Bored on the way, Xing Yuan took the initiative to sit next to the girl.
Xing Yuan smiled gently and asked politely, "May I sit here?"
The girl was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
Although there were still many empty seats around, this was not her home, so there was no need to ask her where this person wanted to sit.
"What's your name?" Although Xing Yuan was not familiar with An Xunjie, she was really bored now and had to make small talk.
The girl pointed to herself, seemingly unsure if she was talking to her. After confirming, she glanced hesitantly at her friend beside her, who was engrossed in watching the handsome guy on the field, and then said, "My name is Pei Yu."
"That's a nice name. Do you have a boyfriend?"
Whether it was Pei Yu's illusion or not, she felt that the person next to her was a bit too enthusiastic.
She shook her head slightly, "No, my most important task right now is to study, and I haven't planned to date yet."
Xing Yuan tutted with regret, then enthusiastically promoted, "I have a younger brother who seems to like you quite a bit. If you ever want to date, why not consider him? He's quite good-looking too. If you don't like him, I'll give you a refund or exchange."
Although this younger brother might not know he had such a good sister, she did! So, naturally, she had to do something proactive.
"Okay," Pei Yu nodded dazedly and then confusedly added Xing Yuan's account.
"You like reading so much?" Xing Yuan asked again after a moment of silence.
Pei Yu nodded, "There's an exam in a few days."
"Oh! Then good luck!" Xing Yuan yawned out of boredom, checked her phone, but the person on the other side had not replied to her message for a long time.
After a while, Pei Yu suddenly put down her book and asked curiously, "You're probably not from our school, are you!"
"That's right! I'm not from your school," Xing Yuan admitted frankly. "But how did you find out? There are so many people in your school, you can't possibly know them all!"
Pei Yu smiled shyly, "I just guessed. After all, you seem quite strange. Usually, classmates ask for my contact information because they want to pursue me or have other things to do, but it's rare for someone to ask for it on behalf of someone else like you."
"So that's how it is!" Xing Yuan nodded thoughtfully. This was indeed her lack of consideration.
"However, you look very much like a friend of mine, see, the one playing ball on the field." Pei Yu pointed, then reasonably suspected, "I think you should have some relationship with him."
"Really? Then you have quite an imagination," Xing Yuan shrugged, smiling somewhat carelessly.
As expected, she should have disguised herself before coming out. Otherwise, with her appearance, people would indeed misunderstand!
"Guess wrong?" Pei Yu rubbed her book in confusion. "Alright then! But you two really look alike."
Xing Yuan chuckled, looking at Pei Yu's eyes filled with helplessness. "There are so many people who look alike in the world. Does that mean everyone is related to him? Little sister, you're thinking too much."
"That's true," Pei Yu nodded seriously and apologized to Xing Yuan, "I was wrong just now. But I still have to ask, are your parents still alive, or rather, are you their biological child?"
Xing Yuan's eyes turned cold. "Are you questioning me?"
"Not at all," Pei Yu's pretty face was full of seriousness. "You may not have heard, Uncle An once had a daughter, about five or six years older than An Xunjie. And you seem to fit this description."
Xing Yuan was stunned. She hadn't thoroughly investigated the social aspects of her birth family, so she didn't know an important fact: Pei Yu grew up with An Xunjie as childhood sweethearts. Therefore, even if she didn't like him, she must have known everything about his family.
Moreover, the An family had never hidden the existence of An Yuan. On the contrary, they had even tried to let everyone know that they had another daughter, and An Xunjie had an older sister. They were looking for her and had never given up for years.
If that child could hear this news one day, even if she was covered in scars, they would be willing to accept her without reservation.
Xing Yuan had always been a controller. Even in front of people close to her, she often dominated the rhythm of everything. It wasn't that she liked to scheme, but that in her current state, she didn't know how else to approach the person she liked except by scheming.
Hearing Pei Yu's words, Xing Yuan subconsciously pursed her lips, her heart felt bitter, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Her emotions were more intense than ever. She clenched her fists, forced herself to remain calm, and said, "Is that so? It has nothing to do with me."
"I have my own parents, and I wouldn't stoop to stealing someone else's," Xing Yuan said, then pretended to be offended by Pei Yu and turned to leave.
She left in a hurry, and after moving away from the crowd, she started running, finally sobbing softly in a secluded corner.
She had never feared death in the past, instead seeing it as a归宿 (guīsù - destination/home), because in her heart, no one had ever looked forward to her return.
So she had always done as she pleased; "drink today, worry not about tomorrow" was her true portrayal.
But just now, she had almost admitted it directly. She was actually a child with a home! Someone at home had always kept a light on for her, waiting for her return.
But she couldn't.
Covered in blood, in endless darkness, she was no longer worthy of them.
What could she do if she went back? Apart from bringing them more disaster and causing them more pain, she could do nothing. Therefore, it was best to end it here!
She silently opened her phone, blocked, and deleted Pei Yu's contact information.
Then, she made a desperate call to Ling Chenyue.
As soon as Ling Chenyue answered, she heard a choked voice on the other end of the line.
"Sister, sister! Where are you? I want to see you."
"What's wrong? What happened? Where are you? I'll come pick you up," Ling Chenyue's voice was a little flustered.
Xing Yuan gave an address and then looked expectantly towards the alley entrance with tear-streaked eyes.
Ling Chenyue was a special police officer and had studied some psychology. She judged from Xing Yuan's voice that she was on the verge of a breakdown, so she abandoned everything and rushed over.
Ling Chenyue walked closer step by step and saw that Xing Yuan's clothes were intact, with no other abnormalities except for her red and swollen eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister~" Xing Yuan hugged her, her tears dripping onto Ling Chenyue's shoulder.
Ling Chenyue felt as if she had been scalded by the weak tears, and her heart also became warm. She gently wiped Xing Yuan's tears and softly coaxed, "Don't be afraid! I'm here. Who bullied you? Tell me, and I'll get revenge for you."