Chapter 19

Cuifang?

The boy stood rooted to the spot. His mind stopped functioning, and the world around him seemed to fade into black and white.

It felt as though something inside him had silently collapsed and shattered into pieces…

A single name echoed endlessly in his ears:

Cuifang… Cuifang… Cuifang…

Ye Muyan turned toward the still-panting Ruan Xin, her expression plainly asking, What on earth is wrong with you?

Beep.

At the system’s notification, Ruan Xin caught her breath and flashed Ye Muyan a bright, triumphant smile.

“Is this funny to you?”

Ye Muyan stepped forward and flicked her forehead.

“Ye Muyan, the bus is about to leave!”

One of Ye Muyan’s classmates came over to remind her.

“Oh no…”

Ruan Xin immediately launched into a dramatic performance. “Cuifang, darling… I’m dizzy… I want to go home…”

Without another word, Ye Muyan gripped her shoulders and turned her to face the other way.

“Cuifang’s little sister, do you see that over there?”

Ruan Xin stared in horror. “The sewer? Don’t tell me you’re planning to throw me into the sewer this time!”

Ye Muyan shook her head. “No. I just think that’s where you belong. You should lift the manhole cover and jump in yourself.”

“Get lost!”

“You first. Why don’t you demonstrate?”

Ye Muyan laughed.

A notification sounded.

Little Devil Points: 900/9999

What the hell?

Ruan Xin was utterly baffled. Were these Little Devil Points like chives, growing right back the moment she harvested them?

“Come on. Let’s get my bicycle.” Ye Muyan stopped smiling and dragged Ruan Xin away.

On the way home, Ruan Xin chattered as usual.

“I saw An Chen at the nursing home today.”

“Oh,” Ye Muyan replied indifferently.

“Yu Qiaotian was there too. But I’m a little curious. An Chen said he was meeting an old man named Liu to discuss a book. I wonder what kind of book it was.”

Ye Muyan still said nothing. Although she was on good terms with An Chen, when it was just the two sisters, she didn’t want their conversation to revolve around a man.

“Hey, are you listening?” Ruan Xin asked.

“Ruan Xin.” Ye Muyan suddenly sounded serious.

“What?”

Ye Muyan’s delicate brows drew together. She didn’t quite know how to ask what was on her mind.

Ruan Xin grew impatient. “Spit it out already.”

“Do you have someone you like?”

Ruan Xin paused. “Why? Are you planning to steal them from me?”

If the female lead competed with her, was there anyone who could resist that Mary Sue aura?

Ye Muyan hadn’t expected that response, but it only convinced her that Ruan Xin really did have a crush on someone.

The thought made her uncomfortable. Her emotions became strangely tangled, as though something were gradually slipping away from her.

Had she secretly been looking forward to Ruan Xin competing with her?

And now this person had fallen for someone else.

“What kind of person do you like?” Ye Muyan asked.

Was this suddenly relationship hour?

Ruan Xin complained inwardly, but since the female lead rarely spoke to her about such things, she gave the question serious thought.

“I suppose I like gentle people. I don’t know the exact details, but they’d have to feel warm and considerate.”

Gentle? Warm?

The only person Ye Muyan could think of was An Chen. He fit Ruan Xin’s description perfectly. Ruan Xin had such a terrible temper, but An Chen would probably be patient enough to tolerate her. His family background was excellent too—

Ye Muyan could practically imagine the two of them walking hand in hand into their wedding.

Her first reaction was discomfort.

But the instant that feeling surfaced, shame followed. Once she and Ruan Xin cleared up their misunderstandings and began living their own lives, was Ye Muyan going to become just as twisted as Ruan Xin had once been—unable to bear seeing the other person happy?

Whatever happened, Ruan Xin would eventually have her own friends and social circle. Why was Ye Muyan reacting this way?

Besides, hadn’t she behaved similarly in her previous life?

Once she entered middle school, she stopped wanting to play with her elementary-school-aged sister. Later, after leaving H City and forming her own social circle, their worlds grew so different that they no longer had much to talk about. All she could do was tell Ruan Xin about the good things that happened to her.

Had she cared about Ruan Xin?

Of course she had.

Yet because of the difference in their social standing, Ye Muyan could count on one hand the number of times she had accompanied Ruan Xin shopping.

