Afternoon, inside the Classroom.
As a semi-boarding School, many students would return to the Dormitory to rest after having lunch in the Dining Hall. There were also day students who would go home after class, or choose to stay in the Classroom for a nap.
Lin Ziyan, too lazy to go home, was one of them.
She sat in her seat at the front row, pulling out her stash of novels and phone from the desk compartment. Then, taking a small bread roll she had bought at the Dining Hall out of her pocket, she quietly began to eat.
“Ziyan, you’re here early?”
Someone called out to her. Hearing this, Lin Ziyan looked up and saw a familiar girl entering from outside the door, the corners of her lips curving into a relaxed smile.
“Not really, I just got back too. Did you finish eating?”
The girl’s voice was sweet, a tone rarely used at home.
“Yeah.” Smiling in response, Liu Yinuo sat beside her. They shared the same desk, three seats in a row, with one still unoccupied.
“Want some?” Lin Ziyan broke off a piece of bread and handed it over.
“Thank you, but I’m fine.” With a gentle smile, Liu Yinuo declined as always, like an elegant and proper young lady. She always wore a warm smile, but if anyone tried to get close, it was as if there was a layer of distance, an untouchable barrier around her.
Lin Ziyan wasn’t surprised by her reaction and simply nodded, turning back to her novel.
“Ziyan, can I ask you something?”
“Hmm?”
Somewhat surprised—Liu Yinuo rarely initiated questions, quite the opposite in fact, as the top student in class, she was usually the one being asked for advice.
“What is it?” Taking a bite of the soft bread, Lin Ziyan’s words came out a bit muffled.
“It’s just…”
Liu Yinuo suddenly straightened up, glancing around the empty Classroom with alert eyes, as if the topic was rather private.
She leaned in and whispered into Lin Ziyan’s ear.
“Um… your brother, is he a boy or a girl?”
“Huh? Do you really need to ask? Of course he’s a boy.”
“I mean, why would you even wonder? Just because he seems weak, you thought maybe he was… a girl dressed as a boy or something?”
She denied it immediately. After living under the same roof for over ten years, how could she not know whether Ye Xingmian was a boy or a girl?
“No… I just…”
Liu Yinuo hesitated as she spoke, wondering if maybe she was overthinking it.
She recalled the scene from that morning—the pair of timid, cherry-pink eyes, the tear-streaked face. The gentle curves of the face didn’t look like a boy’s at all.
“……”
She fell silent, not speaking for a long while.
Whenever she remembered those pitiful eyes, her heart would twinge a little. Her whole body seemed to be enveloped in an unfamiliar emotion—was it pity? Sympathy? It felt like today was the first time she’d truly gotten to know “Ye Xingmian”.
Learning that he’d been made to stand outside by the Homeroom Teacher the whole morning, she’d even felt an unusual pang of guilt—something she’d never felt before.
“Hey, I’m talking to you.”
Watching her companion’s expression, Lin Ziyan frowned, her look turning a bit odd.
“Yinuo, you don’t like that guy, do you?”
Shaking her head, Yinuo softly denied, “No.”
She didn’t blush or speak strangely; she truly seemed unaffected. Lin Ziyan barely believed her words.
“That’s good. Let me tell you, you know he’s not really my brother, right?”
“Yeah, most people know. After all, you’re Lin, and he’s Ye.”
“Exactly! And more than that, he’s a bastard child!” Lin Ziyan spoke loudly, as if unconcerned about being overheard, causing Liu Yinuo to frown slightly.
Yinuo glanced around, making sure no one was listening, then gestured for Lin Ziyan to lower her voice before continuing her questioning.
“Bastard child?”
“Yes!”
“What do you mean?”
“When he came to our house, I was about four or five. I was still young and didn’t understand much. He was brought over by his mom alone. I’m telling you, his mom was only in her early twenties back then. After leaving him with us, she went off to another province to work. I heard my parents say his dad might still be in prison even now!”
“Is that so?” As she listened and combined it with her own observations of Ye Xingmian and the attitude Lin Ziyan unconsciously displayed toward her ‘brother’, Liu Yinuo started to imagine a scene—a boy fostered in someone else’s home, enduring cold looks and bullying every day.
Clenching her fist a little, Liu Yinuo managed her expression, not letting Lin Ziyan notice anything unusual.
“Still, you’ve lived together for more than ten years. Saying that about him isn’t very nice, is it?”
“Tch.” Lin Ziyan sneered, unconcerned.
“What, you’re worried about him? Relax, he’s long since gotten used to it. Besides, after graduation and the college entrance exams, he’ll be leaving. He’s doing just fine, he doesn’t need your concern.”
“I see…”
Liu Yinuo scribbled absently in her open book, her voice distracted. Seeing the other girl lose interest in conversation, Lin Ziyan said nothing more, instead chatting with others on her phone under the desk.
Liu Yinuo remembered the timid boy called out by Qin Haiyue that morning. She hadn’t seen his face at the time, but the fear and terror he exuded couldn’t have been faked. When he returned, that thin body seemed as if it had suffered a huge blow; he was absent-minded for the entire lesson. Occasionally, she’d see him burying his head in his arms on the desk, his shoulders trembling, as if silently crying.
Whether or not she believed Lin Ziyan’s words, Liu Yinuo had already made up her mind.
Her handwriting grew slower and slower. Ye Xingmian’s figure had completely occupied her thoughts, impossible to shake off. Her gaze wandered, unable to forget that frail and timid silhouette.
After what Lin Ziyan said, she no longer doubted Ye Xingmian’s gender. She just wanted to change her attitude toward the boy—not be so prejudiced, but instead treat him like a normal person who needed a little more care. Gentler, kinder.
“……”
As time passed, more people filled the Classroom. Before she knew it, it was almost time for class.
She found herself glancing at the back door of the Classroom every now and then. In her memory, that person always entered through the back door.
Should I start this afternoon? Use a gentler approach, so I don’t scare him. She remembered his grades weren’t very good; maybe she could try helping him out with lessons.
Liu Yinuo even prepared a few greeting notes, scribbling and correcting, wasting half her lunch break.
But no matter how long she waited, the boy didn’t come.
The Classroom gradually filled up, but he didn’t come.
Even when the bell rang and the Homeroom Teacher arrived to start class, he still didn’t come.
After class, she chased after the Homeroom Teacher to ask and finally learned that the boy’s foster father had asked for leave for him—he wouldn’t be coming today.
Returning to her seat, seeing Lin Ziyan not caring at all, Liu Yinuo felt an inexplicable emptiness inside.
Was it because of Qin Haiyue? That person always seemed to bully Ye Xingmian. Maybe that’s why he took a day off?
Whatever the reason, it had become today’s puzzle, haunting her. She could only ask him herself tomorrow.
Glancing at the timetable, it looked like there would be a Physical Education Class tomorrow.
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