Cen Lingqiu thoughtfully handed her a tissue.
Wen Zhi took the tissue, wiped her mouth, and asked curiously, “It couldn’t be the girl I’m thinking of, could it?”
“Mhm.”
“You…” She frowned, unable to believe it. “How did you end up putting her in the hospital? Did you go too far?”
“…”
Wen Zhi thought she was the one who put Yu Mingjiao in the hospital.
But she hadn’t done anything.
“It’s not what you think,” Cen Lingqiu explained casually. “It was for other reasons, anyway.”
Wen Zhi watched her with a suspicious gaze.
Cen Lingqiu felt awkward under her stare and changed the subject. “By the way, Wen Zhi, did you say last time you wanted to move?”
“Yeah, I haven’t found a place I like yet. Do you want to move with me?”
“Sure, I’ll look for a place.”
“Up to you, as long as it’s not too remote.”
After returning from the hospital, Yu Mingjiao went back to her apartment.
Lying in her own bed, she felt a daze of delayed realization. She had thought she would be trapped in that manor forever, that she would never be able to return home until she died there.
She had been trapped in that enormous tomb for just over a month, but it felt like a very, very long time had passed.
Time flowed too slowly in that place.
Amidst her daze, she also felt a sense of disbelief.
That she was able to leave openly was actually because of Lin Qiu.
Lying amidst a pile of dolls, Yu Mingjiao couldn’t help but wonder what that woman’s reaction would be when she saw the empty hospital room.
Surprise, fury, or regret for giving her the phone in the first place.
Whatever the reaction, it surely wouldn’t be a pleasant one.
What a pity she couldn’t see it for herself.
With half a month left before school started, Yu Mingjiao spent every day holed up in her room, the curtains drawn tightly, with only a small lamp left on.
She disliked the dark, yet she also rejected the overly brilliant sun.
Because of her weak body, it had taken nearly two hours to get from the hospital back to her apartment. Her frail and exhausted energy was completely depleted. She had no strength left and fell asleep without even changing her clothes.
She didn’t know how long she had slept. When her body felt a little hot, she opened her eyes.
She lay in bed in a daze for a long time before getting up and pulling open the curtains from her wheelchair.
It was already dark outside, and the streetlights were turning on one by one.
The community was quiet, with only a few scattered people heading home from work on the paths.
Her gaze was empty, not focused on anything.
Only when her hazy consciousness returned to her body did she slowly move her wheelchair.
Drink water, take a shower, change into pajamas.
After doing all this, she sat on the sofa and looked at her phone.
From the day she was trapped in the manor until now, not a single person had sent her a message.
If she had really died in the manor, her body rotting away, it was likely no one would have ever known.
She turned off her phone, tossed it on the coffee table, and didn’t touch it again.
Yu Mingjiao’s life sank into a chaotic and decadent pool of stagnant water. She didn’t like going out, didn’t like seeing people, and had no friends. She spent her days just sleeping, drawing, and zoning out in a room devoid of sunlight.
She said she was sleeping, but she wasn’t really sleeping much.
Her insomnia was severe. Whenever she slept, she had nightmares. It had been a long time since she’d had a good night’s sleep.
She was very tired, but she couldn’t sleep.
She glanced at the clock.
Was it only just past one in the morning?
How many days had it been since she returned from the hospital? She didn’t know.
In all these days, she hadn’t spoken a word, and no one had come to see her. It was as if she had been cut off from the bustling world, solitarily building a dimension of her own.
In the manor, she had desperately wanted to return home; it was almost a craving.
But now that she had left that place and returned to her home, she found that she wasn’t very excited. She felt no pleasure at all.
Yu Mingjiao seemed to have lost her sensory abilities—no joy, no sadness, and a hunger she could never feel.
It wasn’t because she was tired; Yu Mingjiao simply felt that everything was meaningless.
She had devolved from the frantic pathology of the manor to a state of numb indifference.
But in reality, this was her normal state.
For twenty years, her daily life, aside from drawing, consisted of nothing but a corpse-like shell.
The air conditioner was set too low.
Cold.
The room was so quiet.
The wound on her wrist hurt so much.
So lonely.
Yu Mingjiao’s thin, sickly body curled into a ball, hiding among the dolls.
There was no more food at home, and no more gauze. Yu Mingjiao could no longer stay cooped up inside.
She put on a mask and a hat, hiding herself completely, opened the door, went to the supermarket downstairs, and bought what she needed with extreme speed before returning to the community.
