Liu Yinuo arrived at an inopportune moment and happened to witness such a scene: a petite, pitiful girl hung her head low, gently hugging herself, looking utterly heartbroken. Directly across from her sat her own parents, closely together—clearly, they were the reason the girl had become like this.
Realizing that something was wrong, she felt a surge of irritation.
“You weren’t supposed to be back until tonight. Why did you come home early?”
“Oh, your dad and I saw in the group chat that you took a leave this morning. We felt uneasy, so we took leave ourselves and hurried back to check on you.”
“Then why didn’t you let me know in advance?”
“Nono, your mother is just worried about you…” Liu’s father tried to smooth things over, but Liu Yinuo wasn’t having it.
“Let’s not talk about this right now. Nono, come with me for a bit, your mom has something to ask you.”
“What is it? Can’t we talk here?”
“Oh, just come with me.”
Though reluctant, Liu Yinuo still followed her. The two of them headed straight to the master bedroom, leaving only Liu’s father and Ye Xingmian in the living room.
Liu’s father was obviously not a talkative person. He sat on the sofa, looking a bit awkward, and before long, occupied himself with his phone.
The girl sitting across from him seemed a bit down.
She had overheard the conversation between Liu Yinuo and her mother just now and felt guilty—it was because of her that they had started arguing. Normally, their relationship seemed so good, so full of love.
She didn’t feel envious. She knew that wasn’t her life; if she had such a life, she wouldn’t be who she was now.
She just felt a little sad.
Standing up, she walked to the balcony, where the clothes she had washed at noon were hanging. After an afternoon, with the heater and dryer, her clothes were nearly dry. Taking advantage of the time while Liu Yinuo and her mother were talking, she changed back into her own clothes, including that undergarment.
By the time she came out again, the two were still in conversation, and occasionally, sharp voices of argument could be heard. The girl knew—it was her fault.
Holding her chest, she sat back down on the sofa, and Liu’s father looked at her with a surprised gaze.
But he didn’t say anything. He probably realized she had been wearing Liu Yinuo’s clothes earlier, right?
Night had completely fallen. Outside, only the streetlights remained, and snow continued to fall, heavier and heavier. Under the glow of lights from countless homes, the snowflakes were as large as goose feathers, quickly piling into a thick layer on the ground.
The girl was slightly dazed; she remembered the snow wasn’t this heavy when she arrived. Was it because night had fallen and the temperature dropped?
She knew the way back might be a bit tougher now…
She stood up and gave Liu’s father a slight bow.
“Uncle, thank you for your hospitality. I’ll head home now.”
“Eh? Aren’t you going to stay for dinner? It’s still snowing outside. How about spending the night here, and tomorrow you can go to class with Nono?” His voice was rather loud, and seemed to catch the attention of those in the other room.
“No need.” She gently shook her head, declining Liu’s father’s offer, and walked straight to the door.
The hallway was much colder. The moment she was hit by the chill wind, her mind turned a little fuzzy. Hugging herself, she slowly made her way out.
No one came to see her off. The clothes smelled faintly of laundry detergent, but against the freezing snow at night, it was hardly enough.
She took the elevator down to the ground floor.
“Let me go!”
Hearing the footsteps fade away outside the door, Liu Yinuo grew more and more anxious. But her hand was gripped tightly by her mother, and she just couldn’t break free.
“Daughter, listen to me,” her mother said earnestly. “Now isn’t the time for romance with boys like that. You’ve studied for so many years, you absolutely can’t get distracted at a time like this and lose everything you’ve worked for, understand? Your father and I have given you so much—not for you to fall in love with someone at such a crucial moment!”
Liu’s mother pleaded bitterly, but her grip only grew stronger, making Liu Yinuo’s hand ache. In a fit of anger, Liu Yinuo suddenly slapped her mother’s hand away.
“She’s a girl! Let me go, she can’t go back!”
Forced to let go because of the pain, Liu’s mother clearly didn’t believe her explanation. She wanted to say more, but with Liu Yinuo having already run out, she was left standing there, arm raised in a daze.
Honestly, even she was starting to doubt herself. That child didn’t look like a boy at all. Even if he was a gentle boy, after spending so much time together, wouldn’t Nono know? Would she insist so confidently that she was a girl?
She gently withdrew her hand. For once, this mother who was always so strong-willed found herself unable to control her child.
When had it started? Her own temper had improved, and her daughter had grown ever more rebellious. She recalled that little one sitting awkwardly on the sofa, and for the first time, she began to regret her actions.
She seemed to have really done something wrong.
By the time Liu Yinuo took the elevator downstairs, it was already too late.
Outside the lobby, endless darkness devoured her vision. Icy snowflakes fell onto her body, melting into water; her field of vision was filled with a dense, blinding snow, almost impossible to keep her eyes open—it felt as if the snow was going to bury her alive. The wind cut like a knife. Even wearing her warm down jacket, the girl still felt frozen to the bone.
Ye Xingmian was nowhere to be seen…
That girl with beautiful pink eyes—where had she gone? On such a snowy night, she hadn’t fully recovered from her cold, and who knew if her injuries still hurt. Did she even remember the way home? What if she couldn’t make it back?
More and more anxiety piled up in her chest, nearly suffocating her. She dashed along the path leading out of the complex, the icy air stabbing into her lungs like needles. She searched everywhere, her eyelashes nearly freezing, over and over again trying to find that small silhouette in the boundary between darkness and light.
No… no… still no sign…
Could she have walked that fast? Where did she go? Why did she leave in such a hurry? Everything had been going smoothly at noon; if she had just stayed quietly at her place, she could have helped her escape all that suffering. Why, why did she have to leave?
Her heart pounded ever faster; as time passed, her chances of finding the girl grew slimmer.
How could this happen, how could this happen?
The girl thought of her parents. Why did they come back early? It must have been something they said to Ye Xingmian that made her so disheartened, that ruined everything, that made her sneak away in this blizzard.
It was all their fault! Why, why! What did Ye Xingmian do wrong? Why treat her like this? Why disrupt my plans? Why meddle in my business?
If only… if only we’d made it past tonight…
For some reason, the girl was almost frantic with anxiety. Never in her life had she felt so desperate, so worried for someone else—she was so close, just a little more…
Suddenly, the girl stopped in her tracks.
Panting heavily, the breath she exhaled turned to mist and drifted lightly into the air, like smoke.
At last, she caught sight of the figure she had been searching for, though she couldn’t tell whether her heart felt joy or bitterness.
Under the warm glow of a streetlight, the girl whose shoulders were dusted with snow quietly curled up in the corner by the shop wall. Those pink eyes, even in the darkness, shone like crystal flowers.
Yet, that gaze was dim, black hair falling over her body, all the light in her gem-like eyes buried beneath a blanket of night and sorrow.