Can I Kiss You Now, Wife?

After saying that, Lin Yang felt a faint sense of suffocation.

She thought, It’s over.

It was better to say it sooner. She had always been nothing more than a squatter in someone else’s place, occupying the position beside Xu Zhitong that belonged to her real friend—or perhaps her real crush.

She ought to have enough moral sense to return to the dark corner she had been peeking out from.

Lin Yang lowered her eyes, not daring to imagine Xu Zhitong’s reaction.

Would she be angry? Would she be disgusted?

If Xu Zhitong wanted her to be even more honest, where would she even begin?

The sword of judgment never fell. By the time Lin Yang was nearly unable to bear the silence, Xu Zhitong finally coughed softly.

She sounded hesitant, her tone carrying a nervousness she couldn’t quite hide.

Actually, Xu Zhitong had deliberately waited a little... She had thought Lin Yang was going to keep talking.

Maybe it was hard for Lin Yang to say. After all, in Lin Yang’s eyes, she only had the memory of the two of them being best friends, and in a sense, she was still a minor.

Lin Yang wouldn’t even let her drink; maybe she minded that a lot.

So Lin Yang was probably embarrassed to say it all the way through, to tell her that their friendship had changed, that they’d been dating for years.

But that was okay. Xu Zhitong thought she was very brave.

She stepped forward, her heart thumping as if drums were beating in a dense, restless rhythm.

Deliberately a little tactful, Xu Zhitong said with barely concealed anticipation, “So... are we in a secret relationship?”

Within her line of sight, Lin Yang suddenly looked up as if struck squarely by the question. Her eyes widened, and she stared at Xu Zhitong.

Xu Zhitong had always thought Lin Yang’s eyes were beautiful. Clear black-and-white contrast, with large pupils, like a noble, wary feline, even though her personality was more like a docile, innocent lamb.

She couldn’t stop herself from looking at Lin Yang’s slightly parted lips. After only a couple of glances, she began to blush.

After a pause, she said, “I knew it. Why was it that when I woke up and saw you, all I wanted was to... kiss you? So it was muscle memory all along. You’re so bad; you lied to me for so many days.”

Xu Zhitong displayed her wisdom. “And my album is full of the same photos as your Moments. We always go to the same restaurant to eat, you’re still my livestream’s top donor, and every month you send me over a million in gifts.”

She took Lin Yang’s lowered hand and said, “When you picked that love song during the livestream just now, I almost couldn’t hold back my smile. You scared me to death.”

Lin Yang still didn’t react. Xu Zhitong grew dissatisfied and, as usual, possessively slipped her fingers through all of Lin Yang’s gaps, lacing their hands together and shaking them.

“So we’re just in a secret relationship, right? I know. It must be because I’m a streamer, so we can’t make it public, not even take a photo together. You’ve been wronged, Yangbao.”

When she was done, Xu Zhitong smiled at Lin Yang. She had always been very good at smiling, her eyes curving as bright colors reflected in them.

“...”

Lin Yang realized that many things were wrong; at the same time, the examples Xu Zhitong had brought up had left her stunned.

She hadn’t expected that the amnesiac Xu Zhitong would know so much, and that from so much information, she would draw such a... distorted conclusion.

Her lips opened and closed again, and in the end she could only weakly force out two words: “Wait...”

But Xu Zhitong, right before her, leaned in directly. She lowered her head slightly, coming almost face-to-face with Lin Yang; their breath intertwined. At such close range, Lin Yang could see Xu Zhitong’s skin, faintly fluffy and pinkish-white, and the tip of her slightly lifted nose.

It was like she was sniffing. And Lin Yang inevitably caught the same thing too; the warm scent of Xu Zhitong fresh out of the shower, like soft fluff that had just been dried in the sun.

Xu Zhitong’s tone carried an inexplicable, utterly romantic warmth, almost as if she were letting Lin Yang dream. She said:

“Okay, so can I kiss you now? Wife?”

This wasn’t a question waiting for an answer, because after she spoke, Xu Zhitong leaned in after only about five seconds.

At first her lips brushed the corner of Lin Yang’s mouth. Xu Zhitong let out a tiny, annoyed “ah” and turned her head before finally pressing her lips properly to Lin Yang’s.

