The Fox Maiden Loli lounged there utterly carefree, perched on the stone steps with her little feet swinging. She scooped up a piece of osmanthus cake and popped it into her mouth, munching away with relish.
When she turned and caught sight of Ye Zhibai’s icy little face, Guang Yu froze mid-bite.
Quickly, she clamped her mouth shut and set the half-eaten cake back down on the paper spread over the steps.
She even patted the mangled remnant gently with her small hand.
As if to say—
See? I didn’t do anything. I’m a good little fox… er, a good deity!
Ye Zhibai showed no mercy. She charged forward and delivered a solid whack to the back of Guang Yu’s head!
“Gawu!!”
At least wipe the grease off your mouth while you’re setting down that cake!
Guang Yu clutched the back of her head, looking utterly aggrieved and hard done by.
“What was that for…? I don’t think I stole any. This stuff was just sitting here—doesn’t that mean it’s an offering for a deity…?”
“Guang Yu, this isn’t some altar. It’s my tomb. Er, my tomb from my last life.”
“Mm, can’t we share the tasty stuff with a deity…? Stingy. Fine, I thought I’d found something good and wanted you to try it too… whatever, if you won’t eat it.”
Guang Yu hopped down from the steps, her big tail drooping as she shuffled away with a dejected air.
The deity’s grand journey through the mortal world in search of gourmet delights had hit a major roadblock!
But she never saw it coming.
Before heading back to rejoin Ye Zhiyun and the others, Ye Zhibai patted her own shoulder and issued a hopeful command.
“Guang Yu, go pack up a few. Leave half behind.”
“You got it!”
See? Ye Zhibai, you really are wise!
Wise or not, though…
Ye Zhibai didn’t think chowing down on her own offerings was particularly fun or proper.
The problem was… that osmanthus cake was genuinely delicious!
And it was the kind of thing you could hardly buy anywhere.
A taste from childhood memories—if she didn’t have even one bite and just tossed it out in this wilderness, wouldn’t that be a criminal waste?
Besides, Sister Liang had said from the start that she’d specially brought it back from the capital as a gift for Ye Zhibai.
Yeah… she couldn’t let Sister Liang’s kind intentions go to waste, right?
Following Ye Zhibai’s instructions to the letter, Guang Yu obediently used the bag Ye Zhibai provided to pack up half the osmanthus cake, leaving the other half.
Even so, on the way back…
The back of Guang Yu’s head took another solid hit from Ye Zhibai!
Keep eating, keep eating! If you eat the whole way home, it’ll all be gone!
Leave some for me!
That evening.
Guang Yu had turned into a cat and was already curled up on the edge of the bed, nestled in the soft blankets, fast asleep.
Meanwhile, Ye Zhibai sat at her desk, still reviewing her notes and burning the midnight oil.
She picked up her phone and spotted a message from Sister Liang.
“Little Bai, get some early rest tonight. Good luck on the Gaokao tomorrow! Your big sis will be cheering you on from outside the exam hall. It’s been years since you touched high school material, so no pressure to ace it—just do your best! Go get ’em!”
Sister Liang’s math workbook was still ice-cold as ever.
But Little Zhibai’s heart felt nice and warm!
In her previous life, Ye Zhibai had taken the Gaokao all alone, before and after the exams.
Sure, Sister Liang had sent encouraging texts back then, but she’d been away at university. In reality, after each subject, Ye Zhibai would trudge back alone to her rundown apartment, gnaw on a steamed bun, catch a quick nap on her rock-hard bed, then head out for the next test.
It hadn’t seemed so bad at the time.
But compared to now? Her past self had it rough!
Things were different this time.
Sister Liang cheering from outside the exam hall, Yun’er battling through the tests right alongside her inside, even Guang Yu watching over them—could there be a happier Gaokao than this?
Just as Ye Zhibai was humming a little tune, swaying side to side with a perfectly blank expression of joy…
Sister Liang sent another message.
“Oh, right—if you spot your big sis outside the exam hall tomorrow, don’t make a fuss. Just pretend you didn’t see me. Otherwise, Miss Zhiyun might get upset, and it’d mess with your exam mindset. Not worth it.”
“…”
See? Sister Liang always thought things through.
