Miss Cousin is Always Busy

The time was currently eight-thirty, and Yun Zizhou's live stream began at nine o'clock.

After taking care of the guest room's bed, Jun Zishu made her way to her bedroom's bathroom while Yun Zizhou used the shared bathroom in the living room. The smell of hot pot still stuck to their skin and clothes, so it was necessary to wash up.

Jun Zishu removed her makeup, took a shower, and applied a facial mask. After completing these three tasks, she waited until nine o'clock before making her way to Yun Zizhou's room.

At this time, Yun Zizhou had already started greeting the viewers of her live stream. The girl wore her sleepwear as she sat in front of her computer, her actions looking natural as she interacted with her viewers.

Jun Zishu initially planned to only spectate from the side. However, to her surprise, Yun Zizhou waved at her before pointing at the laptop's camera and shaking her head.

Jun Zishu quickly understood the meaning Yun Zizhou was trying to convey. So, with her facial mask on, she walked over and sat beside Yun Zizhou.

It turned out that Yun Zizhou was a live streamer who did not show her face. Though, Jun Zishu wasn't sure if that really was the case or if today was a special exception.

Yun Zizhou's appearance without makeup wasn't that much different from when she had her makeup on. Her temperament also remained as excellent as before.

"I'll start with a song like usual. Since it is already quite late, I'll sing a more lyrical anime piece."

Yun Zizhou clicked on the computer and played the accompaniment. Then, she squinted a little as she began singing, a contented expression appearing on her face as she sang.

The song Yun Zizhou sang was a Japanese song with a slow rhythm. Paired with her clear voice, the song gave off a healing effect.

“Saita no no hana yo,

ああどうか教えておくれ，

Aa douka oshiete okure,

Hito wa naze kizutsukeatte,

Arasou no deshou.” 

ああ。”

Aa.” (Euterpe · EGOIST)[1]

The song was short, lasting only a little over a minute.

When Yun Zizhou sang, only one or two comments occasionally appeared in the live chat. However, as soon as the song ended, messages flooded the live chat.

Through these messages, Jun Zishu could tell that Yun Zizhou was quite the popular streamer.

Next, Yun Zizhou began conversing with her viewers, selecting messages from the live chat to respond to.

Yun Zizhou's voice sounded clear and nice, carrying with it a literary aura. Even without revealing her face, she and her viewers had a happy time communicating with each other.

A few minutes later, Jun Zishu removed her facial mask.

Yun Zizhou would occasionally glance at Jun Zishu, afraid that Jun Zishu would feel left out.

Noticing this, Jun Zishu waved at Yun Zizhou, indicating to the girl that she need not mind about her.

An hour went by in the blink of an eye. Before ending the stream, Yun Zizhou decided to sing one last song for her viewers.

"It's getting late, so I'll end the stream by singing A Taoist Nun Friend of Mine."[2]

"You took me in your embrace, under the umbrella you held,

How solemn was every single word in your promise,

Myriad forms of doting kindness resided in your eyes,

Akin to the murmuring spring’s breeze, melting away frost and snow."

…

"Goodnight."

Yun Zizhou's soft "goodnight" was so soothing that Jun Zishu felt a little drowsy just from hearing it.

After seeing Yun Zizhou ending her stream, Jun Zishu smiled and said, "You sing well. It was very comfortable listening to your live stream.

"Well, goodnight. Rest early."

Afterward, Jun Zishu left the guest room and returned to her room. However, as soon as she sat down on her bed, she immediately realized that she had forgotten to do something crucially important.

Jun Zishu frowned when she realized her blunder. She had always been one to prioritize her missions above all else. Yet, she had actually set aside her mission for her own enjoyment this time.

It must be because of this upsetting mission, Jun Zishu thought, blaming her blunder on the terrible mission.

After taking a moment to mentally prepare herself, Jun Zishu grabbed her phone and called Mi Rou.

The other party quickly picked up, so Jun Zishu set the call to speaker mode and laid down on the bed.

"Did you only arrive home now?" Mi Rou immediately asked.

"Mhm," Jun Zishu lied. There was no way she could say that she had taken a shower, applied a facial mask, and listened to a live stream for an hour before she remembered that she needed to give Mi Rou a call. She'd be asking to get killed if she did that.

"What did you think about my suggestion before?"

Mi Rou was referring to the matter of her resigning and moving to the same city as Jun Zishu.

