When Xiao Yeci returned to the residence, Lu Chunying hurried to greet her. "Who exactly was that person? What did she want from you?"
Xiao Yeci smiled. "She’s a relative from our old home. Heard that we’ve struck it rich and wanted to borrow some money."
"And I wondered who it could be!" Lu Chunying snorted. "When Mother and I were suffering, where were these relatives? Now they come knocking for a loan. You shouldn’t have bothered with her!"
Xiao Yeci laughed. "It’s a trivial matter; no need to take it to heart. Nannan, Mother is tired and wants to go to bed early. You shouldn’t stay up too late either."
Lu Chunying asked, "Going to bed this early? Have you had dinner?"
"I’ve eaten, I’ve eaten!" Xiao Yeci returned to her room and sat in silence on the bed for a while.
She went to the desk, picked up a fountain pen, and wrote a letter.
After writing everything down, Xiao Yeci packed her bags, preparing to slip away from Greenwater City secretly.
Past one in the morning, the household was asleep.
Xiao Yeci quietly left her room. One of the guards at the door asked, "Lady, where are you off to?"
"I have some personal matters to attend to. You needn’t worry about it."
Xiao Yeci didn’t want to elaborate, and the guards dared not probe further.
As she reached the courtyard gate, she glanced back at the residence, then bit her lip, grabbed her suitcase, and left.
...
At the train station, Xiao Yeci bought a ticket to the Ink Shop and sat alone in the waiting room.
There weren’t many people catching night trains. Strangers came and went in the waiting room. No one recognized Xiao Yeci, nor did anyone pay attention to her.
Xiao Yeci murmured to herself, "It was supposed to be like this, anyway. Just treat it as a dream, just as..."
Teardrops slid from the corners of her eyes, and Xiao Yeci sobbed softly.
Oil Peach took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears.
"Thank you..." Xiao Yeci startled when she saw Oil Peach!
"How did you get here!"
Oil Peach said, "I saw you were upset and wanted to cheer you up tonight, but you weren’t in your room. That’s when I realized you’d run off. Where are you trying to go?"
"I... I just wanted to go out and clear my head."
"Going out to clear your head is fine, but you have to tell your daughter. If she finds you gone, she’ll turn Puluo State upside down looking for you!"
Xiao Yeci sighed. "There are some things you don’t understand. I’m not her real mother."
Oil Peach laughed. "How could I not understand? You blush at the slightest tease. It’s obvious you’ve never been with a man; how could you have had a child? That woman today must be Chunying’s real mother, right?"
Xiao Yeci nodded.
Oil Peach said, "That’s easy enough to deal with. It all depends on whether Chunying acknowledges her. If she does, they can live together. If not, just pretend that person never existed."
Xiao Yeci shook her head. "Missy Tao, you don’t understand. Matters of prominent families aren’t that simple."
Oil Peach shrugged. "If I don’t understand, then discuss it with Chunying. Anyway, you should go home first."
"I can’t go home."
"You have to go back, whether you want to or not. Don’t force me to tie you up and take you back." Oil Peach’s eyes flashed coldly.
Xiao Yeci became annoyed. "What do you think you’re doing? Do you think I’m afraid of you?"
Oil Peach was a Second Layer Lust Cultivator, and Xiao Yeci was a Second Layer Literature Cultivator.
Their cultivation levels were comparable, and they started fighting.
After more than a dozen rounds, station staff beat them out of the waiting room with a flurry of batons.
Oil Peach laughed. "Looks like you can’t leave now, huh?"
Xiao Yeci gritted her teeth. "You! You’re truly vicious!"
When Xiao Yeci and Oil Peach returned home, Lu Chunying was nearly frantic. She first sent everyone else away, then shouted at Xiao Yeci, "How could you just leave me? I’ve never left you!"
Xiao Yeci, head bowed, mumbled, "But there’s nothing I can do about this!"
"How can there be nothing we can do? We’ve made it this far, mother and daughter, by figuring things out step by step. If we really can’t come up with something, aren’t there others who can help us?"
"This matter cannot be known by others!"
"If you don’t trust others, isn’t there still Brother Seven?"
"He, of all people, mustn’t know! This concerns him too!"
Lu Chunying pulled out the letter Xiao Yeci had left and said, "You actually believe this? With Xiao Manli’s character, how could Brother Seven possibly fancy her?"
Xiao Yeci said, "It’s not right to talk like that. She is your biological mother, after all."
"I only have one mother!" Lu Chunying gritted her teeth. "Tomorrow, I’ll find someone to... take care of her, and this whole thing will be over!"
Xiao Yeci gasped. "You can’t act recklessly!"
"This is a proper solution. Just listen to me!"
The next morning, just as Lu Chunying was about to send for Tan Fucheng and Lu Yuanxin, two guards from the Lu Family Mansion suddenly arrived at her door. "Miss Chunying, the Lady wishes to meet with you."
Lu Chunying’s heart tightened.
...
「At dusk.」
Xiao Manli came to Xiao Yeci’s residence again. The two left the house and went to the same café as before. Xiao Manli asked, "Yecai, have you thought over what I told you yesterday?"
Xiao Yeci nodded. "I’ve thought it through. I agree. I’ll ask Li Qi out."
"Good. As long as you get him out, I’ll leave Greenwater City immediately after tonight." Xiao Manli patted Xiao Yeci’s back.
Xiao Yeci felt something was wrong. "What did you just do?"
Xiao Manli said in surprise, "What’s wrong? Can’t your elder sister even touch you?"
...
「Li Banfeng returned to Xiaoyao Lodge.」
He instructed Luo Zhengnan to intensify the investigation into the Chase the Light Group.
Just as Li Banfeng was about to contact Light Bulb, Xiao Yeci suddenly arrived at Xiaoyao Lodge.
"Brother Seven, could I invite you to dinner tonight?" Xiao Yeci asked cautiously.
Li Banfeng was taken aback, then nodded. "Sure. Who else have you invited?"
Xiao Yeci said, "Just the two of us. Is that alright, Brother Seven?"
Li Banfeng tilted his head, looking at Xiao Yeci.
Blushing, Xiao Yeci asked, "So, is it okay or not, Brother Seven?"
PS: Then what should she call him?