He held the candy tightly in his palm, his thin lips curving into a faint arc. Those captivating peach blossom eyes flickered with a crystalline glow.
Shi Wei ate the pancake casually and asked, "Will you be selling pancakes tomorrow?"
"No, it's not profitable."
Yu Zhi shook her head and squinted slightly as she looked across the road. Although she was just here to scout the location, she thought of earning some money along the way to buy candy.
Hearing this, Shi Wei said nothing. He lowered his gaze, seemingly lost in thought.
"Zhi."
Old Sir Xu called out to her at that moment. Leaning on a cane, he stood up and walked to her: "I need to go home and take my medicine now. Will you come tomorrow?"
Yu Zhi hesitated for a moment. She had already scoped out the area well enough; there wasn't really a need to return.
But after a brief moment of uncertainty, she eventually nodded, "Yes." After all, there were still a few days left before school started, and she had nothing else to do.
Xu Zhen smiled with satisfaction. "Alright then, I'll come by tomorrow to chat with you again."
Yu Zhi's lips curved faintly. "Okay."
The three members of the Xu Family were prepared to leave, and Shi Wei no longer had a reason to stay either.
After a simple goodbye, Yu Zhi also rode off on her tricycle.
**
Downtown, inside a certain apartment.
Yu Zhi effortlessly rode the tricycle into the parking lot and then took the elevator up to the ninth floor.
This was the place where she had been living ever since she arrived in this world, while the dilapidated house in town had merely served as a place to stay for one day when Yu Baisheng arranged for someone to pick her up.
The ninth floor had only two apartments, and Yu Zhi's was the one on the left.
Upon entering, she stood at the entryway and changed into a pair of blue star-pattern slippers before calmly walking to the window and pulling the curtain aside.
Sunlight filtered in through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a faint glow across the room.
The slightly dazzling light fell upon her face; she squinted her eyes, and her long, curled eyelashes quivered momentarily.
Yu Zhi stood by the window for a long while until the sound of a text message notification snapped her out of her daze.
She took out her phone and opened the message, where a few lines of bold black text greeted her eyes:
"Your card ending in 5196 received a deposit of 2,000,000.00 yuan on October 3rd, 13:12 via mobile banking. Current balance: 89,981,200.96 yuan. [XX Bank]"
Yu Zhi glanced at the screen expressionlessly, then turned off the phone, poured herself a glass of water, and walked toward the door with a combination lock.
This room was roughly forty square meters in size. On the left side were three computers, while on the right side were piles of ornate boxes and porcelain items. Some of the boxes were partially open, revealing scrolls inside.
Near the window were five easels covered with white cloth. In the middle was a beanbag chair and a glass tea table holding five or six porcelain bottles of varying sizes.
Yu Zhi walked over to the computers, pulled out a chair, and sat down. After pressing the power button, the screens of the three computers flickered on simultaneously.
She clicked on the desktop icon marked with two crossed swords and sent a message to the contact named "Rattlesnake": [Funds have been received]
Almost instantly, a bold black-font message popped up: [Are you free to talk?]
Yu Zhi raised an eyebrow and activated the voice transformer before sending over a voice call invitation.
The other party accepted quickly, and a mechanically synthesized male voice sounded, "Are you in the Imperial City lately?"
Yu Zhi answered concisely, "Yes. Speak directly."
The person chuckled, yet after the mechanical processing, the laughter sounded eerily strange.
Within seconds, he became serious again and asked, "Have you thought about the matter I mentioned last time?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Zhi's fingertips paused as she clicked the mouse.
She leaned back into the chair, sinking into it, as her gaze fell on her nails. Her tone was indifferent: "Still not giving up?"
Rattlesnake couldn't discern her intent and directly asked, "What do you think?"
Yu Zhi rejected him outright: "No."
The other party fell silent for a moment, let out a soft sigh, but didn't try to persuade her further.
"Alright, I'll go decline on your behalf."
Yu Zhi responded casually with a hum. Before he could say anything else, she hung up the voice call first.
She walked over to the beanbag chair, took a porcelain bottle with little flower carvings on it, and lazily fiddled with it for a while before leaning back into the chair and drifting off to sleep.
By the time Yu Zhi returned to the Yu Family residence, it was already close to eight o'clock. The grand hall was empty, with only the crystal lamp still lit.
As she approached the spiral staircase, a soft and melodious piano tune drifted down from upstairs.
Before she reached the door of the music room, it was opened from the inside by someone.
"Little Zhi, you're back," Yuan Li greeted her with a smile.
As she spoke, the piano music ceased.
Yu Zhi responded indifferently and was about to head back to her room when Yu Xinman stopped her.
"Sister."
Yu Xinman ran up to her and affectionately linked arms with her, "I've just learned a new piece. Can you listen to it for me?"
She was dressed in a white lace gown, her diamond necklace glimmering against her neck. Her delicate, charming face radiated a sweet smile, resembling a princess stepping out of a castle.
"I don't understand piano."
Yu Zhi withdrew her arm, took a step back, and gazed at her with an aloofness that kept others at a distance.