12

Cen Lingqiu lit all the candles she had brought and placed them on the coffee table. The room was no longer pitch black; it was filled with a warm, yellow light.

She sat on the sofa, very close to Yu Mingjiao.

"Did you eat properly tonight?" Cen Lingqiu turned her face slightly, her gaze resting on Yu Mingjiao. "Or did you just eat whatever was convenient again?"

Yu Mingjiao sat upright in her wheelchair, but her silence confirmed Cen Lingqiu's suspicion.

"So, why have you been avoiding me, refusing to let me bring you meals?" Cen Lingqiu asked.

"Because I don't want to see you. I also don't want your apology," Yu Mingjiao said frankly and directly. "I want you to always feel guilty."

I want you to live with that guilt forever.

Hearing this, Cen Lingqiu propped her chin on her hand and couldn't help but chuckle softly. "You're very straightforward."

She continued, "But, I'm not asking you to forgive me for everything I've done to you. I'm just hoping you'll stop avoiding me, okay?"

Yu Mingjiao's gaze remained unfocused, staring blankly at the flickering candlelight.

She didn't respond.

Cen Lingqiu spoke slowly, "Yu Mingjiao, could you try to accept a little?"

She had recently asked the system about Yu Mingjiao's family background and relationships.

Yu Mingjiao had no friends. Her mother committed suicide when she was three years old. Her father was an alcoholic and a gambler who didn't care about her. Her stepmother was vicious, and her younger sister was selfish.

She had never experienced even a shred of love in her life.

Cen Lingqiu could understand her loneliness.

In some ways, she and Yu Mingjiao were very much alike.

"Yu Mingjiao, answer me."

Still silence.

"Yu Mingjiao, it's impolite to ignore someone like this," Cen Lingqiu said. "It's one thing to do it to me, but don't do it to others."

Yu Mingjiao finally spoke, "Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why shouldn't I act this way in front of others?"

Cen Lingqiu paused, then thought for a moment. "Because… I won't dislike you for it, but if you're impolite to others, it will make them unhappy."

Yu Mingjiao continued to stare at the candlelight, her voice soft. "Hypocrite."

Cen Lingqiu chuckled.

"By the way, are you afraid of the dark?" Cen Lingqiu suddenly asked.

Yu Mingjiao's wet eyes, trembling body, and unusual behavior of not wanting to be alone led Cen Lingqiu to suspect that she was afraid of the dark.

Yu Mingjiao's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she didn't deny it.

Cen Lingqiu leaned back on the sofa, sighing softly. "I don't like the dark either."

When she lived at her grandmother's house, she had only a small room. It was narrow, without windows, damp, and always dim.

The room had only a single, very dim light.

She envied her younger siblings, who had bright rooms with large windows.

Yu Mingjiao's emotions were still deeply buried. In this dim environment, her hands continued to tremble slightly, her long eyelashes trembling irregularly, as if she was still trapped in a fearful darkness without any sense of security.

She was still very afraid.

Cen Lingqiu noticed some drawing pens on the coffee table and picked up a black one.

"Give me your hand."

Yu Mingjiao didn't understand, instinctively refusing, "No."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Cen Lingqiu said, taking hold of Yu Mingjiao's hand and turning her palm up. "Don't move."

Her palm tingled as Cen Lingqiu began drawing on it. Curious about what she was doing, Yu Mingjiao stayed still.

"All done."

Yu Mingjiao looked down.

In her palm, Cen Lingqiu had drawn a smiley face.

She looked up at Cen Lingqiu, confused.

"It's a smiley face," Cen Lingqiu explained. "When you're feeling anxious, drawing a smiley face might make you feel a bit better."

This was a little-known quirk of Cen Lingqiu's.

During the many times when her grandmother had locked her in the storage room, she would often draw a smiley face on her hand, perhaps because it felt like the only thing around her that was sincere and warm.

Her grandmother was harsh, her grandfather was indifferent, and Cen Lingqiu's parents had left with her younger siblings to work in the city, leaving her alone at her grandmother's house.

