After Qin Jiangmian left on her own, Qin Haiyue vented her frustrations on the stone table for a while longer.
Only when she was nearly exhausted did she take a deep breath, raise her head, her eyes carrying a hint of confusion.
It was time to go.
Since her flight was in the early morning, it was best to head to the airport now.
Thinking this, she stood up. Suddenly, a biting cold wind blew through, causing the surrounding dry branches to tremble and rustle.
She waited until the wind died down before hailing a taxi alone and heading toward the airport.
‘I’ll definitely teach Ye Xingmian a proper lesson when I see her tomorrow.’
That’s what she thought.
Looking at the night scenery rapidly receding outside the window, she couldn’t help but zone out.
To be honest, she was a little sleepy. She had been in a state of high tension all afternoon, lasting until midnight. She checked her phone; it was almost eleven.
‘I want to sleep.’
‘I’ll sleep on the plane.’ Thinking this, she unconsciously hugged herself tighter.
After arriving tomorrow, she would definitely take Ye Xingmian to her own home. Then, using whatever method necessary, she would make it clear that she was no longer the confused Qin Haiyue from a few days ago.
She wanted to hit Ye Xingmian, to scold her, and she wanted to see that girl tremble uncontrollably when faced with violence again.
And then, she wouldn’t let her go back. She would make Ye Xingmian sleep with her. One day wouldn’t be enough, two days wouldn’t suffice either; she would make her stay by her side all the time.
If she tried to run, she’d chain her up. If she resisted, she’d beat her into submission, beat her until she cried.
Thinking this far, she finally felt a faint trace of pleasure.
Her vision blurred by mist, she blinked, only then realizing she had been crying without noticing. Carrying this sick mentality, she couldn’t help but fall asleep. It was as if bullying Ye Xingmian had become the entirety of her life.
When they reached the airport, it was the kind driver who woke her up.
Upon arrival, the surroundings were filled with elongated, blurry lights. In the darkness, noisy crowds gathered, laughing and walking past the window.
She awkwardly thanked the driver, paid, and got out of the car. Having come in a hurry, she hadn’t brought much luggage, so passing through security wasn’t troublesome.
She soon boarded the plane and sat in her booked business class seat. There were few people, the cabin wasn’t even full.
She sat like that by the window, with no one beside her, and slowly fell asleep.
She was only awakened by a flight attendant when the plane landed. Groggily, she disembarked; the time was now three in the morning.
With no intention of going home, she found a random hotel, booked a room, didn’t care about how luxurious it was, and as soon as she entered, threw herself onto the bed and buried herself under the covers, fast asleep.
Time moved to six in the morning.
The Lin family, in Lin Ziyan’s bedroom. Ye Xingmian heard the sound of her foster parents leaving and opened her eyes.
Because the window wasn’t open, and the winter sun rose late, the only light in the room came from a small night light. Its dim, yellow glow fell on her face, illuminating those pink eyes that glinted with a cold light.
Her body felt somewhat heavy and achy. She frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side, just in time to see Lin Ziyan clinging to her like an octopus beside her.
A flash of disgust passed through her eyes.
Without a word, she moved very gently, carefully shifting Lin Ziyan off of her. Lin Ziyan slept restlessly, especially when holding onto her, looking exactly like a koala hugging a tree.
Of course, in Ye Xingmian’s eyes, she wasn’t as cute as a koala.
After considerable effort, she finally freed herself from Lin Ziyan’s suffocating embrace, with most of her body now out of the warm covers. The sub-zero morning chill touched her skin, and she couldn’t help but shiver.
She picked up the clothes she had changed out of last night, opened the door, walked into the bathroom, and changed there.
Then, she pulled her phone from the schoolbag she had brought. As soon as she turned it on, she couldn’t help but frown.
Having not been charged for too long, the phone’s battery was only at twenty percent, and she estimated it would shut down soon.
There was no outlet in her bedroom, and charging it downstairs was too risky, so she ultimately chose to give up.
She opened the social app and eagerly tapped into a chat window marked with a red notification dot, a smile unconsciously appearing on her face.
‘Great, the Class Monitor did send me a message last night.’
Her spirits lifted as she checked the content sent by Liu Yinuo:
“Xingmian, are you coming to my house for tutoring again tomorrow?”
“Come anytime you want. My parents aren’t home. Just knock on the door when you arrive, or give me a call.”
“It’s been pretty cold these days, remember to dress warmly. Don’t come out in just a skirt like yesterday.”
“Oh, and if that Lin Ziyan doesn’t let you out, just secretly message me. I’ll come pick you up.”
“Okay? If everything goes smoothly, I’ll be waiting for you at home. [Cat giving a heart.jpg]”
Indeed, only when interacting with Liu Yinuo, even just through chat, looking at these words, Ye Xingmian couldn’t help but imagine the gentle expression the other person must have had while sending these messages.
For some reason, she suddenly remembered her relationship with Liu Yinuo before the transformation.
Back then, she was just an invisible presence in the class, and Liu Yinuo’s attitude toward her wasn’t good, even you could say it’s pretty bad.
Her grades were poor, and their homeroom teacher, Teacher Wang, always gave her “special attention.” This attention wasn’t calling on her to answer questions, but summoning her to the office.
The teacher knew about her family situation and always used it against her, frequently criticizing her for dozing off or zoning out in class.
Over time, Liu Yinuo, who often went to the office, also began to form a poor impression of her.
The homeroom teacher gradually lost patience with her, so much so that later, whenever she went to the office, she often couldn’t avoid a round of scolding or worse.
Perhaps it was precisely her weakness, combined with her family circumstances, that made everything worse.
So, why did Liu Yinuo suddenly change her attitude toward her?
At first, Ye Xingmian thought it was pity. Later, she felt that might not be it. After all, if it were pity, she should have helped her long ago. How could she have allowed her to be bullied for so long?
Now, she was beginning to understand a little.
It was from the moment she turned into a girl that Liu Yinuo’s attitude toward her did a complete one-eighty, completely different from before.
So, the reason was actually that she had become a girl?
That didn’t seem very realistic either. After thinking about it, she felt perhaps she should credit her own appearance.
Although she didn’t care much about it, her current self did seem quite good-looking. When bullied to tears, perhaps it was easy to stir others’ sympathy?
She thought this was probably the reason for Liu Yinuo’s change in attitude.
But so what?
No matter how much she thought about it, it only proved the Class Monitor was superficial. It didn’t mean much, at most it just made the motivation seem less pure.
Thinking this, Ye Xingmian suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly.
She didn’t dwell on it further and was just about to reply to Liu Yinuo when, above the chat box, a message from another person suddenly took over.