Chapter 9
"Sorry to keep you waiting, darlings. Work call—had to take it." After another ten minutes, Auntie Ye finally hurried back to the ticket gate, offering an apologetic smile.
"It's fine, Auntie. Sis and I poked around the gift shop and bought a couple of things."
Yan Huan rose and handed her the second cup of Banana Sweet he'd just bought.
"Banana flavour—lovely! Thanks, Xiao Huan."
Auntie Ye accepted the drink with a grin; when she noticed it was lightly sweetened and ice-free, her smile deepened.
Behind her, Ye Shiyu sipped her own Banana Sweet, gaze flicking across Yan Huan's back. She glanced at the identical cup in her hand and seed to realise sothing.
She looked again at the curve of his smile and the extra drink he was holding.
She slowed her sipping and stepped to her mother's side, silently taking the parasol.
They could go in now.
"Welco to the Linn Aquarium. Through advanced marine simulation we present a rich variety of sea life to our guests."
"The aquarium houses and protects over a thousand species—tens of thousands of individuals—and maintains ongoing cultural, economic and academic exchanges with the wider community."
Guided by the recorded female voice, Yan Huan and the others drifted into the vast hall.
The space sloped downward, and an enormous underwater tunnel unfurled before them.
Beyond the glass, seawater glowed a deep sapphire under distant lights, scattering rippling patterns across the walkway.
Above, shoals of fish floated like shifting clouds of shadow against a blue sky.
Yan Huan drank his smoothie and hopped from one strip of light to the next, playing the childhood ga of "never step on the cracks".
"It's beautiful," Auntie Ye said, folding the parasol and touching her cheek. "I rember filming a movie here once."
Yan Huan turned, surprised. "A movie? Does Ye International do entertainnt now? I thought the business was all—"
"—semiconductors and green energy?"
He nodded. Ye International was famous in Linn as the country's semiconductor giant and green-energy powerhouse. Either field alone would be staggering; Ye owned both. Yan Huan privately crowned them the ultimate ga-clan of this world.
The high-end chips in every gadget Hashimoto the tech otaku bought were stamped with Ye's logo. When new gear dropped, Hashimoto had to stay up, climb the firewall and fight the ti-zone wars to snag them on Longguo websites.
Most of the electric cars gliding through Linn's streets ran on Ye-supplied batteries; the charging network was built with Ye components.
Yesterday, when Yan Huan had joked about "adopting a rich mother," he hadn't been kidding. The smiling woman in front of him was a bona-fide CEO. Whether she was domineering or not remained to be seen.
All he had to do was hug her thigh and say, "Mom, I'm done working so hard," and life would be sweet indeed.
"That's the company line," Auntie Ye laughed. "But I said 'I' invested. Personally, I've backed so interesting dia start-ups. One of them ca to Linn to shoot an arthouse film called Love After Dusk. Won a minor international award."
"Impressive."
"Not really. I just wrote the cheque. And the lead actress was rather pretty—Bai—"
"Bai Yi?"
Before Auntie Ye could finish, the na slipped out of Yan Huan's mouth.
Ye Shiyu glanced at him from behind her mother. Auntie Ye's mory clicked.
"That's right—Bai Yi. Is she famous here?"
"Sort of. The surna's rare, and she's a first-year at our high-school, so people know her."
Especially after yesterday, when she'd lapsed into her trademark Indifference and doodled all over Zhou Bin's face in the exam room.
Auntie Ye turned to Ye Shiyu in delight. "Wow, Shiyu, you'll be classmates with a star!"
Ye Shiyu gave a perfunctory nod, attention already stolen by the sea creatures around her.
Auntie Ye hid a smile and followed her daughter, letting Yan Huan enjoy the scenery as well.
Click!
Yan Huan snapped a photo of a passing shark and posted it to the student-council managent group.
Far Moon Student-Council Managent (5)
Yan Huan: "Fish. Big fish. Tiger-striped shark."
*cat-shake-head sticker*
A mont later replies bubbled up.
Sakuramiya Hitomi: "That's a whitetip reef shark, not a tiger-striped catshark. President."
Yua Lina: "Prez is at the aquarium? What made you go there?"
Hashimoto: "@Yua Lina. Aquariums are classic date spots. Bet he's with a girl."
Hashimoto: *[mischievous grin]*
Yua Lina: *[mischievous grin]*
Ashley: *[mischievous grin]*
Ashley, chair of the disciplinary committee—now all five managent mbers were present.
Yan Huan: *[smile]*
He broke the pattern.
Sakuramiya Hitomi: *[smile]*
The vice-president was copying him again, oblivious to implications.
