After Saving My Possessive Best Friend, I Couldn't Escape (GL) - Chapter 39

Fang Zhile didn’t notice anything inappropriate about the posture. Following the momentum, she put her hand on Ye Yu’s waist and guided her onto the sofa. During the movement, Ye Yu’s face grew even redder.

“Your face is so red,” Fang Zhile noticed with concern. “Is it too hot in here? I’ll turn on the air conditioner.”

“No need,” Ye Yu stopped her, pressing the back of her hand against her cheek to cool down, her gaze momentarily evasive. “It’ll cool down soon.”

Ye Yu shifted her body, leaning back against the sofa. The friction of the fabric lessened the distinct sensation on her skin. She cleared her throat. “Did you eat dinner tonight?”

“I did,” Fang Zhile replied. “Speaking of dinner, how was the meal with your two families?”

“Just as expected,” Ye Yu said. “The elders were all very kind, encouraging us to study hard.”

Fang Zhile quickly ran through the personalities of Ye family elders in her mind, finding absolutely no one who could be described as “kind,” but she couldn’t expose that right now. She just let out a long “Oh,” and asked, “Did they tell you to keep practicing Regular Script?”

The heat in Ye Yu’s cheeks hadn’t subsided. She looked like she was floating in a misty haze. Following Fang Zhile’s lead, she continued, “Of course not. They forbade me from practicing.”

Fang Zhile quickly caught on. “And you call that ‘kind’?”

Realizing she had just spoken the truth, Ye Yu slowly blinked her eyes, deciding not to conceal it anymore. “An elder’s affection is conditional, isn’t it? Can you understand that?”

“Yes,” Fang Zhile answered readily.

Ye Yu shifted her neck uncomfortably. “You can understand?”

“What’s so hard to understand?” Fang Zhile smiled openly. “Look at me. I’m an orphan, nobody loves me. Sometimes I think about what kind of parents I want in my next life, what kind of family I want to be born into. Thinking it over, I also have a lot of conditions.”

This hypothetical scenario caught Ye Yu’s attention. “What kind of conditions?”

Fang Zhile put her hands behind her head, recalling slowly. “For example, they must be deeply in love, the family environment should be relaxed, and most importantly, they should be healthy and live a long life. Then I thought that wasn’t enough. They should have a bit of money, so the quality of life would be higher. And if my parents are loving, having a sibling or two would be nice, but not too many.”

Ye Yu couldn’t help but envision it with Fang Zhile. “Then I hope my parents are good people.”

Fang Zhile nodded. “Makes sense. At least good people are good to everyone.”

The night was deep now. The ceiling light in the living room was old and dim. Fang Zhile seemed to be submerged in this faint darkness. Ye Yu looked at her, and her heart felt incredibly soft for a moment. If her parents were good people, maybe she could be a good person too. Then when she stood before Fang Zhile, she would be clean, unburdened, and could smile frankly and say hello.

For a moment, neither of them knew what to say. They didn’t want to move, nor did they want to leave.

“Um,” Ye Yu pulled two cans of cat food from her bag and suggested, “Is Xiaohua around?”

Five minutes later, Ye Yu and Fang Zhile were sitting under the awning in the courtyard, making friendly human noises toward the perpetually alert, aggressively-fluffy cat sitting on the roof.

“Xiaohua, come down.” Fang Zhile let out a lure-the-cat-away-from-home sound.

“We have cans for you,” Ye Yu opened a can. The aroma immediately wafted out.

Xiaohua probably hadn’t seen anyone for days and didn’t recognize them. After baring its teeth for a while, it smelled the food and leaped down from the opposite eaves, following the ridge of the roof.

“Is she going to bite us?” Ye Yu pointed at Xiaohua’s erect tail.

Fang Zhile chuckled at the sight, pulling the can close to her chest. “It’s not going to bite us; it’s happy.”

“Are you sure its expression is ‘happy’?” Ye Yu looked skeptical.

Xiaohua had a fierce look, with its chin tucked in. The way it squinted at people made it look like it wanted to kill them.

“You don’t understand cat language. The erect tail and squinting eyes as it walks towards you mean it’s happy. If you don’t believe me, look it up online,” Fang Zhile circled the can in front of Xiaohua, earning a “woof” from the cat. Fang Zhile laughed so hard she almost dropped the can. “It’s so impatient it’s making a dog sound, hahaha.”

Ye Yu snatched the can from her hand, opened it, and placed it in front of Xiaohua. “If you provoke the cat, it will scratch you.”

“Xiaohua is very spiritual,” Fang Zhile said with a laugh. “It doesn’t scratch good people.”

