The voices of her foster parents reached Ye Xingmian’s ears, making her hesitate.
“Ziyan… why don’t you let me go?”
“What nonsense are you talking? If I let you go, do you think my parents won’t hit you immediately?”
Lin Ziyan said with an incredulous look.
Her words made sense. Ye Xingmian knew that was a possibility too. She just felt that what Xu Ming had said was at least a solution, and they shouldn’t be stuck like this.
But judging by Lin Ziyan’s expression, she clearly wouldn’t let go of Ye Xingmian until her foster parents gave up. What would happen after that? Would Lin Ziyan continue what she was doing before?
Maybe yes, maybe no. Ye Xingmian didn’t think Lin Ziyan would give up that easily. But in this situation, she had no choice.
Well… Lin Ziyan was protecting her now, so she had to go along with it.
“Ziyan, don’t you even trust your mom? Mom said she won’t touch her, so she won’t. Can’t we just have a little chat?”
Xu Ming continued.
“Get out! I have nothing to say!”
Lin Ziyan turned her head and spoke like a mother quail protecting her chicks.
“No, you haven’t eaten yet. At your age, you can’t skip meals. Let go of her, come downstairs, eat, and talk, okay? I promise we won’t touch your sister. Mom means what she says.”
She started changing the subject, trying to persuade Lin Ziyan this way.
At the same time, Lin Cheng beside her loosened his grip on the stick, sighed, and stepped forward subtly.
“Yeah, daughter, listen to your mom. We’ve given in this much. Think about it—have we ever lied to you since you were little?”
By now, on the surface, it seemed like everyone was opposing Lin Ziyan. This made her, who was already putting up a brave front, show a flicker of hesitation. But it was only fleeting.
“If you want me to eat, bring the food up here. I’ll eat with her.”
“But… didn’t you buy something for delivering meals before? Are you trying to trick me into going downstairs?”
She looked wary.
“How could that be? Mom would never trick you. Wait here, Mom will bring you food.”
Even as she said this, she and Lin Cheng walked forward.
“Don’t come any closer!”
“Don’t be nervous, sweetie. Mom just wants to tidy up your room.”
Xu Ming kept moving forward as she spoke. It was a lie.
Lin Ziyan realized it. Flustered, she tried to step back with Ye Xingmian, but the wall was behind them—no room to retreat. She hugged the girl tighter.
Ye Xingmian could feel her hands trembling, clearly from nerves.
‘Were her foster parents planning to force their way in?’
Just as she thought that, the two of them, now at the bedside, lunged forward. Xu Ming grabbed for Lin Ziyan’s arm, while Lin Cheng reached for her.
Lin Ziyan was stunned. Ye Xingmian was stunned too. They hadn’t expected the other two to move so fast, with no warning.
Lin Ziyan reacted first. She rolled over, pressing Ye Xingmian beneath her, trying to shield her this way. Her arm was caught by Xu Ming, and she bit down without hesitation.
Xu Ming winced in pain and grew angry.
“Fine, fine! Let’s see what it is about this bastard that attracts you so much, making you this rebellious!”
Xu Ming said, giving Lin Cheng a look.
Lin Cheng understood and reached for Lin Ziyan’s waist.
“Don’t blame Dad. Dad is doing this for your own good.”
His strength was too much; he yanked Lin Ziyan away in one go.
Just as they were about to be separated, Lin Ziyan kicked, but it was useless. Compared to Lin Cheng, her strength was too weak.
“Let me go!”
As her body was dragged further back, Ye Xingmian, whom she had been protecting, was exposed from under her. She struggled harder, but it was useless. Lin Cheng easily locked her in his arms.
Ye Xingmian didn’t want to wait for death. Her first instinct was to run.
She rolled off the bed, but before she could even take half a step, her wrist was caught by Xu Ming. She was even weaker and couldn’t break free at all.
“Run? Where do you think you’re going, you little bastard?”
Xu Ming said, breathing heavily and not sparing any venomous words to attack her.
And just like that, Lin Ziyan’s protection was easily broken. Xu Ming pulled her over and pinned her against the wall, gripping her neck. She tried to struggle, but her hands were pressed against the wall, completely immobile.
“Ugh… mmph…!”
Her eyes drooped in pain, and she could see her foster mother’s furious gaze, as if she wanted to kill her.
‘She might get beaten to death.’
Her neck again. She couldn’t remember how many times she’d been choked. She could barely speak from the suffocation.
Ye Xingmian had no real sense of it—she just felt she was done for.
“Let her go!”
Lin Ziyan was still shouting from afar.
Lin Ziyan had really tried her best to protect her, but it was useless against an absolute difference in strength.
Her brain was starting to lack oxygen. Darkness crept into her vision, and waves of dizziness flooded her mind.
Ye Xingmian closed her eyes in pain.
‘Was she going to be choked to death here? This scene, like being caught in adultery, was so pathetic. She was the one being forced, completely powerless.’
‘There were no last thoughts, only a feeling of relief.’
In a daze, amidst the darkness of her vision, she seemed to see that sea of forget-me-nots again. Her mother, wearing a wide sun hat, stood among the flowers, turned to smile at her, and then reached out as if to offer a welcoming embrace.
‘Illusion…’
‘She knew it was an illusion.’
But if she could feel a little warmth before dying, even an illusion was fine. Even if it was fake, it didn’t matter. As long as it had existed, as long as she had felt it.
‘But being choked, she couldn’t really smile…’
‘Speaking of which, she wondered if her foster mother had any thoughts about the clothes she was wearing.’
There was arguing outside—was Lin Ziyan still pleading for her?
‘It didn’t matter. They were all the same kind.’
‘Lin Ziyan’s goal wasn’t to protect her but to covet her body. Maybe her actions had proved her feelings weren’t a lie. But that couldn’t change Ye Xingmian’s view of her.’
‘And her foster parents really couldn’t be called parents. At least for her, they were perfectly qualified for Lin Ziyan.’
‘But she wondered… after today’s events, what would become of their relationship? If they really killed her and her parents went to jail, maybe her future would be shattered too?’
A loud ringing sounded in her ears. She remembered feeling something similar when someone slapped her once. She couldn’t hear anything outside at all.
Ye Xingmian had almost given up.
But suddenly, the hand choking her let go. Even the arm pinning her hands released. Her body slid weakly down the cold wall.
With the influx of fresh air, her senses became clear.
“Cough, cough—”
She forced her eyes open. Her neck still hurt. The other three in front of her were all staring at her.
Lin Ziyan was pinned to the bed by Lin Cheng, unable to move, her dark eyes looking at her in pain, and it seemed there were tears.
Lin Cheng and Xu Ming had cold eyes, as if looking at a corpse.