Facts had proven that Ye Zhibai’s perspective was still too narrow after all.
Had it really been half an hour since Ye Zhiyun had sent the maid to buy the phone?
Probably not.
And yet, there she was again, hearing the thrum of helicopter rotors outside the window.
Right now, a pristine, brand-new box containing an exquisite phone was being held aloft in Ye Zhibai’s small hands, completely undamaged.
Sacred!
“…”
Ye Zhibai cradled the box as if it were some priceless treasure!
No trace of surprise showed in her eyes, but inside, her heart was churning like a stormy sea!
This… this… this was the Pineapple 14 she’d never even dared to dream of in her previous life!!
Priced near five figures… the latest model… this thing was way too extravagant!!
Seeing Ye Zhibai standing there motionless, looking around left and right, Ye Zhiyun thought it was perfectly normal. Her big sister had never used a phone before, after all.
So, with sisterly care, she gently tore open the packaging for Ye Zhibai, slotted in the freshly activated SIM card, and handed the shiny new white phone back to her.
“There you go, Big Sis. I figure you’re not used to it yet… Do you know how to use anything besides the map app? I can teach you. Anyway, give it a try—I’ve connected it to the Wi-Fi. You probably don’t even know what Wi-Fi is… Anyway, just poke around for a bit! I’m gonna step out to make a call; I’ll be right back.”
Who’re you underestimating here!
As a spirited young person from the modern era, how could she possibly not know how to use a phone?!
Go handle your business already.
Nothing could stop her now from savoring the feel of a Pineapple 14!
Except…
“Big Sis?” Ye Zhiyun called out meaningfully.
“Hm?”
“If you’re tugging on me like that… I can’t exactly leave… Hehe… Don’t you want me to go?”
“!”
Only then did Ye Zhibai realize what she was doing.
Her fingers were hooked into the hem of Ye Zhiyun’s clothes…!
It felt like a crushing blow to her tough-guy pride!
She yanked her hand back as if scorched by electricity, her mind reeling in disbelief.
What the heck was I just doing?
In her previous life as a real man, she’d weathered every storm on her own, never bowing to life’s hardships until her dying breath—let alone leaning on a woman, especially one she’d just met!
This wasn’t like her!
Ye Zhiyun flashed a satisfied smile and settled back beside Ye Zhibai, explaining softly and patiently.
Her long black hair brushed against Ye Zhibai’s cheek, tickling it.
“You can stay here by yourself for a little while, Sis… I know you’re afraid of being alone, but… I need to call Dad right now. He doesn’t know you’ve woken up yet. Ever since your accident, he’s aged years overnight. Well… it doesn’t really matter if we tell him or not, but I feel like it’d be wrong not to?”
Wrong? Try disastrous!
But… Dad?
There’d been no such luxury in her family tree from her previous life.
Did she actually have parents in this one?!
With a flicker of inner tension, Ye Zhibai slowly uncurled her fingers from Ye Zhiyun’s hem.
“Go on. I’m fine…”
“Mm-hmm, I’ll be right back.”
Noting the faint easing on Ye Zhibai’s icy cheek, Ye Zhiyun finally relaxed.
She rose and headed out of the hospital room for the moment.
The instant the door clicked shut…
Ye Zhibai slapped both hands over her expressionless little face!!
Then… she kicked off her slippers and rolled back and forth on the bed!!
“What a disgrace… what a total disgrace…! This useless hand of mine, I can’t even… chop it off! Chop… I can’t, waaah…”
The words dripped with “regret,” but delivered in Ye Zhibai’s calm, unruffled tone, they somehow came off as oddly amusing.
She rolled over three full times.
Then got tired.
Flat on her back, she stared at the ceiling and finally pieced together why she’d grabbed Ye Zhiyun’s hem like that.
It wasn’t some special feeling for Ye Zhiyun… They’d only just met, after all.
Ye Zhibai had probably just been craving some support.
Fresh off being smashed by a car, freshly reborn in a hospital, brimming with fear of the unknown and clueless about her surroundings.
All of it made her loath to be alone in such a vast room.
Yun’er was right… She really was afraid of loneliness.
After all… in her previous life, she’d always been on her own.
She’d gotten used to it—and scared of it.
But she shouldn’t be this fragile!! Was this the influence of her girl’s body too?!
Ye Zhibai clapped her hands over her delicate little face again, making a soft smack.
