Chapter 294:
It seemed like a long time had passed…
She couldn’t remember either. She only remembered that when she was at her most destitute, it was Ye Zhiyun who had taken her in, let her live in her home, fed and clothed her, and treated her like family. Yu Linna had never experienced this kind of feeling before, and it was this experience that had made her develop a good impression of her.
But she hadn’t stayed there for long and had soon moved out.
Ye Zhiyun had once asked her, “If I don’t want you to realize your dream, will you blame me?”
She had said, “I won’t blame you, but I definitely won’t be happy.”
To let her pursue her ideals, her dreams, Ye Zhiyun had let her go.
When Yu Linna stepped into Ye Zhiyun’s home again, her heart was filled with many emotions. A year ago, when she entered here, she had nothing. Later, she left here with her ideals. Now, she had returned with a full load, her wealth and status far surpassing what they were before.
“The house hasn’t changed at all. You see, the furniture arrangement is almost exactly the same as before I left.”
She looked at Ye Zhiyun’s home, at the unchanged living room and bedroom, and couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion. Even the TV on the wall hadn’t been changed. It was still the same old model. Before she had moved out, she had heard Ye Zhiyun say she wanted to get a new one.
“Yeah, nothing has changed at all, just like the past. Come, sit. There’s ice cream and pudding in the fridge. Get whatever you want to eat yourself.”
She had Yu Linna sit down, got her a drink, and turned on the TV. Everything was just as it had been before, their way of getting along completely unchanged. A year ago, when she had lived at her house, Ye Zhiyun was often not at home, but she would usually come back for dinner in the evening. After the two of them ate, they would usually watch TV together, chat, and talk about their day, then say goodnight to each other.
“What have you been busy with lately? It seems you haven’t had time to reply to my messages.”
Yu Linna drank her drink and said with a faint smile. Ye Zhiyun broke out in a few beads of sweat, thinking of what excuse to make, but Yu Linna just smiled at her.
“Just kidding. It’s good that you’re back. It’s rare for you to be back. How long are you planning to stay this time?”
“For a while, maybe. Nana, you haven’t been abroad yet, have you? I want to take you out to see.”
“Okay.”
Yu Linna had never been abroad in her life. Although she was mixed-race, she had grown up in China. She didn’t know what it was like abroad.
After having a drink at home and chatting a bit, the two of them went out. It was winter vacation, and there were still quite a few people out. On the street, you could see many couples, and also many youthful high school girls, mostly young people. Ye Zhiyun hadn’t walked with Yu Linna for a long time. Because of her aunt’s matter, she had always been afraid to get too close to her, but fortunately, she had also told her aunt that just one year would be fine. With just one year, she could do many things, make Yu Linna accept her, and then…
“What are you thinking about, Zhiyun?”
“Ahem, thinking about you.”
“Thank you.”
Yu Linna’s face blushed slightly. She coughed twice, her heart a little happy.
Ye Zhiyun secretly reached out and held Yu Linna’s small hand. Yu Linna was startled but didn’t struggle, just symbolically wriggled a bit and then let her hold it. She felt her body temperature rising, her face a little hot. It was supposed to be winter, so why did she have the urge to take off her scarf?
“Nana,” she called her.
“Mmm? What?”
“Nothing, just wanted to call you.”
“…”
The two of them fell silent again.
“Zhiyun.”
“What.”
“Nothing, just calling you.”
“Oh.”
They looked at each other and smiled.
Yu Linna hadn’t been this happy in a long time. When Ye Zhiyun was around, she was always very happy, very joyful. As long as she was there, it seemed that any problem could be solved. As long as she was with her, it didn’t matter what they did. Even just drinking a glass of plain water was sweet. This feeling was too strange. Yu Linna couldn’t control herself…
“Shall we go get something to eat?”
“Mmm.”
Yu Linna blushed slightly and nodded. Yu Linna, who had always been known for her cold and iceberg-like image at school, was quite weak in front of Ye Zhiyun, becoming very soft and cute.
When they were buying snacks on the street, the big projection TV in the commercial square was broadcasting news, a piece of news about Shion-sensei. Ye Zhiyun stopped and watched.
“Wenqing author Shion-sensei’s novel Ballad of the Enchantress has set a record for the lowest sales since its release, being firmly suppressed by her colleague, Air-sensei. The novel’s reputation has begun to decline, and many people are questioning Shion-sensei’s ability. While it cannot be denied that the original author’s creation was affected by the terrible performance of the animation, as a very stable author, the terrible performance of this novel is truly a huge surprise. We have invited commentator Mr. Song to comment on this novel…”
Yu Linna watched the news faintly and didn’t show any expression.
The quality of the novel had declined. This was an indisputable fact. Before the animation premiered, Shion-sensei was indeed a top-tier commercial author in the country. Many people had high hopes for her, and many also hoped that she could create history again. In their eyes, Shion-sensei was equivalent to a god. And the terrible performance of the animation had shattered everything.
