Chapter 4: In the Middle of the Dolls, the Girl Picks up Her Phone
As Yan Huan walked out of the office, he didn’t see Meow-chan anywhere. He had no idea where she had gone.
Ye Lan was still inside the office, discussing with Principal Hemis about that supposed older sister coming here for school.
Standing at the entrance, Yan Huan had requested leave from his part-time job for the evening. They replied coldly, “Consider it an absence, deducting 200.”
A few minutes later, they sent another message,
“Just remembered, you’ve never asked for leave before. This time, I’ll let it slide, but don’t let it happen again.”
With a helpless smile, Yan Huan sent a “Thank you” sticker just as Ye Lan walked out. He instinctively locked his phone and looked up,
“Let’s go, where should Xiao Huan hop off? Your school is so complicated, I’m a bit lost.”
“This way, Aunt Ye.”
Descending the stairs, the Far Moon campus outside was eerily quiet; no other students were in sight. The weekend was tempting them to ride the school bus away, leaving the campus as silent as if only Yan Huan and Ye Lan were there.
They chatted idly and soon reached the school entrance.
On the asphalt road between the Maple Grove at the entrance, a discreet black Trolley Car from the Dragon Kingdom had been waiting for a while. A woman in a black suit stood at the door,
“Ms. Ye.”
“Just go home.”
“Understood.”
After Ye Lan helped Yan Huan into the car, it started moving quietly.
Curiously, Yan Huan looked around at the spacious interior, while Ye Lan bent down and pulled out a cooler from the rear air vent.
Glancing inside, Yan Huan saw it was packed full of yellow cans of banana milk.
Ye Lan cheerfully handed one over to Yan Huan with a straw, like a squirrel offering nuts from its hole,
“Xiao Huan, have this.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“Be good, don’t say thank you to Auntie.”
She seemed eager to take another can of banana milk for herself, inserting the straw and sipping cheerfully.
“Hmm.”
Ye Lan let out a contented hum, as if the banana milk was delicious.
Seeing this, Yan Huan tentatively opened his can and took a sip, finding the flavor mildly sweet with a pronounced banana taste—not overly sweet, but rich in banana essence.
Sipping the banana milk, Ye Lan started chatting,
“By the way, speaking of your sister, back in the Dragon Kingdom, I was always so busy that I couldn’t spend much time with her. It was always the housekeeper taking care of her. I wonder if that made her a bit gloomy, not liking to communicate with others, lacking friends her age.”
“Now, moving so far overseas, even though there are many people from the Dragon Kingdom at Linyi Gate and Far Moon Academy, it’s still not where she grew up. I worry about whether she can adapt.”
While sipping milk, Yan Huan asked, “What about Uncle? Is he busy too?”
At this, Ye Lan didn’t respond, instead showing a polite but helpless smile, as if Yan Huan had touched upon some uncomfortable subject.
Yan Huan quickly understood and immediately apologized,
“Sorry, Aunt Ye.”
“It’s fine. It’s just that your sister and I parted ways with her father when she was very little.”
When Ye Lan mentioned this, she even put the milk aside, simply bringing it up before redirecting the topic,
“You seem to have a lot of friends at school, right? The principal said if any classmate were called, they could reach you. They all have your contact info.”
That was true. Even without close friends, Yan Huan had joined various large groups in the academy, making it easy to get in touch. The reason was simple,
“Maybe because I’m the Student Council President. It’s a hassle, but I’ve got to apply for college.”
“Who said that? It’s simply because Xiao Huan, you’re quite popular!”
Ye Lan propped her chin on her hands, gazing into Yan Huan’s eyes while dreaming aloud,
“I don’t expect my sister to be as popular as you, Xiao Huan; I just hope she can interact normally with others, rather than spend her days alone in her room playing with those dolls.”
“Dolls?”
“Uh, Barbie dolls, figurines maybe? I’m not too sure, but your sister really loves them. Strange, right?”
“…”
Yan Huan usually refrained from commenting on personal preferences; he learned this good habit from the Vice President of Sakuraguchi.