From beginning to end, the sisterly affection she showed Ruan Xin had always been expressed through material things.

And after her rebirth? Because of everything that had happened, she simply ignored Ruan Xin, never once considering how to solve the problem between them.

All at once, she remembered An Chen’s words.

“Perhaps there’s been some misunderstanding between you.”

“She might be trying to get your attention.”

“She’s very worried about you.”

“Little Ye, some problems can’t be solved unless you find their root cause. Are you going to keep hating your sister until everything gets worse?”

When Ye Muyan remained silent for so long, Ruan Xin couldn’t help asking, “Ye Muyan, why aren’t you saying anything?”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“Tell me what kind of person you like, obviously.”

Ye Muyan’s heart felt weighted with lead. She didn’t know what she liked. Her voice turned cold.

“I don’t like anything.”

Was she throwing another tantrum?

Ruan Xin heard the shift in her tone but had no idea what had caused it.

At the same time, her Little Devil score began fluctuating wildly. It plunged to one hundred, soared back to nine hundred, then continued rising and falling until it finally settled at 1200/9999.

Amazing.

Ruan Xin couldn’t think of any other word for it.

“Wait!”

She called out to Ye Muyan, her attention caught by a shop along the street.

Ye Muyan put one foot on the ground and stopped the bicycle. “What is it now?”

Ruan Xin pointed toward the girlishly decorated shop. “Let’s go inside and look around.”

Ye Muyan followed her finger. The shop was filled with fluffy plush toys and little accessories, while a gigantic white bear with blue eyes sat in the display window.

Ruan Xin used to love little trinkets like these.

Ye Muyan parked her bicycle. “Weren’t you the one who wanted to look?”

Ruan Xin nodded eagerly. “Come on, let’s go.”

Ye Muyan had long since lost interest in such things, so she merely followed behind her.

The moment Ruan Xin entered the store, she felt as though the whole world had become brighter.

She might seem rough-and-tumble most of the time, but she loved collecting fluffy things and filling her room with them.

Ye Muyan picked up a rabbit plush. “This one?”

“I like this one.”

Ye Muyan looked over and saw that Ruan Xin was holding a duck.

Ruan Xin squeezed the soft, fluffy duck.

“Quack!”

Ye Muyan continued staring at the rabbit.

A rabbit doll…

That had once been Ruan Xin’s favorite toy…

After buying the duck, they wandered around for a while longer.

The day’s charity activities had left them both [read the original at bailiantales.com]exhausted. One didn’t want to cook, while the other refused to wash dishes, so they simply ate out.

After dinner and a drink, they slowly made their way home.

Once she had showered, Ruan Xin happily took out the plush toy she had bought that day.

In truth, she hadn’t particularly wanted to shop. She had only noticed that Ye Muyan seemed upset and, out of sympathy, dragged her around to help her relax.

What confused her was that Ye Muyan appeared to be in an even worse mood afterward…

In reality, Ye Muyan still hadn’t recovered from the revelation that Ruan Xin had a crush.

Perhaps it was the effect of someone’s established image. It was no different from an idol known for being a pure and innocent maiden suddenly announcing to her fans, “Actually, I’ve been married several times and already have three children.”

No matter how much trouble Ruan Xin caused, Ye Muyan had always seen her as a woman who loved money and cared only about herself. Even after Ruan Xin got together with Gu Junyan, Ye Muyan had assumed she had done it solely to disgust her.

Would someone like Ruan Xin truly fall for a useless man like Gu Junyan?

Ridiculous.

But this time was different.

This time, it was An Chen—a wealthy, gentle, courteous man who even knew how to cook.

While Ye Muyan was lost in thought, something fluffy appeared in front of her nose.

Ruan Xin held out a small brown bear, her voice awkward. “Here. This is for you.”

Ye Muyan returned to her senses and accepted it.

Ruan Xin yawned. “Time for bed.”

“Thanks.” Ye Muyan carried the bear toward her room.

“Wait, Ye Muyan.” Ruan Xin seemed to remember something.

Ye Muyan looked back. “What now?”

“Can I borrow your phone?”

“What for?”

“I need to call someone.”

“Who?”

“An Chen. I want to ask him something.”

Ye Muyan’s hand froze against the doorframe.

She immediately turned around and shut the door, leaving Ruan Xin with just two words—

“No way.”