Turns out Ye Zhibai was the one with the narrowest perspective.

Had it even been half an hour since Ye Zhiyun sent the maid out to buy a phone?

Probably not.

—And there she was, staring out the window at her shiny, speechless drone friend.

And now, a pristine, brand-new phone box sat safely in Ye Zhibai’s little hands.

Sacred!!

“……”

Ye Zhibai held the box as if it were some kind of treasure!

There was no hint of surprise in her eyes, but inside, her thoughts were in turmoil.

Th-this… isn’t this the Pineapple 14 I wouldn’t even have dared dream of owning in my previous life?!

It costs almost five figures… the latest model… This thing is ridiculous!!

Ye Zhiyun thought it made sense that Ye Zhibai was just sitting there, motionless, looking around. After all, her older sister didn’t know how to use a phone.

So, thoughtfully, she opened the package for Ye Zhibai and put in the newly activated SIM card. Then she placed the brand-new white phone back in her hands.

“All set, Sis. I don’t think you’ve quite gotten the hang of using it yet… You know how to use things besides the map, right? I can show you. Anyway, give it a try. I’ve connected you to the Wi-Fi, though you probably don’t know what Wi-Fi means either… Um, just take a look for now! I’m going to call someone. I’ll be right back.”

Who are you looking down on?!

I’m a modern young woman with ambition! How could I not know how to use a phone?!

Go take care of whatever you need to.

Nothing can stop me from getting a feel for the Pineapple 14 now.

Except…

“Sis?” Ye Zhiyun called out, her voice full of meaning.

“Hm?”

“You’re holding on to me like this… I can’t get out… Hehe… Do you not want me to leave?”

“……”

Only then did Ye Zhibai realize.

She was actually reaching out and holding on to the hem of Ye Zhiyun’s clothes…?

Ye Zhibai felt her macho pride take a direct hit!

She snatched her hand back as if she’d been shocked. Her mind was full of disbelief.

What… was I doing just now?

In her previous life, she’d been a man who faced every hardship on his own. She’d never given in to life, not even at the very end. And relying on a woman? Much less one she’d only just met?

This wasn’t right!

Ye Zhiyun smiled with satisfaction, then sat back down beside Ye Zhibai and gently explained everything.

Her long black hair brushed against Ye Zhibai’s cheek. It tickled.

“You’ll be fine on your own for a little while, Sis… I know you’re afraid of being lonely, but… I need to call Father now. He doesn’t know you’ve woken up yet. Ever since your accident, Father’s aged so much. Well… I suppose it wouldn’t make much difference if I didn’t tell him, but it doesn’t feel right not to, does it?”

Of course it wouldn’t feel right!

But… Father?

There’d been no such extravagant word in Ye Zhibai’s family tree in her previous life.

I have parents in this life?!

A little nervously, she slowly loosened her fingers from Ye Zhiyun’s clothes.

“Go ahead. I’ll be fine…”

“Mm-hm. I’ll be right back.”

Ye Zhiyun noticed the faint relief on Ye Zhibai’s ice-cold cheek and finally felt reassured. She got up and stepped out of the hospital room for a while.

The moment the hospital room door closed…

Ye Zhibai immediately covered her expressionless little face with both hands!!

Then… she kicked off her slippers and rolled back and forth across the hospital bed!!

“How embarrassing… How embarrassing… I can’t believe this useless hand… I’m done with it… Cut it off… Cut… I can’t, sob…”

The words were full of “regret,” but coming from Ye Zhibai in her completely calm voice, they somehow sounded amusing.

After rolling back and forth three times,

she was tired.

Lying flat on her back and staring at the ceiling, she finally figured out why she’d reached out and grabbed the hem of Ye Zhiyun’s clothes.

It wasn’t because she had feelings for Ye Zhiyun… They’d only just met, after all.

Maybe Ye Zhibai had just wanted someone to lean on.

She’d just been hit and killed by a car, then reborn in a hospital. She was terrified of the unknown and knew nothing about the place she was in.

All of that made her reluctant to be alone in such a spacious room.

Yun’er was right… Maybe I really am afraid of being lonely.

After all… she’d spent her previous life all alone.

She’d gotten used to it—and grown afraid of it, too.

But she shouldn’t be this fragile. Was it because of this girl’s body?

Ye Zhibai covered her pretty little face with both hands again. They landed with a soft smack.

Remembering Ye Zhiyun’s indulgent smile from earlier made Ye Zhibai feel unbearably embarrassed!

Ah… whatever.

Ye Zhibai slowly sat up again, then drew her feet onto the bed. She hugged her knees and curled into a ball, her silver hair draped around half her body. This felt kind of safe…

Actually, she needed to correct herself. Even if she didn’t have any particular feelings for Ye Zhiyun, Ye Zhibai did like the younger sister she’d just met.

