After some hesitation,
Qian Renxue finally accepted the large steamed bun.
"Thank you."
"Last night, while I was crafting a weapon, there was an explosion that woke up the teacher and accidentally dirtied her face,"
Ye Tian said between bites of his bun, keeping it brief.
He merely omitted the tiny detail about the colorful aftermath.
That part wasn't really suitable to share with outsiders.
"I see..."
Qian Renxue felt somewhat dazed.
She hadn't expected Ye Tian to read her thoughts so quickly,
and couldn't help feeling a bit pleased.
Yet the answer she heard seemed different from what she had imagined, though it perfectly matched Bi Bi Dong's temperament.
Then—
Qian Renxue snapped back to reality, her face full of concern.
"An explosion?!"
"Ye Tian, are you hurt anywhere?"
Gulp—
Ye Tian stuffed most of the meat bun into his mouth,
picked up the processed millennium goat milk beside him, and quickly washed it down.
Only then did he shake his head with a smile.
"Got lucky and reacted fast. Not a scratch on me."
"Whew— that's good."
Qian Renxue let out a sigh of relief,
then asked with renewed curiosity:
"By the way, what kind of weapon were you working on that could explode?"
"Well~ I'll tell you all once it's finished! It'll be easier to understand when you see the actual thing."
Ye Tian kept them in suspense.
It wasn't that he didn't want to explain in detail—
but he suddenly remembered he had planned matters to attend to today.
"Mm, I believe you'll definitely succeed!"
Qian Renxue nodded firmly, her face filled with anticipation.
"Absolutely will."
Pat pat!
Ye Tian reached into the food box, clapped his hands to dust off the crumbs.
In just those few short sentences,
he had already finished his meal.
Meanwhile, Qian Renxue was still holding that large meat bun, untouched.
"Alright, Little Xue, let's stop here for today."
Under Qian Renxue's puzzled gaze, Ye Tian slowly stood up and said with a smile:
"Little Xue, sorry about this."
"I just remembered— I have some things to do this afternoon, so I can't sit here with you all."
Qian Renxue looked up at Ye Tian, also standing up, and asked in confusion:
"What things?"
"Going to see a few old friends."
"Old friends?"
Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow.
How come she didn't know Ye Tian had so-called old friends?
"That's right, so I'll have to excuse myself."
Ye Tian nodded with a smile,
casually storing the food box into his Soul Guidance Device.
Then he walked behind the screen on the right and took out several boxes of Papal Hall specialty pastries.
His face was full of joy and anticipation.
For some reason, Qian Renxue felt a faint displeasure in her heart.
This expression before her—
was one Ye Tian had never shown while spending time with her.
"Alright then~"
Qian Renxue's voice softened slightly as she shuffled her steps toward the door.
"I'll take Yue'er back first."
"Mm, see you tomorrow!"
Ye Tian waved his little hand at Qian Renxue,
watching her leave.
Only then did he step behind the screen again—
to continue organizing the various pastries he had been collecting from Bi Bi Dong's room lately.
Of course,
Gold Soul Coins were absolutely essential too!
Wang Ma and the others were just making a living— money was far more important than pastries.
Qian Renxue closed the door for Ye Tian and stood hesitantly outside for a moment.
In the end, she didn't turn back,
Nor did she voice her desire to go explore together with Ye Tian.
"Yue'er?"
Qian Renxue snapped out of her thoughts, staring blankly at the empty living room before quickly spotting Jin Yue'er's figure.
"Yue'er, why are you lying over there?"
As soon as she spoke,
Qian Renxue hurried to Bi Bi Dong's door, intending to help Jin Yue'er up.
"..."
Jin Yue'er rolled her eyes.
She looked at Qian Renxue with utter resignation—could she really be blamed for this?
But Jin Yue'er didn't complain.
It was nearly noon, and she was already feeling hungry, lacking the energy to argue.
Nor did she want to.
After all, they were all sisters~
"?"
Jin Yue'er's nose twitched,
Had she caught the scent of meat buns?
Her squinting eyes flew open, immediately locking onto the plump, white steamed bun.
