To Covet (GL) - Chapter 85

Before heading out, I took out the working phone once more, scrolled through the original photos, and finally removed the battery to keep it safe.

I instinctively felt that I should hand over what was already known, so as not to leave the unknown puzzle for someone else to solve.

“Want to take a look with me?”

I refused.

I didn’t go straight home; instead, I took a detour through the alley outside the school fence to clear my head.

Feeling my empty pockets, I suddenly remembered that I had accidentally left the apartment key card on the seat when I met Lu Xiaoting. I rushed back immediately to find it.

I thanked the clerk who found it. Before I could even step out the door, I saw a familiar silhouette in the glass reflection.

“Keyi—long time no see!” Xu Lanlan lunged forward to hug me, sending me tumbling back onto a nearby bamboo chair.

Gao Rui was holding a cup of milk tea. She had cut her hair even shorter, just enough to cover her earlobes.

“You did well on the exams. You’re much more impressive than when I first saw you.” She stepped forward familiarly to pull me up. “It’s a shame you were away on leave on the 30th when the results came out. You have no idea how much the teachers praised you.”

“Exactly! You should have seen those arrogant guys; they were so mad that you left them in the dust in Math. They were over there grumbling that they didn’t get enough partial credit for the ‘last problem’~”

Xu Lanlan nodded like a woodpecker, not forgetting to pinch her fingers together as she exaggeratedly mimicked their “sour grapes” attitude.

“My mom even told me to buy your ‘top student’ notes. Are you selling? I’ll pay a high price!” She cupped my face, starting to brag with a deadpan expression.

“Yeah, Lanlan, you have no idea. Keyi really does study hard usually,” Gao Rui glanced at me flatly. “With everything being taught by her sister, her learning efficiency is very high.”

I could tell she was intentionally stepping on my tail. What might sound like a perfectly normal sentence to an outsider felt like mockery and a jab in my ears.

However, I had no interest in humoring her at the moment. I gave a strained twitch of my lips, muttered a perfunctory “it’s alright,” and turned to leave.

“Wait a second, Yu Keyi. Did you see Lu Xiaoting today?” Gao Rui suddenly stopped me.

I turned my head in confusion. I had just seen her two hours ago.

“Yes.”

“Then it’s fine,” she waved her hand. “Did Lu Xiaoting say anything to you?”

“No,” judging by Gao Rui’s tone, I instinctively gathered that things weren’t very pleasant between the two of them. “She just asked me for some things.”

Xu Lanlan’s large eyes darted between the two of us. She whispered, “Who are we talking about?” but when no one answered, she went off to kick stones by herself.

“Lu Xiaoting hasn’t contacted me lately. I can’t reach her by phone or text,” Gao Rui sighed heavily. “She might have told you—she wants to appeal her mother’s case, right?”

“Yes.”

The topic ended there. I shopped with Xu Lanlan for a while, bought some trinkets, and accompanied her to the entrance of her complex. After watching her walk away, I finally threw the question I’d been holding back at Gao Rui: “Why isn’t she contacting you? Did you two fight?”

“We didn’t fight.” Gao Rui lowered her head.

I was used to her being high and mighty, calmly observing everything, so this was the first time I’d seen her look so defeated. I couldn’t help but feel surprised.

“She needed to hire a good lawyer, so I helped her get in touch with one—a lawyer auntie who was very close with my grandmother. She’s very reliable; she used to be a corporate legal consultant before resigning to start her own firm.”

“And? Did she not want the lawyer?” I pressed.

“She agreed, but…”

“But because there was a slight possibility it might involve my brother, she went to ask my grandmother for her opinion immediately after agreeing with me. As a result, my grandmother was furious. She told me to stop causing trouble and to never mention anything related to him again.”

“Actually, there wouldn’t have been any risk at all… I’ve heard them talk about it many times. My brother was just stupid; he was used as a shield. Besides, he’s been dead for so long—what could they possibly do to him?”

A cicada under a tree began to scream at the top of its lungs, causing a passing curly-haired pet dog to bark wildly. Then its owner started complaining. Silence was a soft, overripe peach; the sudden, ear-piercing noise felt like a wide-mouthed bite down onto a hard pit. An unventable irritability burned up from the bottom of my heart.

