Chapter 34: ◎Cute◎ Part 1

In the quiet stillness, it felt as if time itself had frozen.

Zhu Lexing didn’t dare hug Yan Mian back. She could only let the warm tears soak into her clothes.

Gazing at the girl’s crown of hair, Zhu Lexing held her breath. Her heart seemed to soften the instant Yan Mian spoke, leaving her utterly at a loss for how to respond. Any words felt wrong, out of place.

Zhu Lexing had always thought she was cherishing Yan Mian like a priceless piece of glass.

Holding it so carefully it might shatter, keeping it tucked safely away lest it melt. But only now, with Yan Mian in her arms, did she realize she hadn’t done a thing.

She had just been going around in circles in the same ordinary spot.

The sounds Yan Mian made while crying were soft, almost inaudible. Zhu Lexing wondered if a kitten would make any noise when it cried. Probably not.

She simply shed her tears in silence.

Only when the fabric against her chest began to dry and Yan Mian drew a light breath did Zhu Lexing clear her throat. She tried to sound casual. “You… don’t cry anymore. If you really need it, I could sing you a song.”

The voice-activated light flickered off for a moment, then flared back to life at the sound of approaching footsteps.

Yan Mian said, “That would make it feel like a horror movie.”

Zhu Lexing: “…”

You, Female Protagonist—how could you crack jokes at a time like this?

But at least the tears had stopped. That was something.

Zhu Lexing lowered her gaze to Yan Mian. “You—”

Weren’t they standing a little too close?

In truth, she’d wanted to point that out since earlier. Yan Mian’s sudden words had derailed her midway. Remembering the warmth of their intertwined fingers moments ago, Zhu Lexing coughed lightly.

Yan Mian seemed to realize it then. She stepped back a few paces.

Her face still bore faint tear tracks, which vanished under a quick swipe of her fingers. Only her lips remained red from where she’d bitten them.

Zhu Lexing started again. “You…”

“Lexing?” A woman’s voice echoed suddenly from the hallway. Zhu Lexing recognized it as Liu Su’s, pitched low. “What are you planning to do next?”

Judging from Yan Mian’s earlier thoughts, she had no intention of pursuing the matter with Jiang Yue.

Once her own anger ebbed, Zhu Lexing felt a touch of helplessness too. If she were in Yan Mian’s shoes, she doubted she could muster any harsh words either. Dodging the issue was already the best course.

Besides, if they actually exposed everything, Zhu Lin would almost certainly cut Jiang Yue loose. Yan Mian’s already shaky position would crumble completely. And if Jiang Yue tried to take her away, the whole plot would be ruined for good.

Zhu Lexing couldn’t bear to imagine it. She stared at Yan Mian, expecting her to unleash that protagonist halo and devise a brilliant solution—one she’d praise for a hundred years.

But the girl just stared back in a daze, a flicker of anxiety crossing her face. “Auntie Liu…”

Zhu Lexing: “…………”

“Forget it.” Watching Yan Mian’s tension, the gulf Zhu Lexing had imagined quietly closed. A sense of calm settled over her. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

Yan Mian: “…What do you mean?”

The lights glared harshly.

Liu Su called out “Lexing” again, but aside from the occasional burst of laughter nearby, there was no reply. She frowned, about to call once more, when a lazy voice drifted from a distance. “Over here.”

The next moment, Zhu Lexing appeared before her, hand in hand with Yan Mian. At some point, Yan Mian had slipped on Zhu Lexing’s jacket, zipping it all the way up to her mouth, her face half-buried in the fabric.

“Auntie.” Her voice came out muffled. Liu Su wondered if she was imagining it, but Yan Mian’s eyes looked faintly red.

Liu Su glanced at their joined hands. “You two…”

Zhu Lexing said, “I felt unwell a moment ago, so I came to find Yan Mian. I’m feeling better now. No need to worry.”

To lend it credibility, holding hands was the most natural thing in the world, right?

Zhu Lexing tried to convince herself, but the more she dwelled on it, the odder it seemed. Her head dipped unconsciously, a pang of guilt creeping in.

Liu Su frowned. She first checked that Zhu Lexing at least looked fine on the surface, then turned to Yan Mian. “Mianmian, is that what happened?”