Xu Zhitong’s lips were soft and warm. She clearly wasn’t very good at kissing; with her eyes closed, she could only press against Lin Yang’s mouth like a little animal, tightly and completely, leaving no gap at all.

Perhaps because she couldn’t find the right way, Xu Zhitong wanted to get closer still. She made a muffled, affectionate sound through her nose and leaned in again, seeming to want to press Lin Yang back against the wide floor-to-ceiling window.

They were so close that Lin Yang could smell the faint fragrance on her breath; Xu Zhitong’s cool lips were very soft, and Xu Zhitong felt a happiness of soul alignment rising within her. Her heartbeat was so fast it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

Then Xu Zhitong abruptly stopped.

Because something warm and wet had slid to the corner of her lips, bringing with it a sudden salty taste.

She opened her eyes and was shocked to find that Lin Yang had never once closed hers.

They were so close that everything could be seen far too clearly.

At some point, Lin Yang’s eyes had reddened. Her lashes were veiled in mist, and the dim light cast the tear tracks on her cheeks. Her face looked dazed, as if she still hadn’t reacted to what had happened.

But tears were falling.

“...What’s wrong?”

Xu Zhitong’s voice was very soft. She looked at Lin Yang in confusion and panic, reaching out to wipe away the tears in a fluster.

Lin Yang’s eyelashes were wet too, trembling lightly with her movements like butterflies soaked by rain and unable to fly. So pitiful. Even her crying was silent, and Xu Zhitong’s heart almost melted apart.

She pressed her lips together, still tasting that salty bitterness of tears.

Then she saw Lin Yang shake her head and brush away Xu Zhitong’s wrist.

Just as Xu Zhitong’s heart was about to plunge into the abyss, Lin Yang leaned into her embrace.

She bowed her head, like a butterfly landing on a petal or a leaf falling into soil, and gently rested against Xu Zhitong’s shoulder.

Her slender body trembled faintly; the soft fabric of Xu Zhitong’s loungewear over that shoulder was quickly soaked through with tears.

Xu Zhitong was practically frozen in place by those tears.

After a long while, she finally lifted a hand and gently wrapped it around Lin Yang’s shoulder, feeling her trembling and her crying.

Her mind was a blank white stretch. She only felt a numbness that spread from her shoulders through her body, irreversible and spreading.

It was only after a very long time that the trembling in her arms stopped. Lin Yang pulled back a step and left Xu Zhitong’s embrace.

With the prosperous neon nightscape beyond the floor-to-ceiling window behind her, Lin Yang turned her head and lightly wiped away the tears left on her cheek with the back of her hand.

Her voice was a little hoarse. In a low voice, she said, “I’m a little tired. I’m going to sleep first.”

Xu Zhitong watched Lin Yang walk into the guest room and close the door.

The door locked.

In the empty living room, with not even half a lamp turned on, Xu Zhitong was still standing there stiffly. Only when the moisture on her shoulder gradually turned cold did she wake as if from a dream.

“...”

She slowly touched her shoulder, confirming that the damp mark had indeed been there, then touched her lips.

It seemed that Lin Yang’s soft scent still lingered there, along with a salty teariness that seemed as if it could never be wiped away.

It felt like she had done something terribly wrong.

Xu Zhitong returned to her room, sat by the bed, and for a long time couldn’t forget the sight of Lin Yang crying.

Completely wrong.

It had been a very long time since Xu Zhitong had seen Lin Yang cry.

The last time had only been reddened eyes, because she’d been bullied by a senior in the student council. Back then, Xu Zhitong had still considered herself a righteous knight and had sworn to get revenge for Lin Yang.

But this time’s crying was completely, inescapably caused by Xu Zhitong. She had become the dragon that frightened the princess.

Xu Zhitong couldn’t help feeling lost. She thought her confession and kiss seemed to have made Lin Yang feel deeply wronged.

She carefully thought back over everything she had seen and heard since waking, and told herself that Lin Yang didn’t dislike her.

Lin Yang could accept her closeness, her hand-holding, her touch; she was willing to be good to her.

But maybe there were still some things she minded, which was why she had been unable to tell her their relationship, unwilling to get any closer.

Even when Xu Zhitong kissed her and called her wife, it had been impulsive and reckless in hindsight. Lin Yang had only buried herself in Xu Zhitong’s arms and cried, yet never said why.

