Zhou Yining’s body stiffened. She whipped her head around to look at Zhou JiaHui, a deep, heavy emotion vaguely rising within her. Repressing it, she asked, “What did you say?”

Zhou JiaHui stepped forward, lifting her chin. “I saw you with Dong-ge.”

Zhou Yining pressed her lips together, her face slightly pale, her emotions extremely unstable. She said coldly, “So what? What does it have to do with you!”

Zhou JiaHui’s face changed. “Zhou Yining, since you were little, you’ve loved snatching things I like. I liked Yanjun-ge, so you clung to him all day. I liked Dong-ge, and finally got him to come to my birthday party, but you disgusted him into leaving. Didn’t you hate him the most? Why are you with him now? You must have seduced him, just to spite me, right? So many coincidences, are you sure you didn’t plan them!”

“Dad is the same. Now he’s always thinking about you. He’s scolded me so many times recently because of you! Your mother has a lover abroad, yet she comes back to seduce Dad. Dad said that day he wanted to divorce my mom; it must be because of your mother! You and your mother are the same, both cheap, loving to snatch other people’s things!”

Zhou Yining rushed forward abruptly and slapped her.

She used a lot of force, ruthless. Zhou JiaHui stumbled back a few steps from the slap, her face instantly swelling red. Covering her face, eyes red with pain, she glared at Zhou Yining. The next instant, she lunged forward. Zhou Yining grabbed the hand she swung over, gritting her teeth and staring at her. “Zhou JiaHui, who snatched whose things? Is Shen Yanjun yours? Is Ji Dongyang yours? Is Dad yours? Are they labeled with your tag, printed with your name?”

Zhou JiaHui couldn’t break free, so she swung her other hand. Zhou Yining grabbed that hand and flung it away hard.

Zhou JiaHui stumbled back a few steps, twisted her ankle on her high heels, and fell to the ground in a sorry state.

Growing up, she had always been taller than Zhou Yining, but whenever they fought, she rarely gained the upper hand.

Zhou Yining was stubborn, forceful, with fierce, ruthless eyes. Every time Zhou JiaHui saw her like this, she felt a little panic in her heart; she couldn’t win.

Enduring the pain, Zhou JiaHui climbed up from the ground and suddenly laughed. “You crazy woman! If Dong-ge knew you were crazy, would he still want you?”

Zhou Yining’s lips turned white. She clenched her fists tightly, desperately suppressing her emotions. If she stayed any longer, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from strangling her.

She turned to leave. Before she could close the door, Zhou JiaHui suddenly rushed up from behind and pushed her hard.

Caught off guard, Zhou Yining pitched forward. In front of her was the small garden she had specially set up in the entryway, a small pond built with natural rocks. Only one thought flashed through her mind: Can’t hit my face.

At the last moment, she tightly covered her face with her arms.

Her arm slammed hard against the rocks, a sharp pain shooting through her. Her eyes instantly reddened, but she didn’t make a sound. Clutching her arm, she curled up and sat up, her face drained of blood. Gritting her teeth, she looked at Zhou JiaHui, then suddenly stood up and ran quickly toward the living room.

Zhou JiaHui only saw her grab a fruit knife from the fruit basket and ran out in terror.

Just as Zhou JiaHui reached the elevator, she saw Zhou Lihui coming out. She threw herself at him, hugging him. “Dad, Zhou Yining has gone crazy! She’s trying to kill me!”

Zhou Lihui was startled. “What did you say?”

“Zhou Yining is crazy! She pointed a knife at me again!”

Zhou Lihui’s face changed drastically. He strode over, with Zhou JiaHui following timidly behind.

The door wasn’t closed. Zhou Yining was still standing there, face pale, gripping the knife tightly, panting heavily, trying her best to calm herself.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Lihui was frightened. Just as he was about to step inside…

“Go! Take Zhou JiaHui and go!”

She roared, her eyes bloodshot.

Zhou Lihui froze in place, not daring to step forward, his voice dry. “Ningning, why are you… like this again… Put the knife down…”

The anxiety in Zhou Yining’s eyes suddenly calmed. She looked at him coldly, like looking at a stranger. “You leave, and I’ll put it down.”

Zhou Lihui felt a pang of sadness. He looked back at Zhou JiaHui hiding behind the door and said wearily, “Huihui, you go back first.”

“Dad, come with me. She’s crazy; she’ll hurt people. What if she hurts you…” Zhou JiaHui came in and pulled at his arm.