Ye Yu immediately offered her arm to Xiaohua. Fang Zhile swiftly pulled her back the next second. Ye Yu then extended Fang Zhile’s arm toward Xiaohua, and the cat opened its mouth to bite.

“Stop!” Fang Zhile pulled her hand back with lightning speed, pointing at Xiaohua’s nose. “Don’t you dare, or I’ll bite you back!”

Ye Yu said wryly, “Didn’t you say it doesn’t scratch good people?”

“It doesn’t scratch, it bites! Cats only bite you when they love you!”

Ye Yu raised an eyebrow at her, clearly unconvinced. “Oh.”

Fang Zhile: “…You’ll understand when you get a cat someday.”

“Get a kitten?” Ye Yu fantasized about it, feeling a faint sense of anticipation. “Okay! When I have my own house, I can get many of them.”

“Cats shed, and you have to scoop their litter,” Fang Zhile burst her bubble. “Trust me, you’ll definitely get annoyed.”

Ye Yu imagined raising a cat, playing and cuddling, rubbing its face and belly—that sounded lovely. But scooping litter…

“Fine,” Ye Yu had to give up one of the options. “No rubbing its face then.”

Fang Zhile said softly, “Raising a cat requires great care. Once you take them in, you are responsible for their entire life.”

Ye Yu felt ashamed of her impulse, shrugging her shoulders. “I’ll wait until I have my own place and time to properly care for a cat before getting one.”

Fang Zhile’s heart softened. “You can go to a cat café. There are many types of cats, and you don’t have to worry about the upkeep.”

Ye Yu poked Xiaohua’s head, and the cat purred. “Are the cats at the café the same as Xiaohua?”

Fang Zhile thought of her friends’ purebred Maine Coons and Ragdolls, which cost upwards of ten thousand yuan each—the fur, the quality, those adorable little mouths. You’d want to rush over and kiss them bald. Then she looked at Xiaohua: a patch of black and yellow fur near its mouth, a fat belly, triangular eyes, and claws that came out the moment anyone touched it. A purebred, short-tempered military general.

Fang Zhile was honest. “A cat café can’t afford to lose money and pay medical bills all the time.”

Ye Yu poked Xiaohua’s head again, earning a dissatisfied “meow” from the cat. “See? It has a pretty good temper.”

“It’s an illusion,” Fang Zhile saw how much she liked the cat and thought carefully. “There’s a cat village not far from our city. It’s full of cats like Xiaohua—the ones who ‘grew up casually’.”

Ye Yu thought her use of “grew up casually” was insulting to the cat, but the cat village’s appeal was greater than her desire to complain. “Then let’s find a time to go play!”

Fang Zhile nodded. “After the exam. It’s going to rain and get colder in a few days. The exam will be right before the start of autumn leaves. We can go ‘step the yellow’ and pet some cats.”

“‘Step the yellow’?” Ye Yu squinted. “What do you mean?”

“Stepping the green in spring, stepping the yellow in autumn. Sounds right to me,” Fang Zhile said matter-of-factly.

Ye Yu couldn’t help but ask, “What about summer then?”

Fang Zhile thought for a moment. “Stepping the green.”

“I see,” Ye Yu nodded. “Then winter must be stepping the white.”

Unexpectedly, Fang Zhile shook her head and looked at her like she was an idiot. “Stepping the snow in winter, thank you.”

Ye Yu: …

Why on earth am I having this pointless conversation with someone who constantly kills the mood?

The two fed mosquitoes for a while, and after Fang Zhile’s ankle was bitten, they went back inside, thoroughly discouraged.

“The exam is coming up soon,” Ye Yu saw Fang Zhile’s backpack, which was always stuffed with stacks of test papers. “Are you confident?”

Fang Zhile exaggerated. “Top hundred in the grade, no problem.”

Ye Yu was about to applaud her, but then reconsidered. “What was your last ranking?”

“Fifth in the grade.”

Ye Yu pursed her lips, speechless. “You certainly have… ambition.”

“Did something happen recently?” Ye Yu’s mind replayed the phrase “top hundred in the grade.” “Are you going to drop a hundred places?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me,” Fang Zhile ran a hand through her hair, calculating her scores in each subject. “Mainly, I’m not familiar with the school’s test papers, especially since we’ve split into streams. I might not drop a hundred places.”

Ye Yu pulled out her test papers, and then suddenly remembered something. “I have something I can hold against you.”

Fang Zhile: “Huh?”

Fang Zhile’s gaze fell on the test paper. At that moment, she even thought the paper was revealing the secret that “the world you’re in is actually a book.”

