Chapter Fifty

When Li Li realized that Zhang Yi had been joking with her, her eyes immediately reddened. Was deceiving others’ feelings his source of happiness? Or did he make a living out of playing tricks on people?

Seeing that he had lost his composure, Zhang Yi looked at Li Li with a face full of apology. “I’m sorry, truly, I didn’t mean to toy with your feelings. It really wasn’t intentional.”

“Not intentional? So you’re saying it was deliberate?” Li Li retorted with biting words, clearly infuriated. Zhang Yi had only meant to tease her, but now the joke was unmanageable; he had offended her and had to apologize, something he’d never done before—usually, it was others who apologized to him.

At that moment, Yu Xingyue stepped out. He couldn’t bear to watch anymore; Zhang Yi was treating someone like this, and though he knew it was all a joke, it had gone too far.

Yu Xingyue had long seen that Li Li was fragile, likely a result of childhood bullying. He prepared to prod Zhang Yi into apologizing.

Yu Xingyue apologized, “Sister, I’m sorry, my friend isn’t very good with words. Don’t take it to heart, he just has a sharp tongue.” Judging by Li Li’s height, Yu Xingyue guessed she was three years younger than him, and he didn’t forget to speak up for Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi hurried to add, “My mouth deserves a beating, I’m a scoundrel. If you want to hit or punish me, do as you wish.” He was ready to endure whatever came.

Seeing Zhang Yi’s sincere attitude and with Yu Xingyue defending him, Li Li found herself unable to retaliate. “Alright, alright, I can’t argue with the two of you. You’re just teaming up to bully me.” With that, her eyes glistened and tears threatened to fall.

Li Li could no longer hear their words, her heart heavy as she left the Zhang household. Even as she walked away, their ears could still catch the sound of her sobbing.

Yu Xingyue smacked Zhang Yi on the head, “What was that? I thought it would be a sweet confession, and you turned it into a joke.”

Zhang Yi hurried to explain, “I really didn’t mean it; I never expected things to turn out like this.”

“What’s done is done. Whether she forgives you or not is hard to say,” Yu Xingyue sighed.

The two spent the rest of the time playing PS4 to pass the hours; there was still a while before evening. They put the unpleasantness behind them and immersed themselves in the game. Zhang Yi’s right arm couldn’t move, but his fingers were unaffected, and he forgot all about the pain as he played.

Time flew by, and soon the evening arrived. Yu Xingyue bid Zhang Yi farewell and headed home. Sun Yao had called him earlier, but Yu Xingyue wasn’t home—he was at a friend’s place. Sun Yao arranged for his butler to pick up Yu Xingyue. Yu Xingyue sent the address to Sun Yao, who then forwarded it to the butler so he could find him.

Outside, a black Mercedes waited at the door. Once inside, the butler drove directly to Sun Yao’s house. They rode in silence.

It was the butler who spoke first. “Sir, may I have your family name?” His voice was gentle and kind.

Yu Xingyue smiled, “My surname is Yu, my given name Xingyue. Just call me Xingyue.”

“Very well, Mr. Xingyue. I am Luo Er, you may call me Butler Luo.”

“Butler Luo, how long will your master be away?” Here, ‘master’ referred to Sun Yao. Yu Xingyue wanted to verify if Yang Shuting had lied, since she and Sun Yao’s mother worked in the same company, and the butler wouldn’t lie.

Luo Er replied, “The master said he’d be gone for a week. He was worried Miss would be too lonely, so he asked you to come and keep her company—it’s your honor to accompany our Miss.”

Such a boastful tone, Yu Xingyue thought, though he seemed easy enough to talk to. He replied, “It’s indeed an honor. I will do my best to take care of your Miss. Is there anything I should prepare?”

Luo Er said, “Relax, it’s not so complicated. Just treat it like caring for a baby—it won’t be difficult.”

“Really? It sounds less simple than I imagined.”

“You’ll know once you arrive.”

