After the meal, Ye Xingmian spent a rather bewildered afternoon. Qin Haiyue had gone upstairs by herself after finishing her food without even calling for her.
Ye Xingmian had initially worried that she might be used as a body pillow again, pinned down until she could barely breathe like the night before, but it seemed her fears were unfounded.
Despite that, a faint sense of unease lingered in her mind.
She felt as though Qin Haiyue were plotting something sinister behind her back, and after their contact at noon, that feeling of dread had only intensified. Then there was the matter of the Class Monitor and her sister this morning…
Regarding the Class Monitor, she felt a bit guilty, but she would not change her mind. She knew this was bad for both herself and the Class Monitor, but this was the only way she could think of to lessen her own guilt.
As for her sister, sitting by the sofa, the young girl curled her body inward, feeling a bit afraid.
Lin Ziyan had ignored her for one whole morning, shrouded in a heavy, low-pressure aura. This made the girl increasingly certain that Lin Ziyan was definitely planning something. However, she had no idea what it was and could only wait in agonizing anxiety.
Speaking of which, Lin Ziyan’s behavior over the past two days had been very strange. She had threatened her, made her wear various things, and even demanded she call her ‘Sister.’ Although such things did not cause her much physical harm, the girl simply could not understand her motivation.
Normally, it would not have mattered much—after all, it was just calling her ‘Sister,’ not losing a limb. She could have treated her the same as always, perhaps just being a bit more tired or slipping into her bedroom at night to serve as a body pillow.
But after breaking their agreement, she could not even imagine what Lin Ziyan might do to her.
She let out a sigh and curled her body tighter on the sofa. The girl gently brushed a stray hair behind her ear.
Though she was uneasy, she was no longer as lost as she once was. After everything that had happened over the past few days, her desire to see her mother and leave this place had become clearer.
‘I have to escape. Once I leave here, Lin Ziyan, Qin Haiyue, and even Liu Yinuo… none of them will have anything to do with me anymore. By then, they will just be strangers.’
Only regarding Liu Yinuo did the girl still feel conflicted and guilty. She felt as though she had done something wrong, something very, very wrong. She had hurt someone who was willing to be kind to her for no reason, all because of a seemingly childish motivation.
‘Because I like her, I have to stay away from her so I don’t drag her down.’
‘It’s ridiculous, like a plot from some third-rate, cliché romance novel.’ But that was truly what she thought. She did not know whether she should feel sad or in pain.
She closed her eyes. The villa was well-lit, and the midday sun spilled through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows at a drowsy angle. She was feeling a bit sleepy herself. However, since this was Qin Haiyue’s home, she was afraid she might annoy her if she did not react immediately when called, so she had stayed awake. But now, that woman probably would not care for the time being.
She had not slept well the previous night, and now was a rare, good time to catch up. In the silence of the afternoon, the girl peacefully drifted off to sleep.
***
Light filtered through her thin eyelids, and the girl felt as if a figure were swaying in front of her. She frowned, wanting to keep sleeping, but a cold hand suddenly pressed against her warm cheek. She jolted and instinctively opened her eyes.
A layer of mist still covered her eyes, making her vision blurry. Stunned for a moment, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve before she could finally see the person in front of her clearly.
Qin Haiyue…
Realizing who it was, the girl shrunk back and lowered her head, whispering, “Is something wrong…?”
Qin Haiyue narrowed her eyes and turned her head away somewhat unnaturally.
“It’s time. Why can you sleep so much? We should go.”
“Oh! Right… okay…”
She hurriedly stood up, put on her backpack, and followed Qin Haiyue toward the door.
Since Qin Haiyue had her back turned, the girl could not see the expression on her face. If she had known, she might have felt uneasy all over again.
Qin Haiyue’s expression was incredibly strange. Her face was blank, but her eyes were conflicted, and the corners of her mouth still held a lingering trace of the curve from when she had been watching the girl sleep.
‘How strange. Why was I just staring blankly?’
Without the girl realizing it, Qin Haiyue had been quietly staring at her for quite some time. It was the first time Qin Haiyue had ever felt this way—just watching someone’s sleeping face had actually brought her a sense of inner peace and even unconscious pleasure. This made her furrow her brows tightly; she felt as if she were no longer herself.
To be honest, the girl’s sleeping face was indeed quite beautiful. Whether it was her gently relaxed brows, the unconscious trembling when she curled up, or the way the corners of her pale lips occasionally curved upward, it was impossible not to feel a sense of joy while admiring her cuteness and beauty.
But this feeling shocked Qin Haiyue. She had thought she would only find pleasure in seeing the girl cry out in pain. Yet, for a moment just now, she felt like this was not so bad either? This left her feeling a bit scattered.
Reaching the car, she gently closed her eyes, managing to compose herself.
She opened the door, sat in the inner seat first this time, and then beckoned to the girl.
“Get in,” she said.
Thus, the girl entered the car timidly yet obediently.
Ultimately, those were just a few stray, messy thoughts that would not change her original intentions. Having reined in her emotions, her gaze returned to its usual cold and sharp state.
“Tomorrow is Saturday. You know that, right?” she asked the girl, though her tone sounded more like she was stating a fact.
The girl was stunned for a moment. She had been so busy all week that she had not even noticed how many days were left until the weekend. Had the week really almost ended without her noticing?
“Um… is there something you need?”
Since the other woman had mentioned it, there was definitely something she wanted to say. The girl asked with a hint of unease.
“You will continue to stay at my house tonight, including tomorrow and the day after. Just stay by my side.”
“Huh? But… I have urgent business and need to go home today…”
Qin Haiyue remained silent for a while before finally deciding not to force the issue. After all, for her current self, forcing the girl to stay at her home was completely unnecessary.
She needed to organize her thoughts and think about what kind of attitude she should have toward the girl in the future.
“Fine.”
“Eh? Is that okay?”
The girl had not expected Qin Haiyue to agree so readily; she had thought they would have to go back and forth for a while. Regardless, she had to go back tonight. Qin Haiyue certainly would not keep her forever, and she still had not figured out the woman’s intentions.
As for the Lin family, if she did not return for two consecutive days, she did not even want to know what kind of punishment her foster parents and sister would inflict upon her.