"Anything is fine so long as you're happy. But all your friends and family are over there. You might find it difficult to adapt to the environment here."

"But won't I have you there?"

"But you also have your own life to live."

"So, does that mean you don't want me there, Wentong?"

Mi Rou's voice suddenly lowered, seemingly in a depressed mood.

Jun Zishu sensed a hint of danger in Mi Rou's voice. Pushed by her desire to live, she quickly explained, "I just think that there's no need for you to abandon your original life all because of me. Do you remember what I told you before? That love isn't everything there is in life."

Jiang Wentong had said these words to Mi Rou when the latter had just suffered a heartbreak. So, Jun Zishu decided to reuse these words in this situation.

"I remember. But do you remember what else you said to me in the past?"

What else could I have said other than a bunch of sweet nothings?

"Mhm."

"Wentong… Have you been…"

Mi Rou stopped speaking, her voice ending in hesitation.

"Have I been what?"

"Nothing. Anyway, it's settled. I'll resign and move to you."

Mi Rou shook her head and swallowed back the words she wanted to say. She felt that she might be overthinking things and that things might not have devolved to such an extent yet.

"No need to be in such a hurry. I might not be out of the city for the next few days. I'll also help you find a job here and a place to rent. It's not too late to move here after I've settled these things," Jun Zishu said. Her reasoning was sound, and there was no way Mi Rou could find fault with it.

"Can't I stay with you?" Mi Rou asked, boldly voicing her thoughts.

"My little sister is staying over at my place, so it might not be too convenient."

"Your little sister?"

The tone of Mi Rou's voice heightened significantly. The emotions in her voice also became more evident.

"Mhm. My mom is having her stay with me for some time," Jun Zishu said in a natural tone. Then, she switched to a more comforting tone and continued, "The fact that I like women doesn't mean I'll like every woman I see. Do you understand that, Mi Rou?

"Be a good girl and rest early. I'll tell you once I have everything arranged."

"Mhm."

Mi Rou replied with a muffled voice. When she saw her phone's screen displaying the end of the call, she watched it quietly for a few seconds before it bounced back to the screen showing her call history. Then, she continued staring at her phone until the screen automatically turned off, removing the only light source in the dark room.

Afterward, she opened the curtains of the room and looked at the scene outside the window.

Dazzling lights set off the bustling city. However, in the many places where the lights did not reach, a terrifying beast known as darkness lingered.

Mi Rou held her arms as she looked down from her apartment.

In reality, she had already sensed that something was amiss. However, she didn't want to believe her senses.

She refused to believe that she might have to repeat the same mistakes.

…

Jun Zishu set aside her phone to charge while her mind worked overtime.

Jun Zishu could tell that Mi Rou had already noticed the strangeness in her behavior, so she needed to do something to stabilize the girl.

Honestly, Mi Rou was terrifying once she lost her mind.

In the memories she inherited, Jun Zishu had seen the process of Jiang Wentong flirting with and dating Mi Rou.

Just like her name suggested, Mi Rou was a slender and delicate beauty. When Jiang Wentong first met Mi Rou, Mi Rou had just suffered a heartbreak, and her mood was terrible. Jiang Wentong was an admirer of beauty. When she was presented with such an excellent opportunity, she naturally began comforting and seducing Mi Rou.

Mi Rou wasn't straight. She suffered heartbreak because her ex-girlfriend had cheated on her.

When Jiang Wentong was about to leave Mi Rou's city, she hinted at Mi Rou. Mi Rou's guard was fragile at the time, so she quickly fell for Jiang Wentong's seduction and accepted her courtship.

Sometime after Jiang Wentong and Mi Rou started dating, Mi Rou's ex-girlfriend had met with an accident and was hospitalized. When Mi Rou learned of the news and shared it with Jiang Wentong, Jiang Wentong's response was to simply comfort Mi Rou and say that her ex-girlfriend deserved it.

However, when Jun Zishu thought over the situation, she couldn't help but find the situation strange. Moreover, the more she thought over it, the scarier she found it to be.

…

February 10th. Jun Zishu was one day closer to her appointed death.

Jun Zishu woke up, freshened up, and applied a facial mask like usual.

After keeping the facial mask on for 15 minutes, she spent the next 15 minutes reading a book. Although her mission was her priority, she didn't forget to invest some time into her hobbies.

