Chapter 3

Back at her seat, Zhu Jinyue noticed Ye Shuangqi sprawled over her desk behind her, chatting with her deskmate. Her gaze quietly shifted to Ye Shuangqi’s thin lips.
If what Ye Zhiyun said was true, five years from now, those lips would be kissing her all over, reaching even places she herself had never touched.

Then there was her defined jawline, her slender, luminous white neck, and the distinct contours of her neck and shoulders. Everything beyond that was hidden beneath her loose school uniform.

Zhu Jinyue’s gaze moved to one of her hands.
It had been a long time since she had studied her this closely. Only now did she notice how long and slender her fingers were. As her hand hung over the edge of the desk, the veins on its back were clearly visible. Her nails were neatly trimmed, her fingertips faintly pink.

Zhu Jinyue even knew that Ye Shuangqi had a pair of pointed canine teeth.
As her mind wandered, she couldn’t help wondering: would it hurt when those teeth pierced the gland at the back of her neck?

Unconsciously, she touched her own gland, which had yet to fully mature.
A floral scent… What exactly would it smell like?

Just as she was about to lower her hand, Zhu Jinyue glanced at Ye Shuangqi again, only to unexpectedly meet her eyes.
Both of them visibly froze in surprise for a moment. Then Ye Shuangqi awkwardly looked away first.

“What’s Zhu Jinyue looking at me for?” Ye Shuangqi muttered, unable to figure out what rotten scheme she had come up with now to catch her doing something wrong.

“She has a crush on you, obviously.” Xu Jingzhe’s mouth had never had a filter. She could come out with absolutely anything.

Ye Shuangqi: “…”
If Zhu Jinyue really had a crush on her, she would probably have to hoist an entire train onto her shoulders and flee overnight.

She had finally been looking forward to escaping once the college entrance exam was over. If Zhu Jinyue had a crush on her, they might end up entangled for the rest of their lives.

Xu Jingzhe glanced up at Zhu Jinyue, who had unauthorized copyalready turned back around to study, and said casually, “Zhu Jinyue’s great. She’s pretty and smart. Why are you always so biased against her?”

Ye Shuangqi’s eyes widened. “I’m the one she keeps tattling on! How can you take her side?!”

“I was just saying. Just saying.” Xu Jingzhe immediately covered her mouth, cutting off the rest of her complaints. “Fine, hate her all you want. Let her pine away on her own.”

“…” Ye Shuangqi fell silent for a moment. She couldn’t imagine what someone as aloof and unattainable as Zhu Jinyue would look like nursing a secret crush. She opened her mouth, then hesitated for a long while. “But if she’s hopelessly pining after someone… isn’t that kind of sad?”

Xu Jingzhe: “…”
Hadn’t she just vehemently rejected the idea herself? Now she was feeling sorry for her?

She rolled her eyes and said nothing more.

*

After class, Ye Shuangqi took her own water bottle and her deskmate’s to fill them up.
There were only a handful of people at the water dispensers. She waited behind them for a few minutes, and just as she was about to fill the bottles, she ran straight into the new transfer student.

Well, not quite straight into her. More accurately, Ye Zhiyun seemed to have deliberately headed her way. With nowhere to dodge, Ye Shuangqi found herself trapped on the spot.

“Mom—Hello, Ye Shuangqi!” The girl’s eyes lit up as she called out, excited and eager.

Perhaps Ye Shuangqi had imagined it, but she had the feeling the transfer student had said something before her name. Still, they barely knew each other, and she wasn’t interested in dwelling on it, so she simply nodded and said, “Hello.”

“So cold…” The transfer student pouted, then quickly rallied, her voice brimming with energy and Read on BaiLianTalesanticipation. “Don’t you think I look a little like you?”

“?” Ye Shuangqi studied her face carefully, unsure why she would suddenly ask that.
She wasn’t particularly attuned to her own features, though. Even after looking for quite a while, all she could see was that the girl resembled Zhu Jinyue more.

Rather than answer Ye Zhiyun’s question, she changed the subject. “Are you related to Zhu Jinyue?”

Ye Zhiyun pressed her lips together and faltered for a long time. “I… I suppose so?”
Mothers and daughters counted as relatives, right?!

