After hearing Ye Yongxian's explanation and understanding that he wasn't asking her to move out, Ye Qinya felt relieved and accepted the house in the city.
After dinner, Ye Qinya went to Ye Zhi's room.
"Sister..." Ye Qinya forced an awkward smile and then made small talk, "What are you busy with?"
"I'm packing clothes," Ye Zhi said, quite speechless. Ye Qinya's ability to find conversation topics was truly poor.
Ye Qinya chuckled awkwardly and then asked, "Sister, why are you packing clothes? Are you going on a business trip?"
"No," Ye Zhi replied. "I'm moving to the house Dad gave me."
Ye Qinya was shocked. She had just moved back, and Ye Zhi was already planning to move out? How could she keep an eye on Ye Zhi for Ou Minghan then?
"Sister, why are you moving out? Is it because of me?" Ye Qinya said urgently. "Do you dislike seeing me that much? I just got back, and you're already leaving?"
"You're overthinking it," Ye Zhi said calmly. "I want to move out, so I asked Dad for a house. It has nothing to do with you. Dad gave each of us a house, and in fact, you should thank me!"
Ye Qinya was stunned. She hadn't expected Ye Yongxian to suddenly give her a house for this reason. She thought for a moment and then said expectantly, "Sister, then let's both not take Dad's houses and just live at home together, okay?"
Ye Zhi paused. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes so hard they'd spin off her head. She said irritably, "It's your business if you don't want it. Why shouldn't I take the house Dad gave me? If you don't want yours, why don't you just give it to me! You can still live at home conveniently."
Ye Qinya was rendered speechless. That wasn't what she meant! Seeing that the conversation had been steered toward the houses by Ye Zhi, Ye Qinya quickly explained, "Sister, I didn't mean that. We've been separated for so many years, I just want to spend more time with you... How about this, I'll move in with you!"
"I don't think so," Ye Zhi frowned. "It wouldn't be convenient."
"It's not inconvenient for me!" Ye Qinya's eyes lit up. "Sister, I have so many sisterly things I want to tell you..."
"I meant it's inconvenient for me," Ye Zhi interrupted her calmly.
Ye Qinya's expression stiffened. She felt even more wronged. "Sister, you really do hate me..."
Ye Zhi said with a half-smile, "Qinya, I'm also at an age where I should be looking for a boyfriend. If one day I bring my boyfriend back to my own house, and we're both young and fiery, and we feel like doing something wild and unrestrained, maybe trying something new in the kitchen or the living room, and right at the peak of our excitement, you suddenly push the door open and come out, wouldn't that be awkward, wouldn't it be scary?"
Ye Qinya was already blushing furiously. She truly hadn't expected Ye Zhi to talk about such things with her so directly! Although they were sisters, they weren't that close.
Afterward, Ye Qinya tried to appeal to Ye Zhi's emotions, but Ye Zhi calmly brushed her off in a similar manner.
In the end, Ye Qinya had to leave with regret.
After she left, Ye Zhi let out a long sigh of relief.
Facing Ye Qinya was indeed tiring for her. If Ye Qinya were a manipulative person, appearing kind on the surface but wicked underneath, then she could have simply torn off the pretense and wouldn't have had to play these games with her.
But Ye Qinya genuinely had no ill intentions; she was simply foolish, and foolishly prone to infatuation, which made her kindness a weapon to hurt others.
Moreover, since Ye Yongxian and Liu Lingyu doted on both their daughters, Ye Zhi couldn't afford to fall out with Ye Qinya too harshly, which would cause them sorrow.
Fortunately, she would be moving out tomorrow, and wouldn't have to spend her energy dealing with Ye Qinya anymore.
Back in her bedroom, Ye Qinya immediately called Ou Minghan and told him about Ye Zhi's plan to move out.
Ou Minghan felt a mix of shock and uncertainty. His plan had failed again. Could it be that Ye Zhi was wary of her own sister?
"Where is she moving to?" Ou Minghan immediately asked. "Is she moving alone? Who else is going with her? Will she hire any servants? How many bodyguards will she bring?"
Listening to the barrage of questions, Ye Qinya felt a pang of unease.
"Minghan, you..." Ye Qinya said with some disappointment, "Do you like my sister?"
Ou Minghan frowned unpleasantly, feeling a greater degree of disdain for her. Did she have nothing else in her head besides romance? At this moment, he seemed to have completely forgotten that it was precisely because of Ye Qinya's romantic obsession that he had so easily deceived her.
"What are you thinking! She's your sister, and she'll be my sister in the future too. I'm just showing normal concern for her, as a family member." Ou Minghan patiently coaxed Ye Qinya for a long while before she finally revealed everything she knew.
"Sister is moving to a villa on the mountainside in the southern suburbs. She likes peace and quiet and doesn't like to be disturbed, so she won't hire bodyguards. She'll just hire hourly workers to clean her house during her working hours..."
Ou Minghan was filled with suspicion. This information was very detailed, so detailed that he even found it suspicious. If Ye Zhi was wary of her own sister, then why would she tell Ye Qinya all this?
"Did you ask for this, or did she tell you proactively?" Ou Minghan asked in a low voice.
"I said I wanted to live with her, and she refused. As we were talking, we chatted about our habits..." Ye Qinya explained.
Ou Minghan finally felt at ease. So, Ye Zhi had revealed this to refuse Ye Qinya. However, if she was moving out...
"Minghan, since Sister is moving out, then I..." Ye Qinya bit her lip. She wanted to move back in with Ou Minghan, but rather than saying it herself, she hoped Ou Minghan would invite her back.
Ou Minghan snapped back to attention. Of course, he understood what Ye Qinya meant. Although Ye Qinya could no longer monitor Ye Zhi, now that Ye Zhi was moving out, wouldn't that allow Ye Qinya to compete for more of Ye Yongxian's affection?
"Qinya, just stay at the Ye family's house for now. Spend more time with Uncle Ye. Your sister just came back and is moving out; he might not say it, but he'll be sad in his heart. You are also his daughter, and it's best to be filial at this time, to help him move on quickly."
"Alright..." Ye Qinya agreed reluctantly.
*
The next day, Ye Zhi headed to the mountainside villa.
Although Ye Yongxian had done some simple renovations before, the entire villa was still quite empty. Ye Zhi had bought furniture on short notice and hired professional cleaning staff. She worked until almost evening before officially moving in.
After a simple tour of the large villa, Ye Zhi sat on the new, soft bed, her heart filled with joy.
She had a house!