“Anyway, a hundred hearsay doesn’t compare to an actual meeting. When you see your sister later, you’ll know. I hope you can be a bit more understanding towards her for Auntie’s sake. She hasn’t had friends her age for a long time. If she does something awkward, I’ll apologize in advance~”
“Of course, Auntie, you’re overthinking it.”
Yan Huan offered a polite smile, but even while chatting and drinking, the banana milk in his can quickly reached the bottom, making Ye Lan, who had only sipped one-fifth, curious as she blinked.
On the Trolley Car, Ye Lan chatted more about random stuff, and Yan Huan even added her contact info, her profile picture was still of a can of banana milk.
The ride from school to Ye Lan’s house wasn’t too far; under normal circumstances, it would take about half an hour.
After all, they were in Jinghe District, where land prices were exorbitantly high. By the time they arrived, Ye Lan’s delicate stomach had barely finished off the banana milk.
The electric car entered an unfamiliar neighborhood; through the gray-black privacy film on the windows, Yan Huan saw many standalone houses with gardens, not arranged very neatly.
Finally, the Trolley Car stopped in front of a mansion located at the end of the road with a good location.
It was quiet, not far from the neighborhood’s supporting facilities, in contrast to the previous crammed corner houses, it seemed to have a more vibrant appeal.
“We’ve arrived, Xiao Huan. Aunt Chen has prepared dinner; it’s all Dragon Kingdom specialties.”
The car stopped outside the mansion, the woman in the passenger seat got out, spoke softly with Ye Lan for a moment, then got back into the car, quickly disappearing from Yan Huan’s view.
Ye Lan gently held Yan Huan’s wrist, excitedly guiding him into the mansion.
The mansion felt spacious to Yan Huan, perhaps because the second and third floors had hollowed-out sections, causing the living room ceiling to rise high, giving it a more open feel than an ordinary flat.
The lighting was bright, quite fitting for the indoor habits of Easterners; for a moment, Yan Huan even thought he had entered a palace.
“Aunt Chen, we’re back!”
“Hey, Miss, was there a traffic jam? You’re later than what Shi Yu and I discussed. Shi Yu, your mom is back!”
A voice came from the side of the first floor, presumably from the kitchen.
As Ye Lan helped Yan Huan change his shoes, a woman wearing an apron walked out.
She was a middle-aged woman with curled hair, wearing an apron and sporting a friendly smile.
“Aunt Chen, this is Xiao Huan I mentioned before; this is Aunt Chen, who just came with me from the Dragon Kingdom. Your father and mother also know Aunt Chen, so there’s no need to be shy; we’re all acquaintances.”
“Hello, Aunt Chen.”
“Oh my, how time flies! The next generation’s kids have grown so big and are so handsome. How wonderful, truly wonderful.”
As Ye Lan supported Yan Huan’s back and was about to call her daughter out to greet them, Yan Huan’s nose caught a faint fragrance, seeming like some kind of flower.
Following the scent, he looked up to see a girl in a black chiffon dress standing halfway down the spiral staircase connecting to the second floor.
Beneath the skirt, slightly thicker black socks outlined her calves, her feet hidden in dark gray slippers. He wondered how long she had been standing there.
She had long black hair reaching down to her waist, without any hair accessories or makeup, her skin was pale as snow, creating a stark contrast with her dark outfit.
Unlike Ye Lan’s soft willow-leaf eyes, Ye Shiyu’s gaze was slightly elongated, and beneath her long eyelashes, her exceptionally beautiful face bore no fluctuations of emotion, emanating a hint of coldness from her deep black eyes.
She was quite tall, just a little shorter than Yan Huan, who stood at 184 cm, with a well-proportioned and healthy figure. From her snow-white chiffon sleeves, her firm yet not overly slender white arms were exposed.
In her hand, for some reason, she held a long pair of scissors, which seemed to have been tools she was using moments ago.
Yan Huan blinked, locking eyes with the girl, neither of them dared to look away.
A momentary pause, as Ye Lan was about to call her, Yan Huan’s face effortlessly transformed into a sunny, polite smile, and he was the first to greet,
“Older Sister.”
Upon hearing Yan Huan’s address, her downward gaze twitched slightly, as if struck by a bell.