When Jun Zishu left her room, Yun Zizhou coincidentally walked out of the guest room as well.

"Morning, Big Sister Wentong."

"Up so early?"

"It's not that early."

Yun Zizhou smiled and walked to the shared bathroom.

When Yun Zizhou left the bathroom, she saw Jun Zishu jogging on the living room treadmill.

Jun Zishu had tied her charming long hair into a ponytail to prevent it from getting in the way. She had also changed into a sports vest and sports shorts that exposed her slim and firm abdomen.

Unlike the aura of maturity Jun Zishu radiated last night, she currently radiated a healthy and lively aura. The change in aura added a different touch to her beauty.

When Jun Zishu heard movement coming from behind her, she turned around and smiled at Yun Zizhou. However, she did not speak. Instead, she turned her head forward and continued jogging.

Yun Zizhou was dazzled by Jun Zishu's smile, her eyes staying fixated on Jun Zishu's figure for a long time.

Jun Zishu could sense Yun Zizhou staring at her but paid it no heed. After jogging for 20 minutes, she stopped and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

While wiping her sweat with a towel, Jun Zishu looked at Yun Zizhou and asked, "What do you want to eat for breakfast? Will noodles do?"

"Sure."

Yun Zizhou nodded in a light trance, her eyes involuntarily falling on Jun Zishu's chest.

Noticing Yun Zizhou's gaze, Jun Zishu let out a soft chuckle as she walked to the bathroom. Similar to the bodies she previously occupied, this body also had impressive assets. When squeezed by the form-fitting sports vest, the pair of D-cup breasts looked even more attractive.

When Jun Zishu finished showering and left her room again, she found that Yun Zizhou was absent from the living room. The door to the guest room was also closed, so Jun Zishu guessed that the girl must be in the room.

Walking to the kitchen, Jun Zishu started preparing noodles for breakfast. As she didn't have many ingredients and much time available, she decided to cook egg and tomato noodles. After cooking up two bowls, she brought them over to the dining table.

"Zizhou, come out and eat," Jun Zishu shouted at the guest room.

"Mhm, coming," Yun Zizhou responded from inside the room and put down the pencil in her hand.

On the desk in front of her was a drawing book. Meanwhile, drawn on the paper was the rough sketch of the person. Although only the person's eyes were drawn in detail at this time, paired with the mole located by the person's right eye, one could already tell that this person possessed a charming appearance.

Yun Zizhou closed her drawing book and made her way into the kitchen to wash her hands. Then, she sat beside Jun Zishu and took a big whiff of the bowl of noodles placed in front of her.

"They smell nice," Yun Zizhou praised. Then, after blowing on the hot noodles, she began slurping them down.

"I only know how to cook simple dishes," Jun Zishu said.

Jiang Wentong's culinary skills were average at best. However, she was very skilled in chopping up ingredients, probably because of her job as a surgeon.

"Will you be going out to collect scenic materials today? If you are, remember to message me your location. You can also call me if something comes up. Though, I might not be able to pick up if I'm in the middle of work," Jun Zishu said. She was slightly worried that the girl might get into trouble.

"You don't need to worry about me, Big Sister. I'm already 24 years old," Yun Zizhou said, smiling after swallowing the noodles in her mouth. "Also, I think I might just stay home today and draw."

"Hm? What are you drawing?"

"I suddenly got inspired to draw a character," Yun Zizhou said, a gentle smile forming on her face.

"Good luck, then."

"I'll do the dishes once we're done eating, Big Sister."

"Okay. Thanks."

"It's something I should do."

After Jun Zishu finished eating, she grabbed her handbag and left for work. Meanwhile, Yun Zizhou brought the bowls into the kitchen and washed them.

When Jun Zishu arrived at the hospital, she greeted her co-workers and ignored her admirers' ambiguous hints like usual. She made sure she was polite while not being overly familiar at the same time, leaving no room for any misunderstandings to arise.

TL Notes:

[1]Euterpe · EGOIST:

OST for the anime Guilty Crown. Anime with nice songs and a 10/10 female protagonist. Can't say the same for the male protagonist and everything else.

#InoriDeservesBetter

Youtube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvXRX5RJiIo

[2]A Taoist Nun Friend of Mine (我的一個道姑朋友):

Youtube link:

https://youtu.be/M07lClhzWbw