Confidence

During this time, she had followed Hua Yu around and, in her own mind, had put herself in a position where she could serve her while still staying close to her. Whatever Hua Yu said, she did; she had never once objected.

Hua Yu told her to take her medicine, drink her nutritional supplements, and go to acupuncture on time, and she obediently followed every instruction without missing a single one.

Hua Yu scolded her for getting caught in the rain and not taking her health seriously, and she took it to heart and paid close attention afterward.

When Hua Yu went into seclusion and asked her to stay with Xu Yaqing for a few days, she obediently livestreamed and waited until Hua Yu finished seclusion and took her home.

Even when Hua Yu’s heat period came and she asked Wei Yin to stay at home but not go near the bedroom, making such twisted and unreasonable demands, Wei Yin had agreed to those too.

Wei Yin had always felt no other way toward Hua Yu.

But just now—no, more precisely, ever since the night Hua Yu was taken away in an ambulance—her attitude toward Hua Yu had changed.

Wei Yin was slow and dull when it came to her own emotions and state of mind; she was always several beats behind.

It was only in a flash of lightning-like insight that she finally caught a faint glimpse of her own feelings.

Toward Zhao Qi, Wei Yin felt pity, sympathy, and the care born of kindness and goodwill.

Toward Xu Yaqing, or any friend who had once appeared in her memories, she would always keep a gentle sense of boundaries.

She would worry and grow anxious if they ran into trouble, but she would not fly into a rage, and she certainly would not interfere in their choices.

But now, when it came to Hua Yu, Wei Yin began to feel it was unfair. Not enough. Not acceptable.

Hua Yu could not disappear from her sight.

If Hua Yu was hurt and she herself still hadn’t said anything, Wei Yin would be the one chasing after the culprit’s throat to bite; nobody would be able to stop her.

Not even Hua Yu herself.

What this meant, Wei Yin could understand to some extent.

By her understanding, only close friends or family could make her feel this way.

This was no longer just Hua Yu’s surface-level attraction to her, nor was it only Hua Yu’s rich experience and depth. Everything that belonged to Hua Yu had begun to take root and sprout in her heart, growing into something called possessiveness; or perhaps, ambition.

Wei Yin loosened her grip on the cup in her hand, met Xu Yaqing’s guilty, embarrassed gaze, and slowly gave a relaxed, relieved smile.

“I understand,” she said.

Xu Yaqing very much wanted to ask what exactly she understood, and she was also afraid Wei Yin might misunderstand Hua Yu; but she was even more afraid that if she spoke, she would only make things worse, so she could only swallow back the urge to ask.

“I’m not eating with you,” Wei Yin said. “There’s food at home. I’m going back.”

Xu Yaqing reflexively wanted to bring up Hua Yu. Before the words “Hua Yu told me to take you to eat” could even leave her mouth, she met Wei Yin’s gentle yet faintly resolute gaze and swallowed them back again.

It wasn’t that she was spineless; Hua Yu really was in the wrong.

If Xu Yaqing didn’t know what kind of person Hua Yu was, any outsider would definitely think Hua Yu was disgusted by Wei Yin for accepting the pastries and was now blaming her for being left hanging.

If anyone was going to be blamed, then blame Xu Yaqing too. She was Hua Yu’s cousin after all; she had heard everything when the pastries were received, then afterward not only checked the surveillance footage, but also firmly concluded that the neighbor was an alpha.

In short, nobody was at fault; if anyone was, it was only the person who was about to be held in a detention center.

“Then how about I take you to buy some groceries?” Xu Yaqing offered a compromise.

Wei Yin didn’t have any money on her right now; there probably wasn’t much to eat even if she went home.

“No need, there’s food at home.” Wei Yin picked up her bag. “And I still have money for groceries.”

Xu Yaqing stood up too. “Fine. But if you’re short on money, remember to say so; if you don’t want to say it, just swipe Hua Yu’s card directly. You won’t be embarrassed, will you?”

Wei Yin walked toward the exit, her tone completely flat. “I’ll be extremely not embarrassed. I’ll swipe it tomorrow.”

Xu Yaqing felt that meant the same thing as, I’m going to max out Hua Yu’s card.

As requested, Xu Yaqing dropped her off near the neighborhood. “Call me if anything comes up.”

Wei Yin watched Xu Yaqing turn the corner, then didn’t go home. Instead, she turned and took a side path.

This was the same road she had walked with Hua Yu last time. Her thoughts were a little chaotic; she needed to calm down and walk alone for a while.

It was June. The afternoon sun was bright and clear; Wei Yin hadn’t put on sunscreen and let the sunlight fall directly on her skin.

She still remembered Hua Yu once telling her that her immunity was poor, that she needed to get more sunlight so her body could synthesize vitamin D, or else she would get sick easily.

