‘Why is there no sound? Is Paopao really alright?’
Yun Nishang pressed her ear against the door, growing increasingly anxious as she heard nothing from within.
Just as she was intently listening, the door suddenly swung open!
“Ma… Mom, what are you doing here?” Bai Zhiqiu nearly blurted out, but swiftly corrected herself as if remembering something crucial.
She had almost forgotten that her current identity was Yun Paopao.
“Nothing at all! Nothing at all! Are you two finished already?” Yun Nishang asked, observing them with a curious gaze. ‘No wonder it was so quiet; they must have already finished,’ she mused. ‘It seems I need to prepare some nourishing treats to help Paopao recover!’
Unaware, Bai Zhiqiu had unknowingly been branded as ‘frail’ by Yun Nishang.
“How are you feeling, little Shoushou?”
Yun Nishang then asked Yin, her face alight with gossip.
“Mom! I feel perfectly fine!”
Hearing Yun Shoushou’s address, Yun Nishang’s smile deepened even further. She had long hoped that Yun Paopao would one day ‘conquer’ Yun Shoushou.
Yet, Yun Paopao had always claimed she only liked ‘Goddess Sister.’ It was truly unexpected that the ‘iron tree had blossomed’; she had finally ‘taken down’ Yun Shoushou. Even if it seemed her own Yun Paopao had been the one ‘taken down,’ the process was irrelevant! What mattered was successfully securing the esteemed elder’s prized ‘cabbage’ for their own.
“Is she your mom? Why are you calling her mom!”
At Yin’s words, Bai Zhiqiu pouted dismissively.
“Mom! Look at her!” Yin immediately feigned distress, throwing herself into Yun Nishang’s embrace, which only made Yun Nishang dote on her more.
“Alright, Paopao! Don’t tease her anymore!”
As she spoke, Yun Nishang gently stroked Yin’s long hair, her meaning quite clear. Yin, playing along, nestled further into Yun Nishang’s arms.
“It was clearly her!” Bai Zhiqiu tried to interject, but Yun Nishang cut her off mercilessly.
“I saw everything just now! I understand exactly what you two were doing! Shoushou is a good girl; you must treat her well!”
‘No… what do you understand? I don’t even know what this means!’
“Alright, Shoushou! Go with Paopao for breakfast downstairs! If she ever teases you again, just tell me directly!”
With that, Yun Nishang produced a jade pendant of vibrant green from her robes and presented it to Yin.
Watching Yin accept the jade pendant, Yun Nishang smiled contentedly before briskly walking away. As the matriarch of the Cloud Whale clan, she had numerous matters to attend to.
As she passed Bai Zhiqiu, Yun Nishang murmured softly, “Why were you clearly on top, yet your legs are trembling so much when you came out…?”
Yun Nishang’s words were faint, but Bai Zhiqiu heard them distinctly. And since Yin and Bai Zhiqiu shared a connection, Yin also understood what Yun Nishang had said.
After Yun Nishang and the others departed, Yin could no longer hold back and immediately burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha! I’m dying of laughter! You dumb Bai Zhiqiu, you’re so weak! Haha!”
Hearing Yin’s teasing words, Bai Zhiqiu’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment.
“She doesn’t understand what happened! Don’t you know? It’s clearly because I’m wearing high heels that I’m wobbling like this! This is my first time wearing shoes like these; I have no experience at all!”
“Well, I don’t care! She said it, not me! You small fry, Bai Zhiqiu! I’m going down for breakfast now!”
With that, Yin was about to dash downstairs for a delightful meal.
“Wait!”
“What is it?”
Just as Yin was nearing the bottom of the stairs, Bai Zhiqiu suddenly called out to her.
“Come and help me down…”
“Oh, alright!”
Hearing Bai Zhiqiu’s request, Yin agreed with a smile.
“Come on! Relax! I’ll help you!”
With that, Yin took Bai Zhiqiu’s arm with both hands, slowly accompanying her down the stairs.
At first, everything was fine, but halfway down, Yin suddenly started acting mischievous!
“You! Don’t tickle my waist!” Bai Zhiqiu’s face was flushed crimson. Yin’s hands were far from well-behaved; even as she supported her, she was lightly tickling her waist.
It made her so ticklish she nearly lost her balance.
“Am I? Aren’t I just helping you down the stairs?”
Yin looked at her, her large eyes appearing utterly innocent.
“If you keep messing around, I’ll make sure you don’t get any good food ever again!”
Bai Zhiqiu could only resort to threatening Yin with food. She didn’t believe this little vampire could resist such temptation.
“It seems you haven’t quite figured out your position, have you? I’m the one helping you right now! If I accidentally let go… well, the consequences…”
With that, Yin immediately swayed Bai Zhiqiu, and just those few movements nearly sent Bai Zhiqiu tumbling down the stairs.
“Do you know you’re wrong or not!”
“Ah! I’m wrong! I’m wrong! Stop swaying!”
With Yin having turned the tables, Bai Zhiqiu could only beg for mercy repeatedly. They were on the stairs, and she was still wearing high heels. Normally, she would have certainly made Yin pay.
“Good that you know you’re wrong! Will you dare to threaten me with food again?”
“I wouldn’t dare… not really…”
Bai Zhiqiu stuck out her tongue, muttering softly.
“What did you say?”
Yin’s voice suddenly rose several octaves.
“N-nothing at all… I was just saying we should hurry and eat breakfast! Madam said there’s lots of delicious food downstairs! Let’s go quickly!”
With that, Bai Zhiqiu reached out with her free hand and took Yin’s, and the two descended the stairs in a rather peculiar manner.
Yin, however, thoroughly enjoyed Bai Zhiqiu’s actions. Though she couldn’t tickle Bai Zhiqiu’s sensitive waist, she could now tickle her palm!
Yin’s mischievous little hand gently scratched Bai Zhiqiu’s palm.
Bai Zhiqiu knew that further warnings to Yin would be useless. The priority now was to quickly get downstairs and silence her with food.
When the two finally reached downstairs, the table was already laden with a wide array of pastries and dishes. Some were familiar to Bai Zhiqiu, but the majority were entirely new to her.
For instance, there was a fruit that strongly resembled a watermelon, except it had a mouth and eyes.
And it seemed to be able to speak…
“Folks! Who understands? The Cloud Whale below is coming again…”
Before it could finish speaking, a maid, armed with a fruit knife, meticulously sliced it into pieces.
‘Should this be considered a plant or an animal?’
Bai Zhiqiu silently pondered this question in her mind.
“Why are you still standing there? Hurry and eat!”
With that, Yin pulled Bai Zhiqiu towards the dining table. Of course, mindful of Bai Zhiqiu’s high heels, Yin was careful to support her, preventing any falls.
“Little Princess, Miss Shoushou! What would you like to eat?”
A maid curtsied slightly to the two of them.
“This one, this one, and that one!”
Following the direction of Yin’s finger, Bai Zhiqiu saw that Yin had pointed to the watermelon-like fruit…
“Understood! I’ll prepare it for you right away!”
With that, the maid was about to depart.
“Mhm, mhm! Go quickly! Except for the few I pointed out not to get, bring several servings of everything else!”
‘I knew it…’
Hearing Yin’s words, Bai Zhiqiu helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Huh?”
“Just prepare it! She can eat it all!”
With that, Bai Zhiqiu led Yin to sit at the dining table, awaiting the arrival of their food.
But just then, a familiar scent wafted through the air.
It was faint, yet Bai Zhiqiu could distinctly sense it!
“Yin! Something’s happening! She found it!”