This fountain pen couldn’t help but stir a wave of nostalgia in Ye Zhibai.
People always needed some kind of emotional anchor, after all.
Even in her completely botched previous life, Ye Zhibai had once harbored such attachments.
She couldn’t resist unlocking her phone and glancing once more at the QQ chat with Chi Yuliang.
The conversation was still frozen on the message Chi Yuliang had sent on the day Ye Zhibai got hit by that car.
“Xiao Bai, do you have class this afternoon?”
That freeze would likely be permanent.
Ye Zhibai had no idea what Sister Liang had wanted to say with that question, but now, there was no chance for her to reply.
Actually, this was for the best.
My dear sister, you’ve already sacrificed enough for me in the past.
She was always worrying about me—this couldn’t be let go, that couldn’t be forgotten. Those days in the orphanage during our childhood clung to her like chains, binding her all this time.
But now, it was all good. One collision, and all debts were settled!
Let that graceful parabolic arc of Ye Zhibai’s previous-life body soaring through the air erase those chains!
From now on, Sister Liang, live without a care in the world. Free yourself completely from the past, bid it farewell, and enjoy life to the fullest!
Yeah, just like that Scummy Fox over there, happily slurping her drink!
Look how blissful she was.
Uh… what was Guang Yu up to?
Ye Zhibai narrowed her eyes and peered at Guang Yu, who was fiddling with her second cup of beverage at the desk.
Deeply suspicious, sneaky as could be.
She had just finished the first cup, yet here she was tearing open the packaging for the second one. And drinking it too—wasn’t she afraid of bursting?
Guang Yu popped it open and took a quick sip first.
Both cups were hers; they weren’t going anywhere. What was the rush?
But then, after that sip, Guang Yu cradled the second cup with a beaming smile and trotted right over to Ye Zhibai.
“Ye Zhibai! Here, have a sip!” Guang Yu’s eyes sparkled.
“What’s this about… It’s a trick, right? Not falling for it.”
Ye Zhibai stayed utterly cautious.
“Hah?! Why would you say that?”
“Obviously! You were guarding that drink like it was your precious baby a second ago. Why suddenly offer it to me? Total scam.”
Guang Yu was so anxious her tail was practically blurring with motion!
She defended herself, looking both aggrieved and urgent. “No way, what trick? And I already took a sip first! The drink’s totally normal!”
“So the point of you sipping first was…?”
“I’m scared you’ll chug the whole thing! If you did, I’d be the one losing out big time!”
Am I a water buffalo or something, that I’d down your entire drink in one go?!
Guang Yu’s hands trembled as she thrust the beverage right up to Ye Zhibai’s face.
It was clear she was truly heartbroken.
Not over Ye Zhibai, mind you.
Over the drink.
“I… I just saw you weren’t in a great mood. Thought a sip would cheer you up! Don’t be so down. Who knows, maybe you’ll get another chance to meet your Sister Liang someday! Uh… slim chance, sure, but anything’s possible, right?”
As she said this, a faint blush colored Guang Yu’s cute, petite face.
Clearly, even she felt a bit embarrassed uttering those words.
But soon enough, her divine pride kicked in!
“Forget it if you won’t drink! I shouldn’t have offered it anyway—I’m not willing to part with it!”
“Wait.”
“Hm?”
When Guang Yu turned back, the sight that greeted her was more captivating than any auspicious cloud in the Heavenly Realm.
Ye Zhibai tilted her head, her silver hair swaying with the motion. Though her small face held no outright smile, there was a hint of genuine pleasure there.
That pleasure might just have been the kind of glance that spanned eons.
Ye Zhibai extended her soft, boneless left hand toward Guang Yu.
“Alright then, let me have a taste. No matter what… thank you, Guang Yu.”
“You should’ve said so earlier! Here, here, take it! You humans have a saying: ‘the one who accepts a favor speaks with a short mouth.’ Now that yours is short, remember to buy me three more cups tomorrow, got it?”
Stinky Fox!!
And you claim you have no ulterior motives? You even pulled out that ‘short mouth’ line!
Still, Ye Zhibai could tell that was just a spur-of-the-moment afterthought.
Guang Yu’s real intention was simply to let her have a sip and lift her spirits.
