Chapter 13

Even after getting into the car, Yu Min still felt completely cut off, as if she’d stalled out. The irritation and unease she’d been feeling vanished without a trace, leaving only a blank emptiness in her mind.

Lin Bai Xin started the car again and gestured at her. “Seat belt.”

Yu Min lowered her eyes and buckled up.

“Come to my place,” Lin Bai Xin said, offering no explanation at all for why she was the one picking her up.

Yu Shengyu had broken his word again. Not only had he failed to show up himself, he hadn’t even sent the family driver.

Whether Aunt had gotten it wrong, whether there’d been some miscommunication, whether Yu Shengyu had changed his mind, or whether he’d simply remembered the wrong day Yu Min was leaving school—Yu Min didn’t dwell on any of it. Whether Yu Shengyu came or not, she hadn’t wanted to go back with him in the first place. It was better that he hadn’t shown up.

Lin Bai Xin had only just arrived in Siping today on an afternoon flight. Their school had only been on break for two days, and Aunt had said last time that Lin Bai Xin would be coming back very late this year. Her adviser had required the graduate students under him to stay on campus and work, so by rights she shouldn’t have been able to leave so early.

Yu Min’s suitcase wasn’t big—only twenty inches. She hadn’t brought much; aside from two vacuum-sealed sets of winter clothes, it was mostly books. The car drove all the way into the garage of Lin Bai Xin’s villa. Lin Bai Xin reached for the suitcase, but Yu Min wouldn’t let her. Gritting her teeth, she carried it down in one go herself.

“I can do it myself.”

The house had already been cleaned in advance by the housekeeper. Every room was neat and tidy, and even the bedding had been changed to warmer new covers and quilts.

There were a lot of books and the suitcase was heavy, so Lin Bai Xin still took over again on the stairs. It wasn’t until they were in the room that she told Yu Min Aunt had been hospitalized and transferred to the orthopedic hospital in Jincheng, where she’d need to recover for a while. That meant Yu Min would have to stay here for the time being.

In other words, Yu Shengyu really hadn’t come, and Yu Min still couldn’t go home.

“Aunt’s sick? Is it serious?” Yu Min asked in surprise, caught off guard.

“She slipped, fell, and broke a bone. It’s not that serious,” Lin Bai Xin said. “Uncle Xiao happens to be in Jincheng too, and he can’t come back for the time being. Zhou Jin went with them.”

Uncle Xiao was her father-in-law, Aunt’s husband.

Aunt had been hurrying along and accidentally stepped on something slippery. She fell down the stairs and broke her lower leg. The injury wasn’t severe; the hospital in Siping could have handled it too. But broken bones were no small matter, and Aunt didn’t trust the local hospital. She felt the county hospital was nowhere near as good as the one in the province, and with her son already on school break and not needing an adult to look after him, she simply had the injury dealt with here in a hurry before transferring to Jincheng.

Because it had all happened so suddenly, the whole family had been too busy and flustered to think straight. It wasn’t until they’d already moved Aunt to the hospital over there that they remembered Yu Min. They couldn’t exactly bring Yu Min along too, so after thinking it through, they could only trouble Lin Bai Xin to pick her up.

Aunt and the others hadn’t said exactly where they wanted her taken, so Lin Bai Xin made the decision herself and brought her here, where it was more convenient and closer.

“Do you want me to move the things you left over there?” Lin Bai Xin asked.

Yu Min said, “No need. Leave them for now.”

In truth, the place across from there had already been emptied out. She’d moved everything out when she moved into the dorms; she hadn’t left a single extra thing there to take up someone else’s space. Her things were all in the dorm, and she didn’t want to make another trip back to school or make Lin Bai Xin drive her again.

It wasn’t her first time here. She was familiar with the place, so there was no need to be too careful about anything; forcing it would only make things awkward and uncomfortable.

Lin Bai Xin knew that perfectly well. She told Yu Min to get settled first, then went downstairs to wait. She’d been busy all day without a spare moment, and she still had work to handle online.

Yu Min was quick. After she finished unpacking, she didn’t forget to call Aunt and ask after her condition.

No matter what, Aunt still remembered her to some extent. Yu Min couldn’t be too rude. She had to act as if nothing had happened.

What she got in return for that call was a transfer. Aunt didn’t have time for small talk; someone had probably come to visit her. Yu Min had barely finished getting ready to say what she wanted before Aunt hung up. A short while later, three thousand yuan was transferred to Yu Min’s WeChat as living expenses.

Yu Min didn’t accept it. After thinking for a moment, she replied: —Thank you, Aunt.

Whether she took it or not was up to her. The gesture was there, and Aunt didn’t care about the rest. Her own father didn’t care, so as the aunt, she was even less willing to get involved. Having gone this far was already more than enough.

As for why Yu Shengyu hadn’t come to pick up his daughter, Aunt said nothing at all. There were too many rotten things in his family, and it wasn’t something an outsider should interfere with. Besides, Yu Min wasn’t a three-year-old child. If she wanted to know, she should ask Yu Shengyu herself.

Yu Min didn’t ask Yu Shengyu, and she didn’t want to know. She wasn’t truly oblivious; she could sense Aunt’s rejection and dislike, so she knew enough to stop while she was ahead.

Zhou Jin did send her a few messages afterward, though he was only asking her for help. He’d left his homework and textbooks at home and didn’t trust the auntie helping him, so he asked Yu Min to find everything and mail it to him.

Yu Min was good-natured and agreed to send it first thing the next morning.

That brief, irrelevant interruption passed in the blink of an eye. Yu Min had a big heart and didn’t take any of it to heart. Compared to all that meaningless stuff, she cared more about what was right in front of her.