Ye Yu usually didn’t show much expression, especially when she was quiet like this. All subtle emotions were hidden beneath her beautiful, delicate face, invisible.

“You,” Ye Yu extended a finger, poking Fang Zhile’s scribbled handwriting. “Look here.”

Fang Zhile was slow to react, speechless for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief. “You scared me. I thought it was something else. My handwriting, well, I guess the style is genetic. You can’t use that against me. I’m not like you, who comes with the ability to transmigrate…”

“Transmigrate what?” Ye Yu looked confused.

“Transmigrate, it means stringing things together,” Fang Zhile completely let herself go between the shock and the relief. Since Ye Yu clearly wouldn’t understand, she started making things up. “It describes how excellent your calligraphy is. You can string together and switch between different styles arbitrarily. Whether it’s Regular Script, Small Regular Script, various Clerical Scripts, or self-created artistic styles, you handle them all with ease. You are a rising star in the calligraphy world, an indispensable genius in this world.”

Ye Yu held up her hand in a gesture of protest. “Alright, I know, you don’t have to praise me.”

“I’m not saying your handwriting is ugly,” Ye Yu’s usually calm expression seemed to crack slightly. “Don’t you think this scene looks familiar?”

Fang Zhile thought carefully. It did, indeed, look familiar. The two of them were looking at a test paper together, seemingly studying diligently.

“You said you’d help me with the questions,” Ye Yu saw the constant change in her expression as she pondered and knew her thoughts had drifted far away, so she pointed it out directly. “Then you just moved out of the dorm, and we haven’t talked much these last few days.”

Fang Zhile ran a hand through her hair. “You’re right. Your business is the most important.”

Fang Zhile hadn’t fully explained the matter to Ye Yu yet. She took this opportunity to organize her words, trying to be concise.

“I’m investigating Sun Li recently,” Fang Zhile looked steadily at Ye Yu, trying not to miss any of her expressions.

Fang Zhile always remembered her original intention after transmigrating: to save Ye Yu, to free her from the predetermined fate of the female protagonist Shou, and let her achieve freedom and happiness.

Later, in her interactions with the characters in the book, she gradually realized they were flesh-and-blood people, not just paper cutouts. The subtle emotional changes between characters were the hardest things to guess and fathom.

Fang Zhile’s arrival was like a butterfly flapping its wings, causing a massive butterfly effect.

Zhou Meize was influenced by her bad friends to go to nightclubs. Sun Li, who was originally scheduled to emerge only in college, had already entered their lives.

Ye Yu was even more out of character, moving directly out of the school and away from the environment where major plot points were supposed to happen. Many things had changed dramatically.

In these changes, Fang Zhile couldn’t just passively receive information. She had to actively gather as much information as possible to gain the upper hand in the upcoming story.

For example, what Sun Li had done in the past, and what she would do in the future, were the topics Fang Zhile was most concerned about recently.

As a powerful villain in the original book who successfully harmed Ye Yu, Fang Zhile was watching her more closely than a criminal.

But Ye Yu was unaware of this. At most, Ye Yu knew Fang Zhile and Sun Li had a conflict, that Sun Li was her fiancée’s good friend, and Fang Zhile was her friend. Ye Yu was merely caught in the middle.

Therefore, Fang Zhile had to clearly and directly tell this intermediary that she was investigating Sun Li. Regardless of Ye Yu’s reaction, she had to tell her what she was doing.

Unexpectedly, Ye Yu didn’t react at all.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Fang Zhile’s throat bobbed nervously. “I might not be able to explain it to you right now, but I have indeed been busy with this these past few days. I’ll tell you clearly once I’ve sorted out my thoughts.”

Ye Yu moved her body. She suddenly stood up, walked to the water dispenser, poured herself a glass of water, and held it to her lips. Halfway through, she realized there was too little water and had to tilt the glass completely to drink it. After drinking, Ye Yu returned to the sofa, clenching her hands on her knees. “Mhm… I have no objection.”

“Sun Li and Sun Yangyang are both from the Sun family. At first, you were trying to protect me, finding Sun Yangyang annoying, and then you got into a conflict with Sun Li,” Ye Yu’s voice was very calm, the logic clear in every word. It sounded like she was both answering Fang Zhile and sorting out her own thoughts. “I remember the first time you stayed in my dorm, and they blocked you the next morning when you left. What did they say then?”

Ye Yu’s time and place were precise, making it easy to recall. The moment she spoke, Fang Zhile remembered what they had said. They threatened her with photos Fang Zhile had never seen.

Fang Zhile always felt that Sun Li and her group wouldn’t be so vicious. Ordinary bullying could land them in jail for a few days to enjoy the rule of law for minors, but bullying involving body privacy meant that the thick penal code would be slapped on their faces, and high school students over sixteen would have to take responsibility for their actions.

