Chapter 65

After they left the airport, Lin Qi’s resentment only grew stronger. More than Yu Min herself, she was bothered by Lin Baixin dumping her and running off to Hai City. She couldn’t make sense of what Lin Baixin was thinking at all; she simply couldn’t accept it.

“I’m saying, what is wrong with you? You just took off on your own. Did you forget you were supposed to bring someone?” Lin Qi rattled on faster than a machine gun. “She’s such a big girl, and you didn’t even see her? You left her alone in Kyoto and brought her over here instead—how was that supposed to work? If I hadn’t gone back last night and seen the lights still on over there, I wouldn’t even have known. At first I thought you’d never left, but it turned out you’d just left her behind. Nice work.”

The more she talked, the more worked up she got. If Lin Baixin hadn’t been driving and it hadn’t been convenient to distract her right now, Lin Qi would have wanted to pry open her head and see what was in it.

“It’s New Year’s, you know how hard it is to get tickets at a time like this? If I hadn’t been quick, neither Mingming nor I would’ve made it here today. And we didn’t even take the same flight. Her daytime ticket was sold out, so she could only get an early-morning one. She got here before dawn and still had to wait around forever—wait for me, wait for you to come pick us up.”

Lin Baixin kept her mouth shut. She couldn’t make Lin Qi stop talking, so all she could do was listen.

Yu Min and Lin Qi were both in the back seat. Yu Min tugged at Lin Qi’s sleeve; she didn’t actually mind. She picked up a bottle of mineral water, twisted it open, and handed it to Lin Qi, soothing her gently. “It’s okay, Sister Lin Qi. Have some water first. You’ve had a hard trip.”

“I’m not tired. It’s fine. I’m just saying a few things to your sister so she remembers,” Lin Qi said. Her nagging was aimed only at Lin Baixin and spared everyone else. Taking the water, Lin Qi got even more energized. She shook the bottle at Lin Baixin in front and kept gesturing with it. “See? Mingming’s so sensible. I’m too lazy to keep repeating myself to you. The more I say, the less you want to hear it. You should reflect on yourself.”

Only after Lin Qi finally stopped talking did Lin Baixin speak at a red light, shifting the topic to family matters. “Does Uncle know you’re back today?”

“Not yet. I’ll call them later.” Lin Qi answered. “Don’t tell them yet either. I’m not going back until tomorrow. I still have something to do today.”

“What is it?”

“Private business.”

“Going to see Luoshu?”

“Yeah.”

Luoshu was the bar owner’s name.

Now Lin Qi was openly together with him. Luoshu was also in Hai City right now, and Lin Qi’s creed was love first. Though she refused to admit it herself, she’d only been away from him for less than two days; the first thing she did after landing was head straight to see Luoshu, not even in a hurry to go home.

Lin Baixin was staying at a hotel here. Her relatives had all invited her to stay with them, but she’d turned every one of them down. She wasn’t used to staying in other people’s homes; a hotel was fine, no different from staying with someone else.

During New Year’s, every hotel room was fully booked. Without advance reservations, it was hard to find anywhere suitable. Especially the hotel Lin Baixin had booked, which was near a busy commercial street; by now, the decent hotels in the area had no vacancies unless you went farther out.

Yu Min had come to Hai City, but it couldn’t really be called her first time here. Before this, she had only ever come as a tourist. She wasn’t familiar with the place at all, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to leave her somewhere else alone.

Lin Qi made the call on the spot: Yu Min would stay with Lin Baixin for the next few days. They could split up once a room opened up later.

After all, Lin Baixin would be the one showing Yu Min around from then on. Lin Qi was only responsible for getting her here; she couldn’t handle anything else. That was Lin Baixin’s problem, not hers.

“If anything comes up, tell me. Call me anytime,” Lin Qi reminded Yu Min. Then, half coaxing and half tempting her, she whispered, “If your sister treats you badly, come find me. Next time I’ll take you away again. Just don’t hold it against her this time. She’s been so busy with the shop lately she’s gone a little stupid. Be generous with her; when we get back, I’ll lecture her again.”

Yu Min nodded. “Thank you, Sister Lin Qi.”

“What are you thanking me for? So formal.” Lin Qi waved it off. “Alright, I really need to go. See you another day.”

“Goodbye.”

A hotel room could fit two people; someone could be added midway as long as they registered their ID at the front desk.

Because the trip had been so rushed, Yu Min had only brought a black crossbody bag. Inside were her charger, bank card, and other odds and ends—no clothes at all.

After they got into the room, Lin Baixin seemed to want to say something but held back. For a long time, she couldn’t find the right words, or rather, she couldn’t figure out how to explain herself properly.

Yu Min had her back to her. She opened her bag, took out her charger, and plugged in her phone, which had already run out of battery and shut off.

She called the front desk from the room phone to ask for an extra blanket. The hotel’s service was quick; within five minutes, a clean set of bedding had been delivered, along with a set of extra toiletries for one more person.

After the staff left, Yu Min suddenly spoke, breaking the silence first. “I’m not angry. I’m not blaming you.”

