This is an old, empty building.
The door wasn’t locked. The air was thick with dust, and there were many messy footprints on the floor, left behind by students who had come here to play.
She remembered hearing rumors that this teaching building was going to be renovated, but no one knew when it would start.
Lin Ziyan walked down the corridor. The midday sunlight streamed through the glass windows, hitting her face, a little blinding.
Places like this usually had some campus legends—hauntings and the like.
For example, couples meeting in secret at midnight hearing eerie crying, or an elderly security guard on patrol encountering a student who had died in an accident long ago.
Lin Ziyan, who didn’t pay attention to such boring things, had naturally never heard of them.
But it was strange that this abandoned teaching building didn’t have its door locked to prevent people from coming in and causing trouble.
Suddenly, Lin Ziyan frowned. She seemed to hear a sound.
Since it was class time, there was no one else around, but the sound was clearly a girl’s crying.
Despite the sunlight, the dusty corridor was still cold. Lin Ziyan didn’t feel scared; on the contrary, she felt the voice was somewhat familiar.
Hesitating for a moment, she pursed her lips and walked toward the direction of the sound.
‘Could it be this coincidental?’
She gently pushed open the old wooden door of the classroom. The screech of the hinges forced her idea of sneaking in to an end.
This was an old classroom. The sunlight slanting through the window fell on solid wood desks and chairs covered in scratches and a thick layer of dust.
No sooner had she heard the sound of the door opening than the figure lying on a desk warily lifted their head and looked over at her.
Lin Ziyan looked in the direction of the sound and saw her “brother.”
She was lying on a desk, the furniture wiped clean of dust. Her eyes were red, and her damp eyelashes still held glistening teardrops; she had clearly been crying.
Only after confirming that the visitor was not Qin Haiyue but Lin Ziyan did she seem to breathe a sigh of relief, turning her head to stare off into space silently.
After getting away from Qin Haiyue, this was a safe place she had found.
She just hadn’t expected to run into Lin Ziyan here.
Looking at her figure, Lin Ziyan felt at a loss.
“Um… well… How did you get here? Qin Haiyue… she didn’t do anything to you, did she?”
Ye Xingmian didn’t reply. Lin Ziyan felt like she had said something stupid.
***
After a bit of hesitation, she softened.
Regardless, she was the one who had dragged her out and caused her to be caught by Qin Haiyue. By both reason and emotion, she should apologize.
Maybe she should comfort her “brother.”
Thinking this, she hesitated and walked over, found a seat near Ye Xingmian, and used a wet wipe to clean the dust off the surface.
Looking at the silent Ye Xingmian, she moved her lips.
“Are you okay?”
Unsurprisingly, there was no response.
‘It made sense. If she were okay, why would she be crying? Why would she need me here talking nonsense?’
At least, from the looks of it, she probably hadn’t been hit. Maybe she was just threatened? Or maybe she was mocked?
Lin Ziyan didn’t know. She felt she had said the wrong thing again.
“About earlier… I’m sorry…”
The purpose of an apology is naturally to seek forgiveness and then feel at ease.
But in the silent stillness, her apology sank like a stone into the ocean, causing no ripples.
‘What should she say next?’
‘She didn’t know. Her mind was blank.’
She had prepared lines, waiting for Ye Xingmian to ask “Why are you apologizing?” so she could have an out.
But no.
Ye Xingmian completely ignored her, leaving her stuck in an awkward position.
‘After all, why did she come to apologize?’
‘Wouldn’t it be better to just pretend she hadn’t seen her and walk away? They could still get along as usual.’
This thought flashed through her mind, but it was just a thought.
Right now, she couldn’t bring herself to leave.
Staying in this awkward situation forever wasn’t a solution. She needed to think of how to continue the conversation, or even end it.
Ye Xingmian didn’t want to talk, so the heavy responsibility fell on her.
After thinking, she forced a smile.
“Class is almost over. Let’s go back to the classroom?”
“Oh, by the way, I took two hundred yuan from you earlier. Do you still want it? I can pay you back.”
“You don’t want it? Then how about I take you out to eat at noon?”
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as agreement?”
“…I’m not going.”
The smile on Lin Ziyan’s face instantly froze.
A flash of anger passed through her eyes, but it was quickly suppressed and replaced by a somewhat tired expression.
“Then where do you want to go? You can’t just skip a meal, can you?”
“I want to go to Liu Yinuo’s home. She’s sick today. I can go cook for her…”
Despite her low tone, Lin Ziyan saw a glimmer of longing in her eyes.
And that glimmer of longing deeply stung Lin Ziyan.
Her tone became much harsher.
“Are you sure you want to go? Since she’s sick, she must be tired. If you go, she’ll have to take time to entertain you. Besides, her parents will definitely take care of her. If you go, you’ll just be a hindrance and cause trouble.”
Lin Ziyan crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
“Besides, you don’t have any money on you, not even a decent get-well gift. Won’t you feel embarrassed going there?”
Her words clearly stifled Ye Xingmian’s fantasy, dragging her back to cold reality.
Dropping her head in disappointment, Ye Xingmian responded.
“Mm… I won’t go…”
‘Lin Zi was right. If she went, she wouldn’t be able to help and might even cause trouble.’
‘And why did she even want to go to Liu Yinuo’s home in the first place?’
‘Was it really just to comfort her?’
‘Actually, it was just for a bit of selfishness, wasn’t it?’
‘Because after thinking about those things, she desperately wanted to find a safe place, someone to rely on, at least for a moment of peace.’
‘So, for her own tiny selfishness, she would disturb a sick person?’
‘That wasn’t something she should do.’
‘At least she still had a choice now.’
“So just come with me at noon. I’ll take you to eat.”
Lin Ziyan said it as if it were only natural.
“Mm… I agree, but…”
“But what?”
“Qin Haiyue… she might block me at the school gate…”
“What are you afraid of? There’ll be so many people when school lets out at noon. I’ll cover you, and she definitely won’t notice.”
Ye Xingmian gave her a skeptical look. That look weakened Lin Ziyan’s confidence quite a bit.
“Uh… actually, I also know there’s a relatively hidden side gate to the school that most people don’t know about. I’ve used it a few times before when I skipped class to buy things…”
“You actually used to do that?”
“Yeah, so what? Even if I skipped class, I still get much better grades than you, who spends all day in school dazed and drifting.”
“Mm… that’s true.”
“Alright, trust me this time. I’ll definitely get you out, and she won’t even notice.”
“Now, come back to the classroom with me.”
Lin Ziyan reached out her hand toward Ye Xingmian.
Ye Xingmian hesitated for a moment, then still took her hand.