When she reached the apartment building, Yu Mingjiao’s sharp eyes spotted a certain car.
A silver-gray Bentley.
She didn’t go upstairs immediately, instead staring straight at the car’s license plate from her wheelchair, her eyes clouded with a deep gloom.
Yu Mingjiao picked up her phone, dialed a number, and said in a cold voice, “Hello.”
The elevator displayed “9”. Yu Mingjiao exited, raised her eyelashes, and sure enough, saw the person she had expected.
A man was leaning against her doorway, looking down at his phone. Hearing the movement, he glanced in her direction.
“Mingjiao.” The man straightened up, tilted his head, and smiled coldly. “Long time no see.”
Lin Dong.
Yu Mingjiao gripped the armrests tightly, her lips pressed into a thin line. Countless waves of hatred and disgust churned within her.
Even though her revulsion for Lin Dong had reached a point where she felt she could vomit at any moment, her face only showed calm indifference.
Yu Mingjiao didn’t look at him. With a normal expression, she passed by him and opened the door with her fingerprint.
She didn’t close the door, entering on her own.
Lin Dong lifted his foot and walked in without any hesitation. He followed behind her, his voice suppressing a barely hidden rage.
“Mingjiao, why didn’t you tell me you were leaving our home?”
“I just ate.” Yu Mingjiao kept a distance of over a meter from him. She looked at him with her deep, cold eyes. “Don’t disgust me.”
Lin Dong laughed. “Mingjiao, your words are truly heartbreaking.”
The man ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “I just got back to the country today. I went straight to the manor from the airport, only to find you’d left. Mingjiao, I’m very curious, how did you get out?”
With no communication tools, limited mobility, and people watching her, it was hard to imagine how she could have left.
Yu Mingjiao’s lips curled. “Do you want to know?”
“Of course.”
His toy had run away, so of course he was angry.
But she didn’t answer him right away. She lowered her eyes to her phone, a slow curve forming on her lips.
The man had a short temper and was about to lose it. He strode forward, grabbed her shoulder, and said coldly, “Speak.”
“You’ll have to ask your sister.” Yu Mingjiao tilted her head. “I’m sure Lin Qiu will tell you.”
“What do you mean—” Just as he was about to press her further, heavy footsteps sounded from the doorway. He turned his head.
Several people in police uniforms walked toward the man and showed him their badges. “Mr. Lin, we’ve received a report in recent days that you are suspected of intentional kidnapping. Please come with us to confirm the situation.”
Lin Dong reacted, whipping his head around to look at Yu Mingjiao.
Yu Mingjiao gave him a slight smile, fake and cold. She even tilted her head innocently, as if mocking his stupidity.
Only then did Lin Dong understand. No wonder Yu Mingjiao had allowed him in. Normally, she would never let him take a single step into her home.
So this was intentional. She had been waiting here for him all along.
She had probably reported him to the police right after leaving the manor, then waited for him to return to the country, deliberately stalling until the police arrived.
Lin Dong had underestimated her cunning.
The man was taken away by the police. The officers asked Yu Mingjiao a few related questions and told her to come in tomorrow to give a statement. Then they left, thoughtfully closing the door for her.
The living room fell silent again.
Yu Mingjiao first went to the bathroom to change her clothes. She felt that the clothes he had touched were disgustingly dirty.
After changing, she re-dressed the gauze on her wrist while thinking about what had just happened.
After leaving the hospital, she had gone to the police station to file a report.
A month ago, she had returned to her old hometown to pick something up. The old house was in an alley, in a rather remote location. That night, as she was walking through the alley to head back to the city, a car suddenly pulled up in the middle, blocking her path. Before she could react, something hit the back of her head.
In the second before she lost consciousness, she saw the car’s license plate.
When she woke up again, she was already in the manor.
She knew it was that man’s doing.
She had memorized the car’s license plate number. After being discharged from the hospital, she gave the plate number to the police and showed them the still-healing scab on her forehead.
There were no surveillance cameras in the alley, so the police checked footage from other areas, found the owner of the license plate, and the rest was simple.
The Lin family was large and powerful, with hidden influence. The man would probably get out soon. Yu Mingjiao had anticipated all of this.
But it didn’t matter. She just wanted to see Lin Dong suffer, and more importantly, this would also make Lin Qiu unhappy for a while.
Lin Qiu would probably hate her even more now.
Would she come and question her?
She definitely would, right?