Hashimoto: "Vice-President Sakuramiya, don't ss up the formation!"
Hashimoto: "@Yan Huan. Confess—did I guess right?!"
Yan Huan: "Out with Auntie who visited yesterday—old friend of my parents."
Hashimoto: "Seriously?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi: *[smile]*
Yan Huan locked the screen. Hashimoto spent too much ti on dating-sims; he could spot tropes blindfolded.
Still, most guys wouldn't co here alone on a weekend.
He glanced at Ye Shiyu beside him.
She had reached the middle of the tunnel, where the wide two-lane passage widened into display tanks filled with smaller sea creatures—mainly jellyfish.
The tunnel lighting was dim; only the tanks glowed, outlining the jellyfish like breathing stars pulsing across the night sky.
That starlight drifted and settled within Ye Shiyu's dark eyes, turning them into a living galaxy.
She really loves jellyfish, Yan Huan thought, but didn't disturb her reverie. Instead he looked for Auntie Ye.
He turned—just as Auntie Ye raised her phone.
"Xiao Huan, say cheese."
"Auntie Ye?"
He blinked. She lowered the phone and admired the shot.
"Xiao Huan, that fra could be straight out of a movie."
"Huh?"
He shuffled over and peered at the screen.
Whatever model she used, the focus was sharp despite the dim light. Ripples from above lit the side of his face, giving him the look of a protagonist searching for soone in a crowd.
"Did you turn on beauty mode, Auntie?"
She pouted and tapped his head lightly. "Just a filter. Silly boy, don't you know what you look like?"
It was only a joke. Yan Huan never took selfies and had no feel for these things. Still, anyone who rarely saw photos of himself would find the image a little unfamiliar.
"Look how handso you are. You'd be even better smiling—your smile is lovely. Next ti I invest in a film, I'll cast you for sure."
She saved the picture with satisfaction.
Before junior high Yan Huan had almost signed with a Linn talent agency as a child star.
Back when he was clawing his way out of the orphanage in South District, he'd tried everything—especially when the place reeked of cigarettes and cheap weed and the nearby high-school was basically hosting a daily STD battle-royale.
Talk about it too much and you just cry.
How did that song go again?
"A kid with no mom is like a little weed..."
History he preferred not to revisit. Yan Huan looked at Ye Lan, who was rubbing her chin while puzzling over cara angles, and said on impulse,
"Auntie, want to take a picture of you and Sis Shiyu?"
"Oh? Sure! Shiyu, co here for a photo!"
At the sound of her na Ye Shiyu finally pulled her gaze away from the jellyfish in the tank and turned her head. "Coming."
Ye Lan patted the empty space beside her, beckoning her daughter, then started to hand the phone to Yan Huan.
Half-way through the motion she snatched it back.
Yan Huan watched, bemused, as she closed the cara app, opened a beauty-filter one, tapped the settings a couple of tis, and only then passed it over.
"Gotta turn on the beauty mode."
Yan Huan privately thought it was unnecessary, but he went along with Auntie Ye's whim.
He positioned Ye Lan and Ye Shiyu where the light was kindest, then squatted in front of the glass so the angle would lengthen their legs. Passers-by noticed the impromptu shoot and politely paused, giving them the perfect mont.
Click.
Done.
In the shot Ye Shiyu stood straight, expression muted, while Ye Lan looped an arm through hers. By Yan Huan's modest standards it was a masterpiece.
He smiled, stood up, and delivered his verdict.
"Perfect."
Ye Lan stepped over to retrieve the phone and studied the image.
"Mm, not bad at all."
Just as Yan Huan turned to lead them onward, Ye Lan caught his sleeve and tugged him back beside Ye Shiyu.
"Co on, Xiao Huan. Stand next to Shiyu—I'll take one of you two."
"Huh?"
Yan Huan's face shifted; he glanced at Ye Shiyu.
She looked back, posture unchanged—permission granted.
He blinked and surrendered.
"Sure thing, Auntie."
He moved to Ye Shiyu's side. Without seeming to think about it, she shifted from arms-at-her-sides to hands loosely folded in front. A faint floral scent drifted from her hair.
Yan Huan was a couple of centitres taller; side by side they made a striking pair. He pasted on a smile. Ye Lan brightened, dipped into a half-crouch—CEO dignity forgotten—and started directing from the phone screen.
"A bit to the left—too far, back right a step. The light's turning you into ghosts."
Head lowered, Ye Shiyu inched her little black shoes closer to Yan Huan.
