Zhao Chuji did not fall asleep for even a brief moment until it was nearly dawn.
Since getting to know Yu Yao, she had not had a dream for a very long time, but on this day, she had a long-absent nightmare.
In the dream, Yu Yao and Xiao Qin stood together hand in hand. She rushed over to stop them, but Yu Yao completely ignored her and only smiled at Xiao Qin…
She was about to go driven mad with anger.
She instantly woke up with a start from the dream, completely stripped of any remaining desire to sleep. Rising, she stepped onto the icy cold floor and pushed open the window.
As the slightly cool air from outside the window rushed in, Zhao Chuji also gradually became clear-headed.
Though she warned herself in her heart that she must believe in Yu Yao, she stared forward with empty eyes; her thoughts were in a chaotic turmoil, and she could not calm down no matter what.
At this time, it was only a little past five o’clock in the early morning. The sky was not yet bright. The streetlights downstairs were saturated with an amber glow, and the surroundings were enveloped in a blanket of tranquility. She seemed to be able to hear her own slightly rapid breathing…
The “shasha” sweeping sound made by the street cleaner startled the dazed Zhao Chuji back to reality.
Zhao Chuji bit her lip tightly and contacted the “parent” from her own company.
“When you wake up, remember to help me ask the teacher for a leave of absence. Say that I am feeling unwell this morning and will go to school in the afternoon.”
After completing this matter, she put on her headphones once again in the darkness.
Inside the headphones, it was extremely quiet; Yu Yao seemed to still be fast asleep.
She knew she ought to believe in Yu Yao.
Yu Yao had said that she would not like Xiao Qin.
But…
Emotions are the hardest things in the world to control.
Just like during this past year and more, she had told herself in her heart over and over again that she could not always keep thinking about Yu Yao, and that she must not eagerly rush over to act like a dog for Yu Yao. Yet the moment Yu Yao smiled, she could not help but lose her sense of propriety, and her gaze could never resist falling upon Yu Yao…
When facing Yu Yao, she became more and more awkward, yet she could never restrain herself.
It was just like eating a sweet and sour candy; although there was occasionally sourness in her heart, the sweetness that surged up afterward was enough to make one forget all hesitation…
Did Yu Yao also feel this kind of emotion toward Xiao Qin?
In the darkness, she clenched her fist tightly with rage: even if she did not dare to admit it, Yu Yao’s feelings toward Xiao Qin would only be even more uncontrollable than her own.
After all, she herself merely possessed a “desire for possession” toward Yu Yao, but Yu Yao had once loved Xiao Qin so profoundly!
Furthermore, from the sound of it, it seemed as though Xiao Qin had thoroughly mended her ways, and it was highly possible for the two of them to rekindle their old flame…
Zhao Chuji felt as if there were poison boiling in her heart, scorching every single inch of her skin, making her sit and stand on thorns, while her state of mind grew more and more frantic.
She stood up again, pacing anxiously inside the room…
She would absolutely never allow Yu Yao and Xiao Qin to be together!
Although she knew that even if Yu Yao did get together with Xiao Qin, she still would not abandon her, she was simply unwilling!
She guarded Yu Yao with undivided attention, so Yu Yao could also only guard her with undivided attention!
If things truly reached the absolute worst possible point.
Zhao Chuji slowly narrowed her eyes. Deep within her eyes, an inky, malicious aura rolled and churned like a vortex…
If Yu Yao would not be obedient, she would make Yu Yao turn into the most obedient puppet.
She would make those beautiful eyes of Yu Yao look forever only at her.
Not long afterward, Yu Yao got out of bed.
This was a grand, sunny day.
Keeping in mind to rush back to cook dinner for Zhao Chuji, Yu Yao and “X” went early to the vicinity of Xiao Qin’s milk tea shop.
The two of them entered adjacent shops separately to inquire for news about Xiao Qin.
When they finally met up at the breakfast shop, the information they had obtained was identical.
Xiao Qin had not lied. For over a year, she had indeed been running a milk tea shop in her hometown in a down-to-earth manner, and she had also assisted several female students who were working part-time to fund their studies.
And by the time the two of them finished eating breakfast, the rolling shutter door of Xiao Qin’s milk tea shop was also pulled open.
Having not seen her for over a year, Xiao Qin seemed as though she had transformed into a completely different person.
She had removed all of that heavy makeup, presenting a completely bare face. She assisted her father out to the street in front to bask in the sun, and subsequently rolled up her sleeves, nimbly cleaning up the trash in front of the door…
“She looks as if she has truly changed,” “X” beside her spoke up faintly. “Should we go over to catch up on old times?”
Yu Yao remained silent for a short while, then shook her head: “No need.”