There were other grandchildren in the house, but her grandmother didn't like her and often verbally abused and physically punished her. No one at home ever smiled at her.

Over time, Cen Lingqiu developed the habit of drawing a smiley face on her palm.

Yu Mingjiao looked at her with an incredulous expression. "Are you crazy?"

Cen Lingqiu smiled, her lips curling slightly. "Don't erase it until the power comes back on."

Yu Mingjiao looked at the smiley face in her palm and, on impulse, didn't wipe it away.

Cen Lingqiu's gaze fell on the scars on Yu Mingjiao's arm, and she murmured, "Is your wrist healing well?"

It took Yu Mingjiao a few seconds to realize she was asking about the scar from her suicide attempt. She lowered her eyes, covering the scar, her expression dark. "Does it matter?"

Cen Lingqiu was silent for a few moments. "I suppose not."

"I'm sorry I couldn't take care of you after you were discharged from the hospital."

Yu Mingjiao remained silent.

After a long while, she finally spoke, "There's no need to say things like that out of guilt. You hate me, and I hate you. These words don't suit us."

She lowered her voice. "They only make me feel sick."

Cen Lingqiu smiled faintly, without emotion. "Is that so?"

"Yu Mingjiao, you're too absolute."

"Between people, anything can happen—love, hate, disgust, desire—they all come to us."

Just as one can hate a person, one can also love them. No one can predict it.

Yu Mingjiao scoffed dismissively and said nothing more.

The two fell silent after that. Cen Lingqiu sat quietly beside her, and Yu Mingjiao stared wordlessly at the flickering candlelight.

In the dim and silent space, there were no arguments or questions, only the faint sound of their breathing. There was no moment more peaceful than this.

Yu Mingjiao gradually calmed down. She stopped trembling, and her unease faded.

Cen Lingqiu was very close to her, and once again, Yu Mingjiao caught a faint scent of cherry blossoms—a pleasant aroma that inexplicably brought her a sense of peace.

Perhaps she was tired, as her eyes began to lose focus, her head nodding slightly. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Cen Lingqiu caught her.

"Yu Mingjiao?"

The person in her arms had already fallen asleep.

Snap—

The power came back on.

Cen Lingqiu carried her to her bedroom, covered her with a blanket, left a small nightlight on, and then quietly left the room.

Yu Mingjiao woke up the next morning to daylight filtering through the curtains.

She checked her phone. It was 8:11.

Morning already?

But when did she fall asleep?

Yu Mingjiao thought for a moment and recalled the events of the previous night.

Cen Lingqiu must have carried her to bed. Did she stay with her the entire night?

She went to the bathroom and was about to wash her face when she noticed the smiley face still on her palm.

The one that woman had drawn.

Despite being older, she was still doing such childish and naive things.

Yu Mingjiao stared at the smiley face for a long time, her mind involuntarily replaying the previous night.

The cool, serene face of that woman under the dim candlelight, the faint scent of cherry blossoms, and the calm, slightly amused tone of her voice—all of it stayed with her.

She remembered it very clearly.

That woman felt like a stranger.

Yu Mingjiao washed off the smiley face, the black ink running down her palm until it disappeared down the drain.

She went to the kitchen and saw a note stuck on the fridge.

[I'll leave breakfast at your door tomorrow morning. Remember to take it and don't skip it. —Lin Qiu]

Yu Mingjiao went to the door and found the thermos box.

She stared at it for a few seconds before picking it up.

Inside was millet porridge, pan-fried dumplings, and a few delicate animal-shaped buns.

They were all still warm.

She wondered what time that woman had woken up to make this.

At first, she wanted to ignore the breakfast, but Cen Lingqiu's words from the previous night echoed in her mind.

"Yu Mingjiao, try to accept a little."

In her life, she had rarely received kindness, and she had never experienced genuine warmth from others. Any affection she had ever received had been tainted with ulterior motives—her father only wanted the inheritance her mother had left her, her stepmother wanted to play the role of a good stepmother, and Lin Dong wanted to break her will.

All of it was fake.

She despised such shallow gestures of warmth, so she rejected, resented, and turned away from all forms of kindness.

