Picking up the thermometer, she spoke loudly on purpose.
“Thirty-eight point three. You just came back from outside, so it should actually be higher. Tsk tsk, how about this: I’ll ask for a leave of absence for you now, and tomorrow you’ll stay home to recover. Who knows where you might have gotten frostbite. I’ll stay home to take care of you, too.”
The room was originally silent, but the sudden, crisp sound of chopsticks hitting the floor came from the direction of the dining table, sounding exceptionally harsh.
“No…”
“Hmm? No what?”
Ye Xingmian showed an unexpected reaction. Lin Ziyan found it interesting and asked aloud.
However, the young girl was only thinking of her experiences today, and her eyes were filled with fear.
“No… I can’t take a leave of absence…”
If she took a leave and broke her promise to Qin Haiyue again…
Would that kind of thing happen once more?
She spoke almost instinctively, subconsciously. But then she suddenly realized—what was she worrying about?
If she went according to the agreement, would Qin Haiyue let her off? It clearly didn’t matter anymore. Why did she still care so much about a mere breach of promise regarding those things?
She couldn’t figure it out; she really couldn’t figure it out.
“Why?”
Lin Ziyan asked with interest, but this time the girl said nothing more. She simply remained silent, eating her meal bit by bit.
Why the sudden big reaction? Was it because she was worried her grades would fall behind after skipping so many days of school? It shouldn’t matter at all, right? With her scores, it didn’t really make a difference whether she attended class or not; she couldn’t understand anything anyway.
Ah, it must be because of Liu Yinuo, after all. Because she wanted to see Liu Yinuo, she asked her not to request a leave of absence. Did she like the class president that much? Did she want to see her tomorrow that badly?
For some reason, Lin Ziyan felt herself getting a bit angry. She couldn’t identify the cause, but it was never her nature to endure. She simply pulled her phone from her pocket, opened the class group chat, and intentionally shouted into a voice message, “Teacher, my brother’s fever isn’t better yet, and he just got chilled outside. I’d like to ask for a leave tomorrow to take care of her.”
While speaking, she kept a close eye on Ye Xingmian’s expression the whole time. However, to her disappointment, aside from a brief pause in eating due to a daze, the girl didn’t seem affected.
Her finger released, and the message was sent, which meant the teacher had been notified. Seeing the other person still didn’t react, she felt a bit angry.
But she wasn’t in a hurry to show it. After all, tomorrow was long, and she still had plenty of time.
Just then, footsteps suddenly came from upstairs. Before long, Mother Lin came downstairs, running over with an anxious look on her face.
“Ziyan, did you just ask for a leave of absence in the group chat?”
“Yeah, I saw she wasn’t in a good state, so I want to stay home and take care of her tomorrow.” She pointed at Ye Xingmian, who was still eating.
“Who?! You little bastard, you still have the face to come back?” Turning her head, she saw Ye Xingmian, and Mother Lin immediately showed an expression of disgust.
“On a snowy day like this, you didn’t even go to class in the afternoon. You only came back in the middle of the night—where the hell did you go to die?”
Ye Xingmian remained unmoved, still silently eating her meal without a single change in her expression.
“You!”
Seeing that she was being ignored, Mother Lin flew into a rage for a moment and was about to go over and teach her a lesson, but Lin Ziyan quickly pulled her back.
“Mom, it’s fine. Isn’t she back now? I’ve already decided on tomorrow’s plans. Don’t you guys still have to go to work? I wouldn’t feel right leaving her home alone anyway. Don’t worry, it won’t affect my studies.”
She winked at Mother Lin.
“True, she’s always been so dull and useless. I wouldn’t want her breaking things at home; my daughter is more thoughtful. Hey, you little bastard, hurry up and thank Ziyan.”
There was no response. The girl had almost finished her meal and was preparing to clear the dishes.
“Hey, you kid!”
Seeing her being ignored, Mother Lin was once again in a fit of rage. In the end, Lin Ziyan pulled her back once more, sparing the girl from disaster.
“Alright, Mom, go back now. It’s cold down here, don’t catch a chill. You have to get up early for work tomorrow.”
After finally sending her mother away and looking back at Ye Xingmian, the girl had already nearly finished tidying the dining table. Lin Ziyan couldn’t help but feel that Ye Xingmian was only good and fast at this kind of thing—much better than herself. But who would look up to her just for something like this?
This society was in the hands of the powerful and influential; Lin Ziyan had been convinced of this truth since she was a child. Ye Xingmian had neither power nor influence; no matter what happened, she could only swallow her grievances.
Standing up and leisurely walking past the dining table, Lin Ziyan looked at the girl’s busy movements with a meaningful gaze.
She knew that Ye Xingmian couldn’t leave her home, at least not for a long time. This was her unique advantage and Ye Xingmian’s greatest weakness; she could use it to make any unreasonable demand, and it would be difficult to refuse.
So, she was really looking forward to tomorrow more and more.
“I’m going upstairs. Remember to wash the dishes. And remember to wake up early tomorrow, okay?”
She turned off the heater on her way upstairs. The temperature on the first floor gradually dropped. Outside the window, the heavy snow continued, and the fierce wind battered the glass, making a sound like a wailing demon.
It wasn’t until she finished everything that Ye Xingmian dragged her cold and tired body upstairs.
That is, back to that attic filled with old things and the scent of dust.
She didn’t wrap herself in a quilt or lie in bed. Instead, the girl found an old stool, wiped it repeatedly with a damp tissue, and sat by the window holding it.
The old stool was very unstable, wobbly, and constantly made an unpleasant “creak-creak” sound, just like her bed.
Looking out the window, the streetlights flickered. The snow was still heavy, dense like a layer of white mist. In the pitch-black night, the sound of the wind seemed so quiet.
What exactly am I holding on for…
She couldn’t help but think. After experiencing so much today, she began to doubt her life—doubting whether everything she went through was worth it, whether the original goal was worth her endurance. She doubted her cowardice and her value. Several times she wanted to give up, yet she was still dragged back, muddied and dazed, to this small bedroom in the remote attic on this snowy night.
Perhaps the luckiest thing she experienced today, besides meeting the class president, was… that this attic didn’t leak air.
This was a good thing; at least it kept the girl from shivering with cold inside the room.
Ah, speaking of the class president. Why was she so good to her? What was she after? What was there to gain from someone like her?
She didn’t understand; she really didn’t. Her long-term experiences made her feel worthless; even the only thing she could do—housework—was replaced by robots in the class president’s home.
So, it’s better to stay away from her.
Stay away from the class president, because I don’t deserve her. The girl said softly in her heart.
Just like the class president’s mother said, she would only be a burden to her.
As her gaze drifted, the girl inadvertently noticed the teddy bear placed on the bed last night.
It was brown, chubby, with cute round eyes. It was warm to hold, and she liked it very much.
She picked it up and held it in her arms. The girl looked at it, but what surfaced in her mind was not the bear.
Mother…
It had been so long since they last met. How long had it been? Five years? Or ten? She couldn’t remember clearly; it just felt too far away, and her mother’s face had already become a blur.
She had been doubting whether her mother truly loved her and why she had left her here all alone, but holding this teddy bear, the girl felt her mother’s love again. Even though it hadn’t originally been bought for her.
Ha… so I’ll keep holding on…
Hugging the bear, the girl’s body warmed up. The dark window reflected her pink eyes, inherited from her mother.
A look of determination had already appeared within them.
“I will definitely keep going, so don’t break your word…”
“Mother…”