Chapter 78

"Not yet."

"I haven't, either. How about I go out and buy some ingredients while I wait for you to come back?"

"Hm? You haven't had dinner yet, either?"

Jun Zishu set her phone on the dashboard, put on her Bluetooth earphones, and started the car.

"Mhm. I was planning on waiting for you to come back and eat with you."

"No need to buy ingredients, then. We'll head out for food."

"Okay."

Plans for dinner were decided, just like that. After Jun Zishu hung up her call with Yun Zizhou, she proceeded to call Wei Jiangen.

"Have you gotten off work, Wife?"

Wei Jiangen's voice entered Jun Zishu's ears. After taking a look at the road, Jun Zishu responded with a hum.

"You've worked hard~" Wei Jiangen said. Then, he started hesitating whether to ask his question or not. Unlike him, Jun Zishu was busy with her job as a surgeon. She couldn't just make time for him whenever she wanted. So, even if he really wanted her to join him, he hesitated to ask.

Meanwhile, noticing the boy's hesitation, Jun Zishu took the initiative to ask, "Are you trying to ask about tomorrow's matter?"

"Mhm! But you don't need to come if you're too busy with work. Your health is the most important, after all."

"What time is the dinner tomorrow?"

"Is eight o'clock fine?" Wei Jiangen quickly replied when he heard Jun Zishu's question.

"Okay, it should be fine."

"See you tomorrow, then!" Wei Jiangen said excitedly.

"See you tomorrow."

…

As soon as Wei Jiangen happily hung up the call, his roommate hammered him on the back and said, "Eight? Are you trying to starve us to death? Didn't we agree on seven?"

"Oh, it's just an hour. Go and notify the others. Don't you guys wanna see my girlfriend?"

"Tsk, fine. I'll go contact the others. They should be fine with it as well since everyone wants to meet with your girlfriend."

After his friend left, Wei Jiangen smiled as he looked at his phone. Honestly, he felt quite frustrated that he could only meet and have dinner with his girlfriend once every few days.

…

After ending her call with Wei Jiangen, Jun Zishu decided to give Pan Yingying a call. As for Partner No.3, she decided to ignore this one for now.

Partner No.3 had the mildest temper out of the five partners Jiang Wentong dated, so it should be fine to ignore her for a while.

"Big Sister Wentong."

Pan Yingying's happy voice came through the earphones. Like how she responded to Wei Jiangen's greeting, Jun Zishu also responded to Pan Yingying's greeting with a faint hum.

"You'll be attending tomorrow's dinner, right? I just saw their message," Pan Yingying said.

In reality, Pan Yingying had been rather conflicted about Jun Zishu attending the birthday celebration of Wei Jiangen's roommate. On the one hand, she wanted Jun Zishu to attend so that she could meet with her. On the other hand, she didn't want Jun Zishu to attend because she was afraid of seeing Jun Zishu behaving intimately with another person.

"Mhm, I will."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you, then."

"Mhm."

"Have you eaten yet, Big Sister Wentong?"

"I'm heading home to eat," Jun Zishu lied as naturally as she breathed.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow night, then."

"Goodnight."

Pan Yingying felt her ear burning up when she heard the gentle voice coming through the phone. Only after the other side had hung up did she let go of her phone.

When Jun Zishu arrived outside her condo, she did not go upstairs. Instead, she gave Yun Zizhou a call and asked the girl to come downstairs.

A few minutes later, Jun Zishu finally got to see her long-lost godsister.

Like her voice, Yun Zizhou also had an appearance that gave others a comfortable feeling.

Jun Zishu's first impression of Yun Zizhou was that the girl was an innocent and likable young lady who gave off a hint of an artist's melancholic aura.

After opening the door to the passenger seat and getting into the car, Yun Zizhou extended a hand at Jun Zishu and greeted, "Long time no see, Big Sister Wentong."

"Long time no see."

Jun Zishu held Yun Zizhou's hand and shook it out of politeness. Then, after a brief contact, she let go of the girl's hands and resumed holding onto the steering wheel.

While Jun Zishu was scrutinizing Yun Zizhou, Yun Zizhou was also scrutinizing Jun Zishu.

Neither of them remembered much about the childhood they shared. Yet, now that they reunited, they still felt an inexplicable feeling of intimacy with each other.

