Qin Haiyue fell silent for a moment.
She suddenly felt that maybe it wasn’t necessary to viciously retaliate against her to quell the anger burning in her chest. Perhaps there were other ways?
She knew her own personality was rotten, that she’d been bullying the other girl all along, and enjoying it. That meant she wasn’t going to try any gentle approaches.
So she curled her lips into a smile.
“Think about how you’ll make up for it yourself. I’ll only give you one chance. If it doesn’t satisfy me… you know the consequences.”
Ye Xingmian lifted her head and gazed at her blankly, then quickly lowered it again, nodding helplessly.
And then… she lay down on the ground.
Qin Haiyue couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
The girl lying on the ground trembled all over, bit her lip, and whispered softly: “…”
Qin Haiyue clicked her tongue, feeling an inexplicable wave of irritation. She gestured at Ye Xingmian: “Alright, stop lying there. See those flowers over there? Go water them for me. I have something to do, so I’m heading out.”
For reasons unknown, she simply walked away, leaving Ye Xingmian alone, staring bewilderedly in the direction she’d gone.
She really did leave, but the villa’s front door was locked, so Ye Xingmian couldn’t get out either.
Upon realizing this, Ye Xingmian didn’t breathe a sigh of relief. She just curled up against the sofa cushion, hugging her legs tightly.
She didn’t know, didn’t understand why she’d done something so extreme. That wasn’t like her. The risk was too great, practically asking for trouble.
If she were her normal self, she definitely wouldn’t have done something like that. Because every experience from childhood onward had proven that resistance was meaningless, only inviting more physical pain.
But just now… why had she lost her head like that…
Was that really her?
Why had she wanted to kill her… when she knew full well she couldn’t, right? Especially when it was Qin Haiyue… If she wanted to retaliate, the consequences were absolutely something she couldn’t bear.
Her neck hurt a little. The wound from yesterday still hadn’t healed. She raised her hand to touch it, and it didn’t feel good.
Right… water the flowers. Qin Haiyue had told her to water them before leaving.
She struggled to her feet. It was such a simple action, yet her body felt like it was about to fall apart. She hadn’t been beaten that badly, had she? How strange.
There was a stool by the window, seemingly placed there specifically for tending to the flowers. She found the dedicated watering can, filled it up, but when it came time to act, she felt lost again.
There were so many kinds of flowers here. She didn’t know how much to water each one. What if she ruined them?
The midday sunlight streamed through the window and fell across her face, a little blinding.
She pressed her lips together, deciding that watering each one a little bit was the safest approach.
But doing this kind of task always invited wandering thoughts.
In the end, why had she begged Qin Haiyue so humbly to let her go? Besides her instinctive fear, there was another important reason.
She wanted to see her mother. Because the time was almost here, the thing she’d been longing for, dreaming of…
She stayed alone like that for a long time, and Qin Haiyue still showed no sign of returning. Ye Xingmian simply spaced out.
She’d failed.
Her request to swap shifts with her mother had been rejected, and she wouldn’t tell her why. But the way those eyes had looked at her was something she couldn’t forget.
Like she wanted to agree, yet couldn’t. A gaze that was both pained and stubborn.
Lin Ziyan had ultimately been forced to give up.
But she was unwilling to accept it, and spent the whole morning sunk in dejection.
Can she come back today? Will Qin Haiyue do that kind of thing to her…? “Elder sister” had been taken away by Qin Haiyue. Would she be bullied?
Thoughts like these swirled in her mind, refusing to let her settle down. Even at noon, as she walked toward the cafeteria, she was still distracted by these matters.
That was why she didn’t notice the person coming around the corner and nearly collided with them.
“Ah! Sorry.”
She’d reacted in time and stopped herself, but she still couldn’t help brushing against the other person’s shoulder. She quickly apologized and tried to leave.
But the other person blocked her path.
“Hello, are you Lin Ziyan?”
Lin Ziyan stopped in her tracks, looking at the person before her with confusion. She seemed a bit familiar, but she couldn’t place who it was at the moment.
“Um… who are you?”
The one who’d stopped her was a girl with a sharp, capable aura. She was about the same height as Lin Ziyan, with a high ponytail, and looked quite spirited.
“My name is Luo Xi. You might have heard of me.”
Luo Xi smiled and extended her hand.
“Ah… you’re that… top of the year?”
Lin Ziyan opened her mouth with slight surprise.
“Yeah, that’s me. Want to get to know each other? Grab a meal together?”
“I’ll pass… I’m more used to eating alone…”
Lin Ziyan tried to decline politely. She hadn’t eaten with other classmates in a long time, and she wasn’t in the mood for it right now anyway.
“My treat! And there’s something I’d like to ask you about. Um… regarding your brother.”
“My brother? You know my brother?”
“Yeah, we’ve met once.”
Lin Ziyan immediately grew wary. This person couldn’t possibly have some designs on Ye Xingmian, could she?
But she was feeling somewhat deflated after what had happened with Qin Haiyue earlier, and that feeling drove her to agree. Maybe things weren’t what she thought? Maybe she shouldn’t be sticking her nose into other people’s business?
And after her father had learned of the incident, he’d scolded her again, leaving her doubting herself.
She’d coincidentally run into the Lin Ziyan she’d looked up before, and she did want to understand the full story better.
“Alright, but no need to treat me.”
At the cafeteria, they each ordered a meal and found seats.
“Student Lin, I’m actually quite curious.”
Luo Xi glanced around, then covered her mouth and whispered: “Your brother… is he really a boy? Why do I feel like no matter how I look at him, he’s a girl?”
This was a question she’d been wondering about. Those unique pink eyes, the long hair, and the fragile, delicate aura radiating from his whole body—none of it seemed like something a boy should have.
And of course, the best person to ask directly was Lin Ziyan, as his family.
Lin Ziyan was silent for a moment, as if hesitating, but she didn’t let Luo Xi notice.
“May I ask, where did Student Luo encounter my brother?”
“Oh, that. I think you might know that person too, since your brother is in that kind of relationship with her. It was at Qin Haiyue’s home.”
“Qin Haiyue?!”
“Yeah, what’s wrong?”
“Then… um… what’s your relationship with Qin Haiyue? And you said my brother and Qin Haiyue are…”
“Oh, my father is a business partner of Qin Haiyue’s family, more or less. I can’t avoid dealing with their family, and that’s how I got to know Qin Haiyue.”
After what had happened last time, though she still had doubts about Qin Haiyue’s character, she no longer really questioned that Qin Haiyue and Ye Xingmian were lovers.
“My brother is of course a boy. Why would you ask that? He’s just a bit delicate-looking. Um… if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”
“Oh… I see…”
Lin Ziyan pressed her lips together.
“What’s going on? What about her parents? Since Student Ye is living with your family, what’s the deal with her biological family?”
“Huh? Why are you in such a hurry? I still have another question.”
“I don’t know about that either.”
Lin Ziyan stood up hastily.
“We all love her very much. She hasn’t suffered any mistreatment in our home. Um… I have something to do, so I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”
Luo Xi watched her retreating figure, frowning deeply.
Suspicious.
It was just an ordinary conversation, so why had she reacted so strongly? When had it started? It seemed to be from the moment Qin Haiyue was mentioned.
Qin Haiyue… did that person hold some special significance to them?
It seemed this matter wasn’t as simple as she’d imagined. And she wanted to stick her nose into it again.