After Cen Lingqiu returned home, she accepted Yu Mingjiao’s friend request.
Her username was simple, just the letter Y, and her profile picture was a hand-drawn smiley face, the same one she had taught her to draw in the past.
She clicked on Yu Mingjiao’s Moments feed, but it was completely empty.
That made sense. Yu Mingjiao didn’t seem like the type of person who would post on Moments.
Recalling her unusual behavior that evening, the corners of Cen Lingqiu’s lips couldn’t help but curve into a slight smile.
It was a bit strange, but cute.
She typed out a message to her.
—Good night.
After sending the message, she put down her phone and went to take a shower.
When she came out of the shower, her phone chimed. She unlocked it to see a message from Yu Mingjiao.
—Mm.
Still brief and silent.
Very much her style.
Cen Lingqiu typed a reply.
—Go to sleep soon. I’ll bring you candy tomorrow.
It took several minutes for Yu Mingjiao to reply.
—Okay.
Cen Lingqiu didn’t send any more messages. Zhang Li heard movement in her room and urged her, “Xiao Qiu, hurry up and sleep. Staying up late is bad for your health.”
“I know.”
When Cen Lingqiu woke up the next day, she noticed her throat was a little sore, but she didn’t think much of it. After getting out of bed, she first finished translating a file she had accepted the day before. Zhang Li felt she had just been discharged from the hospital and wouldn’t let her work. Unable to bear being idle at home every day, Cen Lingqiu would occasionally take on online translation jobs out of boredom.
Today, Zhang Li wanted to go to x.r to see if there were any new arrivals. She was a jewelry enthusiast and would always go check whenever x.r released a new collection.
She asked Cen Lingqiu to accompany her, and Cen Lingqiu agreed. Before leaving, she sent a message to Yu Mingjiao.
—Are you at x.r today?
Over an hour later, Yu Mingjiao finally replied with a single “Mm.”
Cen Lingqiu typed.
—Got it.
She put her phone away and sat in the car with Zhang Li. The driver quickly brought them to x.r. As soon as the receptionist saw Zhang Li, she came forward to greet them.
“Madam, long time no see.”
Zhang Li nodded and said, “I really liked that ‘Starry Sky’ jewelry set from last time. Which designer created it? Would it be possible for me to meet them? I’d like to commission them to design another set for me.”
Zhang Li was a VIP client of their company, so they didn’t dare to be neglectful.
“Of course, Madam. I’ll ask her to come over.”
Zhang Li and Cen Lingqiu waited in the lounge.
Zhang Li noticed her bare wrists. “Xiao Qiu, how about Mom buys you a set of jewelry to wear? Look, your wrists are so empty. It doesn’t look good.”
“No, thank you, Mom,” Cen Lingqiu gently refused. “I don’t like wearing these things.”
She had little interest in jewelry and didn’t like wearing it. Her wrist only bore a watch and nothing else.
“You child,” Zhang Li said to her. “It would look so much better if you wore something.”
Cen Lingqiu was about to say something to put her off when there was a knock on the door, and the receptionist from before walked in.
“Madam, this is the designer. She’s a new designer who recently joined our company. Please forgive us if our service is not up to standard.”
As she spoke, she stepped aside, and a girl in a wheelchair slowly entered the room.
The receptionist backed out, left the room, and closed the door for them.
Cen Lingqiu saw the person clearly, her eyes widening slightly. Yu Mingjiao noticed her too. Their eyes met, and by a tacit understanding, neither of them spoke.
Yu Mingjiao nodded at Zhang Li. “Hello, Madam.”
When Zhang Li saw her, her brow furrowed slightly. She looked familiar, and after a few seconds of thought, she remembered who she was.
“You’re…” Zhang Li’s brow tightened. “That disabled girl my son was so obsessed with?”
Yu Mingjiao remained silent, her expression calm.
“You’re the new designer?” Zhang Li was clearly skeptical. “You have that kind of ability?”
Thanks to Lin Dong and Lin Qiu’s past obsession with her, Zhang Li’s impression of her was not very good. In her mind, this young girl had nothing but a pretty face; she was also a disabled person with inconvenient legs. She truly couldn’t understand why her son was so infatuated with her, and because she couldn’t understand, she felt a great distance from her.
Yu Mingjiao was already used to this kind of doubt. She spoke in a detached yet calm voice, “Madam, may I ask what you need from me?”