At the very least, that was the case for Yun Zizhou. At first glance, Yun Zizhou found that the woman sitting beside her looked very gentle. However, underneath that gentleness also existed a hidden sharpness. She could tell that Jun Zishu wasn't as ordinary as she looked.

After getting a rough evaluation of Jun Zishu, Yun Zizhou smiled in a good mood.

"Can you handle hot pot?" Jun Zishu asked, feeling a little worried about Yun Zizhou's throat. It'd be terrible if the girl's beautiful voice got damaged from eating spicy food.

"Yes. I can handle spicy food."

After getting an affirmative answer, Jun Zishu took Yun Zizhou to a hot pot restaurant with a good reputation.

Eating hot pot was a good way to tighten friendships. There was no problem that a meal of hot pot couldn't solve. If there was, just have a second meal.

After ordering the ingredients, Jun Zishu and Yun Zizhou went to match sauces and waited for the ingredients to be served.

"I heard from my mother that you're here to find art inspiration? Are you an artist?"

"Mhm. Drawing is something I like doing very much. The scenery here is great, and there are many beautiful places to visit. It's been a while since I returned to the country, so I came here straight after paying a visit to G City," Yun Zizhou said, nodding as she draped her long hair over her shoulders.

Even though they were currently in a hot pot restaurant, Jun Zishu felt refreshed when she looked at the girl sitting across the table. After thinking it through, Jun Zishu felt that Yun Zizhou's face was one that people would normally imagine their first love to have—pure and beautiful.

"If you need help with anything, feel free to say so," Jun Zishu said generously and sincerely.

"Okay."

The waiter soon brought over the hot pot and ingredients, the soup in the pot giving off steam and a wonderful fragrance.

When the two were eating, they would exchange a few words from time to time, talking about some of the interesting things they had come across throughout all these years. Through these conversations, the gap in their relationship shortened significantly.

Jun Zishu spoke in a witty manner. One could tell at a glance that she was skilled at mingling with others.

When Yun Zizhou looked at Jun Zishu's eyes, the corners of her mouth rose even higher.

Yun Zizhou found that the person in front of her had beautiful eyes. It was especially true when the woman had her attention wholeheartedly focused on one person. She felt that she could drown in those eyes if she looked at them for too long.

Halfway through the meal, Jun Zishu's phone suddenly rang.

When Jun Zishu looked at the caller ID, she raised an eyebrow before answering it.

"Hello? Little Mi? What's the matter?"

The caller was Partner No.3, Mi Rou.

Just like her name, Mi Rou was a soft and gentle girl.

When Jiang Wentong met Mi Rou, the latter just so happened to have broken up recently.

Through a gentle offensive coupled with her flirting skills, Jiang Wentong quickly captured Mi Rou's heart.

"You haven't returned my messages these past two days. You didn't answer my call just now, either. I thought..."

Mi Rou's voice was soft and carried a hint of sadness.

"I've been incredibly busy these days, so...I'm sorry."

Mi Rou originally wanted to ask if Jun Zishu was so busy that she didn't even have the time to answer a call or reply to her messages. However, when she heard Jun Zishu's apology, her heart instantly softened.

"I miss you. When can we meet?"

"I can't have any breaks around this time, so it might be impossible..."

"I can go to you. Is that okay?" Mi Rou asked. "I'll go and find you on February 13th. I can apply for leave with the manager. Actually, I don't want to work here anymore. It's too far away from you. I want to find a job in your city."

Mi Rou's remarks were entirely reasonable, so Jun Zishu had difficulty thinking of a response.

However, Jun Zishu couldn't allow Mi Rou to move over, either. She would be doomed if even more of her partners lived in the same city.

Yun Zizhou quietly ate while Jun Zishu was on the phone. The person on the other end of the phone call had a very soft voice from what she could tell. Yet, when Jun Zishu heard this person's voice, not only did she not smile, but there was even a troubled expression appearing on her face.

According to the few words Yun Zizhou overheard, she guessed that the other party was trying to invite Jun Zishu out for a meeting, but Jun Zishu wasn't very willing to meet with this person.

"I might have to head to another city during those two days. Hasn't your life over there been well?"

"But you're not by my side here. I want to be with you."

Mi Rou's expression turned bleak, a few negative conjectures appearing in her mind.

"I'm eating outside right now. Can we continue our talk once I head home?" Jun Zishu asked patiently.

