Free Web NovelChapter 154: what else?
Bai Li’s voice was very gentle when she said that. On the surface, she looked completely normal, but inside, she was actually already happy. Very happy. So happy that she almost wanted to smile properly. Still, she held it back. Yan Cijin was too focused on watching her expression, too busy trying to figure out what Bai Li was thinking, that she ended up missing the tiny curve at the corner of Bai Li’s lips, and she also missed the slight tremble in Bai Li’s fingers. Bai Li could only keep her feelings hidden for now. This kind of thing could not be rushed. They still needed more time.
"That’s it?" Yan Cijin asked after a short pause. She even coughed lightly before asking, as if she was trying to hide the little bit of hope in her own voice.
Bai Li nodded very naturally. "No, what else?" freewebnoveℓ.com
"Nothing, I’m going back now." Yan Cijin stared at Bai Li for a few more seconds. Then she pursed her lips a little, looking mildly unhappy. She had already said so much, and Bai Li was still standing there so calm and quiet. Was she not even going to try and keep her? Not even a little? Yan Cijin had fully expected at least a tiny bit of reaction, but Bai Li just looked at her like this was all completely normal.
Seeing that Bai Li still did not move or say anything else, Yan Cijin had no choice but to say, "Then I’m leaving."
"Okay." Bai Li nodded.
After Yan Cijin left, Bai Li even reached out and closed the door behind her. The action was very smooth, very natural, like it was no big deal at all. But to Yan Cijin, who had only just turned around and stepped out, it somehow felt like a punch right in the heart. She let out a quiet snort, then stood outside Bai Li’s door for a few seconds and muttered under her breath, "Good, you heartless woman."
After saying that, Yan Cijin unlocked her own door and went back home.
As soon as she entered, she heard the sound of light movement in the house. The room was warm and familiar, and the smell of the meal they had just eaten still lingered in the air. Yan Laojin was still there, and the little girl was probably nearby too. Yan Cijin took a breath, went to tidy up the table, and said, "Mom, let me wash the pots. You go play with LiLi."
Her tone was calm, but she moved quickly, gathering the bowls and chopsticks as she spoke. She had always been like this. Once something needed doing, she would just do it first and talk later.
Yan Laojin glanced at her daughter, her eyes full of that older, knowing look that mothers always seemed to have. "Sent her off? It’s so close, I don’t even know what you sent her for. Cijin, do you really not have feelings for Bai Li..."
Yan Laojin did not finish the sentence. She left the last part hanging there on purpose, and that was even more annoying than saying it directly. Yan Cijin heard it instantly and cut her off right away, "How could I? I was just worried she wouldn’t take care of her hand injury, so I gave her a few more instructions. After all, a large part of her injury was because she saved me."
She said it very quickly, but the more she tried to act normal, the more it sounded like she was hiding something. Yan Laojin smiled to herself when she heard that. Her expression turned meaningfully amused, like she already understood more than she was saying. "Whatever you think."
Then she wiped her hands on a towel and went out to find the little one.
Yan Cijin stayed in the kitchen for a moment, looking down at the bowls and chopsticks in her hands. The more she thought about Bai Li’s reaction just now, the more annoyed she felt. At the same time, she also could not stop replaying the scene in her head. Bai Li had looked so calm, so quiet, so impossible to read. Yet somehow, that calmness made Yan Cijin feel even less at ease. She did not know if Bai Li truly had no idea what she was trying to say, or if she had noticed everything and was just pretending not to.
Outside the kitchen, the little girl was probably still waiting for her grandmother or playing with the kitten doll she liked so much. Yan Cijin could already imagine her sitting there with her small legs tucked up, hugging the toy and acting all obedient for a while, only to become noisy again the moment someone promised her another story. The thought made Yan Cijin soften a little. At least the house still felt lively. At least there was still someone small and warm in it, someone who could make even these tense little moments feel less heavy.
She turned on the faucet and started washing the dishes. The water ran warm over her fingers, and the sound filled the kitchen in a steady rhythm. Even while she was doing something ordinary like this, her mind still kept drifting back to Bai Li. She had not meant to say that secret so suddenly, but once she started talking, it had all come out. Maybe she had wanted Bai Li to know that LiLi was not her biological child, maybe she had wanted to clear up some misunderstanding, or maybe she just wanted Bai Li to understand one more small thing about her life. Whatever the reason was, it was already said now. There was no taking it back.
In the other room, Yan Laojin was probably coaxing the little girl again, telling her to sit properly and not run around too much. The apartment had that kind of lived in warmth now, the kind that only came when people were talking, moving around, and making ordinary noise.
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To be continued.