Was Lin Qiu the same?

Could she trust the goodwill of a woman who had hurt her?

Would she always be as gentle as she was last night?

Yu Mingjiao lined up the food in a row, staring at it for a long time before finally, stiffly, picking up a spoon and slowly taking a bite of the porridge.

The warm, sweet millet porridge slid into her mouth, bringing a warmth that spread through her entire body.

It had been so long since she'd had a proper meal. Most of the time, she either didn't eat or only ate bread or instant food.

Porridge was surprisingly sweet.

In her memory, porridge had always been bitter.

Yu Mingjiao ate slowly but eventually finished the porridge and tried some of the other dishes as well.

She had no classes in the morning, so she wasn't in a rush to leave for school. Instead, she stayed home and worked on a few design projects she had taken on recently.

She was studying product design and occasionally took on freelance design jobs.

She designed everything from cups to cabinets, her designs always unique and inspired, with exceptional drawing skills that allowed her to complete her work quickly. She sent the finished designs to her client, who was very pleased and praised her highly.

After finishing that work, she picked up a book on jewelry design. Her mother had been a jewelry designer, and she had inherited many of her mother's related books and original designs.

Jewelry was one of the few things that still interested Yu Mingjiao, so she often spent her free time studying gemstones and her mother's work.

She spent the entire morning in her room, drawing jewelry designs. When her alarm went off, she finally got up to head to school.

Cen Lingqiu's dishes were washed clean. When Yu Mingjiao left the apartment, she took them with her. She hesitated for a moment at the door across from hers before ringing the doorbell.

The door quickly opened, but it wasn't Cen Lingqiu who answered; it was the short-haired woman.

"This is for Lin Qiu," Yu Mingjiao said, handing her the dishes.

"For who?" Wen Zhi thought she had misheard.

Cen Lingqiu, who had just finished drying her hair, saw Wen Zhi standing at the door and asked casually, "Wen Zhi, is someone looking for you?"

"No," Wen Zhi replied, still in disbelief. She held up the thermos box and turned back, her tone strange. "It's for you."

"For me?" Cen Lingqiu walked over and saw Yu Mingjiao at the door. "Oh, it's you. Haven't you left for school yet?"

Yu Mingjiao's expression was cold. "I'm leaving now."

"Wait a second," Cen Lingqiu said. "It's pouring outside, and I have to go out anyway, so I'll give you a ride to school."

"No need," Yu Mingjiao replied curtly, turning to leave. But Cen Lingqiu grabbed her wheelchair, wheeled her inside, and shut the door behind them in one swift motion, leaving both Yu Mingjiao and Wen Zhi momentarily disoriented.

"What are you doing?" Yu Mingjiao demanded angrily.

"I'm just going to change clothes. It'll only take a minute," Cen Lingqiu said.

It was then that Yu Mingjiao noticed Cen Lingqiu was still in her pajamas.

She was wearing a black silk nightgown that reached her thighs, revealing her fair, slender legs. The neckline was low, showing a hint of cleavage, and her chestnut curls were casually tousled.

She had long, narrow fox-like eyes, thin red lips, and pale skin.

Perhaps because she had just gotten up, her usually cool, serene features had an air of casual, captivating charm.

Yu Mingjiao wanted to leave, but Cen Lingqiu pushed her into the living room. "Give me five minutes. Wen Zhi, keep an eye on her."

With that, she disappeared into her room.

Wen Zhi was left feeling like she had just witnessed something unreal.

Keep an eye on who?

Oh, Yu Mingjiao.

Damn, has Lin Qiu lost her mind?

This was Yu Mingjiao, the girl she hated so much she wanted to kill her.

How did things end up like this?

Wen Zhi crossed her arms, leaning against the counter, staring at Yu Mingjiao.

With her fierce expression and tattoos covering her arms and chest, her gaze was enough to make anyone uncomfortable.

Except Yu Mingjiao.

Noticing her stare, Yu Mingjiao looked up and met her eyes.

The two locked gazes.