The original owner could no longer return.
Once she completed her mission, this body would also die in this world; there was no necessity to establish any more emotional entanglements.
The two of them observed for over another hour.
The business of the milk tea shop was indeed very good; the coming and going of customers and delivery riders was an endless stream.
“Let’s go!”
Yu Yao returned to the car and called her assistant, telling her to approve this specific funding application.
The two of them took turns driving after that, and by three o’clock in the afternoon, they returned to Haicheng.
Zhao Chuji had gone out to school, and there was no one else present at home.
Yu Yao curled up on the sofa, originally intending to take a brief nap before going out to buy some groceries. However, rushing along the road the entire way was truly too tiring, and by the time she woke up, she heard the sound of a spatula clattering against a wok from inside the kitchen.
Zhao Chuji had already returned, and had even gone down to the supermarket downstairs to buy the groceries, and was currently cooking.
“Let me do it!”
Yu Yao instinctively wanted to take over, but she was blocked outside the kitchen by Zhao Chuji.
“You rest first, wash your hands, I will be done in just a moment.”
Zhao Chuji lifted her head to cast a glance at her, saying with a beaming smile.
She was already a full head taller than Yu Yao. Although she clearly looked very slender, when she leaned against the kitchen doorframe, she began to carry a faint, subtle sense of oppression.
Yu Yao looked at her and blinked her eyes, always feeling as though something was not quite right, yet for a moment she could not pinpoint exactly what was amiss…
“I am in for a treat today!”
She did not think too much about it either. Looking at the two dishes that had already been stir-fried inside, she still gave up on the idea of entering the kitchen and washed her hands.
Sure enough, not long after she sat down, Zhao Chuji came out carrying the dishes.
“Yu Yao, you taste my cooking too.”
Zhao Chuji took her seat directly across from her, smiling as she handed the rice over to her.
Incredibly, they were all dishes that Yu Yao liked to eat!
“This is really delicious! Our Chuji is indeed amazing at doing anything…”
Yu Yao tasted a bite of the food and opened her eyes wide in surprise: she had already prepared herself to praise Zhao Chuji no matter how the cooking turned out, but she had never expected that Zhao Chuji’s culinary skills were actually very excellent!
As she kept praising, she realized something after the fact and raised her head, blinking her eyes: “Wait, what did you just call me?”
In the past, Zhao Chuji had always called her “Sister Yu Yao” or “Sister”; this was the very first time she directly called her by her name.
Zhao Chuji tilted her head, appearing to have anticipated long ago that she would ask this, and only replied with a smile: “You look young and beautiful, and you are not much older than me anyway. Every time I talk to my classmates, I tell them you are my best friend…”
“But I am six years older than you? Calling me sister is what is most appropriate!” Yu Yao furrowed her brows.
“Do you hate me calling you this way?”
The smile within Zhao Chuji’s eyes gradually faded away, and she lowered her head…
“In my family, I originally had an older sister above me. Her health was always poor, and on a night with a torrential downpour, she was found drowned in the river channel…”
“It rained so heavily last night, I was worried about you, and I had a nightmare during the night…”
She bit her lip dead-tight, her voice growing lower and lower: “If you do not like it, I… I will still call you sister in the future.”
Yu Yao had not expected that there was such a story behind it, and was stunned for an instant.
Looking at Zhao Chuji’s sorrowful expression, her heart could not help but soften up as well: “It is just a form of address, you can call me whatever you want to call me.”
She pursed her lips tightly, originally wanting to say that she would be very safe and that Zhao Chuji was merely worrying groundlessly, but remembering that this body would die after the mission was completed, she could only choose a compromised method to offer comfort.
“I am perfectly fine right now, don’t overthink things.”
Zhao Chuji remained obedient as before, revealed a smile again, and uttered an “en.”
“Yu Yao, I will listen to you in everything.”
Seeing that Zhao Chuji still called her “Yu Yao,” Yu Yao still felt a bit unaccustomed to it in her heart, but remembering Zhao Chuji’s reason, she only smiled and did not say anything further.
Zhao Chuji subsequently served her food with great attentiveness, and Yu Yao very quickly ate until she was stuffed.
She had originally intended to clean up the aftermath, but Zhao Chuji had already busied herself with the task.
Yu Yao could only sigh with emotion in her heart: the child has truly grown up!
She did not know, however, that the moment she entered the kitchen, the smile on Zhao Chuji’s face was completely retracted…
Although Yu Yao did not rekindle her dead flame with Xiao Qin, this incident had sounded an alarm for Zhao Chuji: she needed to have the right to speak by Yu Yao’s side, and could no longer let Yu Yao always treat her as a child.
Addressing Yu Yao directly by her name was merely her very first step.