Understanding dawned on Ye Shuangqi. “No wonder you look so alike. But your… your surname is Ye?”
Zhu Jinyue had relatives surnamed Ye? She had known her for nearly ten years. How had she never heard about this?

Ye Zhiyun shook her head, then nodded. “Yes. My mom’s surname is Zhu, and my mommy’s surname is Ye.”

“What a coincidence,” Ye Shuangqi said offhandedly.
Just like her and Zhu Jinyue. Zhu Jinyue’s surname was Zhu, and hers was Ye.

But just then—

“Ye Zhiyun.”

A voice suddenly sounded from the doorway, startling Ye Shuangqi. When she turned and saw Zhu Jinyue, she instinctively tried to turn away and escape.
But the transfer student was still firmly blocking her path. Unable to make a quick exit, she had no choice but to listen to their conversation.

“What are you talking about?” Zhu Jinyue asked.

Ye Zhiyun cautiously glanced at Ye Shuangqi. Seeing no surprise on [unauthorized copy]her face, she worked up the courage to answer, “Just getting to know my classmate.”

Watching them, Ye Shuangqi clicked her tongue twice.
Judging by the way these two spoke to each other, anyone who didn’t know better would think Zhu Jinyue was her mother. She was so strict she even had to police her conversations with classmates.

“What is there to talk about with her?” Zhu Jinyue said. “Go back to class.”

That rubbed Ye Shuangqi the wrong way.
What did she mean, “What is there to talk about with her”? It wasn’t as though she would lead the transfer student astray!

She couldn’t help speaking up. “Even if you’re related, you can’t control her this much. Zhu Jinyue, bossing me around is one thing, but you’re even picking on a kid like her.”

They were the same age, but Ye Zhiyun looked so shy and reserved that she somehow seemed two or three years younger. It was hard not to think of her as a little sister.
…Or perhaps Zhu Jinyue simply had such an air of parental authority that hearing her speak had unconsciously made Ye Shuangqi assume the role of an elder too.

Zhu Jinyue stared at her face with cool eyes for a long moment, then suddenly gave a faint, amused snort. “You certainly care about her.”

Ye Shuangqi: “…Not really.”
What had given her that impression? Wasn’t Zhu Jinyue being a little oversensitive, reading so much into a couple of remarks?

Zhu Jinyue glanced at Ye Zhiyun again. “Why are you still here?”

“…Oh.” Looking rather pitiful, the transfer student lifted her eyes toward Ye Shuangqi with a wounded expression, then obediently walked out behind Zhu Jinyue.

Like a little tail.

The Alpha chuckled to herself and followed the two back to the classroom at a distance.

“What took you so long? Did you fall into the water dispenser?”
Only her deskmate could say something that snide.

Ye Shuangqi handed back her water bottle and, for once, didn’t snap back. “Ran into the transfer student. We talked for a bit.”

“About what?” Xu Jingzhe asked curiously. “She seems pretty shy. You weren’t throwing your weight around and bullying her, were you?”

“What are you talking about?” Ye Shuangqi pushed her head back toward her desk with one hand. “She’s related to Zhu Jinyue. From now on, I’m keeping as far away from her as I do from Zhu Jinyue.”

“Related?!” Xu Jingzhe was intrigued. “You’ve known Zhu Jinyue for so long. How have you never met this relative of hers?”

Ye Shuangqi shrugged. “How should I know?” she said indifferently. “Maybe she’s a distant relative.”

“I thought you’d be angry,” Xu Jingzhe said.
“Why would I be angry?” Ye Shuangqi asked.

Xu Jingzhe said, “You two have known each other for so long—more than half your lives! Yet she never told you she had a relative your age. Doesn’t that mean you don’t matter to her?”
Ye Shuangqi was momentarily at a loss. “Why would I want to matter to her?”

Xu Jingzhe leaned into an air of mystery. “Haven’t you heard the saying? The longer the hatred, the deeper the love.”
Ye Shuangqi frowned. “What kind of nonsense is that? I don’t want her to love me.”

*

“Why did you go talk to Ye Shuangqi?” Zhu Jinyue asked.

Ye Zhiyun had always been a little afraid of her mom.
Her mom was wonderful in every way: beautiful and elegant, decisive and efficient, hardworking and willing to endure hardship. Ever since she was little, Ye Zhiyun had known that her mom’s embrace was soft and fragrant.
The only problem was that her expectations for Ye Zhiyun were rather strict.

