Enrollment
Yu Linlang took a plush ear protector from the cage and hung it over her head, blocking out Yu Pianpian's noisy voice.
Seeing this, Yu Pianpian pulled out a handkerchief, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and sobbed quietly.
"Go down and cry," a cold voice rose in the carriage.
Yu Pianpian looked up in shock and met Yu Linlang's emotionless gaze.
"Your kind father and mother aren't here. Who are you crying for? Who are you trying to make feel sorry for you? Me? It's annoying."
"Sister Linlang…" Yu Pianpian's hand trembled as she gripped her handkerchief, her voice shaking with anger. "I'm just sad to be leaving home. Do you not even care about other people's sadness?"
"I'm just a ten-year-old school student. If someone heard you, they'd think you were being sent off for marriage, never to return." Yu Linlang sneered coldly. "Can you drop the act? There's no one else here. Wouldn't it be better to just be yourself?"
Yu Pianpian trembled with rage, her voice pitiful as she cried out, "I'm not pretending! Sister Linlang, why are you always so indifferent to me? I know you resent me for taking everything from you, but I've tried so hard! I've done everything I can to make it up to you. Can you just give me more time? Get to know me better? I never meant to come between you and your mother."
"I've been doing my best to mend your relationship with her. I just hope that one day, we can be as close as real sisters, and together, we can welcome our father and mother."
As Yu Pianpian spoke, she realized that Yu Linlang was staring at her strangely—almost as if she were looking right through her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yu Pianpian asked timidly.
"Do you know Princess Crescent?"
"W-What princess?"
"I see." Yu Linlang's expression remained unreadable. "You're not here to break up this family—you're here to join it." She tilted her head. "But tell me, is your governor's mansion really so poor that they had to make us share a carriage?"
Yu Pianpian pursed her lips. "Shuyun Women's College has always promoted frugality. Since you and I are sisters, we must naturally ride together. Otherwise, people will criticize us for not being close. It could damage our family's reputation…"
Yu Linlang waved her hand dismissively. "I am not your sister. Xinyue is the one who has been separated from you for years."
"Sister Linlang, what are you talking about?" Yu Pianpian looked at her in confusion, then took a deep breath. "The college encourages thrift. That's why no student is allowed to bring her maids when enrolling."
"The dormitories are shared by six students. There will be two maids to help clean the yard, but if anyone wants their own room cleaned, they'll have to pay extra."
"Sister Linlang, you'll probably find it difficult at first, but don't worry—I'll help you."
"Help me?" Yu Linlang repeated the words with an amused look.
"Yu Pianpian, I know why you brought me here. You just want to use my 'vulgarity' to make yourself look even more noble and elegant. Do you know why I play along with your little act?"
Yu Pianpian was startled. "I never thought of you that way, Sister Linlang! You shouldn't misinterpret my kindness!"
Yu Linlang sneered. "Stop pretending to be a good person, Yu Pianpian. Stop wasting your energy trying to outmaneuver me. I don't care about the Yu family's wealth. If you want it, it's yours."
Yu Pianpian clenched her handkerchief tightly, forcing a small smile. "Sister Linlang, please don't misunderstand me. I never intended to target you. I just don't want our quarrels to upset our father and mother."
Ignoring her, Yu Linlang pulled the plush ear protectors further over her ears, retrieved a blindfold from her pocket, and refused to engage any further.
She'd rather sleep than listen to this nonsense.
The carriage swayed forward, rolling out of the city. After about two hours, a row of courtyards appeared in the distance.
The college stood atop the Nanshan Mountains of Weizhou, its grand structure towering over the landscape.
The carriage came to a stop at the entrance. Yu Pianpian gently nudged Yu Linlang awake. "We have to walk from here. The dormitories are built on the hillside, so we'll have to carry our own luggage up."
Yu Pianpian hesitated before speaking softly. "I already asked an older student to arrange for some maids to help carry my luggage. Sister Linlang, you can also—"
Before she could finish, Yu Linlang stepped down from the carriage, signaling the coachman to retrieve her two luggage cases.
One box was filled with ink, paper, and writing tools—it was quite heavy. The other contained a few sets of clothes, shoes, and some dry food.
Unlike Yu Pianpian, who seemed to have packed her entire wardrobe.
Not only did she bring supplies for painting, embroidery, chess, and calligraphy, but she also had three full boxes of clothes—including four sets of riding and archery outfits. As if she were preparing for a long journey rather than a simple school semester.
The trip from the city to the college had only taken two or three hours.
She was being so extravagant that Yu Linlang didn't even want to look at her.
Yu Pianpian turned her head and saw Yu Linlang lifting her two boxes, walking ahead without looking back. She couldn't help but sneer, a trace of contempt flickering in her eyes.
With Yu Linlang's cold and arrogant personality, she probably wouldn't last three days at Shuyun Women's College.
"Oh no, Miss's new dress is covered in a fishy smell."
Two delicate-looking maids stepped down from another carriage, supporting a graceful woman dressed in bright, luxurious fabrics.
"What happened, Miss Chen?" Yu Pianpian approached with a polite smile, bowing slightly in greeting.
Chen Xinlian glanced up lazily, her lips curling into a smirk. "Oh, it's the second lady of the Yu family. A farmer selling salted fish was passing by on the road. The idiot had no sense and ended up bumping into our carriage, spilling his load on the window. How unlucky."
"Yes," one of the maids added bitterly. "Our lady's clothes are the latest Suji embroidery design from the year's end, but now they stink of fish. It's outrageous."
"We should have beaten that fool to death. But our lady was kind enough to let him off with just a beating—he only vomited blood before we sent him away."
Chen Xinlian adjusted the jeweled hairpin in her hair, glancing around idly. That's when she noticed Yu Linlang carrying her boxes, walking towards the mountain path without so much as a glance backward.
"Who is that? So rude. Does she not know how to greet her senior sisters?" Chen Xinlian narrowed her eyes in irritation.
Yu Pianpian pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile. "My apologies, Miss Chen. That's my older sister—the one who was taken back from Xiaozhuangzi a year ago. My father and mother sent her here to learn embroidery and painting, to broaden her horizons."
"She doesn't know you, so if she was rude, I apologize on her behalf."
"Hmph." Chen Xinlian scoffed, a faint trace of disdain in her voice. "She's rather arrogant, isn't she?"
Yu Pianpian sighed lightly. "Forgive her, my sister has quite a temper."