What Should I do After Binding the Wrong System and the Female Lead comes Knocking at my Door? - Chapter 32

Last night, Gu Qing had waited late for Pei Yuanxi’s reply but still didn’t fall asleep until very late. She woke up early in the morning.

When she opened her eyes, the usual noise of the city was gone, and the only sound she could hear was the gentle breathing of Pei Yuanxi, who was still asleep in the quiet autumn air.

Gu Qing listened for a moment before quietly getting out of bed.

After changing her clothes and stepping out of her room, she found that Aunt Tian had already started preparing breakfast. Even little Yiren was already out in the yard, feeding the chickens, making soft “gok gok” sounds.

“Ah, you’re up already! I’m preparing a few bowls of simple noodles with broth. We’ve got some pork fat at home,” Aunt Tian said, still busy with her work but chatting with Gu Qing.

“Thank you, Aunt Tian. Yuanxi’s still asleep. Let me know when it’s ready, and I’ll go wake her up.”

“Ah, it’s nothing, don’t worry. It’ll take a little while; the longer the broth boils, the more flavorful it gets.”

Gu Qing nodded and turned to walk over to little Yiren, who was feeding the chickens in the yard.

Little Yiren greeted her with a cheerful “Good morning, Qingqing sister.”

Gu Qing squatted down and softly asked, “You’re up so early?”

“Mm, I have to help my mom with chores.”

“Such a good girl.”

Gu Qing couldn’t help but ruffle little Yiren’s hair. Pei Yuanxi was right, having such a cute and well-behaved younger sister would indeed be wonderful.

“Is Yuanxi sister still not awake?” Yiren asked.

“Not yet.”

“Ah, my mom always tells me that in order to succeed, you must get up early and work hard. Why doesn’t Yuanxi sister have to get up early?”

“Well… because your Yuanxi sister has already succeeded, so she doesn’t need to get up early and work hard.”

At that moment, Pei Yuanxi stretched lazily and leaned against the door frame, speaking in a low, sleepy tone.

“Ah, good morning, Yuanxi sister!” Little Yiren greeted her cheerfully.

“Good morning, little Yiren.”

Pei Yuanxi casually adjusted her tousled hair just as Aunt Tian finished bringing the noodles to the table.

“Wow, it smells so good!”

Pei Yuanxi couldn’t wait to sit down and slurp up a bowl of noodles, giving a thumbs-up. “Authentic.”

Aunt Tian grinned, clearly pleased.

“I’m not bragging. I’m confident no one in the villages around here makes noodles as good as mine.”

Pei Yuanxi nodded approvingly as she continued to eat the noodles enthusiastically.

Aunt Tian was momentarily stunned. “Yuanxi, you really don’t have the airs of a celebrity!”

Gu Qing sat down and first helped little Yiren adjust her sleeves before picking up her chopsticks and starting to eat as well.

“Thank you, Qingqing sister,” little Yiren said obediently, sitting on the bench and mimicking Gu Qing’s elegant manner of eating.

Pei Yuanxi silently lowered her legs from the chair, feeling that the scene with these two was not quite the same as hers.

After breakfast, Aunt Tian had farm work to do, and soon little Yiren, the little guide, took Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing up the mountain to play.

First, little Yiren found two straw hats for them, then picked up two sticks from the firewood pile and handed them to them.

Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing exchanged glances, and after a moment, Pei Yuanxi could no longer help herself and laughed out loud, pointing at Gu Qing, who was wearing the straw hat.

Little Yiren put her hands on her hips and frowned. “Don’t laugh, this is for your own good. There are often bugs or other things falling from the trees. Do you want them to land in your hair?”

“Ah, okay… I’ll wear it,” Pei Yuanxi quickly agreed after hearing little Yiren’s explanation. She hated those ugly, creepy flying insects.

In the past, when they were at home in the countryside during summer, both sisters were always on high alert when those bugs appeared inside the house. They would wrap themselves up tightly before daring to fight the bugs.

She often joked that her parents had given her sister’s name wrong. Despite being terrified of insects, they named her “Mu Chan,” which means “twilight cicada.”

“Under the bright sun, flowers smile at me, the birds say good morning, and it’s Saturday—why are you up so early?”

Little Yiren hummed a song as she skipped along the path, occasionally glancing back at the two of them.

“Is she afraid we’ll get lost?” Pei Yuanxi whispered to Gu Qing.

Gu Qing looked at little Yiren’s back and softly said, “She’s cute, isn’t she? Wasn’t Yuanxi like this when she was younger?”

Pei Yuanxi thought for a moment and shook her head.

“I don’t really remember. I was probably as cheerful and lively as her when my parents were alive, but I was too young, and so many memories have already faded.”

Gu Qing pursed her lips. “I’m sorry.”

Pei Yuanxi leaned closer to Gu Qing’s ear and whispered, “According to normal customs, shouldn’t I say ‘It’s okay’? But I won’t. I’m not going to forgive you!”

“And how would I earn Yuanxi’s forgiveness?”

“Unless… you call me ‘sister’ again like last night.”

Gu Qing was speechless. Last night, she had called her that meekly in bed, but now, outside of bed, she was acting fearless?

At that moment, little Yiren suddenly appeared in front of them, her eyes wide with curiosity. “What were you two talking about? What’s this ‘sister’ thing?”

Gu Qing glanced at Pei Yuanxi, who was grinning, and then said to little Yiren, “Yuanxi wants me to call her ‘sister.’ Do you think I should?”

“Wait, what’s your relationship with her?” little Yiren asked.