According to Mommy, Zhu Jinyue had watched over her growing up in much the same way. She just had to put up with it a little, and at least she would turn out decent and upright.
Ye Zhiyun had asked Mommy, “Does being like you count as decent and upright?”
Mommy had gone “Uh…” for a long time without managing an answer before Mom finally pulled her away.

As though she had done something wrong, Ye Zhiyun twisted her hands together behind her back, biting her lower lip almost hard enough to leave marks before she dared answer, “I’m sorry, Mom. I was wrong.”

Zhu Jinyue tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled. “Why are you so afraid of me? Does the future me treat you badly?”

Ye Zhiyun immediately shook her head. “No!”
She just had a guilty conscience. Mom had told her not to approach Mommy, yet she had still sneaked off on her own to talk to her and had nearly let the truth slip…

Zhu Jinyue softened her voice, a trace of gentleness entering her beautiful eyes. “I’m not scolding you. This is just how I’ve always spoken… I’ll try my best to change that.”

“You don’t have to, Mommy. You’re great just as you are!” Ye Zhiyun couldn’t help moving closer and tentatively hooking her little finger around hers. When Zhu Jinyue allowed it, she grew bolder and clasped her whole hand, resting her chin on her shoulder. “No matter what you’re like, Mom, Mommy and I both love you!”

Zhu Jinyue’s eyes curved. She unconsciously raised her right hand, then hesitated and lowered it again. But the girl before her was so sweet that she finally followed her instinct, gently resting her hand on Ye Zhiyun’s head and stroking her hair.

“It isn’t that I won’t let you talk to Ye Shuangqi. I’m just worried you might accidentally say the wrong thing and someone else will overhear.” Zhu Jinyue explained earnestly, “You need to understand. If anyone finds out you traveled through time, you could be taken to a laboratory to be studied.”
Afraid her daughter wouldn’t grasp the seriousness of the matter, she deliberately added, “Do you want to be taken away from Mom and… Mommy?”

Ye Zhiyun immediately shook her head. “Of course not!”

Only then did Zhu Jinyue nod and say, “Good girl.”

There was no one else around. Zhu Jinyue stood there thinking for a long time before finally asking the question that had occupied her mind for days. “Do you know which of us pursued the other—your mommy or me?”

Ye Zhiyun rubbed her chin and thought for a long while.
“Mommy used to brag to everyone, ‘How did you know my girlfriend made the first move?’ But from what the other aunties and older girls said, it sounds like Mommy pursued you, so I’m not really sure.”
She blinked curiously. “Mom, are you planning something? I know exactly what you do that Mommy can never resist. If you want to pursue her now, I’ll follow you to the death and tell you everything I know!”

Zhu Jinyue: “…”

With the way things stood between her and Ye Shuangqi right now?

But Ye Zhiyun’s words left her desperately curious. Trying to maintain her composure, she had no choice but to ask, “What can’t she resist?”

Ye Zhiyun promptly lost all fear of her mom. She drew out an “Ohhh,” her voice full of teasing. “Mom, did you already have a little crush on Mommy back then?”

Zhu Jinyue: “…No.”

“Really?” Ye Zhiyun pressed. “But I once overheard you telling Mommy that you’d liked her for a really long time!”

“What you heard was probably a lie,” Zhu Jinyue said.

Ye Zhiyun replied, “Mom, you told me lying is the worst character flaw a person can have.”

Zhu Jinyue: “…”
It seemed her future self really had raised their child well.

To preserve her dignity as a mother, she straightened her expression and adopted a deliberately stern tone. “I don’t like your mommy right now.”

Whether Ye Zhiyun believed her was anyone’s guess. She merely said, “Oh.”

Thinking back to her earlier question, Zhu Jinyue couldn’t quite work up the courage to ask a second time. She could only turn her face away and pretend not to care. “If you don’t want to tell me, don’t. I wasn’t that curious anyway.”

An expression of vindication appeared on the girl’s face.
“Mommy said you never admit how you really feel. She was right.”

Zhu Jinyue: “…”

Just how was Ye Shuangqi raising their child?
She even told her things like that?