Chapter 78: Chapter 78

Ye Ling put the book into her backpack and replied without looking up, "No need. It’s so close, I can go back by myself."

Zhao Guodong had started speaking with trepidation, not daring to look around, and could imagine Wang Ping beside him looking at him with a surprised expression. But Ye Ling in front of him just didn’t appreciate it and rejected him flatly. Zhao Guodong didn’t have the nerve to speak further and could only turn his head away angrily.

"Doesn’t recognize a good heart." He muttered one last sentence.

After two days of contact, Ye Ling had already understood his personality, knowing that he felt embarrassed because of the rejection, but she paid no mind to him, picked up her backpack, nodded, and left the room. Not seeing Old Mrs. Ye in the living room, she knew she had already gone to sleep.

When she walked out the door, she saw Wang Ping and Zhang Linong also coming out. Zhang Linong directly told Wang Ping, "You go back first, I’ll walk Ye Ling home."

Wang Ping let out a sound of surprise.

Zhang Linong rolled his eyes, "What are you thinking? How can you let a girl walk home alone this late? Or do you want to walk me home instead?"

Wang Ping, who was too sleepy to keep his eyes open, immediately shook his head, "No way, you’d better walk her home. I don’t even know if I can get up tomorrow."

"That’s settled then." Zhang Linong said and strode after Ye Ling.

With Wang Ping’s easygoing nature and his sleepy state, he directly went home. Ahead, Ye Ling was caught up by Zhang Linong and did not notice their conversation.

"How did you guess the answer?" It was quiet in the courtyard, only the sound of their footsteps could be heard.

"Instinct." Was she supposed to say she had seen it in a past life?

You’d have to be crazy not to think she’s insane.

Zhang Linong glanced at her, "Ye Ling, you’re very contradictory."

"How am I contradictory?" Ye Ling also wanted to hear the real impression others had of her.

"Indifferent to everyone but agreed to tutor Zhao Guodong," Zhang Linong spoke casually but hit all the key points, "because Dongzi helped you during the New Year?"

His eyes and mind were indeed sharp.

Ye Ling nodded, "Indeed, that’s the case."

Isn’t indifference mutual? Not liking her in their hearts but putting on a kind facade, just like her mother, made her feel annoyed.

Seeing her silence, Zhang Linong didn’t say much else, his hands casually stuffed in his pockets, "We’re here."

Ye Ling didn’t look back, "Thanks."

Then she entered the building.

After the sounds of knocking, opening, and closing the door faded, Zhang Linong turned back to head home. Although he was only sixteen, his actions already had a touch of wildness to them.

In Ye’s house, Bai Xue was already too tired to say anything more. After opening the door, she turned around and went into the room without saying another word. When Ye Ling entered the East room, she found Ye Ling’s bed empty, knowing she was sleeping in the West room again. The blanket she had used was replaced with her old duvet cover, even her mattress was there. After making the bed, Ye Ling turned off the light and lay down, without having time to care if her mother and sister were avoiding her.

School days passed quickly, and in a blink, it was a week. For the first few days, Ye Ling had to knock on the door for her mother to let her in when she came home in the evening. Later, Bai Xue couldn’t stand it and gave her a key to carry with her. Ye Ling found this more convenient, as she rarely saw her mother except in the morning.

However, the matter of Ye Ling tutoring Zhao Guodong spread in the compound, and on Saturday at noon, after eating at the Ye’s house for a week, Liu Zhiyuan finally met with Ye Ling.

This time, Liu Rui didn’t go to the company with their mother and followed Liu Zhiyuan to Ye’s house for lunch. On the siblings’ first day eating at Ye’s house, the guard brought over half a bag of rice. Bai Xue specifically paid a visit to Liu’s house because of this to exchange pleasantries with Wu Mengyi before returning home.

With two kids from the Liu Family eating, Bai Xue naturally couldn’t skimp and made tofu stew and fried eggs. The eggs were also sent by the Liu Family, totaling over fifty or sixty. The guard had said they were for the kids to grow strong. Bai Xue was pleased inside but felt a bit embarrassed outwardly and accepted with a smile.

This noon, there were still only two dishes, but an additional fish was delivered by the Liu Family’s guard, which Bai Xue braised. Ye Ling stayed in the East room reading and didn’t come out even when she heard the Liu siblings had arrived. Although she had opened up the knot between her and Liu Zhiyuan from her past life, facing Liu Zhiyuan still made her feel uneasy.

Every time she faced Liu Zhiyuan, she felt inferior, thinking she was such a mess yet still coveting things she shouldn’t, like a toad wanting to eat swan meat.

Only when it was time for lunch did she come out, knowing she couldn’t avoid it, and the first thing she heard was her mother’s words with a hidden meaning, "Look, we have guests at home and still have to wait for you to eat, isn’t that bad? Quickly sit down."

Clearly, her tone seemed caring, but the words were unpleasant, suggesting it was impolite not to come out to greet guests, who had already been seated at the dining table.

Think about it, and what she said wasn’t wrong. It’s no wonder her mother could say such two-faced words when she herself indeed stayed in the room while guests were already seated.

"Auntie, it’s okay, with exams coming up, when I’m at home, I make the most of every minute studying." Liu Rui sensibly spoke up beside her.

Bai Xue shifted her body to the side, "Come sit down and eat, see how sensible Xiao Rui is."

Indirectly saying she doesn’t understand.

Ye Ling pretended not to understand, sat down beside her mother, opposite the Liu siblings and Ye Qian. As for Liu Zhiyuan’s reaction, Ye Ling didn’t even look at him. Her eyes darted downward, seeing a braised fish over one pound in weight. Although it smelled good and looked tempting, Ye Ling didn’t touch a single piece while eating.

Instead, Liu Rui across from her picked a piece and put it in Ye Ling’s bowl, "Ye Ling, do you mind eating fish?"

Ye Ling thanked her, "I don’t like fish, too many bones, you guys eat it."

She didn’t want to eat something from the Liu Family.

Besides, she wasn’t oblivious. As soon as she sat down, her mother next to her had been watching her chopsticks, and every time her chopsticks neared the fish plate, she could feel her mother’s tense posture. Ye Ling found it laughable—after all, it was just a fish, missing a bite wouldn’t kill anyone, but it seemed her mother genuinely cared for Ye Qian, preferring her to have all the good stuff.

Ye Ling ate the most tofu, accompanying her rice with it, had two bowls, and was the first to set her chopsticks down. Despite being watched intently by her mother while serving rice, Ye Ling pretended not to notice. Why could Ye Qian eat rice with Liu siblings while she had to eat millet rice? Not touching the fish is one thing, but she wouldn’t give up on the rice.

Before Ye Ling could stand up after setting down her chopsticks, Ye Qian suddenly exclaimed in pain, startling everyone at the table. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to qidian.com to vote for it and give monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)