Since the girl was likely in her own bedroom, Liu Yinuo gave up on searching elsewhere. She headed straight up the stairs and toward the attic.
Standing at the door, she knocked. A moment later, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from within.
*Click.* The door opened.
Ye Xingmian had assumed Lin Ziyang had already sent the visitor away and was coming to see her. As she opened the door, her eyes were downcast. ‘She’s here quite fast,’ she thought. She hadn’t even had time to check the messages on her phone yet.
However, when she looked up and saw the person standing there, the expression on her face shifted to surprise before quickly vanishing. She lowered her head slightly and whispered, “Class Monitor…?”
“Yes. Do you remember what I told you yesterday?”
“I remember… but it’s only 10:00 AM…” She certainly remembered Liu Yinuo’s demand, but she had never intended to actually go. She just hadn’t expected Liu Yinuo to show up at her door in person.
“It’s about that time. Come with me.” Without letting her argue, Liu Yinuo grabbed the girl’s hand and tried to pull her out.
“Ah! Wait, Class Monitor — ” Since she had come all this way, Ye Xingmian couldn’t easily refuse, but she still had things she needed to bring.
—
“What is it?” Liu Yinuo frowned with a hint of impatience.
She had predicted the girl wouldn’t come of her own accord, which was why she had arrived at the Lin house several hours early to take her away. Last night, she had already explained everything regarding the girl to her parents and managed to gain their understanding. She believed that as long as she broke the shackles on the girl’s heart, she could definitely eliminate that lingering resistance.
However, after everything that had happened over the past few days and Lin Ziyang’s interference just now, her mood was quite sour. She didn’t let go of the girl’s wrist; instead, she gripped it even tighter, causing Ye Xingmian a bit of pain.
“I… I need to get something…” Tucking her head, the girl spoke softly.
Because of the weight of her thoughts and her internal self-doubt, she didn’t try to pull away from Liu Yinuo. She only made her request in a weak voice.
“Fine.” Liu Yinuo let go.
The girl breathed a sigh of relief, slung her backpack over her shoulders, and followed Liu Yinuo downstairs.
Lin Ziyang was sitting on the living room sofa. Hearing their voices, she shifted her gaze from her phone with a frown. Her eyes scanned the two girls before finally locking onto Liu Yinuo.
“Where are you two going?”
Liu Yinuo didn’t really want to deal with her. Since she had already found Ye Xingmian, wasting time here was the last thing she wanted to do.
“To my house. We made an agreement yesterday.”
“Oh?”
Lin Ziyang stood up abruptly and approached them. Using her height advantage, she looked down at Liu Yinuo with an oppressive gaze.
“No. My brother can’t go out today. She has things to do at home.”
With that, she looked past Liu Yinuo toward Ye Xingmian.
“Isn’t that right, ‘Brother’?”
Her tone was cold and threatening, making the girl tremble.
‘Lin Ziyang doesn’t want me to go to the Class Monitor’s house,’ Ye Xingmian realized. She still had leverage over her. Although her intuition over the last few days suggested that Lin Ziyang might not want to tell her foster parents about her transformation, what about her other secrets? For instance, her teddy bear? ‘Would she do something terrible to it?’
These were all unknowns, and she didn’t want to gamble. As her only emotional connection to her mother, that teddy bear was everything to her. At the thought of it, she immediately began to struggle.
“Class… Class Monitor… I’m not going anymore… Let go of me…”
The girl’s words sparked confusion in Liu Yinuo. She turned around to look at the girl behind her.
“Why?” Her voice was slightly cold. After being resisted over and over, she was losing her patience.
“I have things to do at home. Please let go of me…”
“No.” Pursing her lips, Liu Yinuo turned back to Lin Ziyang. Her intuition told her that the problem definitely stemmed from whatever Lin Ziyang had just said, which had caused the girl to become so resistant all of a sudden.
Her gaze turned icy and her eyes narrowed, silently demanding to know what Lin Ziyang had done to the girl.
Lin Ziyang only gave a smug smile.
“Did you hear that, my dear Class Monitor? My brother really has things to do. He can’t go.”
Liu Yinuo was silent for a moment, but she had no intention of giving up. She turned back to focus on the girl’s pink eyes.
“You promised me. Are you going to break your word again?”
Her tone was flat, as if she were merely stating a fact. It gave the impression that even if the girl said yes, she would simply walk away without saying another word.
Ye Xingmian was stunned. She thought about the recent events. ‘I’ve already done so many bad things to the Class Monitor and broken my word so many times. And now she even came to my house in person. Am I really going to refuse her again?’
‘If I refuse, what will happen? Will the Class Monitor be angry? Will she just cut me off?’ She didn’t know. The “her” from yesterday might not have cared, but now, she couldn’t help but hesitate.
Seeing her dazed, Liu Yinuo’s eyes narrowed. Regardless of the answer, she was taking her. Since she wasn’t saying anything, she would just drag her out.
She tightened her grip on the girl’s hand to keep her from shaking it off and turned to look at Lin Ziyang.
“If there’s work to do, she can do it when she gets back. She promised me yesterday.” Without another word, she dragged the girl toward the door.
“Ah! Wait… Wait a minute! Class Monitor…”
“What is it?” Liu Yinuo looked back with an icy stare.
Ye Xingmian stood there, her mind going blank.
“It’s… It’s nothing…” she whispered, lowering her head.
In the end, she was dragged out by Liu Yinuo with no room for resistance. Looking back at the open door, Ye Xingmian felt a lingering sense of anxiety.
“What are you looking at?”
Liu Yinuo’s sudden question made the girl shake her head frantically.
“Nothing… It’s nothing…”
‘Something feels off about the Class Monitor today,’ she thought, though she couldn’t say what. She eventually dismissed it as her own imagination. On the street, Liu Yinuo hailed a taxi, and the two of them climbed inside.
After giving her address, the driver started the meter and remained quiet. The air in the car was heavy with silence.
Watching the world outside the window rush by, the girl felt a faint sense of unease. She quietly looked at Liu Yinuo and opened her mouth to speak.
“What is it?” Liu Yinuo asked, noticing her hesitation.
A flash of panic appeared in the girl’s eyes, quickly followed by a look of loneliness. She asked, “Class Monitor… why are we going to your house…? What is this about…?”
“It’s nothing. I just want to chat with you.”