Chapter 144: Trying to please?

Walking up the stairs, she knocked on Lin Ziyan’s door and waited for someone inside to open it.

The door wasn’t locked.

Soon, light footsteps sounded from within, and the door suddenly swung open. She saw Lin Ziyan standing there, sulking with a sour expression.

Lin Ziyan didn’t seem to have expected her to come. She froze for a moment, then arched an eyebrow.

“Why you? Finished eating? What do you want from me?”

“Uncle and Aunt asked me to come persuade you.”

There was no reason to hide it. She had no intention of following her foster parents’ wishes, so she stated the reason directly.

“Hah?”

“They hope you’ll make up with them.”

“Then why don’t they come themselves?”

“Coming themselves would be useless—they’re afraid you’ll yell at them? Well, anyway, I’m leaving. Maybe they think I’m easier to boss around?”

“Or maybe they figure since the message has been delivered, there’s no need for them to do any more chores.”

Ye Xingmian just wanted to go back to her room and sleep.

She turned around to head upstairs, but her hand was grabbed.

Turning back, she saw Lin Ziyan with an awkward expression. She was holding onto her hand and refusing to let go, yet she wouldn’t look at her either—her gaze darted away unnaturally.

“Hey… you’re not allowed to leave…”

Ye Xingmian was silent for a moment. She felt Lin Ziyan was acting strange tonight.

Was it because of what happened this afternoon? Was she still angry? Not letting her leave—did she want to hit her?

Getting beaten for no reason was naturally unpleasant, though Ye Xingmian had grown somewhat used to it. Most of the time, those people were just venting, using her as an emotional outlet.

That included her foster parents, Qin Haiyue, Lin Ziyan, and the countless others in her memory who had bullied her to varying degrees.

Everyone knew to pick on the weakest person.

Getting off track— Ye Xingmian was naturally worried that Lin Ziyan wanted to bully her again. She tried to leave, but Lin Ziyan stubbornly refused to let go.

“Are you going to hit me again?”

Her gentle tone floated into Lin Ziyan’s ears like a light, colorful cloud, but it made a flicker of panic flash across her face.

“Huh? No… no, no. Anyway, ugh, just come in.”

Lin Ziyan dragged her inside forcefully.

Her wrist ached from the pull. She nearly stumbled and fell, but steadied herself against the wall. Silently turning around, she saw Lin Ziyan lock the door.

“What do you want to do?”

She forced herself to stay calm, but there was a faint tremor in her voice. Every time she was locked in a room by someone else, nothing good followed.

The injuries all over her body, the marks on her neck that hadn’t fully faded, those dark memories—all testified to that.

So she backed half a step against the wall and raised her hands in front of her in a defensive posture.

Her question went unanswered. Seeing her reaction, Lin Ziyan responded with a long silence.

The expression on her face made it seem like it wasn’t Ye Xingmian who was trapped in the room, but herself. She even looked a little aggrieved, which was baffling.

“Sit down first,” she said.

Ye Xingmian didn’t obey. Only after Lin Ziyan sat on the edge of the bed and stared into space did she hesitantly sit down three body lengths away.

Noticing that Ye Xingmian had sat down, Lin Ziyan pulled out her schoolbag from the bedside table and fished something out.

Was that… the small cake she bought this morning?

But it wasn’t just one box—it was three. It seemed Lin Ziyan hadn’t even eaten her own share and had kept them until now.

A forced smile crept onto Lin Ziyan’s face, almost ingratiating. She propped herself up with one hand on the mattress and handed a small cake to Ye Xingmian.

“Don’t leave, okay? As long as you don’t rush off, these cakes are all yours.”

Ye Xingmian stared at the offered cake, dumbfounded.

Was this… a bribe?

What did “don’t rush off” mean? Was she saying not to leave this room? But it felt like there was more to her words.

In any case, Ye Xingmian didn’t take the cake.

Lin Ziyan tilted her head, as if she hadn’t noticed the refusal.

“Not eating?”

Ye Xingmian remained silent.

But she wasn’t angry. Today, Lin Ziyan seemed unusually patient.

She scooted closer, placed the other two boxes on the bedside table, scooped up a spoonful of cream from one, and said, “Then how about I feed you?”

Her face was full of smiles.

But Ye Xingmian suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She looked at Lin Ziyan and found her strangely unfamiliar today.

This inexplicable kindness must have ulterior motives, some hidden purpose.

She was certain of that.

But Lin Ziyan had already gone this far—could she keep refusing?

Would refusing get her beaten? Would it make her angry?

“Hey, sis, open up.”

This time she actually called her “sis,” instead of “brother” or even “little sister.”

Even though it sounded like she was emphasizing her identity, the fawning tone was so obvious that even a fool could sense it.

Ye Xingmian stiffened. She asked in confusion, “What do you want to do?”

“Feed you something delicious.” Lin Ziyan smiled. “Hey, I said, sis, aren’t you going to open up? My hand is getting tired.”

After hesitating, Ye Xingmian parted her lips and sipped the cream off the spoon.

Honestly, it was sweet and tasty. The cream was good, and the jam on top was good too.

Growing up, she rarely ate things like cake. The few times she remembered was when Qin Haiyue had treated her a few days ago. As for other occasions, either there were none, or the memories had long since blurred.

Feeding her was too slow. Lin Ziyan gradually lost patience, handed the box to Ye Xingmian, and stood up from the bed.

It hurt—vigorous movements often overwhelmed her. But the person in front of her was Lin Zi. Was she really trying to take care of her without mocking her?

That was unexpected.

The tension that had been gripping her gradually loosened. So Lin Ziyan’s fawning wasn’t entirely ineffective. She couldn’t help but silently mock her own cowardice.

She closed her eyes.

“Then just wait a moment, sis.”

Soon, Lin Ziyan pulled out the medicine for external injuries she had bought that morning from her bag. She took out a cotton swab and crouched in front of Ye Xingmian’s legs.

“Sis, do those injuries on your body still hurt?”

How should she answer? In truth, many places still ached badly.

“Not too bad. They don’t hurt as much anymore.”

“Can you take off your pants?”

The room had heating, so it wasn’t cold, but Ye Xingmian felt a little embarrassed.

“Isn’t that inappropriate?”

“What’s inappropriate about it? Aren’t we both girls? And you’re my sister—after all this time, do you still need to hesitate?”

After taking off the heavy clothes, applying the medicine went much smoother. The cool, icy sensation offset the fiery pain and felt quite comfortable.

“By the way… sis, why did you choose to go home with Liu Yinuo today instead of with me?”

The motion of applying the medicine stopped. The force in her hand nearly snapped the cotton swab.