Qin Haiyue leaned against the corridor railing, watching from afar as the girl’s figure slowly disappeared.
Beneath the wintry black-and-white sky, she resembled a pitiful little rabbit, battered and bullied, yet forced to swallow her grievances in silence, tears like tiny pearls streaming down her cheeks as she begged for mercy.
This kind of look… it was truly exhilarating…
Perhaps even Qin Haiyue herself didn’t realize just how unhinged her expression was at that moment.
A flush crept unnaturally across her pale face, her lips curling nearly to her ears, and her sea-blue eyes brimming with obsession.
She’d noticed Ye Xingmian a long time ago, originally seeing her as a decent target for bullying. Qin Haiyue was never short on money; in fact, with her prestigious family background, she was wealthier than 99% of the students at this school. Because of that, she was the object of endless flattery and adoration. Yet, she had no interest in those sycophants whatsoever.
What intrigued her was bullying those unnoticed, pitiful souls—slowly stripping away the things they treasured while admiring their helpless, miserable expressions.
Ye Xingmian’s potential had far exceeded her expectations, especially after discovering today that she had become a girl.
But, it was about time for her to leave.
Time for a meal and to change clothes.
She shifted her gaze away from the girl who had vanished at the end of her sight, just as she was about to walk away—
“Qin Haiyue.”
A voice beside her called out.
It belonged to a young girl, yet sounded distant and cold, devoid of the usual vitality of someone her age—like a machine set in its ways.
Qin Haiyue hadn’t heard any footsteps approaching, but she recognized that voice.
Her brows knitted tightly together in an instant.
Her expression shifted, her smile vanishing and replaced by indifference, her blue-green eyes narrowing slightly.
She turned her sharp gaze to her side.
“Well, isn’t it our Miss Luo Xi~ What brings you here?”
Her tone was full of impatience.
Or perhaps, this was her true self?
Luo Xi was a girl a little shorter than her, hair tied in a single ponytail. Beneath her black jacket, her uniform was neat, and she held a register in her hands.
“Are you bullying another student again?”
Though her aura was cold, Luo Xi was fundamentally different from Qin Haiyue. They were like two extremes—one a rebel, always dancing beyond the rules, the other a stickler for them, a defender of order.
“Bullying? Oh, no~ I’m just spacing out here. By the way, Miss Luo Xi, shouldn’t you hurry up and get your meal before coming back to study? Be careful or you’ll lose your rank as number one in the grade~”
“Please don’t call me ‘Miss.’” The girl frowned, clearly disliking the condescending nickname.
“Alright, alright~ Student Council President.”
“……”
“I’m warning you, stop bullying other students. If I catch you again, be prepared to be suspended.”
“Heh.”
With a cold laugh, Qin Haiyue said nothing more, and the two parted ways.
Luo Xi remained where she was, frowning as she watched Qin Haiyue’s retreating figure.
“Why are your pant legs wet?”
“I splashed myself while washing my hands earlier~”
Waving her hand, Qin Haiyue made an offhand excuse.
She then quickly disappeared down the corridor.
In the ensuing silence, a look of helplessness appeared in Luo Xi’s eyes.
She knew Qin Haiyue was always bullying other students, but had never been able to catch her in the act. Even her own father warned her not to go looking for trouble with Qin Haiyue.
This made it hard for her to tell if what she was doing was right or wrong.
Enduring the strange stares of others, the cold wind, and the “squeak-squeak” of her waterlogged shoes beneath her feet, Ye Xingmian dragged her weary body and finally arrived at the door of her “home.”
Ha… So cold.
She couldn’t stop shivering all over. Unsure whether she smelled odd or not, she longed to take a hot shower first. A bit of hot food would warm her up.
Standing at the doorstep, a glimmer of hope slowly appeared in her eyes.
Thank goodness, I’ve made it home, so soon—
Her heart skipped a beat.