After sorting through it, Xu Zhitong concluded that after waking up, she hadn’t made Lin Yang unhappy at all.

That kind of grievance could only have come from the her before the memory loss.

The pre-amnesia her; the one who had fought and gone cold with Lin Yang.

Lin Yang wouldn’t have been the problem. So the source of the conflict had to be the twenty-five-year-old Xu Zhitong.

But she was someone who never wrote diaries!

Xu Zhitong pondered bitterly, and suddenly realized that this conflict before her memory loss must have been much more serious, much stiffer, than she had previously thought.

She had chat records with Cotton, this alternate account of hers, but none with Lin Yang’s main account. Lin Yang clearly had a guest room at home, yet had moved out to live alone in her own place, and had even nearly erased all traces of her life from their shared home.

When she first came to the hospital for treatment, things had also been very stiff.

Clearly, from countless objective angles, they had been in a romantic relationship for a very long time in the past.

Xu Zhitong thought for a moment, then opened her phone and checked Weixin.

Suddenly someone popped into her head: Fish Dodo.

Before, after looking at the fans’ chats and the livestream replay, her fans had all said that “Cotton” was very possessive of her, and apparently couldn’t stand seeing her connect with Fish Dodo on stream.

Her last livestream before the accident, during a PK collaboration with Fish Dodo, Cotton had come in and thrown a bunch of Carnival gifts, interrupting their conversation, then left directly.

Could it be more than possessiveness? Could there really be something going on?

Xu Zhitong felt a little uneasy. Very soon, in Weixin, she found the contact Fish Dodo, whose chat had a pile of red notification dots.

She closed her eyes and prayed that even if she had grown up and made a lot of money, she still wouldn’t become a morally rotten person.

Xu Zhitong opened the chat history with Fish Dodo.

...Hm? Not bad.

In the few days since the car accident, Fish Dodo had sent her quite a lot of messages, but all in the tone of a friend.

[King Dodo: Streaming tonight or not? I learned a new dance. Let’s go out and do an eight-person PK storm and suck up some traffic!]

[King Dodo: Why aren’t you streaming]

[King Dodo: What’s going on? You didn’t take leave and you still didn’t stream. Your fans have all run to me asking what happened]

[King Dodo: Don’t scare me, I’m calling the police]

[King Dodo: It’s been two and a half days with no news. Xu Zhitong, are you alive?]

[King Dodo: ...Damn, I called the police]

[King Dodo: You scared me to death. The police said they found you and that you’re stable. Why aren’t you replying?]

[King Dodo: ?]

[King Dodo: If you don’t want to stream, then don’t stream. What’s the big deal? Or come to Hai City early; I’ll take you around to eat. Or we can travel to Sheng City? I’ll help you blow off steam, no charge]

[King Dodo: Remember to reply!!!]

[King Dodo: Damn it, you finally surfaced to take leave. Thanks to you, the livestream room’s ACU doubled these past few days. I almost printed out a banner saying “SleepyBlue is fine, not streaming for now” and hung it on the wall of the room, you know that?]

[King Dodo: ...? Are you really okay? I’m very worried about you]

[King Dodo: Did aliens control your phone? Does a relationship like ours as online friends really deserve the silent treatment?]

A little funny.

But indeed, like Fish Dodo’s last line, no matter how you looked at it, the two of them were just good online friends.

Looking further up, the two of them didn’t even chat that frequently; they didn’t talk every day. The topics were basically all livestream-related, recent activities in operations, what trouble the older sisters had run into recently, meeting a new streamer to do PKs together...

Fish Dodo seemed to be a very lively, extroverted, work-driven type. A lot of the livestream’s new events and updates were shared by her with SleepyBlue.

Could it be that the fuse for the conflict was someone else?

Xu Zhitong didn’t believe it and went back to look through her chats with other people.

Her Weixin private messages weren’t many. Most were older sisters from the livestream room whom she’d added after they sent big gifts.

SleepyBlue didn’t even initiate good morning or good night messages. Either the other person would message first and she’d reply with a few polite words; or after the stream ended, she’d thank the donor rankings and send a short voice clip, containing a little snippet of singing.

The content was ten thousand miles away from anything flirtatious.

Oh right, Lin Yang’s livestream guidelines said she had to thank today’s top hundred donors.

