"Aren't you going to invite me in for tea?" After a moment of silence, Qian Yuya said, "Or are you okay with talking out here? I don't mind boring gossip."
"Miss Qian, you're a smart student, so I'll assume you don't have a boyfriend yet, but even if you don't, you should know how abrupt it is to visit a man's place in the middle of the night," Leyu said, spreading his hands in a deliberately relaxed way, "Boys really need to look after themselves out there—otherwise, it's all too easy to get snatched up. Trust me, I know this all too well… Same goes for girls."
"If you want to talk, how about we do it tomorrow during the day in the dining hall? I could even buy you lunch, but the budget's got to be under ten coins…"
"That's fine." Qian Yuya didn't refuse. She nodded and said, "Lunch in the dining hall tomorrow, I'm good with that. But let me be clear, the reason I suddenly showed up tonight—it's because I have my reasons. I think what we need to discuss shouldn't be overheard by a third person. Even if we changed the place to the crowded dining hall, I still wouldn't change my stance."
Leyu was slightly stunned, then stepped aside to let Qian Yuya in.
Running away only worked if the other person cared about appearances. "If you insisted on slipping out of someone's grip like sand, as long as they still had scruples, there was always a chance to disengage. But if the other person was willing to dig into their own palm, willing to use blood to cement the sand at any cost, then there was no escaping—it would just make things messy and ugly."
"Qian Yuya used to care about appearances, which was why she didn't get along with Qian Yuliu. Anyone with a conscience couldn't bear to watch their own kin become a Statistical Department henchman… In some sense, it was only because she had seen Qian Yuliu's 'evil' that she became so sure of her own 'good.'"
"But now, she no longer cared about appearances either. For her goals, she was willing to trample all morals and laws of the world. Just like…"
Just like Qian Yuliu. Just like Leyu.
"I heard you're an orphan," Leyu poured her a glass of water, "It's not easy studying in Yanjing, is it?"
Even though it sounded a bit like a provocation, Qian Yuya didn't get mad, or maybe she just couldn't be bothered to get mad anymore. She just took it as a wedge into conversation, "I've been lucky—thanks to the shade of those before me and the care of friends, I haven't faced much trouble."
"Friends who have your back are like gems. Whether the world likes you really just depends on whether you have a true friend or two. If a friend likes you, the world treats you gently," Leyu said with a grin, "Got a boyfriend yet?"
"Want me to introduce you to a few? Not that I have much in the way of matchmaking resources—don't know any great guys, don't know any great girls either—though obviously, Qian, you're definitely a great girl. Any trouble with your classes? If it's Combat Technique, I sort of know a bit about everything."
"I'm keeping up for now."
"How's your living situation? Getting along with people? Any boys trying to date you? Hey, Qian, let me tell you, every age has its own things people should do. You shouldn't force anything, but if you stumble into something special, don't push it away, either. Most things can wait till later. Youth—most people only get to enjoy it once…" Read full story at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁
Qian Yuya nodded repeatedly. Though she found Leyu annoying, she couldn't help feeling the experience was oddly novel—everyone saw her as a self-reliant, strong girl. Friends and teachers either relied on her or believed in her. Rarely did anyone show her concern the way an elder might.
"Of course, she didn't really need that kind of concern. If someone tried it, she'd usually just force a polite smile and end the conversation as quickly as possible. But something about Leyu felt different—it wasn't a hollow concern, nor patronizing advice from someone older—it came out naturally. It really was…"
"Suddenly, a strange thought crossed her mind: 'I wish I were Qin Yueshi…'"
"She shook off that bizarre thought quickly, cutting off Leyu's chatter, "Mr. Hongle, I have something I want to ask you."
"Unmarried, parents deceased, one brother, one sister, richer than a king, straight… what else do you want to know?" Leyu shrugged and sat down across from Qian Yuya.
"Sir, I want to know if you've ever heard of… Yin Yinyin."
Leyu glanced at her, his long fingers absentmindedly swirling his teacup.
"Is this some extracurricular about the Dongyang Disturbance? Did you see that name in Xuan Zhu News or Youth Daily?"
Qian Yuya could tell Leyu was well aware this name had never appeared in any newspaper.
"No, sir. It was a friend of my brother's who mentioned the name to me. I'm very interested in what he did in Dongyang."
"Hmm… right… There's really no way you'd find much about Yin Yinyin anywhere, Qian. That's a seriously mysterious person, incredibly mysterious." Leyu raised a brow, "Who's this 'brother's friend' you're talking about?"
"Do you want to know?"
"Of course, because anyone who knows the name 'Yin Yinyin' either works in the open digging up Silver Blood Association roots like me, or…" Leyu stood up, looming over Qian Yuya with intimidating presence, "they're the ones digging Silver Blood's graves behind the scenes." "Good kids shouldn't know those people."
"Leyu wasn't surprised that Qian Yuya knew about Yin Yinyin; after all, Qian had always been under White Night's protection, so it made sense that White Night would tell her about her 'brother's killer.'"
"Originally, Leyu thought Qian Yuliu's story arc had wrapped up: Qian Yuliu and Yin Yinyin were both dead, Qian Yuya had no family, and no one left to avenge, so she could finally become a truly free person, unattached."
"Leyu wasn't worried she would be lonely. Aside from the fact she could enjoy solitude, the more important point was that she was bound to meet like-minded people—there was a lot in this world worth loving, and many people who would love her."
"If she ended up joining White Night, Leyu wouldn't be surprised either. Even though Leyu's hope for her was that she could live an easy, content life like a salted fish, even if she dedicated her days to her ambition and burned up like a firework, that would be bright enough."
"But now she was still obsessing over Yin Yinyin, and Leyu even suspected she wanted to resurrect Yin Yinyin's corpse just to vent her anger… Either way, revenge was the dullest thing, especially when the person you hated didn't even exist anymore. Leyu could only try to prod her out of it with more words."
Qian Yuya fell silent too. She would never betray anyone from White Night just for information.
Just as Leyu was about to open the door to see her out, Qian Yuya suddenly said,
"It was Zhengwei Jing who told me."