13

The rain hadn't stopped.

Cen Lingqiu parked her car outside the school, waiting for Yu Mingjiao to come out.

After a while, Yu Mingjiao finally appeared, moving slowly because she was holding an umbrella in one hand. A group of boys, running out of the school without umbrellas, accidentally bumped into her wheelchair. The sudden jolt caused her to lose her grip on the umbrella, which fell to the ground.

She bent down to pick it up.

Cen Lingqiu got out of the car, picked up the fallen umbrella, and held it over Yu Mingjiao.

Yu Mingjiao looked up at her.

Cen Lingqiu's gaze was calm as she held the umbrella.

"What are you doing here?" Yu Mingjiao averted her eyes and said in a bland tone, "Give me the umbrella."

"I told you this morning that I'd pick you up tonight," Cen Lingqiu replied, unfazed. "It's raining heavily, let's go."

Yu Mingjiao, still uncomfortable with accepting her kindness, coldly said, "I can get home by myself."

"It's pouring rain. You'll get soaked if you try to go back on your own."

"I'll take a taxi."

"…"

She's still rejecting me, Cen Lingqiu thought.

The umbrella was small, barely enough to cover both of them, and with Yu Mingjiao being stubborn, refusing her help, Cen Lingqiu's arm got wet, and Yu Mingjiao's skirt was half-soaked.

Standing in the rain was cold, and Cen Lingqiu hated the cold.

She decided to be selfish for once. She had already come this far and didn't want to leave without achieving anything.

So, she wheeled Yu Mingjiao to the car, opened the door, and said, "Sorry, but I'm going to disregard your wishes again."

Before Yu Mingjiao could react, she quickly closed the umbrella, lifted her into the passenger seat, and shut the car door.

Cen Lingqiu returned to the driver's seat and locked the doors.

Yu Mingjiao stared coldly ahead, not even glancing at her.

"Just bear with it for a bit," Cen Lingqiu said, trying to comfort her as she noticed her frosty demeanor. "We'll be home soon."

The car moved forward smoothly, but because of the heavy rain and traffic, what would have been a short drive took over twenty minutes. On the way, they passed by a scene of an accident where a pedestrian had been hit by a car. The road was the very one Yu Mingjiao usually took to get home.

Cen Lingqiu thought to herself, What if Yu Mingjiao had taken this road today? Would she have been involved in an accident?

Yu Mingjiao also saw the accident but said nothing.

The car finally arrived at the apartment's underground parking lot, where Cen Lingqiu helped her into her wheelchair.

They rode the elevator in silence.

The air conditioning had been set low in Cen Lingqiu's apartment for the past few days, causing her to catch a mild cold. Getting caught in the rain today didn't help, and she couldn't help but cough a few times, covering her mouth.

She hugged her arms and leaned against the elevator wall, feeling chilly. Her mood wasn't great, though she kept her face expressionless and didn't let it show.

Yu Mingjiao, seeing Cen Lingqiu's unusual behavior reflected in the elevator mirror, was sensitive to her emotions and could tell that she was upset.

Was it because of her ungrateful attitude, which had caused her to get caught in the rain?

Yu Mingjiao was curious. Would this woman finally show her true face?

After being so nice to her, only to be constantly rejected and insulted, how much longer could Lin Qiu endure?

The elevator remained silent, finally reaching the ninth floor.

Yu Mingjiao kept waiting for Cen Lingqiu to snap, to reveal her true colors, but it never happened. Instead, she spoke as calmly as usual, "I'm going to my friend's bar tonight, so I won't be bringing you dinner. Make sure you eat properly."

She pushed Yu Mingjiao's wheelchair to her door and reminded her, "Your hair is wet. Make sure you dry it before you sleep, or your headache will get worse."

Yu Mingjiao had a habit of getting headaches, which would worsen on rainy days. She had felt a stabbing pain in her head this morning, but she had gotten used to enduring it. When it became unbearable, she would simply rub her temples.

How did she know that?

Had she noticed this morning?

Cen Lingqiu coughed again. "I'm leaving."

She turned and unlocked her door, going inside.

Yu Mingjiao stared at the closed door across from her.

She was clearly upset, so why didn't she lose her temper like before?

Yu Mingjiao truly didn't understand her.

She had always labeled Cen Lingqiu's kindness as hypocrisy, which made her feel disgusted, repelled, and convinced that she was just putting on a show. Yet, in certain moments, this woman seemed like a stranger.

It was as if she was seeing her for the first time.

Cen Lingqiu took a hot shower and changed clothes before heading to the bar.

Wen Zhi used to be in a band, but they rarely played together anymore due to other commitments. Tonight, they were all back together for a performance, and Wen Zhi had insisted that Cen Lingqiu come.

When she arrived, Wen Zhi was already on stage singing, and Cen Lingqiu took a seat in the VIP section.

The bar was buzzing with energy. As the music reached its peak, the crowd below went wild, cheering and shouting.

Cen Lingqiu didn't mind the atmosphere, but today, with her cold and the lingering chill from the rain, she wasn't in the mood for such a noisy environment.

She didn't want to leave and disappoint Wen Zhi, so she sat quietly in the corner, occasionally sipping her drink, her gaze fixed on Wen Zhi.

During the band's break, Wen Zhi and her bandmates came over to their booth.

"Lin Qiu," Wen Zhi said, sitting next to her. "When did you get here?"