Recovering from an injury wouldn’t be over in a day or two. At this rate, Aunt’s family might not even come back to Siping for New Year’s.

Lin Bai Xin wouldn’t be returning to school until after the Lantern Festival this year, even later than No. 1 Middle School’s reopening.

“But I still have to go out for a few days after New Year, so I won’t be here. When does your school start again?” Lin Bai Xin asked.

“The day after Lantern Festival, and we report in on Saturday.”

“Then that works out.”

Before they met, Yu Min had had so many things she wanted to say. Once they were actually face-to-face, though, she couldn’t get the words out. She was bad at talking. At a time like this, she ought to have said something, picked up the conversation—but no matter how hard she tried, nothing would come. She could only stand there stiffly, as if her mouth had been glued shut.

Thankfully, Lin Bai Xin changed the subject and asked about her final exams and how she planned to choose between the science and humanities tracks next semester.

Yu Min would definitely choose science. She was good at both, but science gave her more options when it came to university applications. Everyone in her class was choosing science; no one was going with humanities.

That night, lying in the bed in the second-floor room, Yu Min—used to the dormitory’s hard iron bunk—somehow found the soft, warm bed here difficult to adjust to. She lay stiffly on her back, staring at the ceiling, while outside she could still hear the faint sounds of Lin Bai Xin washing up and putting on a face mask. Holding her breath, Yu Min unconsciously gripped the bedsheet.

Half an hour later, the sounds stopped, and the surroundings fell quiet.

She rolled over and faced the window. Tonight the stars and moon were both bright; compared to the nights at school, it was much quieter here, but at the same time, far more reassuring.

Only when she really couldn’t hold on any longer did she reluctantly close her eyes. Yu Min didn’t want to sleep; she was afraid she’d dream. If she fell asleep and woke up again, she might still be back in the dormitory single bed.

She slept surprisingly soundly through the night. When she opened her eyes again, thankfully, she was still here.

The villa had underfloor heating, so even in a thin sleep shirt she wasn’t cold in the morning. She didn’t have to rush to line up for water and washing up anymore, and she didn’t have to sprint to the cafeteria to queue for breakfast either. She stood in front of the mirror for a long time, staring at her reflection, lost in thought for a while before finally going out.

Downstairs.

No one was on the second floor, and the lights downstairs were off.

It was only a little after eight, and the first floor was empty. Yu Min slowed her steps. Before she even had a chance to look around, Lin Bai Xin pushed the door open from outside, carrying two large paper bags.

Lin Bai Xin was still here; she’d just come back after buying something. She hadn’t left.

Yu Min hurried over to take one of the bags and help out.

“Why aren’t you sleeping a little longer?” Lin Bai Xin said softly. The temperature was low, and she carried the chill of the early morning with her. Turning her head and seeing that Yu Min was still in her sleep clothes, she added, “Go back inside. Don’t come out or you’ll catch cold.”

The paper bags contained fresh ingredients. Lin Bai Xin had gone out for a morning run and picked up the ingredients she’d preordered on the way back.

When Yu Min took the bag, her hand brushed Lin Bai Xin’s by accident, and they separated at once.

It was cold. Her skin was very smooth.

Yu Min hugged the paper bag to her chest and lowered her eyes, following her to the refrigerator.

Her whole body felt like mush first thing in the morning. Yu Min was half a beat slow and distracted even while walking. Lin Bai Xin stopped about a meter away from the refrigerator, and because Yu Min had been looking at the floor, she nearly ran into her.

Lin Bai Xin caught her in time and, quick as a flash, took the bag from her hands. Thinking she was still sleepy, she said, “Leave it here. I’ll do it.”

After setting down the bag, Yu Min was sensible enough not to let Lin Bai Xin do all the work alone, so they put the ingredients into the fridge together.

Lin Bai Xin was a very organized person. Since she’d agreed to take care of Yu Min, she laid everything out clearly on the very first day. For example, later she’d have to go visit an elder; for example, in two days she’d be meeting a friend; and for example, during New Year it was very possible that only the two of them would be here. Lin Bai Xin still wouldn’t be going back to her hometown of Haishi for Spring Festival, and she wasn’t planning to visit relatives or friends. If Yu Min had any arrangements, they should be decided as early as possible.

“I don’t have any arrangements,” Yu Min said at once, afraid she might be kicked out. “I’ll stay here. I’m not going anywhere else.”

Lin Bai Xin found that amusing. “I’m just mentioning it. If you need to go somewhere, I can take you.”

Yu Min was firm. “I’m not going.”

Not only was she not going home, she wasn’t going out with Zhao Shi Yu and the others either.

Zhao Shi Yu gossiped: —Something’s off. That’s not right. Very not right.

Yu Min played dead and didn’t admit anything.

Zhao Shi Yu saw through her instantly: —You were freer than anyone two days ago. Now you’re not.

Yu Min: —That was then.

Zhao Shi Yu: —We already made plans to go shopping, and now you’re backing out again.

Yu Min: —Sorry.

They had a small group chat with four students in it; they were all middle school classmates, and there was also a girl named Li Xue Ting.

Li Xue Ting was also in Class 7 now. She was Zhao Shi Yu’s deskmate. She hadn’t made it into the small class during the first round of placement and had been studying hard ever since, trying to get in. She rarely spoke in the group chat.

Yu Min got along quite well with Li Xue Ting, and her unusual behavior even dragged Li Xue Ting, who’d been lurking quietly for ages, into the conversation.

Li Xue Ting echoed Zhao Shi Yu: —Yeah, definitely not right.

Li Xue Ting: —Oh no, Yu Min, don’t tell me you’re...

Yu Min cut in: —I’m nothing.

Li Xue Ting joked: —Confirmed. You’re in love.

Yu Min: —!!!

She typed furiously to defend herself: —No!