“What did you say?”
Ye Xingmian lowered her head to eat and didn’t speak again.
Lin Ziyan felt it was a bit strange, but she didn’t care. Ultimately, she did these things on a whim; she didn’t actually need the other person to thank her. Of course, not caring didn’t mean she didn’t have an opinion on the other’s reaction.
“Hey, I’m talking to you. Is your fever gone? Did the class monitor take you to the hospital or a clinic for an IV drip?”
Not wanting to respond, the girl didn’t know how the other person knew the class monitor had taken her away, nor did she want to ask.
“Hmm? I’m asking you a question.”
Lin Ziyan’s tone became harsh. Forced, Ye Xingmian shook her head.
“Ha, I knew it. A little waste like you with bad grades and no one to like you—how could she be that good to you? Did she just feed you some medicine and leave you at home? Throwing you out to run home in this heavy snow… tsk tsk, how pathetic.”
Ye Xingmian’s eating movements suddenly froze. Her small hands hidden under the table unconsciously clenched into fists.
She could tolerate being insulted and bullied; after all, she was weak and alone, and it had been like this since she was a child. She was long used to it. But she couldn’t stand Lin Ziyan talking about the class monitor like that.
“It wasn’t like that…”
“Hmm? Did I say something wrong?” Lin Ziyan said with a smile.
“No… the class monitor isn’t like that…”
“Want to defend her that much? Right, right~ it wasn’t like that. She took you to the hospital, to the clinic, spent hundreds to treat you, then took the afternoon off to stay home and take care of you, didn’t kick you out at night, and let you stay in the heater at her house so you could go to school together tomorrow and never have to return to this home, right?”
The girl suddenly stood up, covering her chest with one hand, walked around the table, and came in front of Lin Ziyan. Lin Ziyan noticed her eyes were turning red, looking as if she was about to cry.
“Oh, your hands are in fists? Angry? Want to hit me? Did I hit the mark?”
To be honest, this was the first time Lin Ziyan had seen Ye Xingmian look so desperate and angry. In her impression, she was always submissive, not even daring to speak loudly, swallowing any grievances. Thus, Lin Ziyan found it quite fresh.
Moreover, Ye Xingmian looked quite good like this.
With red eyes and pink eyes covered in tears, she looked ready to cry. But it wasn’t entirely a look of being wronged; she was truly angry, as evidenced by her clenched fists.
In a good mood, Lin Ziyan decided to provoke her further.
With a smile still on her face, she suddenly sat up from the sofa and leaned her face close to her.
“Come on, hit me.”
The girl’s fierce gaze froze.
“Hmm? Isn’t that class monitor very important to you? My~ I’ve slandered her so much, hurry up and hit me. I’m telling you, my parents just fell asleep upstairs. Guess who’s going to suffer if I shout?”
Yes, yes, this was exactly the expression—clearly hating her with gritted teeth yet unable to do anything. Watching this, Lin Ziyan couldn’t help but feel smug.
“Still looking? Get back to eating. I have things to ask you later.”
Seeing she still hadn’t left, Lin Ziyan spoke casually.
However, at that moment, her front suddenly felt heavy—
“Ugh!”
The girl suddenly lunged and pressed down on her. She was pinned to the sofa, both hands held down by the other, unable to move.
“What are you doing!”
Lin Ziyan was both surprised and annoyed. She really didn’t expect the little coward would actually dare to push her down. However, Ye Xingmian was too thin and too light. Even using all her strength, suppressing a girl in much better physical condition was still incredibly difficult. Lin Ziyan struggled to break free from the restraint, then pressed her hand on Ye Xingmian’s shoulder and flipped over. The situation instantly reversed; relying on her strength advantage, she easily pinned Ye Xingmian beneath her.
Messy hair blocked her vision, making her unable to see the other’s expression. She pulled out a hand, and while tidying it, she said, “Are you crazy? Hmm? I told you to hit me and you really dared to? Is that Liu Yinuo really that important to you? What kind of spell did she cast on you?”
The hair blocking her vision was finally cleared, and she could finally see the expression of the girl beneath her, but the strength in her hands couldn’t help but slacken.
Soft hair was wet with tears, and that thin little face was full of numbness. There was no light in the cherry-pink eyes, and several lines of clear tears slid down her soft, pale cheeks. How broken, how pitiful.
Lin Ziyan felt a moment of self-reproach; she found herself feeling a bit of pity for the other.
Had she gone a bit too far with the bullying? No, right? She didn’t want it to be like this.
The girl continued to cry silently. Lin Ziyan felt a bit lost for a moment. She couldn’t let go, yet she couldn’t stay like this. She fell into an awkward situation.
Time passed minute by minute. Lin Ziyan felt her hands getting a bit sore, yet the person beneath her had no reaction at all. She realized she had to do something.
Reaching into her pocket, she found a long white cloth. Sure enough, the girl’s lifeless gaze was finally attracted to it, those pink crystal eyes following the movement of her hand.
Seeing this, a smug smile appeared on Lin Ziyan’s face.
“Don’t you want this? I don’t need you to tell me what it’s for anymore. Apologize to me. Apologize and I’ll give it back to you.”
The girl’s eyes stopped moving again, staring blankly at the ceiling. It looked like she had refused the proposal.
“Tsk, troublesome.”
Saying irritable words, she put the cloth strip back in her pocket. Lin Ziyan took the opportunity to back off from the girl. She stood in front of her, signaling toward the dining table with her eyes.
“Hey, I’m saying, go eat quickly. If you wait any longer, the food will get cold again.”
Hearing her words, the girl finally stood up slowly and walked toward the dining table.
Looking at her back, Lin Ziyan felt both annoyed and amused. She felt that today’s Ye Xingmian was different from before. If she had to say, it was like she had a bit more backbone and a bit less submissiveness? You know, she could never have done something like defying her in the past. But this was a good thing; after all, it’s more interesting to break someone in when they have a bit of backbone, isn’t it?
However, she hadn’t come away empty-handed from that moment just now. She had thought that given Ye Xingmian’s state, her plan for tonight definitely wouldn’t work. But that brief contact just now gave her inspiration—an excellent inspiration.
“Hey, I’m asking, are you still running a fever?”
Seeing the other didn’t respond and continued to eat silently, she simply went to get the thermometer and forced it under the girl’s armpit.
During the process, because of the girl’s weak struggle, she “accidentally” touched that soft area. This gave her a great surprise. It seemed her guess was correct.