"Not long ago."

Wen Zhi, ever the extrovert, grinned. "Let me introduce you to my friends."

Cen Lingqiu listened politely as Wen Zhi made introductions, and they all exchanged toasts.

After a few drinks, Cen Lingqiu excused herself to use the restroom.

As she walked forward, a girl who was chatting with her friends accidentally bumped into her shoulder.

"What's your problem?" the girl snapped, holding her shoulder and glaring at Cen Lingqiu. "Can't you watch where you're going?"

Cen Lingqiu, not feeling well, didn't have the energy to argue about who was at fault. Seeing that the girl was young, she didn't want to bother with her and nodded coldly. "Sorry."

The girl was taken aback when she saw her face.

Cen Lingqiu didn't pay her any more attention and walked away.

Even after Cen Lingqiu left, the girl kept watching her retreating figure.

"Yu Sui'an, what are you looking at? Let's go," one of her friends urged, tugging at her arm. "If my brother catches us here, he'll kill me!"

"You guys go ahead," Yu Sui'an suddenly said, taking a step forward. "I'll head back later."

"What's going on?"

Wen Zhi, noticing that Cen Lingqiu wasn't feeling well, told her to head home early.

On her way back, Cen Lingqiu couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following her.

Maybe it's just my imagination.

Cen Lingqiu rested at home for a few days, and thanks to her strong constitution, she recovered quickly.

She continued her routine of bringing Yu Mingjiao home-cooked meals, though Yu Mingjiao's reaction was almost always the same—rejection.

But her refusals were less firm now. Sometimes, when Cen Lingqiu insisted, she would grudgingly eat a little, though her face remained cold.

Cen Lingqiu often wondered if Yu Mingjiao accepted her food out of sheer exasperation, finding her persistence annoying.

But she didn't eat much. Cen Lingqiu would stand by the table, helping to serve her food.

She noticed that Yu Mingjiao only ate the dishes directly in front of her. She hardly touched anything that was slightly out of reach, only eating what Cen Lingqiu placed in her bowl.

Curious, Cen Lingqiu asked her about it.

Yu Mingjiao didn't answer, instead asking her, "What about you?"

"What about me?"

Yu Mingjiao looked at her with an inscrutable expression. "Why do you never sit down to eat with me?"

Ever since this woman had started acting strangely, whether in the hospital, the manor, or here, Cen Lingqiu had always brought her food but never sat down to eat with her.

Not that Yu Mingjiao wanted to eat with her anyway.

She asked the question just to deflect Cen Lingqiu's curiosity.

She didn't care about her answer. After asking, she lowered her head, not noticing the sudden pallor on Cen Lingqiu's face.

But she recovered quickly, as if that moment of paleness was nothing but an illusion.

Yu Mingjiao barely ate anything before losing her appetite. Cen Lingqiu knew her stomach couldn't handle much, so she didn't push her.

The days passed in this strange, peaceful routine. Cen Lingqiu would always bring her food, and Yu Mingjiao seemed to have resigned herself to the fact that no matter how much she rejected the woman, she wouldn't stop. She wouldn't get angry either, just continued knocking on her door day after day.

Yu Mingjiao hated being bothered by others, but she was also curious to see how long this woman could keep up the act, so she watched coldly, slowly letting down her guard.

Cen Lingqiu still didn't eat with her, only serving her food. Occasionally, they would chat, though Yu Mingjiao rarely responded, and Cen Lingqiu didn't take it personally.

The two fell into an oddly harmonious rhythm.

After each meal, Cen Lingqiu would give her a piece of candy, sometimes bringing her fresh, rare fruits. "These just arrived from overseas. Try some."

Occasionally, when she returned from work, she would buy Yu Mingjiao a cup of milk tea, saying, "You students love these sweet drinks, don't you?"

Yu Mingjiao took a sip and found it overwhelmingly sweet, and it was hot.

Who drinks hot milk tea in the middle of summer?

During this time, Yu Mingjiao noticed that Cen Lingqiu had a sweet tooth. Whether it was her cooking, candy, or fruit, she favored sweet flavors.

Yu Mingjiao didn't care much about food, but she preferred sour tastes.

Cen Lingqiu must have noticed because the fruits and drinks she brought later were more on the sour side.

Yu Mingjiao couldn't remember the last time she had a proper meal. Her father had always been out gambling, and her stepmother, too lazy to cook for her, often took her sister out to eat. With no money and no food at home, Yu Mingjiao often went hungry.

She only ate when her father was home, and her stepmother cooked. Even then, she didn't dare eat much, knowing it would upset her stepmother.

After her legs were crippled, her father left home, and her stepmother died of illness. Living alone, she became even more indifferent to food.

As much as she despised Cen Lingqiu's gestures, she couldn't deny that she craved them.

This realization terrified her.

She was beginning to feel a faint sense of satisfaction from Cen Lingqiu's attention.

Yu Mingjiao's face began to fill out slightly, though she was still thin overall due to her small appetite. But she no longer looked emaciated.

Her face was snow-white, her lips no longer pale but a soft pink, her hair shiny and smooth, and her eyelashes thick and curled.

She no longer looked like a ghost, more like a delicate porcelain doll lacking life.

Cen Lingqiu noticed the change in her and felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

It was as if she had nurtured a dying flower until it sprouted tiny green leaves.

A peculiar joy filled her heart.