‘Tomorrow… noon… go to her house…?’
Gazing at Liu Yinuo’s back, the girl shrank into her coat against the bleak, cold wind of the sunset. Her eyes were instantly filled with unease and confusion. She felt like something was off with Liu Yinuo just now, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
How could she describe the feeling? It was as if something terrible would happen if she violated those words.
But… Qin Haiyue had also told her to find her tomorrow at noon… The times overlapped. What should she do?
She didn’t know. It felt like no matter which one she chose, something would go wrong. But in the end, Qin Haiyue’s threat seemed more substantial. The girl stared blankly at the staircase where Liu Yinuo had disappeared for a while. After a period of silence, she finally left via her usual secluded path.
Without realizing it, the New Year was approaching, and the weather was getting colder. This was especially apparent outside as night fell. The biting, dry wind blew against her face like a sharp little knife cutting into her flesh, making her frown involuntarily.
The girl carefully unzipped her backpack and took out the scarf Liu Yinuo had given her. It had to be said that Liu Yinuo’s gift was very practical; it showed the giver’s thoughtfulness without being so expensive that it was hard to accept. More importantly, it was indeed very warm.
When the girl left the school, the dense flow of people and vehicles on the streets had gradually receded. Occasionally, people walked in pairs, huddling together — perhaps couples, perhaps close friends. They blocked the cold wind for one another, while the girl’s silhouette remained solitary.
The thick scarf wrapped around her cheeks, leaving only a pair of somewhat dull pink eyes visible between her hair and the fabric.
The sun finally set completely. Darkness and cold quickly blanketed the sky, and the lights of thousands of homes flickered to life in the bustling city like dazzling stars. The girl followed the winding path from her memory toward the Lin family home.
There were no skyscrapers here, no noisy night markets. Under the pale streetlights, her tiny figure walked toward a ‘home’ that offered no warmth.
Standing before the cold security door, she noticed a car parked outside. This meant her adoptive parents had already returned from work.
This made the girl nervous. Her small hand, which was almost on the doorknob, pulled back. Before entering, she decided to take off her scarf. After all, there was no telling if Lin Ziyan might get angry if she saw it, and she didn’t want the gift Liu Yinuo gave her to be thrown away.
She stuffed the scarf into her backpack and then reached out to turn the doorknob. The living room was brightly lit, and the sound of chopping vegetables came from the kitchen.
“I’m back…”
There was no response. It seemed no one cared about her return. She entered in silence. The living room was quiet. Lin Ziyan sat on the sofa scrolling through her phone. Hearing her return, she only gave her a cold glance before turning away without saying a word.
The girl had just put down her backpack and wanted to head upstairs when her adoptive father, Lin Cheng, suddenly poked his head out of the kitchen. Those squinting eyes made her freeze.
“You little brat, you finally decided to come back? Had your fill of fooling around outside? Get over here and help!”
“Ah? Okay…”
Before she could even catch her breath, she was called into the kitchen. It was bustling with activity. Her adoptive father was stir-frying, and her adoptive mother was making soup. Hearing her enter, Xu Ming turned around and glared at her.
“Watch the pot. While you’re at it, wash the vegetables so they’re ready for the pan. I’m going to go rest for a bit.”
“Okay…”
Taking over the half-washed vegetables, the girl finished the soup according to her instructions. Her adoptive father finished his stir-fry, and before long, the Lin family’s dinner was ready.
She served each of the three of them a bowl of soup and carefully brought them to the table. The girl reflexively moved to leave, but her adoptive mother called out to her.
“Hey, I’m talking to you. What were you doing yesterday? You actually dared to stay out all night. You’ve gotten quite bold, haven’t you!”
“No… I… I didn’t mean to…”
Thinking about Qin Haiyue’s threats, she decided it was better not to tell them about it. After all, they probably wouldn’t believe her anyway, and she might even get beaten for drawing trouble to them.
“I asked you for a reason!”
“…I’m sorry. I was asked to stay over at a classmate’s house,” she could only make up an excuse.
“Then didn’t you know to have your classmate’s parents give us a call? Do you have any idea how worried we were about you last night?”
‘Worried?’
‘If you were actually worried, you would have called the police long ago…’
The girl grumbled inwardly. Of course, she could never say such words aloud. She knew her adoptive parents weren’t truly worried about her. They were likely only upset because the household had lost its free labor and they found her disobedience irritating.
If she actually voiced her sarcasm, she would probably get a beating.
So, facing her adoptive parents’ hypocritical remarks, the girl could only lower her head even further.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
“Hmph. As punishment, no dinner for you tonight. Scram and mop the floor, and the trash needs to be taken out. Honestly, why did we even adopt a useless freeloader like you?”
She didn’t want to speak. Since she was told to do it, she would do it. She had long since grown used to it anyway; as long as she wasn’t beaten, these harsh words were no different than silence to her.
However, one detail made her uneasy. The night before last, when her adoptive mother wanted to scold her, Lin Ziyan had stood up for her. But this time, she didn’t.
She quietly glanced at Lin Ziyan. The other girl was scrolling through her phone and eating with her head down, seemingly not caring enough to even look at her.
Whatever. It probably wasn’t anything important. After all, standing by and watching coldly was Lin Ziyan’s normal state.
Thinking of this, however, she suddenly remembered something and snapped her head up. Despite the fear still lingering in her heart, she slowly but firmly approached her adoptive mother, Xu Ming.
“What? Haven’t you scrambled off to work yet?”
“Um… wait a moment… I… I have something I want to ask…”
The girl approached her adoptive mother, looking at her with a pleading gaze. Xu Ming couldn’t help but frown. She hadn’t noticed for a while, but when had this brat’s hair gotten so long? Moreover, the face was much more delicate than before. Where was there even a trace of a boy left?
However, that wasn’t her main focus. No matter how good-looking or girl-like Ye Xingmian was, it had nothing to do with her. Compared to that, it was better to think of how to use the information gap to squeeze more money out of that mother and son.
“What is it?”
Ye Xingmian rarely took the initiative to ask them for anything. It wasn’t just because she was afraid of them, but also because of the more realistic possibility that they simply wouldn’t care — or more likely, they would refuse outright.
For example, when they were younger and the parents took Lin Ziyan and Ye Xingmian shopping, little Lin Ziyan would giggle while holding their hands, while little Ye Xingmian would carry the heavy shopping bags. They once bought Lin Ziyan a plush toy, but when little Ye Xingmian finally worked up the courage to ask for a much smaller, cheaper toy, he was refused without a second thought.
However, the situation was different this time. The girl’s eyes were full of hope.
“Could you… give me my mother’s phone number?”