How should she answer this question?
Ye Xingmian was dazed when she heard it. She couldn’t quite understand Liu Yinuo’s motive for asking her this. In her view, what did her opinion of her mother have to do with Liu Yinuo?
But when she saw the other girl’s serious eyes, she still decided to answer truthfully.
“Mmm… Mother… is very important to me.”
“How important?”
The question came almost immediately, making Ye Xingmian look up. Seeing those tea-colored eyes staring at her, she felt an inexplicable discomfort.
She lowered her head.
“I… the reason I’ve held on until now is because I want to see my mother. I miss her so much. I really want to see her. No matter what happens then, whether it’s poverty or hardship, I want to be with Mom.”
She meant every word when she said that.
Probably because she felt Liu Yinuo’s seriousness, and talking about this topic stirred up her emotions.
“I… I’ve never seen my father since I was little. I only have memories of my mother. But I haven’t seen her for a long time either… I really want to talk to her, you know?”
“After all, my life hasn’t been smooth… Ah, complaining seems inappropriate—she must be working much harder outside than I am… I…”
It was obvious she wanted to express her attachment to her mother, but she was hesitant. Was it because Liu Yinuo was beside her?
“In short… I must see Mom, and be with Mom! Definitely, definitely. Then I can leave this place and not trouble you anymore.”
But Liu Yinuo’s eyes grew dim.
There was something complicated in that gaze… maybe she already understood.
Sympathy, or perhaps pity, or maybe something darker?
Whatever it was, she inexplicably reached out and gently placed her hand on Ye Xingmian’s cheek.
Startled by the movement, the memory of being slapped in the past made Ye Xingmian flinch reflexively, leaving Liu Yinuo’s hand hovering in the air.
The atmosphere turned awkward.
Realizing what had happened, Ye Xingmian said anxiously:
“S-Sorry… I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t hostile…”
She obediently leaned her face back in, even taking the initiative to reach out, hesitating for a moment before pressing Liu Yinuo’s hand against her own cheek.
“Is this… okay?”
Watching her cautious expression, Liu Yinuo suddenly didn’t know what to do.
Her eyes flickered. She didn’t pull her hand away from Ye Xingmian’s; instead, she quietly felt the softness of the girl’s cheek with her palm.
Smooth, delicate, warm.
Skin like that was nothing like what a girl raised in a foster home, abused all day, and forced to do housework should have.
But it was beautiful.
She gazed into those cautious, cherry-pink eyes.
The owner of this body was as fragile as a porcelain doll, yet unexpectedly stubborn and strong.
After all the suffering and hardship she had endured to become who she was, now she lay before her.
Liu Yinuo thought Ye Xingmian must be the most beautiful girl in the world.
She just wondered: to this girl, was she the former kind, who harbored good intentions, or the latter, who harbored evil desires?
Objectively speaking, she wasn’t sure.
But naturally, she hoped she was the former.
Just like those eyes—they could make anyone with good intentions lose their heart, and also make anyone with evil desires want to tear them apart.
Of course, those weren’t the main point.
The most important thing was to keep this flower-like girl by her side.
The bitter cold of the winter night raged outside, wind slapping against the windows.
Perhaps having finally thought of a plan, her voice sounded softly along with the wind.
“Do you… really have to leave?”
She didn’t confess her feelings for the girl. She was afraid that if she did, and if that day really came, she would be too embarrassed and powerless.
So she just asked, softly asked.
After asking, she waited for the girl’s answer.
Ye Xingmian’s eyes still held some hesitation.
Maybe she wasn’t sure about the answer herself.
Even her voice carried an uncertain tone.
“I suppose… I don’t like this place. If I can, I want to leave. Ah, I don’t mean I don’t like Yinuo’s house, I just…”
Liu Yinuo used a finger to stop her lips.
“Mmm, no need to explain. I understand.”
Ye Xingmian quietly fell silent.
“Mmm…”
Liu Yinuo withdrew her hand from her cheek, just silently watching her.
‘By passing the Gaokao, you want to go far away with your mother?’
‘That’s your plan?’
‘But why isn’t there a place for me in this plan?’
‘You know, don’t you?’
‘I’ve done so much for you, I’ve become the last ray of light left in your world.’
‘Then why don’t you hold on tight?’
‘Whether out of guilt or gratitude, there should be a place for me in this sacred plan for the future, right?’
‘Or is it that there’s no room for me in your heart at all, that it’s been completely filled by that mother you haven’t seen for over ten years, and no one else can fit in?’
These words, Liu Yinuo only thought them in her mind. She didn’t say them out loud.
The reason she didn’t say them was because she was “Liu Yinuo.”
In Ye Xingmian’s impression, Liu Yinuo should be a gentle person, a considerate person, someone who cared about her.
Not someone who would point fingers at her most cherished mother, not someone domineering and overbearing.
Of course, she was sure that even if she really were domineering and overbearing, Ye Xingmian wouldn’t resist.
But that would be contrary to what she wanted.
But thankfully, there was still time.
Time to make amends.
Better late than never.
She could only pin all her hopes on this attempt.
She took the liberty of wrapping her arm around Ye Xingmian’s waist.
From her experience, this timid girl wouldn’t object to this level of physical contact.
And sure enough, the other girl only let out a small gasp before silently lying in her arms, not daring to move.
Perhaps in her eyes, only matters of intimacy counted as crossing the line.
She could clearly feel Ye Xingmian’s nervous heartbeat, rapid and restless. Maybe she was afraid of her silence, afraid of her strange behavior.
She felt the same way.
So, just for tonight.
From now on, she couldn’t treat Ye Xingmian with this inexplicable attitude anymore.
So tonight, she would get a promise.
It wasn’t difficult, since Ye Xingmian was a girl who was bad at refusing.
She believed that what she was about to say would be very tempting to Ye Xingmian.
“Eh…?”
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll tutor you for the Gaokao.”
“But I have a request. It’s very simple. You just have to agree.”
“Wh-What?”
“After the Gaokao, when it’s time to fill out college applications, you must apply to the same university as me, and go with me. Of course, I’ll accompany you and your mother. How about that?”
Ye Xingmian looked unsure.
She didn’t question the request itself; her uncertainty was about herself.
“The university you’re going to… the cutoff is high, right? Will I… be able to get in? I might drag you down…”
“Believe in yourself. You can definitely do it.”
“B-But…”
“I said, believe in yourself! You absolutely can!”
“I absolutely, absolutely can take you there, understand?”
She almost growled these words, startling Ye Xingmian.
Ye Xingmian looked up in surprise and saw some kind of terrifying obsession in Liu Yinuo’s eyes.
“O-Okay…”
She agreed timidly.
Liu Yinuo suddenly changed her expression again, becoming inscrutable.
“By the way, where did your phone go?”
“I left it at the Lin house. I can’t get it back…”
Ye Xingmian was a bit dejected.
If Qin Haiyue found out the phone was lost, would she get beaten again?
So Liu Yinuo comforted her as always, even with a smile, as if she was very happy about this.
“It’s fine if you don’t have it. Don’t be sad. You still have me, right?”
“Don’t you? You can use my phone. If you want to make calls, you can use mine. Use it however you like, it’s all fine.”
Even though it was meant as comfort, for some reason Ye Xingmian felt a hint of eeriness.