After all, the number of people who watched novels in the country was still a small part. The animation was the main group. However, the performance of the animation had made this author’s reputation plummet, which then produced a chain reaction. Although rational fans knew that the failure of the animation could not be blamed on the author, they couldn’t stand up to the large number of haters. There were also many passersby who hadn’t read the original work. Their first impression was the animation. Since the animation was not good, the novel couldn’t be much better.
Because of this, Shion’s popularity had dropped severely. Although she was still recognized as a god-tier author, she was no longer as glorious as before, and there was still a downward trend.
“Don’t think too much. You are still you.”
Ye Zhiyun patted her head and said.
Yu Linna didn’t say a word. She had once thought of making herself the most outstanding author, with a very high fame in the country. Now, she had also achieved the goal of having a very high fame in the country, but it was a negative one. Many people had learned about this author through the animation and knew her works, but their evaluation of this author was quite low.
“I’m going to finish writing Ballad of the Enchantress in one go,” she said.
Now this IP could no longer be put on the animation market to make money. She wanted to start a new book, a book that could change her current situation. She needed a novel to prove herself too much.
Ye Zhiyun didn’t speak, just held her hand.
They went to many places. Yu Linna also wanted to forget those unhappy things through this outing. The low point in her career was only temporary. She believed that she could rise again and take back what belonged to her. As long as she worked a little harder, she could go to a higher and farther place.
“What are you thinking about again?”
“Nothing.”
“I understand you, Nana. We are all the same. Life is like this. How can there be such an easy path?”
Ye Zhiyun really understood her, really.
She herself had also hit a brick wall on the road to starting a business. No funds, no people, no land, nothing. She also knew how difficult the road of struggle was. Yu Linna was just in a career low, while she was having a hard time even starting her career.
“Where shall we go and sit?”
“Okay.”
They held hands, wanting to find another place. They smiled, chatted with each other, talking about topics they hadn’t talked about in a long time. Everything was just like before. They really wanted to be as carefree and happy as before, without having to think about anything. People on the road would occasionally turn back to look at them, smiling, saying how good the relationship between these two girls was.
However, they didn’t notice that someone was walking towards them…
As they were walking, thinking about whether to go see a movie and then have dinner, a woman stood on the roadside, waiting for a long time. When they came over, the woman also went up to them. Ye Zhiyun showed a surprised expression.
“Auntie?”
She held Yu Linna’s hand tightly, protecting her behind her, while Li Jing had an unhappy expression on her face.
A moment later, in the coffee shop, Li Jing had the two of them sit down, ordered coffee and drinks, closed the menu, and sat in front of them, her eyes staring at them. Yu Linna was stared at until her hair stood on end. She had a bad feeling. She always felt that this person seemed to be able to see right through people.
“Zhiyun, it’s about time you went home. Your mother told me to go back early this year.”
She said.
“Auntie, I’ll go back. But I have my own arrangements.”
“Your arrangement is to go on a date with this girl?”
“I…”
“I said, I gave you time, and I gave you a chance. But I don’t want you to harm anyone.”
The coffee arrived. Li Jing took off her glasses and tasted the hot coffee. However, Ye Zhiyun was in no mood to taste the coffee. She had a lot on her mind.
“Zhiyun, go to the front desk and get me a packet of sugar.”
It was her idea to have Ye Zhiyun leave here. She just wanted Ye Zhiyun to leave for a moment, and Ye Zhiyun also knew what she meant. She took the initiative to stand up and leave. She probably wasn’t planning on coming back for ten minutes.
Li Jing put on her glasses and looked at Yu Linna. And Yu Linna was just drinking her hot cocoa, a little nervous. She felt very uncomfortable in front of Ye Zhiyun’s family.
“Shion-sensei, do you like Zhiyun?”
“Huh?… As a friend, I like her very much.”
Yu Linna’s face blushed slightly. After reacting, she found an excuse.
Li Jing put down her coffee cup.
“I hope you will leave her.”
“What do you mean?”
She didn’t quite understand what she meant.
“Literally. Zhiyun has her own thoughts and pursuits. You are a great author, but she is also a big shot, at least in the future. I hope you won’t affect her.”
She had made it so clear. Yu Linna should know what she was trying to express. Yu Linna lowered her head, her expression buried in the shadows. She clenched her fists.
“I’m sorry,” her voice carried a slight anger.
“I can’t do that.”
She refused decisively.
“No matter what I do, the person who should choose is me, not others. I know you’re doing this for Zhiyun’s good, but I won’t disturb her, let alone let her future be affected in any way. We are just ordinary friends, that’s all. Miss Li, you may not like me, but please don’t make things difficult for Zhiyun. She has her own thoughts.”
The black-haired girl, who was eavesdropping in the dark, silently showed a smile.
