Chapter 37: The Girl’s Secret Plot…

Ye Xingmian didn’t come to class today.

Lin Ziyan didn’t come either. According to the homeroom teacher, she was taking care of the sick Ye Xingmian, so they both took a leave of absence.

However, this only made Liu Yinuo feel more uneasy.

Lin Ziyan taking care of Ye Xingmian? Like hell anyone would believe that.

What happened last night still felt like a lump in her throat. Thinking about it now, she still felt miserable.

Why did she let Ye Xingmian go home alone in such heavy snow? Why didn’t she take her back? Her fever had just broken, and her leg injury hadn’t healed yet. What if she fainted from the cold? Would she die outside?

All sorts of conjectures made her feel increasingly distressed. No matter what, she shouldn’t have let Ye Xingmian go back last night; she should have dragged her home if she had to. But it was too late now; she only felt regret.

She felt this might be the most irreparable mistake she had ever made in her life.

Outside the classroom window were a few withered trees covered in a thick layer of snow. When she arrived at school this morning, she saw several trees that had been snapped by the wind and snow, showing just how harsh the weather had been last night. In weather like that, how did Ye Xingmian make it back?

She couldn’t think about it; the more she did, the more distressed she became. Liu Yinuo couldn’t even settle down to listen to the lecture; her mind was filled with that frail girl. She tried to focus, but it was like pushing a buoy underwater only for it to pop up elsewhere—the image of that figure fading into the snowy night simply wouldn’t go away.

She muddled through until the end of class…

Unable to set her mind at ease, Liu Yinuo left the classroom and leaned against the corridor railing to catch some air, but a new wave of anxiety immediately surged within her.

Why did Lin Ziyan take a leave of absence? Didn’t they usually just leave Ye Xingmian to fend for herself at home? Why did she insist on staying home to “care” for her this time? Something was wrong—there had to be some sort of scheme.

She must have already guessed that Ye Xingmian had turned into a girl…

Thinking of this, the girl’s premonition grew worse. She was almost certain Lin Ziyan wanted to bully Ye Xingmian, but she didn’t know what methods she would use. Intense anxiety tortured her continuously. She suddenly straightened up, wanting to ask for leave to visit Ye Xingmian almost by reflex, but then realized her reason wouldn’t hold any weight.

Requesting leave required contacting her parents, and they certainly wouldn’t agree to her taking leave again for this. Thinking of her parents, she gritted her teeth in frustration. Last night, she had been just one step away from having the little cutie completely surrender to her gentle offensive and starting a sweet life together (?)

However, because of that tiny gap, it was all ruined by her parents saying some nonsense about “it’s for your own good” and driving Ye Xingmian away.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

But she would have chances in the future. The little cutie wasn’t ungrateful; she remembered Liu Yinuo’s kindness, so it would be easy to get close to her again. One day, she would achieve her goal of bringing the little cutie to her home. But for now, the little cutie wasn’t a “little cutie” but a “poor little thing,” and her living situation was truly worrying.

After thinking it over, Liu Yinuo still felt it was necessary to visit the Lin house at noon to check on Ye Xingmian.

It was both to prevent the poor little thing from being bullied by Lin Ziyan and to understand her usual living conditions at home so she could provide the right remedy.

“Sigh—” She let out a sigh. It was useless to think about it now; she had to wait until school let out at noon. There was still a whole morning of classes to get through.

Thinking this, she suddenly remembered something, and her brow furrowed involuntarily.

Right, Qin Haiyue, that loathsome blonde. Yesterday at noon, she seemed to have threatened the poor little thing, saying… I’ll wait for you at the usual place tomorrow?

Did “the usual place” refer to some restroom entrance? The girl looked over with a frown. There was no sign of the six-foot-tall blonde; she had clearly left long ago.

Did this count as another breach of promise? The girl felt a bit worried. If Ye Xingmian came back and was caught by Qin Haiyue again when she wasn’t looking, what would happen?

Unable to find a good solution, Liu Yinuo could only think of protecting Ye Xingmian as much as possible so Qin Haiyue wouldn’t get a chance.

She felt a strange sense of exhaustion. Was she putting in all this effort only to get nothing in return?

But she really wanted to see the poor little thing smile again, to quietly hold her in her arms, feeling the softness of her body while admiring her peaceful and cute sleeping face.

She didn’t know when that would happen. But Liu Yinuo knew time was on her side, and she still had many opportunities.

Before long, the bell rang, and Liu Yinuo had no choice but to wait silently to endure the rest of the morning.

This morning, just as expected, Ye Xingmian did not come to school.

Having no expectations to begin with, Qin Haiyue left school after confirming this and returned to her home.

She was rummaging through her massive villa for the key to the basement, eventually finding it under an inconspicuous cabinet.

She used the key to open the already rusted iron door of the basement. With a piercing screech, the door swung open to reveal a bottomless black void.

After fumbling around for a bit, she turned on the basement light. The heavy scent of dust made her frown involuntarily. As a standard feature of a villa, this basement had never been used. Its original purpose was to store wine or valuables, but now it was covered in dust.

Qin Haiyue waited for a while, and soon the cleaning crew arrived. She followed several female workers down. The lighting was dim, and the four walls were made of poured concrete, airtight and windowless, except for a high ventilation fan on one wall. Behind it was a ventilation duct, but of course, it was nowhere near large enough for a person to crawl through.

She watched as the maids cleaned the basement bit by bit, sprinkling water to settle the dust in the air. Finally, they brought over several large pads and fixed them to the walls. They were soft to the touch and had a good, clay-like elasticity.

The pads were pink. Coupled with the newly installed golden chandelier on the ceiling of the spacious basement, the once-abandoned room actually looked quite cozy.

During the process, some talkative workers asked her what such a luxurious basement was being prepared for. She casually replied that it was for a pet. The workers could only remark that they didn’t understand the world of the rich and went back to work.

Of course, Qin Haiyue was telling the truth, except her idea of a “pet” was a bit different from everyone else’s.

She was truly beginning to carry out yesterday’s idea—to decorate a secluded room wrapped in soft padding.

Ye Xingmian hadn’t kept their appointment this morning, and she was still thinking about how to punish her.

Ah, as expected, it really would be better to bring her to my own house.

However, even though she had spent a lot of money renovating this basement, she might not necessarily get to use it. After all, unlike before, Ye Xingmian was no longer unnoticed. Kidnapping her now would be somewhat difficult.

But if it was just for one night, it wouldn’t be a problem at all for her.

“Liu—Yi—nuo—”

She muttered the name of that annoying person. In fact, more than one person would get in her way.

The phone in her pocket suddenly rang. Someone was calling. Unsurprisingly, it was her American father.

Her gaze immediately became filled with disgust.

She walked to a secluded spot to answer. The person on the other end immediately greeted her in stiff, broken Chinese.

“Hi! My daw-ter! What I told you last night, did you go do it?”

It sounded truly ridiculous.

“Fine, I get it.” Wasn’t it just about getting on good terms with the only daughter of the city’s chief justice to help smooth the path for his branch’s development here?

Although Qin Haiyue didn’t care much, she still agreed repeatedly.

“I told you last night, she’s called Luo Xi. You must try hard!”

Right, Luo Xi, that person who loved meddling in other people’s business.

If she found out that the person Qin Haiyue frequently bullied had suddenly disappeared, she would definitely bring a whole squad of “hats” to turn the house upside down. By then, it would be too late.

She hung up the phone casually, ignoring the stiff, broken nagging from the other end. She felt a bit troubled.

Why were there so many people who liked to meddle?