Narrowing her eyes, Qin Haiyue saw through her insincerity, but the smile on her face didn’t fade. She had, in fact, fully expected this scene.
However, expecting it didn’t mean she had no reaction. That familiar surge of irritability welled up in her heart once more. She knew this was yet another meaningless attempt. Narrowing her eyes again, she said nothing.
Her golden hair was illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the window. Qin Haiyue stopped speaking and simply ate in silence. Ye Xingmian didn’t move. The silence between the two of them was deafening, making even the expensive, exquisite meal taste like dry wax.
The restaurant wasn’t quiet. Aside from the music coming from the front desk, there were the whispered conversations of people at other tables. Unlike the heavy atmosphere between them, most of those people wore smiles, and the air around them felt sweet.
Involuntarily, the young girl looked out the window. The street was still desolate. Golden sunlight spilled across the ground as dust was kicked up by the wind, hitting the window with a harsh, whistling sound.
“What are you looking at?” Qin Haiyue asked suddenly, her tone somewhat cold. She followed Ye Xingmian’s gaze out the window, but there was nothing there. The empty scenery was as restless as her own heart.
“Nothing,” the girl whispered, turning her head back.
Even though this was supposed to be a date, the two of them truly had nothing to say to each other. As the atmosphere lapsed back into silence, Qin Haiyue felt her frustration growing.
‘Seriously, this is so boring.’
Yes, this atmosphere wasn’t what she wanted at all. What she craved had always been something more stimulating — more intense emotions. This feeling of being submerged in stagnant water felt like it was draining her soul. Only in the midst of intense anger, despair, or various bloodthirsty, extreme emotions could she clearly feel her own existence.
Like that day, when she had used threats to lock Ye Xingmian in that abandoned locker room. She felt her methods back then had been childish. Yes, that kind of tactic was nowhere near enough to satisfy her desires. She needed something deeper, something more real —
‘Right, so why am I hesitating?’
Her numb, empty heart needed some kind of strong stimulus to wake it up, yet she inexplicably didn’t want to go through with it. Perhaps she still felt a lingering attachment to certain things?
She felt that someone like her was probably better suited for a casino or an underground boxing match, using her family background and wealth to enjoy that crazy, dopamine-surging feeling. But she hadn’t done those things. Perhaps even she, in her subconscious, felt that those places didn’t belong to her.
Pursing her lips, she looked at the girl sitting in silence before her. For some reason, she drifted into a daze.
She inexplicably remembered the scene from yesterday afternoon.
Silence had blanketed the villa, inside and out. Occasionally, a few birds would glide past the dead branches outside the window, letting out a few chirps. The warm sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bringing a hint of drowsiness. At that time, she had been standing in front of the sofa. The table was a mess, and the girl she had brought back was curled up on the sofa like an insecure kitten, fast asleep.
For some reason, that scene was hauntingly unforgettable. Whenever she thought back on it, it always felt filled with silence and beauty, as if her restless heart had been smoothed over. It was as if she had returned to some peaceful moment in her distant memories.
She knew her personality was somewhat antisocial and irritable. In all probability, she wasn’t a good person. But if she compared herself to those debauched and tyrannical rich heirs, she felt she was relatively pure and kind. At most, she belonged to the category of people who just didn’t like doing anything productive.
‘Well, at most, I just enjoy bullying people a little too much?’
She felt she was quite self-aware.
Her mood became inexplicably complicated, and her original irritability was suppressed. She told the girl to eat, and only then did the girl pick up her utensils, eating the food on the table with a slight tremble.
In a daze, she suddenly felt that if she could just get along with the girl peacefully like this, it wouldn’t be so bad. But she shook her head and dismissed the thought.
She felt the thoughts in her head were simply full of contradictions. She wanted this and then she wanted that, truly not knowing what it was she desired most. Looking up at the table, she saw the food was finished, so she went to settle the bill.
Though it didn’t matter to her, Ye Xingmian felt her heart skip a beat when she heard the waiter quote the price. Her movements became even more cautious and guarded. To a poor student, the cost was far too shocking.
Afterward, the two of them left the restaurant and walked to the car. According to the plan, Qin Haiyue naturally couldn’t let the girl go back so easily. She pulled open the car door and ordered Ye Xingmian to get in, then she climbed in after her.
Closing the door, she began to think about what to do next. The atmosphere in the restaurant had truly made her feel depressed and unhappy. Continuing the date was impossible; it was far too boring for her. But she didn’t have anything else she could do with Ye Xingmian. She knew nothing about her, and the girl didn’t even know how to use a phone properly. The two of them were destined to have no common topics of conversation.
As she thought about it, she grew more and more impatient. Frowning, she shouted at the driver, “Go home.”
“Yes, alright.” The driver nodded, and with the roar of the engine, he started the car.
The scenery outside the window slowly receded. Ye Xingmian, who had surprisingly not been given a hard time, couldn’t help but turn her head and stare out the window in a daze. For someone who was usually busy, this kind of time was precious, even if it was spent by Qin Haiyue’s side.
The warm air from the air conditioner, which was much warmer than the outdoors, brushed against her cheeks, bringing waves of gentle drowsiness. Her eyes felt strangely sore, so she closed them and remained silent.
Qin Haiyue stole a glance at her and was momentarily lost in thought.
Time passed slowly, receding as silently as the scenery outside. No one spoke in the car, and in the silence, an inexplicable emotion flowed quietly.
Qin Haiyue suddenly felt that if things could just go on like this forever, it wouldn’t be so bad.
The car soon left the city center. Before long, they would arrive at Qin Haiyue’s home. However, the ringtone of a phone suddenly echoed in the car, breaking the silence.
Qin Haiyue couldn’t help but frown for a simple reason: the call was coming from her phone.
Taking the phone out of her pocket, she saw the caller was… her mother?
She answered the call.
“Hello…?” Her tone was hesitant.
In her memory, her mother rarely called her. Their usual communication was mostly limited to money transfers on the messaging app. So, generally speaking, if her parents called her, something had likely happened.
‘She couldn’t have suddenly come to my house, could she?’
She couldn’t help but think that; if that were the case, it would be a bit of a problem.
Casting a subtle glance at the girl beside her, she heard the sound of hurried running on the other end of the line. Was it because there were many people around, and she needed to find a quiet place to talk?
“Hello! Yueyue!” The voice on the other end was urgent and panting, giving her a bad premonition.
“Do you have time right now? Get to Shanghai immediately. I’ve already booked a flight for you.”
“What happened?”
“Your father suddenly collapsed!”