Her words hit the nail on the head. Ye Zhibai replied, set her phone down, and sank into thought.
Good grief. Taking the Gaokao felt like some underground resistance op.
The account Ye Zhibai was using to chat with Sister Liang was a brand-new one she’d just registered.
The one Yun’er had helped her set up yesterday? Yeah, that wasn’t suitable for messaging Sister Liang—it was basically on ice.
After all, Yun’er had said she’d check it!
If she found a string of “Little Bai, Little Bai,” Yun’er would blow a gasket!
Also, Ye Zhibai’s very first account—the one from her previous life—had been deleted after returning from the Tomb Garden.
All those old accounts and past baggage, buried with the cremation urn, returning to the earth like fallen leaves. Poetic, in a way.
Anyway, the only useful stuff on that account had been the “2D Anime Exchange Group” and those ten Q Coins from the mistaken recharge.
She’d used admin privileges to add the new account to the anime group before deleting the old one.
And the Q Coins? Transferred over as a gift to the new account.
Little rich girl Ye Zhibai’s total assets: over two million, plus ten Q Coins!
Even richer now!
Ye Zhibai was just about to set her phone down and get back to studying…
When she noticed another message.
It was from her newly added friend on the new account—the group admin, Little Qiu.
“Aaah, Yezi! The Gaokao’s tomorrow—I’m so nervous, my cat and I are freaking out!”
Ye Zhibai raised an eyebrow and fired back casually.
“You’re taking the Gaokao tomorrow too?”
“Nah! Mine’s next year on this day! 365 days away, so yeah, super nervous! Wait, you said ‘too’? You’re taking it tomorrow, Yezi?! Good luck! You got this! Me and my cat are rooting for you!”
Thanks for you and your cat…
But your exam’s a year away! What do you have to be nervous about?!
I’m the one testing tomorrow, and I haven’t even complained!
Fine, whatever. In just three lines of online banter, Ye Zhibai had outed herself as a senior, and Little Qiu as a junior.
What a pair of silly goofs.
Ye Zhibai had lost all interest in surfing online. She locked her beloved pricey phone, set it gently aside, and dove back into her furious scribbling!
But clearly, diligent studying wasn’t in the cards for her tonight.
She’d barely written two characters when the sound of a door opening came from behind her.
Then came Yun’er’s voice—light and steady, yet tinged with gentle reproach.
“Ah! Sis, you’re staying up late again! It’s almost one a.m. I let it slide yesterday, but tomorrow’s the real Gaokao—how can you not rest properly?”
“Yun’er…?”
Ye Zhibai turned to look.
There stood Yun’er, dressed in a matching pure white nightgown, clutching a pillow and pouting at the doorway.
Clutching… a pillow?!
“Sis! Right now—put down that pen! Come to bed with me! I won’t feel right leaving you unsupervised—you’d just dive right back into studying. So the best plan is to sleep together! Yep, that’s it!”
“…”
Ye Zhibai would bet a jar of Guang Yu’s wasabi paste that Yun’er had come up with this “sleep together” excuse on the spot!
Sleeping together was fine…
But the mere thought of “sleeping together” brought back the terror of that night when Yun’er’s fingers had dominated her.
She wouldn’t get a wink of sleep! Worse, she’d end up wide awake and buzzing with energy!
At that rate, how was she supposed to take the exam tomorrow?
The big picture mattered more than the big orange cat.
So Ye Zhibai, ever the picture of maturity, scooted back a bit.
“Yun’er… tomorrow’s the Gaokao—we need proper rest. Go back to bed. I’ll sleep soon.”
“Wah, sis, don’t say it like that! Don’t back away—you’re making me want to cry.”
“？！”
Ye Zhiyun cleared her throat delicately.
She turned, scooped up the soundly sleeping cat-form Guang Yu from the bed, and plopped her onto the cold floor. Then she laid her pillow flat next to Ye Zhibai’s.
With all that prepped, she turned back, patted her C-cup chest with assurance, and vowed to Ye Zhibai!
“Relax, sis! I’ll hold myself back tonight, promise! I just want to make sure you sleep. Come on, come on—let’s cuddle up and snooze. You’ll wake up full of energy tomorrow! Trust me! Wah… so please, sis, don’t back away. I really will cry.”