Wen Zhi suddenly shuddered and quickly looked away.

Damn.

What kind of eyes are those?

She thought.

They look like a snake's.

Those pitch-black eyes were devoid of light, like two dried-up, murky pools, lifeless and cold, with not a hint of vitality, only an eerie, dark chill.

With her black bangs, long straight hair, and dark eyes, she looked like a ghost from an old horror movie.

How could someone so beautiful look so eerie?

Had this child been driven mad by Lin Qiu?

Wen Zhi was at a loss.

She turned away, unable to stand Yu Mingjiao's eyes any longer.

Being in the same room with her made the air feel cold.

Finally, Cen Lingqiu came out, dressed.

"Oh, thank God," Wen Zhi sighed in relief. "You're finally done."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cen Lingqiu asked. "It only took me five minutes. That's not long."

Wen Zhi leaned in close, whispering in her ear, "I'm telling you, stop messing with people. Look at what you've done to that poor girl. She's so beautiful, and now she's like this. Have some decency."

Cen Lingqiu: "..."

All I did was change my clothes; what did I do wrong?

"Don't talk nonsense," Cen Lingqiu pushed her away. "Let's go."

She wheeled Yu Mingjiao to the door.

Before leaving, Wen Zhi called out, "Don't forget to come to my bar tonight."

Cen Lingqiu waved in acknowledgment as she left.

Watching them leave together, Wen Zhi still couldn't believe what she had seen.

It felt like an illusion.

She picked up her phone.

"Hello, Old Chen? Can you book me an appointment with a psychiatrist?"

"Did you like the breakfast I made?" Cen Lingqiu asked as they rode the elevator down.

"It was awful," Yu Mingjiao replied.

"You're lying," Cen Lingqiu said.

Yu Mingjiao ignored her.

Cen Lingqiu was just teasing her. The fact that Yu Mingjiao was willing to accept her food was already a significant step forward. The cold, stiff barrier between them had begun to crack, just a little.

"Don't make me any more food," Yu Mingjiao said coolly.

"I didn't hear that," Cen Lingqiu replied calmly.

"..."

In the parking garage, Cen Lingqiu carried her into the passenger seat, remarking, "You should eat more. Your bones are poking me."

Yu Mingjiao glared at her coldly as if to say, I didn't ask you to carry me.

"Why are you glaring at me?" Cen Lingqiu buckled her seatbelt.

She then put the wheelchair in the trunk.

The car started.

The rain outside was heavy, and neither of them spoke.

Silence was their norm, and it was the most comfortable way for them to be together.

Cen Lingqiu parked in a covered area, then carried her into the wheelchair.

"I'll take you to the school entrance," Cen Lingqiu said.

Yu Mingjiao took the umbrella, coldly refusing, "You've done enough. You can go."

"Good deeds should be completed," Cen Lingqiu said, taking the umbrella from her and pushing her towards the school.

"Lin Qiu," Yu Mingjiao called out, her voice cold as she questioned, "Do you have any respect for my words?"

Cen Lingqiu could sense that Yu Mingjiao was saying one thing but feeling another. If she really wanted to reject her, she would go to great lengths to express her unwillingness. But when she didn't resist as much, she would only protest verbally.

Cen Lingqiu was beginning to understand how to interact with her. At certain times, it was best to ignore her words.

Just like now, Cen Lingqiu ignored her protests and escorted her into the school.

Yu Mingjiao's beauty was striking, and Cen Lingqiu's cool, distant aura, like autumn rain, made her seem detached from the rest of the students.

Together, they drew a lot of attention.

Cen Lingqiu didn't notice the students' stares; at twenty-eight, she saw these students as little more than children.

But for Yu Mingjiao, it was different. At only twenty, with a strong sense of pride, she hated being watched by others.

Throughout her life, whether because of her looks or her disability, people had always stared at her.

She loathed their gazes.

Yu Mingjiao clenched her fists, biting her lip hard.

A disgusting crowd.

Suddenly, her view was blocked as Cen Lingqiu placed her hat on Yu Mingjiao's head.