Yan Mian couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “…Yeah. Yes.”

Liu Su sighed. “Let go of the hands first.”

Afraid Liu Su might send them back to the party—where they’d inevitably run into Jiang Yue again, and who knew if she’d lose it like before—Zhu Lexing jumped in quickly. “Yan Mian and I are going to… find Qiao Qiao and the others.”

Saying they were heading home together would raise too many eyebrows. Claiming they were meeting friends was safer.

Liu Su’s expression softened noticeably.

She seemed on the verge of adding something when Jiang Yue pushed open the stall door. She stepped out of the restroom and froze at the sight of Liu Su.

“…Little Mian.” She beckoned. “Come here to Mommy.”

Zhu Lexing said, “Then we’ll be off.”

Yan Mian glanced at Jiang Yue. “Goodbye.”

Jiang Yue raised her voice. “Little Mian!”

“Miss Jiang.” Liu Su smiled, her face serene, though a subtle edge laced her tone. “Don’t keep such a tight leash on the child. It’s natural to hope she’ll soar like a phoenix, but she’s just a kid, after all.”

The footsteps faded into the distance. Jiang Yue fixed Liu Su with a death glare but ultimately brushed past her, turning to hunt for Zhu Lexing and Yan Mian.

The pair had already summoned the elevator, rendering her search futile.

The moment the doors slid shut, Zhu Lexing said flatly, “You head back first.”

Yan Mian nodded and reached for the zipper, but Zhu Lexing averted her gaze. “Keep it on. Just drape it over the sofa when you get home.”

“…”

Yan Mian asked, “What about you?”

Zhu Lexing shot her a glance. “It’s summer. Who wears a jacket?”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Zhu Lexing remembered—it was her jacket.

She kept her expression blank. “Anyway, that’s it. I’m off to find Qiao Qiao and the others.”

With that, she pulled out her phone and called Qiao Qiao on voice right there in front of Yan Mian.

Long before the holiday even began, the group had already planned to get together for a meal. As Zhu Lexing expected, Qiao Qiao’s end of the line was especially rowdy. “Hang on a sec—I’m trying to grab a doll for Xu He. This machine operator’s heart is blacker than coal! I’ve sunk twenty coins in and haven’t clawed a single one!”

Zhu Lexing asked, “Where are you guys?”

Qiao Qiao rattled off the name of a nearby mall. “You coming? We haven’t eaten yet anyway.”

Zhu Lexing agreed, then hung up and turned to Yan Mian. “You heard that, right? I’m heading out to meet her.”

Yan Mian nodded.

A few seconds later, she asked, “Why is Qiao Qiao grabbing dolls for Xu He?”

Zhu Lexing thought the question touched on too many complications to explain easily, so she simply said, “No idea.”

“Is that so?” Yan Mian replied.

Zhu Lexing braced herself, wondering how to respond if she pressed further, but the elevator fell silent.

It wasn’t until the doors slid open that Yan Mian smiled faintly at her again. “Thank you.”

“. . . No need,” Zhu Lexing replied stiffly, her body going rigid. “It was nothing. I won’t tell . . . Mom.”

She watched Yan Mian climb into a car and drive away before finally letting out a long breath. Zhu Lexing called a ride-share, and while she waited in front of the hotel, she stared down at her palm. Yan Mian’s warmth seemed to linger there still.

Zhu Lexing felt like the whole world had gone rotten.

Halfway to the mall, Qiao Qiao sent over the address for a barbecue joint.

– Did you get the doll?

– .

Zhu Lexing got the message: No.

– Wait till I show you how it’s done!

Half an hour later, Zhu Lexing stood before the claw machine. Beneath its flashing lights, she glared at the unyielding machine, which seemed to stare coldly back.

She fed in the fiftieth coin. Even Xu He sighed. “If it’s not working, maybe just call it quits.”

Zhu Lexing declared solemnly, “I’m not the type to give up halfway!”

Qiao Qiao, who had already thrown in the towel, grumbled, “. . . Do you really have to go this far? Fifty bucks could buy a new one outright. Why are you picking a fight with it?”

