Chapter 105: We Have No Relationship

“As you wish.” Ye Xingmian turned her head away, her gaze darkening.

Whenever something didn’t go her way, she’d pull this stunt to threaten her. It was such a childish, laughable tactic, wasn’t it? It reminded her of a kid throwing a hunger strike because their parents wouldn’t buy them the toy they wanted.

“What do you mean by that?” Lin Ziyan narrowed her eyes dangerously. She hadn’t even settled the score with Ye Xingmian from yesterday afternoon yet, and now she dared to speak to her like this?

Seeing Ye Xingmian still ignoring her, she gritted her teeth.

“Do you really think I won’t do it?”

Still no answer.

This silence completely enraged her. She grabbed the toy bear’s arm and yanked hard. The fluffy arm tore off immediately, revealing the white stuffing inside.

In Ye Xingmian’s eyes, it was like spurting blood.

Her heart seemed to clench in pain for a moment, that familiar, suffocating agony. She closed her eyes, refusing to look at the ruined toy bear or at Lin Ziyan’s face, twisted with anger.

“Can you move now? I have things to do,” she said.

Her reaction was extremely flat, as if that thing wasn’t a precious gift from her mother at all, but just some random stranger’s toy, as if it had no connection to her whatsoever. This calmness even struck Lin Ziyan as eerie.

“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting like this ever since you came back yesterday. Did that Liu Yinuo steal your soul? You don’t even care about this anymore?”

She demanded, but Ye Xingmian paid no attention. As if she had lost her patience, she directly pushed the blocking Lin Ziyan aside with her hand.

For someone as frail as her, this should have been difficult. However, Lin Ziyan hadn’t expected her to do this at all and was caught off guard. In her panic, she nearly lost her balance and fell to the floor.

Steadying herself against the wall, she watched Ye Xingmian’s retreating back as she went upstairs and gritted her teeth.

Annoyance seemed to surge endlessly in her heart. She felt that things were slipping out of her control, that she couldn’t understand what that Ye Xingmian was thinking anymore.

Ye Xingmian had really changed, as if she had become a different person overnight. What was the reason for this? Was it because of Liu Yinuo? What had that girl said to her to make Ye Xingmian think she had a backer now, acting so brazenly towards her?

But faced with this sudden change, Lin Ziyan had no way to counter it.

All her strategies were built on the foundation of Ye Xingmian having no backing and being obedient. Once she was no longer afraid of her, those strategies lost their foundation.

So what should she do then?

Force? Force Ye Xingmian to wear those clothes? Even using violence and threats seemed possible. After all, she had her parents as a backstop; if a conflict arose, she would be in the right no matter what. But should she really do that?

For some reason, her heart seemed to inexplicably resist that approach.

She forced herself to find a reason for this awkward feeling: If she really forced Ye Xingmian, it would likely make her hate this place even more. What if Ye Xingmian really decided to move in with Liu Yinuo? Then she would have no recourse left.

Feeling a stifling anger, she casually threw the torn toy bear into a corner of her bedroom and forcefully suppressed her rage as she entered the bathroom. After washing up, she waited for Ye Xingmian to come downstairs.

She didn’t have to wait long before Ye Xingmian came down and headed for the kitchen.

Lin Ziyan quickly blocked her path, demanding loudly, “Hey! What do you mean by that?”

Ye Xingmian just glanced up at her slightly.

That indifferent gaze inexplicably stirred a sense of revulsion in Lin Ziyan’s heart.

Her words were questioning, but they were spoken in a tone that could only be described as eerily calm. Those pink eyes, once full of timidity, now seemed to be silently questioning her:

‘Must you… tell Uncle and Aunt about me turning into a girl, have me driven out, before you’re satisfied? You’ve already torn my toy bear. What more do you want?’

Looking into her eyes, Lin Ziyan was momentarily speechless.

She felt a strange twinge of guilt.

But she could never apologize to Ye Xingmian. So she turned her head away, avoiding Ye Xingmian’s gaze, and said loudly, “So what if I do? You still have to listen to me…”

Her brow furrowed sharply, and she hurried over, grabbing Ye Xingmian.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Cooking.” Ye Xingmian lowered her head slightly, frowning at the hand Lin Ziyan had wrapped around her arm.

Some unpleasant thoughts seemed to bubble up in her mind—wanting to chop off that hand. A dirty, evil, violent hand.

Destroy it.

Her gaze grew hazy for a moment before quickly clearing again. She gave the captured arm a slight shake.

“Can you let go of me?”

She looked up, her gaze calm, carrying a hint of a plea.

Since she’d said that, Lin Ziyan naturally couldn’t keep blocking her. She let go of Ye Xingmian, though her movements were somewhat hesitant.

Soon after, Ye Xingmian brought the dishes to the dining table. It was just reheating the food made last night and warming up the soup again.

She served herself a bowl of soup and placed it in front of herself.

Lin Ziyan glared at Ye Xingmian, who was still eating calmly, and finally couldn’t take it anymore. She slammed the table and stood up. “Hey! What exactly do you mean by this! What about mine?”

Sitting across from her, Ye Xingmian didn’t even look up. “Serve yourself.”

Hearing her reply, Lin Ziyan was momentarily at a loss for words.

Was she really expecting someone else to serve her food? They were both adults; not being able to do such a simple thing was rather embarrassing.

She frowned, still unable to think of a response. Should she question Ye Xingmian about why she wasn’t serving her?

“What’s wrong?” Ye Xingmian asked.

But just sitting back down like that would be a loss of face. She stood there for a long time before she figured out what to say.

“What’s different? Didn’t I still get up early to make food for you? I’ll still do the dishes for you later, and then the housework. What’s different from before?”

“Don’t you try to twist things!”

Lin Ziyan was absolutely furious. She looked at Ye Xingmian, who had started ignoring her again, thought for a moment, and finally knew what to say.

“Remember? I’m your older sister now, and you’re my younger sister. What should you call me?”

She remembered the line that had worked last night. This should still be effective, right?

Unexpectedly, Ye Xingmian was silent for a while. When she looked up again, her eyes even held a trace of pity.

“We have no blood relationship. I’m not your younger sister, not your older sister, and not your older brother. You said that yourself.”