Chapter 3

At nearly eleven that night, Aunt and Uncle Xiao came home together. Aunt had worked overtime, and the two of them had even made a special trip to the company to pick her up, waiting until she got off work before heading home together.

During the day, Uncle Xiao had taken Zhou Jin to a robotics programming class. He’d left early that morning, while Yu Min was still asleep, so nobody had told her.

The whole family was in high spirits. Zhou Jin’s training results were better than expected, and Aunt, who was usually strict, rarely indulged him and gave him a break, saying Zhou Jin could play video games as much as he wanted for the next three days.

Zhou Jin cheered. “Long live! Mom, I love you. You’re definitely my real mom; you’re seriously the best, most amazing mom in the world!”

Aunt laughed and smacked his shoulder. “Quit talking nonsense. Go wash up and sleep early. It’s already very late; we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“Can I play a couple rounds in a bit, dear Mom? I promise, just two rounds; I’ll sleep right after.” Zhou Jin raised a hand, all sincerity and flattery. “I’m not lying; really, just two rounds. I definitely won’t stay up late.”

Aunt refused. She was as immovable as a rock; no matter how Zhou Jin rolled around on the floor and threw a tantrum, it was useless.

By the stairwell, Yu Min very sensibly stopped there. She’d originally thought of going downstairs to take a look; since she was living in someone else’s home, she ought to be careful and restrained. But at that moment, her presence was obviously unnecessary, and far too out of place.

Standing there, Yu Min pinched the hem of her shirt. After hesitating for two seconds, she quietly went back up to the third floor, as if she had never come down at all.

Zhou Jin had a big booming voice and kept at it for quite a while before he finally ran out of ways to argue with Aunt. In the end, only after she twisted his ear and gave him a scolding did he reluctantly give in.

The two adults were exhausted from a busy day. Not long after, they went back to their room and shut the door; after dealing with their son, they had no energy left to care about anything else.

The next morning, everyone was up early. Sleeping in and lounging around in bed was considered a bad habit in this household. The couple didn’t interfere with Yu Min; Yu Min knew her place. Woken by the sounds downstairs, she promptly opened her eyes, washed up, and reached the first floor before Aunt and Uncle Xiao.

“Aunt. Uncle Xiao.” Yu Min greeted them in turn.

Aunt had an early meeting and hurriedly grabbed the sandwich the maid had prepared, all while fumbling for her car keys and reminding Zhou Jin, “Drink the fresh milk. You’re growing, so no being picky. Also, listen to your dad. You can play games, but you have to eat lunch at noon; take a photo and send it to me. I’m checking.”

Zhou Jin took it in one ear and out the other, making an “OK” gesture.

“Yes, ma’am. Your humble servant awaits orders.”

Breakfast was plentiful. Yu Min moved farther away from the food, took two slices of toast and a fried egg onto her plate. Zhou Jin, quick as a flash, pushed the fresh milk in front of her, pretending to pour it for her so he could take a glass of juice for himself.

“Sis Min, this one’s more nutritious. You’re a guest, so drink this.” Zhou Jin tried to bluff his way through, acting dumb right under his father’s nose.

Yu Min wasn’t picky and could drink it, but she didn’t take it right away.

Uncle Xiao wasn’t as strict as Aunt. If the kid didn’t want to drink fresh milk, then he wouldn’t drink it; no big deal. He didn’t tattle on Zhou Jin, but kindly asked Yu Min whether she wanted something else.

Yu Min shook her head. “This is fine. Thank you, Uncle Xiao.”

“Treat this like your own home; don’t be shy,” Uncle Xiao said gently. “If you need anything, tell us.”

Yu Min said, “Mm.”

Zhou Jin was still excited, not yet recovered from yesterday’s enthusiasm. He kept talking nonstop about his training achievements; in the end, he tugged Yu Min in. “Sis Min, why don’t you try it too? Let’s team up and compete, how about it?”

How about not.

Yu Min took a delicate bite of toast and didn’t say it out loud; instead, she changed the subject and talked about other things.

Zhou Jin was rather disappointed, but he really couldn’t persuade her.

Only the two middle schoolers stayed home for the first half of the day. After breakfast, Uncle Xiao had an appointment, and Zhou Jin was practically pardoned by heaven. He flung down his chopsticks and rushed to the computer, pounding at the keyboard with crackling, thunderous force.

Yu Min ate slowly and carefully, finishing the food on her plate little by little.

Zhou Jin liked to shout while gaming, and he never closed the door. Once he got worked up, he couldn’t control himself; he would jump and bounce around like a madman having a seizure.

Even with a floor between them, even with the doors and windows shut, it was hard to find any peace. And because their rooms were directly above and below each other, staying on the third floor was even more miserable than on the first.

She was used to quiet, but she also didn’t want to interrupt him. After all, he spent every day buried in all kinds of extracurricular classes; this was finally one chance to relax. Yu Min endured it as best she could and didn’t spoil his fun.

When the third floor became unbearable, she went down to the first and changed places to read.

The first floor wasn’t completely quiet either. The maid was cleaning and tidying up everywhere. The noise didn’t come constantly, but every so often there would be a burst of sound, which was irritating in its own way.

Yu Min couldn’t get into the book. Mostly, though, it was because she herself couldn’t settle down.

It was the holidays; reading wasn’t homework assigned by a teacher. It didn’t matter if she didn’t read.

She closed the book and looked for something else to kill time.

—But there was nothing to do. Living in someone else’s house made her feel constrained; she couldn’t really treat it like her own.

The only thing that could distract her was to wander around and stand on the little third-floor balcony, looking out into the distance.

The house across the way stood motionless, solidly spanning the boundless night.