“Mind your own business—it’s hooked!” Zhu Lexing shot back.

The routine played out just like the previous forty-nine attempts. The claw snagged the prize, but after a few shaky steps, the arm wobbled like it had suddenly been diagnosed with muscle weakness. The Little Sheep plush tumbled free and right into the chute.

By some cruel twist of fate, it wedged itself just short of the prize drop.

Zhu Lexing itched to smash her fist into the machine’s side.

“Whatever,” she said at last, embracing defeat as its own kind of virtue. Her voice was calm as still water. “Let’s go.”

Xu He looked almost pained on her behalf. “Is this for . . . Yan Mian? They sell these at the shop over there. Here, let me get you one.”

The pure kindness in her voice nearly brought tears to Zhu Lexing’s eyes. “Yeah, let’s go take a look.”

Off in the distance, Ruofeng and Li Nian approached. Unlike Zhu Lexing and Qiao Qiao, who radiated pure grudge, Li Nian carried a clear plastic bag stuffed with over a dozen plush dolls.

Qiao Qiao gaped. “. . . Did you two rob the operator blind?”

Ruofeng listened to their sorry tale, pondered for a few seconds, then stepped up without hesitation and gave the machine a firm shake.

The plush dropped right in front of Zhu Lexing.

“You’re welcome,” Ruofeng said.

Zhu Lexing: “. . .”

By the time they arrived at the Zhu Family villa, most of the servants had already clocked out.

A few who spotted Yan Mian still greeted her with warm smiles. “Miss Yan.”

She gave them a slight nod and headed back to her room without shedding her coat in the hallway.

She slipped into a long overcoat instead. Zhu Lexing’s trench coat was slung lazily over a chair, its rumpled state mirroring its owner’s usual slouchy demeanor.

Clothes always carried their owner’s scent. In the short time since she’d returned, Yan Mian could already sense the room’s lily-of-the-valley fragrance yielding to an insidious intrusion of gardenia. It left her faintly uneasy.

She buttoned up her coat and turned to leave, but her gaze snagged on something in the corner of the desk.

An unopened voice recorder—Li Nian’s birthday gift to her this year. Li Nian had intended it for recording lectures to review later, but Yan Mian had never needed it and left it untouched.

In this moment, though, she recalled Zhu Lexing’s sudden words from the last time she’d been alone in this room.

Yan Mian unwrapped it.

When she emerged again, only a handful of people remained scattered through the villa. They blinked in surprise as she headed upstairs. “Miss Yan?”

“I’m dropping off some clothes for Lexing,” she said.

They nodded in stunned understanding, exchanging glances.

Whatever thoughts passed between them, Yan Mian couldn’t guess. She stood before Zhu Lexing’s door, studying it intently. Her few prior visits had been enough to memorize the room’s basic layout.

If she just left the voice recorder behind, some questions might finally find their answers.

The idea had lingered vaguely in her mind until this moment, when it sharpened into focus.

The trench coat felt extraordinarily light draped over her arm.

What on earth was she doing?

Yan Mian suddenly found the whole thing absurd.

Was it really just Zhu Lexing’s changes that made her suspect the girl wasn’t the same person anymore? What was this—some ghost story? People changed all the time. If she’d gotten better, did that mean Yan Mian had the right to monitor and eavesdrop on her like this?

How was that any different from the old Zhu Lexing?

She turned to leave, but at that instant, the door cracked open ever so slightly.

Perhaps a servant hadn’t latched it properly, or maybe Zhu Lexing hadn’t locked it at all. The sound was faint, almost nonexistent.

A sliver of darkness peeked from the room. Yan Mian stared at it for several seconds, then reached out.

~~~

Throughout the meal, Zhu Lexing was thoroughly distracted, fiddling with the Little Sheep doll clutched in her palm. It was crafted in an endearingly childish style, eyes half-closed, arms raised in a gesture of perfect serenity.

She squeezed and poked at it, growing more convinced by the second that it would look even better with a little hat.

Midway through, Ruofeng modestly shared her claw machine technique. Xu He jumped in at once. “See? That’s how it’s done!”

Qiao Qiao fumed. “She wasn’t using the same machine as us. Have her try the one from earlier—she’d never get it.”