Zhou Lihui said sternly, “I told you to go back, so go back!”

“You both leave!”

Zhou Yining pressed her lips tight. “If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police. Dad, can you afford to lose that face?”

Zhou Lihui stiffened. After a long while, he sighed dejectedly.

After a minute of stalemate, Zhou Lihui gave in. He turned and said something to Zhou JiaHui.

Before leaving, Zhou Lihui said to Zhou Yining, “Don’t hurt yourself. I’ll call your mother.”

Zhou Yining didn’t respond.

With the sound of the door closing, the whole world fell silent.

Outside the window, it had started raining at some point. Zhou Yining listened numbly to the pattering sound of water. Standing dazed for a few minutes, she slowly shuffled toward the sofa, threw the knife away, and sank into the cushions, her eyes hollow, calm, and lifeless.

She couldn’t even feel the pain in her arm anymore, sitting there numbly.

Until her phone rang

Where is the phone ringing? In the bag. Where is the bag?

By the time she fished the phone out of her bag, the ringing had stopped.

A few seconds later, it rang again. It was Qin Yuan.

Zhou Lihui and Qin Yuan’s only connection in this life was her. If not for her, Qin Yuan probably wouldn’t contact Zhou Lihui for the rest of her life. She hadn’t expected Zhou Lihui to call Qin Yuan so quickly. Zhou Yining answered the phone expressionlessly.

“Ningning, did you have an episode again?”

“I didn’t.”

“You pointed a knife at someone. Are you… unable to control your emotions again? Ningning…” Qin Yuan said, “Come back. Come back to Mom. Let’s continue treatment.”

Zhou Yining’s voice was weak, barely audible. “I’m already better. I can control it. I took the knife just to scare Zhou JiaHui. I won’t hurt anyone. I won’t.”

Qin Yuan was silent for a few seconds, her tone calm. “I’ll come back in the next couple of days.”

Zhou Yining clenched her fingers. “No need. You don’t need to come back.”

Qin Yuan sighed. “I have to.”

Qin Yuan hung up.

Zhou Yining sat on the floor, her hand slowly dropping to cover her face. Her small body curled up, appearing extremely lonely and helpless in the empty night.

“Don’t even think about bullying her. Bullying her is seeking death.”

“She hits hard. Who dares bully her? She’ll fight you to the death.”

“Zhou Yining is a lunatic. Who knows when she might hurt or kill someone? Stay away from her!”

…

After a long time, she pushed herself up. Her thin body swayed, as if she couldn’t support herself and might fall at any moment.

She walked back to the bedroom, poured out the pills with shaking hands, swallowed them dry, then spat them out. She lay on the floor like she was dead.

After a while, she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

The phone tossed aside rang again. She turned her head to look. The screen lit up with “Ji Dongyang.” She cleared her throat before answering.

“Are you home?” he asked.

Hearing his voice, her eyes reddened. She sniffled. “Mm…”

Ji Dongyang was silent for a few seconds, his voice low. “Why are you crying?”

Zhou Yining covered her eyes with her hand, her voice small. “I’m not crying. I just fell, it hurts a little, haven’t recovered yet.”

“Where did you fall?”

“Forearm…”

“Why so careless?”

“…”

Zhou Yining caught her breath, wiped away tears, sniffled, and said indifferently, “I’m fine. I’ll show you my arm at the set tomorrow.”

That sniffle fell into Ji Dongyang’s ears, and he immediately remembered her pitiful look when she cried endlessly before. His voice lowered further. “Okay, go to sleep early then.”

“Mm, okay. You too.” Zhou Yining sat up and hung up.

Throwing the phone aside, she rolled up her sleeve to look at her right forearm. A large area was swollen.

…

Ji Dongyang stared at his phone. If she had acted spoiled just now and asked him to come see her, he definitely would have gone.

Forget it. Even without her acting spoiled, he would go.

Otherwise, he didn’t know how long she would cry alone.

Ji Dongyang grabbed a black hoodie and the keys on the table, calling A Ming to inform him.

Twenty minutes later, Ji Dongyang stood outside the door, pressing the doorbell. He pressed it several times, but no one came to open it.

He remembered last time she mentioned where she hid the key. He bent down, lifted the doormat, didn’t see the key, flipped the mat over, and saw an ugly little square pocket sewn underneath with an opening. He reached in and felt the key.

Ji Dongyang imagined her sewing this little pocket and hiding the key this way. It made him smile, but the smile was tinged with heartache.

Opening the door, Ji Dongyang put the key back in its place.

