After lunch and taking care of her physiological needs, Ye Xiqiu took out her phone and checked the time.
It was already noon, only one hour away from the agreed time with that “Luoshui Shaonv.”
Since that’s the case, she might as well set off.
She took off Dongxue’s sportswear, folded it, and put it back in her wardrobe, then changed into a nice little dress.
Even though she was just going to meet a stranger, Ye Xiqiu couldn’t bear to wear just any clothes. Perhaps it was because the other person might be related to Dongxue.
Anyway, after changing, Ye Xiqiu pushed her wheelchair and left the room.
At the door, the girl squinted, raising her hand to block the sunlight.
Today’s sun was clear but not glaring, warm but not scorching—a rare good day.
The wind was a bit strong, making the hem of her clothes rustle. The trees on both sides of the road rustled, and the emerald leaves helplessly swirled in the air.
This was a disaster for the green leaves, but a blessing for the girl—at least she didn’t have to worry about being drained by the sun along the way.
So, she should first take a taxi.
The girl pushed her wheelchair toward the roadside.
***
At the Su Family, in a bedroom.
The curtains were drawn tightly. A plainly dressed girl was crouched on the ground, doing something unknown.
“A fruit knife?… No, that target is still a bit big. Not good…”
“How about a fountain pen? Hmm… I don’t have that kind of ability… I can’t use that…”
“Then an utility knife. Yeah, choose this one. It’s best since it won’t be discovered, but I’m not sure if it’s sharp enough…”
The girl stood up, gently pushing out the blade of the utility knife with her thumb.
She looked at the coldly gleaming blade, hesitated for a moment, then quickly made up her mind.
Rolling up her left sleeve, Su Mengyao closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then…
She gently pulled with her right hand, and the blade left a shallow wound on her left arm.
Crimson quickly seeped out of the wound, gathering into plump, fierce blood beads that dripped down her wrist, finally falling between her fingers onto the ground.
Drip—drip—
Small blood blossoms splattered.
Looking at the bloody, wet line on her forearm, the girl just slightly furrowed her brows.
“Ah… it’s been a long time since I was hurt. I didn’t expect even this would hurt so much.” She seemed dissatisfied.
“With such half-heartedness, how can I protect White Snow properly?”
Soon, she adjusted her mindset, simply and skillfully treated the wound, and let her sleeve fall back down. She crouched down and wiped the bloodstains from the floor.
As if nothing had happened.
Standing up, she threw the blood-soaked tissues into the trash, tucked the utility knife into her pocket, and checked the time—12:30.
Time to set off.
She pushed open the door and walked out.
In the living room, she saw that overly familiar maid named Sugar, who was crouched on the ground fiddling with the kittens in the cat bed.
This litter of kittens was originally bought by Su Yu for his daughter, hoping that Su Mengyao would become more cheerful and lively because of them, including hiring Sugar for this purpose. Unexpectedly…
The girl chose to pretend she didn’t see the maid. She held her breath, slowed her steps, and intended to sneak away from behind her.
But the sound of her shoes scuffing against the tiles was too obvious in the empty living room. Sugar turned around in surprise. “Miss, you’re actually willing to go out!”
She was holding a blue cat in her arms. That young blue cat was being pressed by the reckless maid into her overly gentle maternal bosom, looking like it was about to suffocate.
Su Mengyao could only pray that it wouldn’t become the first cat in the world to be smothered to death by a human chest.
Fortunately, after seeing the girl, Sugar put the dying little blue cat back into the cat bed and happily trotted over to Su Mengyao, opening her arms as if to give her a hug.
“No!” Su Mengyao stopped her.
“Ehh…” Sugar looked a bit disappointed. “Really not possible?”
“Really not!”
“Umm… fine then…”
Sugar pouted in dissatisfaction but ultimately said nothing.
Su Mengyao felt a bit headache. She didn’t know where her father had found such a flighty person to be her maid.
‘I can take care of myself just fine.’
“Miss, are you going out now?” Sugar perked up and fetched a parasol from the side. “Please take this. The sun is strong outside. Even though it’s not very hot, getting tanned isn’t good.”
Su Mengyao didn’t refuse. She took the parasol and quickly walked out the door, hoping to escape this troublesome maid.
“Is Miss going out to play with Miss Bai Xue?”
The girl stopped in her tracks.
She turned sideways, her pitch-black eyes staring straight at Sugar’s face.
The maid didn’t notice anything wrong. Her fingers lightly tapped her cheek as she looked up with a dazed expression, as if recalling that cute little white-haired girl.
“I really envy Miss,” she said. “To be able to be with such a cute girl like Miss Bai Xue. Hmm… if I could, I’d really like to hug Miss Bai Xue, pinch her cheeks. They must be very soft.”
“…”
Su Mengyao turned around and walked back, eventually stopping in front of Sugar.
She looked up at the maid.
“Do you like White Snow?”
The parasol in her left hand was casually thrown to the ground. As for her right hand, it was somehow already in her pocket, seemingly clutching something.
“Yes,” the carefree maid replied, her tone still natural. “Who wouldn’t like such a cute little girl like Bai Xue?”
“…”
“But it’s a pity. Miss Bai Xue is already Miss’s girlfriend. As Miss’s maid, I can’t do something like stealing Miss’s girlfriend.”
“…”
“I can only hope that Miss Bai Xue has a little brother or sister. If I can’t pursue Miss Bai Xue, and I can’t pursue Miss either, then pursuing Miss Bai Xue’s family wouldn’t be bad.”
“…”
Su Mengyao was silent for a long time. Even Sugar realized something was wrong—usually, although Miss would be too socially anxious to talk to her, at least she would show some resistance.
But Miss’s current appearance was like a broken puppet, expressionless, and vaguely giving off a strange eerie feeling.
“Mi… Miss?” Sugar’s voice unconsciously lowered. “Are… are you okay?”
“…”
“I’m fine.” After another long pause, Su Mengyao shook her head. “I was just thinking about something and spaced out.”
“That’s good…” The maid’s smile was a bit forced. “Miss, hurry and go. Don’t keep Miss Bai Xue waiting too long…”
‘Don’t keep Bai Xue waiting too long…’
Su Mengyao looked out the window. Just then, a white cloud drifted by and covered the sun. The world suddenly became cool, leaving only the howling wind, as if it had suddenly shifted from the green spring to the desolate autumn.
‘Yeah…’
‘Don’t keep Bai Xue waiting too long…’
‘Don’t let anyone else interfere between me and Bai Xue anymore.’
Su Mengyao took a step and walked out the door.
Leaving behind Sugar, whose face was now covered in sweat, staring blankly at her receding figure.