Chapter 74 Part 2

Yue Bai paused, stunned. Looking at her Senior Sister like this stirred an indescribable ache in her heart. She had always treated herself like a child, acting freely toward her Senior Sister, but she had forgotten that Senior Sister was only a year older than her.

Whenever Senior Sister took care of her, it always felt like Senior Sister was much older, making her overlook her actual age.

Yue Bai’s nose tingled with emotion.

“Okay.”

They continued walking deeper into the street, where the stalls grew more varied and the crowds thicker.

Suddenly, Yue Bai lost her enthusiasm. She tugged Sang Wan back the way they had come, a superficial smile on her face. “Senior Sister, let’s go eat some ramen instead.”

“Mm.” Sang Wan agreed softly.

The ramen shop was on the left side of the street ahead, not far from the roasted sweet potato stall. It had its own storefront, packed with diners inside, but a few empty tables sat out front by the door.

Yue Bai set the roasted sweet potato skins on one to claim it, then went inside to order two bowls of ramen from the boss.

When she came back out, Sang Wan was already seated on the bench. Yue Bai sat across from her with a beaming smile.

The moment her fingertips touched the tabletop, a sticky sensation spread through her fingers. She glanced down belatedly. The entire surface was covered in shiny, longstanding grease stains that had never been properly cleaned.

Her eyes widened. She sneaked a peek at Sang Wan and relaxed only slightly upon seeing no hint of disgust on her face.

She wasn’t sure if Senior Sister was used to eating at places like this.

“Senior Sister, next time let’s eat at a proper restaurant,” Yue Bai murmured.

Sang Wan knew what she was thinking and smiled. “I don’t care where we eat, as long as I’m with the right person.”

The ramen arrived quickly. Yue Bai fetched two pairs of chopsticks from the counter.

Sang Wan ate with refined elegance, chewing slowly and deliberately. In comparison, Yue Bai’s manners looked a bit rough.

After finishing the ramen, they held hands as they walked back. Yue Bai suddenly remembered the forgotten roasted sweet potato skins. She felt through the plastic bag—they were still warm. “They won’t taste good once they cool off.”

Back at the hotel, Yue Bai sat on the sofa nibbling at the roasted sweet potato skins while Sang Wan went into the bathroom to shower.

Yue Bai ate and scrolled on her phone. The class group chat was already at 99+ messages—mostly discussions about the sketching trip and photos taken along the way.

She skimmed through; nothing important.

She opened a video app and started browsing shorts.

When Sang Wan emerged from the shower, Yue Bai turned off her phone. “Senior Sister.”

Sang Wan looked up at her. “All done eating? Go wash up.”

Yue Bai wiped her mouth and obeyed, heading into the bathroom.

After her shower, she leaned back against Sang Wan, playfully reaching behind to hook her arms around Sang Wan’s neck.

“Senior Sister, the night’s still young. What should we do?” Yue Bai’s tone dripped with suggestion.

Sang Wan smiled. “Play some games?”

Yue Bai raised an eyebrow.

Sang Wan tilted her head. “Or did you have something else in mind?”

“Nothing. Let’s game.” Yue Bai pressed her lips together.

Sang Wan pecked her on the lips. “Good girl. Let’s go.”

Yue Bai understood. She had no desire to end up on some shady website. It might not happen, but better safe than sorry.

Besides, she wasn’t in that much of a rush anyway.

Logging into her long-neglected gaming account, Yue Bai checked her friends list. The ones online were either already in games or grouping up.

She sent an invite, and Sang Wan joined the party room. They played two matches—one loss, one win.

It wasn’t long before Sang Wan grew sleepy.

She hadn’t slept well for days, and today she’d driven nearly two hours. Fatigue was inevitable.

Yue Bai set her phone aside first, turned off the lights, wrapped her arms around Sang Wan’s waist, and held her close as they drifted off.

The next day, Yue Bai headed out to sketch, with Sang Wan tagging along.

