Ye Xingmian had taken leave from school.
The students of Class 14 didn’t react much to this. Ye Xingmian was already practically invisible, and a frequent absentee. One day off wasn’t a big deal.
Therefore, when the homeroom teacher coldly announced the news from the podium, the whole class remained calm.
Of course, with two exceptions.
Liu Yinuo’s pupils constricted, and she was uncharacteristically stunned. It wasn’t until her remaining desk mate patted her shoulder that she snapped back to reality.
She gave them a look to indicate she was fine, then stared at the things on her desk, zoning out again.
Her heart was in her throat. Combined with the message Ye Xingmian had sent yesterday, she had a pretty good idea of where Ye Xingmian had gone and why she’d taken leave.
Qin Haiyue…
That girl must have done something to Ye Xingmian, leading to this. But what exactly had Qin Haiyue done? She had no idea.
But she was certain that Ye Xingmian was definitely by Qin Haiyue’s side.
Harboring this worry, she pursed her lips and could only lower her head to continue writing. Just then, she suddenly felt a sharp gaze land on her and couldn’t help but stop her hand movements, turning to look towards the source.
It was Lin Ziyan.
That girl was glaring at her, gnashing her teeth, the look in her eyes practically wanting to swallow her whole. But Liu Yinuo was completely baffled. She turned her head back, not taking the matter to heart.
‘I hope Ye Xingmian can come back today.’
She thought this anxiously.
As for Lin Ziyan, upon discovering Liu Yinuo had actually ignored her, she grew even angrier.
‘Not coming to school again today either? Is it to avoid me? Ye Xingmian didn’t go home last night. Where else would she have gone? Damn it, am I that scary? She’d rather hide at Liu Yinuo’s place and skip class?’
She couldn’t help but feel deeply irritated and furious. Taking a deep breath, she barely managed to suppress the fire in her heart. The ridiculous part was, she was utterly helpless against this.
She could only rage impotently here.
‘What to do? Ye Xingmian can’t possibly never come home again, right? What should I do then?’
‘Honestly, after thinking about it all day yesterday, I do feel I went a bit too far before, and I want to try to make up for it a little. After all, if I really drive Ye Xingmian away, who else would I bully?’
‘Huff… calm down. Even if she doesn’t go home, can she skip school forever? She can hide for a few days, but she has to come back someday, someday.’
‘That time probably won’t be too far off. Maybe she’ll come back to school today? After all, that’s how it was before when she was at Liu Yinuo’s place.’
‘When the time comes, I’ll definitely drag Ye Xingmian home, pull her into my room, and question her about where she went.’
‘For that, maybe I should try to fix that toy bear I tore up, then order her around less, let her rest more.’
‘I still have to be the older sister. Ye Xingmian can only ever be my assistant. And that “sisters” thing… no, no, that’s not happening.’
Her hand gripping the ballpoint pen unconsciously tightened. She listened to the lesson half-heartedly, hoping Ye Xingmian would return to school.
However, whether it was Liu Yinuo or Lin Ziyan, this expectation ultimately came to nothing.
A whole morning passed, and Ye Xingmian didn’t come. After lunch and the noon break, Ye Xingmian didn’t come. In the afternoon, all the way until school ended, Ye Xingmian still hadn’t come.
The blood-red setting sun illuminated the earth, gradually sinking into the night. Students walked home in small groups, all of it insignificant and unnoticed by anyone.
At night, at Liu Yinuo’s home, after dinner, she climbed into bed, opened her phone, and sent a message on a social app:
North Wind Warm: “Where did you go today? Why didn’t you come to class?”
Her fingers gripped the phone tightly, every minute and second feeling like her taut nerves were being held over a fire. She waited for a response, but ultimately, none came.
She didn’t know where Qin Haiyue had hidden Ye Xingmian.
But she wasn’t completely without options. Taking a deep breath, she opened the dialer—she could still call the police. The police could help her find Ye Xingmian, help her bring that timid girl to her side.
And then, she absolutely could not let Ye Xingmian fall into Qin Haiyue’s hands again. She wanted to protect Ye Xingmian, at every possible moment when she could be taken advantage of.
She finally entered the number, her finger hovering over the call button. She took a deep breath, finally mustering the resolve.
However, just at that moment, a message notification popped up at the top of her phone.
Nanfeng Liang: “Something up?”
Liu Yinuo’s heart jumped, her first reaction being delight. But upon seeing the specific content of the message, her heart instantly sank halfway.
This tone was definitely not her Xingmian. It was most likely… Qin Haiyue.
She gritted her teeth and steeled herself to write:
“Is Ye Xingmian with you? Why aren’t you letting her come to class? What did you do to her?”
After that, she waited a long time before getting a reply:
“She’s at my place. She accidentally fell and got hurt last night, can’t go to school. She’s recuperating at my house.”
This reply made Liu Yinuo’s heart leap into her throat. She hurriedly wrote:
“Where is she hurt? How is she?”
Who knew, Qin Haiyue’s reply nearly made her faint from anger—
“It’s not serious.”
“Why didn’t you take her to the hospital? Why didn’t you send her home?” Liu Yinuo typed through gritted teeth.
“And what are you to her?”
“What am I to her? Why should I tell you?”
“Because I’m her lover, you know that, right?”
“If you keep this up! I’ll call the police!”
“Suit yourself. Ye Xingmian is right here with me, doing just fine. Having the police come is useless, might even count as filing a false report, you know?”
These words from the other side made Liu Yinuo’s fingers tremble uncontrollably.
She didn’t want to say anything more.
Ye Xingmian was in Qin Haiyue’s hands. She knew it, but she was helpless against it.
Despite her worry, there was nothing she could do, only adding to her anxiety.
So annoying… so, so annoying!
Why… why could Qin Haiyue always get what she wanted so easily with these shameless, despicable methods? And what about her, Liu Yinuo?
She had to carefully nurture, carefully consider what she did wrong, what she shouldn’t have done, worrying about this and that, and in the end, got nothing.
Why? Is this really worth it? Can I really get what I want?
When it comes down to it, what do I really want? Is it really just having Ye Xingmian live in my house? Is that all?
So annoying, my head is a mess. It feels like it’s not just that, I want something else too, but I can’t figure out what it is.
Anyway, calling the police is off the table.
At least, wait another day or two.
If Qin Haiyue is still holding Ye Xingmian by then, I’ll call the police.
Her mind in disarray, she made a somewhat conservative choice.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.