Chapter 6 Let's elope! I'll steal electric bikes to support...

An excited heart, trembling hands.

Shen Lingyue gripped the visiting card tightly, so tightly that the edge of the hard card was wrinkled.

She could hardly believe her eyes, opening and closing them repeatedly until she was sure she wasn't seeing things.

Yan Yi!

It's her handwriting!

Yan Yi's maternal grandfather was a renowned calligrapher and painter in China. Yan Yi learned calligraphy from him from a young age and her handwriting is exceptionally beautiful.

She and Yan Yi used to secretly pass notes during self-study periods, which she carefully kept hidden in her notebook, occasionally taking them out to savor. She would never mistake this handwriting! Shen Lingyue suddenly raised her head, staring intently at Liu Mama, her tone urgent: "Who sent this note?!"

Startled by the woman's dark eyes staring at her, Mrs. Liu forgot what she was going to say and could only stammer, "Yes, it's Miss Zhou."

Shen Lingyue clutched the invitation as if she had lost her soul, "Miss Zhou, Yan Yi... Zhou Yan Yi!"

Liu's mother looked to Zhao Lan for help.

The third young lady is so happy that she's started talking nonsense.

"Moon, Moon?"

Zhao Lan called out several times, pulling Shen Lingyue back to reality.

She tried to straighten her expression, but couldn't control her slightly trembling fingertips. She forced a strange smile and said, "Mother, Yan... I mean, Miss Zhou, why would she send me an invitation?"

Zhao Lan said casually, "It's nothing. I just asked Liu Mama to take a gift to visit Madam Zhou."

Shen Lingyue reacted quickly, "Is that the stepmother who spread rumors everywhere that Miss Zhou was disobedient and unfilial, and who even drove her to the estate?"

For some reason, Zhao Lan suddenly detected a hint of murderous intent in her words...

“Exactly.” Zhao Lan nodded and coughed lightly. “You and Miss Zhou will be living under the same roof in the future, so our two families should also start visiting each other.”

Liu's mother was eager to praise her, "Third Miss, Madam is only doing this for your own good."

Look, now that they've handed her this ready-made leverage, Miss Zhou will have no choice but to obediently bow her head and come to their door to submit, won't she?

Shen Lingyue released her grip, placed the invitation on the table, carefully smoothed out the creases at the edges, and looked up at Zhao Lan with a bright smile.

"Thank you, Mother! I'll be waiting for her to come to our house tomorrow!"

*

The next day, before dawn, no one in the mansion had gotten up yet, and the huge residence was deep and quiet.

Qingchan remembered that Shen Lingyue's tooth powder had run out, so she tiptoed into the room, intending to quickly grab a new box to replace it before her mistress got up.

However, as soon as she entered the room, she saw a tall, thin figure standing in the dark room, with disheveled hair and a pale face...

!!

Qingchan almost screamed, but reason made her look closely, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her back.

"Miss!" she whispered, her voice trembling with lingering fear. "You scared me to death! What are you doing?"

Qingchan took two more steps inside and saw that the room was in complete disarray. The wardrobe door was wide open, and the clothes inside had been rummaged out and piled up haphazardly on the small couch. The dressing table was also filled with all sorts of dazzling jewelry.

She clutched her chest and muttered, "Anyone who didn't know better would think our house had been ransacked..."

"Qingchan, I can't sleep."

Shen Lingyue's voice was soft as she picked up two pieces of clothing and held them up against herself, asking, "Which one do you think looks better, this one or this one?"

Qingchan suddenly realized.

Miss must want to thoroughly deflate Miss Zhou's arrogance, so she must dress up in a dazzling manner and make her look like dirt!

Her gaze swept across the tatami mat full of dresses, and she quickly picked out a set to match.

"How about this outfit? It was just made last month, and I haven't worn it yet. Lady Jin from Qianzhen Textile knew that you had received a marriage bestowed by the Emperor, so she specially turned down other jobs to make it just for you. Look at the workmanship, the color scheme, the embroidery..."

Shen Lingyue nodded, "Then let's go with this one."

She couldn't fall asleep in bed last night, her mind filled with that visiting card.

Yan Yi's handwriting seemed to come alive, the crooked strokes turning into countless tiny insects that frantically burrowed into her mind, making Shen Lingyue both expectant and timid.