Fang Zhile didn’t answer Ye Yu directly. “I don’t remember clearly. I think they were just questioning my relationship with you, then insulting my character and demoralizing me.”

“How did they insult you? How did they demoralize you?” Ye Yu pressed, her tone becoming a little urgent. “What did they do to you?”

“I truly can’t remember,” Fang Zhile hesitated for a few seconds, still choosing not to tell Ye Yu her conjecture.

“But whatever they did in the past isn’t the most important thing. The important thing is to watch them and stop them from bullying anyone else.”

It wasn’t that Fang Zhile thought Ye Yu couldn’t handle the truth. But the Ye Yu before the transmigration was a mature adult who had seen all kinds of things in her life.

The current Ye Yu was just a high school student, a pure one who had been immersed in her calligraphy world since childhood and paid no attention to worldly affairs. Fang Zhile really didn’t want to voice her unverified suspicions to her face.

Ye Yu didn’t get an answer from Fang Zhile, and the light in her eyes suddenly dimmed.

“They probably won’t dare to bully anyone else for a while,” Ye Yu said softly. “The photos of Li Zi at the nightclub somehow circulated. Li’s father will watch her closely, and she can’t return to school for now. Liu Mei… the Liu family is traditionally neutral and easy to deal with.”

“As for Sun Li, you can investigate her if you want,” Ye Yu remembered the thin, flaky camera. In the dim light of the dorm, the cold reflection of the camera gradually overlapped with Fang Zhile’s cute, gentle face in front of her. Fang Zhile was avoiding her, refusing to talk about it.

Ye Yu definitely hadn’t misheard that day. Sun Li was threatening Fang Zhile with her photos. What kind of photos could threaten a well-behaved, quiet high school student? It had to be those kinds of photos.

Even if Sun Yangyang was the one who entered her dorm, Sun Yangyang, a parasite who relied on others, would never have been able to get her hands on such an advanced camera without Sun Li’s instruction.

Wireless, hidden, high-definition, with immediate cloud upload and ultra-long storage time…

The black market price was 58,000 yuan. Sun Yangyang’s family had a little money, but that was it. They wouldn’t give her 58,000 yuan in pocket money, and she couldn’t have gotten access to that kind of channel.

Ye Yu was almost certain now: Fang Zhile had been filmed in private, and Sun Li was involved.

Fang Zhile sighed in relief and happily draped her arm over Ye Yu’s shoulder. “Aiya, let’s stop talking about these people. Talking about them just ruins our mood.”

Ye Yu glanced sideways at the arm draped over her shoulder. Fang Zhile’s wrist rested on the protruding bone of her shoulder, which felt a little sharp.

“Why are you,” Ye Yu paused, considering her words, “so thin that your bones are poking me?”

Fang Zhile intentionally moved her wrist. “Are you talking about here? It’s a natural talent; my hands and feet are all thin. I’m like this even when I gain weight.” Fang Zhile looked Ye Yu up and down, amused. “You’re calling me out? Is some unhealthy skinny aesthetic trendy at our school? You’re so slender yourself.”

“I’ve always been this way,” Ye Yu recalled her childhood. “I didn’t dare to eat too much when I was little.”

Fang Zhile was shocked. “Why?”

Ye Yu’s lips curved slightly in a smile, half-joking, half-serious. “Probably because I was afraid of eating too much, turning into a piglet, and being taken away.”

Fang Zhile: … I shouldn’t have asked Ye Yu.

Fang Zhile stood up and pinched her own waist and thighs, then bent over to measure her calf circumference. Finally, she summed up her feelings, making a decision that would require a long-term fight. “I need to gain muscle.”

“Pffft,” Ye Yu laughed quietly, spitting out her water. “Gain muscle.”

Fang Zhile glared at her, full of resentment. “What kind of reaction is that?”

Ye Yu smiled and shook her head. “Nothing, nothing. I support you.”

Fang Zhile stared at her, saying nothing.

Ye Yu sighed. “This child who wants to gain muscle, I have a chance for a high-intensity workout. Would you like to come?”

“No,” Fang Zhile said with integrity. She just couldn’t stand Ye Yu constantly mocking her!

Ye Yu nodded, regretfully. “Then forget it. I’ll ask someone else to help me move this weekend.”

“Move where?” Fang Zhile immediately asked. “Did your parents agree to let you move out of the dorm?”

Ye Yu raised an eyebrow at her, a subtle smile twinkling in the corner of her eyes. “Aren’t you refusing to go?”

