Chapter 151: She'll Never Do That to Me Again
Ye Zhen returned to the dormitory and brought out the suitcase she had packed long ago.
Of course, as her bodyguard, Zhao Mengde proactively reached out to help carry it downstairs.
"I really dislike Ye Fuli, but I feel like she genuinely likes you," Miss Zhao said with a straight face. "Aren't you going to consider it at all?"
Ye Zhen fell silent for a moment before shaking her head.
"I know she likes me, but I'm scared to death."
"Afraid of death? That can't be. Does she still…"
The smile on Zhao Mengde's lips slowly faded.
Her expression turned serious.
She realized what Ye Zhen meant.
It meant that Ye Fuli, that bitch, hadn't just hurt others—she'd hurt Ye Zhen too!
"God, how could she do that?!" Zhao Mengde's eyes sharpened. "Next time I see her, I'll beat her senseless—beat her to death!"
"No need."
Ye Zhen rubbed her hands, reddened from the cold, and blurted out instinctively, "She probably won't do that to me again."
The words left her own lips, and Ye Zhen paused, clearly startled by her own statement.
Why was she so certain?
She knew full well that today's Ye Fuli wasn't the Ye Fuli she used to be. Once she fully recovered, she'd likely revert to that Ye Fuli whose gaze could devour you.
Ye Zhen felt bewildered by that moment of certainty.
So she added, "Just a hunch. My intuition isn't always reliable… Yeah, don't take it too seriously."
Zhao Mengde sighed.
When it came to love, those involved were often blind, while outsiders saw clearly.
Ye Zhen seemed to have truly let go of Ye Fuli, but deep down, she was silently weighing Ye Fuli's every move.
She subconsciously tracked every change in Ye Fuli, assigning scores to each one.
If she had truly let go, those words wouldn't have slipped out just now.
Zhao Mengde decided to let it go without saying anything.
After all, matters of the heart were something the two involved had to navigate themselves—it had nothing to do with her.
"By the way, Ye Zhen, where are you planning to spend your winter break?"
"First, take me to the chicken farm in the suburbs. I need to pick up something."
Hearing Ye Zhen say "chicken farm" with such a cute face and deadpan seriousness made Zhao Mengde feel a bit amused.
Of course, professional bodyguard ethics meant she wouldn't laugh.
Unless she couldn't help it.
"Miss Mengde, one more laugh and I'll dock your pay."
"Uh, I wasn't laughing. I just wanted to cool my teeth."
…
Driving from the parking lot near Mondstadt Academy to the southern suburbs took over an hour.
The further into the outskirts they drove, the bleaker the scenery along the road became.
Large supermarkets and such gradually disappeared from view, replaced by scattered farmhouses, small shops, and rolling hills of varying heights.
This was actually Ye Zhen's first time visiting her family's chicken farm in person.
She hadn't paid much attention to this venture, considering it merely a facade to maintain her public image—an investment of no more than a million yuan…
That said, even though she hadn't paid it much attention, she had still placed several reliable people in charge and often checked the factory's surveillance cameras.
Jiang Zao, who worked for her, had been diligent and upright all this time, never doing anything out of line.
Ye Zhen gradually came to understand why Jiang Zao was so frugal—she had to repay a massive loan every month. This made Ye Zhen look at her with renewed respect.
After all, many people in her dire situation would struggle to bounce back so quickly.
After entering the factory grounds, Ye Zhen intended to check on Jiang Zao's activities, but Jiang Zao remained holed up in her dormitory, refusing to emerge.
Ye Zhen didn't press her, instead heading toward the small incubation room she had requested to set up.
Inside a small incubator lay two white eggs.
One was exceptionally large, slightly bigger than an ostrich egg, while the other was minuscule, perhaps only the size of a quail egg.
Both of these things were freebies the Dog System had snagged from other systems' reward vaults.
After confirming they wouldn't hatch into dangerous supernatural creatures, Ye Zhen, driven by curiosity, entrusted them to the factory's technical staff.
"These are the eggs you gave us to hatch, Boss. Both of them are already showing signs of life."
Hearing this, Ye Zhen nodded approvingly. "Good work."
"Heh, no trouble at all! Well, boss, I'll get back to work. Call me if you need anything."
After the technician left the room, Ye Zhen crouched down to examine the two eggs.
"Dog System, what do you think these could be?"
[Most likely birds. Definitely not dinosaurs, (*￣rǒ￣)]
After a moment of silence.
The Dog System chimed in again.
[If it turns out to be a dinosaur, this cute little me will imprison that system and make it buy it back at a high price, hehe!]
Ye Zhen: "…"
Alright, you're seriously evil.
Snap—
The eggshell cracked open.
Both eggs hatched simultaneously, emitting faint chirps.
Ye Zhen quickly called the technicians back, assigning them to care for these two featherless little ones.
Upon seeing the chicks' appearance, the system couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
[Sigh, they're not dinosaurs after all… just two parrots…]
"Parrots?"
Ye Zhen was disheartened.