After all, she doted on her younger brother so much, yet her own stupidity had allowed Yu Mingjiao to execute her plan, pushing her dear brother into a ridiculous and pathetic situation.
Yu Mingjiao sat in her wheelchair, her hands covering her face, hiding her crazed and gloomy eyes.
She was really looking forward to seeing that woman’s furious and flustered appearance.
You have to come, Lin Qiu.
Cen Lingqiu had been really busy these past few days. On one hand, she was moving. On the other, the male lead had gotten into trouble and was being held at the police station.
Cen Lingqiu went to see him, only to be interrogated about a bunch of things.
It was mostly about why Yu Mingjiao had left the manor and whether it was her fault.
Cen Lingqiu pretended she was deaf and couldn’t hear. Eventually, it got too annoying, so she simply stopped going and left it to the lawyer.
To be honest, she kind of hoped the male lead would stay there for a while. That way, he wouldn’t be able to bother the female lead so often.
That was just a thought, but it wasn’t very realistic. After all, he was the male lead of this world and still had to follow the plot.
However, Cen Lingqiu still deliberately dragged things out for a few days. Later, the original owner’s parents found out, and her grandfather learned about it too. He rushed back to the country and used some connections to get the male lead released.
But because of this incident, the Old Master was furious. He beat him with a golf club and ordered him to the study to reflect on his actions for a while.
The male lead was most afraid of the Old Master, so he had to obey.
By the time everything was settled, the summer heat had begun to cool slightly.
And the university had already started its semester.
After Lin Dong was taken away by the police, he didn’t come looking for Yu Mingjiao again. Cen Lingqiu didn’t come either. Counting from the day she left the hospital, she hadn’t seen that woman at all. Yu Mingjiao had originally thought she would come to pick a fight over her brother’s situation, but instead, she seemed to have vanished.
Yu Mingjiao continued to live her decadent life.
Her school days were also boring. This afternoon, she had no classes, so she came back from school early. She saw all sorts of furniture in the hallway, with movers constantly carrying things into the apartment opposite hers.
Yu Mingjiao wasn’t interested in her new neighbor; the items were just blocking her way.
Her expression was blank. “You’re blocking the way, uncle.”
A worker exclaimed, “Oh, sorry about that, little sister. I’ll move it right away.”
The worker moved the box that was in front of Yu Mingjiao. The box was overstuffed, and something popped out. She glanced down at it.
It was a box of candy.
She found the box of candy a bit familiar. After thinking for a few seconds, she realized it looked a lot like the candy Cen Lingqiu had given her last time.
This new neighbor has terrible taste.
It was just a box of candy. Yu Mingjiao didn’t think much of it. She picked it up, planning to just leave it at their door for them to take inside.
Just as she placed it on the floor by the door, a tattooed hand picked up the candy. “Thanks.”
After Wen Zhi spoke, she met the gaze of Yu Mingjiao, who had looked up, for a few seconds.
“Holy shit—”
Wen Zhi couldn’t hold back a cry of surprise.
Yu Mingjiao didn’t understand and had no interest in figuring out her sudden reaction. She gave a casual nod, turned back to her own door, unlocked it, and closed it.
Leaving Wen Zhi staring dumbfounded at the opposite door.
That was Yu Mingjiao just now, right?
Wen Zhi had seen her once from a distance, and her exceptionally beautiful face had left a deep impression.
Isn’t this the girl Lin Qiu hates and has always been bullying?
And she lives right across the hall.
What the hell is Lin Qiu up to, choosing this apartment?
Wen Zhi immediately sent a message to Cen Lingqiu.
Cen Lingqiu replied with the shortest possible sentence.
【Oh, I know.】
Wen Zhi typed back furiously.
【?? Babe, what do you know?】
【Busy. Talk later.】
Wen Zhi was left speechless by her curt words.
What kind of reaction is that?
Cen Lingqiu finished a simultaneous interpretation session and drove home.
Today was the day she moved into Xi Er Apartment. It had taken a lot of effort to get the unit opposite Yu Mingjiao’s.
She had specifically chosen this apartment to be closer to Yu Mingjiao.
Her self-destructive tendency was still between eighty and ninety. According to the system’s requirements, the mission wouldn’t be complete until it dropped below twenty.
To complete the mission, Cen Lingqiu decided it would be more direct and reliable to keep the person under her nose.
The female lead’s birthday is in the winter. She just needed to wait until winter and ensure the female lead passed her birthday safely.