Without even getting up,
She snatched it right out of Qian Renxue's hand, giggling as she said:
"Hehe... smells amazing!"
"Sister Xue, I just happen to be a little hungry."
Qian Renxue stared at her empty hand in surprise, then quickly tried to stop her:
"Yue'er... wait!"
"Huh?"
But before Qian Renxue could finish, Jin Yue'er had already taken a huge bite.
While giving Qian Renxue a strange look,
Driven by hunger, she couldn't stop her instinct to eat.
She kept chewing and swallowing.
In the blink of an eye, nearly half of it was gone.
Qian Renxue stared wide-eyed and reminded her: "Yue'er, Ye Tian already bit into this bun."
"Mhm."
Jin Yue'er nodded slightly, swallowed the filling, and looked puzzled.
"What's wrong, Sister Xue?"
"This bun was bitten by Ye Tian—it has his saliva on it."
Qian Renxue repeated seriously and earnestly.
"I know!"
Jin Yue'er nodded again, showing no extra reaction.
To Qian Renxue's surprise, she even asked in return:
"So what? Sister Xue?"
"..."
Qian Renxue fell completely silent.
She even began to doubt herself...
Had she been too distant with Ye Tian? Was that why he preferred those so-called 'old friends'?
Qian Renxue pressed her pink lips together, as if resolving herself.
"Sister Xue?"
Jin Yue'er, still sitting on the floor, called out softly.
Then she saw Qian Renxue extend a hand toward her.
"Yue'er, I'm hungry too."
Qian Renxue looked somewhat awkwardly at the bun in Jin Yue'er's hand.
"Sure, I'll save half for you, Sister Xue."
Jin Yue'er smiled cheerfully and handed the bun back to Qian Renxue.
"..."
Qian Renxue took it,
Lowered her head, and slowly nibbled—there was no feeling of disgust at all.
Maybe it was because the part Ye Tian bit had already been eaten by Yue'er?
Yes!
That must be it!
But regardless, Qian Renxue no longer wanted to keep such distance from Ye Tian.
Having made up her mind,
Qian Renxue threw caution to the wind,
Stuffing the entire half bun into her mouth in one go.
Then,
She deftly took out a Marrow Cleansing Pill and, without a word, handed it to Jin Yue'er.
"?"
Jin Yue'er was taken aback at first.
Then, as if it were routine, she accepted the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
This kind of bribe
Was all too familiar to Jin Yue'er. She grinned and asked:
"Sister Xue, do you need something?"
"..."
Chewing the meat filling, Qian Renxue frowned,
Seemingly dissatisfied with Jin Yue'er's service attitude.
She took out two more Marrow Cleansing Pills.
Whoosh!
Jin Yue'er, quick as lightning, snatched them and immediately stood up.
Standing tall and proud, he appeared ready to accept any assignment.
"Respected Miss Xue, what are your orders?!"
"Mmm~ Excellent!"
Qian Renxue swallowed the steamed bun and gave Jin Yue'er a thumbs-up.
"Come with me! Let's go see what Ye Tian is up to this afternoon!"
"Ah? So that's what it is."
Hearing this, Jin Yue'er suddenly understood.
"Actually, Sister Xue, you don't need to offer a reward. Yue'er would be willing to cooperate even without one."
Jin Yue'er spoke lightly, but her movements were anything but slow.
Before Qian Renxue's hand was fully raised, Jin Yue'er had already stuffed all three Marrow Cleansing Pills into her mouth.
She shuddered with exhilaration and let out an odd, almost human-like cry.
"Wakaka!"
"..."
Qian Renxue's motion to take back the pills froze mid-air.
Wasn't it just said that she'd do it even without a reward?
Qian Renxue shot an annoyed glare at Jin Yue'er, who seemed bewitched by the pills, but didn't press the matter further.
"Alright, Yue'er, let's leave this place and hide ourselves so we can follow him later."
Before the words had fully left her mouth, Qian Renxue grabbed Jin Yue'er's hand and hurriedly dashed out of Wisteria Residence.
They had just left Wisteria Residence when Ye Tian swayed leisurely out of his room, preparing to head to the orphanage.