? Go flip it!”
Fine, why not.
Turning on the lights in broad daylight—living the high life for once.
She used to scrimp on electricity bills, but now Ye Zhibai knew she didn’t have to worry about that anymore.
Let the light fill this space—as a final blessing for her little safe harbor.
Ye Zhibai approached the light switch with anticipation and flipped it on.
But the room didn’t change at all.
Oh, right—they must have cut the power and water.
No big deal.
Suddenly, a glow flared up behind Ye Zhibai.
She and Guang Yu turned at the same time. Ye Zhiyun had turned on her phone’s flashlight and was shining it around the surroundings.
“Whoa… what kind of hardship is this… Sister, the person you met in your dream really lived in a place like this?”
“Yeah… Yun’er, this is what hardship looks like.”
“Sigh… sometimes I’m pretty grateful, you know? That you and I have a comfortable place to live. Well, even if we didn’t, it wouldn’t matter. Didn’t I say when I was little that I’d make money to support you, Sister?”
You mean the kind of money-making where a billion is just a small goal?
Thanks, but no thanks.
“Sister, are you still looking for something?”
“Over here—there was a wardrobe in the dream… shine the light on it.”
“Ah, got it!”
Ye Zhiyun followed Ye Zhibai’s directions and illuminated the room’s only storage cabinet with her flashlight.
Ye Zhibai stepped forward, her heart pounding with obvious tension, and slowly pulled open the wardrobe door.
The one item she truly cherished in this entire apartment had always been carefully stored inside.
And yet… as the saying goes, things in this world often don’t go as planned.
The wardrobe was completely empty—not even a speck of dust left.
“…”
Liu Dayi, you really have no conscience.
Oh wait.
There were still the sacks!
Ye Zhibai slammed the wardrobe shut and rushed outside toward the sacks.
Under everyone’s stunned gazes, Ye Zhibai dropped to her knees in front of one sack without a care, untied it, and started rummaging through it with a clatter!
The sack held all sorts of junk—pots, pans, bowls, even greasy dishcloths—but Ye Zhibai ignored it all. She just wanted to find that thing quickly… that irreplaceable treasure etched deep in her memories.
Even without knowing the full story, Ye Zhiyun ached for her.
She hurried over, crouched down, and tried to dissuade her. “Sister…! It’s dirty in there! Don’t do this!”
“Don’t worry… Yun’er… I’ll find it soon…”
“But…!”
Seeing that Ye Zhibai had no intention of stopping,
Yun’er’s bewildered gaze quickly turned resolute.
She bent down too and knelt beside Ye Zhibai, reaching into another sack to dig around.
“Sister, I’ll help you search. We can just pull everything out, and you can check if anything from your dream is here.”
“Yun’er…”
This warmth was hard to put into words.
Thank you so much… Yun’er.
It didn’t take long.
Yun’er seemed to have found something!
Perplexed, she pulled out a book and frowned tightly at the cover.
Ye Zhibai’s hands paused.
A vague sense of dread stirred in her heart as she glanced over.
Holy crap!!
That was the only collector’s edition doujinshi I’d scrimped and saved for in my previous life!
—Citrus Saga: The Surge of Love.
Put it down! That’s not what I’m looking for!
Wait, no.
In a certain sense…
It kinda was?!
