Yang the Third's "Little Sprite" (Part 1)

At the end of September, Yang Zhen'er returned to Peng City.

She returned alone this time; Tang Baona remained in Tongshi Town.

Lately, for some reason, Nana has become increasingly "unfocused," often spacing out and forgetting things at work. She also frequently hums melodies she's never heard before, seemingly trying to come up with lyrics and music, as if she's possessed.

Yang Zhen'er was originally just a bystander, but by following along, she had no choice but to help Nana fill in the gaps and, without realizing it, she ended up taking over various tasks at the company.

Therefore, the person who represented "Universe Technology" and Zhang Qian in business dealings during this trip back to Peng City changed from Tang Baona to Yang Zhen'er.

There's nothing we can do about it; she's one of the company's shareholders, and she also holds the titles of vice president and chief financial officer.

If it were the old Yang Zhen'er, even if she had to do chores, she would definitely, absolutely, and absolutely have to drag Nana along. No matter what, she would have to hold Nana together, otherwise it would be so boring for her to be alone!

Besides, Nana was acting strangely, so she couldn't leave. She had to check on her and find out what was going on: Was she in love? Had she had a crush on someone? Had she broken up with someone? Or had something else happened?

But now she and Nana have a kind of "tacit understanding". She guesses that Nana's ability to summon "Little Sprite" is about to break through. At this critical moment, as Nana's best friend, confidante, number one fan, loyal protector and best sister, she naturally has to step up and create the best "breakthrough environment" for Nana!

This wasn't just her wild guess or wild imagination. Through subtle probing, she got a clear answer from Nana: she knew Nana's current situation was related to the "Little Sprite" and her "special abilities."

More importantly, she's already ahead of Nana in having her own "Little Sprite"!

Or more precisely, she has mastered the power of "Little Sprite"!

Zhang Qian had originally arranged for someone to pick up Yang Zhen'er at the airport today, but since it was Sunday, Shiling's Mother volunteered to bring Liu Shiling along to the airport to pick her up as well.

Yang Zhen'er took care of Liu Shiling for a long time and treated Liu Shiling very well. She bought her a lot of things, including clothes, toys, accessories, and books, which now fill half a room. She spent a lot of money and put a lot of thought into it, which made Shiling's Mother feel very embarrassed. She always wanted to find an opportunity to thank her properly.

Upon seeing Liu Shiling, who was standing on tiptoe and craning her neck to look out at the exit, Yang Zhen'er's face immediately lit up with joy. She rushed over in a few strides, put her suitcase aside, squatted down, hugged the Little Chubby Girl, and planted a big kiss on her chubby cheek. Amidst Liu Shiling's exclamation of "Oh dear!", she exclaimed happily, "I missed you so much, Little Bell!"

Liu Shiling gently patted Yang Zhen'er's shoulder, her tone seemingly comforting, and said, "Old Fairy Sister, I miss you too."

Then Yang Zhen'er wrapped her arms around the Little Chubby Girl's waist, picked her up with a "Hey!" sound, and immediately put her down, chuckling, "Not bad, Little Bell has gotten heavier again." She then patted the girl's head to compare it to her own height and said, "You've gotten taller too."

Liu Shiling tilted her head up and said, "It's not heavy!"

"Of course there are, I can't even carry them all!"

"Old Fairy Sister needs to exercise more."

"Yes, I do. I work in the village every day. If you don't believe me, pinch my arm."

"Old Fairy Sister is lying! I've heard all that pretty sister has been telling me you sleep in late every day in the village."

"Your pretty sister is the one who sleeps in late every day. Do you believe me or her? I'll buy you Ice Cream later."

"Old Fairy Sister, you can't do this! I'm not a greedy child."

Chocolate or milk flavor?

"Hmm... Chocolate flavor, I guess."

Shiling's Mother looked helplessly at the two, one big and one small, but couldn't help but smile. Little Apple and Liu Shiling still needed to rehearse jokes to perform crosstalk, while Yang Zhen'er and Liu Shiling could perform crosstalk with just a few words of conversation. It was hilarious.

She always felt that when her daughter was with Ms. Yang, it wasn't like she was with an elder, but rather like she was with a peer. It wasn't that she thought Yang Zhen'er was immature, but rather that Yang Zhen'er and her daughter seemed to be naturally on the same wavelength, or what is commonly known as being compatible. Otherwise, why couldn't her daughter get along as well with other peers?

It seems that my daughter is very compatible with Mr. Xiang, Ms. Tang, Ms. Xia, and Little Apple when they are together.

To be honest, Shiling's Mother was even a little envious of this.

