‘Liu Yinuo is worried. She’s still sick, she can’t be worrying about me.’
‘No… no… I can’t cry anymore. Crying will obviously make her worry.’
‘I came to visit her. I absolutely can’t let things get reversed…’
Forcing herself, Ye Xingmian squeezed out a smile.
“Class Monitor… sorry for causing you trouble. Has your cold gotten better?”
Liu Yinuo frowned. Ye Xingmian still wanted to continue her own visit, but Liu Yinuo stood up and pulled her into the room.
“Don’t worry about that. Come in first.”
The heater was on in the room, warm and comfortable, as warm as spring. Ye Xingmian squinted, feeling the blood in her body become more active.
“What’s going on? Why did you come dressed like that? You must be cold.”
Suddenly, her shoulder felt heavy and warm. Turning around, she found Liu Yinuo had draped a coat over her. Ye Xingmian’s eyes darkened.
“It’s okay. Just a small accident at home…”
“Is that so? Then sit down for a while. I’ll pour you some hot water.”
“No need, Class Monitor. I…”
“Don’t call me Class Monitor. When did we become so distant?”
“…Yinuo, no need. I said.”
“Hah, aren’t you afraid of catching a cold like me?”
“No… it’s just… I came to see you, after all…”
Ye Xingmian silently took it.
“Now I have to trouble you to take care of me again. Sorry…”
“What’s the big deal? Here, hold it.”
Liu Yinuo took a disposable cup, filled it with hot water, and handed it over. It wasn’t very hot, just the right temperature. Liu Yinuo sat down across from her.
“Tell me, what exactly happened? For you to come to me in this state.”
“Nothing… I was just kicked out. I can go back in the afternoon…”
“Kicked out? Was it your foster parents?”
“Mm…”
“And the dress, did your foster parents make you wear it?”
“Umm…”
“Then where are your clothes? Don’t tell me this thin one is it.”
Ye Xingmian didn’t dare to speak. Thinking about the things Lin Ziyan had done to her, Ye Xingmian could even say they were terrible. The memories this dress brought her were definitely not pleasant.
But even if she didn’t say it, Liu Yinuo could see something from her expression.
For some reason, Liu Yinuo’s words seemed somewhat aggressive.
“Was it Lin Ziyan? Did she do something out of line? Like having your foster parents kick you out?”
“No… no…”
“Then what? Tell me.”
Ye Xingmian was a bit embarrassed. Holding the disposable cup, she lifted her head, her pink eyes glanced at Liu Yinuo, but quickly lowered them again.
‘This feeling of being interrogated is really unpleasant.’
‘For some reason, she didn’t want to let her know what Lin Ziyan had done to her.’
Ye Xingmian’s eyes drooped slightly.
“Forget it. If you don’t want to say it, then don’t.”
Seeing her embarrassment, Liu Yinuo deliberately said in a tone that didn’t sound very concerned. Hearing her words, Ye Xingmian couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief internally. But then, she lifted her head again, a little uneasy.
“I… I…”
“Forget it. If you don’t want to say it, then don’t.”
“Um… Yinuo… I asked earlier, has your cold gotten better?”
“Much better. Basically fine. Why?”
“It’s nothing… I…”
“Should I say I’m a little worried about you?”
This feeling did exist in her heart, but she couldn’t say it. Ye Xingmian really wanted to talk to Liu Yinuo, but her nervousness just wouldn’t relax.
She was afraid that saying the wrong thing would affect Liu Yinuo’s opinion of her, and also afraid that if she revealed her situation, she would lose control of her emotions.
The silence didn’t last long. Ye Xingmian thought of a topic.
“Um… Yinuo. About last night’s chat, I didn’t disappear on purpose. My phone ran out of battery and I couldn’t charge it.”
“Oh, I see.”
Liu Yinuo nodded.
“I couldn’t sleep until late last night because of that, which is why I slept until just now.”
Despite sounding like a scolding, Ye Xingmian felt a bit uneasy inside. She seemed to sense Liu Yinuo’s concern for her from those words.
‘Maybe she was overthinking?’
‘After all, Liu Yinuo might just be worried about her safety.’
“Sorry…”
“For what?”
“And… and about that incident before…”
“It’s… that time you brought me to your house, and when I left your house, it was actually Qin Haiyue who wanted me to go find her, or else I would have been beaten…”
“Oh, I guessed that. But I’m curious, why didn’t you tell me the reason? You know I would have helped you, right?”
“I… I just didn’t want to trouble you… Sorry…”
“No need to apologize. I’m just curious about what you were thinking.”
Liu Yinuo suddenly stood up from the opposite sofa and came to sit beside her. Their seats were almost touching. Ye Xingmian’s heart immediately raced.
“What… what was I… thinking?”
“Yes. So many things, why did you hide them from me?”
Ye Xingmian vaguely realized she was questioning her about those things, but she found it even harder to speak.
“Uh…”
“You know, right? I’ve wanted to care about you many times before, wanted to help you out of trouble. Including those times you were with Qin Haiyue, I really didn’t understand. I found you, wanted to ask you the reason, but you always ran away.”
“S… sorry…”
“Don’t say sorry. I just want you to come back to me. What are you hiding from me this time?”
Liu Yinuo suddenly placed both hands on her shoulders and forcibly turned her around. Then, she lifted her chin with one hand and stared straight at her.
Those tea-colored eyes were so burning, like a flame was blazing. Ye Xingmian could barely look at her, instinctively wanting to dodge.
“I… I didn’t want to either…”
‘Was it nervousness? Or what?’
Despite the cold being mostly driven away, her body trembled uncontrollably. She bit her lip lightly, her voice carrying a hint of tears. She felt like she was about to lose it.
‘Why…’
‘Why at a time like this, shouldn’t she be happy?’
The desire to confide churned inside her, tears welled up in her eyes.
‘Why is it that the moment someone shows concern, I feel like crying?’
Liu Yinuo looked at her and sighed.
“Don’t you trust me?”
These were words she said seriously.
‘If she didn’t trust Liu Yinuo, she wouldn’t have thought to come here the moment she was kicked out.’
‘And she wouldn’t feel like crying because of a few words from Liu Yinuo.’
“No… it’s not that… I believe you! Yinuo!”
“Then why won’t you tell me?”
Looked at by those serious eyes again, Ye Xingmian suddenly realized she couldn’t hide it anymore. All those despicable feelings, those cowardly escapes, seemed to become insignificant in those eyes that were filled with her.
‘The owner of these eyes was worthy of her trust, and also worthy of her entrustment.’
‘At this moment, she truly felt that way.’
‘So, say it out loud.’
‘What else is there to fear?’
‘After all, Liu Yinuo wouldn’t kick her out over something like this, and she had no way to retreat anyway.’