Chapter 81

"You're back? You look like you're in a good mood."

Yun Zizhou walked out of her room when she heard a noise coming from the front door. Then, she poured herself a glass of water in the living room while making small talk with Jun Zishu.

"I am indeed in a good mood," Jun Zishu said as she placed her keys on the side table by the door. Then, she removed her high heels and changed into her comfortable slippers. "What did you have for dinner?"

After asking her question, Jun Zishu scanned the dining table and saw that there were no leftovers.

"I found some frozen dumplings in the freezer, so I cooked myself a bag. I didn't touch any of the ingredients I bought today, so I'm thinking of having them for lunch tomorrow. You probably won't be coming home for lunch tomorrow, right?"

"Mhm, that's right."

Yun Zizhou had only bought enough ingredients to cook a meal for two. So, they should be enough to last her for the entire day tomorrow.

After successfully resolving two immediate problems, Jun Zishu treated herself to a comfortable bath. Then, after bathing, she laid on her bed and read a book like usual.

The book Jun Zishu read this time was on medicine. Jun Zishu was the type of person who preferred reading books on whatever profession she took on. So, even though the medical book was rather uninteresting, she still read it with gusto.

When it was almost time for Yun Zizhou's live stream, Jun Zishu set aside her book and slipped into the guest room next door.

Jun Zishu found that it was comfortable being around Yun Zizhou. Whenever she listened to the girl talking, the fatigue in her heart would quickly vanish.

"Sit anywhere you want, Big Sister. I'll be starting soon."

"Okay."

Jun Zishu took note of the broadcasting platform's name displayed on Yun Zizhou's laptop. Then, she silently took out her phone and searched for the platform.

After arriving at the platform, Jun Zishu typed Yun Zizhou's ID into the search bar and successfully reached Yun Zizhou's channel page. After subscribing to Yun Zizhou's channel, she exited the platform and set aside her phone.

With this, even if her godsister moved out of her place in the future, she could still hear the girl's voice to relieve boredom. She could even listen to the girl's singing to relax.

"Good evening everyone, Zizhou here. I will start the stream with a song today, just like usual. What should I sing? Do you guys have anything you want to hear?"

While looking through the comments flooding her message window, Yun Zizhou randomly clicked on a message and chose the first song she would be singing.

"It seems The Sorrow of the Departing One[1] will be our opening song tonight," Yun Zizhou said with a smile. Then, while searching for the accompaniment, she continued, "Actually, I quite like songs like this, but I'm not sure if I can sing it well."

Jun Zishu had never heard of the song Yun Zizhou had chosen to sing.

Although Jiang Wentong liked listening to music, the music she listened to was more on the classical side. The woman preferred listening to violin solos, symphonies, and so on. She hardly listened to trending songs.

However, Jun Zishu wasn't picky. She was fine with anything that sounded good.

Shortly afterward, Yun Zizhou began her performance.

"The past springs have greyed my hair and desolated my thoughts,

Cutting down a lock of hair in front of my eye that blinded me,

Today my heart is broken, as we are separated,

There is no hope to see you again in this life,

At the end of prosperity, it is hard for the departing one to pour out his heart,

Last night I saw the one who had abandoned me years ago,

..."[1]

Jun didn't expect that Yun Zizhou's voice would sound so wonderful even when singing this type of song. As for the song's lyrics, they carried feelings of gentleness, chivalry, and melancholy.

When listening to this song, vague images suddenly flashed across Jun Zishu's mind, causing her to fall into a daze.

The images were of...Shen Zheyan smiling at her.

Jun Zishu closed her eyes to try and recall those scenes. However, the moment she did so, those scenes vanished like a mirage.

"I should drink a pot of unstrained wine in the remote martial world,

Look into the hidden sorrow in prosperity while drunk,

Shouldn’t roam wildly outside the pass and let the beauty wait,

The loss of that dream love was greater than my achievement,

At the end of prosperity, it is hard for the departing one to pour out his heart,

Last night I saw the one who had abandoned me years ago,

..."[1]

Jun Zishu pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

For a brief moment, she saw that white-robed warrior smiling at her again. However, an instant later, the image disappeared from her mind again.

[What's wrong, Host?]

Are there any known problems with the emotion separation service? Why did I suddenly think of the mission target from the previous world just now?

[Huh? That shouldn't happen in theory. Normally, after you separate the emotions they experienced in a mission, your impression of that world would grow vague to a certain extent. Even if you try to recall your memories of the mission, you'll only end up with vague images. You might even forget about certain events completely. Moreover, the memories you forget will also increase as more time passes. So, logically, you wouldn't suddenly remember things about past missions unless you actively think about them. Try doing that now, Host. Check and see what you can still remember about the previous mission world.]

Little Fairy said many things to explain that it was impossible for the Department's emotion separation service to malfunction.

Following Little Fairy's instructions, Jun Zishu tried to recall memories of her previous mission, only to end up with nothing. She couldn't even remember the image of Shen Zheyan's face that had briefly appeared in her mind just now.

Shen Zheyan… Shen Zheyan…is her name, right?

[It seems everything's working properly. Don't worry, Host. There is no way the Department's services could go wrong.]

Jun Zishu puffed up her cheeks a little as she nodded thoughtfully.

When Yun Zizhou finished her song, comments and donations started flooding the message window one after another.

Yun Zizhou thanked the people who donated while taking sips of water from time to time.

"How is the weather here today? It's quite good."

"You want to know if I'm single? Mhm, I've been playing solo since I was in my mother's womb."