Gu Qing froze for a moment, and Pei Yuanxi was grinning, eagerly waiting for Gu Qing’s response.

“Are you two a couple?”

At that, Pei Yuanxi stopped laughing.

“Little Yiren, where did you learn that? Why would you think that?” Gu Qing asked in a low voice.

Little Yiren nodded, turning to walk ahead. “Looks like it’s true. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Wait a minute…” Pei Yuanxi was stunned.

Gu Qing lightly tapped her, saying, “Silly.”

Pei Yuanxi hurried after little Yiren. “Yiren, little Yiren, tell me, why do you think that?”

Little Yiren sighed and, with a playfully helpless look, said, “I’m a shipper of you two.”

The words stunned both Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing.

“You… you know what ‘shipping’ is?” Pei Yuanxi asked.

“Of course. Yuanxi, you’re still a big star, why are you so surprised?” Little Yiren raised an eyebrow.

Pei Yuanxi was speechless.

Gu Qing couldn’t help but ruffle little Yiren’s hair. “Tell me more.”

“I saw Yuanxi’s posts on Weibo, all about ‘my Qing, my Qing.’ Originally, I was a fan of Wenliang and Qingqing sister, but then I just couldn’t resist switching camps.”

“Wow, you’ve really watched a lot of my films if you know Wenliang!” Pei Yuanxi said in surprise. “But little Yiren, you’re lucky. You might even meet Wenliang this afternoon.”

“Really?!” Little Yiren’s eyes sparkled.

Gu Qing chuckled and asked, “When you meet Wenliang sister, you’re not going to switch camps again, right?”

“Of course not! Don’t worry. I’m firmly supporting you two now!” Little Yiren smiled triumphantly.

Pei Yuanxi silently muttered, “Why are we even talking about this?”

Gu Qing ignored Pei Yuanxi and instead praised little Yiren. “You’re so well-behaved.”

The three of them continued up the mountain path. Pei Yuanxi couldn’t resist picking a blade of grass and teasing Gu Qing with it by putting it near her nose.

“Ah-choo!”

“Ha-ha-ha!” Pei Yuanxi burst into laughter as her prank succeeded.

Gu Qing quickly grabbed a stalk of grass and shoved it into Pei Yuanxi’s mouth as she laughed.

“Spit it out, spit it out!” Pei Yuanxi quickly protested.

Little Yiren saw her two “tourists” bickering and couldn’t resist joining in, picking a stalk of grass and launching her own attack.

After a brief moment of playful fighting, little Yiren began chatting about the days when she would go to the river to catch snails and crabs.

Pei Yuanxi sighed, “Sometimes, I wish I could go back to the past and relive those carefree days.”

Little Yiren shook the water bottle on her back, taking a sip before curiously asking, “Aren’t you happy now?”

“Mm… it’s different. There’s a difference between different kinds of happiness.”

Gu Qing furrowed her brow. She had a feeling that Pei Yuanxi was dodging the question.

“Me? I can’t wait to grow up, because I have dreams waiting for me.”

At little Yiren’s declaration, Pei Yuanxi was immediately intrigued.

“Tell me, what’s your dream? Do you want to be a big star?”

Little Yiren shook her head. “No, my dream is to write books.”

“Write books?” Pei Yuanxi asked in surprise.

“Yes. When I grow up, I want to write books while living in different cities for a year.”

Pei Yuanxi clapped her hands in admiration. “What a great dream! I believe you’ll achieve it. Who knows, maybe your book will get adapted into a TV show, and your Qingqing sister and I will even get to act in it!”

Little Yiren grinned widely. “Then it’s settled! When I’m successful, I’ll ask you two to star in it. You can’t pretend you don’t know me then!”

“Don’t worry, by then we won’t even wait for you to get famous. We’ll be your promoters!” Gu Qing teased.

Little Yiren was so excited that she grabbed both of their hands and squeezed in between them.

“Come on, we’re almost at my secret base.”

Little Yiren led them around a bend in the mountain path, into a dense thicket.

Once they passed through the thicket, the view opened up dramatically.

“This is halfway up the mountain. From here, you can see my village. I discovered this place when I had a painting assignment from my art teacher. After that, every time I come up the mountain, I stop here to sit for a while. In writer terms, this is to cultivate my mood.”

Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing couldn’t help but laugh, but indeed, as little Yiren said, it was a perfect spot to view the landscape.

Especially now, with the sun shining brightly, warming them gently.

Little Yiren suddenly appeared with a pile of wild grass, which she laid out on the ground.

“Sit, don’t be shy.”

After arranging Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing, she sat down between them and couldn’t help but yawn.

Gu Qing stretched her legs out and asked little Yiren, “Do you want to rest your head on my lap for a bit?”

Little Yiren asked shyly, “Can I really?”

“Of course.”

“Hehe, thanks, Qingqing sister.”

Pei Yuanxi stretched her back and yawned. “For some reason, I feel sleepy too…”

Gu Qing pursed her lips and patted her other leg.

Pei Yuanxi immediately laid her head on Gu Qing’s lap, mimicking little Yiren’s earlier tone, “Thanks, Qingqing sister~”

At that, little Yiren loudly complained from the side, “Yuanxi sister, you’re so shy!”

Pei Yuanxi gently nudged little Yiren’s head, and little Yiren, not willing to back down, pushed back playfully.

Gu Qing chuckled lightly, gazing into the distance.

The vast blue sky, the dense farmland and villages, and the three of them laughing and playing—this was truly the most carefree time in the world.

Gu Qing shielded her eyes with her hand, and the sunlight streamed through her fingers, kissing her cool, fair face.

“It’s so nice…”