The two sat down at the dining table. After simply tying up their hair, the two girls went downstairs one after the other.
The midday sunlight was warm and calm, slanting through the window and spilling onto the table. It wasn’t glaring, only warm.
Filling their stomachs wasn’t a problem. But Liu Yinuo still offered praise; the dishes were just simple home-style cooking, nothing particularly delicious, which made Ye Xingmian feel a little guilty.
“Do you want to come sit by me?”
Suddenly, Liu Yinuo made this proposal. She looked up at Ye Xingmian sitting across from her.
This was a request she didn’t even know why she voiced, but the other girl didn’t refuse and obediently sat beside her.
For some reason, even though it was her own request, now that it was fulfilled, she felt inexplicably nervous.
Looking at the silent girl, she felt a bit awkward.
Like this, their distance had closed. Even though their bodies weren’t touching, she could vaguely feel the other’s breathing, the slight tremble in that soft body.
She knew it was time for her to take the initiative and start a conversation; she couldn’t expect the introverted Ye Xingmian to do so.
She took a sip of water, feigning calm, and asked, “Um… a few days ago, did you go to Qin Haiyue’s home? What did she do to you?”
This was a rather heavy topic, equivalent to forcing the other to reopen her wounds. If she had any other topic, she wouldn’t have brought it up so bluntly.
Ye Xingmian looked up, dazed.
“Nothing, just locked me up for a few days.”
“Really? Nothing else?”
Liu Yinuo frowned slightly and suddenly leaned in, her breath almost touching the girl’s earlobe.
“Mm.”
Ye Xingmian nodded lightly.
This obviously made Ye Xingmian nervous, but unfortunately, Liu Yinuo looked at her with suspicion, carefully examining her expression, yet saw nothing unusual.
“If something’s bothering you, don’t keep it to yourself. You can tell me.”
She reminded, “No matter what, I will help you.”
The air fell silent briefly, until Ye Xingmian’s clear voice broke the stillness.
“I’m sorry… Yinuo… that day, I lied to you.”
“Huh? You mean that time?”
“That time you called me to your house, and I used the excuse of going home to leave, but I actually didn’t go home. Instead, I was called away by Qin Haiyue, and in the end, I was left halfway and called you to pick me up.”
‘Should she say she remembers it in great detail? She didn’t expect Ye Xingmian to have such a clear recollection of what happened that day. This made Liu Yinuo curious about what was going through her mind right now.’
“Why are you saying sorry?”
“Because I lied to you, and I made you clean up a mess without knowing the truth. Before that, I ignored you and made a face. I’m really… really sorry. I won’t do that again.”
Her words made Liu Yinuo happy, but she didn’t show it. She said patiently, “It’s okay, I don’t blame you. But there’s one thing I want to ask.”
“Mm, go ahead.”
“About last week, why were you avoiding me? You even went so far as to get close to Qin Haiyue just to do that?”
“Ah? Because… I… I…”
Ye Xingmian looked troubled.
Liu Yinuo understood immediately. Now wasn’t the time to ask. But she wasn’t in a hurry anymore.
Although she didn’t know what Qin Haiyue had done to Ye Xingmian to cause such a big change, she knew it was a good thing. She could feel that now Ye Xingmian relied on her more.
‘How to describe that feeling? It was like a timid lamb that secretly climbed over the wall and ran out, only to run into a big bad wolf. After barely escaping back, it dared to curl up by its owner’s legs, trembling.’ Something like that.
She knew what she should do now. Ye Xingmian needed someone to lean on, so she would give her that support.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to say if you don’t want to.”
The warmth here tempted Ye Xingmian every moment. Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before the person she admired would come to her on her own. She felt that day wouldn’t be too far off.
Her smile was very gentle, and she didn’t forget to reach out and gently stroke the girl’s silky hair.
Feeling the girl shrink back, she could clearly see those uneasy closed eyes, and the pink irises peeking out from between her eyelids.
Ye Xingmian’s eyes were very special, really special. That beautiful, dreamlike color she had only ever seen in this girl.
Occasionally, she would even have unrealistic fantasies, like maybe it was some special bloodline inheritance or something.
“Mmm… hug…”
Her voice sounded clearly remorseful.
She also knew this was a good opportunity to comfort Ye Xingmian, so she decided to go all the way and directly pulled her into an embrace. Her strength was great; Ye Xingmian didn’t have time to struggle and only let out a cry of surprise.
“Ah!”
“What’s wrong?”
Since they were back-to-front in the embrace, she could see the girl’s flustered side profile.
She tilted her head and asked.
“…It’s nothing… Yinuo… can you… loosen a bit?”
“Loosen? No. This time you’re not telling me the reason again. I’m very angry, so I’m going to punish you.”
“Pu…nish…?”
“Mm, this is the punishment.”
‘What kind of punishment is that? Whose punishment involves holding someone tightly in their arms and not letting them move?’
Under normal circumstances, Ye Xingmian might not have reacted much. But now it was different. She still had injuries on her body, and with Liu Yinuo’s tight grip, it hurt.
But actually, it wasn’t unbearable, just a bit uncomfortable. After all, she had endured much more severe pain at Qin Haiyue’s place. Now, just to satisfy a small whim of Liu Yinuo, she didn’t mind.
Even if it were tighter, to the point of being crushed into her body, she wouldn’t mind.
‘Was she just instinctively refusing? Or was this another futile attempt to maintain her self-esteem? Or was it just pure pain?’
At the end of the day, she felt she was too contradictory.
‘If this was the kind of “punishment,” wouldn’t she want as much of it as possible?’
This feeling—being treated gently, being cared for, being respected like a person—for her, she couldn’t tell if it was warmth or… novelty.
This was something she had never felt from anyone else, and it was the reason she liked Liu Yinuo.
Everyone else just treated her as an “item” that could be used at will.
Only with Liu Yinuo did she feel she was respected as a “person.” This was something she had never experienced even from Lin Ziyan, who had regretted and apologized to her.
To earn her love was simple: a little light tenderness, a little respect, and the patience to lead her out of that twisted, contradictory inferiority complex.
These basic needs of any normal person were like precious treasures to her, who had grown up in a distorted environment.
Only now did she realize that her past mistakes and her inferiority complex had almost made her miss someone important.
Although the difficulties in reality still existed, she had finally gained a bit of courage to face them.