Lin Xiyue was so frightened she retreated two steps back.
She looked at the broken hair clip and Little Purple Flower on the floor, then turned her gaze to He Mingchu.
He Mingchu was furious. Without even glancing at her, he turned and strode back to his room.
The door slammed shut with a loud “bang.”
Bai Xiaomei, who had been tending to the vegetable garden behind the house, heard the commotion and hurried back, asking anxiously, “What happened?”
Lin Xiyue pressed her lips together, carefully picking up the separated hair clip from the floor, her voice strained.
“It’s nothing, Mom.”
She instinctively glanced toward He Mingchu’s window.
The next second, with a sharp “swish,” the curtains were drawn shut.
Bai Xiaomei’s worried eyes flickered toward the window before returning to Lin Xiyue.
“Is Ming Chu angry?”
Lin Xiyue shook her head: “It’s nothing, Mom. Please go back to what you were doing!”
Bai Xiaomei kept looking back as she walked away: “If there’s anything, talk properly with Ming Chu. Don’t argue with him!”
Lin Xiyue nodded.
The atmosphere at home felt unusual today, something even He Jianguo noticed.
During dinner, where Lin Xiyue usually livened things up making family meals cheerful, today she had no such inclination. Her attention remained fixed on He Mingchu’s mood, her mind tangled in how to appease him.
He Mingchu kept his gaze straight ahead, his displeasure evident even to Bai Xiaomei and He Jianguo.
He Jianguo made meaningful faces at Bai Xiaomei.
“What’s going on here?”
Bai Xiaomei whispered back: “I don’t know!”
He Jianguo looked from He Mingchu to Lin Xiyue, then a meaningful smile suddenly appeared in his eyes. He said quietly to Bai Xiaomei, “I’ve never seen Ming Chu’s emotions fluctuate this much before!”
Bai Xiaomei worried: “The tension between him and Moon Maiden feels off. Did Moon Maiden do something wrong…”
He Jianguo patted Bai Xiaomei’s hand reassuringly.
“What serious conflict could children have? It’ll probably blow over in three minutes. Let’s not interfere.”
He actually thought his previously emotionless son hadn’t seemed quite normal, and that Lin Xiyue made him appear more human.
This might not be a bad thing.
Hearing He Jianguo and Bai Xiaomei’s conversation made Lin Xiyue’s heart pound. He Mingchu had never been this angry before, which meant he would be difficult to appease.
She bit her chopsticks, having barely eaten anything, when she noticed He Mingchu sitting perfectly still, his bowl already empty.
He neatly set down his chopsticks, stood up and said, “I’m finished eating. Please take your time.”
Then he walked straight back to his room without pause.
Lin Xiyue quickly put down her chopsticks to follow him, but suddenly turned back.
“Uncle, do you have any clear glue?”
Did 502 glue exist in this era?
He Jianguo was surprised to be involved, pausing briefly before nodding eagerly: “Yes, yes! 502! I have some in my toolbox, I’ll get it for you!”
Lin Xiyue nodded: “It’s fine, Uncle. I know where it is, I’ll get it myself!”
After repairing the hair clip with 502 glue, Lin Xiyue still felt uneasy.
The hair clip could be fixed, but would He Mingchu ever treat her as kindly as before?
Her eyes fell on the Five Black Powder and Astragalus Cream on the table.
The cream was almost used up, and her skin condition had indeed improved somewhat.
Just two days ago, He Mingchu had mentioned wanting to try making Pearl Cream for her to brighten her complexion.
Thinking back to her actions today, she realized she might have indeed gone too far.
The next day, Lin Xiyue styled her hair in a ponytail, deliberately using the hairpin He Mingchu had given her to pin back her bangs, making her appear even more fresh and neat.
He Mingchu only glanced at her during the meal before shifting his gaze away.
This left Lin Xiyue feeling uncertain—how could someone be so inscrutable, showing no emotion at all? Her good morning appetite was once again ruined by his ambiguous attitude.
Seeing Lin Xiyue’s frustrated expression, He Mingchu felt a sense of satisfaction.
When he realized he had been tricked by Lin Xiyue, he had indeed been angry, but it only lasted a short while before he figured out how to make her feel guilty.
The outburst he had delivered contained some genuine emotion, but not much.
Of course, he truly felt it was unfair—all his past efforts felt wasted.
The little pet he had so carefully nurtured had actually conspired with someone else to deceive him.
This sense of losing control made him uncomfortable.
Looking back now, that last line yesterday had been particularly well-executed. After slamming the door and storming into his room, he immediately observed Lin Xiyue’s expression from behind the window.
She seemed quite shaken and was reflecting on how her actions had affected him.
Just as Lin Xiyue looked up toward the window, He Mingchu swiftly drew the curtains.
Seeing his little pet hanging her head, he knew just how successful his strategy had been.
That evening at the dinner table, Lin Xiyue was restless, frequently casting glances his way, all of which he ignored.
He Mingchu thought to himself, Let this torment you for a few more days.
When he saw Lin Xiyue wearing the hairpin he had given her that morning, his heart leapt with joy, but he wasn’t ready to let her off the hook just yet.
The anger he had felt upon realizing at the cinema that the person wasn’t Lin Xiyue hadn’t fully subsided. He averted his gaze, determined to see what other tricks she might have up her sleeve.
Seeing that he showed no reaction to her fixing the hairpin, Lin Xiyue dejectedly put down her chopsticks.
“Mom, I’ll go with you.”
Today was Bai Xiaomei’s first day working at the Jin residence. Lin Xiyue was worried she might not manage on her own and feared that Jin Yao might take out her frustration over the unsuccessful date yesterday on Bai Xiaomei. To be safe, she decided to accompany her.
The Jin family’s villa wasn’t far from the He family’s neighborhood.
Since Bai Xiaomei could ride a bike, it took only about fifteen minutes to get there.
As they arrived at the gate, Jin Yao happened to be returning from her morning run.
Her expression remained unchanged upon seeing the mother and daughter.
“You’re here? Come in with me!”
Lin Xiyue turned her head, feeling she had been overly suspicious.
True to her role as the female lead, Jin Yao was a woman of her word. She arranged for someone to take Bai Xiaomei to the kitchen and explained her daily tasks.
Lin Xiyue’s gaze never left Bai Xiaomei.
Jin Yao rolled her eyes.
“If you’re this worried, are you going to come and watch over your mom every time she works from now on?”
Lin Xiyue finally looked away and shook her head. “No, no.”
Satisfied that she had regained Lin Xiyue’s attention, Jin Yao leaned back on the sofa, crossed her arms, and stated matter-of-factly, “Your brother only watched the first half of the movie yesterday before leaving.”
Lin Xiyue breathed a sigh of relief. Since Jin Yao hadn’t mentioned it earlier, the moment the Sword of Damocles finally fell, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders.
“Miss Jin, my brother has told you before—he doesn’t like you.”
Lin Xiyue pursed her lips. “You knew that if you gave him the movie ticket directly, he would definitely refuse, which is why you had me give it to him.”
“But if I tell him directly that you invited him to watch a movie, he’ll refuse me without a second thought.”