Yan Yu remained sitting in her wheelchair, head bowed, motionless.
Sunlight fell on her, yet she felt cold. A chill seeping out from the marrow of her bones.
So this was the feeling of being completely ignored.
So it turned out that as soon as Jiang Muyun returned, she no longer even had the “qualification” to be greeted in Su Qinghan’s eyes.
“Yan Yu!”
An urgent voice came from beside her.
Ruo Xiaozhen, clutching a bottle of mineral water, came jogging over. She had clearly seen what just happened, her face a mix of anger and heartache.
“Are you okay?” She crouched down, grasping Yan Yu’s cold hands. “Su Qinghan, she… how could she be like that!”
Yan Yu slowly raised her head.
Her eyes were a bit red, but she wasn’t crying. Her gaze was just empty, hollow, as if all life had been drained from her.
“I’m fine,” she said softly, her voice terribly hoarse.
“What do you mean ‘fine’!” Ruo Xiaozhen was so angry her own eyes reddened. “She treated you like that! And you… you still greeted her! Yan Yu, can’t you have a little backbone? She doesn’t want you anymore, and you still…”
“Zhenzhen,” Yan Yu interrupted her, her voice very quiet. “Let’s go see the house.”
Ruo Xiaozhen was stunned.
She looked at Yan Yu, at this pale yet unnervingly calm face before her, and suddenly felt as if she didn’t know her anymore.
The Yan Yu of before, if treated like this by Su Qinghan, would definitely have cried.
She would have hidden away and cried for a long time, her eyes swollen like peaches, and then continued, humbly and cautiously, to wait, to hope, to beg for a bit of alms-like attention.
But the Yan Yu now…
She didn’t cry.
She didn’t even let her sadness show in anything but the most restrained way.
It was as if the person who had just been utterly ignored wasn’t her at all.
“You… are you really okay?” Ruo Xiaozhen asked again, still worried.
“Really, I’m fine.” Yan Yu shook her head gently. She even managed to pull the corners of her mouth into an extremely faint, almost invisible curve. “Let’s go. If we don’t leave soon, it’ll get dark.”
Ruo Xiaozhen looked at her for several seconds, then finally sighed, stood up, and began pushing the wheelchair off campus.
Along the way, she chattered on about the rental listings she’d found, about which neighborhood had a good environment, which one had convenient transportation, which landlord seemed nice…
Yan Yu listened quietly, occasionally uttering an “Mm” to show she was listening.
Her gaze, however, drifted into the distance.
Su Qinghan had long since disappeared from sight.
What had just happened felt like a brief, absurd dream.
Only the lingering ache in her chest, belonging to the Original Host, reminded her that it had all been real.
—
The house Ruo Xiaozhen had found was in an old neighborhood, two bus stops away from the school.
The neighborhood was quiet, with decent greenery and flat paths suitable for a wheelchair.
Most importantly, there was a ground-floor apartment for rent—two bedrooms and a living room. It wasn’t large, but it was clean and tidy, and the landlord had agreed to some minor modifications, like installing grab bars in the bathroom.
“This is it!”
Ruo Xiaozhen unlocked the door with a key and excitedly wheeled Yan Yu inside.
The apartment was indeed small. The living room was only about ten square meters; with a sofa and a small coffee table, it felt a bit cramped.
But it had good natural light. The afternoon sun streamed through the window, making the whole room feel warm.
The two bedrooms faced each other, both tiny, but just enough for a bed and a desk.
The kitchen was open-plan, connected to the living room. The bathroom, while not big, was clean and well-ventilated.
Yan Yu wheeled herself around the apartment slowly.
Her gaze settled on the south-facing window in the living room.
Outside the window was a small balcony. The landlord had left a few pots of pothos on it, lush and green, their vines hanging down and swaying gently in the breeze.
Further in the distance, she could see a small hill ridge behind the neighborhood.
It was more of a mound, really, covered in trees.
This season, the leaves were still green, layer upon layer, glowing warmly in the setting sun.
“So?” Ruo Xiaozhen crouched in front of her, eyes sparkling. “Do you like it? I think it’s really nice. It’s close to school, it’s on the ground floor so it’s easy for you to get in and out. I met the landlady too; she’s really nice. She said if we rent it, she can help install grab bars in the bathroom…”
She chattered on, her face showing undisguised anticipation.
Yan Yu’s gaze shifted from the window back to Ruo Xiaozhen’s face.
The girl’s round cheeks held a faint blush, and her eyes were bright, as if filled with stars.
Ruo Xiaozhen was genuinely thinking about her.
A small corner of Yan Yu’s heart softened slightly.
“I like it,” she said softly, a sincere, shallow curve appearing at the corner of her mouth. “It’s very nice here. Thank you, Zhenzhen.”
Ruo Xiaozhen froze.
Then, her face flushed completely red in an instant.
“W-what are you thanking me for!” She stood up abruptly, turning around to pretend to examine the kitchen faucet, though her voice was a bit stammering. “I… I just… just looked around casually… I’m glad you like it!”
Looking at her bright red ears, a flicker of amusement passed through Yan Yu’s eyes.
This girl was sometimes adorably straightforward, sometimes adorably awkward.
“What about the rent?” Yan Yu asked. “How much per month? How should we split it?”
Ruo Xiaozhen turned back around. The blush on her face hadn’t fully faded, but her expression was more natural now.
“Oh, that…” She scratched her head, her eyes darting a bit evasively. “The rent isn’t expensive, two thousand a month. I’ve already… already paid for three months.”
Yan Yu was slightly taken aback.
“You paid?” She looked at Ruo Xiaozhen. “Didn’t we agree to split it? I’ll give you my share.”
“Ah, no need!” Ruo Xiaozhen quickly waved her hands, her tone urgent. “I was the one who insisted on us sharing a place! I was the one who asked you to keep me company! How can I let you pay?”
She paused, her voice dropping, her gaze falling to stare at her own toes.
“And given your situation right now, it’s not easy for you. Medical expenses and such all cost money. I… my family’s financial situation is okay, this bit of rent is nothing. Just think of it as… as you living here to keep me company, okay?”
By the end, her voice had grown smaller and smaller, and her face was red again.
But in those lowered eyes, a flash of an emotion Yan Yu couldn’t decipher passed through.
It was fleeting, gone in an instant, almost like an illusion.
Yan Yu looked at her, silent for a few seconds.
Then, she let out a soft sigh.
“Zhenzhen, I know you mean well, but I have to pay the rent. That’s my principle.”
Ruo Xiaozhen looked up, about to say something urgently.
But Yan Yu spoke first, cutting her off. “If you don’t agree, then I won’t live here.”
Her tone was calm, but her eyes were firm.
That look clearly told Ruo Xiaozhen—on this matter, there was no room for negotiation.
Ruo Xiaozhen opened her mouth, looked at her, looked for a long time.
Finally, she seemed to deflate like a balloon, her shoulders slumping.
“Alright…” she said, reluctantly. “Then you… you pay for one month first. We can talk about the rest later, okay?”
Looking at her pitiful, aggrieved expression, Yan Yu couldn’t help but smile.
“Okay,” she nodded. “I’ll pay for one month first. I’ll give you the rest next month.”
“Mm…”
Ruo Xiaozhen grunted in acknowledgment, turned around, and went back to studying the faucet.
Only, the expression on her face, turned away from Yan Yu, was a bit subtle.
That fleeting light that had flashed in her eyes a moment ago reappeared for an instant.