“What are you thinking about? Why have you been spacing out?”
The timely question pulled the distracted Ye Xingmian back to reality. She detected the hint of displeasure in the tone and hesitated before answering.
“Nothing… nothing much…”
“Mm-hmm…? Were you thinking about something bad?”
“No…”
“Sigh, remember what I said? No matter what grievances you have, you can always talk to me. I’m your strongest support.”
“Mm…”
“As long as I’m by your side, I’ll protect you, understand?”
“Mm…”
Time was running short; the food really seemed about to get cold. Ye Xingmian glanced sideways, her tone uncertain.
“Then… then can I ask you a question?”
“What question?”
She closed her eyes. Speaking this sentence actually took a certain amount of courage for her. Yet this question was also something she was intensely puzzled about.
“Why… are you so good to me?”
She genuinely didn’t understand.
She believed she had no appeal. She was poor, didn’t even have a normal family. Plus she was insecure, socially anxious, couldn’t hold a conversation with anyone, and being isolated was the norm.
And after that incident last week, she had become a freak who was neither male nor female. She really had no idea what she had done to deserve Liu Yinuo’s concern. They were practically from different worlds.
Her thoughts were thus agitated and uneasy.
She needed a reason to let herself accept Liu Yinuo’s care. That reason could be something about her, some value she could create, or even herself.
Regardless, she had to know, so she could have a direction to please, to gain more security.
So she turned her head, her glittering, crystal-like pink eyes cautiously looking at Liu Yinuo’s face, like a child full of hope and worry asking their parents for money for a beloved toy.
“Why am I so good to you?”
Liu Yinuo narrowed her eyes. In the past, she hadn’t considered these actions as particularly “good”—just normal concern from one classmate to another. But by now, she had to seriously start thinking about her own motives.
Yet no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t find an answer. Finally, she could only shake her head helplessly.
“I don’t know. Come to think of it, maybe this kind of thing doesn’t need an answer anyway?”
“I just wanted to do it, so I did. Is the reason important? In the end, what really matters is the result, right?”
“Is that so…”
She lowered her eyes. For some reason, Ye Xingmian seemed a little disappointed.
Maybe she was expecting some answer that would put her mind at ease? But did such an answer even exist? Or would it just turn into another hidden worry?
She couldn’t answer that question.
It wasn’t enough to cast a shadow over the relationship between the two, but it planted a thorn in the girl’s heart.
However, Liu Yinuo didn’t think so complicatedly; a smile was on her face.
“Eat more, put on some meat. You’re too skinny; a more balanced figure would look better.”
“Mm.” Ye Xingmian seemed especially obedient.
***
The pleasant lunchtime quickly ended. There was still half an hour left to take a nap. Maybe because she had been mentally drained these past few days, Ye Xingmian lay down on the sofa and closed her eyes.
The warm sunlight streamed through the balcony window, landing right on the sofa. The lazy atmosphere easily induced drowsiness.
Before long, Liu Yinuo, who had been staring blankly at the sleeping girl, yawned. She set an alarm and went to sleep too.
When they arrived at school, there were still about ten minutes until class. It was still early.
The two had originally agreed to part ways at the staircase outside the classroom door, but Liu Yinuo suddenly changed her mind and insisted on walking in through the front entrance holding hands, swaggering in.
Ye Xingmian couldn’t argue with her and could only obediently comply, though she kept her face lowered even more.
Their entrance attracted a lot of attention, but most people were still busy with their own things, just looking a little surprised.
Except for a few gossip-loving girls who secretly gathered together and whispered. It wasn’t until Liu Yinuo returned to her seat that the two were truly separated.
“What? Any progress?”
As soon as she sat down, her deskmate—the girl who was enthusiastic about giving her advice and strategizing—scooted over with a grin, prompting her to glance over.
“Progress? What progress?”
“Don’t play dumb. The whole class saw you two walk in holding hands earlier. Tsk, the way you looked, you were practically glued together.”
“Hmph~”
She ignored it. Perhaps not knowing how to answer, Liu Yinuo let out a dissatisfied snort.
“Hey, don’t stay silent. How far have you two gone? Spill.”
“Still the same, what progress could there be?”
“Oh? So you admit you like him?”
Liu Yinuo paused in her organizing motion. Her usually bright eyes flickered with a hint of confusion. Whether out of a girl’s shyness or an intentional or unintentional self-defense, she shook her head.
“What? Not admitting it?” Li Li looked amused. “Don’t know? That’s exactly it. Your situation is called not knowing yourself, understand?”
“No… I… I don’t know either…”
Liu Yinuo was silent for a moment.
“Maybe.”
“Hehe, so what? Did he say yes or not?”
“Say yes? Say yes to what?”
“Obviously, you walked in holding his hand, what else could he say yes to?”
“Holding hands… what’s wrong with that?”
“? You’re a girl, he’s a guy, you two holding hands—what do you think is wrong with that?”
Liu Yinuo was instantly stunned.
Having spent so much time with Ye Xingmian, she had subconsciously completely forgotten that in others’ eyes, she was still a boy. Her initial thoughts weren’t that complicated; she just wanted to be closer, maybe with a hint of showing off?
But she really hadn’t expected it to lead to this kind of misunderstanding.
Still, even if it was a misunderstanding, it didn’t seem so bad?
After all, with this misunderstanding, it saved a lot of explaining.
Of course, that was on the premise that she was willing to acknowledge the relationship everyone assumed they had.
It was practically forcing her to make a choice.
“Hey, the way you look, he didn’t say yes, did he? That’s so ungrateful. He took such advantage of you and didn’t even give a response?”
She wanted to defend Ye Xingmian, but considering that in everyone’s eyes, she was a boy doing so would probably only make things worse.
“It’s not what you think…”
“Then what else could it be?”
Sure enough, she heard the other’s words. Liu Yinuo fell silent and stopped talking.
However, compared to her side, Ye Xingmian’s situation was far from “harmonious” or “pleasant.”
Because her deskmate was a girl whose face was so gloomy it seemed to drip water—her nominal younger sister.
If she was seen, it might cause some trouble.
But there was no need to be afraid, right?
Her body felt so light. There was nothing to fear anymore.