She had guessed what Lin Baixin was thinking. Yu Min was being honest; getting angry was meaningless. At least as far as solving the problem in front of them, it had no use at all.

Yu Min also explained that Lin Baixin hadn’t wanted to bring her here, and now she’d ended up coming anyway with Lin Qi. That probably wasn’t easy for Lin Baixin to accept.

“No, it’s not hard to accept.” Lin Baixin answered immediately, without even thinking, her lips parting as she quickly denied it. “I didn’t mean that. It’s not that I—”

Not that she didn’t want Yu Min to come.

But in the first place, she really hadn’t wanted Yu Min to come.

The explanation sounded weak, completely unconvincing; better not to say it at all.

Lin Baixin got stuck, the words lodged in her throat.

But Yu Min found her own way around it and didn’t dwell on it. She changed the subject on her own. “I arranged for Drop the Rolling to have home care. Someone will go over these next few days to change the water and feed him and all that, so don’t worry about him.”

Lin Baixin hadn’t even thought about the little one. Worry wasn’t exactly the word.

Still, she followed the opening and went along with it. She nodded and forced the topic over there. “Mm. That’s good.”

“My mom told me to send her regards to you,” Yu Min said.

Lin Baixin replied, “I’ll call her back tonight. I didn’t have time this morning.”

“You don’t need to call back. Do your own thing. She went out to have fun anyway; she probably doesn’t have time to deal with this either.”

“Where did she go?”

“Seems like Sanya. I didn’t ask; that’s what she said she was going for.”

“I see.”

A timely video call from their uncle saved them from the awkwardness. They were having the New Year’s reunion dinner tonight and needed to head over early. Their uncle’s family was very warm; since Lin Baixin didn’t come back every year for the holiday, now that she was here they were definitely going to arrange for all the relatives to get together.

When Lin’s parents were alive, they’d had a good reputation among the relatives, and over the years Lin Baixin had also looked after people on this side quite a bit. Tonight there would be four or five tables’ worth of people, all eating in a private banquet room.

“Are you going?” Lin Baixin asked. “If—”

“I am.” Yu Min cut in. “I’ll go with you.”

“...Okay.”

It was Yu Min’s first time meeting the Lin family relatives. This side’s big-family atmosphere was much warmer and freer than home; there weren’t nearly as many messy rules. Lin Baixin had told her uncles and the others on the phone that Yu Min had come, and they’d been well prepared. As soon as they arrived, they all pressed red envelopes into Yu Min’s hands, while Lin Baixin handed them out one by one to the younger relatives around her age.

The relatives all knew where Yu Min came from. It was no longer a secret; many people had already heard about it. Everyone was quite surprised by her arrival and welcomed her warmly.

But after all, it was their first time meeting, so Yu Min was still a little reserved. Lin Baixin saw it clearly. After the reunion dinner ended, she said to her, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t keep apologizing. You’ve been saying that all day; it’s unnecessary,” Yu Min said. “At first I didn’t think much of it, but if you keep saying it, once I really come to my senses later, I might actually get mad.”

Lin Baixin froze, and then she stopped talking.

They were staying in a deluxe king room. Lin Baixin had only managed to book it at the last minute the day before they came; the good suites were long gone. Being able to get a deluxe king room was already pretty good.

The bed was big enough for the two of them to each have a side. Even with two blankets, it didn’t feel cramped, and there was still room to turn over.

After they returned to the room, they washed up one after the other, each did their own thing, played on their phones for a while, and then turned off the lights and lay down.

There was very little conversation between them; far less than there had been in Kyoto.

Yu Min was the quieter one. After the lights went off, she didn’t even play on her phone anymore; she turned over onto her side with her back to Lin Baixin.

Lin Baixin unconsciously gripped the bedsheet, then turned her head and looked at Yu Min’s back.

“Going to sleep?”

“Mm.” Yu Min answered after a while. “I’m tired.”

It wasn’t even ten yet; that was early even for an early night.

Lin Baixin knew that. She tucked the blanket in and lay on her side too, facing Yu Min.

“Talk to me.”

Yu Min didn’t move. “Go ahead.”

“Turn around first.”

She didn’t turn. She didn’t answer that either.

In truth, Lin Baixin didn’t even know what she should say. She only felt that she ought to make this clear. But what was there to say?

The facts were right there in front of them. The more she explained, the more it only proved what she had done. Even Lin Qi wouldn’t have abandoned Yu Min. If anyone else had been in her place, none of them would have done it; they’d all have wanted Yu Min to come. But Lin Baixin had done exactly that, without discussing it with Yu Min, only telling her before she left.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Lin Baixin had no strength to argue and no way to justify her mistake.

“Next time..."

The last three words were even harder to get out. “I won’t...” sounded even weaker if she said it aloud. Lin Baixin parted her lips and let her gaze fall on Yu Min’s nape. After a long moment, she finally shut her mouth again.

Two minutes later, Yu Min in front of her slowly turned back, but still didn’t face her. She lay flat on her back and murmured, “I knew already. You’d do this..."

She’d known it all along; Lin Baixin would leave her behind. It wasn’t surprising.