“Maybe… she’s worried about you…”

Worried about what? I couldn’t describe it specifically. Perhaps from the grandmother’s perspective, not letting her grandchild continue to mess around was a form of protection.

After all, in the bits and pieces of descriptions I’d heard, the grandmother had always unconditionally favored her, even more than her own daughter.

“Maybe she’s afraid you’ll get distracted and not study well,” I squeezed out a smile to comfort her. “Maybe Sister Lu thinks so too.”

“But she cut off all my other cards. Now, every single cent I spend has to go through her approval. Whatever. Anyway, there are only three months left until I’m an adult. Just wait.”

Gao Rui squatted on the curb, making a vow like a curse.

She was exceptionally obsessed with and sensitive to the word “adult,” like a usually steady and sensible child exposing their true nature by throwing a tantrum because they couldn’t get the candy they wanted.

“On the day of my eighteenth birthday, everything can be resolved.”

“Adulthood? Is there some agreement that can only be fulfilled on that day?” I suppressed the mocking smile on my lips and asked curiously.

“The lawyer auntie said that when I was born, my mom and grandmother signed a property gift contract. Once I’m eighteen, I can have my own ‘little treasury.’ Then, no one can restrict how I spend my money or my actions.”

As soon as she said it, she realized how slim the hope was and guiltily buried her head in her knees.

“Yu Keyi, what do you think?”

“So Gao Rui, why are you so determined to help Lu Xiaoting?” I finally asked the question I’d been hiding for a long time. “Besides proving to them that your brother was an incompetent scoundrel and that you are smarter and more mature than everyone else—is there any other reason?”

I looked up and suddenly realized the sky had darkened. The dancing, restless insects were gradually settling down. It was almost eight o’clock; no wonder.

“Including… with me. Is it also because you want to prove you have enough insight? That you see people more clearly than I do? Is that it?”

I didn’t actually want to interrogate her, but a string of questions always carries the suspicion of being aggressive, even though I had tried my best to make my tone peaceful.

“It’s not like that, Yu Keyi.”

She took off her glasses and looked at the streetlight above through the lenses.

“I just felt that maybe our situations were similar. I said that when I first reached out to you—maybe you’ve forgotten. But from the beginning, in my heart, we have been similar people. To me, the ‘mom and dad’ in my house are like three completely unrelated puzzle pieces.”

“Every time I feel this way, I think of you. I feel that you must feel the same way facing the three of them.”

“Have you ever thought that way?”

“Or have you been working hard to make them accept you?”

“I don’t need that,” I said. “Like you, I’m waiting for the day I become an adult and can leave independently, rather than sucking up to them for a bit of pity and tolerance. I’m not a stray dog that needs to be taken in.”

“Then what about Yu Zhouwan?”

Facing my silence, Gao Rui pressed:

“Yu Keyi, do you feel that she is the only person in that family who is good to you?”

“That’s not why.”

I gave a flat denial.

If that were the conclusion, how would I be any different from a pet that views whoever feeds it as its master?

“I don’t understand you, Yu Keyi. I can’t guess your thoughts.”

I had targeted Yu Zhouwan clearly out of spite and a desire to humiliate. I would rather she hated me thoroughly, biting her lip until it bled, gagging and wanting to vomit when I kissed her, and screaming at me to get lost.

But throughout it all, what remained unchanged was my greedy hope that the bond between us would absorb nutrients and wind tighter—hatred and love as fertilizer; in the end, they all lead to the same destination.

“But I hope you won’t owe yourself anything, no matter when, no matter who you’re facing,” she said earnestly, as if making a solemn vow. “If you need me, I’m always willing to stand on your side, as a friend.”

“Aren’t you going back?” She glanced at her watch.

“I’m already here,” I pointed to the dark residential building. “I moved out.”

“Voluntarily or forced?” Gao Rui looked at me with a smile. “This place is okay, at least it’s near school. But it’s clear they really don’t like you, Yu Keyi. You need to stay sharp. Don’t let them fool you.”

“I know.”

“Then how do you plan to deal with them? Are you just going to let them bully you like this?” She tilted her head, her eyes darting as she mentally estimated my current situation, which she didn’t seem to find optimistic.

“I can wait until I’m independent,” I decided to extend the time for thinking and deliberation. “At least for now, I can’t get out of this place. It’s still a bit difficult.”

“Anything works. It’s your choice.”