She’d deal with that later; she still had to send a selfie to the fan group...

Why had she agreed to it when she was talking to the public chat just now?

Xu Zhitong let out a tiny sigh, sitting on the bed as she tossed her phone up and caught it in confusion.

The phone vibrated.

She paused, then quickly picked up the phone that had fallen onto the bedsheet, thinking it was a good-night message from Lin Yang.

But it was still Fish Dodo.

[King Dodo: You alive? Why’d you tap my avatar?]

So it had been a careless tap when she was scrolling through the chat history just now.

[ZZZ: Mist tap]

[King Dodo: 6]

[King Dodo: What’s going on? You didn’t say anything about streaming, and you didn’t take the call-in. Are you really okay?]

[ZZZ: I’m fine]

[King Dodo: [You’re acting weird.jpg]]

Fish Dodo called directly over Weixin. Xu Zhitong jumped and hung up quickly.

She typed slowly, not really wanting to chat with someone she wasn’t too familiar with.

[ZZZ: What.]

[King Dodo: Just wanted to hear if it was really you. What’s wrong with you? I thought after you didn’t stream for a few days, and then when you finally did you still didn’t turn on the camera, you’d been hospitalized for some other reason]

[King Dodo: Proud little SleepyBlue, really, like they said, you’ve changed personalities and gone to meet an older sister offline?]

[King Dodo: How does it feel? I haven’t met an older sister offline yet. Did Cotton Empress say she was going to spoil you alone? I saw a cut of the two of you; it looked pretty sweet [bouncing]]

That sounded strange. Xu Zhitong wanted to say that her relationship with Lin Yang wasn’t the kind that developed online, and it wasn’t some kind of “meeting an older sister” either.

But Fish Dodo’s last line said the two of them were sweet...

[ZZZ: Oh... is it that obvious?]

[King Dodo: ...]

[King Dodo: Just you wait. Our place has an older sister coming tonight too. I’ll beat you up next time.]

[King Dodo: Yesterday I was all about cohesion and you ignored me; tomorrow I’ll be reborn as the Electric Mom and you won’t be able to reach me!]

Xu Zhitong didn’t really understand.

She took out the livestream jargon guide Lin Yang had written for her and understood it: Fish now had an older sister who could spend a lot of money.

[ZZZ: Impossible, Cotton is very strong.]

[King Dodo: ...Fine, as long as you’re having fun dating. So are you still coming to Hai City to play?]

Xu Zhitong searched through the chat history and discovered that she had promised Fish Dodo she might go to Hai City to visit her for a while.

[ZZZ: But Cotton seems to think there’s something between us]

[King Dodo: ?]

[King Dodo: Don’t drag me into your little couple’s play. I told you, a few days ago when I connected with you and she came in to throw all those gifts, so she was jealous after all.]

[King Dodo: Is she going to fight me in a PK? If she really wants to, I can grit my teeth and take the tickets for you. Set a time. My side hasn’t done a big match in a long time; perfect chance to boost GDP, hehe]

Xu Zhitong relaxed. They really didn’t have anything.

She was still figuring out how to refuse the PK when Fish Dodo quickly sent over several more long messages.

[King Dodo: Speaking of which, our new older sister seems pretty interested in you and Cotton Empress. She’s asking me how many PKs I’ve done with you that ended in big-ticket battles]

[King Dodo: What’s going on? We don’t sell girl content or do promo, do we? We get shipped as a CP all day long, and that can still spread this far?]

[ZZZ: ..]

[King Dodo: Why are you typing so slowly? I don’t chat with robots.]

Xu Zhitong was speechless.

She probably understood why her pre-amnesia self, although it had some differences in livestream philosophy with Fish Dodo, still got along well with her.

With someone this enthusiastic, it really wasn’t hard to become friends.

[ZZZ: Going to sleep. Just got discharged]

[King Dodo: Goodnight, robot]

Xu Zhitong didn’t reply to her goodnight. She exited Fish Dodo’s chat window and opened the one with Lin Yang.

She couldn’t help herself and sent a message over.

[ZZZ: [dog’s ingratiating smile.jpg]]

[ZZZ: Does your eye feel uncomfortable? The water bar should have an ice machine. I’ll find you a towel and help you put on a compress, okay?]