The door was open, and voices drifted faintly from inside. Her numbed mind quickly realized—her uncle and aunt were already home.
Honestly, she didn’t dare go in.
It wasn’t just not wanting them to see her in such a miserable state—she was afraid.
She feared her foster parents more than her teachers, and even more than Qin Haiyue, who had just bullied her.
She hesitated at the threshold, and through the door, the voices inside soon caught her attention.
They’re on the phone…?
“Hello, Zhiyun? This is Lin Cheng. I’m calling today to tell you something.”
That was her uncle’s voice. As for the “Zhiyun” he mentioned?
Ye Xingmian blankly realized—her mother’s name was Ye Zhiyun.
She froze instantly, holding her breath, desperate to hear the conversation between him and her mother.
Fortunately, he had the speakerphone on. The sound was faint, but by listening closely, she managed to catch her mother’s exhausted yet gentle voice.
Her entire body seemed to lose all strength in an instant, and her petite figure slowly slid down against the wall, two streams of hot tears falling down her cold, soaked face.
Mom… Mom?
She had no way to contact her mother—no phone, and her uncle and aunt had never told her the number. It had been so long since she’d heard her mother’s voice.
Inside the warm room, shielded from the biting wind, the call on speaker continued with a distant voice.
“Mm… It’s me… Is something wrong?”
Her mother’s voice was hesitant and worried, as if she’d just gotten off work at noon and was still tired from the morning’s labor.
“It’s like this, the kid needs to pay for books this week, two hundred yuan in total. Can you send it over when you can? The sooner the better.”
Lies… The teacher never said anything about this…
“Again?” Her mother sounded puzzled.
“That’s right, just got the notice today.”
A pair of fists clenched tightly in silence. The girl desperately wanted to rush in and tell her mother he was lying.
But she quickly realized she couldn’t.
There was no way she could snatch the phone from an adult man, nor could her mother recognize her current self just from her voice. She didn’t want to cause her mother more worry either.
She could only stay here, unable to do anything…
“…Alright, I’ll transfer it to you after dinner.”
“Mm, please do it as soon as possible.” The man’s cheerful voice ended the call.
Because of her… her mother had been swindled out of 200 yuan…
How much was 200 yuan? It was her lunch money for four weeks. For her little sister, Lin Ziyan, it was half a month’s allowance.
It hurt so much. She was wracked with guilt. Why couldn’t she just tell her mother the truth? Why?
For the first time, she hated her own powerlessness.
Slumping against the wall, soaked and freezing, she clutched her chest. Where no one could see, a bittersweet smile curved at her lips.
Besides her helplessness, she realized—
There really were people in this world still fighting for her with everything they had…
Mom… I will come to see you, I promise…
No matter what I become, please wait for me.
I’m looking forward to it, and always will be.
“You’re back?”
It was as if someone heard her at the door. A woman’s voice—her foster mother, Xu Ming, a slightly plump middle-aged woman—walked up and looked down at her, frowning.
“Back already, Zhiyun?”
At a small food stall’s entrance, a female worker held a lunch box, looking up at the person before her.
She was a woman with cherry-pink eyes, strikingly unique, yet there seemed to be a veil of gloom over them, her thin face haggard. She looked at the worker sitting on the roadside, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
“What is it?”
Sitting next to the worker, Ye Zhiyun lowered her head and hugged her knees.
“Can I borrow another 200 yuan?”
The worker frowned.
“Still for your son’s tuition?”
“Mm…”
After a long silence, the worker picked up her phone. When she spoke again, her tone was much colder.
“Just remember to pay me back next month.”
“Thank you…”
The worker left, and Ye Zhiyun stared blankly at her receding figure.
She had gone to work early today and hadn’t eaten anything yet.
Looking down, her sleeves were a little damp.
Just hang on a bit longer—once the new year comes, and Xiao Mian finishes her college entrance exams, she’d go pick her up.
By then, mother and child would be together again.
She repeated this to herself in her heart.
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