Yue Bai found a quiet spot, set up her easel, and borrowed half a bucket of tap water from a nearby resident. She dipped her brushes into it.

Sang Wan stood behind her, watching her paint. The brushes outlined the scene’s basic shapes, then filled in broad color blocks.

Sang Wan watched curiously as the brush danced across the paper. She glanced at the real landscape, then back at Yue Bai’s canvas.

“Why can’t I make out the colors in your painting?” Sang Wan asked, staring at one particular block.

Yue Bai followed her gaze and explained, “Some are complementary colors. Adding them doesn’t ruin the picture—it adds a different feel.”

Sang Wan nodded with a vague “oh,” half understanding.

Yue Bai kept painting.

She painted all day, with Sang Wan by her side the whole time.

On Sunday morning, the week-long sketching trip wrapped up. As Yue Bai packed her things, she caught sight of Sang Wan watching her out of the corner of her eye. “Senior Sister, how did you get here?”

“Drove,” Sang Wan said.

Yue Bai’s eyes widened in surprise. “Senior Sister has a driver’s license?”

Sang Wan nodded. “Got it as soon as I turned legal.”

“Impressive. I don’t have mine yet. I’ll get one when I have the chance,” Yue Bai said.

Sang Wan hummed in acknowledgment. “Do you want to ride back with me or take the school bus?”

Yue Bai looked up. “Of course I’d love to go with you, but I don’t know if the academy will let me.”

Sang Wan thought for a moment. “They probably will.”

After packing, Yue Bai checked the message from the Counselor: assembly at the pickup point at 9 a.m. It was 8 now, so they had an hour.

She messaged the Counselor explaining the situation. The Counselor told her and Sang Wan to drive safely and approved it.

“All set—I cleared it with the Counselor. I get to be Senior Sister’s front-seat passenger!” Yue Bai said excitedly. It had been so long; she’d never seen Senior Sister drive before.

They dragged their luggage out of the hotel. Sang Wan handled checkout at the front desk, and then they headed to the underground garage.

Following the numbers and signs on the walls, they quickly found Sang Wan’s car.

A white Volkswagen, the kind you saw everywhere on the road—utterly unassuming.

It suited a university student’s vibe perfectly.

“I thought Senior Sister might show up in a sports car,” Yue Bai said with exaggerated flair.

Sang Wan laughed and flicked her forehead. “What are you imagining?”

Yue Bai loaded her suitcase into the trunk.

Settling into the passenger seat, Yue Bai let out a satisfied sigh. “Finally heading home.”

“Weren’t you having fun these past few days?” Sang Wan started the engine, turned the wheel, and eased the car out of the garage.

“It’s not that I wasn’t.” Yue Bai gazed at the tunnel ahead, sunlight gradually piercing through it. She grew sentimental. “Without Senior Sister, everything feels kind of boring.”

Her favorite part of each day after sketching had been chatting with Sang Wan. With Wang Yi around, she couldn’t video call—only text.

Across a screen, even words lost some of their emotion.

The navigation app chimed with a mechanical female voice. Sang Wan followed its directions and turned.

At a red light intersection, she watched the countdown tick from over thirty seconds. Her right hand slipped off the wheel to pinch Yue Bai’s cheek, then returned to grip it firmly. “What makes things fun, then?”

Yue Bai doodled idly in the air. “Being with Senior Sister—even just sitting around is fun.”

Sang Wan chuckled softly. The light turned green before she could reply. After they passed through, she said lightly, “In that case, no phone for you tonight.”

“Ah~” Yue Bai drew out the sound. “Then we’ll just do something else instead.”

Sang Wan smiled without a word.

Listening to Yue Bai chatter beside her made the drive anything but dull.

The car glided into the underground garage at the Teachers’ Apartment. The light dimmed abruptly, and Yue Bai squinted, clapping her hands in excitement. “Oh yeah, we’re back!”