After a while, Lin Yang still didn’t reply.

Maybe she’d gone to sleep.

[ZZZ: Good night!]

-

The next day, Xu Zhitong woke up very early.

When she went to change clothes, she remembered she hadn’t changed out of the loungewear that Lin Yang’s tears had soaked the night before.

No wonder her dreams had all tasted of Lin Yang’s tears.

Deeply, as if a brand had been carved into her shoulder.

Xu Zhitong looked at the clothes in silence for a moment, then folded them properly and put them aside instead of tossing them into the laundry basket.

When she left the room, Xu Zhitong was uneasy.

That was until she stepped into the dining room and heard sounds coming from the kitchen.

The morning air carried a chill.

Turning the corner, she saw a figure in the open kitchen.

Lin Yang was wearing an apron, the ties loosely knotted in a bow behind her waist, making her waist look even slimmer.

Early autumn sunlight fell across Lin Yang’s side profile; she was beautiful enough to look like a painting. Her eyes were lowered as she stirred the eggs in a mixing bowl.

Xu Zhitong carefully approached, making a little noise on purpose.

It finally drew Lin Yang’s gaze upward.

Xu Zhitong immediately smiled at her. “Good morning.”

Lin Yang gave a faint, cool nod. “Morning.”

She turned and switched on the gas burner, turned on the range hood, sprayed oil into the pan, and started frying eggs.

A lot of things were laid out on the counter. Xu Zhitong tried to shrink her presence as much as possible, peeking around from the side.

Lin Yang seemed to be making shumai. On one side there were already flattened shumai wrappers, and on the counter seven or eight small bowls were lined up, half of them already diced.

Xu Zhitong stared in shock at those fillings for a while, then went to sneak a look at Lin Yang’s expression.

Lin Yang was very calm, as if nothing had happened last night. That made Xu Zhitong uneasy. She wanted to ask things like, “What are we now?” but didn’t dare.

She was already a little taller than Lin Yang. Wandering around beside her, she inevitably blocked Lin Yang’s movement when she reached for the steamer tray.

Lin Yang paused and looked up at her.

Xu Zhitong instantly froze.

Lin Yang asked, “Did you send your selfie and thank the rankings?”

Coolly, as if she were still cutting ties with whatever nameless, unspoken emotion had hung between them last night.

Even though her hands were still making her a complicated shumai breakfast.

Xu Zhitong answered honestly, “No... I’ll send it now.”

She didn’t want to go far, so she sat on a barstool beside the island counter.

Following Lin Yang’s earlier instructions, she opened her private messages and thanked the rankings one by one, while her eyes kept following Lin Yang around as she wrapped the shumai, sprayed water, put them into the steamer, and then cleaned up the flour and kitchen tools on the counter.

Xu Zhitong wanted to help, but Lin Yang pushed her away. “Don’t bother me.”

“...Okay.”

Xu Zhitong trudged back to the chair and finished the things Lin Yang had assigned her.

About ten minutes later, the shumai in the steamer were done.

Lin Yang tiptoed slightly and, wearing thick gloves, took out the tray and set it on the island counter, then took two plates and put four on each.

She glanced over at Xu Zhitong and asked, “How many do you want?”

Xu Zhitong was flattered. “Four is fine for me too.”

Lin Yang raised a brow and put the remaining six onto her plate. “If you can’t finish them, then leave them.”

Xu Zhitong blinked, then looked at the plate of shumai with sudden emotion.

They were wrapped in thin skin, translucent and glistening, and looked delicious at first glance.

She gave me all the rest.

Why did Lin Yang not interfere with other people, but only interfere with her?

Lin Yang still had her in her heart.

And Lin Yang had also spent so long making hand-wrapped shumai for her to eat; she must have gotten up really early, right?

Xu Zhitong proactively carried the plate to the dining room, then ran back and forth to fetch utensils and water cups.

After taking her first bite, she exaggerated, “Wow, this is so good—”

Lin Yang glanced at her. “Eat your food.”

“Okay.” Xu Zhitong shut up.

She still seemed cold.

Like the autumn morning wind, and like her own heart.

TUT.

After breakfast, Xu Zhitong automatically collected the dishes and washed them. When she came out, she saw Lin Yang sitting in the living room, head lowered as she looked at her phone.

