Unexpected Guests

By the time the car pulled up to the villa’s gate, her phone had just finished charging. Qin Haiyue unplugged it and handed it to the girl.

Ye Xingmian carefully placed the phone in her backpack, which held not books but an odd assortment of items: the phone Qin Haiyue had given her, two hundred yuan in cash, and the scarf the class monitor had given her yesterday.

Thinking about the scarf, the girl actually felt a bit of relief. Luckily, she had taken it off and put it in her backpack beforehand; otherwise, it would probably have been thrown away just like her old clothes.

In that case… she would have felt guilty…

“Miss, we’re home. I have matters to attend to this afternoon, so I’ve already prepared what you requested. I’ll pick you up at the usual time. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be off.”

“Mm, okay.” Qin Haiyue opened the car door, responded casually, and stepped out.

Seeing this, Ye Xingmian quickly followed, running up behind her. Together, they watched the driver drive off into the distance.

Qin Haiyue’s gaze drifted, lost in thought. She stared blankly at the horizon for a moment before turning back, her face cold as she said flatly, “Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

The villa’s door was closed, as if someone had already been there. The living room was dim, the curtains drawn, casting a gloom over everything. Qin Haiyue fiddled with her phone at the door for a moment, and the curtains slid open on their own.

The warm midday sunlight poured into the living room, illuminating the items on the table—and making the girl’s eyes widen in surprise.

On the table was a feast: all kinds of dishes and pastries, some she could name, some she couldn’t, covering the entire surface.

“This is…?”

Qin Haiyue turned to glance at her, a slight smile tugging at her cold face—though it seemed forced, as if she were straining to produce it.

“I had it prepared especially for you. Do you like it?”

“Huh? For… me…?” The girl felt not joy, but fear.

As the saying goes, ‘a weasel coming to pay respects to the chicken’… Qin Haiyue treating her like this made her genuinely scared.

What did she want?

“What? You don’t like it?” Qin Haiyue frowned.

Ye Xingmian bit her lip and quickly shook her head. “No… it’s not that… I like it very much… Thank you…”

“Then sit down.”

Qin Haiyue was far from satisfied with the girl’s reaction. She had thought the girl would at least thank her, or maybe even show some surprise—that would have made her feel her efforts were worthwhile. But this response was truly disappointing.

Seeing the girl sit stiffly on the sofa, Qin Haiyue took a seat across from her.

They sat in awkward silence, neither making a move. The atmosphere grew eerily quiet. Frowning, Qin Haiyue pulled out her phone from her pocket.

“Do you know how to use chat apps?” She tried to find a topic to bridge the gap.

“Sort of…” Having once secretly watched her younger sister use her phone from behind the couch while doing housework, Ye Xingmian had a rough idea how such apps worked.

“Can you type?”

“Type?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think so…”

“Want me to teach you?”

Qin Haiyue stared at her, her eyes clearly demanding consent. But the girl found herself in a dilemma; her subconscious warned her that getting too close to Qin Haiyue was still too dangerous. She felt resistant.

“N-no, you don’t need to…”

Qin Haiyue frowned and stood up.

“I’m trying to be kind and teach you, so just agree. Don’t refuse me.”

“O-okay…”

Seeing the girl cower, Qin Haiyue fell silent for a moment.

So exhausting. Truly exhausting.

Originally, she had planned to get close to her and win her favor. But now, it seemed to have had the opposite effect. She frowned, but since the words were already out, taking them back would look bad. She decided to stick with what she had said; maybe teaching her to use the phone would bring them closer?

But even if it didn’t, it didn’t really matter. She could just go through the motions. After all, her original goal was…

‘Wait, why do I even care about her liking me?’

She found her own thoughts strange, but didn’t dwell on them. It was just a fleeting thought, and overthinking it wouldn’t help.

Just as she stood up to approach the girl, the villa’s doorbell suddenly rang.

“Huh?”

Qin Haiyue stopped in her tracks, frowning deeply. No one should be visiting at this hour, so who could it be?

After all, she had no friends who could enter the villa district to call on her, and her parents were far away in a foreign country, making their return virtually impossible.

She glanced down at the girl clutching her phone timidly, then said, “Stay here. I’ll get the door.”

With that, she turned and walked to the villa’s entrance, opening the door directly.

And the two people who came into view…

She frowned deeply, her expression shifting from coldness to disgust.

“Luo Xi? What are you doing here!”

The two before Qin Haiyue were both women. One was curvaceous, dressed in a black uniform—clearly a working professional. The other wore a white school uniform beneath a black blazer, her face cold, standing about one meter seventy-five tall, with a neat single ponytail at the back of her head.

Seeing Qin Haiyue, a flicker of disgust flashed in her eyes, quickly vanishing. Her voice was as cold as her expression, mechanical.

“I thought my father had already informed your father in advance. Has he not told you, Miss Qin?”

At her words, Qin Haiyue frowned. She did recall that someone was supposed to visit today, but she hadn’t expected it to be this person.

“Heh. He did. Come in, Miss Luo.”

The visitor was Luo Xi, the only daughter of the city’s Chief Justice. She had been groomed from a young age as her father’s successor, and barring any accidents, she would likely inherit his position. While maintaining her rank as the school’s top student, she had already begun handling professional matters.

The development issues of the Qin family’s branch in this city were now her responsibility to coordinate, which showed how much her father valued and trusted her.

Despite being annoyed that her time alone with the little brat was being disturbed, Qin Haiyue still played host. She seated the two in the living room, forcing a strained smile onto her face.

“These dishes were prepared for the two of you. Please enjoy.” As she spoke, she sat down beside Ye Xingmian.

Seeing a stranger suddenly appear in the villa, the girl grew tense. Her pink eyes darted nervously, sneaking glances at the newcomers before dropping her head again, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

When she heard Qin Haiyue say the feast was meant for the two guests, she couldn’t help but feel relieved. The pressure lifted somewhat.