Could it really be Yan Yi? Or is it just a coincidence of having the same name?

But she transmigrated here after dying from playing games. Yan Yi has always been a health enthusiast who goes to bed early and gets up early. Could she also be so unlucky?

Besides, according to the laws of the transmigration novel world, one unlucky girl like her is enough. There's no need to drag another one down with her, right?

It's Yan Yi, not Yan Yi; it's Yan Yi, not Yan Yi...

Shen Lingyue tossed and turned in bed for half the night until it was getting light outside. Then, as if possessed, she started rummaging through drawers and trying on clothes.

Just as Qingchan pressed her down to sit in front of the dressing table, she suddenly exclaimed.

"Miss, you've got dark circles under your eyes from staying up so late."

How can this possibly outshine Miss Zhou?

She suggested, "It's still early, shall I mix some pearl powder paste for you to apply? I guarantee your face will be whiter and smoother than a peeled lychee!"

She shook her head again, "No, no, no, just applying pearl cream isn't enough. I'll have the kitchen boil some water quickly so I can take a petal bath and smell wonderful all over!"

Shen Lingyue didn't understand why the cicada suddenly lit up, but she was indeed a little tired after staying up all night, so she let it do as it pleased.

After all this fuss, by morning, with the combined efforts of Qingchan and Shuangxu, Shen Lingyue, dressed in new clothes, with an exquisite updo and adorned with jewels, sat down in the small reception hall, exuding an air of nobility.

The solid gold hairpin was a bit heavy. Just as Shen Lingyue was about to lower her head, Qingchan poked her in the lower back.

"...Sit up straight, you can't lose your momentum!"

Shen Lingyue: ?

But soon, as the old woman at the second gate reported that Miss Zhou had entered the main gate and was heading towards the backyard, her heart began to pound uncontrollably. She craned her neck and stared intently at the entrance.

Until a tall, slender figure parted the weeping willows in front of the gate and slowly walked into the courtyard.

Shen Lingyue could no longer hold back and flew out like a cannonball.

The speed was so fast that Qingchan, who was about to display the demeanor of a head maid, was stunned on the spot.

...How could such a grown woman suddenly disappear?

Shen Lingyue ran out quickly. At that moment, she could neither see nor hear anything. Her gaze and mind were entirely focused on the person who was walking towards her with slightly quickened steps.

It was as if the whole world was still except for them.

Yan Yi felt a blur before her eyes, and the next second, her hands were tightly gripped by the girl opposite her.

The moment our skin touched, all the doubts and confusion of the past few days, the sleepless nights, were answered in an instant.

The two stood in the middle of the courtyard, holding hands tightly. They looked at each other without saying a word, yet it seemed as if they had said everything.

A wave of sourness shot from her nose to the top of her head. Shen Lingyue blinked, trying hard not to cry. She looked directly at the girl opposite her and solemnly began to speak slowly:

"...Makka Pakka?"

Zhou Yanyi's smile froze slightly, and after a long while, she said helplessly, "Yigubigu."

Honestly, it's been years since I've used such a childish code word.

Shen Lingyue's eyes burst with wild joy, and the tears that had been hanging in the corners of her eyes finally fell down in a burst of excitement.

She held onto Yan Yi's hand tightly, refusing to let go, as if she had lost the ability to speak, "How could you... I... we..."

Yan Yi was able to maintain a bit more composure than her, especially in front of the gatekeeper and the two maids who had chased after her, not forgetting that the two were still mortal enemies.

She grasped Shen Lingyue's hand in return, and gently scratched her palm twice with her slender fingertips.

"Miss Shen San."

She spoke slowly and deliberately, trying her best to control her slightly trembling voice, "Let's go inside and talk about it."

Shen Lingyue snapped out of her daze and nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say."

She pulled Yan Yi forward, circling around her while refusing to let go of her hand, just like a lost puppy that had finally found its owner, afraid that she would loosen the leash again.

When Qingchan, who had chased after them, saw this scene, her eyes widened in disbelief.

Miss, what happened to the promise of outshining everyone? Why are you behaving so... obsequiously?

At this point, Shen Lingyue completely disregarded everyone else. She pulled Yan Yi into the bedroom, then blocked the doorway and solemnly said, "You all go back to your own rooms and stay there. You are not allowed to come in without my permission."