Her fingers were tapping on the keyboard, as if she were chatting with someone.

If this had been yesterday, Xu Zhitong would definitely have run over and asked, Who are you chatting with?

But today she had no standing at all.

She hadn’t even secured the title of “wife,” and she’d lost the title of “best friend” too.

Xu Zhitong turned in place twice, anxious. She felt she needed to ease the relationship.

But she didn’t really have anything good at home, aside from game consoles, discs, and vinyl records; and she couldn’t stay on electronics for long right now, either.

Xu Zhitong searched around the house in a showy, pretended manner, and actually found a big brand-new box of LEGO.

Like she was presenting a treasure, Xu Zhitong carried the LEGO out of the study and put it on the coffee table, asking, “Yangbao, want to build this together?”

“..."

Lin Yang looked at the brand-new LEGO box, and her expression changed slightly.

There were no finished LEGO sets anywhere in this house.

And Xu Zhitong had said on stream that she didn’t like building these things, because it made her eyes and neck uncomfortable.

A brand-new LEGO set taken out from her room...

Although after thinking through the night and morning, forcing herself to stay calm, Lin Yang still couldn’t help running through Xu Zhitong’s social circle in her mind.

Among those friends, among their Moments and Weibo, had anyone mentioned liking LEGO?

Ha, there really was.

Lin Yang looked back at her phone and no longer looked at the ocean-themed LEGO castle.

She said, “Better not open it. This should be a gift you prepared for someone else.”

Xu Zhitong stared blankly. “For who?”

Lin Yang said softly, “Your streamer friend.”

“..."

Xu Zhitong’s eyes widened slightly. Lin Yang hadn’t said the name, but who it was had become obvious.

She was almost dizzy.

Wait, seriously?

Why had her twenty-five-year-old self left so many landmines in the house?

And she and Fish Dodo didn’t have even a little ambiguity between them, so why would she...

Xu Zhitong couldn’t hold back anymore and wanted to explain this matter first, whether or not it was Fish Dodo.

But before she could speak, her phone in her pocket rang.

Xu Zhitong glanced at the screen and, like she’d seen a hot potato, quickly hung up.

It rang again.

She hung up again.

A third time.

Lin Yang: “Answer it.”

“..."

Xu Zhitong was already miserable beyond words. She held the phone in both hands and, before answering, told Lin Yang, “It’s Fish Dodo.”

Lin Yang didn’t seem to react. “Mm.”

Xu Zhitong picked up the call.

“Helloooo! You finally answered. You went to bed pretty early last night, huh? What time is it now? I thought you were dead and had become my alarm clock.” Fish Dodo’s loud, sweet voice rang out from the other end.

Xu Zhitong: “...What do you want.”

Fish Dodo: “Big news! Urgent! Are you streaming these next two days or not? Didn’t I tell you yesterday that a new older sister came to my room? Yesterday she circled around for ages asking me about you and Cotton Empress, and today she finally came out with it and said she wants to fight you in a PK, so she can see what you’re made of.”

Xu Zhitong: “Huh?”

Was that worth a murderous early-morning phone call from Fish Dodo?

Fish Dodo: “A money-making opportunity, little SleepyBlue! My operator checked the backend for me; the account this sister linked is at least an A9-level black card, and she’s got a dedicated customer service rep assigned!”

Her voice was so excited it practically jumped out of the phone.

Xu Zhitong: “So?”

Fish Dodo: “Let’s set up a PK, little SleepyBlue. She just wants to fight you; maybe she’s a blackened fan of our CP. I’ll kick you back a cut afterward, and you help me tank the tickets, okay?

And didn’t you say your Cotton Empress is very strong? I might as well help you test that too...”

“Wait.” Xu Zhitong was afraid she’d say something she shouldn’t, so she stood up and glanced at Lin Yang.

Lin Yang was still looking at her phone, seemingly uninterested in the call on her side.

Xu Zhitong hesitated for a second, then went into the study.

After the door closed, Xu Zhitong said, “She was right beside me just now. What were you saying?”

Fish Dodo sounded startled on the other end. “You really met Cotton Empress offline?”

Xu Zhitong said vaguely, “Not really. I’ve known her before... What exactly do you want?”