Then her mission would be complete.
And only by getting closer to the female lead could Cen Lingqiu figure out the root of her self-destruction and then tear it apart.
Cen Lingqiu parked her car and, for some reason, glanced up at the roof as if guided by a ghost.
The apartment building wasn’t very tall, only ten stories at its highest.
From her angle, she could see a part of the rooftop. She vaguely saw a figure up there. Because of the height, she could only make out a dark shape, in a posture that looked like someone sitting in some kind of chair.
Black, a chair.
Long black hair, a wheelchair, a high rooftop.
Cen Lingqiu frowned.
Is it her?
She was in no mood to guess. Seeing is believing.
Cen Lingqiu took the elevator to the rooftop and quickly opened the door.
The rooftop was simple: a large open space enclosed by a railing, with a few clotheslines nearby where white shirts and a girl’s white dress were drying.
An orange-yellow border had appeared on the horizon, as if splashed with water, the orange bleeding outwards. Dusk had not yet fully consumed the day; the sky still held a deep blue.
All the light that remained before nightfall was gathered on this rooftop, swallowing the silhouette of the girl with black hair and a white dress, painting it into a rich and colorful masterpiece.
As if sensing something.
The girl suddenly turned her head.
The wind stirred the girl’s long, dark hair, and the hem of her white dress fluttered slightly, like a white water lily swaying in the breeze.
Perhaps out of surprise, the girl’s calm, water-like eyes were slightly wide, her hand still holding a paintbrush.
And behind the girl was a vast expanse of orange.
Cen Lingqiu stood at the doorway, still panting slightly, her gaze fixed on Yu Mingjiao. For some inexplicable reason, she couldn’t look away for a long time.
“Lin Qiu?” Yu Mingjiao spoke first, her brief surprise giving way to her usual cold state.
“Are you painting?” Cen Lingqiu walked over and saw the painting on the easel.
Yu Mingjiao questioned, “What are you doing here?”
She thought for a moment, then it dawned on her. “Ah, are you upset about your brother, so you’ve come to get revenge and vent your anger on me?”
“No.” Cen Lingqiu touched the canvas; it was a little damp. “I saw someone on the rooftop from downstairs, had a feeling it was you, so I ran up.”
“Me?” She was confused.
“Mhm.”
Cen Lingqiu’s eyes were calm.
It took Yu Mingjiao a moment to understand what Cen Lingqiu meant.
After understanding, she found it laughable.
Her lips curled into a sneer, and she moved them to say, “You thought… I was going to kill myself, so you ran up here to save me?”
Cen Lingqiu raised an eyebrow and hummed in affirmation.
Crazy.
The mockery on Yu Mingjiao’s face deepened. It probably still felt too unreal. She had been expecting the ridiculous sight of Cen Lingqiu stamping her feet in anger, like a clown who’d had his red nose stolen.
Definitely not this goody-two-shoes persona who cared about her.
This made Yu Mingjiao unable to understand her.
She was afraid this uncertainty would pull her into a bottomless lake, where she couldn’t see what terrifying monsters lurked within.
“But you—” Cen Lingqiu suddenly leaned in, getting close to her face. Yu Mingjiao instinctively recoiled.
“How did you get so damn skinny?”
Cen Lingqiu finished her sentence.
Yu Mingjiao’s tone was cold. “It’s none of your business.”
Cen Lingqiu shook her head. “You’re too thin. It’s not a good look.”
Yu Mingjiao was already thin enough before. It had only been about ten days, and she had lost even more weight.
Her collarbones protruded sharply, her chin was pointed, tapering to a tiny tip, her complexion was pale, and her eyes seemed even darker.
Only her hair seemed to have grown a little longer.
One look at her and you could tell she wasn’t eating properly. She was probably barely eating at all.
A low level of desire is also a sign of self-destructive tendencies.
Yu Mingjiao had no desire to live, so naturally, she had no desire to eat. She had no interest in food.
Cen Lingqiu, however, was someone who loved good food. It might be because when she was alive, she often didn’t have enough to eat. Her grandmother gave all the tasty food to her grandson, leaving almost none for her.
So later on, she developed a unique love for food. She enjoyed savoring delicious meals; it was one of her few interests.
The satisfaction of the taste buds can give people warmth.
She didn’t know if this kind of desire would suit Yu Mingjiao, if it could make her a little happier and pull back her self-destruction index.
Cen Lingqiu wanted to try.