Chapter 21: My heart is very confused

After the onset of autumn, there was incessant drizzling rain.

The already shaky friendship between Ye Anning and Lin Yiwei came to a complete halt.

It seemed as if Xie Bo was intentionally antagonizing Lin Yiwei, always appearing alongside Ye Anning whenever he was at school, as if they were a couple.

Their activities included walks along the camphor tree-lined path after rain, romantic candlelit dinners at a Western restaurant outside the school, and even movie nights at the small auditorium.

On the school’s TalkTok forum, someone speculated whether Ye Anning was about to become Xie Bo’s girlfriend and whether they would make an official announcement soon.

In the past, Xie Bo’s admirers had been numerous, the shortest lasting only three days, and the longest not more than a half month. His life was always bustling with activity, but what he lacked was someone who could truly be by his side.

Everyone guessed that Ye Anning might be that person, potentially becoming Xie Bo’s real girlfriend, and possibly even threatening the planned union between the Xie and Chi families.

Seeing these idle gossips on the forum, Chi Xiyu was both amused and annoyed.

They didn’t consider that ten Ye families couldn’t compare to one Chi family, and just with Ye Anning alone, who did she think she was!

However, these rumors still made her quite uncomfortable.

Unable to wait ten days for her agreement with Lin Yiwei, she decided to take matters into her own hands and deal with the major nuisance that was Ye Anning herself.

On a weekend evening, she went to her older brother Chi Xicheng’s room.

Chi Xicheng had spent the previous night reveling at a club and had slept through the day to catch up. Just waking up, he was playing video games with his Switch controller in hand.

“Bro, do me a favor.”

Chi Xicheng, lazy to deal with his lovestruck little sister, didn’t even turn his head, and with a nasal voice, asked, “What?”

“There’s this girl around Xie Bo, really annoying! I want her gone!”

Hearing Xie Bo’s name, Chi Xicheng finally looked up, his brow arching as he said with a smile, “Oh, you’ve finally noticed?”

“Everyone has seen it, okay! That woman is shameless, always hanging around Xie Bo like a clingy plaster, it’s so annoying!”

“I feel like Xie Bo is quite into her, not sure who’s chasing whom.”

Chi Xicheng had suffered a setback over something involving Lin Yiwei and was quite frustrated. Setting down his game controller, he lit a cigarette.

“So, bro, help me deal with that Ye Anning, make her afraid to cling to Xie Bo.”

“Ye Anning, who?” He exhaled a puff of smoke, asking blankly.

“That woman who has been chasing Xie Bo recently. You know about Ye Corporation, right? They’ve been quite prominent recently and even have dealings with the Xie family.”

Chi Xiyu took out her phone and showed a selfie of Ye Anning she had posted online to Chi Xicheng.

Chi Xicheng enlarged the photo, looked at it for a while, and frowned.

“You say she’s been getting quite close to Xie Bo recently?”

“Yeah.”

“How the hell does Xie Bo like this type of look?”

“Not good-looking, right!”

Chi Xicheng chuckled with ill intent: “Well, I happen to like this type too.”

Seizing the moment, Chi Xiyu quickly said, “Bro, help me deal with her.”

“Ye’s daughter might be a business encounter in the future. Although our family isn’t afraid of them, it’s best to leave some room for maneuvering, so we can meet on good terms in the future.” Picking up his game controller again, he continued playing, “I won’t do it.”

“Bro, just help me this one time!” Chi Xiyu tugged at the corner of his shirt, shaking him and whining, “Please help me.”

“Girl problems should be sorted by girls, right?”

She sneered, dismissively saying, “Those friends of mine are useless. The one who listens to me and is bold enough has no experience in love and dithers too much to handle this.”

“That’s Ye’s daughter. Do you want dad to kill me if I mess with her?”

“I’m not asking you to really hurt or kill her, just scare her a bit, let her know there are consequences to opposing us.”

Chi Xiyu, fueled by determination, insisted on getting Ye Anning away from Xie Bo, “You have so many tricks, just keep it measured, please help me, okay?”

Chi Xicheng couldn’t take it anymore with this girl’s nagging and persistence, which was as annoying as a fly, giving him a headache. “Fine, fine, fine.”

He agreed for the moment, “I’ll help you this time. Let’s just remember this favor for now. Next time I need something, you better not make excuses.”

“You have connections everywhere, and mom spoils you rotten. What help could I possibly be to you?”

In Chi Xicheng’s mind, Lin Yiwei’s face appeared, but due to Xie Bo’s threats, he couldn’t really bring himself to harm her.