Ye Zhibai took the beverage with one hand.
Took it.
Uh.
Couldn’t quite take it.
“Let go already? You’re gripping it so tight, how am I supposed to drink?”
“Promise me… you… you can only have one sip! A tiny one!”
“Got it, you’re such a pain.”
In some ways, Guang Yu might have been even stingier than Ye Zhibai! Look at you, a goddess acting all cheapskate!
It took all this hassle just to get the cup into her hands, which made Ye Zhibai’s gratitude toward Guang Yu diminish quite a bit.
Ahem, but no big deal. Even as a deity, she had a very human touch!
Ye Zhibai wasn’t big on drinks anyway, so she planned to take a light sip and hand it back.
But when she glanced at the straw… it was already flattened by Guang Yu’s little fangs.
Both cups’ straws had been used by her, and it wasn’t convenient to hunt for new ones.
Flipping the straw around might work, but Ye Zhibai didn’t want to do that—it’d look like she was grossed out by Guang Yu, which wasn’t necessary.
Little Fox wasn’t that savvy; it’d hurt her feelings.
So, without hesitation, Ye Zhibai pressed her soft lips directly to the edge of the straw and sucked up some of the drink from the cup.
The instant the beverage hit Ye Zhibai’s taste buds—
Ugh?!
Tasty?
Like hell it was!
Ye Zhibai spat out the mouthful of drink straight onto the wooden floor!
It landed perfectly over the spot where Guang Yu had spat earlier!
Then she clutched her chest and coughed violently.
“Cough cough cough!! Cough cough!! Guang… Guang Yu, you Dog Thief!”
“Aah?!” Guang Yu flailed to catch the cup, then took a big gulp herself as if to prove its innocence. “It’s fine! Super tasty! How’s your taste so weird?!”
“……”
Me, weird?!
Amid her discomfort, Ye Zhibai glanced at the label on the cup—Full Cup Passion Fruit. No issue there.
The problem was…
“Cough! What… what did you add to it? No regular drink tastes this pungent.”
“I didn’t…! Well, I did add a little seasoning, hehe… I thought the original flavor was too bland, so I tossed in some super yummy stuff. Too bad you don’t like it.”
“What exactly did you add…?”
“Hang on! I’ll grab it for you to see. Actually, I don’t even know what it is. I just thought it was delicious at that fancy restaurant at lunch, so I pocketed two packets!”
“?”
Pocketed from the restaurant at lunch?
Guang Yu scampered back to the desk.
She snatched up a fully opened packet of seasoning and dashed back, handing it to Ye Zhibai.
One look, and Ye Zhibai was dumbfounded.
—Wasabi!
Holy crap!
Someone actually put wasabi in a beverage!
Oh… right, forgot. Guang Yu wasn’t human!
You’re really not human!
Ye Zhibai crumpled the empty packet in her hand and, still shaken, informed Guang Yu of a certain truth.
“Guang Yu… the one with the weird taste isn’t me—it’s you. Not everyone can handle wasabi.”
“Hahaha, you humans and your jokes. It’s so delicious…”
“Don’t wait for me to beat you. Scram.”
“Gotcha…”
Little Fox slunk away pitifully, hugging her beverage as she retreated to a corner of the room.
Wasabi in drinks was clearly a match made in heaven… Why couldn’t humans get it?
Ye Zhibai’s mouth still burned fiercely.
She hopped out of bed, grabbed the new water cup she’d bought that afternoon, and chugged more than half of it.
That stuff scorched her throat.
You must’ve dumped a whole packet in there!
Hm?
Scorching hot?
Hot?
Ye Zhibai suddenly froze, staring at the bookshelf in front of her as she fell deep into thought.
Out of nowhere, a rather odd question popped into her mind.
Hang on… it’s been two or three days since my previous life’s death.
Has the body been cremated yet?
Is anyone handling it?
What if no one’s taking care of it?!
Nah, probably not.
After all, if the deceased has no family, the relevant authorities would step in.
But what if they forgot, or really no one bothered?!
Wouldn’t that be too tragic?!
Huh?!
It might sound ridiculous, but for some inexplicable reason, Ye Zhibai found herself surprisingly concerned about this!