Fang Zhile immediately sat down on the sofa, scooting closer to Ye Yu.

She opened her eyes wide, pushing her face close to Ye Yu’s so she could see her genuine sincerity. “You have so much stuff,” Fang Zhile whined. “And a bed I’ve slept in! Doesn’t this poor soul need to help you?”

Ye Yu: … What kind of garbage entered my ears and eyes?

Ye Yu’s face darkened. “Speak normally.”

Fang Zhile immediately changed her voice, becoming coarse and loud, shouting with the spirit of a bandit on Mount Liang: “Take! Me! With! You!”

Ye Yu was amused and couldn’t hold back her laugh any longer.

“It’s scheduled for Sunday morning,” Ye Yu said with a smile. “Are you free?”

Fang Zhile pondered for a while. “Mhm, Sunday. Yes.”

On the way back, Fang Zhile didn’t let Ye Yu ride the shared electric bike again. She diligently used her second-hand, man-powered bicycle to take her home.

Along the way, Fang Zhile commented on how a rich young lady like Ye Yu, who lived in a villa and had a driver, was riding a shared bike alone late at night. Ye Yu, who had been speechless from the moment she started talking, pinched the flesh on her waist hard.

Fang Zhile dropped her off at the entrance of the villa area. A guard would drive Ye Yu the rest of the way home.

“Miss Ye, are you going straight home?” the guard asked.

Ye Yu watched Fang Zhile leave and said softly, “Not the Ye family home. To the Zhou family’s house.”

Zhou’s mother didn’t know she was moving out yet. The two families still needed to interact frequently. Zhou Meize didn’t understand this principle, but Ye Yu needed to handle it properly. Even if there were future conflicts between the two families, the blame wouldn’t fall on Ye Yu. She had always been a dutiful prospective daughter-in-law and had never spoken ill of the Zhou family.

The guard’s patrol car drove toward the Zhou family’s house in the night.

Fang Zhile’s second-hand bicycle drove toward the alley to see Uncle Lü.

“Uncle!” Fang Zhile leaned the bike against the wall and knocked on the door, calling out, “Is anyone home?”

After a moment, a middle-aged man in pajamas came out, pulling a little girl with pigtails. “Xiaole?” The uncle rubbed his eyes, recognized who she was, and opened the door to let her in. “It’s so late. Why are you here now?”

Fang Zhile half-squatted to greet the little girl, then stood up and smiled at the uncle. “I was passing by and thought I’d drop in.”

“Come in quickly.”

The uncle’s surname was Lu, and he was known as Lu Yixian—the chef who made incredibly delicious food.

“When is the restaurant opening?” Fang Zhile asked the moment she entered, a bright smile on her face. “I’ll send a big flower basket when you open.”

Uncle Lu quickly shook his head. “It’ll open next month. We’re not doing any of those flower baskets or cannon formalities.”

Fang Zhile pulled out a small notebook with a list of promotional activities for the opening day. “Uncle Lü, I found these online. See if they’re suitable.”

Lü Yixian was an excellent cook, but he lacked business sense. To go from chef to boss, he needed to know how to run a business as well as cook. Even if his food was famous, it would have taken over a decade to become a local institution without the discovery of a Central Television food program. Fang Zhile couldn’t wait that long to earn her first pot of gold.

“Won’t this cost me money?” Lü Yixian argued stubbornly. “Xiaole, selling it so cheaply and doing buy-one-get-one-free… I don’t think so! My food is worth the full price!”

Fang Zhile smiled. She already knew he was a bit arrogant, but his arrogance was backed by real skill. Why had he had no customers at first? Because he scared them off with his average price of 30 yuan per dish.

The average egg fried rice sells for 8 yuan. Why are you selling yours for 25 yuan? Do you use more eggs than others? Is your rice made of gold? If he were located in a luxurious mall, it would be understandable, where land was expensive, but he was on a normal street. The price felt like a robbery.

Later, she learned that the fried rice he sold wasn’t ordinary at all.

The eggs were free-range eggs collected from old farmers, from village chickens, and they tasted delicious just boiled.

The rice was also carefully chosen, “hard rice” cooked with “soft water,” and finally simmered. It was soft, springy, and smooth. When the two were stir-fried together, combined with his precisely honed skills, a simple egg fried rice could make you bite your tongue off.

That’s why he had so many loyal customers.

They mostly complained about the price being too high or not being able to get enough, but never that the food was bad.

“Uncle Lü, that’s not what I mean,” Fang Zhile tried to persuade him more subtly. “Buy-one-get-one-free is basically the cost price. We’re not paying customers to eat. The rest is your labor fee.”

Lü Yixian was inflexible. “My labor is worth that much too!”