Though sometimes she seemed a little… perverted?

But at least she’d made her oatmeal porridge, given her Thousand-Year Mountain water to drink, and even bought her a Pineapple 14.

Ye Zhibai would remember this kindness.

When she got the chance, she’d repay it as best she could.

But for now…

Ye Zhibai had something she needed to check.

Now that she had her own phone, there was a lot she could do.

Ye Zhibai slowly brought the phone in front of her. Ye Zhiyun had already activated it.

The home screen was completely bare, with no extra apps.

Ye Zhibai searched the app store and immediately downloaded QQ.

I didn’t have anything in my previous life… but I did have a QQ account.

There were still five Q Coins on it from an old top-up I’d made by accident. I can’t just throw those away!

Ye Zhibai remembered her account details.

After she entered her password, a message appeared saying the login device had changed and needed verification.

Ye Zhibai looked through the verification options and ruled out phone verification first.

That old phone… was probably smashed to pieces when I got hit.

She could go to a phone carrier’s store to get a replacement SIM, but there was no guarantee that would work.

She’d get a replacement SIM, give them her name, and the employee would check the system and find her status listed as “deceased.”

Wouldn’t that freak the poor employee out!

So that left security-question verification.

Luckily, Ye Zhibai still remembered the security question she’d set up in middle school.

She remembered it perfectly.

—Who is your best friend?

The answer was: Air.

Ah… such an innocent answer from middle school. A little childish, and a little…

Sad.

Sorry. Even now, I’m still waiting quietly.

It was pretty sad, but at least the security answer was correct.

The screen showed that verification had succeeded and the new device had been authorized. The page began loading.

(Note: Even if your phone is turned off, QQ will still show you as online for a few hours, so logging in won’t freak anyone out~)

After a burst of astonishingly fast loading, Ye Zhibai found herself on the main chat screen.

Her old profile picture—a silver-haired anime girl—sat proudly in the upper-left corner.

Heh… Now I really am a silver-haired anime girl. That’s wild.

Her ID was A White Leaf.

Ahem… Don’t ask why her ID was so poetic. Back when she was in her chuuni phase, she’d named herself “A White Night.” Then, in college, she decided that was way too cringey and changed it on a whim to “A White Leaf.”

It worked pretty well. Not tacky, and kind of cool.

That familiar feeling… My QQ! I’m back!

Ye Zhibai went through her messages from top to bottom.

They were mostly group chats she’d joined in college.

Aside from a few announcements the student counselor had posted in the main group, Ye Zhibai hadn’t received any messages about the car accident.

That made sense… No one was going to message the QQ account of someone who’d died. Besides, Ye Zhibai had been so busy working part-time that she hadn’t made many connections with her classmates, and rarely went to group events.

Ah… group events cost money. I really couldn’t afford them.

The only message that really caught Ye Zhibai’s eye was one sent by someone saved as “Sister Liang” a little after nine that morning, before the accident.

“Xiao Bai? Do you have class this afternoon?”

Ye Zhibai opened the chat, and her expression suddenly grew even more somber.

Maybe she’d wanted to reply…

But everyone knows that when the dead reply to your messages, they’ll scare you half to death.

I guess I won’t make it to class this afternoon.

A trace of sadness passed through Ye Zhibai’s eyes.

Then she quietly deleted the message from her inbox.

Some things, some people… If you’re meant to meet again, you will. If not, it’s better to let the past go.

Ye Zhibai truly believed that.

All the messages fell silent.

It was as if all of QQ had passed away along with the Ye Zhibai from her previous life.

And yet, one group chat at the very top…

was still buzzing nonstop.

—Anime and ACG Fan Chat.

It was a small group Ye Zhibai had happened to find and join. They talked about anime and cosplay, and there weren’t many members.

At the time, she’d thought she’d struck gold.

Everyone was fun to talk to, and the group was a place for anime fans to chat.

Whenever work got stressful, Ye Zhibai used to vent and complain in the group.

It was only noon.

Naptime wasn’t even over, and the message count was already 99+ again.

See? They’re the only ones who are actually this active!

Let’s see what you’re all talking about.

Ye Zhibai lightly tapped the screen and opened the group chat.

At once, she saw someone with an “I Love Manroa-Sensei” profile picture and the group owner’s golden badge frantically tagging her and using QQ’s nudge feature.

“Where’s Yezi? Where’s Yezi?! Divers need to come up for air—show yourself! I told you this morning to check out the latest episode of the new anime. It was insanely hype! Did you watch it?”