During the break, Shen Qingyou went to the restroom.
The hallway was noisy—some students were chasing each other, others leaning against the wall chatting. She kept her head down as she walked toward the restroom, still thinking about the math problem from the last class.
A few girls were standing at the restroom entrance, pointing and gesturing in her direction. She recognized one of them—a girl from the neighboring class, though she couldn’t remember her name.
She lowered her head and tried to walk past them.
But they had no intention of letting her through.
“Shen Qingyou,” the girl drawled, “I heard you’re adopted by Yan Hao’s third uncle?”
Shen Qingyou stopped and looked at her.
“What’s it to you?”
The girl let out a sneer, glanced back at the others, and made an exaggerated face.
“Nothing, really. Just asking,” she said. “After all, Yan Hao is in my class. He’s told us a lot about you.”
Shen Qingyou’s heart tightened.
“What did he say?”
The girl looked her up and down and spoke slowly.
“He said you’re just some country girl living off others’ charity. If it weren’t for his third uncle feeling sorry for you, you’d be who knows where by now.”
The girls beside her covered their mouths and snickered.
Shen Qingyou stood there, her face alternating between pale and flushed.
“And he also said,” the girl continued, “that you cling to him all the time, and he can’t get away from you. He just feels sorry for you, but you’ve gone and taken it seriously.”
“Shameless,” someone murmured beside her.
Shen Qingyou looked at them. Suddenly, she remembered—this was exactly how it had been in her past life.
Back then, she couldn’t understand why people would say such things about her when she hadn’t done anything wrong.
In this life, she wanted to try to be different.
“Are you done?” she asked, her voice very calm.
The girls were taken aback. They hadn’t expected this reaction.
Shen Qingyou didn’t look at them again. She walked past them and went into the restroom.
…
In the afternoon classes, Shen Qingyou couldn’t focus on a single word.
She sat at her desk, staring at the blackboard, but her mind was full of those words.
Scenes from her past life after marrying Yan Hao kept surfacing before her eyes.
She closed her eyes and tried to push those voices down.
But they wouldn’t go away.
The words were like needles, stuck in her heart, impossible to pull out.
Li Hongmei poked her from the side.
“Qingyou, what’s wrong? You look really pale.”
Shen Qingyou shook her head.
“Nothing.”
When the dismissal bell rang, Shen Qingyou packed her bag and headed outside.
The sky had already darkened, and the wind was a bit cold.
She wheeled her bike and walked slowly toward the school gate.
When she reached the entrance, she instinctively glanced toward the curb.
The jeep wasn’t there.
She paused for a moment, then remembered—her Third Uncle hadn’t said he would pick her up today.
That made sense. He was so busy; how could he come every day?
She lowered her head and walked on, pushing her bike.
There weren’t many people on the street. She rode very slowly.
As she pedaled, her eyes suddenly felt a bit sore.
She blinked hard, forcing the stinging sensation back.
Don’t cry.
If you cry, you lose.
She told herself that and pedaled a little faster.
…
She turned into the alley entrance. The sky was almost dark.
From a distance, she could see someone standing at the courtyard gate.
A wool coat, broad shoulders, a straight back.
He stood there, looking toward the alley entrance.
Shen Qingyou froze for a moment.
She hadn’t felt wronged a moment ago, but the moment she saw her Third Uncle, that sour feeling surged up in her heart again.
She rode over and got off the bike.
Yan Tingxu looked at her, his gaze pausing on her face for a moment.
“You’re back?”
Shen Qingyou nodded.
She kept her head down and leaned the bike against the wall.
Once it was parked, she stood there without moving.
Yan Tingxu didn’t move either.
After a moment, he spoke.
“Time to eat.”
Shen Qingyou looked up at him.
Hearing those three words, she suddenly felt that the needles in her heart didn’t hurt quite as much anymore.
Shen Qingyou nodded earnestly.
“Mm.”
…
Dinner was very quiet.
Shen Qingyou sat across from him, eating with her head down.
Yan Tingxu ate as usual. Picking up dishes, scooping rice, drinking soup.
But when he reached for a dish, he pushed it a little closer to her side.
Shen Qingyou noticed but said nothing.
After the meal, she went to wash the dishes.
While washing, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.
She turned around. Yan Tingxu was standing at the kitchen door.
He was holding an enamel mug, which he handed over.
Shen Qingyou took it and saw that it was filled with warm milk.
She held the mug, standing there, watching the steam rise.
“Third Uncle,” she suddenly spoke.
Yan Tingxu looked at her.
“Mm?”
Shen Qingyou opened her mouth, wanting to say something but not knowing what.
She hesitated, then finally said just one word.
“Nothing.”
Yan Tingxu gave her a glance, said nothing, and turned to leave.
Shen Qingyou stood in the kitchen, holding the enamel mug, watching his figure disappear through the doorway.
She lowered her head and took a sip of the milk.
It was warm. It tasted good. The warmth spread from her mouth to her heart.
…
The next morning, Shen Qingyou got up to make breakfast.
She pushed open the door. Someone was already in the courtyard.
It wasn’t her Third Uncle.
It was Yan Hao.
He was standing in the yard, talking to her Third Uncle.
When he saw her come out, he immediately broke into a grin and waved.
“Qingyou! Morning!”
Shen Qingyou’s footsteps faltered.
Yan Tingxu stood nearby, his face expressionless.
Shen Qingyou nodded slightly as a greeting and headed toward the kitchen.
Just as she reached the kitchen door, she suddenly heard Yan Hao’s voice from behind her.
“Third Uncle, I just came to remind you. You know how some people are—you raise them like family, but they don’t see it that way. I heard that at school, she’s been telling everyone that you begged her to stay. And that… the only reason you’re good to her is because you owe her father something.”
Shen Qingyou stood at the kitchen door, completely frozen.
She turned around and looked into the courtyard.
Yan Hao stood there, still wearing that same smile.
Yan Tingxu looked at him and said nothing.
But his gaze was cold enough to freeze someone to death.