“I know your skill is great,” Fang Zhile said sincerely. “For the first three days, just consider it free labor for three days. You’re working for your own shop. Three days isn’t too much, is it?”

Lü Yixian had no objection to this. Working for his own shop meant working for himself! He hated working for others, slaving away and earning money for someone else! Running his own shop meant all the profits and losses were his own. Much more comfortable!

Understanding this key point, Lü Yixian patted his chest and guaranteed, “I understand what you mean. Don’t worry, I won’t fuss over these petty profits. Since I’m working for myself, I won’t complain even if it’s free labor!”

Fang Zhile mentally gave herself a huge thumbs-up for her good habit of memorizing character profiles.

“Then I’ll definitely come and support you next month!” Fang Zhile prepared to leave. She bent down to say goodbye to the little girl with pigtails. “Big sister is leaving now. Say goodbye to big sister.”

The little girl, with wide eyes, tugged at Uncle Lü’s sleeve and whispered, “Goodbye.”

Fang Zhile patted her pigtails and left in a good mood. Seriously earning her first pot of gold was the first step towards a future of lying back and waiting for dividends! Fang Zhile couldn’t wait to live the beautiful life of counting her money, moving into a big villa with Ye Yu, and raising cats and growing vegetables together!

The next day was Friday, the last day of the week. Classes would resume next week with exams. Everyone was restless, discussing their revision progress and where they would go after the exams.

However, at one table in the noisy cafeteria, the atmosphere was strangely silent. Sun Yangyang and Sun Li were sitting together, and the tension at the table was due to Ye Yu and Zhou Meize sitting across from them.

The seating arrangement was accidental. Ye Yu and Zhou Meize had taken their seats first. When they went to get food, Sun Yangyang and Sun Li didn’t see Zhou Meize’s backpack and accidentally chose the opposite seats.

A minute later, Ye Yu returned to her seat with a bowl of grass jelly dessert and exchanged a surprised look with Zhou Meize, who was standing behind her.

Since Uncle Xue’s dinner, Ye Yu had intentionally distanced herself from these people and hadn’t eaten with them these past few days. Now, she stood in front of the table without saying anything.

Sun Li felt utterly humiliated. It was just one dinner, just the second-in-command of the Ye family, yet Zhou Meize had distanced herself from them because of it. She had been incredibly upset these past few days.

She had been with Zhou Meize since childhood, doing everything together. Although Zhou Meize was currently avoiding her, Sun Li hadn’t bothered her. But now, she had accidentally sat down with them, and was she expected to pick up her tray and leave?

At this point, Ye Yu spoke up. “Let’s just sit together.”

Seeing Ye Yu speak, Zhou Meize naturally had no objection and sat down.

Sun Yangyang didn’t know about the dinner or Ye Yu’s status. Zhou Meize had been avoiding her these past few days. Now that she had finally run into her, she tried every trick in the book to charm and strike up a conversation.

“Sister Meize, what are you eating?” Sun Yangyang asked.

Zhou Meize had been feeling unwell and wasn’t in the mood to talk. She said listlessly, “Look for yourself.”

Sun Yangyang was snubbed but didn’t give up. She deliberately turned to Ye Yu. “Ye Yu, are you two getting food together?”

Sun Li scoffed internally. Ye Yu treats even us like air. Is she going to talk to you?

Unexpectedly, Ye Yu actually looked up from her bowl.

“Yes, we ran into each other and decided to sit together,” Ye Yu smiled. “Aren’t you and Sun Li together too?”

“We’re close; we’re sisters,” Sun Yangyang said haughtily. “What’s your relationship?”

Zhou Meize pinched the bridge of her nose. She really didn’t want to listen to arguments now. She said coldly, “If you have so much to say, I’ll give you a chance to give a speech on the stage in front of the whole school.”

Sun Yangyang instantly felt wronged. She turned to Sun Li for help, but Sun Li wasn’t looking at her. Sun Yangyang didn’t notice the unconscious look of disgust on Sun Li’s face when she heard the word “sisters,” thinking she was just angry at her for being “out of favor.”

“Sister Meize,” Sun Yangyang, in a bid to prove she was still useful, quickly changed the topic. “Should we go out and play after the exams?”

Zhou Meize instinctively wanted to refuse.

She had been feeling unwell, dizzy, unable to focus on studying, and her drawing felt unclear since she went to the nightclub last time.

But after the exams, there would be a three-day holiday, a time for going out. Since leaving home for high school, she rarely spent holidays alone, preferring to be surrounded by people.

“Let me think about where to go,” Zhou Meize said.