Throughout their conversation, Luo Er kept mentioning the Miss’s childhood. The Miss was Sun Ying. Sun Ying had suffered bullying from poorer children because her family was wealthy, leaving her with psychological scars. Especially when encountering vagrants, she would grow frightened, perhaps seeing them as those who had bullied her.

This made Yu Xingyue feel a pang of sympathy for Sun Ying. To have endured such humiliation so young—how had she survived these six years?

Lost in these thoughts, Yu Xingyue noticed the car had stopped, and he peered out the window. Before him stood a massive villa. Luo Er got out, opened the door, and invited Yu Xingyue to step out, saying they had arrived.

He hadn’t expected Sun Ying to live in such a place. Yu Xingyue found it intimidating. He began to wonder just what Sun Yao did for a living to earn so much money. Wasn’t he supposed to be on the same footing as Yang Shuting?

Luo Er opened the villa door, inviting Yu Xingyue inside. Yu Xingyue was stunned—the place was enormous, much larger than Wang Tianqi’s apartment. This villa was like a bird’s nest—not the little bird’s nest, but the National Stadium’s Bird’s Nest, attracting the gaze of passersby.

Luo Er led Yu Xingyue upstairs. Truthfully, the staircase was an escalator like those in shopping malls, and it was so long that the second floor couldn’t be seen from below—it took five minutes just to go up.

Once on the second floor, Luo Er led Yu Xingyue to a door. “Miss is inside. I’ll go prepare dinner; you must keep her company.”

Yu Xingyue nodded, and Luo Er went downstairs. Now alone upstairs, with no sounds at all, it felt eerily quiet. Yu Xingyue gathered his courage and knocked at the door. “Little one, are you inside?”

No response. He knocked again. “Little one, are you inside?” Still, silence.

Worried something might be wrong, Yu Xingyue carefully opened the door—it wasn’t locked—and was greeted by another scene.

The room was as large as a typical family’s living room, bathed in pink hues. Expensive cosmetics adorned the vanity. Was this really the room of a sixth grader?

Looking around, Yu Xingyue found Sun Ying asleep on the bed. He tiptoed over to check on her. From this angle, Sun Ying looked quite beautiful, and Yu Xingyue’s mind wandered.

He slapped his own face, thinking, “Yu Xingyue, you’re a pure young man; how could you have thoughts like that? You never used to be this way!”

He reminded himself not to indulge in improper thoughts. That would be beneath him.

Deciding not to disturb her sleep, Yu Xingyue prepared to leave. But as he was going out, he stepped on something, eliciting a cry of pain so loud it echoed in Sun Ying’s room.

“Ah!” Sun Ying was startled awake by Yu Xingyue’s shout. She quickly sat up, scanning her surroundings. When she saw Yu Xingyue, all the fear vanished, replaced by a smile of delight.

The cry hadn’t attracted Luo Er’s attention—the villa was so spacious, sounds from upstairs didn’t reach downstairs. Had he heard it, Luo Er might have suspected Yu Xingyue was up to no good.

Yu Xingyue turned to Sun Ying, who was now awake. Before he could speak, Sun Ying got out of bed and walked over, taking his right hand. “Big brother… why… why are you here?”

“Your father asked me to take care of you. He won’t be back for a while, so he asked me to look after you.”

“Really? Then… does that mean… I’ll get to see… big brother every day?”

Yu Xingyue replied, “Just for one week. You’ll only see me for a week, alright? But soon, you’ll be able to see me every day.”

“Big brother, let’s make a pinky promise.” Sun Ying raised her little finger. Yu Xingyue realized this was the most complete sentence he’d ever heard her speak—just a few words, but not stammered.

Yu Xingyue hooked his pinky with hers. As for whether Sun Yao and Yang Shuting would end up together, who could say? It was up to fate. After their promise, Sun Ying excitedly led Yu Xingyue to explore the entire second floor.

Yu Xingyue noticed Sun Ying had become lively, but then thought that it was natural—this was her home, a place where she could be cheerful and outgoing. Outside, she seemed like a different person. When she first saw Yu Xingyue, she had stammered, but that was only temporary. Afterward, Yu Xingyue would hear Sun Ying speak complete sentences with ease.