Thinking of that indulgent smile from Ye Zhiyun earlier made her cringe with maximum embarrassment!
Eh… whatever.
Ye Zhibai slowly sat up again. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed, hugged her knees, and curled into a ball, her silver hair swaddling half her body. It felt safe like this.
To correct herself: Though she didn’t have feelings for Ye Zhiyun yet, she did like this newly met little sister. Sure, Yun’er came off a bit… pervy at times?
But at least she’d made her oatmeal porridge, given her Thousand-Year Mountain to drink, and now handed over a Pineapple 14.
She’d chalk this kindness up in her heart for now.
Someday, when she had the chance, she’d repay it in full, to the best of her ability.
For the moment, though…
Ye Zhibai had things to check.
With her own phone in hand, she could do a lot.
She brought the phone slowly into view. Ye Zhiyun had already activated the new device.
The home screen was bare, no extra apps.
Ye Zhibai hit the app store and decisively downloaded QQ first.
She’d had nothing in her previous life… but she did have a QQ account!
It even had those five Q coins she’d accidentally topped up—couldn’t let those go to waste!
Ye Zhibai remembered her login details.
After entering the password, it prompted for device verification due to the login change.
She eyed the options and immediately ruled out phone verification.
That old phone of hers… probably smashed to bits in the crash.
She could go to a carrier store for a replacement SIM, but the success rate would be low.
Once she gave her name for the replacement, the clerk would check… and boom—”deceased” status!
Talk about awkward!
So, secret question it was.
Luckily, Ye Zhibai still remembered the one she’d set back in middle school.
Clear as day.
—Who is your best friend?
Answer: Air.
Ah… such a pure, childish, and faintly melancholic response from her junior high days.
Sorry, I’m still quietly waiting to this day.
Pathetic, but at least the answer worked.
Verification passed. Authorized for new device login. Loading…
After a blazing-fast load speed that stunned Ye Zhibai, the chat interface appeared.
Her old avatar—a silver-haired 2D beauty—sat proudly in the upper left corner.
Heh… now she really was a silver-haired beauty. Perfect.
Her ID: A Piece of White Leaf.
Cough… don’t ask why the name’s so poetic. Back in her edgy phase, she’d gone with “A Piece of White Night,” then in college, decided it was too cringey and tweaked it to “A Piece of White Leaf.” Solid result—not pretentious, pretty cool.
This familiar vibe… her QQ! She was back!
Ye Zhibai scrolled through her messages top to bottom.
Mostly group chats from university.
Aside from some announcements from the counselor in the main group, nothing about the car crash.
Makes sense… who messages a dead person’s QQ? Plus, she’d been busy with jobs, hadn’t bonded much with classmates, skipped most group events.
Sigh… those events cost money she didn’t have.
The one message that really stuck out was from that morning around nine, before the crash, from someone labeled “Sister Liang.”
“Xiao Bai? Got class this afternoon?”
Ye Zhibai tapped it open, her expression growing somber.
She must’ve meant to reply…
But as everyone knows, messages from the dead just freak people out.
No afternoon class for her, that’s for sure.
A trace of sorrow flitted through Ye Zhibai’s eyes.
She quietly deleted the message from the list.
Some things, some people… if it’s meant to be, they’ll meet again. If not, letting it fade is fine.
Ye Zhibai believed that firmly.
All her messages settled into calm.
As if the entire QQ account had passed away alongside her previous self.
Except for the group chat pinned at the very top…
Which was still exploding with nonstop notifications!!
—2D Anime Hobby Exchange Group.
This was a small group Ye Zhibai had stumbled into ages ago for chatting anime and cosplay. Not too crowded.
She’d thought she’d struck gold back then.
Nice folks, fun chats—a real haven for fellow otaku.
When work stress peaked in her old life, she’d vented plenty here.
And it was just noon now.
Nap time hadn’t even ended, and the messages were already at 99+.
These guys were the real MVPs of activity!
Lemme see what you’re all on about.
Ye Zhibai’s finger grazed the screen, opening the group the instant—
She spotted someone with the “Eromanga Sensei” avatar and golden group owner badge going ham with @mentions and pokes at her.
“Yezi? Yezi! Even divers need to come up for air—quick, pop up! I told you this morning to check out the latest episode of the new anime. It’s so hype it’s explosive! Have you watched it yet?”