Sun Yangyang pushed her luck, starting to make demands. “Last time we went on a picnic in the suburbs. How about camping somewhere further away this time?”

“Sounds great.”

Again, completely unexpectedly, the person who spoke was Ye Yu. She agreed first.

The food Zhou Meize was about to put in her mouth dropped back into the bowl. She looked surprised. “You want to go?”

“It’s not good to be unsociable all the time,” Ye Yu slowly stirred the grass jelly in her bowl, cutting the large pieces into bite-sized chunks. “And I think Sun Yangyang’s suggestion is excellent. Going out should be exciting and lively.”

“But, don’t you dislike traveling far?” Zhou Meize wasn’t against it, but she was incredibly, unbelievably shocked.

The rarity of Ye Yu suggesting she go out with them was less likely than her getting first place in the exam.

In fact, since the two of them became sensible, Ye Yu would only go out with her alone, and never with anyone else. This was why most people didn’t know Ye Yu was her fiancée all these years.

Ye Yu would avoid any place if anyone else was around.

“I can’t stay the same after all these years,” Ye Yu smiled. “And I see Sun Yangyang really wants to go camping. It’s a holiday after the exams, and I haven’t been out for a long time. We should go together.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Sun Li spoke up. She felt something was wrong. She used to provoke Ye Yu, but now that she knew Ye Yu was trouble, she intentionally avoided her. If Sun Yangyang, this idiot, hadn’t picked a terrible seat, she wouldn’t have been involved.

Zhou Meize said, “You’re not going? You never miss these kinds of activities. Do you have something else planned after the exams?”

Sun Li forced a smile. “Li Zi is still grounded at home, so I plan to go visit her.”

“Uncle Li won’t let her see you,” Sun Yangyang suddenly said. “And Sister Li Zi was grounded because of that kind of thing…”

“Sun Yangyang.” Zhou Meize glared at her warningly. What an idiot. Someone had leaked the photos of Li Zi from that night. It was a humiliating affair, and not many people knew.

It would have been fine if Sun Yangyang had kept her mouth shut, but she almost blurted it out. If Ye Yu found out, she would definitely suspect Zhou Meize was involved too.

Then, Zhou Meize wouldn’t even have a chance to explain herself. Zhou Meize felt disgusted and started considering whether to tell Sun Yangyang to stay away from her in the future.

“I’m sorry. I won’t say anything else,” Sun Yangyang quickly apologized, then whispered to Sun Li, “Are you really not going?”

Sun Li’s expression was almost shattered. She bit out the words. “No. I’m. Not.”

Ye Yu slowly swallowed her grass jelly and gently dabbed her lips with a tissue. She said to Sun Yangyang, “If she doesn’t go, that’s fine. You can accompany Xiaowei. I wanted to leave early anyway, and you two can sketch together.”

“That’s right! The view while camping will be beautiful! We can watch the sunrise, barbecue, and sketch together!” Sun Yangyang was delighted.

Sun Li, who had witnessed all their interactions, was consumed by a deep, dark look in her eyes.

She lowered her gaze, but her peripheral vision was fixed on Sun Yangyang.

She’s going out alone with Zhou Meize, spending time alone with her.

Is she that happy?

She wants to watch the sunrise, sunset, stars, and galaxies with her, and barbecue and sketch together? Look at yourself. What are you?

“Sun Li,” Ye Yu called out. “I’ll have the butler prepare two small gifts later. Take them with you when you visit Li Zi. Although I don’t know why she’s grounded, consider it a small token of goodwill from Xiaowei and me.”

Zhou Meize also wanted to check on Li Zi, but she couldn’t visit, so having Sun Li take the gifts was perfect. Zhou Meize nodded in agreement. “Mhm, you’re right. Let’s do that.”

Ye Yu picked out a meatball that had fallen into the soup and slowly ate it, seemingly completely oblivious to Sun Li’s suddenly pale face.

She handed a plate of crispy fried meat to Sun Yangyang. “I ordered an extra plate. Here, take it.”

Sun Yangyang was flattered. She subconsciously looked at Zhou Meize. Zhou Meize looked at Ye Yu, and after a long look, she suddenly smiled for some reason.

“Take it,” Zhou Meize lifted her chin.

For the rest of the meal, every time Sun Yangyang spoke, Ye Yu would reply, speaking a few neutral sentences, even being amiable. By the end of the meal, Sun Li’s expression was barely holding on.

Ye Yu put down her chopsticks, and Zhou Meize put down her bowl immediately after.

“Are you going home again?” Zhou Meize asked.

Ye Yu packed her backpack, complaining without looking up, “My parents won’t let me stay at the dorm anymore. They’re too strict. I have to go home.”

