“Huh?” Seemingly provoked by Qin Haiyue’s words, a look of confusion appeared on Ye Xingmian’s thin, small face.
“Heh, I’ve given you so many things. Have you ever remembered any kindness from me? No, you’ve always been wary of me, yet you throw yourself into the arms of that Liu Yinuo. I’ve had enough. Such things are simply a waste of my time.”
How strange. If you think it’s a waste of time, then why do it?
The confusion in her eyes grew stronger. Ye Xingmian felt Qin Haiyue was utterly contradictory.
Anyone with a normal brain wouldn’t forgive someone who had been bullying them for a long time just because they were treated somewhat kindly for a few days, right?
But Qin Haiyue seemed oblivious to this. She seemed to take it for granted that as long as she was nice to her, Ye Xingmian should accept her without holding any grudges.
This was clearly a naive fantasy. Perhaps Qin Haiyue was just that kind of not-quite-normal person?
Of course, Ye Xingmian couldn’t possibly say such a thing out loud, unless she wanted to be strangled to death on the spot.
Her hands rested weakly on the back of Qin Haiyue’s hands, trying with her feeble struggle to sway the other girl’s conscience, to make her loosen her grip a little and give her some breathing room.
Fortunately, Qin Haiyue wasn’t squeezing too tightly yet. She could still barely breathe.
“S-sorry… I… I didn’t mean any harm…”
Not knowing what else to say, she could only apologize.
However, an apology clearly couldn’t extinguish Qin Haiyue’s anger. Instead, she tightened her grip on Ye Xingmian’s throat even more. This made Ye Xingmian’s eyes roll back, completely cutting off her air.
Instinct drove her to claw at Qin Haiyue’s hand with all her might, but her weak strength couldn’t budge it an inch.
“You… look a lot like her,” Qin Haiyue said coldly. “Didn’t I tell you before that I have a younger sister?”
Seeing her like this, Qin Haiyue reluctantly loosened her grip a little.
The feeling of having her life in someone else’s hands was truly awful, allowing Ye Xingmian to finally catch her breath. She closed her eyes briefly. “Y-you did…”
“Oh, then I need to correct a fact. I told you before that I liked my younger sister, so I wanted you to be her substitute.”
“That was a lie. In reality, I despise my younger sister. I hate her intensely, so much that I dream of strangling her to death. Do you understand?”
So, since you can’t strangle your sister, you want to strangle me instead?
Ye Xingmian didn’t know how to respond. She felt Qin Haiyue’s head must be a bit messed up.
“So what?” she managed to squeeze out.
“So what?” Qin Haiyue sneered, using the hand that was gripping Ye Xingmian’s throat to lift her up.
The intense feeling of suffocation, the cold, hard tiles at her back, the pain made her eyes roll back. Her dangling legs kicked out unconsciously.
“I just want to tell you one thing. All those things I did for you the past few days won’t happen again. That was a wrong decision I made when my head was muddled. Now, everything is back on track.”
After saying that, she released Ye Xingmian. The girl slid down the wall powerlessly, collapsing onto the floor. She used one hand to prop herself up, her hair falling over her eyes. She clutched her chest in pain, coughing violently.
“Cough—cough—!”
Finally catching her breath, the world before her eyes was blurred by tears. She didn’t wipe them away. Raising her head, she could only vaguely make out Qin Haiyue’s expression in the blurred world.
She had thought this peaceful period would last a bit longer. Who would have thought that only a few days in, Qin Haiyue was already reverting to her old self?
She wasn’t mentally prepared to face this version of Qin Haiyue, but that all-too-familiar sense of oppression and fear crept back into her heart. She couldn’t help but lower her head, her body trembling slightly.
She could secretly mock her foster parents from the Lin family in her heart because she also had leverage over them, having seen through their hypocritical and pathetic sides.
The threatening tactics of Lin Ziyan and Lin Zi weren’t that terrifying to her anymore either. Once that mental barrier had been shaken, even if the Lin family kicked her out, she could stay at the Class Monitor’s house.
If her identity was exposed, the Class Monitor could help her weather the storm. Even that toy bear bought with her foster mother’s money seemed unimportant compared to the Class Monitor.
It could be said that, at this moment, the Class Monitor was her sole support, her greatest backer.
But now, standing before her was Qin Haiyue.
She didn’t know Qin Haiyue’s background, but judging by the fact that she could get her foster parents fired with just a snap of her fingers, Qin Haiyue’s background was definitely stronger than the Class Monitor’s.
If Qin Haiyue truly held a grudge against Liu Yinuo and went to cause trouble for the Class Monitor, she didn’t know what kind of disaster it would bring upon the Liu family.
Her sole support was ineffective against Qin Haiyue.
Although Liu Yinuo had told Ye Xingmian to contact her if she was threatened when she left, that was clearly unrealistic.
She couldn’t contact Liu Yinuo right under Qin Haiyue’s nose. And there was another practical problem—Liu Yinuo didn’t know where Qin Haiyue’s house was.
She could maybe turn on location tracking, but how would Liu Yinuo get past the gatekeepers and security?
Would she be targeted by Qin Haiyue if she came here? Would she be in danger? These were all things Ye Xingmian had to consider.
So, calling Liu Yinuo for help was actually not feasible.
Now, her only support was useless again. She had returned to a state of being isolated and helpless, just like that day in the abandoned changing room.
“You… what are you going to do…” Her voice trembled a little with fear.
Qin Haiyue didn’t speak. She just took Ye Xingmian’s schoolbag, pulled out the cellphone from inside, and put it in her own pocket.
Ye Xingmian just stared blankly at her actions. She wanted to go snatch it back but didn’t dare, and it wouldn’t work anyway.
“I’ll hold onto the phone for now. You don’t need it. I’m going to ask you a few questions. If your answers satisfy me, there’s no reward. But if they don’t satisfy me, there will be punishment.”
Punishment…?
Ye Xingmian hesitated, but she had no choice. She could only nod.
“What’s with the marks on your neck?”
“Huh?”
Marks? What marks? Ye Xingmian wanted to look down but quickly realized she was talking about marks on her own neck—which she couldn’t see.
Could it be the red marks on her neck?
She thought for a moment, then tentatively spoke:
“Ah… that… wasn’t it from you choking me just now…”
However, her answer did not satisfy Qin Haiyue.
Almost instantly, Qin Haiyue kicked her hard.
Ye Xingmian’s head spun. By the time a sharp, cramping pain spread through her soft abdomen, her back had also slammed violently against the wall behind her.
Then came exhaustion. Her body lost strength, sliding down from the wall. The violent, intense pain turned her face deathly pale, as if all her internal organs had been displaced by that kick.
She couldn’t speak at all. Clutching her stomach, she curled up on the ground like a shrimp.
It hurt. It hurt so much. It felt like she was going to die from the pain. A loud ringing filled her ears, and a tear uncontrollably slipped from the corner of her eye.
At the same time, Qin Haiyue smiled and crouched down. Those bloodshot, azure-blue eyes were as terrifying as a devil’s.
“Where did the red marks on your neck come from? Of course, they’re from me choking you. But what I’m asking is, before I choked you—where did they come from?”