“Doll?”
Lin Ziyan’s hands paused mid-scroll on her phone. She glanced up at the gift box in her mother’s hand. Through the transparent plastic film, she could see the finely crafted stuffed toy inside.
She frowned in displeasure.
“Why did you buy this kind of thing again?”
“Aiya, don’t you like it?” Xu Ming took out the Stuffed Bear and shook it in her hand. The bear’s brown paws swung back and forth with her motion, looking terribly cute.
“No, I’m too old for this. Besides, I already have so many, there’s barely any space left for more.” Lin Ziyan rejected it with a look of disgust.
“Ah… is that so?”
Obviously, she hadn’t expected her daughter to say that. Xu Ming’s face stiffened, looking a little troubled.
“This… it’s hard to return after buying.”
Lin Cheng, who had been watching from the side, came over to smooth things over.
“Ai, your mother means well. That two hundred yuan didn’t come easy. Just take it, daughter.”
“I don’t want it.”
Lin Ziyan was unconcerned and lowered her head to fiddle with her phone.
“……”
Lin Cheng and Xu Ming exchanged a glance, both seeing the awkwardness in each other’s eyes. Their daughter was growing up, and they were feeling more and more helpless.
“Sigh, fine, then tomorrow—”
“Um…”
A timid voice suddenly sounded, cutting her off. She turned her head toward the source and saw the girl whose face was half-hidden behind her long, jet-black hair.
She sounded very afraid, her voice small. Yet unexpectedly, there was a hint of longing in it.
“If Ziyan doesn’t want it… can I have it?”
Her tone was filled with a nearly instinctive fear and hesitation.
Perhaps, for the girl, saying those words took all the courage she could muster.
Xu Ming frowned, and rejected her without hesitation.
“No. Who do you think you are? This is for Ziyan. Why is a boy like you meddling?”
“I…”
Tongue-tied, the girl instinctively looked up, mouth open, but she didn’t know what to say.
It looked like she could only give up…
She lowered her head in silence and could only continue eating her meal.
“If he wants it, just give it to him.”
At that moment, things took a turn. Ye Xingmian looked up in disbelief at Lin Ziyan, who was sitting to the side.
“Eh?”
Why was she speaking up for her?
There had never been such a thing in her memory. A flicker of joy rose in the girl’s chest. But when she met those pitch-black, indifferent eyes, the spark of joy was quickly snuffed out.
“It’s just a stupid doll. What’s the big deal if you give it to him? Hasn’t he done enough chores anyway? Just treat it as his reward.”
Her heart felt hollow, as if doused in a bucket of cold water. A sense of grievance welled up inexplicably in her chest. She kept her head down, looking at her thin pant leg, unable to say a word.
“That’s true! Our Ziyan really thinks things through. Xingmian, aren’t you going to thank Ziyan?”
The girl trembled all over at the mention of her name. She bit her lower lip lightly and finally turned, using a weak voice to speak to Lin Ziyan.
“Th… thank you…”
Xu Ming kept her word. After seeing the girl thank her, she tossed the Stuffed Bear to her as casually as throwing away trash. The girl hurriedly caught it, her blurred vision following Xu Ming, who was already preparing to leave.
“Darling daughter, finish your dinner and get some rest early. You have class tomorrow.”
After speaking, she glanced again at the still-dazed Ye Xingmian. Frowning, she said, “Eat faster, and when you’re done, wash the dishes and massage Ziyan’s shoulders. Don’t let her get tired.”
The girl was still spacing out and didn’t reply.
“Did you hear me!”
The sudden raise in volume startled the girl so much she jolted.
“O… okay…”
Her foster parents then left.
In the spacious first-floor living room, only the two girls remained. Ye Xingmian set down the stuffed toy and distractedly continued eating. After a while scrolling on her phone, Lin Ziyan looked up with a gaze full of interest toward Ye Xingmian.
At that moment, the girl was eating slowly. Lin Ziyan could just make out her rosy lips and fair, soft skin.
Why hadn’t she noticed before? At some point, her “older brother” had become more and more feminine, prettier and gentler, almost like a stray kitten that anyone could bully, and would never fight back.
If she put on girls’ clothes, she’d probably look really pretty, wouldn’t she?
Lin Ziyan thought with some mischief.
“Come and give me a shoulder massage.”
Lin Ziyan suddenly ordered, watching as the girl froze and looked up at her with a troubled expression.
“Can I wait a bit… I haven’t finished eating…”
“No. If you don’t come, I’ll tell Mom and Dad.”
She knew that as long as she used their parents as leverage, the other couldn’t refuse. So she acted fearlessly.
“Alright…”
As expected, no matter how unwilling, the girl had no choice but to put down her chopsticks, obediently standing behind her. Her nimble, cold hands gently landed on Lin Ziyan’s shoulders.
“Mm… put some strength into it. Are you even a boy? Why are you so weak?”
“S-sorry…”
She was already using all her strength, but with the thick clothing, the pressure from her fingers couldn’t get through. A touch of bitterness rose on the girl’s face. Her already dizzy head became even heavier from the ache in her fingers.
“Is ‘sorry’ all you can say?”
Lin Ziyan snorted coldly and questioned her.
“……” Having been scolded, the girl could only stay silent and continued massaging without a word.
“Don’t go silent now. Don’t you really want that White Cloth? There’s no one else here. Tell me what you use it for, and I’ll give it back to you.”
The girl’s hands paused for a moment. This brief hesitation was instantly caught by Lin Ziyan.
“Hmph, so hesitant. Are you using it for something shameful?”
“N-no, I’m not…”
The girl instinctively denied it, but her weakening massage betrayed her guilt.
“Then what do you use it for?”
“I…”
“Can’t say? Should I help you figure out how to explain it?”
“……”
“Is it for bandaging wounds? You got hurt by Qin Haiyue today, didn’t you?”
“……”
“Not talking? So it isn’t? Tsk, don’t tell me it’s for binding your chest? You’re not growing breasts, are you, you big man?”
“N-no… I’m not…”
Of all the questions, this one she wanted to deny the most. Her face turned a little pale.
“Then say what it’s for,” Lin Ziyan pressed harder.
“I… I…”
Ye Xingmian had never been good with words. When nervous, it was even worse. She stammered for a long time but still couldn’t get a single word out. Seeing this, Lin Ziyan let out a cold laugh.
“Can’t say? Then when you’ve thought of a reason, I’ll give it back to you.”
With that, she didn’t wait for the girl’s response, breaking free from those powerless, slender hands and heading upstairs by herself.
The cold living room was left with only Ye Xingmian. She stayed in the massage position, staring blankly ahead, unmoving for a long while.
Did I fail? Was I… found out?