Liu Yinuo stared blankly for a long time, lost in thought.
But when she snapped back to reality, she showed no reaction. Hearing her mother’s question, she simply nodded and said “Mm,” then turned to look at Ye Xingmian.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
Her tone was too flat—not like the words she would have said earlier. And her expression… it looked… a bit indescribably strange. Ye Xingmian felt uneasy.
“Class Monitor… are you okay?”
“No, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about some unimportant things.”
Ye Xingmian wanted to say more, but Liu Yinuo directly stood up.
“I’m going to go help my dad. You two chat.”
With that, she walked toward the guest room. The two left behind were a bit confused.
“Aunt… the Class Monitor… is she okay?”
Ye Xingmian asked carefully, worried that she had said something wrong that made Liu Yinuo angry, but not knowing why, she could only ask Mother Liu. However, Mother Liu just shook her head.
“I don’t know either.”
“I see…”
Dropping her head, Ye Xingmian felt a bit dejected. But Mother Liu didn’t seem affected at all. Instead, she smiled and said, “I remember you know how to cook, right? You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Want to give it a try together?”
“Huh? Is that okay?”
Ye Xingmian was surprised; she didn’t expect the other to make such a suggestion. ‘Was this a test for me, or a way to grow closer?’
“Mm, want to give it a try?”
And so they entered the kitchen together. It had to be said, maybe working together really had a significant benefit for getting closer. At least after cooking together, Ye Xingmian could talk naturally with Mother Liu.
After spending this time together, what surprised Ye Xingmian was that Mother Liu wasn’t actually the serious type. In fact, she had quite a humorous side, making it easy to get along with her.
‘Maybe, if not for my own lowly background, she wouldn’t have said those words to me at the beginning?’ Ye Xingmian couldn’t help but think.
The two brought dinner to the dining table one after another and called for Liu Yinuo and her father.
“Oh, the food is ready? Did you two make it together? Xiao Ye has such skillful hands!”
Father Liu sat down at the dining table with a grin and picked up his chopsticks.
“Actually, it’s mostly Aunt’s credit. I just helped out a little…”
Ye Xingmian felt a bit embarrassed; she rarely received compliments.
“You’re such a smooth talker. I’ve cooked for you for twenty years, and I’ve never heard you praise me like that.”
Mother Liu scolded playfully.
“Not true, I praised your skill every day before. But it’s been so many years, I’m afraid your ears have calluses.”
“Tch, you know what’s good for you!”
They were clearly bantering, but the atmosphere was surprisingly light. Seeing the topic shift away from her, Ye Xingmian could only sit there and laugh awkwardly.
But this atmosphere was unexpectedly relaxing… ‘Was Liu Yinuo’s home always like this?’ It had to be said, she liked it a lot. But what about Liu Yinuo?
Ye Xingmian turned her head and looked around, finally spotting Liu Yinuo in the corner, staring blankly at her phone. It didn’t look like she was scrolling through her phone either. She had been like that since earlier. Strange… what was she thinking about?
“Nuo Nuo, what are you doing? Come eat!”
With Father Liu’s call, Liu Yinuo finally walked over and sat down silently.
“What’s wrong? In a bad mood? It can’t be that you’re mad because Mom won’t let you sleep with Xiao Ye, right?”
“Huh?!”
Ye Xingmian was so startled she almost dropped her chopsticks on the table. Liu Yinuo actually wanted to… sleep with her?
“Huh? Xiao Ye, didn’t you know? I think Nuo Nuo might have a crush on you. You better be careful yourself.”
“Th-this… how is that possible…”
Her cheeks flushed, Ye Xingmian looked completely flustered. Father Liu sat to the side, smiling without saying a word.
He could tell that his wife was playing wingman for their daughter, giving a little hint to the dense Ye Xingmian. So he turned his head to look at Liu Yinuo beside him. But Liu Yinuo still had no expression, looking like she had something on her mind. He couldn’t help but frown.
“Nuo Nuo, don’t you have anything to say?”
Liu Yinuo looked up, glanced around, then quickly lowered her head again.
“It’s nothing. Just chat among yourselves. Don’t worry about me.”
The way she acted, it was like she hadn’t even registered the conversation. Since the main person didn’t want to talk, the interest in casual chat was instantly halved. Mother Liu frowned slightly.
She could tell her daughter seemed troubled, but she didn’t ask. She knew that if her daughter didn’t want to say it, she probably wouldn’t say it even if asked. And so, the air fell into silence.
Ye Xingmian also felt the silence, but in her eyes, it seemed like she was the one who caused it. ‘Because Mother Liu’s joke earlier was about me, and Liu Yinuo didn’t want to respond, so that’s why she kept silent, right?’
Feeling a bit dejected, she couldn’t help but laugh at herself bitterly. ‘Right. Something like that… how could it be possible? It’s totally not something Liu Yinuo would do…’
Dinner proceeded in such an atmosphere. Along the way, Liu Yinuo’s parents chatted about this and that, but the overall atmosphere remained somewhat low. And the culprit was Liu Yinuo, who was the first to put down her chopsticks and stand up.
“I’m done. I’m going to take a shower and go to sleep.”
With that, she just left. For some reason, seeing her leave, Ye Xingmian felt a bitter pang in her heart. ‘Was it my fault? I made her unhappy, so she left without even finishing her meal…’
“Don’t be sad, Xiao Ye. It’s not your fault. She might just be thinking about something and in a bad mood. People your age are like that—easily overthink and have unstable emotions. It’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
Mother Liu seemed to notice her sadness and reached out to comfort her.
“Mm… thank you, Aunt.”
Seeing her like this, Liu Yinuo’s parents both sighed. They didn’t understand either. Since they had already agreed to let Liu Yinuo keep Ye Xingmian, why did something like this happen?
After the meal, Ye Xingmian also took a shower, changed into Liu Yinuo’s pajamas, and returned to the cleaned-up guest room. Everything was spotless, as if water had been sprinkled.
The air had no dust and no musty smell of a room that had been unoccupied for years. There was a pleasant fragrance, and the bedsheets were brand new. It was clear that Liu Yinuo and Father Liu had really tidied up this room carefully.
It looked several times better than the small attic she had lived in before. The furnishings were not complicated either: a large wardrobe, a desk, a nightstand, and a chair—that was almost all the furniture.
On the desk there was also a mirror and several skincare products she couldn’t name. ‘Was it set up specially considering I was also a girl?’
After blow-drying her wet long hair, Ye Xingmian lay down on the soft, cloud-like bed and stared at the ceiling. Her mood inexplicably felt a bit low. No matter how you looked at it, the environment here was so much better than her small attic.
A spacious and bright bedroom, a soft large bed—everything was comfortable and wonderful. But for some reason, she felt an emptiness in her heart.
‘Was the decision to leave the Lin family and come here to seek shelter really the right one? But I didn’t have a choice either. I just don’t know what was up with Liu Yinuo earlier. Was she angry at me? I don’t know. I don’t know anything.’
She had no choice but to turn off the light, wrap herself in the blanket, and prepare to sleep.
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