Restroom… Restroom… After finally making it to the bathroom, Ye Xingmian closed the door and let out a long breath.
Phew… With the sound of trickling water, the embarrassing urge to pee finally subsided. But when she went to wash her hands, there was a worried look on her face.
Although she didn’t show it, Liu Yinuo’s mother still had a problem with her, didn’t she?
After all… she seemed to think that Liu Yinuo had feelings for her or something…
Something like that… how could it be possible…
Looking at herself in the mirror, her long hair falling over her shoulders, lips red, teeth white, she seemed to be the pretty type, right? But… she was a girl now.
Even if that Li Li had told her before that Liu Yinuo actually liked her too, something like that was still so hard to believe.
She wanted to… run away again. But if she ran away, Liu Yinuo would be angry, right? And she… didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Every time she thought about these things, her mood inevitably got heavy. Ye Xingmian bit her lower lip, her expression dim.
But if she didn’t leave, would she cause them trouble?
It was all her fault. If she hadn’t agreed to Lin Ziyan’s request to go to her room, she wouldn’t have been kicked out, and none of that would have happened.
Now she was going to be a troublemaker again, bothering others…
“Xingmian? Are you done in the restroom? I want to talk to you.”
‘That’s Liu Yinuo’s voice?’
Ye Xingmian’s heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously straightened her clothes. Nothing was out of place. She collected herself, walked to the door, and opened it for Liu Yinuo.
“Good evening, Yinuo…”
Sure enough, Liu Yinuo was standing at the door. But her expression was somewhat serious. Her tea-colored eyes stared straight at her, making her inexplicably nervous.
“Is your stomach feeling better? Any discomfort anywhere? This is your first time drinking, right?”
“I’m okay…”
As she spoke, Liu Yinuo had already entered the room and closed the door behind her.
“Just now, why did you say those things?”
“Those…?”
“You want to leave here and go back to the Lin family.”
Liu Yinuo crossed her arms, her gaze like she was interrogating a criminal, cornering Ye Xingmian against the wall.
For some reason, Ye Xingmian felt a strong sense of pressure from her.
“I…”
‘Did she step on her landmine again?’
Ye Xingmian was at a loss, her eyes darting away.
“Hm? What is it? Did I abuse you or make you feel so bad that you want to go back to the Lin family?”
Liu Yinuo deliberately emphasized the words “Lin family.”
“No… it’s not that… I… I just…”
Facing Liu Yinuo’s questioning, she wanted to defend herself, but Ye Xingmian couldn’t get the words out.
“You just think you’re completely useless, that coming here is nothing but trouble for me? So you don’t care about your own true feelings at all, and all you think about is running away, right?”
Having her thoughts easily seen through, Ye Xingmian was full of surprise.
“How did you know…”
“Why are you sorry?”
“Huh?”
“I said! Why are you saying sorry!”
“I… I…”
“How would I know? Your thoughts are written all over your face.”
Completely panicked, she didn’t know how to respond to Liu Yinuo’s questions.
Ye Xingmian panicked and tried to step back, but the wall was behind her. There was no way out.
“I just…”
“Don’t you think you’re always thinking about others? As long as you sacrifice yourself and don’t cause anyone trouble, that’s right, that’s what you should do, huh?”
Ye Xingmian bit her lip and couldn’t speak.
She really didn’t understand what she had done wrong to deserve such interrogation.
But her usually submissive personality prevented her from refuting. The grievance in her heart grew stronger, and she barely held back from breaking down.
‘What is this…’
‘All along… since I was little…’
‘As long as I did things this way, it was fine.’
‘Being cautious, not causing trouble for others—is that wrong?’
‘But if I don’t do that, I’ll get hit, I’ll get scolded.’
‘Is there another way? I know there is, but how can I do it?’
‘I don’t want Liu Yinuo to be angry. I really hope I can always see her gentle side. That’s why I’m even more careful, even more afraid of causing her trouble.’
‘I don’t dare to ask for more. I just want this hard-won gentleness of the present moment.’
‘If I were a normal person, I would get angry at being misunderstood like this, right?’
‘But… getting angry… how could that be possible…’
‘This is Liu Yinuo, after all…’
‘So what should I do now?’
She looked up in confusion. Her pink eyes were filled only with grievance and bewilderment.
Her voice was small and hoarse.
“Then what should I… do…”
But Liu Yinuo didn’t speak. She just kept staring at her.
That gaze carried scrutiny, but also a hint of hesitation.
Ye Xingmian didn’t know what she was thinking. She just felt that every second now was agonizing.
It was like someone was stabbing her throat with an awl, painful and unbearable.
Finally, for some reason, Liu Yinuo seemed to give up. She turned her head and sighed.
“I just hope that you can be yourself.”
‘Be myself?’
Ye Xingmian didn’t understand. What did “be myself” mean? Wasn’t she herself now?
Liu Yinuo seemed to be saying something both difficult and profound, making her troubled.
Watching Liu Yinuo lift her head again, thinking for a long time, she then grabbed her hand.
“Anyway, you just need to know that when you’re with me, just be sincere.”
“Sincere?”
But Ye Xingmian felt she was already quite sincere.
She already knew all her secrets—whether it was becoming a girl, her situation at home, her background, and even her thoughts had been guessed.
She had no secrets left.
But at this moment, she had no choice but to agree, right?
“Okay…”
Ye Xingmian nodded blankly.
Liu Yinuo then seemed somewhat excited. She gripped her hand tighter, pulling at the old injury on her arm, causing pain.
“Then from now on, don’t mention going back to the Lin family, okay? Just stay here. I worked hard to get this chance for you.”
“Mm.”
“How did it feel, drinking for the first time?”
“Huh?”
Was this a way to change the subject?
Ye Xingmian was a bit surprised. She frowned and tried to recall the feeling before she blacked out.
“Hmm… the alcohol… it wasn’t good. I don’t want to drink it again in the future.”
As she spoke, her face turned a little red.
“Um… I don’t remember what happened after I got drunk. I didn’t cause you any trouble, did I? Sorry…”
“No, why would you think that? You were really cute when you were drunk. If I could, I’d like to see it a few more times.”
“Huh? Cute?”
Ye Xingmian was a bit taken aback, staring at her blankly.
“Yes, very cute~”
Although a bit shy, Ye Xingmian was still curious about what happened when she was drunk. She also wanted to know if she had done anything wrong so she could make up for it.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
But unfortunately, Liu Yinuo’s answer disappointed her.
“No can do~”
“Huh? Why? Really can’t? I didn’t do anything really bad, did I…”
“I said no, so no. Don’t overthink it.”
“Hmm… okay. Speaking of which… if Yinuo likes me when I’m drunk, I could actually try again…”
“Forget it. With your terrible drinking capacity, carrying you is a lot of effort, you know? And you don’t like it. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to drink that stuff again.”
“Hmm… okay…”
For some reason, Ye Xingmian felt a little down.
Come to think of it, Liu Yinuo actually hated this weak side of her, right?
So the idea that she liked her was just Li Li’s illusion…
Yeah, how could someone with so many flaws like me be liked?
She started hypnotizing herself again.