That didn’t mean he had given up.

Sooner or later, he would have her.

“I’ll find a use for you eventually,” he said with a smile, ruffling Chi Xiyu’s hair.

After class, several girls diligently helped Chi Xiyu pack up her paint palettes and canvases.

Chi Xiyu took out her powder puff to touch up her makeup, and Lin Yiwei found her: “Xixi, Xie Bo has a match tonight. I’m going to watch it and find a way to interact with him.”

“Just go then, why make a special trip to tell me about it.”

“Because this matter is special, all my interactions with Xie Bo, including our conversations, I will report to you,” Lin Yiwei said obediently, “I’ll also try to avoid any physical contact with him.”

Seeing her so compliant, and thinking about that wretch Ye Anning, the contrast was stark.

Chi Xiyu hoped she really could get close to Xie Bo and shield him from all his undesirable admirers.

But she probably didn’t have the ability.

Though she was pretty, her lack of fashion sense made her appear dowdy, and with Xie Bo’s high standards, it would be strange if he took an interest in her.

She pulled a Chanel lipstick from her bag, uncapped it, and gently applied it to Lin Yiwei’s lips: “Take care of yourself first, silly girl.”

“I will learn makeup. Within ten days, I will definitely accomplish what you’ve asked of me. Believe me.”

Chi Xiyu smiled and straightened her hair.

“Alright, I believe you. Go for it.”

She liked this kind of loyal dog and was confident in her ability to manipulate and use this girl.

“But don’t be too anxious. Haste won’t get you anywhere, especially with Xie Bo’s unpredictable temper. If you really annoy him, even I can’t help you.”

“But I only have ten days…”

“I heard you and Ye Anning have already fallen out. I’m not unreasonable,” Chi Xiyu said, pretending to be considerate as she patted her hand. “Forget about the ten-day agreement, take your time.”

Lin Yiwei looked at her in surprise.

She knew how much Chi Xiyu detested Ye Anning, to the point of losing sleep for several days. How could she suddenly relax her demands?

“Xixi, do you have another plan, or have you found someone else…”

“I’ve asked my brother to step in and teach Ye Anning a lesson,” Chi Xiyu unabashedly admitted in front of her, “There’s nothing my brother can’t handle. Let’s just wait and see her drama unfold.”

With that, Chi Xiyu and several friends walked out of the studio.

Lin Yiwei’s heart sank.

She had seen Chi Xicheng’s methods firsthand. Imagining someone as naive as Ye Anning in his clutches was terrifying.

At night, Lin Yiwei painted alone in the studio.

She was skilled in using color to express emotions, a trait she shared with Lin Xie.

Although she didn’t have her brother’s innate intuition for color, years of his influence had honed her sensitivity to color far beyond the average person, often earning praise from Professor Mai.

The canvas depicted a vibrant ocean, its tumultuous waves conveying a sense of impending storm.

Lin Yiwei really wanted to calm herself.

Tonight, her task was to finish this painting.

Her mind… was in turmoil.

She thought back to an incident from her teenage years.

Back then, she had already been adopted by Chen’s parents, and in her spare time, she often helped Lin Xie sell paintings at the market.

That day, Lin Xie asked Lin Yiwei to look after the stall as a customer had ordered a painting that needed to be completed the same day, and he had to go back to rush the work. Lin Yiwei readily agreed, assuring him there would be no problem.

As soon as Lin Xie left, she encountered a big spender: a lady who was redecorating her home bought two large landscape oil paintings, earning Lin Yiwei a significant amount of money. However, not long after the woman left, Lin Yiwei discovered that the banknote she had received was counterfeit.

Lin Xie always paid attention when receiving money and could distinguish between real and fake notes, a skill Lin Yiwei had also acquired from watching him. But just then… she didn’t know why her mind suddenly blanked, dazzled by the “big business”

Holding that fake note felt like a thunderbolt had struck her, leaving her whole body weak and limp, and she collapsed to the ground.

The two paintings were very large and the landscape oil paintings particularly took much effort; knowing how Lin Xie toiled through nights painting, the loss of such a significant amount of money made Lin Yiwei burst into tears.

Why, why are there so many bad people in this world.

She and her brother were already trying so hard to live well; why did fate keep bringing misfortune upon them?

It was so unfair…A lady selling clothes nearby heard about her situation and advised Lin Yiwei to quickly use the money; as long as she broke it into change, the loss wouldn’t be too severe.

Lin Yiwei knew it was wrong, but felt as if there was a flame burning inside her chest.

