Ye Yunyun's fiddling hands froze in mid-air.
'Jiao Jiao? Is that the aunt I'm thinking of?'
'The ice-cold female lead who kills without batting an eye and resorts to violence at the slightest disagreement?'
"Which little rascal is bad-mouthing me?" a cheerful voice called out before its owner appeared.
A girl with a high ponytail came running up, her face beaming with a youthful smile.
She called back excitedly, "Xiao Rou, hurry up!"
Mrs. Bai laughed. "You silly girl, no one here is talking about you."
Bai Jiao looked around and saw there was only one child present, and Ye Yunyun couldn't even talk yet.
"Guess I really did hear things," she mumbled, scooping Ye Yunyun up into her arms.
"What's this?! It's the adorable Xiao Yunduo! Let your auntie get a big smooch!" Bai Jiao planted a kiss on Ye Yunyun's cheek, leaving her completely stunned.
'Why is the female lead such an innocent little sun right now?'
'Oh, right. There wasn't much description of her personality in the early stages, but her transformation began when she found her eldest uncle's body.'
'Hmm, I think she saw a body hanging on a wall, all its limbs severed. At that point, even though she'd been betrayed by her best friend, she still had a sliver of compassion left and wanted to give the body a proper burial. But when she got closer, she saw it was her uncle. She wept tears of blood on the spot and went full dark side.'
'Eldest Uncle had it so bad. Luckily, Grandpa and Grandma died early enough to get a proper burial. Mom and I were blown to smithereens, a clean death. Only Eldest Uncle... sigh.'
Ye Yunyun's heart ached with sorrow. She wondered if her family had entered the same Underworld as her after death, and if they could continue to live happily there.
When she looked up, she found her whole family staring at her. Her aunt's eyes were especially wide.
"Xiao Yunduo, you didn't just talk, did you?"
'That's right!'
"No." Bai Jiao mumbled, pinching Ye Yunyun's mouth between two fingers. "You didn't talk, right?"
'Right, right, you mean auntie!'
Bai Jiao looked at her mom, who was covering her mouth, stifling a laugh, and gave her a wink.
Ye Yunyun shook her head hard, breaking free from Bai Jiao's grasp on her little mouth.
As a clear-eyed college student, Bai Jiao quickly accepted this fantastical reality. She believed that even if there were a million ways to die, with a golden-fingered baby like Xiao Yunduo, her family would definitely pull through!
Bai Jiao bounced Ye Yunyun in her arms, playing with her, while saying to her mother, "Mom, my roommate came over today. I just came up to let you know, but I'm about to go back down to hang out with her. Can I take Xiao Yunduo down with me?"
Mrs. Bai nodded. "Go ahead and take Xiao Yunduo. We won't come down, so your roommate doesn't feel awkward."
This gave them the perfect opportunity to deal with the matter of the butler.
Bai Jiao then looked down and said to Ye Yunyun, "Xiao Yunduo, you have to be a good girl and not cause any trouble, okay? Otherwise, your aunt will send you right back up here!"
Ye Yunyun turned and buried her head firmly in Bai Jiao's embrace.
'That depends on which roommate it is, hmph.'
The adults just smiled helplessly and let her be.
「Downstairs, by the coffee table.」
Chen Fen was looking all around, her hands exploring everything.
Seeing Bai Jiao come down, she didn't stop. "Bai Jiao, your house is so luxurious. I've never seen such a magnificent place before."
"It's like something out of a novel!" Chen Fen said, her face flush with excitement.
Bai Jiao knew Chen Fen had grown up in a small mountain village, so she didn't mind her behavior. "Chen Fen, if you see anything you like, just take it with you."
"Really?" Chen Fen exclaimed.
Bai Jiao nodded. "Of course."
Her family had already put away all the priceless items. Anything left out was something they could afford to lose.
Ye Yunyun kicked her little legs, and Bai Jiao immediately put her down.
'Chen Fen... isn't that the backstabbing roommate? I remember now. She stole a Jade Pendant from the house and unlocked the Jade Pendant Space. At first, she treated my aunt with guilt, but later, she grew more and more afraid that my aunt would find out the Jade Pendant's secret. To keep it, she sold my aunt off to a remote mountain region.'
'My aunt escaped after immense hardship, but before she could find the real culprit, the apocalypse arrived. So Chen Fen pretended to travel with my aunt, only to push her into a horde of zombies at the first opportunity.'
'Hmm, my aunt was almost chewed to death by zombies. She barely survived by completely depleting her Healing Ability. By the time she made it back to the base, Chen Fen was already with my aunt's boyfriend!'
The more she thought about it, the angrier Ye Yunyun got, her face scrunching up.
Bai Jiao's mind reeled. Just then, as if on cue, Chen Fen produced a Jade Pendant she had found in some corner.
"Bai Jiao, can you give me this Jade Pendant? The moment I saw it, I felt a connection to it," Chen Fen asked, holding it up.
The refusal slipped out instinctively: "No!"
Bai Jiao calmed herself. "Chen Fen, how about I give you a Jade Bracelet of much better quality? This Jade Pendant is a family heirloom. Xiao Yunduo must have grabbed it and tossed it somewhere."
"Alright..." Chen Fen replied, but her hand clutched the Jade Pendant tightly.
'The Jade Bracelet would sell for more money, so I should definitely choose the bracelet. But this Jade Pendant... I have a strange feeling, as if obtaining it will lead to a great opportunity.'
'Maybe the heirloom is actually more valuable? It doesn't look like high-quality jade, but maybe that's just because I don't know any better.'
'Is this the irresistible force of the plot? Chen Fen was a good girl in the early stages, why can't she let go of the Jade Pendant now?'
Bai Jiao felt a little apologetic. She reached out, trying to take back the Jade Pendant. "I'm sorry, Chen Fen. I'm going back on my word. How about I give you a big red envelope instead?"
Chen Fen clutched the Jade Pendant and hid it behind her back, taking a step away.
She was startled by her own reaction. "Bai Jiao, can you sell this Jade Pendant to me? I'm willing to pay. I have... two million. Is two million enough?"
Bai Jiao's expression went blank for a second. "How do you have two million?" She was at a loss. Snatching it was out of the question. Besides, wasn't Chen Fen a poor girl from the countryside?
'Silly auntie, it's because Chen Fen is the illegitimate daughter of the Chen Family!'
'Watch me!'
"I... I..." Chen Fen stammered. The next second, she felt a wet sensation and a strong pull on the hand hidden behind her back.
She turned instinctively and saw that the previously ignored Ye Yunyun had jumped up and bitten down on the Jade Pendant!
"Let go!" Chen Fen snapped.
Bai Jiao grew anxious too. "Xiao Yunduo, you can't just eat random things! Spit it out!"
She instinctively tried to listen for Ye Yunyun's voice, but heard nothing.
'Maybe hearing her thoughts is just an on-and-off thing,' Bai Jiao told herself.
She hurried forward to stop Chen Fen, who was already roughly trying to pry the Jade Pendant out of Ye Yunyun's mouth with her hands.
She restrained Chen Fen's hands and rang the bell for the butler, then turned to check on Ye Yunyun.
Ye Yunyun had already stuffed the entire Jade Pendant into her mouth!