Chapter 10: The Entire House Was Brightly Lit

That night, Meng Zhenyue came again. She brought dinner for Yun Zhixue, then took her to the campus supermarket to buy milk, fruit, and snacks. The once sparsely furnished single dorm room instantly became crowded.

“How many candies did you eat?” Meng Zhenyue asked.

“Seven,” Yun Zhixue answered obediently.

“Eat fewer.” Meng Zhenyue said, “There are vitamins and calcium tablets in the bag. One a day. The candy is for when you’re in a bad mood.”

Yun Zhixue nodded and finished all the food Meng Zhenyue brought. Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s as she ate, stealing glances at her between bites.

Meng Zhenyue’s fingers brushed lightly along the back of her neck. “Don’t keep your head down. Drink some water.”

“Okay.”

There was work waiting for her, so Meng Zhenyue told her to message if anything happened. When she left, she still wasn’t at ease, she tidied the room again, making sure there were no knives or anything sharp before going.

Yun Zhixue swallowed the vitamins and calcium. She had never lacked food at home; there was always a housekeeper cooking. She was thin because when she had no appetite, she simply didn’t eat, and no one coaxed her.

Once, her world had been a barren ruin. Not a blade of grass grew there. Trash everywhere.

Now she unfolded the note and carefully copied each word stroke by stroke. So she, too, could be a pure white background. She, too, could be someone’s favorite color.

On the broken walls of her past, a brand-new world was being painted in dazzling hues.

Late at night, unable to sleep, Yun Zhixue stepped barefoot onto the cold floor and silently opened the wardrobe. Among layers of clothing, that purple stood out vividly in the dark, like a flickering violet flame.

Her fingers moved through the fabric. The moment she touched it, a tremor ran through her nerves.

Meng Zhenyue had worn this.

She clutched the nightdress tightly to her chest, greedily breathing in its scent like a newborn craving milk. The near-pathological attachment made her toes curl in shame, yet she couldn’t resist.

“It’s okay,” she buried her burning face in the soft cloth. “I’ll be fine tomorrow…”

She had never been breastfed. The nanny once told her that as a baby she had been sent to another villa to be raised separately. She didn’t cry, didn’t fuss. She lived just fine without a mother’s milk.

She had weaned quickly.

So she wouldn’t crave. In a few days, she could quit this too.

****

After the torrential rain, blazing sun returned. The moisture in the air evaporated quickly.

Meng Zhenyue texted her, asking what she had eaten, whether anyone had bothered her. Yun Zhixue, still a well-behaved child, answered honestly, including that since morning a girl had been talking to her and even sat beside her at lunch.

The girl was very outgoing, in the same class as Du Mingxiao.

She chattered nonstop, cursing Du Mingxiao, coughing theatrically after every rant before continuing to talk. Yun Zhixue didn’t respond. The girl said, “That day I was the one who brought your sister to your dorm.”

“She’s not my sister,” Yun Zhixue corrected.

“Then what is she to you? She’s really pretty. Your aunt?”

Yun Zhixue looked at her deeply.

“Don’t tell me she’s your stepmom?” The girl lowered her voice.

Irritation flooded Yun Zhixue. She frowned. The girl leaned closer. “My mom’s a stepmom too.”

Yun Zhixue glanced at her name tag.

Her surname was Chi. Her name: Chi Ruishu.

Yun Zhixue quickened her pace. The girl, thinking they had a common topic, followed her relentlessly. So annoying. So annoying.

‘We don’t have the same kind of stepmother. She hasn’t even married my mom.’

“She’s not like your stepmom,” Yun Zhixue said coldly.

The girl didn’t seem to notice. “Oh? I thought she was the same. She specifically came to find me yesterday, asked if I had many friends. Said I was enthusiastic and told me to eat with you. She was worried you’d be bullied and not tell her. She even added me on WeChat and told me to contact her if anything happened.”

Yun Zhixue froze and turned back to look at her seriously.

After a moment, she bit her lower lip. “Are you thirsty? I’ll buy you water.”

That afternoon in class, Chi Ruishu’s words echoed in her mind. She imagined Meng Zhenyue suddenly appearing at school again, what she would wear, what she would say.

The grade director and homeroom teacher repeatedly summoned her to the office, trying to smooth things over.

Yun Zhixue remained silent. When she returned, she was restless and immediately opened her chat with Meng Zhenyue.

Her gaze lingered on the simple profile picture, a bird shadow formed by two hands against a wall. The hands weren’t touching, yet together they shaped wings in flight.

The name was just: ZY.

Meng Zhenyue arrived quickly. The director had come looking for Yun Zhixue; seeing Meng Zhenyue at the doorway, he immediately turned back to his office.

A child with a mother was different. No matter your background, when the mother stood there, people hesitated.