Sang Wan curved her lips. Was her junior this thrilled?

She parked, popped the trunk, and they grabbed the luggage.

Yue Bai walked ahead with her backpack slung over her shoulder as they stepped out of the underground garage. She turned her head to glance at Sang Wan, who trailed half a meter behind.

Caught off guard by the sudden stop, Sang Wan took another step forward before she could fully pull it back.

“What’s wrong?” Sang Wan asked, puzzled.

“Mm.” Yue Bai held out her hand, palm up.

Sang Wan gave a faint smile and clasped it with her free hand.

The moment they entered the Teachers’ Apartment, Yue Bai shrugged off her backpack. It landed on the sofa with a quick toss, and she darted into the bedroom, flopping onto the bed like a ragdoll.

Sang Wan followed, unpacking the bag and setting its contents neatly in place before entering the bedroom two minutes later.

Yue Bai lay sprawled on the bed in a starfish pose.

“So tired already?” Sang Wan sat on the edge of the bed.

“Not really.” Yue Bai pushed herself up. “But nothing beats your own bed at home.”

Sang Wan’s lips curved in a smile.

As lunchtime approached, Wen Mo called and invited them over for a meal.

Sang Wan agreed and tugged the reluctant Yue Bai off the bed.

“Wen Mo wants us to come over for dinner,” Sang Wan said, pulling her up.

Yue Bai tsked. “What’s the big occasion today? Why is Senior Sister Wen suddenly inviting us?”

Sang Wan shook her head. “Nothing special—just a casual get-together. It’s not just us; Hua Yun and Wu Ling will be there too.”

Yue Bai blinked in surprise. “Don’t tell me someone’s come back.”

“No,” Sang Wan replied. “Last time, Wu Ling took first prize in that programming contest, so Zhou Qingyan rounded everyone up to celebrate. We’ve known them for a while, so it was hard to turn down. We’ll head back right after eating.”

“I’m fine either way,” Yue Bai said with a shrug.

They didn’t dawdle long. Taking the elevator, they arrived at Wen Mo’s place. The door stood half-open.

Somewhat socially anxious, Yue Bai hung back behind Sang Wan.

She had met the group at the previous gathering, but He Shichun’s presence had overshadowed things. Yue Bai’s impressions of the others remained vague, and she had barely exchanged a few words with them.

“Hey, why are you just standing there? Come on in,” Zhou Qingyan said, opening the door just then and spotting the pair outside. “Were you waiting for a red-carpet welcome?”

Sang Wan smiled faintly. “Has everyone else arrived?”

“Not yet. I just let them know—they’re probably still on their way,” Zhou Qingyan replied.

Hearing that, Yue Bai peeked out from behind Sang Wan.

The three of them stepped inside. Wen Mo was pouring water and handed them each a cup as they approached. “I was going to cook here, but with seven or eight people, it’s easier to eat out.”

“Should we wait until everyone’s here before heading out?” Yue Bai chimed in.

“Mm,” Wen Mo nodded.

Once everyone had arrived, they chatted briefly before heading to the restaurant.

In the midst of the meal, Sang Wan’s phone lit up with a new WeChat message. She finished peeling a shrimp and placed it in Yue Bai’s bowl, then slipped off her disposable glove and unlocked the screen.

The instant she read the message, Sang Wan’s expression darkened. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the phone, the blue veins standing out starkly on the back of her hand.

“I have to go—something came up.” Without further explanation, Sang Wan grabbed Yue Bai’s hand and headed for the exit.

“Sang Wan.” Wen Mo rose and called after her, shooting Zhou Qingyan a look. Zhou Qingyan stood automatically to clear the way.

Bewildered, Yue Bai let herself be pulled along by the wrist, the shrimp Sang Wan had peeled for her still in her mouth.

“What happened?” Wen Mo asked once they were outside.

“Ming Qisang’s cornered and lashing out.”