Fish Dodo exclaimed, calling it impressive: “I just want to book a PK with you. The new older sister in my room wants to do a big-ticket battle with Cotton Empress, probably to piggyback on Cotton Empress’s traffic and turn her own account into a super-rich whale or whatever.

But that’s good for us. PK traffic like that is huge, and there’s no need to send it back out; the money is all ours. And Cotton Empress was already gifting so much to so many streamers every month. Now that you’ve got this kind of relationship with her, wouldn’t it be better to have all those gifts go into your pocket instead?”

By the end of it, Fish Dodo had grown careful. “That makes sense, right, SleepyBlue?”

Xu Zhitong felt something was off as she listened. “That doesn’t seem very good.”

She didn’t know who Fish Dodo’s older sister was, but piggybacking on Cotton’s traffic and stripping Cotton’s money into her own pocket... just hearing it made Xu Zhitong uncomfortable.

She said, “I may not stream these next couple of days, and I don’t want to spend Cotton’s money like that. You know my personality.”

She said that because she felt that, before her memory loss, she and Fish Dodo were at least friends. Fish Dodo had even called the police when she didn’t reply to messages.

“Cotton this, Cotton that,” Fish Dodo muttered, letting out a long sigh. “Think it over again, SleepyBlue. What good does using looks to serve people bring? For us streamers, the more money we can keep in our own hands, the more of it belongs to us.

Someone at Cotton Empress’s level as a rich lady has seen every pretty face and every great talent there is. She can toss aside little streamers like us in a second. I know you have your bottom line and principles, but you still need to leave yourself some room to fall back on.

I don’t know how long you’ve been in private contact, but don’t blame me for being blunt. I’m only telling you this much, okay?”

Fish Dodo really did talk a lot.

Xu Zhitong felt a little embarrassed. “She’s not that kind of person, and we’re not that kind of relationship...”

Fish Dodo said, “Then what kind of relationship are you? Does your word count?”

Xu Zhitong: “...”

It doesn’t. She was still being given the cold shoulder.

Fish Dodo snorted softly. “I knew it. Streamers who sing sad songs are the most lovesick. You’ve already met up with her offline, and not only are you not taking her money, you’re sleeping with her too. Then when she gets bored, she’ll toss you aside and find a few hundred prettier canaries. Where are you going to cry?”

Xu Zhitong couldn’t help imagining what it would be like if Lin Yang really did throw her away.

She couldn’t help making a soft, distressed sound.

Then she shook her head and told herself, and Fish Dodo too, “No, don’t talk nonsense.”

Fish Dodo said, “Fine, fine, truly love stronger than gold. So we’re not booking the PK?”

Xu Zhitong said, “Mm, forget it.”

Fish Dodo clicked her tongue. “I knew it. I’ll go tell that sister later and see how she feels then. If she really wants to fight, then while you’re streaming these next few days, don’t connect with me.”

She reminded her again, “Also be careful of random people trying to connect to you. That sister is coming for Cotton Empress; yesterday your clip with Cotton Empress blew up. She might drag other small streamers over to find you for PKs, and then whether you take it or not, the momentum will fly.”

Xu Zhitong said, “Thank you.”

Fish Dodo laughed. “What’s there to be polite about? We’re close, aren’t we? I’m hanging up.”

The call ended. Xu Zhitong stood there thinking for a while, feeling uneasy.

Mainly because Fish Dodo’s voice was so loud, very different from the slightly cutesy tone she used on stream... just now by the sofa, Xu Zhitong felt Lin Yang could hear it clearly.

She was relieved she’d come in here, but also worried Lin Yang would misunderstand even more deeply.

Another layer of unease was that Fish Dodo’s words inevitably left a mark in her heart.

Would Lin Yang really abandon her?

But they’d known each other for so many years. They should have long since been used to each other’s presence, shouldn’t they?

...Thinking about it like that only made her feel even more suffocated.

What if Lin Yang’s coldness and care toward her right now were only because she was used to Xu Zhitong’s presence and didn’t want her to be left alone at home after losing her memory?

Then wouldn’t that mean, once her memories came back, Lin Yang would leave her behind?

After Lin Yang left her, would she go and fall in love with someone else?

That made sense too. Lin Yang was so smart, so beautiful, so rich, so young.

Xu Zhitong’s thoughts were getting close to collapse. She pushed the door open and walked out of the study.