Because she often felt that she didn't quite understand her daughter's thoughts, and even occasionally felt that her daughter seemed to be "accommodating" her lack of understanding.

This feeling was very mysterious, because she had thought about it carefully, trying to find the reason, but found that she couldn't be sure. It wasn't a specific event, a specific view of something, a specific piece of knowledge, or a specific behavior, but many, many things, all aspects of life, many details, which made her feel that her daughter's way of thinking seemed rather special, but Xiang Kun, Ms. Xia, and Ms. Yang were able to understand it.

However, she was also very grateful to Xiang Kun and the others. Without them, her daughter would definitely be much lonelier than she is now, not to mention the help they provided to her and her daughter in other ways.

After leaving the airport, the three of them went to a restaurant for dinner. While eating, the adult and the child couldn't help but discuss the dishes Xiang Kun made, pointing out that the restaurant's dishes were not good enough, leaving Shiling's Mother speechless.

Yang Zhen'er and Tang Baona lived in the same apartment complex and building as Liu Shiling, so they naturally went back together after dinner.

When they arrived at their building, while waiting for the elevator on the first floor, Yang Zhen'er nodded to a woman carrying a plastic bag.

The woman smiled and said, "Shiling's Mother is back?"

Yang Zhen'er was taken aback because the other person was looking at her when they said that, instead of calling her "Zhen. Shiling's Mother".

Shiling's Mother was equally taken aback. What was going on with this older sister? Liu Shiling looked more like her than she did; how could she be mistaken?

Liu Shiling immediately grabbed her mother's hand and said, "Aunt Zhang, this is my mother." Then she took Yang Zhen'er's hand and said, "This is my sister."

"Ah! I'm so sorry, I misunderstood..." Aunt Zhang was also a little surprised. Her family had only moved here a few months earlier than Liu Shiling and her daughter. Her daughter had attended the same kindergarten as Liu Shiling, although she was in the lower grades and didn't play with Liu Shiling, she still knew Liu Shiling's name. When picking up her daughter, she had seen Yang Zhen'er outside the kindergarten several times, but Yang Zhen'er would always go out to eat or go shopping after picking up Liu Shiling, so there was no chance for them to come back to the community together. At most, they would just nod and greet each other, without talking much. Subconsciously, she had always assumed that Yang Zhen'er was Liu Shiling's mother.

To divert attention from the awkwardness, she glanced at Yang Zhen'er, then at "Zhen. Shiling's Mother," and smiled, "Sister, you're so well-preserved! You look no more than thirty. Just by looking at you, I would never guess you already have such a grown daughter."

Yang Zhen'er couldn't help but laugh out loud, and Shiling's Mother said with a mix of helplessness and amusement, "Ms. Yang is not Shi Ling's biological sister."

"Ah? Ah! Oh dear, I'm so sorry..." Aunt Zhang was even more embarrassed.

After taking the elevator home together, Yang Zhen'er couldn't help but laugh with Shiling's Mother as soon as she entered the door, "Miss Zhang is so funny! She took your daughter away with one word, and then she gave you an extra daughter with another one!"

Shiling's Mother was both amused and exasperated, and couldn't help but pat Yang Zhen'er on the shoulder. "Don't talk nonsense!"

They returned to the apartment rented by Yang Zhen'er and Tang Baona. Shiling's Mother helped tidy up, and then they sat down together to drink tea and chat. After chatting for a while, Shiling's Mother received a phone call about some company matters.

Noticing that Shiling's Mother seemed distracted after finishing the phone call, Yang Zhen'er immediately said, "Sister Lin, if something comes up at the company, why don't you go check on things? Little Bell will play with me, so don't worry."

"It's alright, it's alright. Today is the weekend, I'm on holiday. The new employee at the company has a small problem, I've already told him over the phone, it's fine," Shiling's Mother said. She was indeed a little worried about things at the company, but Ms. Yang had just returned, and she was leaving her daughter with her right away. It felt a bit like asking someone to come all the way back to be a babysitter, and she felt bad about it. Moreover, strictly speaking, Ms. Yang was not only a senior executive at "Universe Technology," but also a shareholder of "Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment," making her, in a sense, her boss, just like Zhang Qian.

"Go on, Sister Lin, your worries are written all over your face. Instead of worrying about things here, why don't you just go and take care of them? Anyway, the company is close by, it only takes about ten minutes to get there if you walk fast. If you can get it done before dinner, I'll bring Little Bell to the company building to wait for you, and we can have dinner together," Yang Zhen'er advised.

As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Shiling added, "Mom, don't worry, go to the company. I'll stay here obediently with Sister Laoxian."

