Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Strange Older Sister

La-la-la! Fu Bao was in an especially good mood today, brandishing her little brush with complete ease. Today was painting class!

The teacher had said to begin with a free sketch, and she could draw whatever she liked.

“Hey! Lin Cenbao, what are you drawing? Let me see!” The Chen family’s young lady beside Fu Bao saw how happily Fu Bao was drawing and leaned her little head over to say, “Mine? Sure! Take a look!”

Fu Bao turned her flower-like little face and handed over the sheet in her hands.

“Ah! What is this? I can’t make heads or tails of it!” the Chen family’s young lady said, staring at the black blob on the paper.

“Huh? This is a big sister! Look, isn’t this her eye?” Fu Bao pointed at the “black blob” on the drawing.

The Chen family’s young lady looked at the two white rings left in the middle of the black blot.

“...”

“What kind of person is this? How can she be so wild and disheveled?”

“She exists!”

Fu Bao looked up beside the teacher and, huh— that big sister with thick white gauze wrapped around her neck looked terrifying! Come to think of it, why had this big sister been following the teacher all this time? She had seen her days ago, forever clinging to the teacher’s back.

“Goodness, the teacher is so handsome. Why doesn’t any big sister like him?” the Chen family’s young lady said, looking at the painting teacher bent over his desk.

“Mmm! Maybe he already has someone he likes!” Fu Bao glanced at the painting teacher and then at the big sister beside him, pouting.

“Who knows, maybe.”

“Mmm.”

Back in her room, Fu Bao was stopped by the little ginseng.

“What did you do today?”

“Nothing much!”

“You’ve got yin energy on you!” The little ginseng sniffed around Fu Bao.

“Yin energy?”

“Tell me what you did today.”

“Class, eat, class... eat.” Fu Bao counted on her fingers. That seemed to be all.

“Did you run into anything strange? For example, a strange person?”

“Mmm... oh! Right! There was a big sister. Gosh, she looked so frightening, with very long hair and thick gauze wrapped around her neck!” Fu Bao said, remembering the big sister who had appeared beside the painting teacher during the day.

“That’s right then. You’ve run into a ghost. Wonderful, now I can have a good meal!” The little ginseng needed to replenish itself with yin energy.

“But that big sister didn’t seem to do anything bad except keep following the teacher.”

“Tomorrow, take me to see her. Find a chance to say a few more words to that teacher!”

“Oh!”

And so the next day, Teacher Yu Sheng was pestered by Fu Bao. Poor Teacher Yu really had no choice at all.

As soon as the little ginseng entered, it charged straight at the female ghost. Two figures flashed, and then both were gone.

“Lin Cenbao, is there something you wish to discuss with the teacher?” Yu Sheng finally could not bear Fu Bao flitting back and forth before his eyes, and so he asked.

“Um, Teacher, I just wanted you to look at my new work.” Fu Bao took out the “black blob” picture she had drawn yesterday.

“Oh, if it is for the teacher to look at a painting, then just say so. Why be so troubled?” With that, he took the drawing from Fu Bao’s hands.

“Um—this is...” Looking at the black lump on the paper, Yu Sheng was a little speechless. What was this supposed to be?

“This is a big sister. Look, she’s got thick gauze wrapped around her neck, though I don’t know what the gauze is for,” Fu Bao muttered.

“Gauze...” Hearing Fu Bao mention the gauze, Yu Sheng’s thoughts drifted far away. For some reason, his face grew paler and paler.

“Teacher, what’s wrong?” Seeing Yu Sheng’s face turn white little by little, Fu Bao grew a little frightened.

“Nothing. I just remembered some old matters. By the way, can you tell the teacher why you drew such a strange picture?”

“Oh! A big sister kept appearing here, and I thought it was odd, so I drew her. Tsk—though it doesn’t look much like her.”

Yu Sheng...

Was this supposed to be a person?

“You little child, don’t talk nonsense. There’s only the teacher and all of you here. Where would there be any big sister?”

“But there is! She’s right here!” Fu Bao looked at the big sister, who had somehow appeared again, feeling deeply wronged. She really did exist. The teacher was being dishonest!

Yu Sheng!!!

In the end, Fu Bao bounced off happily to class. As for the little ginseng, ever since it had been brought back, it had been curled up inside the jade pendant and refused to come out.

Honestly, wasn’t it supposed to come out and meet the big sister? Why had it shrunk into the jade pendant as soon as it got back?

The little ginseng, trembling within the jade pendant: this is a fierce female ghost! Too terrifying!!

The next day, Teacher Yu took leave, for no reason. At this moment, Fu Bao was riding a little pony, holding her head high. The teacher had said that riding a horse required bearing and momentum.

The little pony, Red Red, was still nibbling grass now and then, flicking its ears.

“Lin Cenbao!”

A female voice sounded—it was Liu Fei’er.

“Is the young lady calling me?”

“If not you, then who? Could there be another Lin Cenbao?”

“Oh! Does the young lady need something?”

“Hmph! I want to compete with you in horse riding!” Liu Fei’er lifted her chin, haughty and proud. This little chubby thing had made her look foolish last time, and today she would make her taste what it felt like to be laughed at.