Lin Yang was still on the sofa looking at her phone, her posture unchanged.

Xu Zhitong walked over and, without saying a word, crouched down beside her.

Lin Yang: ...?

She looked at Xu Zhitong and blinked slowly.

Xu Zhitong unlocked her phone and handed it over, reporting in a pitiful little voice:

“Fish Dodo called me. She said there’s an older sister on her side who wants to book a PK with me—and with you too, basically; we’d be hitting each other’s ticket counts. I turned her down.”

Lin Yang lowered her eyes and looked at the phone Xu Zhitong had handed over. “Mm? Then why are you giving me your phone?”

Xu Zhitong looked up at her pitifully. Squatting like this was uncomfortable, but she didn’t dare rest her hand on Lin Yang’s leg; she could only prop herself awkwardly on the edge of the sofa.

She admitted honestly, “I was afraid you’d misunderstand my relationship with Fish Dodo, so I went through my chat history with her. We’re just friends, the kind who get along okay. And when I told her you might misunderstand the relationship between us, she was really surprised too.”

Lin Yang: “...Why would you tell her that?”

Xu Zhitong said, “I lost my memory. I don’t remember anything, and I was really afraid something was going on between us, so I asked.”

Lin Yang paused. “Aren’t you afraid that if there really wasn’t anything, she’d say there was?”

“What do you mean, ‘what what what’?” Xu Zhitong said, indignantly widening her eyes. “I’m not stupid. Even if she said there was something between us, whether I had feelings for her or not, I’d obviously know myself.”

“..."

Lin Yang didn’t speak for a moment, only looked at her phone for a bit before raising her eyes toward Xu Zhitong.

Xu Zhitong keenly sensed that the ice wall around Lin Yang was melting and the atmosphere was easing. She moved forward a couple of little scoots until she was almost pressed against Lin Yang’s knees.

“Then guess who I have feelings for?” she pushed her luck.

Lin Yang leaned back a little, still keeping a stern face. “I’m not guessing.”

Xu Zhitong acted shamelessly and got even closer. “Guess.”

Lin Yang said, “What’s there to guess.”

Just as Xu Zhitong looked like she was about to flop onto her lap, and Lin Yang had nowhere left to retreat, she could only raise a hand to push at Xu Zhitong’s forehead.

The moment her fingertips touched her, Xu Zhitong tilted her head.

Her fingers unexpectedly pressed against Xu Zhitong’s lips.

The next second, Xu Zhitong grabbed Lin Yang’s wrist and, making use of the movement as Lin Yang pushed her, gently bit Lin Yang’s fingertip.

Lin Yang’s wrist carried the light fragrance of white tea, and her fingers had a faint floury scent to them. Mixed together, it smelled so good that Xu Zhitong had to bite the tip of her own tongue to suppress the urge to lick Lin Yang’s beautiful knuckles.

She had finally learned restraint by this point. She only bit Lin Yang’s fingertip once, then obediently pulled back with a smile. “Alright then, I won’t guess.”

“...” Lin Yang’s hand went almost instantly numb. She lowered her eyes and looked at the bite mark on her fingertip as it slowly returned to normal, her pupils shrinking slightly.

The heart wall she had built up all night was almost instantly shattered, collapsing in defeat.

Lin Yang pressed her lips together, furious. “Xu Zhitong, are you a dog?”

Xu Zhitong rested her chin on her hand, leaning against Lin Yang’s knees, and thought of what Fish Dodo had said.

She said, “I’m the canary you’re keeping.”

Lin Yang frowned. “Where did you learn a word like that?”

Xu Zhitong wanted to say, Isn’t dog a word with some different meaning too?

But she looked up at Lin Yang, and the longer she looked, the more it felt as though a bottomless pit was opening inside her heart—empty, as if it were yearning for something, or perhaps afraid of something.

So Xu Zhitong reached out, hooked her pinky with Lin Yang’s, and tugged.

“Dog is dog,” Xu Zhitong said vaguely. Then she lifted her face again and emphasized with unusual seriousness, “Then you have to promise not to abandon the dog.”

Author’s Note:

Random little red envelopes will drop, thank you for supporting the babies [kiss kiss]

P.S. I changed to a new cover. Do you think it looks good? I’m a little torn about which one to use