When she woke up the second day, Lin Ziyang’s anger still hadn’t subsided. She checked the time on her phone; it was 8:30 AM, so her parents had surely already left for work. Recalling Ye Xingmian’s words from the previous night, her irritation grew the more she thought about it. She turned to look at the girl behind her.
Under the morning light leaking through the gaps in the curtains, the girl was sleeping peacefully. Unsure if she was dreaming or not, her brow was slightly furrowed, as if she were uncomfortable or perhaps anxious.
Lin Ziyang dithered for a moment. For some reason, seeing the girl like this caused a strange surge of emotion in her chest. She frowned, but in the end, her anger won out. Regardless of anything else, slandering her parents was an unforgivable offense. She decided to teach the girl a lesson.
Adjusting her posture and leaning toward the edge of the bed, she gave the girl a kick.
*“Waaah!”*
Suddenly losing control of her body and nearly falling off the bed, Ye Xingmian cried out and snapped her eyes open.
Staring at the ceiling, the girl’s small brain worked rapidly, quickly making sense of her current situation. Only then did she turn her head, looking at Lin Ziyang with a gaze that was both exhausted and slightly fearful. Her voice was somewhat hoarse.
“What is it…?”
Lin Ziyang arched an eyebrow, her tone haughty.
“Get up already! I’m hungry. Go cook for me!”
“Ah… okay…”
Luckily, she hadn’t been kicked all the way off the bed; otherwise, it might have been a painful fall. Moreover, it was a winter morning and the heating wasn’t on, making the room very cold. The girl felt somewhat fortunate, but Lin Ziyang’s brows were already knitted into a sharp scowl, her impatience clearly reaching its limit.
“Go — now — !”
“Ugh…”
She climbed out of bed, denied any chance to linger. As her sensitive skin came into contact with the freezing air, the girl couldn’t help but shiver. She didn’t dare stay put, even though she was still tired. She had gone to bed too late last night and had been busy until the early hours; she hadn’t rested nearly enough…
Stepping into her slippers, she moved to put on the clothes she had taken off the night before.
“Hey, don’t move.”
Lin Ziyang’s voice suddenly rang out behind her. She stopped instantly, shrinking back as she turned around.
A pair of pink eyes reflected the morning light. Her face looked weary, and her smooth black hair was slightly disheveled, draped lazily over her shoulders.
“What is it?”
The girl’s voice was very soft, the rasp in it carrying a heavy sense of fatigue.
“Don’t put those on yet. Wait a moment; I’ll go to the wardrobe and find something else for you. Come back and lie down first.” She patted the spot beside her.
The girl obediently lay back down. The warm quilt pressed against her again, shielding her from the cold air and making her feel drowsy enough to want to fall back asleep.
Wearing her pajamas, Lin Ziyang first turned on the heating. She waited until the temperature had warmed up a bit before getting out of bed and running to the wardrobe, where she pulled out the black dress she had given the girl to wear the day before yesterday.
“Wear this,” she said, tossing the dress onto the quilt.
“Okay.” Without much resistance, the girl submissively picked up the clothes and pulled them on. Then came the over-the-knee socks Lin Ziyang had found. Having gained some experience before, she was a bit more proficient this time, though still a little slow.
“Mmm~ not bad.” Once she was dressed, Lin Ziyang looked her over and gave her approval.
Ye Xingmian kept her head lowered in silence.
“Come on, let me hear you call me Big Sister.”
“Big Sister…” Her voice was hoarse and weak, lacking any energy.
Lin Ziyang frowned.
“You need to smile. Smile, okay? Did you forget what I told you last night?”
“Sorry…” She was honestly too exhausted; the girl found it hard to smile while drowsiness continued to torment her.
With great effort, she twitched the corners of her mouth into a smile that looked more painful than crying. Her voice remained hoarse, but it took on a hint of entreaty, wanting to end this morning farce as quickly as possible.
“Big Sister~”
“Hmph, I’ll let it pass this time.” Lin Ziyang raised an eyebrow, her tone sounding slightly annoyed.
“Will Uncle and Aunt still be coming back late tonight…?” The girl was a bit worried about being seen by her foster parents while forced to wear Lin Ziyang’s clothes; if that happened, things certainly wouldn’t end well for her.
“Yeah, that’s what they said last night. So, you have to wear this outfit all day today!”
“Is there a coat…? It’s a bit… cold…”
“A coat? You don’t need one. I already turned on the heating, didn’t I?”
“But it’s not on outside the room…”
“Then why don’t you just go turn it on?”
“Aunt and the others will scold me if they find out…”
“Why are you making such a big deal out of everything? Just do as I say and go! Stop being so sluggish.”
Rebuked like that, the girl fell silent.
In the end, she left quietly. As she was going, she took the coat Qin Haiyue had given her previously, having no intention of turning on the main heating.
The girl closed the door as she left, leaving Lin Ziyang alone in the bedroom.
Apparently out of negligence, the girl hadn’t taken her backpack when she left. Lin Ziyang thought about it and decided to pull the bag over for a look.
She unzipped it. There wasn’t much inside — just a few books with a scarf pressed beneath them. Her gaze narrowed, and her brows knitted into a tight scowl. Below that was a small compartment; she rummaged through it and pulled out two red bills, totaling 200 yuan.
She remembered the scarf. Liu Yinuo had given it to Ye Xingmian right in front of her that day, and it had disgusted her back then. But the money? Who would give Ye Xingmian money? As far as she knew, most of Ye Xingmian’s lunch money was snatched away by Qin Haiyue, so the possibility of her having spare cash was low. So where did this money come from?
It must have been given to her by Liu Yinuo.
She pursed her lips. As she thought, everything Ye Xingmian had said last night about that Qin Haiyue was a lie. After all, no matter how one looked at it, how could someone who had been extorting her every day suddenly change their personality and be kind to her for no reason?
There was no motive and no reason. It was an impossibility. Ye Xingmian must have fabricated it to deceive her; she was certain of it.
Therefore, it went without saying who had actually given her the money.
Lin Ziyang couldn’t help but feel angry — angry that Ye Xingmian had dared to lie to her. She had clearly gone to Liu Yinuo’s house that night and stood her up. She somewhat regretted being soft-hearted and letting Ye Xingmian off the hook when she’d had such a good opportunity last night.
She yanked the scarf out resentfully, her heart swelling with pique. She really wanted to tear the thing to shreds and throw it out. But after a moment’s thought, she struggled to calm her breathing.
There was no need. Keeping this thing still had its uses. Didn’t she like Liu Yinuo a lot? Then she must treasure this scarf quite a bit, right?
Lin Ziyang shifted her gaze toward a corner of the room, where the teddy bear she had taken from Ye Xingmian’s room was sitting.
She pulled it out. Because it had been near the corner of the wall, the teddy bear had caught some dust and looked a bit dirty. Frowning, she patted it down, holding the doll in one hand and the scarf in the other.
A cold smirk played across the corners of her mouth.
‘Since you think the teddy bear is something your mother gave you, I’ll just have to see which is more important to you: your mother or your so-called Class Leader.’
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