Along this little path, she saw the same green plants from last time, now covered in tiny, dense flowers. Hua Yu had said those little flowers were weeds and would be cleared out; this time, when she looked again, most of them were gone.

At the turn, an old grandmother was selling sticky rice pastries. Last time Hua Yu had brought her to eat lu da gun, but she hadn’t liked the filling rolled inside; she only liked the outer layer.

Wei Yin stopped in front of the stall. The old grandmother gave her a kind, gap-toothed smile.

Wei Yin left with a bag of lu da gun.

A little farther on was that supermarket. The proprietress was still reclining in her lounge chair, resting leisurely, though the slippers on her feet had been changed to a different color.

“You’re Dr. Hua’s friend, right?” The proprietress recognized her and sat up from the chair.

Wei Yin waved with a smile. “Mm. You’re busy; I’ll just look around.”

As soon as Wei Yin finished speaking, someone in the room behind the store, separated by a rough cloth curtain, shoved the curtain aside and poked their head out excitedly. “Dr. Hua’s here? Where?”

Without even turning her head, the proprietress gave a light rebuke. “Slow down. You’re a grown person already, why are you still so impulsive?”

The newcomer was a young girl Wei Yin didn’t recognize, with a sweet, down-to-earth face and an energetic, adorable air.

She walked up to Wei Yin, eyes full of surprise. “You’re Dr. Hua’s friend?”

Wei Yin said one word. “Yes.”

If this had been before, she probably would have felt embarrassed to admit it, but now she had somehow gained a kind of confidence: yes, it’s me; I’m the friend of Hua Yu, that unreachable high-and-mighty flower no one could get within three meters of.

After saying that, Wei Yin even asked calmly, “You must be Tao Tao, right? Dr. Hua mentioned you.”

Tao Tao immediately leaped a big step toward Wei Yin, nearly pressing face-to-face with her.

“Dr. Hua mentioned me? What did she say?”

Wei Yin glanced at the proprietress, who gave her an exasperated smile. “This child is impatient.”

From the outside, Tao Tao didn’t seem to have the mental illness Hua Yu had described; she looked more or less like any ordinary fourteen- or fifteen-year-old, at most a little more innocent.

For example, unlike other girls, she wouldn’t rush straight up to Wei Yin like this. There was a private social distance between people.

Wei Yin took half a step back, putting some space between them, though not too much, and smiled at her. “Dr. Hua said you’re very strong; you never even cry when you’re getting treatment.”

After saying that, she lifted her own lu da gun. “Dr. Hua still remembers that you like sweets.”

Tao Tao’s gaze followed Wei Yin’s movement and landed on the lu da gun. Her throat bobbed. “Can I have a taste?”

The proprietress got up and smacked her on the arm. “Don’t block my counter. If you want to entertain guests, where do you want to take them?”

Tao Tao called out happily, “Inside! Dr. Hua’s friend, come to my room!”

“This doesn’t seem very convenient.” Wei Yin blinked. She had only been chatting casually; how had she suddenly been treated like a guest and invited inside? Helpless, she had no choice but to seek the proprietress’s help again.

When the proprietress met her eyes, she smiled too. “If you’re not busy, just help me out. She really likes Dr. Hua.”

After hesitating for a moment, and under Tao Tao’s enthusiastic, welcoming gaze, Wei Yin still went in.

A side door next to the supermarket led to a small courtyard behind it. The space wasn’t large, but it was kept very clean; you could see the warmth of long-term living in the details.

Wei Yin saw a small stone table in the yard and pointed toward it. “Can we sit over there?”

Tao Tao led her over. “Of course.”

After Wei Yin sat down, Tao Tao ran back and forth preparing drinks and snacks for her, then plunked down a stack of photos in front of her.

“This is... Dr. Hua?”

Wei Yin’s eyes widened in surprise. The photos were all taken from a low angle, looking up; the composition was good, the lighting perfect, and through them, one could piece together Dr. Hua’s work life one image at a time.

“This was my biggest hobby while I was hospitalized,” Tao Tao said proudly, then looked at her with curiosity. “What has Dr. Hua been doing lately?”

Wei Yin thought for a moment, then answered truthfully, “On leave.”

Although this leave wasn’t exactly pleasant; she had just gotten out of the hospital, taken off her white coat, and before long she was lifted onto a stretcher again, put into a white hospital gown, and sent back to the hospital.

If she were in Wei Yin’s shoes, she’d probably be so exasperated she’d die.

Tao Tao said in delight, “Then can I go find Dr. Hua to play?”

Wei Yin looked troubled. “She went to the hospital again today.”

“Aah,” Tao Tao said regretfully. “Working overtime again. Why is Dr. Hua always so busy?”