"Am I using a voice changer? Try using a voice changer and see if you can get a similar voice as mine, then."

"What time do I usually stream? Ten o'clock every evening. I will take breaks if something happens, though."

"When will I upload a drawing tutorial? Tomorrow. I'm going out to collect materials tomorrow. There are many beautiful places in this city."

While listening to Yun Zizhou converse with her viewers, Jun Zishu felt her phone vibrating. After taking a look at the caller ID, she quietly left the room without disturbing Yun Zizhou.

The person calling was Mother Jiang. So, Jun Zishu made her way to the balcony before answering the call.

"Hello? Mom?"

"Zizhou has arrived at your place already, right? How is she? Are you two getting along?" Mother Jiang asked with concern, her voice sounding as tender as the night breeze.

"We're getting along pretty well. She's quite well-behaved."

Her voice also sounds very nice, Jun Zishu silently added in her heart.

"That's good, that's good. I'm calling not just to ask about you two this time. I'm also calling to tell you that I'm about to go out and have fun for a while."

"Haven't you been having fun outside all this time?"

Jun Zishu couldn't help but laugh. Although Mother Jiang was a single mother, she had a carefree personality. After Jiang Wentong could maintain a living on her own, Mother Jiang decided to give her daughter some personal space and use the money she had saved up over the years to travel around and have fun.

"I plan on going out of the country this time to find your Aunt Sisi."

"What are you visiting Aunt Sisi for? Is it inconvenient for her to return to the country?"

"Your Aunt Sisi is pregnant, so it's not convenient for her to travel. I plan to go and take care of her."

"Pregnant?" Jun Zishu was stunned, her surprise clearly transmitted through her voice. "Isn't Aunt Sisi nearing 50 already? Can she still get pregnant? No, I mean…she's still trying to have a child?"

While it wasn't impossible for women to get pregnant at such an age, doing so would adversely affect the body.

"What 50? Your Aunt Sisi is only 44."

"Is that so?"

Mother Jiang was 20 years old when she gave birth to Jiang Wentong. So, since Jiang Wentong was 27 this year, Mother Jiang was already 47. Since Aunt Sisi was 44 and Yun Zizhou was 24 this year, it meant that Aunt Sisi had also given birth at 20 years old like Mother Jiang.

"But 44 is not a young age, either. Having a child at this age is very risky."

"I know. She knows it as well. However, she has always felt guilty over not giving her current husband any children. Now that she has finally gotten pregnant, she says that she will give birth to this child no matter what. Although her husband has tried to dissuade her, she refuses to listen. I can understand her thoughts, so I plan to go and take care of her."

"What about Zizhou? Why is she…"

In such a crucial period, shouldn't Yun Zizhou be staying by her mother's side? Why did the girl come back to the country to draw art?

"They got into a fight. Zizhou doesn't want her mother to give birth, saying that it's bad for her mother's body. Moreover, who'd be willing to have a little brother or little sister who's young enough to be their child? Zizhou's relationship with her step-father is also average at best. She never stayed at home when she was studying. She has also refused to rely on her family and worked part-time to support herself. She's quite the stubborn child, honestly," Mother Jiang said, sighing. Even though she was close friends with Yun Zizhou's mother, it still wasn't appropriate for her to meddle in other people's family affairs. Thus, she could only do her best, which was to go abroad to accompany her friend while arranging a living place for her friend's daughter.

"How many months has Aunt Sisi been pregnant? How long will you be gone?"

"She's six months in already. It'll be another four months or so before she gives birth, so I'll be there for quite some time."

"Okay, go ahead, then. Remember to send me your flight schedule. Also, make sure to give me a call and send me a photo once you arrive there."

Jun Zishu wasn't worried that Mother Jiang would have communication problems after traveling abroad. Mother Jiang was an extremely capable woman when she was young. She was also very fluent in English.

"I know. Take good care of your Little Sister Zizhou."

"Don't worry about it."

Jun Zishu hung up and returned to Yun Zizhou's room.

Yun Zizhou's live stream had yet to end, and the girl was currently singing a song. She looked quite focused when she was singing, and her profile looked peaceful and beautiful. There were no signs that showed that the girl was unhappy.

If Jun Zishu were to hear that her parents in her original world wanted to have another child, she would've thought nothing of it. They could have as many children as they wanted. None of those children would have the ability to snatch anything from her, anyway. However, now that she was in Jiang Wentong's body, she could more or less sympathize with Yun Zizhou.

Moreover, Mother Jiang had previously stated that Yun Zizhou's relationship with her step-father was average. The girl had also stayed outside and worked part-time to support herself throughout her studies, probably because she did not wish to rely on her step-father's money.

At first glance, one wouldn't be able to tell that Yun Zizhou had grown up in such an environment. Those ignorant might even assume that she had grown up like a princess.

After Yun Zizhou sang two more songs, she ended her stream and removed her headset. Then, she turned around and found Jun Zishu staring at her in a daze.

"What are you looking at?" Yun Zizhou asked as she waved her hand in front of Jun Zishu.

Snapping out of her daze, Jun Zishu said, "You look pretty."

Jun Zishu smiled as she unknowingly flirted with her little sister.

TL Notes

[1]The Sorrow of the Departing One(离人愁 - lí rén chóu) - 

Song: 离人愁 (Li Ren Chou)

Artist: Li Yuan-Jie (李袁杰)

Youtube link: https://youtu.be/VhHQyb4r9Xg

English lyrics link: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/li-ren-chou-sorrow-departing-one.html