"Miss, the tea and snacks..."

Before Qingchan could finish speaking, the door closed, followed by a click.

Not only did they close it, they even locked it from the inside?!

Qingchan looked at Shuangxu for help: "Oh no, will those two start fighting inside? Should we tell Madam?"

After waiting for quite a while, I finally saw Shuangxu slowly shake her head.

"Won't."

"—Even if a fight breaks out, Miss will win."

Qingchan thought about it and it seemed to make sense.

"No need to serve her anymore," she said, pulling Shuangxu along as they walked back, muttering to herself, "Madam Zhou is too cruel. Look how hungry Miss Zhou is! I was shocked when I entered the courtyard; I thought some clothes hanger had come to life..."

In the room, Shen Lingyue held Yan Yi's thin, bony face in her hands, tears streaming down her face with heartache.

“Baby, why have you become so thin? Did your wicked stepmother deliberately frame you, beat you, scold you, not give you food, and even make you wash clothes by the river?”

Yan Yi was both touched and amused, and wiped away her tears as if she were a child.

"I'm fine. It's just that the original owner of this body was abandoned at the manor and left unattended. She had a fever for three days, and then I came here."

Yan Yi's situation was different from Shen Lingyue's. She had received the original owner's complete memories, so she knew her situation as soon as she transmigrated. She crawled out of the room with her last breath and found the only people on the estate who could possibly save her, the people left behind by her birth mother, and obtained food, water and medicine.

She thought she would have to stay at the manor for a while longer before she could find a way back to the capital to confirm whether "Shen Lingyue" was her best friend, Xiaoyue.

Unexpectedly, her stepmother suddenly sent someone over yesterday, said some sarcastic things, and then brought her back.

Yan Yi then realized that the Shen family had been involved, which confirmed her suspicions. She quickly wrote a visiting card and deliberately tested the waters with her own handwriting.

Gently wiping away the tear stains from the corners of Shen Lingyue's eyes with her fingertips, she looked at her best friend's clean and white face and felt a sense of relief.

"I'm relieved that you haven't suffered much here."

Shen Lingyue blinked, then burst into even louder sobs.

She hugged Yan Yi tightly, sobbing, "Look how thin you've become, and you still have time to worry about me..."

The bones in my back are digging into me!

Yan Yi was completely hugged by her and couldn't move. She could only pat her back to comfort her, "It's nothing, you'll recover if you eat more. I just... I'm so glad to see you're still alive."

As she finished speaking, her voice choked with emotion.

She still feels like she's dreaming—the person who was excitedly discussing where to go on vacation with her the night before last, received a devastating phone call the next day.

How could her best friend, who's so big, energetic, and could eat three plates of beef, just...

Their last words were the most ordinary of all: "Goodnight, kisses."

Shen Lingyue's sobs faltered, and a sense of guilt welled up inside her for no apparent reason.

Yan Yi had no idea that after saying goodnight, she stayed up all night playing games, and ended up killing herself...

In order to avoid being scolded, she decided to strike first.

Shen Lingyue released Yan Yi and looked her up and down: "Let's not talk about me anymore. How did you get here?"

Yan Yi was silent for two seconds, then shook her head with a blank expression.

"I don't know either. I woke up... and here I am."

Shen Lingyue stared at her, then sighed deeply, "Then we two are really unlucky!"

She clung to Yan Yi, refusing to let go, and whined like a child who had found a protector: "There's no air conditioning, no WiFi, no subway, no toilet, no sanitary napkins... only this wicked arranged marriage!"

Fortunately, she now has Yan Yi.

So it's not that it's unbearable?

Shen Lingyue grabbed Yan Yi's hand, "What should we do? We're getting married in two months. Should we run away from the wedding?"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, and with a wave of her hand, she exclaimed, "Let's elope! I'll steal electric scooters to support you!"

A note from the author:

----------------------

We finally meet! Hooray!

This chapter can be said to be the original intention of me writing this article. As a modern person, I really can't imagine how I would live if I traveled to ancient times... The convenience of life is only one aspect. More importantly, as an "outsider", I cannot get a sense of recognition. Perhaps Liu Zi would have a similar feeling in a foreign country.

Fortunately, Yuezai and Yanyi are not alone. [heart emoji]