Her trembling hands clutching the counterfeit bill, she approached a cart selling grilled cakes, manned by an elderly lady with white hair, selling homemade paper-box cakes.Lin Yiwei, in a daze, handed over the bill.

“Two cakes, please.”

She was shocked by her own voice, which sounded as raspy and foreign as crushed dry twigs.

The elderly lady took the bill, squinting her eyes, and shone a light on it amid the chaotic fluttering of moths around the lamp.

Lin Yiwei’s heart leapt to her throat, her ears buzzing.

The cake-selling grandmother seemed to have poor eyesight, took the money, and pulled out an embroidered old handkerchief containing a wad of small change.

She licked her fingers and counted over and over, eventually giving Lin Yiwei ninety-five yuan back, including several coins.

Lin Yiwei, carrying the small cakes, returned to Lin Xie’s rented room, the pocketful of change weighing heavily like a ton of steel.

Her world felt like a battlefield under relentless bombing, leaving devastation and rivers of blood everywhere…

Upon returning, Lin Yiwei burst into tears, and Lin Xie, who was painting on the balcony, came out upon hearing her cries and embraced her: “What happened, Yiwei?”

Through her tears, Lin Yiwei recounted everything that had happened, from beginning to end.

After hearing the story, Lin Xie fell into silence.

“Why!” Lin Yiwei choked up, breathless, “Why is this world so cruel to us! Why does my brother work so hard painting, only to be cheated by people with fake money, then I… I should become a bad person too!”

She clung tightly to Lin Xie’s sleeve, convincing him and perhaps herself, “I want to be a bad girl! I don’t feel guilty, otherwise… otherwise both my brother and I will suffer…”

Lin Xie paused for a moment, then peeled open the fragrant paper box cake and brought it to Lin Yiwei’s lips: “Yiwei, do you want to eat it?”

The little girl’s eyes were tearful; she wanted to eat it, but just couldn’t bring herself to do so.

This cake… was a “reward” for being a bad girl.She couldn’t even bear to look at the small paper box cake and kept shaking her head, not wanting to eat it.

Suddenly, Lin Xie pushed a painting he had just finished in front of Lin Yiwei.

It was a beautiful distant view of snowy mountains—

Blue skies and green grass, with clouds swirling around in the distance, the snowy mountains appeared faintly under the sunlight, as if draped in a layer of pale golden silk, dazzling and spectacular.

“Do you want to go there?”

The tearful little girl nodded again and again, her eyes filled with longing.

“Yes, I also want to go there,” Lin Xie said, looking at the distant snowy mountain painting. “But the road there is full of thorns, rough and rugged.”

He then picked up the small paper box cake again, “Yiwei, being a bad child, being a bad person is so easy, just like this small cake, full of sweet temptation, you could just eat it in one bite. However, even though it fills your stomach and satisfies a momentary desire, you end up with nothing.”

Lin Yiwei looked at the cake in his hand, and then at the holy and beautiful snowy mountain behind him.

“The endpoint of life should not be this filling little cake, but a journey toward a more beautiful and distant scenery.”

Lin Xie gently told her, “Yiwei, you should look to the horizon.”

Later, her brother accompanied her to find the old lady who sold the cakes and returned the change exactly.

He patted her head, and they both bowed to apologize to the cake lady.

The old lady forgave them and even gave them the two pieces of cake.

Lin Yiwei still remembers how she and Lin Xie stood on the street eating the cake.

She cried and laughed at the same time, tears falling into the cake. Lin Xie laughed and wiped away her tears, giving her his half of the cake too.

She also remembers the words Lin Xie had told her—

“Yiwei, you should look to the horizon.”

…Lin Yiwei’s brush was almost crushed in her hand.The matter with Ye Anning had nothing to do with her; she was not a bad person, it was the Chi siblings who were bad, they wanted to bully her, what could she do?These were the disputes of their high society, she did not want to be involved, she just wanted to find her brother, that was all.Lin Yiwei’s hand holding the brush turned blue with veins, slightly trembling.Silence, don’t meddle in this matter, choose the easier path, choose to eat that sweet little cake, what’s wrong with being a bad girl?Why take the difficult journey to the snowy mountains?She just couldn’t do it.She struggled, always hearing Lin Xie’s voice in her ears, so gentle, so firm—”Yiwei, you should look to the horizon.”Finally, Lin Yiwei threw down her brush, grabbed her bag, and hurriedly ran out of the studio.She pulled out her phone and called Ye Anning.