They were almost home.
Ye Zhiyun was leaning against Ye Zhibai, who in turn was forced to lean against Guang Yu, while Guang Yu was squished right up against the car door. All three of them looked utterly drained.
The two girls and the little fox each harbored their own joys and sorrows, though none of them quite matched up.
Ye Zhibai kept glancing at her phone every so often.
But Chi Yuliang hadn’t sent any new messages since that last exchange. It was almost as if those three had been a mistaken tap of the send button—one she couldn’t take back!
Ye Zhibai’s QQ was otherwise as calm as ever, not a ripple in sight.
Except for the anime group admin, Little Qiu.
She had sent a message that was utterly baffling.
“Yezi, I know this sounds sudden, but do you think ‘fallen leaves returning to their roots’… might actually be a pretty good end for a fallen leaf?”
Why the hell are you sending something like this right now?!
I literally just “returned to my roots” in my last life—talk about perfect timing!
And what kind of nonsense is this? Fallen leaves don’t get a choice; the roots are it! Tell me what other ending they could possibly have!
Well, Little Qiu had started with the pointless rambling first anyway.
So Ye Zhibai fired back with something equally on-the-nose, straight out of the 2D playbook.
“Don’t do anything rash. If you’re really set on it, at least hand over all your figurines first before returning to your roots.”
The reply came lightning-fast.
“I’m not thinking of offing myself! Yezi, you’re so annoying! Ignoring you—going lurker!”
Complete with an “angry shark” emoji.
Ye Zhibai: figurines lost.
She tossed her phone aside and sank back into brooding over Chi Yuliang.
Or rather… she’d been brooding the entire ride.
The sight of it twisted Ye Zhiyun’s heart.
“Sis, just spit it out! Did that woman do something to you earlier? Or say something weird? You’ve been out of it ever since.”
“Yun’er… calm down. It’s nothing. Don’t worry.”
“Phew, that’s a relief. I was right there watching the whole time, and I could even hear everything. Yeah, nothing weird at all.”
You were watching and listening, so why even ask?!
And wait— you could hear? Then what was the point of telling you to step away?!
Ye Zhibai let out a weak sigh. She really wasn’t upset about anything specific; she was just still gnawing at that earlier awkwardness, unable to shake it off.
She’d only tried to kindly talk Chi Yuliang down, and she might’ve ended up exposing herself in the process!
Oh, right… She still had an all-knowing, all-powerful deity under her care.
Ye Zhibai leaned in close and whispered to Guang Yu, who was pinned against the window by her own weight.
“Guang Yu… could you use that weird… I mean, your divine power to check? See if Sister Liang’s already figured me out?”
“Mmfph grrrmph!” (Quit yapping—scoot over there first! You’re squashing me to death!)
Ye Zhibai had no choice but to shift toward Yun’er.
Now freed, Guang Yu shook her head vigorously, stretched out her limbs, and let out an adorably lazy yawn. Her little legs, clad in white thigh-high stockings, kicked forward in the spacious backseat.
Bliss!
A comfy smile spread across her face, and she confidently prepared to answer Ye Zhibai’s question!
Oh, oh! Guang Yu, you’re saying it’s all good, right!
Knew it—should’ve asked her sooner. No need to agonize over nothing.
Look at me, what an idiot.
Except…
“No dice, no dice! If my divine power was topped off, I’d be all-knowing and all-powerful, sure. But probing thoughts right now? I’d need days to build it up first, and I can’t do it from too far away. This distance? Forget it—plus, I just burned some earlier grabbing that butterfly! Totally no dice!”
Oh.
Ye Zhibai slumped sideways again.
Guang Yu was promptly squished back against the door, reverting to her little fox-pancake shape.
It wasn’t on purpose.
It was just that on the other side, Yun’er’s advances were way too aggressive!
She clearly hadn’t fully recovered from last night’s events yet.
Her fingers kept wandering between Ye Zhibai’s thighs and calves, even slyly trying to slip under her clothes.
Can we act normal for once?!
Wait… normal?
The thought hit Ye Zhibai like a bolt. In order to survive the rest of the ride in peace—without another Aluminum Copper ambush—she suddenly came up with a brilliant plan.