This apartment was even bigger than the one she lived in back in B City, empty, dim, lonely. Only the bedroom light was on. Ji Dongyang walked over and saw the bathroom light was on too, breathing a sigh of relief.

Zhou Yining came out clutching a bath towel and bumped into Ji Dongyang standing at the door. She froze in place, stammering, “Why are you here?”

She looked at him blankly. “Wait, how did you get in?”

Ji Dongyang looked at her slightly red eyes, pulled her over to the bed, sat his tall frame down, spread his long legs, and pulled her between them. First, he lifted her left hand, fine. Then her right hand, the forearm was red, swollen, and bruised. He frowned. “How did you fall?”

Zhou Yining lowered her head. “Entrance hallway. Fell on the rocks. Blocked with my arm to protect my face.”

Ji Dongyang didn’t speak, his face dark, as if wondering how she managed to fall like this at the door. He looked into her eyes. “Didn’t you say you weren’t crying?”

“It hurt. Couldn’t help it.”

Ji Dongyang stood up. “Do you have a medicine kit?”

Zhou Yining shook her head. “No.”

Ji Dongyang turned to leave. Zhou Yining grabbed him. “Don’t go. I’ll ask Zhang Ran to buy some tomorrow morning.”

“If I hadn’t come, were you planning to endure until tomorrow morning?”

Ji Dongyang pressed his lips tight. He was angry, holding it back.

She didn’t answer, defaulting to yes.

Ji Dongyang pulled her hand off and turned to leave. Zhou Yining panicked, running over to hug him from behind. “I’ll call Zhang Ran to buy it for me. Don’t go. You finally came here. Going out to buy medicine now might not be good if you get spotted.”

Ji Dongyang frowned. “Afraid I won’t come back?”

Zhou Yining stiffened, then hugged him tighter.

“Going to buy medicine or going to the hospital?”

“Anyway, I won’t let you go. I’ll call Zhang Ran.”

After a stalemate, Ji Dongyang surrendered.

After Zhou Yining called Zhang Ran, she looked at the silent Ji Dongyang, nuzzling over to hold his hand. “How did you get in?”

Ji Dongyang looked at her. “You told me the key is hidden under the doormat.”

Zhou Yining: “…Oh, I forgot.”

Over half an hour later, Zhang Ran delivered the medicine, a big bag. Ji Dongyang went to open the door, took the bag, and said thanks. Zhang Ran froze for a moment. “T-then I’ll head back first.”

Ji Dongyang nodded, closed the door, and turned back.

Sitting on the sofa, Zhou Yining extended her arm to him. Ji Dongyang applied the medicine for her.

After a while, he put down the cotton swab, pulled her into his embrace, resting his chin on her head. “Tell the truth. How did you fall? You weren’t wearing high heels today. The entryway was clean, no water, no obstacles. You’re really skilled to fall like that. How did it happen?”

Zhou Yining froze, looking back at him with a smile. “Are you a detective?”

Ji Dongyang stared at her. Zhou Yining pressed her lips together, lowering her eyes slightly. “Really fell by accident. Otherwise, should I fall again for you to see?”

Saying that, she made to stand up.

Ji Dongyang held her down, his voice deep. “Are you crazy?”

Zhou Yining froze, stiffening in his arms. After a long while, she whispered, “Not crazy…”

The atmosphere suddenly froze. Ji Dongyang didn’t know she had just been pointed at and called a “lunatic.” Thinking his tone was too harsh and the little girl felt wronged, he lowered his head to kiss her hair, bent down to pick her up horizontally, and walked toward the bedroom.

Zhou Yining’s arms naturally wrapped around his neck, her eyes quietly watching him.

Ji Dongyang placed her on the bed, reached out to turn off the light, pressed her into his arms, and said in a low voice, “Alright, sleep.”

Zhou Yining hugged his waist, draping her leg over him. “Okay.”

Ji Dongyang put on his eye mask. After a while, he pulled it off and found Zhou Yining wasn’t asleep, just watching him. “Can’t sleep?”

Zhou Yining shook her head. “You sleep. I’ll watch you.”

Ji Dongyang: “…”

A few seconds later. “Need coaxing?”

Zhou Yining froze, really not expecting Ji Dongyang to say something like that. She smiled. “Sure.”

Ji Dongyang stared at her for a while, turned his head, and kissed her lips.

Zhou Yining’s heart trembled. She shivered in his arms, her heart softening as if soaked in water.

She hadn’t expected his version of coaxing to be this

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