Seeing the two girls, one big and one small, trying to comfort her, Shiling's Mother sensed the subtle understanding between them again; it seemed they were on the same wavelength once more.

However, it must be admitted that she truly felt at ease leaving her daughter with Yang Zhen'er.

After hesitating and making a few embarrassed refusals, Shiling's Mother still went out and rushed back to the company.

As the security door closed and she faintly heard Shiling's Mother's footsteps fading away, Liu Shiling turned to look at Yang Zhen'er, who was also looking at her.

After the two stared at each other for two seconds, Yang Zhen'er spoke first:

"Little Bell, I already know your secret, you have a 'Little Sprite', don't you!"

Liu Shiling was stunned, staring wide-eyed at Yang Zhen'er.

"Ha! I was right!"

"I didn't say anything!"

"Your face practically screams 'Old Fairy Sister is right!'"

Liu Shiling rubbed her face and shook her head. "I didn't say that!"

"Alright, alright, Chef Xiang probably told you to keep it a secret or something, but it's okay, I'm... I'm one of them! Besides... I have my own 'Little Sprite' too!" Yang Zhen'er said proudly.

Liu Shiling was even more surprised. "Old Fairy Sister, do you really have 'Little Sprite'?"

"Hmm~ Humph! I sent your mother to the company so you could see my 'Little Sprite'!" Yang Zhen'er said as she stood up, rubbing her palm.

She rushed back to Peng City alone at this time, not only to help Tang Baona handle company matters and coordinate with Zhang Qian, but also for another important purpose: she couldn't wait to show off her abilities to Liu Shiling, because she believed that Liu Shiling should also have "Little Sprite" and would be the best audience to demonstrate and verify her abilities.

Yang Zhen'er took a small silk bag from her backpack, then took out erasers from the bag and scattered them around the room, saying as she did so, "Little Bell, you should know that our world has all kinds of magic and all kinds of superpowers, right..."

Liu Shiling stood beside him, her hands twisting together, unsure whether to answer. She desperately wanted to call Uncle Baldy to ask about the situation.

Although I already knew that Sister Fairy had begun to step into the realm of magic, I really didn't expect the progress to be so fast, and I also knew that she had "Little Sprite" - she always referred to the five Coin as "Little Sprite Guardians".

It shouldn't be the bald uncle who told the old fairy sister. If it were, the old fairy sister should have just said, "Little Bell, stop pretending! Chef Xiang told me everything!" instead of half-coaxing, half-bluffing, and half-guessing like this.

How did the old fairy sister know that?

Looking at the erasers Yang Zhen'er had arranged, Liu Shiling couldn't help but feel curious. These erasers must be the "Little Sprite" of the old fairy sister, but how was she going to demonstrate them? Could these erasers, like her Chocolate and Ice Cream cones, fly and move freely?

After arranging the erasers, Yang Zhen'er stood in front of Liu Shiling, holding the "Lucky Coin" Xiang Kun had given her in her open palm. Then, in a serious and deep voice, she said, "Little Bell, our world harbors many dark and evil things; they exist in every corner, waiting for their chance..."

As Yang Zhen'er spoke, Liu Shiling noticed that the light in the room suddenly dimmed, and then dark shadows began to gather and wriggle in the corners.

Yang Zhen'er suddenly gripped the Coin in her hand, her tone becoming urgent and solemn. "Little Bell, when darkness and evil threaten this world, I!~ will don a magnificent silver helmet..."

As soon as the word "helmet" was uttered, Liu Shiling saw a flash of white light on Yang Zhen'er's head, and then an exquisite helmet appeared on the old fairy sister's head.

"I will don my magnificent silver armor!"

A silver suit of armor with exquisite patterns appeared on Yang Zhen'er's body.

"Holding the holy sword that can slay demons, bring light, banish darkness, and be imbued with lightning!"

A greatsword, flowing with white light and crackling with electric arcs, appeared in Yang Zhen'er's hand.

"I am the 'Silver Armor Fairy'! I am my own 'Little Sprite'!!"

After uttering this declarative statement, Yang Zhen'er turned around, swung her greatsword, and slashed behind her. Light exploded, lightning raged, and then the writhing shadows in the room instantly collapsed. The originally dim room was restored to its original brightness in the next moment.

Yang Zhen'er hopped around, the armor and greatsword nowhere to be seen. Her eyes shone as she looked at the Little Chubby Girl: "How was it, Little Bell? Wasn't the 'Silver Armor Fairy' amazing and cool!"

Liu Shiling's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open; she nodded subconsciously.