Even though the fox they kept at home was so infuriating, life had to go on.
And so did the conversation.
By now, when Ye Zhibai focused her attention, she could speak quite fluently.
Though when her mind wandered, she still occasionally blurted out those so-called “pearls of wisdom.”
Ye Zhibai once again took the fountain pen from the box, cradling it carefully in her hands. She flipped it over, gazing sentimentally at the line of small characters inscribed on it.
Her thoughts seemed to drift back to those years, to the orphanage that had sheltered her through her childhood.
In her calmest demeanor, Ye Zhibai began recounting the events of the past.
“As a kid, whenever the orphanage handed out snacks, there were always those bratty kids who snatched mine away. That’s when Sister Liang would step up, bravely chasing them off. She was always giving me her own snacks too. I never knew why she took such good care of me… Sometimes, I even relied on her like a real big sister.”
“Dean Grandma told me how Sister Liang got her name. It was Chi Yuliang because on the day Dean Grandma took her in, a cool rain was falling, pattering into the orphanage pond. That’s how they named her.”
Guang Yu set down her half-finished drink on the bedside table.
She sprawled on the bed, swinging her little feet back and forth, listening intently as Ye Zhibai shared her memories.
Guang Yu shook her head and pointed one finger right at the key detail!
“Hahaha! So you were always getting your snacks stolen at the orphanage? What a pushover!”
“Is that really the point you’re focusing on…?”
“Uh… Also, the story behind Sister Liang’s name is pretty interesting?”
“No drink for you tomorrow.”
“!”
Guang Yu had spoken her mind, but at the cost of her beverage!
So petty!
Guang Yu sat up straight, hugging her big fluffy tail in a pitiful pout. She figured that if she asked some proper questions nicely, she might get her drink back tomorrow.
“So… what happened to this big sister of yours later? You seem to treasure that fountain pen so much.”
“Yeah, we haven’t seen each other in ages, but I know she’s doing great.”
“But from what you said, you two were pretty close at the orphanage. So why haven’t you met up in so long?”
As she kept asking, Guang Yu’s curiosity was properly piqued.
Ye Zhibai chuckled.
That’s more like it! A good listener needed those basic skills!
Tomorrow, not only a drink, but she’d throw in some coconut bits too!
Ye Zhibai shifted her legs, changing her sitting position, and continued.
“That year, when I was ten, Sister Liang left the orphanage. A kind couple adopted her. They were well-off but couldn’t have kids of their own. They’d always dreamed of adopting, and when they came to talk adoption with Dean Grandma, they took one look at Sister Liang and said they’d raise her right. On the day she left, the whole orphanage saw her off. We all knew she’d be living worry-free from then on, with all the finer things in life. It was a good thing.”
“Sounds great,” Guang Yu agreed with a nod. “Leaving the orphanage to be adopted into a wealthy family beats staying behind and fending for yourself. Look at you—you’re the perfect example of what happens when you don’t!”
“……”
They were having a nice chat here—could she stop with the one compliment, one dig?
Sure, she was down on her luck, but could they not poke at the sore spot?
Whether Guang Yu got a drink tomorrow was now hanging in the balance.
Suddenly, Guang Yu seemed to catch something off.
The clever little fox pointed it out directly.
“That doesn’t add up… By your account, Sister Liang really looked out for you. Once she had a good life, wouldn’t she help you out? Don’t mortals have that saying—one person attains success and their whole family rises with them? But she never helped you after?”
Guang Yu had quite the vocabulary, all flowery and such.
Ye Zhibai shook her head gently, denying the guess.
“No, in the early years, Sister Liang kept sneaking stuff to me. The little snacks her new parents bought her, her Walkman—she’d bring them all secretly, claiming they were bought with her pocket money. I believed her at first. But one time… her parents found out she was giving me things. They took her away, scolded her, and forbade her from doing it again.”
“Huh? Good-hearted folks who adopt from an orphanage, and they get stingy about charity?”
“Like I said… Guang Yu, that couple just wanted a child to fulfill their own dreams. There aren’t many truly selfless good deeds in this world. That’s how I see it.”
“Fair enough… Humans are pretty selfish, huh? Ah… but you’re different, Ye Zhibai! You buy me drinks!”
?
How a single drink earned her the deity’s stamp of approval?
Ye Zhibai looked down, her silver bangs half-veiling her eyes, a hint of helplessness in her gaze.
“It’s not unreasonable, really. That couple was responsible enough. After adopting Sister Liang, they poured money into her education—private tutors, the best middle and high schools in the city, elite everything. They kept their promise, raising her to success. I was just a clueless kid back at the orphanage. No parent would want their child hanging out with someone from a different background, let alone giving them stuff outright. So I get why they did it.”
Guang Yu blinked her starry blue eyes.
For a moment, she couldn’t tear her gaze from Ye Zhibai’s violet pupils, tinged with a touch of quiet sorrow.
This human… was truly extraordinary, understanding things others couldn’t.
And she had been just a child then, yet already so insightful.
Ye Zhibai’s soul was far clearer than that of ordinary humans.
That was Guang Yu’s judgment as a deity.
Guang Yu looked away, grabbing her drink from the bedside table. She crossed her legs like some old geezer and took a big swig, asking before she even swallowed,
“Got it. So your sister sneaked you stuff without getting caught—until that one time. How’d they find out?”
“Let me think… Oh yeah, that time she brought her brand-new bike—the one her parents just bought her—right to the orphanage.”
“Pfft!!”
Guang Yu couldn’t hold it in and spat her drink all over the floor!
You and your Sister Liang are both nuts!!
One dares to send, the other dares to take?!
A bike—that’s not exactly subtle! Who else would they bust?
Ye Zhibai’s sorrowful gaze shifted from old memories to the wet floor in front of her.
“Guang Yu, clean that up later.”
“Oh… sure. So after that, you two lost touch?”
“No, we’re QQ friends. We chat now and then. I told her straight up—I’d improve my life through my own efforts, so she didn’t need to risk it sneaking stuff anymore. She kept trying at first, but I nagged her till she stopped. Honestly, I’m glad… Her life in her new family got a lot smoother after that.”
People shouldn’t be chained to the past, after all.
Guang Yu nodded.
A deity was a deity—always seeing things from a unique angle!
“Mm-hmm, got it. And before you could turn your life around, you got offed first. Talk about tragic.”
“Sometimes I think… if I didn’t flunk my driving test, I’d really drive a little pickup straight into you for revenge.”
“Eep?”
Just kidding.
Mutual destruction with her? Bad deal.
Ye Zhibai set the fountain pen down on the bed.
She looked at it like it was some priceless treasure.
Her cool little face held no warmth, but Guang Yu could sense Ye Zhibai was filled with nostalgia—and contentment.
“This fountain pen? She gave it to me for my birthday my first year in high school, right after I moved out of the orphanage to make it on my own, renting an apartment. Ha… I don’t even know my real birthday. According to Sister Liang, she gave it on the day Dean Grandma brought me back to the orphanage. Guang Yu, this is the only birthday gift I ever got in my last life. How could I not cherish it? I can’t lose it.”