"Smile! Don't look so glum. Shiyu looks prettiest when she smiles—yes, like that."
Ye Shiyu pressed her lips together; the corners of her mouth trembled upward a fraction. At her mother's praise Yan Huan glanced over—and the fragile smile collapsed, leaving her face blank again.
...My fault.
Whatever. Photo ti.
First ever sibling shot.
"Okay, ready—cheese!"
"You two could be on the cover of a fashion magazine," Auntie Ye declared that evening, prodding at the image on her phone in a private booth of the upscale restaurant next to the aquarium. She'd only picked at her salad all day, but she'd studied the photo at least three tis since lunch.
On the screen a handso boy grinned at the cara, fingers flashing a V-sign, while the raven-haired girl beside him stood poised, hands folded elegantly over her stomach. Expressionless—but beautiful all the sa.
Yan Huan lifted his fork, gave a helpless smile. Auntie Ye had been reciting variations on "Look at my gorgeous kids" all afternoon: lunch at the aquarium, shopping at the neighbouring boutiques, now dinner.
Ye Shiyu ate with quiet grace, registering none of her mother's running comntary. Yet after a day together Yan Huan had learned she was listening; her feelings just rarely reached the surface. Only while watching jellyfish and labelling new clothes had her face softened a degree.
That afternoon Auntie Ye had picked out several outfits for both of them—spring shirts, long-sleeve jackets, and even a formal suit for Yan Huan. Far Moon Academy allowed casual wear most days, provided the school badge was visible. Every price tag made Yan Huan wince: the wages he'd lost while taking leave were a rounding error compared to this.
Dusk had fallen by the ti they finished dinner. Auntie Ye ssaged the driver; it was almost eight. Early spring nights were chilly—Ye Shiyu had already slipped on her new coat; Auntie Ye had borrowed one of hers. Only Yan Huan felt fine.
Auntie Ye squeezed his shoulder through his jacket. "Not cold, Xiao Huan?"
"I'm okay. Guess I'm used to the weather here."
"Nice—you feel all toasty through the fabric. Shiyu and I freeze at the drop of a hat."
At the word "toasty" Ye Shiyu's eyes flickered, probably recalling last night's uninvited hypnosis session.
Yan Huan's own thoughts drifted: What if the demon girl sneaks into my room again tonight? Last night had been a re warm-up—what would today bring? Ti to execute her plan to make Auntie Ye hate him?
Maybe lock the door and pretend to be comatose no matter how hard she knocks.
While he wrestled with these cheerful prospects, the sa black electric car that had delivered them that morning glided to the kerb. The young driver in a tailored suit stepped out, opened the boot, and reached for Yan Huan's shopping bags.
"I've got them, thanks," Yan Huan said, smiling. The woman flushed faintly at his profile, nodded, and slipped back behind the wheel.
"Thanks, Xiao Liu."
"No trouble at all, President Ye."
Seatbelts clicked; the driver flicked on the navigation, glanced at the mother-and-daughter bundle of coats, and started the heater. The car purred away.
Yan Huan leaned against the window and opened Plane on his phone. The mahjong group chat was pinging him again—Big Sis wanted him for another round. Tempting.
No, Yan Huan. Last term's self-scolding still rang in your ears. No more weekly mahjong marathons with the aunties.
While he agonised over his reply in the "Far Moon Mahjong Club" group, Ye Shiyu beside him lowered her eyes to her handbag. Sothing occurred to her; the corner of her mouth curved. She unzipped the bag, intending to fish out her little comfort item.
...
She rummaged once—nothing. Rummaged again. She hadn't opened the bag all day, had she? Could she have misrembered? Impossible. Her pupils shrank. She pulled out her phone, switched on the torch, and searched under the harsh white light.
The sudden glow caught Yan Huan's eye. He turned just in ti to see Ye Shiyu finish her second sweep of the small purse. Before he could ask, she raised her head, face suddenly cold, and spoke to the front seat.
"Mom, my thing is gone—the jellyfish keychain I bought this morning."
Yan Huan blinked, still processing. The car slowed abruptly and rolled to the shoulder of the road.
"Huh?"
Yan Huan steadied himself on the grab handle. As the car rolled to a gentle stop, both Ye Lan in the passenger seat and the driver twisted around, eyes widening in perfect sync at the girl whose aura was turning frost-cold.
They looked at each other, and in that shared glance Yan Huan could almost hear the sirens blaring in his ears.
Clearly, this wasn't their first Code-Ye-Shiyu Alert.
Inside the lukewarm car, Ye Shiyu pressed her lips together and asked softly, "May I go back and look for it?"
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