Meng Zhenyue didn’t leave. She waited by the fountain until school ended, telling Yun Zhixue to pack two books so she could take her out to eat.

Meng Zhenyue carried the books. Yun Zhixue tilted her head, studying her profile.

“That day… did she ask you to come see me? Or did the teacher call you?”

Meng Zhenyue smiled. “Can’t it be that I wanted to come myself?”

Yun Zhixue didn’t understand. “But… you were so angry that day.”

“So I planned to just see you once and leave.”

So it wasn’t Yun Jing. It wasn’t the teacher. It was her own decision. Because she was hurt. Because she kept watch over her night after night.

“At noon I was waiting downstairs in the teaching building,” Meng Zhenyue added. “I planned to take you out to eat. Waited a long time. In the evening I asked your classmate and found your dorm.”

Not just one glance after all.

Yun Zhixue was speechless for a long time.

Meng Zhenyue parked outside a restaurant. She had already reserved a table.

When the dishes arrived, she served Yun Zhixue a bowl of porridge, waited for it to cool, and handed it to her.

“You’re not eating?” Yun Zhixue asked.

“Had dinner with colleagues earlier.”

Afterward, Meng Zhenyue looked out the window, lost in thought. Neon lights from the restaurant reflected through the glass, casting a hazy glow along her profile. A loose strand of hair brushed her cheek, outlining her face in soft gold.

Sensing Yun Zhixue’s gaze, she raised a brow.

Yun Zhixue wiped her mouth.

“Full?”

“Mm.”

Meng Zhenyue ordered her a fruit tea.

In the car, Yun Zhixue sat in the back seat. Meng Zhenyue didn’t start driving immediately. She took a sandalwood box from the console and turned to hand it back.

“Open it. See if you like it.”

Inside, against red silk lining, lay an intricately braided red cord threaded with a small golden statue of Wenchang Dijun and a white jade ram zodiac charm. Under the car’s interior light, the jade glowed warmly.

“For warding off evil,” Meng Zhenyue said.

Yun Zhixue stroked the smooth surface of the jade, put it back, took it out again, then secretly wound the red cord around her wrist. The red against her slender wrist made her skin look even paler.

“It also keeps you safe. Helps you rank first. Drives away illness and disaster.”

She had never worn such things. The jade grew warm in her grip. “When did you buy it?”

Meng Zhenyue turned the steering wheel onto the main road. “…Around four or five.”

“So early? It wasn’t even light yet.”

“Had to go to the temple for it to be blessed. First incense of the day. Otherwise it won’t work, baby.”

Yun Zhixue clutched the bracelet. Her heart pounded fiercely, her palms hot as she looked at her intently. No wonder she had dressed so properly today, white shirt, tailored trousers…

She let herself imagine.

The woman kneeling with palms pressed together, devoutly praying, not for herself, but for Yun Zhixue. May she be safe. May she be healthy. May everything go smoothly.

She had seen classmates wear such charms before. They were gifts from someone close.

Meng Zhenyue had given one to her.

Her body trembled as if chilled, goosebumps rising on her skin. She couldn’t stop sneaking glances at Meng Zhenyue.

“Why… did you pray for this for me?”

When there was no reply, she added softly, “You’re… really good. Is it only for me?”

Rush hour traffic roared. Meng Zhenyue didn’t hear. She glanced at her through the rearview mirror, saw the smile on her face, her liveliness restored, and curved her lips faintly.

The red cord suited her delicate wrist. She had never worn jewelry before. No one had ever cared enough to pray for her protection.

When they drove into the villa district, the car stopped at the gate instead of entering.

They both sensed something unusual.

The entire house was brightly lit.

Meng Zhenyue’s movement unbuckling her seatbelt slowed noticeably. The metallic click echoed sharply in the quiet garage.

The caregiver had left the day Yun Zhixue returned to school. Meng Zhenyue usually ate out. Aside from her, no one should have been home.

Now every light was on.

Meng Zhenyue closed the car door slowly.

She didn’t go in immediately. Instead, she took the red cord from Yun Zhixue’s clenched hand and fastened it properly around her wrist, her finger brushing the back of her hand.

“What are you afraid of? I’m here. If there’s a ghost inside, it’ll eat me first.”

The moment they stepped into the foyer, cold air washed over them.

On the main sofa in the living room sat a woman with shoulder-length hair. Her features were sharp, her black suit impeccably tailored, an aura of severity clinging to her. A secretary stood beside her holding a tablet.

Behind her glasses, her gaze swept over them coldly.

As if they had caused trouble, and she had come to clean up the mess.

Yun Zhixue’s breathing stalled. Beneath the red cord, her pulse throbbed violently.

At the same time, a rebellious, almost shameful thought flashed through her mind.

Her biological mother had come to the home she shared with Meng Zhenyue.