Zhang Li narrowed her eyes, still holding a strong opinion of her. “I don’t trust you. Have your director come over. I’ll find a different designer.”
If Zhang Li really did that, Cen Lingqiu could imagine how hurt the proud and face-conscious Yu Mingjiao would be. Thinking of this, she let out a soft sound and called out, “Mom.”
Zhang Li’s voice was gentle. “What is it?”
“Actually, I quite like her designs,” Cen Lingqiu said without a change in expression. “Didn’t you just say my wrists were bare? I’d like to wear one of her designs.”
Yu Mingjiao raised her eyes, stealing a few hidden glances at Cen Lingqiu. Cen Lingqiu caught her gaze and winked, signaling for her to relax.
“You trust her?” Zhang Li didn’t understand her daughter’s thinking. She remembered that her daughter didn’t like Yu Mingjiao very much.
“Yes,” Cen Lingqiu said calmly. “Mom, she’s a very talented designer. Please don’t doubt her.”
Standing silently to the side, Yu Mingjiao couldn’t help but curl her fingers.
Zhang Li’s thinking was simple, and she was easily swayed, especially by her own daughter’s words. She believed her almost without hesitation.
“Is that so?” Zhang Li glanced at Yu Mingjiao a few times, then softened her tone. “Then you can start by designing a necklace for me. I’ve been fond of lilies lately. You figure it out.”
She then turned to Cen Lingqiu. “Xiao Qiu, what kind do you like? Tell her.”
Cen Lingqiu had only said it on a whim and didn’t actually know what she liked at that moment.
“I can discuss it with her myself later.”
“Alright.” Zhang Li nodded and stated her requirements to Yu Mingjiao. “I don’t like anything too complicated, and I hate the color green.”
Yu Mingjiao noted it down. “Okay.”
After giving her opinion, Zhang Li dismissed her. Once Yu Mingjiao left, Zhang Li wanted to look at other new products, and a dedicated staff member was there to introduce them to her. Seeing that she wasn’t needed, Cen Lingqiu slipped away.
She wandered around and found Yu Mingjiao in the break room on the fifth floor.
She was making coffee at the machine, possibly lost in thought, and didn’t notice the coffee was about to overflow the cup. A second before it spilled, Cen Lingqiu turned it off.
“What are you thinking about?” Cen Lingqiu waved a hand in front of her face.
Yu Mingjiao finally registered her presence, pursed her lips, and said, “What are you doing here?”
Cen Lingqiu leaned back against the table. “My mom has someone with her, so I’m not needed.”
Yu Mingjiao took a sip of coffee and asked softly, “What did you mean by that message this morning? Were you trying to confirm something?”
Cen Lingqiu grabbed a disposable cup, poured some coffee for herself, took a sip, and said casually, “I wanted to confirm if you were at x.r.”
She drank a little, but it was too bitter for her liking, so she took a small sip and put the cup down.
“And what if I was?”
“If you were here, I would have had something to look forward to on the way over.” Cen Lingqiu didn’t think there was anything wrong with her words. In this world, the only person she was familiar with was Yu Mingjiao.
Yu Mingjiao was unique, holding many meanings. She was not only her mission target but also someone who could cause a slight stir in her numb emotions.
Getting along with her wasn’t bad; it wasn’t that uncomfortable.
A faint ripple seemed to stir in Yu Mingjiao’s quiet eyes. She held the cup with both hands, taking small, intermittent sips of coffee, and opened her mouth to speak.
“You—”
“But—”
They both spoke at the same time.
Yu Mingjiao: “You go first.”
Cen Lingqiu asked in a questioning tone, “I wanted to ask about the smiley face on your WeChat profile picture. Was that perhaps the one I taught you to draw in the past?”
Yu Mingjiao blinked and nodded honestly.
“Why?”
“…Being alone is always scary. I don’t feel safe.”
Cen Lingqiu froze for a moment, realizing this reason stemmed from something she had said in the past. On the night of the power outage, she had told Yu Mingjiao, “If you don’t feel safe, just draw a smiley face.”
It was just a thoughtless, self-righteous remark. She hadn’t expected Yu Mingjiao to actually listen. Back then, Yu Mingjiao hated her so much, how could she possibly have taken her words seriously?
But she had really taken it to heart.
