By the time the car arrived at the villa’s front door, the phone was fully charged. Qin Haiyue took it off the charger and handed it to the girl.
Ye Xingmian placed it carefully into her backpack. Her bag didn’t contain any books; instead, it held a few small odds and ends—the phone Qin Haiyue had given her, 200 yuan in cash, and the scarf the class monitor had given her yesterday.
Regarding the scarf, the girl actually felt quite fortunate. Luckily, she had taken it off and tucked it into her bag beforehand. Otherwise, it likely would have been thrown away just like her other clothes.
‘If that had happened… I might have felt very guilty…’
“Miss, we are home. I have things to attend to at noon, but I have already had the items you requested prepared in advance. I will pick you up at the usual time later. If you don’t need anything else, I will head out now.”
“Mm, fine,” Qin Haiyue replied offhandedly as she opened the car door and stepped out.
Seeing this, Ye Xingmian quickly followed. She ran up behind her, and together they watched the driver disappear into the distance.
Qin Haiyue’s gaze shifted slightly, her thoughts unreadable. After staring at the horizon for a moment, she turned around and spoke with a cold, flat expression.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
The villa door was unlocked, suggesting someone had already been there. The living room wasn’t very bright; the curtains were drawn, leaving the space in a dim twilight. Qin Haiyue fiddled with her phone at the entrance for a moment, and the curtains slid open on their own.
The warm noon sunlight poured into the living room, illuminating the items on the table and causing the girl to gasp in surprise.
The table was covered in a wide variety of grand dishes and assorted pastries. Some she could name, others she couldn’t, but they filled the entire surface.
“This is…?”
Qin Haiyue glanced at her. A slight smile tugged at her cold face, though it looked strained, as if she were forcing it.
“I had this prepared specifically for you. Do you like it?”
“Ah? For… for me…?” Instead of feeling happy, the girl felt only trepidation.
It was the same old story: the weasel paying a New Year’s visit to the chicken. Qin Haiyue treating her like this truly made her afraid.
What exactly did she want?
“What, you don’t like it?” Qin Haiyue frowned.
The girl pursed her lips and quickly shook her head.
“No… it’s not that… I like it very much… thank you…”
“Then sit down already.”
Qin Haiyue was very dissatisfied with the girl’s performance. She thought the girl would at least thank her, or at the very least, show some pleasant surprise. Only then would she feel her efforts were being rewarded. But this reaction was truly disappointing.
Seeing the girl sit stiffly on the sofa, she took a seat opposite her.
The two sat facing each other awkwardly. Neither made the first move, and the atmosphere became eerily silent. Qin Haiyue frowned and pulled her phone from her pocket.
“Do you know how to use chat apps?” she asked, trying to find a topic to bridge the gap between them.
“I think so…” While doing chores in the past, she had peeked at her sister’s phone from behind the sofa. She had a general idea of how such apps worked.
“Can you type?”
“Type?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think I can…”
“Do you want me to teach you?”
Qin Haiyue stared at her, her eyes clearly signaling for the girl to agree immediately. However, the girl couldn’t help but hesitate. In her subconscious, she still felt that being too close to Qin Haiyue was dangerous, and she felt a sense of resistance.
“No… that’s okay…”
Qin Haiyue frowned and stood up.
“I am being kind enough to teach you, so just agree. You aren’t allowed to refuse.”
“O—okay…”
Watching the girl’s cowering form, Qin Haiyue fell silent for a moment.
‘How exhausting. This is so tiring.’
She had originally intended to get close to her and win her over. But now it seemed she was achieving the exact opposite result. She knit her brows, but since she had already spoken, she couldn’t take it back. She decided to follow through with what she said. Perhaps teaching her how to use the phone would help close the distance between them?
Then again, even if they didn’t get closer, it didn’t really matter. She just had to go through the motions. After all, her initial goal was…
‘Strange. Come to think of it, why do I care about her liking me anyway?’
She found her own psychology a bit odd, but she didn’t give it much more thought. It was just a fleeting whim, and there was no point in overanalyzing it.
Just as she stood up to move closer to the girl, the villa’s doorbell suddenly rang.
“Hm?”
Qin Haiyue stopped in her tracks and frowned deeply. Logically, no one should be coming at this time. Who could it be?
She didn’t have many friends who could enter the villa district to visit her, and her parents were far away in a foreign country. The chance of them returning was practically zero.
She looked down at the girl cowering with the phone and said, “Stay right here. I’ll go get the door.”
With that, she turned to the front door and pulled it open.
The two people who came into view…
Her brow furrowed tightly, and her cold expression shifted into one of pure disgust.
“Luo Xi? What are you doing here!”
The two individuals standing before Qin Haiyue were both women. One had a curvaceous figure and wore a black uniform, clearly a professional woman. The other wore a white school uniform under a black shirt. Her expression was cold, she stood about 5 feet 9 inches tall, and her hair was tied back in a sharp, efficient ponytail.
When she saw Qin Haiyue, a flash of disgust crossed her eyes, though it vanished quickly. Her voice was as cold as her expression, sounding almost mechanical.
“I assumed my father had informed yours in advance. Did your father not tell you, Miss Qin?”
At those words, Qin Haiyue frowned. She did seem to recall being told someone was coming to her house today, but she hadn’t expected it to be this person.
“Heh, of course he did. Please come in, Miss Luo.”
The visitor was named Luo Xi, the daughter and only child of the city’s Chief Justice. She had always been groomed as his successor, and barring any accidents, she would likely inherit her father’s position. While maintaining the rank of top student in the entire school, she had already begun handling professional matters.
The expansion of the Qin family’s branch in this city was the project she had been tasked to handle, which showed just how much her father trusted and valued her.
Despite her irritation at having her time alone with the little wretch interrupted, Qin Haiyue still hosted the two. She led them to the living room and forced a strained smile onto her face.
“This food was prepared to welcome the two of you. Please, enjoy.” As she spoke, she sat down next to Ye Xingmian.
Because a stranger had suddenly entered the villa, the girl appeared quite nervous. Her pink eyes darted around anxiously as she stole glances at the two newcomers, then she lowered her head, trying her best to minimize her presence.
Upon hearing Qin Haiyue say that the entire table of food was for the two guests, she actually breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure on her shoulders lightened significantly.