She leaned down and whispered, "Wear the hat. It's new, just bought today, so it's not dirty."

After a moment's thought, she added, "Even if you don't like it, just bear with it until you get to class, then you can throw it away."

She gently patted Yu Mingjiao's head, a gesture of comfort.

Yu Mingjiao blinked, and under the hat, the coldness in her eyes seemed to fade slightly.

After seeing her to class, Cen Lingqiu handed her the umbrella.

Yu Mingjiao had forgotten to bring one, and Cen Lingqiu only had one in the car. Since she'd be indoors at work, she gave it to Yu Mingjiao.

"Take the umbrella. If it's still raining heavily tonight, wait for me in the classroom."

After giving her instructions, Cen Lingqiu left. Luckily, the rain had let up a bit, so she ran out.

Yu Mingjiao looked at the umbrella in her hand, then at Cen Lingqiu's retreating figure.

"Mingjiao, come on, the teacher's about to start roll call," An Wu called.

"Mm," Yu Mingjiao replied.

Cen Lingqiu returned to her car, wiping her face with a tissue.

She had to admit, this school was enormous. No wonder it was the best university in the novel.

Cen Lingqiu almost got lost.

She started the car and drove south towards the art museum.

Today's work involved doing consecutive interpretation for the country's most famous luxury jewelry brand, X.R., at an exhibition being held at Lan City's largest art museum. Many foreign brands and designers had been invited.

Cen Lingqiu smoothly translated for them, and overall, the job went well.

Afterward, the director invited her to lunch, and they dined at a French restaurant. The female director kept praising her work and continued chatting.

The director mainly talked about how their brand had been struggling to innovate, with designers leaving one after another, and the remaining ones running out of inspiration.

The director sighed as she sipped her wine, "If only that designer were still alive. With her talent and ability, she could have taken our brand to new heights."

Cen Lingqiu, who was naturally indifferent and uninterested in meaningless socializing, politely listened.

The director went on to say that she planned to host a jewelry design competition open to the public.

Hearing this, Cen Lingqiu's eyes shifted.

She remembered.

This high-end brand was the one the female lead would later join. After becoming X.R.'s chief designer, the female lead not only elevated the brand but also gained significant recognition both domestically and internationally, achieving fame and fortune.

However, after being trapped in the manor by the male lead for so long, the female lead had lost her academic qualifications and connections, making it difficult for her to join X.R. It took a lot of hard work and time.

This competition had begun while the female lead was still trapped in the manor, so she naturally missed the opportunity.

But now, this was an opportunity, one that Yu Mingjiao had missed.

If the female lead could join X.R., it would allow her to realize her life's value, possibly reducing her self-destructive tendencies.

However, she also learned that this competition was only open to those with certain achievements or connections, or to loyal customers of the brand.

It was hard for ordinary people to enter, as the entry requirements were too high.

Rather than a jewelry design competition, it was more like a networking event for the elite.

Even so, this competition was crucial for Yu Mingjiao.

"Director Zhou," Cen Lingqiu said casually, "My mom recently bought a bunch of your company's jewelry."

The original character's mother was a VIP customer of X.R.

Director Zhou picked up on her hint. "Yes, the jewelry suits her very well."

"My mom really likes your products. She keeps telling me to keep an eye out for your new releases," Cen Lingqiu said, taking a sip of wine.

"But I think sticking to just one brand might be a bit monotonous."

Director Zhou smiled. "Loyalty isn't a bad thing. What suits you is the best."

Cen Lingqiu smiled lightly. "But it seems my mother has bought almost all of your designs."

Director Zhou followed her lead. "Oh? So what do you think?"

Seeing that she had been given an opening, Cen Lingqiu didn't beat around the bush.

"You mentioned a design competition earlier?"

Director Zhou nodded. "Are you interested in participating? No problem, I'll let the relevant people know—"

"It's not for me," Cen Lingqiu said slowly. "It's for my… sister."

"Oh? Can she do it?" Director Zhou was skeptical. "This isn't just any competition, Xiaoqiu."

"She'll win."

Cen Lingqiu didn't hesitate.