This wasn’t the first time she had discovered that Yu Mingjiao had taken her words from half a year ago to heart. Because she disliked claustrophobic, suffocating environments, finding them too oppressive, she had always urged Yu Mingjiao to open the curtains six months ago. And when she visited Yu Mingjiao’s home a few days ago, she found that the curtains in both her living room and bedroom were drawn open, no longer the lightless spaces of the past.
The red string on her wrist, the brightly lit room, the black smiley face—it was as if they were all telling her that Yu Mingjiao had indeed been listening to her words properly.
She hadn’t been speaking nonsense.
Unlike her younger siblings from her memories, who never took her words seriously and often caused her to take the blame and suffer beatings and scoldings, Yu Mingjiao had paid attention to her words.
In that instant, Cen Lingqiu had the thought, “Oh, so my words aren’t just useless nonsense after all.”
She couldn’t help but lower her head and smile.
But soon, she couldn’t smile anymore, feeling only a thousand kinds of bitterness.
Yu Mingjiao said she was afraid of being alone, that she didn’t feel safe.
In the past six months, had she always felt insecure?
What was she afraid of?
And why did she not feel safe?
She vaguely realized that perhaps Yu Mingjiao’s past six months hadn’t been as smooth and happy as she had imagined.
She was still that delicate and listless child.
Cen Lingqiu stroked her hair without saying a word.
Yu Mingjiao obediently let her stroke it.
“By the way, what were you about to say just now?” Cen Lingqiu remembered.
Yu Mingjiao: “What kind of jewelry do you want?”
“Hmm?”
She added, “You just said you liked my designs.”
Oh, it was about that.
Cen Lingqiu said nonchalantly, “I don’t know what I like. You don’t have to pay too much mind to what I said just now.”
Yu Mingjiao’s expression turned slightly awkward, her voice cold and stiff. “Were you lying when you said you liked my designs?”
Cen Lingqiu hadn’t expected her to think that way and quickly explained, “That’s not what I meant. I really just don’t know what I want.”
In all her years, she had hardly ever worn anything on her hands. When she was young, she wasn’t worthy; her grandparents would never buy her such things. Her parents only had their son in their hearts and would give everything to him, completely forgetting they had a daughter.
After she died, Cen Lingqiu no longer liked these things either.
Hearing her explanation, Yu Mingjiao’s slightly cold expression softened a little.
“I’ll design it for you,” she said with an almost childlike stubbornness.
Cen Lingqiu didn’t refuse this time, afraid she would overthink it again.
“Alright, alright, I’ll be waiting. Thank you in advance.”
Her phone rang. It was Zhang Li, urging her to go back with her.
“I’m leaving now.” Cen Lingqiu stroked her soft, dark hair again. “Goodbye.”
Yu Mingjiao had just remembered something, but before she could speak, Cen Lingqiu was gone.
She pursed her lips and touched the spot where Cen Lingqiu had just stroked.
A trace of her warmth seemed to linger on her hair.
After Cen Lingqiu got home, Yu Mingjiao suddenly sent her a message: just a period.
Cen Lingqiu stared at the period, completely baffled, unable to figure out what it meant. She stared at her phone, pondering it.
The chat box kept showing “The other person is typing…” Cen Lingqiu waited for a long time, but no message came through.
What was so hard to say?
Cen Lingqiu watched her phone patiently, waiting for her message.
In the end, she waited for nearly half an hour and got nothing.
Cen Lingqiu couldn’t wait any longer and took the initiative to message her.
—Mingjiao, did you just learn how to type?
The other end went still, falling silent again.
Cen Lingqiu propped her chin on her hand and decided to wait a little longer.
Ten minutes passed, and Yu Mingjiao finally deigned to send a sentence.
—I’m graduating the day after tomorrow.
—Will you come?
Cen Lingqiu realized that Yu Mingjiao was a really awkward person. There were many things she was unwilling or afraid to say, only deigning to utter a few words when someone pushed her.
Like the delicate yet aloof Ragdoll cat that Zhang Li owned.
She was a little cuter and more delicate than she had been six months ago.
Cen Lingqiu smiled to herself.
She typed.
—I’ll be there.
—From now on, don’t hesitate. Just say whatever you want to say.
No message came from the other end. It seemed that having the awkward truth pointed out had made her fall silent again.
After a long while, a response came.
—Oh
Looks like she’s got an attitude now, not even using punctuation.
Huge thanks to Gloom cancel for the support!
Enjoy uninterrupted reading experience with instant access to all chapters at your convenience.
