Early in the morning, the girl was woken up by the ringing of her phone, barely able to open her eyes.
She fumbled blindly to the side, grabbed the phone, and drowsily answered the call.
“Hello…”
Silence on the other end, just some rustling noises.
“Sorry to bother you, wrong number, sorry…”
A pleasant female voice came through, and after speaking, the line went dead.
“Crazy…” Lin Xinyuan finally started to wake up, feeling speechless.
She had just finally fallen asleep last night, and now this—there was no way she could get back to sleep.
Wait…
Where had she heard that voice before?
Thinking this, Lin Xinyuan glanced at her phone, suddenly fully alert: “It’s her…”
Still half dazed before, but now seeing the caller ID, she instantly grew nervous.
It was her mother calling directly.
Could it be that she was already here?
“How could it be so fast…” Lin Xinyuan clearly hadn’t expected this, still unprepared.
“Qin Nanfeng?” Lin Xinyuan looked around her room, calling out several times, only to realize that guy wasn’t there at all.
He had probably left after she fell asleep last night…
But…
She was coming… What was she supposed to do now? Should she call back or what?
Her voice must have been heard just now… which was why they thought it was a wrong number…
Thinking of this, Lin Xinyuan panicked.
Qin Nanfeng had left without a sound, and she was starting to fear facing that so-called mother…
She wanted to call Qin Nanfeng, but her fingers just couldn’t press the buttons.
In the end, she didn’t make the call, quietly muttering, “No, Lin Xinyuan… you can’t… trouble others like this…”
In the end, Lin Xinyuan gave up on the idea.
She had gone to bed late last night; where was Qin Nanfeng now?
Probably still asleep…
Besides… this was her own problem.
What obligation did she have to let others help her?
That damn blonde had already done enough.
“Ding—”
With the phone vibrating, a message notification sounded.
Lin Xinyuan glanced at it, unsurprised to see the familiar sunset scenery as the avatar.
[Have you gotten up yet?]
Seeing the message, her heart tightened slightly, but she still typed back: [Just got up.]
[Are you alone now?]
Sure enough, the questions began…
Lin Xinyuan’s fingers hesitated, struggling before biting her lip and deciding to tell the truth.
Yeah… at this point, what was there to hesitate over…
She knew that person didn’t really care about her; it probably didn’t matter if she was male or female.
With that in mind, Lin Xinyuan typed: [Yes.]
No sooner had she sent the message than the other side seemed to see it, showing “typing…” continuously.
But over a minute passed, and still no reply.
Lin Xinyuan’s gaze dimmed.
Just as she was about to put the phone down, it suddenly rang again.
Startled, Lin Xinyuan nearly dropped the phone, but steadied it and saw it was her mother calling again.
Having made up her mind, Lin Xinyuan didn’t hesitate this time and answered immediately.
“Hello?” The familiar yet strange female voice came through, still calm and even.
Though Lin Xinyuan had steeled herself somewhat inside, facing the voice in reality was very different.
Her voice barely audible, she replied, “I’m here…”
Hearing her response, Lin’s mother seemed indifferent and continued, “Are you at the dorm? Can you come out to get me?”
Lin Xinyuan felt her heart pounding as if it would burst.
Clenching her fists, she forced herself to calm down: “I’m living outside now…”
Time seemed to pause for a moment.
The girl trembled as she awaited a reply.
A sigh came from the other end before the voice spoke again: “Give me the address…”
“Oh… okay…”
“Alright, that’s settled. I’m coming now.”
With that, Lin’s mother hung up, leaving Lin Xinyuan still dazed.
Lost in thought, she followed her mother’s instruction and sent the address.
Coming back to herself, Lin Xinyuan tried to steady her heart, her emotions tangled and chaotic.
She clearly had no idea how to face her mother when she arrived.
Especially since Lin’s mother hadn’t asked a single question just now, which only made her more nervous and uneasy.
A sour feeling gripped her chest.
Though not much time had passed, Lin Xinyuan felt like she was suffering.
Sitting on the bed, her legs shook uncontrollably, trying to ease her scattered thoughts.
Finally, amidst Lin Xinyuan’s uneasy mood, her phone rang again.
It was a message from her mother: she had arrived outside the complex and asked Lin Xinyuan to come down to meet her.
The girl stepped outside hesitantly and headed down to the entrance of the residential complex.
Crossing the gated entrance, she looked straight toward the roadside.
A figure stood there, back turned to her, waiting silently.
From the silhouette, it was a fairly fashionable middle-aged woman, with a graceful figure.
It was none other than the mother she hadn’t seen in a long time…
Although Lin Xinyuan hadn’t seen her mother in a while, she recognized her immediately.
After all, no one else came in and out like that—only that person stood there.
Lin Xinyuan walked slowly, hoping this hard-earned moment would last longer.
But the distance between them was short, and soon she reached her mother’s back.
Just as she was wondering how to greet her, Lin’s mother, feeling she was coming too slowly, dialed another call.
“Beep beep beep—”
The ringing suddenly sounded behind her, catching Lin’s mother’s attention.
Turning around in confusion, she found a girl standing there—Lin Xinyuan—whom she hadn’t heard approach.
The sudden ring startled Lin Xinyuan, who almost hung up, but then she turned and locked eyes with her mother.
At that glance, the girl immediately lowered her head, trembling.
“Mom…”
Lin’s mother was momentarily stunned when she saw the girl’s face.
The resemblance between this girl and her younger self was uncanny, almost seven parts alike, leaving her slightly dazed…
Just as she was caught off guard, she heard the girl call out softly, her voice tender and fragile, freezing Lin’s mother on the spot.
Mom?
At that moment, Lin’s mother’s mind raced.
She instantly connected the earlier phone ringing to the call she had just received—it had been almost simultaneous.
And then the voice on the phone just now…
She stared silently at the girl, head bowed low, unable to speak.
“Lin Xinyuan?”
The girl lowered her head even further, curling up like a small hedgehog, voice faint as a whisper: “Mm…”
A long silence stretched between them.
Then a voice suddenly broke the stillness.
“Xiaoyuan, what are you doing here?”
Both looked toward the direction of the voice.
“This is…?”
Lin’s mother was puzzled about who Xiaoyuan was, while Lin Xinyuan was close to exploding inwardly, silently cursing.
You were supposed to have left, right? Couldn’t you have come earlier or later? Why now of all times…
Lin Xinyuan had no idea about her mother’s attitude before, but now things had only gotten worse.
She didn’t know how to explain this at all.
“I…”
Just as Lin Xinyuan stammered, trying to explain, Qin Nanfeng noticed the middle-aged woman standing next to the girl.
Judging by Lin Xinyuan’s uneasy gaze and their similar appearances, he immediately figured out the situation.
But Qin Nanfeng showed no embarrassment.
He walked straight over and smiled at Lin’s mother.
“Auntie, hello. My name is Qin Nanfeng. I’m Lin Xinyuan’s classmate. I was the one who called you yesterday.”
Lin’s mother suddenly understood and nodded: “So it was you…”
She began pacing slowly between the two but didn’t say anything, as that wasn’t the most important matter now.
Lin Xinyuan was still anxious inside, but Qin Nanfeng smiled and ignored the woman’s gaze.
“Auntie, let’s go inside and talk? It’s too noisy out here.”
Lin’s mother glanced around.
There were office workers passing by constantly, and with the three of them looking rather striking, a few curious glances were inevitable.
She glanced once more at the girl, a mixture of doubt and concern in her eyes, then sighed deeply.
“All right.”