Seeing that she had misunderstood, Wei Yin found it inconvenient to explain the real reason, so she quickly changed the subject. “How old are you this year? What grade are you in?”

“I’m Shen Taowan, fourteen, eighth grade, middling performance, midterm results haven’t come out yet,” Tao Tao rattled off the standard answer used by adults making small talk, then looked at Wei Yin eagerly. “Your turn.”

Wei Yin stared blankly for a long moment. “...Wei Yin, twenty-six.”

“That’s it?” Tao Tao asked, puzzled.

Wei Yin hesitated, then nodded. “That’s it.”

“That’s not very sincere,” Tao Tao said, leaning forward with her face in both hands. Suddenly her eyes narrowed. “Pretty sister, you and Dr. Hua go for walks together and raise little fish and turtles together. Are you two dating?”

The strawberry juice Wei Yin had just taken into her mouth nearly shot out through her nose at Tao Tao’s words.

“Cough, cough,” Wei Yin hurriedly swallowed, breathing through her mouth while suppressing the reflex in her muscles. “Why would you think that? Do I look like a good match for Dr. Hua?”

Whether in appearance or temperament, the two of them were worlds apart; not to mention that high-quality alphas were even rarer, while Wei Yin herself was nothing remarkable even among omegas. How could anyone think she was Hua Yu’s girlfriend?

Tao Tao’s eyes narrowed again. “With that reaction, don’t tell me nobody’s ever guessed that before?”

Wei Yin was just about to say that there really hadn’t been anyone, but then she thought about it and realized she seemed to have heard such things before.

For example, Zhao Qi alone had mentioned it several times, and after an omega patient in the hospital hanged himself, his partner had come to collect the body and had also said something similar to Hua Yu.

Wei Yin had developed, from being mocked since childhood, the skill of ignoring whatever others teased her about with a smile; if she kept her expression calm and didn’t respond, they would eventually give up. She had always treated this sort of thing as coming in one ear and out the other; after all, if it was a joke, the person who lost out more was Hua Yu. Hua Yu herself hadn’t said anything, so what was there for her to be anxious about?

So Wei Yin remained silent and calm, her gaze flat as she looked at Tao Tao. “Go on.”

Tao Tao picked up a lu da gun from the table and put it in her mouth. “You just look like someone who’d make a good girlfriend.”

Wei Yin touched her face. “Do I look very competent?”

“Competent? Is that some new-age insult?” Tao Tao swallowed, glancing up at Wei Yin. Then she said bluntly, “Compared with the two of you, Dr. Hua is the one who looks more competent. She can handle public life and the kitchen; put on a white coat and she can be a doctor, take it off...” She drew in a breath.

“Can’t I also handle public life and the kitchen?” Wei Yin protested. She had clearly been the one doing housework for a very long time.

Tao Tao nodded. “But you just look like someone Dr. Hua would like.”

After saying that, she pulled one photo out of the stack and pointed it at Wei Yin. “This is something Dr. Hua said herself; she likes people who are like dough, but also very clever. The dough part should be about personality, right? When have you ever seen dough used to hit people? Clever means not stupid by nature, not a pushover. Being like dough is entirely from one’s own kindness and broad-mindedness.”

“Dr. Hua likes broad-minded people.”

Broad-minded—Wei Yin had never imagined she would ever be linked to those two words.

In the photo, Hua Yu was holding a pencil and drawing on paper. It was the back view of a young girl, long hair falling to her waist, calm and natural. The more Wei Yin looked at that back, the more familiar it seemed; her hairstyle in college had been like this too.

Wei Yin stared blankly and thought that, setting everything else aside, she had never harmed anyone and had never harbored any ill will toward anyone else.

She had tried hard to live, tried hard to grow, tried hard to repay her debts, and tried hard not to trouble others. Why wasn’t she worthy of Hua Yu liking her?!

Tao Tao was right; Hua Yu could like her.

The first time they met, Hua Yu had taken the initiative to catch her twice; once in the ward to rub her arm, and once by blocking the stairwell to drag her back.

Hua Yu had even used a fake document to reduce her medical expenses, and after that had brought her meals three times a day.

Later, she had kindly helped her find work; when Wei Yin shamelessly insisted on following her home, Hua Yu had swallowed her pride and accepted it, and she had never once troubled Wei Yin.

When washing clothes, she would take the initiative to throw them into the washing machine; when eating, she would casually take her out to eat.

So that was it! After all these days together, Hua Yu’s attitude toward her had been obvious to anyone, so no matter what she did to Hua Yu, she had the confidence for it!

“Thank you.” Wei Yin slapped her thigh and stood up, giving Tao Tao a firm nod. “I’ll take a candid shot of Dr. Hua’s beauty for you.”

After saying that, she patted Tao Tao on the head once more to express her gratitude, then turned and strode away.