Chapter 146: The Best Big Brother in Yancheng

After Li Xiuling flew away, Song Yao curiously turned to Song Ye and asked, "Brother, who was that woman? She can actually fly!"

In fact, Li Xiuling was the first cultivator Song Yao had ever seen with her own eyes since arriving in this world.

“She’s just an acquaintance; I don’t know much about her background,” Song Ye replied.

He was well aware that the current Liguo Dynasty was under the complete control of the Wei family. Empress Wei had already branded Li Xiuling with the accusation of attempting a palace coup.

Song Ye himself wished to avoid getting entangled in these court power struggles. He also wanted to keep Song Yao out of harm’s way, so the less she knew, the safer she would be.

They couldn’t stay here much longer anyway; after all, Song Ye wasn’t sure if another group of Ziyu Guards might track them down.

So, Song Ye took Song Yao and Pei Wangshu back to his residence in Pear Blossom Alley.

Seeing the small courtyard that Song Ye called “home,” Song Yao was full of questions.

“Brother, it’s only been ten days since I logged into the game. How did you find such a nice place to live? And what’s with that official uniform you’re wearing?” Song Yao finally couldn’t hold back and asked again.

“Ten days?” Song Ye smiled faintly. “I’ve been in this world for ten years.”

He had already guessed that Song Yao and Pei Wangshu were not from the same batch of players who logged in with him.

He was part of the first batch of players to log in and had been forgotten here ever since.

Song Yao and Pei Wangshu must be from the second batch, having just logged in recently.

"What did you say? You’ve been here for ten years?" Song Yao’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Suddenly, as if understanding something, she said, “Could it be that you were the very first player to gain access? But that can’t be — wasn’t there a malfunction right after the first batch logged in, causing all players to be kicked out of the Xuan Ying world?”

“That’s exactly why this small-scale test login is happening now,” Song Ye shook his head. “But not all players were expelled back then. I was an exception, and to this day, I still can’t exit this world.”

“So, the reason you disappeared from the real world for ten days is that you’ve been trapped here all along?” Song Yao asked in astonishment.

“Yes,” Song Ye nodded.

“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier that you had the first login qualification?” Song Yao immediately pressed.

“I wanted it to be a surprise. I didn’t expect such a big accident to happen,” Song Ye smiled.

At that moment, Pei Wangshu interjected, “So the reason you promised to come to Shenghao Group for an interview over the phone but never showed up was because you were trapped here?”

Song Ye turned to Pei Wangshu and asked, “You were the one who called me for the interview?”

“That’s right. I was the one who called you personally,” Pei Wangshu said.

“Sorry, I didn’t expect to suddenly get login privileges afterward,” Song Ye laughed.

What surprised Song Ye even more was that these two women he had “wronged” before had come as a team to find him in this world.

Pei Wangshu then gave a nonchalant smile. “Well, in that case, I guess you can’t be blamed, right, little brother?”

She had seen Song Ye’s resume and knew he was four years younger than her. Calling him “little brother” wasn’t too much.

Song Ye didn’t bother arguing about “seniority,” especially since the years he’d lived in this world couldn’t simply be added to his age in the real world.

“You can stay here as long as you like,” Song Ye changed the subject. “If you have any questions about this world, feel free to ask me.”

The courtyard had three rooms in total. He slept in one, and Song Yan had gone to the Xuanqing Palace to study and wouldn’t return anytime soon. That left two empty rooms, enough for each of them to have one.

“Can I take a look at the rooms?” Pei Wangshu asked.

“Sure,” Song Ye nodded.

Pei Wangshu first pushed open the door to Song Yan’s room but froze for a few seconds at the entrance. Then she turned to Song Yao and said, “There’s a red woman’s bodice in this room. Looks like your brother’s life in this world is quite comfortable — living with a woman.”

“That must be my sister’s bodice!” Song Ye replied offhandedly.

Since Song Yan left for Xuanqing Palace, Song Ye hadn’t entered her room. Apparently, she still hadn’t broken the habit of leaving her clothes around. When she returned, he planned to give her a good scolding.

“Brother!” Song Yao snapped angrily, baring her teeth. “Don’t joke about this in front of Sister Wangshu! When have I ever worn a bodice?”

“No, I wasn’t talking about your sister!” Song Ye hurried to explain.

Song Yao was stunned. “You have a second sister?”

“Yes,” Song Ye admitted frankly.

“What’s going on here?” Song Yao crossed her arms. “Be honest — where did this second sister come from?”

“I don’t know how she came about either. When I found her, she was only three years old. I couldn’t find her parents, so I had to take her in as my god-sister and raise her,” Song Ye shrugged.

Pei Wangshu suddenly seemed to recall something and said, “Could it be that Captain Zhao in Peach Blossom Village was talking about you? The good brother who both fathered and mothered the sister?”

That would explain why Song Ye suddenly appeared at the mansion in Fengnian Alley — it must have been that detective uncle who called him there.

Song Ye smiled awkwardly. “That must be me.”

That Zhao Zhigao had actually spread his story everywhere. Song Ye found it exasperating, especially since he was saying Song Ye had been tricked into Fengnian Alley by two distant relatives, whatever that meant.

Still, if it hadn’t been for Zhao Zhigao, Song Ye wouldn’t have been able to see Song Yao again so soon.

Thinking that way, he had to thank Zhao Zhigao for being such a good brother.

“Captain Zhao really praised you, calling you ‘Yan City’s number one good brother,’” Song Yao said, pursing her lips. “But I’ve been your sister for twenty years, and I never felt like I had such a great brother.”

Song Ye felt things might be getting complicated. He blamed Zhao Zhigao for gossiping too much and revealing everything.

“Song Yao, don’t listen to what Captain Zhao says,” Song Ye tried to explain. “The god-sister I took in was born mute, couldn’t speak, and had no relatives. Naturally, I had to spend more effort taking care of her. Isn’t that reasonable?”

“Yeah, it’s just that I happened to be the sister with a mouth,” Song Yao pouted, looking thoroughly unamused.

Pei Wangshu couldn’t help but chuckle quietly beside them.

She could tell that these siblings were very close. She envied their bond as an only daughter who would never truly understand what having a brother felt like.