Ye Lan turned around and realized her daughter was already on the staircase,
“Ah, Shiyu, really now! You come out and don’t greet? Let me introduce you. This is the child of my old friend, Yan Huan. He’s your younger brother, just one year younger than you. Xiao Huan, this is Shiyu; you can call her Shiyu-jie or Older Sister.”
Ye Shiyu kept her eyes fixed on Yan Huan, standing still and silent.
Until Ye Lan pouted, urging her to act more polite, she finally moved mechanically to Yan Huan and greeted,
“Hello, I’m Ye Shiyu.”
Just as Ye Lan had prepared, Ye Shiyu’s demeanor seemed quite odd, heightening Yan Huan’s unease.
Ye Lan was somewhat displeased with Ye Shiyu’s reaction yet understood her daughter well enough to know this was her usual response.
Aunt Chen quickly picked up the falling conversation thread, wiping her hands on her apron, saying,
“Since Xiao Huan is here, shall we start dinner? The dishes are ready, specially prepared Dragon Kingdom cuisine for Xiao Huan. Not sure if it suits his taste; I’m not too familiar with things on this side of Linyi Gate, so I have no idea what you like to eat.”
“I can eat anything, Aunt Chen.”
“That’s great! Just a moment, Miss, you and Xiao Huan take a seat while I bring out the dishes.”
Ye Lan smiled and nodded, turning back to Ye Shiyu,
“Shiyu, put your things back in your room, then come downstairs to eat.”
Ye Shiyu merely stared at the sunlight-smiling boy, and after hearing her mother’s words, she slowly nodded, picking up the scissors and turning back upstairs.
Below, the intermittent chatter between Ye Lan and Yan Huan could be heard as Ye Shiyu expressionlessly walked up the staircase towards the third floor, stopping near a secondary bedroom door, not far from the main bedroom.
Upon opening the door, the originally spacious room seemed somewhat crowded due to the numerous items cluttering it.
Inside, against the wall stood a glass cabinet displaying various exquisitely dressed female dolls—some leaning towards realistic movable figures, others in anime-style that were also movable figurines, not to mention the numerous other wooden, ceramic, and clay dolls.
Even sitting on a wooden chair by the bed was a life-sized doll donned in a lavish Gothic-styled gown.
These dolls were adorned with intricate clothing of various styles, the one commonality being that, either on the edge of the hems or hidden in the collared neckline, the creator had written names in small characters,
“Ye Shiyu.”
Ye Shiyu impassively set her scissors down next to a sewing box, where unsewn high-end fabric lay on the table. Even the scissors’ handle bore the delicate name,
“Ye Shiyu.”
She picked up her phone resting on the table, slid to unlock it, revealing an active chat window with Ye Lan, marked as “Mom,”
“Baby, I’m bringing back Yan Huan for dinner later, please make sure Aunt Chen prepares well.”
“Okay, already told her.”
“His mother was my best friend; I often showed you her photo when you were younger. Do you remember?”
“Hmm.”
“He’s been living alone in Linyi for many years and it’s been tough; I want him to stay at our house, in the guest room downstairs. What do you think?”
Ye Shiyu didn’t reply, but Ye Lan continued to send messages.
“He’s just one year younger than you; you two should have common ground, especially since you’re at the same school. You can go to and from school together.”
“Having another person for company sounds good, right? No need to spend each day alone with your dolls like back home.”
“Having an extra brother sounds nice; what do you think, sweetheart?”
“Mom wants to hear your opinion.”
Up until this moment, Ye Shiyu hadn’t replied to any of those messages.
She closed the chat application and revealed a wallpaper picture of a doll dressed in a lavish outfit.
Every application on her phone was meticulously categorized into neatly arranged folders, making it easier to use her phone.
However, outside all those carefully organized folders, a lone peculiar APP with a purple heart icon sat alone, floating on the phone’s home screen without any name, resembling a bug.
Ye Shiyu stared at that APP, seemingly lost in thought, until Ye Lan’s voice echoed from outside,
“Shiyu, come eat! Are you done yet?”
“.”
After a brief silence, it seemed Ye Shiyu made some sort of decision in her mind, then pressed the lock screen button, put the phone in her pocket, and turned around to walk out of the room,
“Coming, Mom.”