Using her memory, she found Lin Baixin’s room. If she remembered correctly, it seemed to be... the inner room on the west side of the second floor.

She didn’t know the layout of the house next door, so Yu Min could only guess, not very confidently.

Unlike this side, the curtains opposite were drawn open; the retro white-and-green drapes had been pulled apart. On the second-floor terrace, there was an extra potted golden weeping maple, with a broad crown and an old trunk that, from a distance, looked a little like a willow tree.

Yu Min didn’t know much about plants. She only felt that the curtains behind it and the large floor-to-ceiling windows suited the tree’s colors very well; it was pleasing to the eye and comfortable to look at.

Staring straight into someone’s room in broad daylight wasn’t exactly proper. Just then, she caught sight of someone seeming to be over there; Yu Min reacted on reflex, hurriedly turning her body aside. Her movement was a little stiff, and she forcibly looked the other way.

The opposite side didn’t notice anything unusual here. With the dozens of meters between the buildings, it was very safe.

When she looked back again, there was no one on the second floor anymore. Yu Min didn’t know whether she had seen wrong, whether the other person had already left, or whether something had blocked her view and she simply couldn’t see.

Zhou Jin was addicted to games. With his parents not around, he acted without restraint; he openly lied to his mom. At noon, only Yu Min went downstairs. His meal had to be brought upstairs by the maid, and even after being called three or four times and having it reheated twice, he still wouldn’t pick up his chopsticks.

A pampered child was fearless, relying on the fact that someone favored him; even the maid indulged him without question. He acted spoiled and obedient, begging her not to tattle to his mother. The maid didn’t betray him, and before long she brought up a pile of his favorite snacks as well.

The curtains on the second floor of the house next door were drawn open once in the afternoon. The owner of the house was taking a nap; the summer sun at two or three in the afternoon was like a fireball, making even the walls feel hot.

Lin Baixin was home.

Yu Min quietly lowered the gauze curtain in her small room, leaving only half of it down, locked the door, and sat back against the bedhead hidden by that half curtain, calming herself as she read.

In the afternoon, Zhou Jin shouted less loudly. His throat grew tired from all the yelling, and he couldn’t keep it up. He wasn’t nearly as noisy.

Yu Min could still tolerate it. Maybe she’d just heard it long enough to become immune; it wasn’t especially annoying anymore.

Uncle Xiao had gone out to meet a friend for tea, but when he came back, there were two large boxes in the car. They had been brought along on the way, so Yu Min no longer needed to go home specially to pack. The two big boxes were filled entirely with her things.

Yu Shengyu had gone to Jincheng with his parents; he wouldn’t be taking Yu Min back home in the short term. As for his claim that he’d come see her in a couple of days, no one knew how many “couple of days” that would really be. The factory was practically in chaos; Yu Shengyu was overworked and frantic, splitting himself into pieces was impossible, and he was on the verge of collapse. He had already hired a professional legal team and was preparing to submit an application to the court. He had made up his mind to fight to the end, determined to go head-to-head with Zheng Qing; even if it meant going to hell together, he would never let Zheng Qing easily carve off the results of his life’s work.

Her phone and bank card were in the box. Another large portion consisted of the notes she usually took in class. Clothes and such were pitifully few: one top, a pair of shorts that had been gathering dust in the closet for two years, and a pair of flats.

It looked like Yu Shengyu had helped pack the things. The housekeeper at home wasn’t this unreliable; at this point, the housekeeper was probably already fired... Yu Shengyu wouldn’t keep around anyone who would laugh at him. That day, the couple’s fight had been witnessed from beginning to end, and Yu Min had already been sent away, let alone everyone else.

Clothes could be bought new; as long as she had money, it didn’t matter.

Once the phone was charged, the first thing Yu Min did was check the bank balance.

Yu Min wasn’t yet sixteen and couldn’t open a bank card in her own name, so she used one opened under an adult’s name. Every year, she deposited her New Year’s money into that card, and after so many years, the amount saved up was considerable; it was more than enough to see her through university.

The card had been deactivated.

She tried logging in several times; for a moment, Yu Min even wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she simply couldn’t get in.

Disconnected from the internet, reconnected, tried again.

...

It really had been deactivated. The card had become useless; she couldn’t use it.

With the card frozen, she couldn’t withdraw any money. Yu Min had no cash on hand; buying new clothes was out of the question.

In just one day, Zheng Qing’s number had been canceled; calling it only got a nonexistent number. Yu Shengyu did answer the phone, but before Yu Min could even speak, he hung up first; before hanging up, he said, “Talk when I get back. Don’t look for me if there’s nothing important.”

Yu Min had gone outside to make the call because she didn’t want Aunt and the others to find out. Clutching her phone tightly, she was blank and at a loss.

Shh-shh.

The evening sky changed in an instant; it started to rain. Yu Min had wandered far away, and to avoid it she kept running into falling beads of water. There was nowhere nearby to shelter from the rain. Panicking for a moment and unable to find her way back, she darted around like a headless fly and broke into a run.

A black Bentley had just driven into the area; by coincidence, it was Lin Baixin again.

Through the blurred glass, Lin Baixin slowed the car. At first she didn’t recognize who it was. After driving closer, she gradually made her out and stopped.

Yu Min was running quite fast. In a few steps she dashed toward a side path. The neighborhood had separate lanes for pedestrians and vehicles, so running randomly in the rain was dangerous.

There was a lawn in the middle, so the car couldn’t cut across or catch up.

That slender, miserable back quickly moved away. Inside the car, Lin Baixin remained motionless. After a long while, once Yu Min had disappeared into the dense curtain of rain, she turned the steering wheel half a circle and continued ahead in an orderly fashion.