"Are you kidding me? Such huge eggs, and they hatch into parrots! Are you sure you didn't accidentally hatch someone else's eagle?"
[You wish! How could such good fortune happen? But they are creations of the system, so they'll likely be much smarter than ordinary parrots. In other words, they'll fetch a pretty penny… Hehe~]
Ye Zhen was utterly speechless at this money-grubbing system.
She wasn't nearly this money-obsessed herself—why was it so greedy?!
After leaving the incubation room, Ye Zhen headed to her backyard vegetable garden.
Here, she had planted all the seeds the system had given her earlier.
Most were worthless crops like Sleepy Grass, but two plants held value.
The system didn't give them specific names, only codes made up of numbers and letters, but their effects were clear.
One was an herb starting with the letter S. In the system's words, it could revive anyone as long as they still had a breath left in them.
However, it couldn't repair severed limbs or disfigurements.
If internal organs were damaged, it could only restore them to a state where the patient could "barely survive," not to their original condition.
So even if it revives someone, they'll only be "barely able to survive."
"Well, it's better than nothing."
The other herb, whose name starts with F, according to the system, can restore a person's hearing and vision to peak condition and rejuvenate the brain to its prime state.
The younger the user, the more potent the effect—it might even unlock further brain development potential.
This one is quite powerful.
[Host, do you intend to consume this herb yourself?]
"No."
Ye Zhen refused without a moment's hesitation.
[Don't you want to become a genius? You might even become a genius with photographic memory!]
Ye Zhen chuckled and shook her head.
The more one knows, the more one suffers.
Those painful memories—she had been deliberately trying to forget them. Once she took this medicine, she would likely recall them all with crystal-clear clarity.
Then she'd probably end up like Yefuri—unable to sleep.
She wasn't counting on her sharp mind to make her money!
Why would she willingly plunge into the abyss of her memories?
As for finishing her studies? Her current intellect was perfectly adequate. Her grades hovered comfortably in the upper-middle range—neither drawing undue attention nor dragging her down.
So no need to take it!
[Hmph, I was counting on you getting smarter so you could take me to conquer the stars and oceans.]
"Ha! Do you even know how satisfying it is to just give up?"
[Fine, fine, fine. I give up. I surrender, you useless, lazy host.]
"I accept my fate too, you useless, lazy system!"
After harvesting all the herbs and drying them according to the system's instructions, Ye Zhen paid them no further mind.
The wind and snow were getting fierce.
She decided to light a fire in the farmhouse, grill some meat, and invite everyone over for a feast.
Winter break wasn't exactly long, but it wasn't short either.
In such bitter cold, Ye Zhen had no desire to wander elsewhere. She resolved to hunker down here for a while.
……
……
The Ye residence.
When Ye Fuli returned with gifts, Ye Dad was busy arranging several newly purchased flower pots.
He heard the front door open and glanced back.
"Hey, kid, you're home? It's pretty cold outside. Come warm up by the fire."
The house had been renovated with a fireplace, filled with plants and flowers, and featured a large fish tank housing various goldfish.
Instead of asking where Ye Fuli had been after leaving the hospital, Ye Dad personally took her suitcase and wheeled it into the room.
"What would you like for dinner tonight? I'll have the kitchen prepare it."
"I'll do it."
Ye Fuli glanced at the fishing rod in her hands—a gift Ye Zhen had bought for her father.
Though she didn't know why Ye Zhen had ended up in South City, or why she was using the name "Ye Zhen" with a face that didn't quite match Ye Zhen's…
But the gift Ye Zhen had entrusted her to bring back, she would deliver without fail.
"Could Ye Zhen have gotten plastic surgery? Maybe Mom and Dad couldn't accept it, so they argued?"
"Or could it be…"
Suddenly, a strange thought pierced Ye Fuli's mind.
Her gaze toward Ye Dad grew profoundly intense.
"Or could it be… that my relationship with Ye Zhen caused Mom and Dad to strongly oppose it, so she left the Ye family, changed her name and appearance, and started anew…"
This explanation felt all too real—highly plausible!
Ye Fuli felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her.
"Oh, Dad, where's Mom? Isn't she upset that I came home? Why… why hasn't she come to see me?"
Ye Fuli, temporarily suffering from amnesia, asked with a bewildered expression, her words leaving everyone in the room stunned.
The servants exchanged quick glances before promptly lowering their heads and resuming their tasks.
As for Ye's father, his eyes welled up with tears.
Thinking of his late, unstable wife and now his daughter, whose mind was clouded, he felt a flood of emotions.
"Dad, why are you crying? Where's Mom? She…"
"Mom went on a business trip to a place far away overseas."
Unable to bear bringing up that painful subject with his daughter, Ye Dad forced a smile and told a white lie.
Ye Fuli looked at him doubtfully.
"Alright. This is Ye… This is a gift from a friend of mine for you. Keep it safe."
She handed over the fishing rod.
But suddenly, Ye Dad grew wary.
"Your friend?"
He knew Ye Fuli no longer remembered even He Ying or Huang Li, and he'd never heard of her having any friends!
So, could this friend be…