Tonight, only Lin Ziyan was home alone.
That was how it should have been. If her mother hadn’t suddenly come back.
Lin Ziyan returned home empty-handed, only to find the lights inside were on. But what greeted her when she opened the door was neither the aroma of dinner nor parents waiting to welcome her.
The place was empty, except for the faint sound of sobbing coming from the blind spot behind the sofa.
Lin Ziyan could tell it was her mother crying.
Her heart couldn’t help but race with unease. Had something happened at home? Was that why she was crying so sorrowfully?
Uncertain, Lin Ziyan quietly walked over. Her mother was dabbing at her swollen, red eyes with a paper towel. There was no sign of her father anywhere.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
She ventured to ask.
Xu Ming looked up at her.
“You…… you’re back? Ziyan, where did you go?”
She didn’t want to tell her mother that she had gone to look for Ye Xingmian.
“……I went to a classmate’s house.”
Lin Ziyan’s tone was somewhat dull.
“A classmate’s house? That…… no, Ziyan, you’re back, that’s what matters. Mom…… Mom has something she wants to tell you.”
Lin Ziyan’s mother was already in her forties, old enough to be called ‘Auntie,’ yet at this moment she was crying with snot and tears streaming down her face, the wrinkles on her face seeming much deeper.
It was completely different from her usual crafty, calculating demeanor.
“……What is it?”
“Mom…… Mom is worried he’s having an affair.”
“He went drinking with some people the day before yesterday, and he still hasn’t come back.”
“No. Did you see your father today?”
“……No.”
“There’s no need to think that way, is there?”
Lin Ziyan was at a loss.
“How is there no need? Ziyan, you know perfectly well how your father treated me before, and how he treats me now! Last week he even dared to hit me, look!”
All her usual composure was gone, just like an ordinary woman complaining about domestic violence.
Xu Ming extended her arm, which bore several especially obvious bruises, apparently from the beating.
“……You don’t need to tell me these things.”
“If not you, then who? Mom only has you as her daughter. Usually, when Mom feels wronged, she keeps it all bottled up inside, and you won’t even let me talk about it. Do you know how miserable I feel?”
“Yeah.”
Anyway, Lin Ziyan felt that the woman before her no longer seemed like herself.
“Ziyan, are you still holding a grudge against Mom?”
“……I don’t think so.”
Holding a grudge and such had lost all meaning.
Lin Ziyan no longer took it to heart.
“Mom is sorry. Back then, I shouldn’t have driven her away. Can you forgive Mom? Mom only has you by her side now!”
Lin Ziyan’s arm was grabbed, and she felt inexplicably irritated.
But she still caught the key point in Xu Ming’s words.
“Who is ‘she’?”
“Ye Xingmian. Don’t you like her? Mom is sorry. I shouldn’t have driven her away. Forgive Mom, okay?”
“Unless you can bring her back, and stop mistreating her.”
“Mom…… Mom promises you, Mom will try. You’re hungry, right? I’ll go make you dinner.”
“No need. I thought no one would be home, so I already ate outside. I’m going upstairs. When Dad gets back, you should have a good talk with him.”
Without any attempt to stop her, Lin Ziyan walked away without looking back.
She felt as if she had just watched a farce.
So her mother—that shrewd marketplace woman who always seemed so clever—could also show such a fragile side?
She just didn’t know whether that was good or bad for her.
As for her father having an affair, she was unwilling to believe it, thinking it was mostly just her mother’s groundless delusion.
But she wasn’t confident either.
After all, she knew less about her father than she did about Liu Yinuo.
Back in her room, she locked the door behind her.
The room was a bit messy, as if it hadn’t been tidied in days.
It was about time to clean up, since the new year was approaching.
But…… The new year, huh. She remembered that the atmosphere at home used to be relatively harmonious.
After all, there were four people, and her parents didn’t have any messy conflicts.
Elder Sister…… No, elder brother. He could also have a reunion dinner with the family after finishing his busy schedule.
After all, during the New Year, nobody wanted to be angry.
Those might have been the happier days for her.
After all, compared to usual, she was relatively free and wouldn’t be picked on.
Although, she had never seen any smile on ‘her’ face back then either.
A person living alone in someone else’s home, in such an environment.
What would she think about at times like that?
Did she feel miserable?
Did she feel pain?
Would she be depressed?
Would she despair?
Would she hide under the covers alone, secretly wiping away tears?
Would she hug herself in her dreams, begging for a little comfort?
Lin Ziyan simply shook her head.
She didn’t know any of this.
But that feeling of loneliness and desolation was suffocating just to think about.
But now Ye Xingmian had Liu Yinuo by her side. Maybe it was her turn to feel miserable?
That was anyone’s guess.
From downstairs came the sound of a door opening, followed by her mother’s questioning voice.
Lin Ziyan immediately understood—her father had probably come back.
The first thing they did upon meeting was argue.
As for what they were arguing about, Lin Ziyan couldn’t quite make it out.
But it wasn’t hard to guess, was it?
Then again, she couldn’t be bothered to guess anyway.
She later learned that the so-called affair was completely groundless.
He had merely been out drinking and didn’t sober up until late last night. Since there were no buses home at that hour, tired and hungry, he had to find a place to settle down.
The reason he only got home now was that he had been dragged into some gatherings or other during the day without a moment’s rest.
He had a few drinks, staggered about, and didn’t make it home until nightfall.
Yet the moment he got home, he was met with accusations—naturally, it didn’t sit well with him.
Added to his naturally violent temper, the two started arguing, and it even escalated to the point of physical blows.
Eventually, it seemed to disturb the neighbors, who came to mediate before the matter was reluctantly dropped.
Although the affair was false, Lin Ziyan could sense that their relationship had worsened once again.
This was evident from her mother, who, like a wronged little woman, had moved from the master bedroom to the sofa, sulking and insisting on sleeping alone.
But what did any of this have to do with Lin Ziyan?
She was like an unrelated third party watching this farce unfold.
Her mother no longer asked her for comfort, but she also didn’t break her promise.
A few days later, she took the initiative to visit Liu Yinuo’s home, presumably to try to bring Ye Xingmian back.
But she returned empty-handed.
The girl Lin Ziyan had been longing for wasn’t by her side, and her mother was cursing under her breath, saying things like ‘ungrateful wolf’ and ‘untamable.’
Lin Ziyan knew then—she had been rejected.
Rejected by whom?
A decision like that shouldn’t be up to Liu Yinuo or her parents, should it?
Then it must have been Ye Xingmian herself.
No wonder Xu Ming had said such harsh words.
It was as expected, but it still felt disappointing.
Days passed one after another.
Before she knew it, half of the winter vacation had gone by, and the year-end was drawing near.
Another auspicious snow fell from the sky, adorning the city in a vast expanse of white.
Lin Ziyan looked at the gloomy weather and silently canceled her plan to visit the Liu family once more.