Seeing that Ye Xingmian had finally settled down, Lin Ziyan felt an inexplicable unease. She pursed her lips and suppressed that strange feeling.
She called out, “She’s not with me. She went upstairs just now.”
The person outside clearly believed her. After a brief hesitation, came concerned words.
“Is that so… Then Ziyan, go to sleep early. Mom won’t disturb you. Staying up late is bad for your health.”
After that, the two held their breath, listening to the footsteps fading away. This was both to ensure that Xu Ming had indeed left and to confirm that Xu Ming hadn’t gone upstairs to the attic to find Ye Xingmian.
After all, if she really knocked on the attic door, then Ye Xingmian would have to quickly go out and fix the situation to prevent being exposed.
Fortunately, the footsteps didn’t go upstairs but went to the master bedroom. As the living room lights went out, the Lin family home fell into silence once again.
Under the pure light, it seemed they could hear each other’s breathing, quiet and clear.
Lin Ziyan lowered her head and released the girl in her arms.
“About what happened just now… Sorry, I shouldn’t have threatened you.”
She was actually apologizing for her actions—not something Lin Ziyan would normally do. Unfortunately, Ye Xingmian wasn’t in the mood to mock her.
She straightened her clothes and silently turned around.
“I’m going back to sleep. Don’t stop me.”
She tried to leave, but a hand quickly grabbed the hem of her clothes.
“No, you can’t go!”
Ye Xingmian turned back and silently looked at her. That gaze seemed to have anticipated her actions, and so there was no intense reaction.
“Do you really have to make me stay and sleep with you…? You’re not a child, and I’m not your toy… Why do you have to hold me while sleeping…”
Her voice sounded a bit aggrieved. She seemed to have given up struggling, but this instead made Lin Ziyan uneasy.
She subconsciously wanted to do something to make up for it.
But letting her go was definitely not an option. The only thing she could do seemed to be…
She picked up the cake that had been sitting on the cabinet for a long time, scooped up a spoonful of cream with a small spoon, and forced a smile on her face with difficulty.
“I… I don’t know why I just want you to stay. Maybe I feel safer with you around? Do you want some cake? I’ll feed you…”
“I don’t want it.”
Ye Xingmian didn’t even look at her, which made her feel a bit frustrated.
She silently put the things back.
It seemed that was the only thing she could do for now. In the silence, Lin Ziyan suddenly remembered something, and a glint flashed in her eyes.
“Oh right! I still have something to give you.”
Having said that, she ran to the corner to rummage, but Ye Xingmian didn’t hold any hope for her. She just stared blankly in some empty direction.
Until Lin Ziyan returned to her side, smiling proudly as she held the thing out to her.
The eyes that had been as still as dead water finally showed a hint of ripples.
“This is…” Her voice trembled slightly.
“Your toy bear. Although I tore it up before, during the days you were away from home, I worked hard to mend it. So? Can this gift make you stay obediently for one night?”
Lin Ziyan smiled, looking like she was taking credit.
Ye Xingmian, on the other hand, stared blankly at the toy bear, speechless.
It really was mended… Although the stitches looked a bit rough, with many white threads showing, not pretty, the severed arm was indeed securely attached.
Hard to imagine… Was this something Lin Ziyan would do?
“Here, take it back.”
Lin Ziyan pushed the toy bear toward her with a strong sense of accomplishment, but she didn’t reach out to take it. She just silently stepped back two steps, sat on the bed, and shook her head.
This was a reaction from Ye Xingmian that she had never expected. She directly rejected Lin Ziyan’s goodwill.
“No, I don’t want it anymore. You keep it.”
The feeling of having her heartfelt efforts spurned ignited anger in Lin Ziyan. Visibly, she frowned, unable to understand.
“What do you mean?” Her voice was somewhat low.
“Thank you for mending it. In return, I won’t leave tonight. I’ll stay here.”
This time, Ye Xingmian didn’t answer her question.
“What about the toy bear? You don’t want it?” Lin Ziyan’s tone clearly rose several levels.
“I don’t want it.”
“Are you disgusted with me?”
“I’m staying obediently to accompany you. Isn’t that achieving your goal? Why are you angry?”
Ye Xingmian’s tone was calm, but the more Lin Ziyan listened, the angrier she got.
She felt that what Ye Xingmian said seemed right, but something was completely off. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she frowned deeply.
Listening to Ye Xingmian, it was as if she didn’t want it precisely because Lin Ziyan had mended it.
At least that’s how she saw it.
But now it wasn’t good to get angry at Ye Xingmian again, so she simply sulked to herself.
Quickly changing into pajamas, lying down on the bed, turning off the light, she casually pulled Ye Xingmian into her arms.
She could feel that warm body, the calm heartbeat. But thinking of what Ye Xingmian had just said, she was really furious.
“Don’t go find Liu Yinuo anymore, understand!”
“Mm.”
She agreed, but anyone could see it was compliance in appearance only.
“What Liu Yinuo can give you, I can give you too. My grades aren’t bad either. In the future, I’ll buy you good food, buy you what you want, tutor you, even help you improve your scores, and we can go to the same university.”
Ye Xingmian still didn’t speak.
Lin Ziyan had many more things she wanted to say, but as she spoke, she gradually felt a bit lonely.
No matter what she did, no matter what effort she used to try to salvage things, it seemed… nothing worked.
She didn’t want to use violent methods to treat Ye Xingmian anymore. She knew very well that her image in Ye Xingmian’s heart was already very bad. Now she should make amends, not make things worse.
She might need some time to change her impression in Ye Xingmian’s heart. The toy bear matter was a good start, and those threats made out of necessity needed to be reduced.
But, did she really still have that opportunity?
Or rather, did she still have time to try?
She couldn’t help but doubt herself: could these methods really bring her closer to Ye Xingmian?
Wouldn’t time instead gradually dilute their relationship, inevitably making Ye Xingmian lean toward that Liu Yinuo?
Sometimes, she really wondered if Ye Xingmian was someone who responded to force but not kindness.
Unable to tell good from bad, right from wrong, stubborn as a mule clinging to her own ideas. If that were really the case, then her current behavior might indeed be wrong.
But what was the right way? Did she really have a way to reverse the decline?
Even the mended toy bear had been rejected by Ye Xingmian. She completely didn’t know what to do anymore.
All she had was confusion and darkness.