A Request for a Phone Number

Tomorrow… noon… go to her house…?

Watching Liu Yinuo’s retreating figure, the girl shrank into herself against the bleak winter wind of the sunset. Her eyes were filled with anxiety and confusion; she felt that Liu Yinuo had been acting strange just now, but she couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.

How to put it? It felt as if something terrible would happen if she disobeyed.

But… Qin Haiyue also said to go see her tomorrow at noon… The times clashed. What should she do?

She didn’t know. Either choice felt wrong, but Qin Haiyue’s threat was definitely more menacing.

The girl stared blankly at the staircase where Liu Yinuo had disappeared, silent for a moment, before finally taking her usual secluded path away.

Unconsciously, the New Year was approaching, and the weather grew colder, especially outdoors after nightfall. The biting dry wind cut into her face like a sharp knife, making her involuntarily frown.

The girl carefully unzipped her backpack and took out the scarf Liu Yinuo had given her.

It had to be said—the gift was very practical. It conveyed the giver’s sincerity without being too expensive, making it easy to accept. More importantly, it was really warm.

When the girl left school, the dense flow of people and cars on the streets had gradually faded.

Occasionally, pairs would huddle together, perhaps lovers or close friends. They shielded each other from the cold wind, while the girl’s figure remained utterly alone.

The thick scarf wrapped around her cheeks, revealing only a pair of somewhat dim pink eyes between strands of hair.

The sun finally set completely. Darkness and cold swiftly enveloped the sky. In the bustling city, thousands of lights flickered on like dazzling stars.

The girl followed the winding path in her memory toward the Lin family home. There were no skyscrapers here, no noisy night markets. Under the pale streetlights, her tiny figure was headed toward that un-warm ‘home’.

Standing before the cold security door, she noticed a car parked outside—meaning her foster parents were already home from work.

This made the girl nervous. Her small hand, which had almost touched the doorknob, retracted.

Before entering, she decided to take off her scarf first. After all, Lin Ziyan might get angry if she saw it, and she didn’t want Liu Yinuo’s gift to be thrown away.

She stuffed the scarf into her backpack, reached out, and turned the doorknob. The living room was brightly lit, and the sound of chopping came from the kitchen.

“I’m home…”

No response. No one seemed to care about her return. She entered silently. The living room was quiet.

Lin Ziyan sat on the sofa scrolling through her phone. When she heard the girl come in, she merely shot her a cold glance before turning away without a word.

The girl had just put down her backpack and was about to go upstairs when her foster father, Lin Cheng, suddenly poked his head out of the kitchen. His narrowed eyes made her stop in her tracks.

“You little bastard, you actually remembered to come back? Had your fill of fun outside? Get the hell over here and help!”

“Ah? Okay…”

She had barely caught her breath after entering when her foster father called her into the kitchen. It was bustling in there; her foster father was stir-frying, and her foster mother was making soup. Hearing her come in, Xu Ming turned and glared at her.

“Come watch the pot, and wash the vegetables while you’re at it. They’ll go in the pan later. I’m going to rest for a bit.”

“Okay…”

Taking the half-washed vegetables, the girl followed her instructions and finished the soup. By then, her foster father had also finished cooking. Soon, the Lin family dinner was ready.

She ladled out a bowl of soup for each of the three, carefully placing them on the table. Then she prepared to leave of her own accord, but her foster mother called her back.

“Hey, I’m talking to you. What were you doing yesterday? You had the nerve to stay out all night? Getting bold, aren’t you?”

“No… I… I didn’t mean to…”

Recalling Qin Haiyue’s threat, she decided it was better not to tell them about it. After all, they probably wouldn’t believe her anyway. Instead, she might just incur their wrath and get beaten.

“I’m asking you for a reason!”

“…Sorry, a classmate invited me to stay over at her place.” She had to make do with that excuse.

“Then didn’t you know to have your classmate’s parents call us? Do you have any idea how worried we were about you last night?”

‘Worried? If you were really worried, you would have called the police long ago…’

The girl cursed inwardly. Of course, she would never say such a thing out loud. She knew her foster parents weren’t truly worried about her; they were probably just annoyed at losing a free laborer and at her disobedience.

‘If I actually mouthed off, I might get a beating.’

So, facing her foster parents’ hypocritical words, the girl could only lower her head even further.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“Hmph, as punishment, there’s no dinner for you tonight. Get lost and mop the floor, and take out the trash too. Seriously, why did we adopt such a freeloader?”

She didn’t want to talk. Since they told her to do it, she would just do it. She was used to it anyway. As long as she wasn’t beaten, these harsh words meant nothing to her. But one detail made her uneasy: the previous night, when her foster mother had been harsh, Lin Ziyan had spoken up for her. This time, she didn’t.

She quietly lifted her eyes to glance at Lin Ziyan. The other girl was scrolling through her phone, eating with her head down, as if completely oblivious to her.

Never mind. It probably wasn’t important. After all, looking on coldly was Lin Ziyan’s usual behavior.

But then, as she thought about it, she suddenly remembered something and jerked her head up. Despite her lingering fear, she slowly but firmly approached her foster mother, Xu Ming.

“What? Why aren’t you going to do your chores?”

“Um… wait… I… I have something to ask…”

The girl drew closer to her foster mother, looking at her with pleading eyes. Xu Ming couldn’t help frowning. She hadn’t paid attention in a while—when did this kid’s hair get so long? And her face was much more delicate than before. There was no trace of a boy left in her appearance.

But that wasn’t her main concern. After all, how good-looking or feminine Ye Xingmian became was none of her business. Instead, she should think about how to exploit the information gap to squeeze more benefits from these two.

“What is it?”

Ye Xingmian rarely made requests of them. Not just because she was afraid of them, but also because they probably wouldn’t care, and more likely, they would refuse outright.

For example, when they took Lin Ziyan and Ye Xingmian shopping as children, little Lin Ziyan would laugh and hold their hands, while little Ye Xingmian carried heavy shopping bags. They bought Lin Ziyan a plush toy, but when little Ye Xingmian finally mustered the courage to ask for a much smaller, cheaper toy, she was flatly rejected.

But this time was different. The girl’s eyes were full of hope.

“Can… you tell me my mother’s phone number?”