It was only until they had left the restaurant that Ye Ci finally let go of Liu Chang's arm, patting her on the shoulder, "Liu Chang, can you make it back home by yourself?"
Liu Chang still seemed to be in a daze. Despite hearing Ye Ci, she didn't respond for a long time.
Ye Ci looked at Liu Chang and sighed as she spoke, "Although I have decent gaming skills, I'm not an almighty god. Do you know how to rob a guild warehouse?"
Liu Chang shook her head.
"Me neither. Even though I seem to be stronger than most players, Liu Chang, you should know that I'm actually nothing more than just an ordinary player." Ye Ci bitterly smiled, "Of course, I can't do anything if you don't believe me."
"That's not it, it's not that I don't believe you." Liu Chang heard Ye Ci's words and finally relaxed, "I'm just worried about you. If you really were the culprit, it won't be an easy thing to settle now that you've provoked someone troublesome like Thousand Sunsets."
"I know that too, that's why even though he rebuked me so much on the forums, I didn't say a single word." Ye Ci narrowed her eyes before continuing, "The first reason was to help Dong Yin and Yi Cang out of trouble. Secondly, I can't afford to offend him any more further. He must have already been holding a grudge against me ever since I left the guild. If I were to argue with him, wouldn't that be shooting myself in the foot?"
Liu Chang saw sense in Ye Ci's words and completely believed her, sighing, "Haa, I just don't know what Dong Yin and Yi Cang were thinking, have their brains been submerged in water? How could they continue to interact with that man, and even..."
Ye Ci shook her head and smiled with a look of helplessness on her face, "Everyone has their own choices, you don't have to be so harsh on them."
Liu Chang bit her lip, speaking only after a period of time, "You, you're too soft hearted."
The duo then chatted for awhile, before each took their respective public transport and returned home.
The bus that Ye Ci got on had very few passengers. Finding a window seat, she had just sat down when she noticed Thousand Sunsets and the other three walk out from the restaurant. The quartet stood by the entrance, their conversation inaudible. Her lips curled up coldly and she wondered; Would they believe her words?
Probably, right?
They had better believe it. Even if they didn't believe it, they had better not make any reckless actions. She was... not in the mood.
The bus started moving. Ye Ci looked away and closed her eyes, erasing all traces of the cold cruelty from her lips. Returning home, everyone had already finished eating; her parents had gone out on a stroll, leaving three people in the house. Tan Polang, who still had the heart of a juvenile, immediately asked Ye Ci about the delicacies that she had eaten.
Ye Ci let out a long sigh before half-jokingly replying, "I went to eat my last meal."
"What?" Bai Mo and Tan Polang originally thought that she was joking. But after looking at her unsmiling expression, they couldn't help but be serious as well, going up to her to ask, "What do you mean by that?"
Ye Ci didn't hide anything from them, narrating the series of today's events to the duo, which caused them to grow anxious. Bai Mo furrowed his brows and looked at her, "Why didn't you call me?"
"Why should I call you?"
"To be your bodyguard? I don't mind to go being an extra"
Ye Ci smiled and waved her hand, "Enough, didn't I safely return? I didn't intend to tell you two about this, but since the both of you already know what happened, I can't hide it. Be careful from now on, don't be careless."
"Got it." The two naturally understood the importance of this issue and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
The days passed by like flowing water, and the date for the trio's next school term drew even closer. The gaming cabin that Ye Ci had bought for Tan Polang had finally made it into the home with Ye Nantian and Zuo Xiaolan's arrival, which caused Tan Polang to almost jump about and burst out singing in joy. However, it wasn't long before the start of the new semester, which would restrict him from playing at any time. Therefore, he can be said to be rather pitiful.
These days were peaceful, so peaceful that it was rather unsettling. Numerous conflicting emotions filled Ye Ci's heart. On one hand, she was hoping for something to happen, while on the other, she hoped that it would continue to be peaceful and for nothing to happen at all.
Finally, one night before she was about to leave her home and return to school, her phone rang.
The number on the phone belonged to Dong Yin. Ye Ci became distracted as she stared at the phone's flashing screen. Even after it stopped flashing, she still didn't return to her senses. However, Dong Yin seemed to be stubborn and she soon called again, repeatedly. In the end Zuo Xiaolan, who was sitting in the living room, couldn't stand it anymore, so she raised her voice and yelled, "Ye Ci, what are you doing? That phone has been ringing for half an hour now. Are you going to answer it or not? If you aren't, then turn the phone off!"
At her mother's yell, Ye Ci finally returned to her senses. She couldn't help but grumble. Did she have to exaggerate things like that? This phone hasn't been ringing for half an hour, it has been ringing for 2 to 3 times at most. Despite her griping, she answered the call after releasing a long sigh.
Dong Yin probably didn't expect Ye Ci to pick up the phone. When she heard Ye Ci's voice from the receiver, she was stunned.
"Hello?" Ye Ci didn't know if the other party was still there, so she slightly increased her volume, indicating to the other side that she had already picked up the phone.
"Hello." Dong Yin seemed to have returned to her senses, a slight hint of panic in her voice, "I'm here, I'm here."
"What is it?" Ye Ci felt that she had nothing much to say to Dong Yin right now, so she may as well just be frank about it.
"I-its nothing."
Hearing Dong Yin's weak-sounding voice, a trace of ridicule crept onto the corners of Ye Ci's mouth, "Did you call to ask if you can give Thousand Sunsets my address? If that's the case, you don't have to ask, it's your decision."
"That's not it, it's not." Dong Yin heard Ye Ci's accusations and immediately spoke up in denial while sniffling, sounding extremely agitated, "It's really not, Ye Ci, listen to me, he didn't ask that."
Ye Ci snorted in clear disbelief.
"I-I just called today to say that I'm sorry."
"Oh?" Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.
"That day over dinner, it was because of me..."
"Alright, Dong Yin, there's nothing right or wrong between us. I'm not blaming you, really, it's just that... don't call me next time, it'll be detrimental for your relationship with him."
"Little Ci..."
"What?"
"Nothing..."
Hearing Dong Yin's weak voice, Ye Ci couldn't help but feel angry and frowned, "Then I'm hanging up." With that, she threw her phone onto the bed and buried her face in the blankets.
How irritating.
The one thing she hated the most was dealing with these damned interpersonal relationships.