“Auntie is being that strict?” Zhou Meize asked. “I remember Auntie being pretty carefree.”

“I don’t know. Maybe Uncle Xue’s visit the other day made them nervous. They insisted I go home, or stay in a house they arranged,” Ye Yu’s voice lowered as she and Zhou Meize walked away, until it was inaudible.

Sun Li, who was about to leave, was startled when she heard their conversation.

“Ye Yu isn’t staying at the dorm anymore?” Sun Li’s gaze was sharp, fixed on Sun Yangyang. “How did you not know?”

Sun Yangyang was slow to react. “Right. I’ve been checking the camera’s backend these past few days. The lens is blocked by clothes. I can only see a small patch of the floor. There’s no one in the dorm. I thought Ye Yu was just staying home these past few days. I didn’t know she moved out…”

“You useless idiot!” Sun Li cursed, interrupting her. “You can’t even handle this one thing! No one there for days, and you didn’t consider the reason? What if she noticed? What if she knows you’re the one who did it!”

Sun Yangyang was bewildered by the cursing and felt resentful. “The camera is so small. You’d need a magnifying glass to find it. Besides, if she found it, why would she leave it there? And… you were the one who told me to do it…”

“Ah!” Sun Yangyang covered her hand and trembled violently.

The high-pitched sound made everyone in the cafeteria look over. They saw two people, one standing and one sitting, doing nothing, and then looked away again.

Sun Li threw her chopsticks onto the table, warning her with an icy expression. “Sun Yangyang, this is the first and last time I’ll teach you: shut your mouth! Remember who you shouldn’t talk about and who you shouldn’t involve. Otherwise, I’ll make sure your bed-climbing mother is thrown out without a penny.”

Sun Yangyang’s eyes widened instantly. The sharp pain from the chopsticks poking her hand made her tremble. Her mind was filled with Sun Li’s final threat.

“You, you can’t do that,” Sun Yangyang’s words were incoherent and disjointed. “I did everything you told me to. You can’t be so vicious.”

“Vicious? Are you talking about yourself?” Sun Li lowered her voice, speaking slowly and deliberately. “You were the one who planted the camera, not me. It has nothing to do with me. If you don’t listen, I’ll expose this. Then your father will throw both you and your mother, the two liabilities, out!”

Sun Yangyang shuddered with cold. Fear and suppressed anger, like tiny insects, crawled inch by inch up her spine. “I, I’ll listen.”

“Then remember your place,” Sun Li threatened coldly. “Don’t covet what you shouldn’t, and don’t say what you shouldn’t. If you’re smart, you’ll still be useful to me. But if you make a mistake or betray the wrong person someday, I’ll be the first to destroy you.”

Sun Yangyang had never expected her own sister to say such heartless and vicious things to her. Sun Yangyang walked away distracted. The anger that had been suppressed by fear in her mind slowly resurfaced, making her completely conscious. The wound on the back of her hand was swollen to a frightening degree. If Sun Yangyang hadn’t moved her hand just now, her metacarpal bone might have been broken.

Sun Li’s malice and cruelty, her heartlessness and lack of affection, felt like a knife hanging over her head. She was walking on thin ice, unsure when the knife would fall.

At this moment, Sun Yangyang finally felt the terror of making a deal with the devil. Regret and confusion wrapped around her tightly.

But then, that fragile, helpless feeling, like a bubble rising from the sea, quickly dispersed. It was replaced by hatred forged from fear.

Sun Li blamed everything on her and sealed her mouth with threats, even dragging her mother into it. Hitting a person’s weakness might make them cautious, but Sun Li should not have mentioned her mother.

Resentment, indignation, disgust, and jealousy washed over her like a storm surge.

A full bucket poured over her head, violently slapping her face. It was the cruelest, most sarcastic slap.

Sun Yangyang stared at Sun Li’s retreating back, like a hyena lurking on the savanna, watching a large beast, her eyes glowing with a malicious, greenish light, as if laced with venom.

From a window on the second floor, Ye Yu gently closed the curtain. This was her calligraphy room. One would inevitably pass this teaching building when leaving the cafeteria.

The study was clean and tidy, letting in clear light and a faint, pleasant scent of ink. On the solid wood desk in the center lay the ruined Ode to the Luo River Goddess, a work that was only a few lines away from being perfect.

Ye Yu’s fingers gently brushed over the dried ink stains. The coarse texture of the paper was distinct. Incense smoke curled up from the burner nearby, creating a hazy cloud of light.

“Someone ruined my painting,” Ye Yu’s lips curved subtly. Her tongue flicked out playfully, drawing out the end of her sentence. “She must pay.”