If Jun Zishu were to be honest, Mi Rou was the scariest out of the five partners Jiang Wentong dated. Although Mi Rou seemed the weakest and harmless of the five partners, she was an incredibly sensitive person. Meanwhile, when such a person turned into a yandere, she would become many times more frightening than even Pan Yingying.

Pan Yingying was the type of yandere who would openly say things like "I will kill the person you love if you leave me" or "Let us die together." However, Mi Rou was different. She wouldn't openly express her obsessive and deranged thoughts. On the contrary, she would hide it incredibly well.

Simply put, Mi Rou was the type of person who could feed someone poison with a warm and gentle smile.

Most importantly, Mi Rou was the instigator of Jiang Wentong's murder. She was the first person to stab Jiang Wentong. She was also the person who suggested dismembering Jiang Wentong's corpse.

Jun Zishu couldn't afford to offend Mi Rou. Not even a little bit. She had no desire to die so early into her mission.

"Okay," Mi Rou agreed. She could hear the commotion around Jun Zishu, so she could guess that Jun Zishu was probably having dinner outside right now.

Jun Zishu disconnected the call and rubbed her fatigued temples. After the call with Mi Rou, even the hot pot in front of her no longer tasted as good.

"Did something happen?" Yun Zizhou asked, her soothing voice bringing Jun Zishu back to reality.

"It's only a small matter. Let's continue eating," Jun Zishu said, smiling as she began eating in fervor again.

Seeing that Jun Zishu was reluctant to talk about her problem, Yun Zizhou stopped asking about it.

After the two finished their dinner, they returned home with the smell of hot pot covering them.

When Jun Zishu set foot into the house, she couldn't help but be a little surprised. It felt as if she had just walked into a brand new home.

The table was wiped, the floor was mopped, and even the trash was taken out. The entire house looked spick and span.

"My mother is definitely going to chew me out if she finds out that I made you do chores the first day you arrived," Jun Zishu said as she changed into her house slippers and tossed her handbag onto the sofa.

"We'll keep it a secret between us, then. Godmother won't find out," Yun Zizhou said as she placed her forefinger on her lips and made a shush gesture.

In the original storyline, there was also a segment mentioning Jiang Wentong's godsister. However, as Jiang Wentong was having trouble dealing with her multiple affairs at the time, she refused Mother Jiang's request to let Yun Zizhou stay over. Thus, Jiang Wentong and Yun Zizhou did not have any interactions in the original storyline.

Personally, Jun Zishu felt fortunate that Yun Zizhou did not meet with the original Jiang Wentong. Not only did Yun Zizhou have a pleasant voice, but she also looked rather beautiful. She was also quite a capable person. So, there was no saying what the original Jiang Wentong would have done had she met Yun Zizhou.

"Have you tidied up your room? Have you moved your luggage inside yet?" Jun Zishu asked Yun Zizhou as she walked up to the guest room's door.

"I tidied it up a little."

When Jun Zishu opened the guest room's door, she found that the bed still lacked a bedsheet. Though, the room itself was significantly cleaner than it used to be. Meanwhile, apart from the suitcase on the floor, it would seem that Yun Zizhou had also brought a laptop and some recording equipment with her.

"What are those?" Jun Zishu curiously asked as she pointed at the recording equipment.

"They're equipment I use for dubbing dramas. I also use them to host live streams. Is the soundproofing here good? I'm worried that I might disturb you, Big Sister."

"It's okay. So long as you're not hosting a party here, I don't think I'll get disturbed," Jun Zishu said, smiling. Then, she added, "Not to mention, your voice sounds very nice and comfortable."

"Thank you, Big Sister."

Yun Zizhou had always known where her advantages lay, so she thoroughly made use of them.

"What do you normally stream?"

"I usually sing, chat, and draw. I don't do dances, so you can rest assured of that, Big Sister."

"I'll go get a clean bedsheet and quilt for you. Give me a moment."

"I'll go with you, Big Sister."

Yun Zizhou followed Jun Zishu into the master bedroom next door.

The theme of Jun Zishu's bedroom was blue, and standing in the room made one feel as if one was standing in the middle of a vast and peaceful ocean.

The room's furnishings were also arranged orderly, giving others a comfortable feeling.

After Jun Zishu grabbed the bedsheet and quilt, Yun Zizhou quickly helped her set up the bedsheet.

"Will you be streaming tonight?"

"Mhm. For an hour. Do you want to listen in, Big Sister?"

"Okay."