After all these days together, she’d picked up on a few of Yun’er’s “weak spots.”
Ye Zhibai struck without warning, grabbing Yun’er’s hand—the one that had been lightly stroking her thigh over her skirt.
“…Sis?”
“Yun’er, I’m giving you an order right now.” “An order?!”
Well, well!
That single word hit Ye Zhiyun like a thunderbolt from the blue!
The damage—pure delight.
Ye Zhiyun instantly snapped to attention.
She clenched her fists at her sides, striking a pose like she’d charge through fire or up a mountain of blades for her sister, no matter what!
It wasn’t anything that serious.
Ye Zhibai’s request boiled down to just one simple thing.
With the Head Maid up front driving, Ye Zhibai leaned in close to Yun’er’s ear to spare her some dignity. But that only made Ye Zhiyun’s cheeks burn hotter, her heart racing.
Ye Zhibai’s cool, unwavering voice seemed to echo straight from the depths of Ye Zhiyun’s soul.
“Listen closely… My order is this: from now on, no touching me without my permission.”
“!”
Sis’s tone was so thrilling!
But…
But Ye Zhiyun still hesitated.
Her beautiful, spirited face clouded with solemn conflict.
“But Sis… that’s not an order. That’s a punishment… How am I supposed to hold back…? Wait—pun… punishment…? Hiss… ha… ha, Sis right there, but I can’t touch…? Like a law from the heavens? That actually sounds amazing?! Praise the deity’s gift!”
Guang Yu: Mmfph grrm? (Praise the deity? Then save this deity first!)
See?
The effect was immediate.
Ye Zhibai hadn’t wanted to pull out this trump card unless she had no choice. Being clung to by Yun’er was an honor, even a happiness.
But those sneaky little hands popping up out of nowhere? Terrifying!
What Ye Zhibai didn’t realize, though, was the old saying: the higher the skill, the craftier the counter.
After a bout of excited hissing and panting, Ye Zhiyun brazenly wrapped her arms around Ye Zhibai’s anyway!
Ye Zhibai’s brow furrowed slightly.
“…Yun’er, that’s breaking the rules.”
“Mmm, you’re right! I did break them. So, Sis… when we get home, that means an even harsher punishment for me, doesn’t it?”
“!”
She’d spotted the loophole!
Ye Zhiyun flashed a sly little smile.
When it came to dealing with her sister, she always had a trick or two up her sleeve.
Sigh… Whatever. Ye Zhibai had deluded herself into thinking she’d pinned down Yun’er’s weakness, but that had been a fool’s dream from the start!
Just remembering how Ye Zhiyun had taken charge of everything last night should’ve clued her in!
In this arena, Yun’er was the master.
As if on cue, Ye Zhiyun added one more thing.
“Hehe… Speaking of, last night I still couldn’t crack Sis’s poker face. But give me another shot, and who knows? I saw some real hope today!”
“?”
That was right—Sis had cried today.
Proof that her expressions could change. They just hadn’t pushed far enough yet!
Ye Zhiyun would never want to see her sister actually cry, of course.
But certain kinds of reactions? Bring ‘em on—the more, the better!
Ye Zhiyun glanced down at her fingers, steeling herself with some private resolve.
Ye Zhibai’s instincts screamed danger!
Even so…
As they neared home, she quietly reached out to stroke Yun’er’s head, gently combing through her slightly tousled black hair from the morning’s ordeal.
Today’s Yun’er… was especially clingy.
Clingier than usual, even.
And Ye Zhibai had a pretty good idea why.
Don’t forget where they’d just come from on the way home.
The crematorium—a place of farewells.
That was the root of Yun’er’s stickiness.
In response, Ye Zhibai shoved all her scattered worries aside and focused on stroking those silky locks.
Sure enough, after a slight tremble, Yun’er nestled against her chest.
And went still.
Thanks for the hard work today… Yun’er.
From the rearview mirror, the Head Maid glanced back at the scene and smiled warmly.
Fox-pancake Guang Yu: But who’s gonna worry about a little fox desperately in need of rescue?!
