Almost the entire morning, Ye Xingmian spent in a dazed, muddled sleep.
It wasn’t until just before the last class of the morning, when the bell rang, that after a burst of chaotic and muffled cheers, most of the people in the classroom scattered, leaving it suddenly empty.
The girl was still sleeping, an unnatural feverish flush on her face, her brows furrowed in discomfort.
“Um… this period is P.E. Should I go get your brother to leave with us?”
Standing beside the lectern at the front of the classroom, Liu Yinuo poked her fingers together, her gaze toward the girl in the corner tinged with worry.
Why is she sleeping so much? Did she not sleep last night? Or is she feeling unwell…
Because no one cared, even though it was time for P.E., no one bothered to wake Ye Xingmian.
“No need, Yinuo, you go ahead. I’ll wake her up.”
“Eh? Is that alright? Ye Xingmian doesn’t look very well, maybe she should ask the teacher for leave.”
“No, she already took leave twice in the past couple of days. She can’t just ask for leave every day.”
“I guess that’s true… Mm… then I’ll leave her to you, Lin.”
There was worry in the girl’s words, because she knew the relationship between Lin Ziyan and her ‘brother’ wasn’t good. She worried Lin Ziyan would use this opportunity to bully Ye Xingmian. But on second thought, they were still family after all; surely that wouldn’t happen, right? Besides, even if she wanted to interfere, she probably couldn’t help much, would only make things worse, wouldn’t she?
Though hesitant, Liu Yinuo eventually nodded in agreement to Lin Ziyan, and went downstairs toward the sports field.
Lin Ziyan stayed where she was, only moving after she was sure the footsteps had faded and wouldn’t return. Then, she turned and walked straight toward the corner of the classroom.
Standing in front of the desk, she quietly admired the sleeping girl’s face.
In truth, from her angle she couldn’t see the girl’s face, only the back of her head. Her long, shoulder-length hair obediently spread over her shoulders, exposing a fair neck between the strands, giving off the unique, fresh fragrance of a young girl. She could see the girl’s delicate, pale ear, her body shivering slightly with discomfort, that enticingly pink earlobe.
The girl’s sleeping posture was both cute and uneasy, like a soft, fluffy little cake that anyone would want to take a bite of.
Her eyes flickered, and Lin Ziyan suddenly felt a hint of tenderness rise within her. Staring at the girl before her, she suddenly wished time would stop at this moment. She never thought that her ‘brother’ would be so delicate and adorable…
She gently lifted her hand, slowly, slowly, until she reached the girl’s pink ear. Her cold fingers trembled slightly, and in an instant, felt the burning heat there, mingled with the girl’s scent. Like being shocked, she pulled her hand back at once, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
Wha… what’s wrong with me?
She couldn’t understand her own bewildering behavior, nor her own motives. She only felt that she was as if bewitched just now, unable to control herself from being drawn in by the girl, all her attention focused on her, unable to look away.
She froze for a long while. Looking at the girl again, her perspective seemed to have changed. The once weak and easily bullied “brother” with poor grades had suddenly become so alluring, so… soft and cute…?
She pressed her lips together and suddenly shook her head, throwing those messy thoughts away. Her gaze turned once more to its usual sharpness and coldness.
She abruptly reached out and slapped the girl’s back to wake her up, then turned away, listening to the painful coughing behind her.
She felt something inside herself had changed, but exactly what, she couldn’t say.
“Cough… cough…!”
Having her back slapped so suddenly, Ye Xingmian felt as if her organs all shook at once, jerking her awake. She covered her mouth, coughing violently, her little face turning red, pink eyes shimmering with tears.
Looking around, her blurry gaze finally found the culprit.
“…Ah… Ziyan…?”
Her voice was hoarse and faint, almost inaudible.
She felt miserable. After enduring all morning, her cold hadn’t gotten better, and seemed to have worsened. Her head felt like it was burning up, even the simplest thought took a long time, and she was so groggy she could barely keep her eyes open.
Staring at Lin Ziyan’s back, she dazedly asked, “Ziyan… is there something you need?”
Lin Ziyan glanced back at her, but the moment her eyes met those confused pink ones, she quickly turned away again, working hard to hide the flustered unease in her voice.
“This period is P.E. Hurry up and get to the field!”
Only then did Ye Xingmian sluggishly notice that the vast classroom was now just the two of them, and she hurriedly braced herself on the desk to stand up.
“Oh… thank you…”
Normally, her sister wouldn’t bother with her, so this was unusual. The girl thanked her, not thinking much of it.
She watched Lin Ziyan’s back. Her sister was as cold as ever, not even bothering to look at her properly.
“Um… aren’t we… going?”
The girl grew nervous all of a sudden. She felt her sister must have something to say, and whatever it was, it was probably nothing good.
Watching her unmoving sister’s back, the girl awkwardly clutched her chest and edged toward the wall.
“Of course, I just have something to tell you.”
Her heart instantly leapt to her throat. She pressed her lips together, staring tensely at the floor.
“Wha… what is it…”
“……”
After a moment of silence—one that felt unbearably long to Ye Xingmian—Lin Ziyan finally spoke coolly.
“You don’t have any money left, do you? Come find me after P.E. I’ll take you to lunch.”
“Eh?”
Her tone was utterly astonished. She never imagined her sister would say such a thing. She stared at Lin Ziyan in a daze.
“What? You still have money left? That Qin Haiyue didn’t take it all from you?”
“N-no…” the girl replied hesitantly.
“Then be good and do as I say! Don’t you dare skip lunch at noon, or else you’ll be sorry!”
With a cold huff, Lin Ziyan strode away.
Something’s not right, I’m not right.
At first, she only meant to keep her by her side, not give anyone else a chance to take advantage. But just now, why…
Why is my heart beating so fast…?
Lin Ziyan quickly vanished from sight, leaving the girl behind, standing there in a daze, not knowing what just happened.
Strange, her sister is really strange…
But anyway, it’s a good thing, being able to eat lunch with her sister. It’s much better than going to the cafeteria and enduring those odd looks while eating plain porridge all alone.
But why does she feel this unexplainable anxiety?
The girl pressed her sensitive chest and walked all the way to the door, holding the threshold, lost in thought.
Suddenly, like being struck by lightning, she remembered the person she’d forgotten since morning.
Qin… Qin Haiyue… She’d completely forgotten about her… What should she do? What should she do?
The girl felt as if the sky was falling, her mind spinning in circles for a solution. Yet she couldn’t think of a single way out. In the end, she could only clutch her burning forehead and give up.
“Maybe… I’ll just take another sick day this afternoon…?”
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