Pushing the door with stiff fingers, the Lin family’s home was built in an old urban area. Most of the houses here were self-built single-story homes. There had been constant rumors of demolition and relocation, but after more than a decade, property prices kept rising while the demolition remained a distant dream. The girl wobbled and pressed herself against the iron security door.
She tried to unlock it, but she turned the handle and pulled, yet there was no response. The door was locked from the inside.
Having no other choice, she huddled her body and pounded on the locked door, waiting for someone inside to open it.
The process was a bit of an ordeal, her mind wandering aimlessly. Who would open the door? If it were her uncle and aunt, how would she answer when they questioned where she had gone? She had taken the afternoon off without notifying them and hadn’t returned until now. Would she be punished?
Everything was an unknown. The girl leaned against the wall as the biting wind and snow buffeted her frail frame, making her sway. She barely managed to maintain her hazy consciousness. After waiting for a long time, no one came to open the door.
She had no choice but to pound on the door again, waiting for someone to open it.
If no one came to open the door, how would she survive the night? It was simply too cold. The temperature might have already dropped to around ten degrees below zero. Coupled with the ongoing snow, the air was cold and damp. She had no doubt that if she couldn’t get inside tonight, she would freeze to death outside.
Perhaps there was another way out—going to Liu Yinuo’s house to seek shelter. The class monitor probably wouldn’t refuse, right? But having just left and then going back, wouldn’t that make her look stupid…
“Ha…” She exhaled a puff of white mist, watching it dissipate into the air. The girl’s hands and feet had long since lost all sensation. Without the flow of warm blood, they appeared abnormally pale. Curling her body tightly, she felt as if she didn’t even have the strength to shiver anymore.
Cold, so cold.
Yet the door remained tightly shut. A hint of despair gradually surfaced in the girl’s eyes. Leaning against the wall, she slowly sat down. The freshly accumulated snow on the ground was pressed into a shallow indentation.
Forget it. Actually, I don’t want to go in either. Like this… is also fine…
Thoughts of giving up cropped up in her mind again. However, the sound of hinges turning came from beside her. As the leaking warm light hit the fresh snow, the door finally opened. A tall girl came out. Ye Xingmian looked up and saw the contemptuous smile on her face.
“What, you actually know to come back?” It seemed she wasn’t very welcome… Her eyes dimmed. Not really wanting to reply, the girl turned her face away and lowered her head in silence.
So what? If they didn’t let her back, then so be it. She had had enough of this kind of life. A meaningless, irritating, suffering life.
Seeing the girl ignore her, Lin Ziyan wasn’t annoyed. She had a grin on her face. “Well, aren’t you coming in? Is your brain frozen?”
Still no response. Lin Ziyan suddenly frowned. She reached out abruptly and grabbed Ye Xingmian’s ice-cold hand. However, the moment her hand touched her, Ye Xingmian struggled violently as if she had received an electric shock. “Don’t… don’t touch me…!” Desperately trying to pull back from the other’s hand, a pained expression appeared on the girl’s face.
“What’s wrong with you?” In her freezing state, the girl was naturally no match for her strength, especially since she had no intention of letting go. With a frown and a slight tug, the girl was pulled into her embrace. Relying on the slight difference in their sizes, she easily restrained the girl in her arms.
“Don’t… don’t touch me… It’s so hot… so hot…!” For some reason, the hand that had just touched the other person felt like it had touched a branding iron, nearly making her cry out from the heat. The strength of her struggle was like a kitten trying to break free from her embrace. Frowning, she pushed the girl inside and locked both doors behind them.
The heater was on in the house, making it much warmer than the snowy outdoors. A faint scent of food could be smelled. Even after entering the house, the girl seemed as though she hadn’t recovered. Her face was terrifyingly pale, and her hands tightly hugged her chest as she instinctively curled up.
Did her brain really get frozen? Seeing the girl’s abnormal reaction, Lin Ziyan thought with a frown. After a moment of silence, she took off her own jacket, draped it over the girl, and hugged her to restore her body temperature. “Are you still cold?” Her lips trembling, the girl lowered her head and did not speak.
“…” Her gaze became somewhat heavy. Lin Ziyan felt that things were becoming a bit difficult. Originally, she had planned to take advantage of the girl’s wretched return to break down her psychological defenses and then use the opportunity to threaten her. But seeing her in this state, she feared that if the girl had stayed outside any longer, she would have died.
Sighing, she glanced at the girl and said, “Go eat. There are leftovers. I’ll heat them up for you.” Looking up in surprise, these weren’t words Lin Ziyan would usually say. The girl instinctively felt something was slightly off. Looking at Lin Ziyan’s back, she almost instinctively sensed something was wrong, but she couldn’t say exactly what it was.
“What are you dazed for? Are you deaf?” That was it. This was right. This was the real Lin Ziyan. Stunned for a moment, Ye Xingmian shook her head and followed her lead, sitting on the chair by the dining table. Some leftover dishes were still placed on it, and the rice in the electric cooker was still steaming. Lin Ziyan poured her a glass of hot water and then took the leftovers to the kitchen to heat them up. Watching her busy figure, Ye Xingmian felt a momentary trance.
What happened? Why was she suddenly being so nice to her…? She picked up the hot water on the table; it wasn’t scalding, just the right temperature. She drank it in one gulp and felt her body feel much better.
Just then, the food had been heated. Lin Ziyan brought it to the dining table. The aroma of the meat instantly whetted the girl’s appetite. Still uneasy, the girl continued to stare blankly at her “younger sister.” “What are you looking at me for? Serve your own rice. My parents just fell asleep. If I hadn’t still been awake, you could have just waited to freeze to death outside tonight!”
Did it seem like she wanted a thank you? But she couldn’t say it. Whether the door was opened or not didn’t really matter. On the contrary, she had already prepared herself for the possibility that the other party really wouldn’t open the door. Although it seemed like a “happy ending” now, she still couldn’t feel happy. Naturally, there was no gratitude to speak of.
She silently turned her head, served herself a bowl of rice, and ate bit by bit. With food in her stomach, her hands and feet gradually warmed up. Seeing that the girl’s reaction was not what she expected, Lin Ziyan gave a disdainful “Tsk.” “I went through all this trouble to do this and that for you, and you can’t even say thank you?”
Hearing this, the girl’s quiet eating motion suddenly stopped. She looked up at her “younger sister.” In those pink eyes, there was none of the usual submissiveness, only a deep exhaustion. She only glanced once before lowering her head. “I didn’t ask you to do these things,” she said, her voice so small it was almost inaudible.
It clearly wasn’t something she had begged for. As long as the door hadn’t been locked, she could have done all of this herself. Why did she have to demand gratitude so condescendingly? Just to see her in a lowly, pleading state? She was truly tired. She didn’t want to be like that anymore.
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