Chapter 4

Zhao Lin stared, eyes wide, mouth agape—no wonder he felt upon first meeting that Miss Ling had an extraordinary bearing, and he pondered what complimentary words to say.

The carriage jerked to a halt, and a voice came from the front seat: "Boss, the road ahead is a narrow alley; our vehicle is too big to get in—what should we do?"

Zhao Lin was stuck for words: "... What else can we do? Toss it cold!"

Ling Yue let out a "pfft" laugh, waved her hand, and pressed the car door: "No need, no need!"

"This is an old residential compound; there are plenty of narrower roads inside, so there's no need for all that trouble—I can walk a few steps and be home."

Having said that in one breath, she pushed the door open and stepped out, meeting Zhao Lin's hopeful gaze, and she said tactfully: "I'm not sure whether this will work out, but if I get any news, I'll contact you."

Zhao Lin was overjoyed, but to avoid putting that much pressure on Ling Yue, he suppressed his expression and repeated several times: "I believe you! I believe you! I believe you!"

To ask whether he was panicking inside—of course he was. What could a young girl possibly find? It might turn out to be a futile effort, like trying to fetch water with a bamboo basket. But for Zhao Lin at this moment, he had exhausted all his options; he was grasping at straws, hoping, perhaps, that a miracle might appear.

He didn't even realize it himself, but the hope and anticipation in his eyes shone as brightly as a 500-watt bulb.

Ling Yue walked all the way home, passing old houses scattered like a spiderweb, their quality varying widely; her home was in one of several adjacent old residential compounds, actually the newest in terms of construction age, and the compound was in decent condition.

In the flowerbed, pink roses were in full bloom; in the pavilion, the elders gathered in clusters to play chess. When Ling Yue approached carrying her bag, the onlooker, Grandpa Jin, exclaimed in surprise: "Eh, off work already? How come you're so early today?"

Ling Yue gave a light smile: "I've resigned."

As soon as she said that, the noisy chess area fell silent for a moment; the elders stared at Ling Yue in shock, having resigned without a word?

Still others wanted to advise her again, after all, she was a child they had watched grow up; besides, these days college graduates are becoming less valuable, and jobs are hard to come by.

Who would have thought Ling Yue showed no sign of dejection; her smile deepened, two dimples blossomed on her cheeks, and she politely declined their goodwill in a pleasing tone, appearing even happier.

She carried her bag into the apartment building; on the mottled, peeling exterior wall beside her, a clump of lush green ivy climbed upward, extending all the way like a verdant waterfall hanging from the wall, resembling a vivid, lively scroll.

Ling Yue trudged up the stairs, deliberately presenting an aloof, socially anxious demeanor—as for why she did that—

Having climbed just a few steps, the aunt in a floral shirt pursed her lips, shook her fan, and called out to her: "Hey, the college student from our building is back? How's work today? That fancy car outside is blocking the entrance!"

That shout made Ling Yue roll her eyes; she instantly grasped the implication, and with the added malicious descriptors—"middle-aged man," "luxury car clearing the way," "could even be her dad"—she was being insinuated to be kept.

Upon hearing there was gossip to be had, many in the corridor furtively poked their heads out, while others stepped forward, glaring disapprovingly at Aunt Wang; they were longtime neighbors who knew her temperament well—this was just seeing a helpless girl and bullying her again.

Unexpectedly, Ling Yue looked at Aunt Wang as if just waking from a dream: "Wasn't there just an earthquake?"

"Auntie, I don't understand what you're saying. As for setting me up on a blind date, your son is in his thirties, divorced twice, and has two kids in their teens—I really wouldn't be a suitable stepmother."

While the neighbors in the compound are basically decent, a big forest attracts all kinds of birds; Ling Yue had previously been handling funeral arrangements at home when, for some unknown reason, Aunt Wang latched onto her.

At first she could keep up a façade, pretending to help while actually telling her, both openly and covertly, that a woman must always find something to rely on; someone like her, without parents, is an orphan who would be bullied down to the bone.

Before Ling Yue could get a word in, the person brought up her own precious son.

As a popular online saying puts it: "He's obviously so ordinary, yet so confident."

Aunt Wang has only one son, whom she dotes on endlessly; in her eyes, her son is naturally perfect in every way—if it weren't for his insistence on marrying Ling Yue, she wouldn't bother saying another word.

Now that her precious son has been so slandered, her face flushed from green to red to purple, and she longed to tear apart the mouth of that insolent wretch opposite her: "You're talking nonsense! Our son is a civil servant! A Jing Shi civil servant! What does age matter? Older people are more caring—lots of people envy them, and you, you still look down on us!"

Ling Yue clapped her hands: "Well said, your family's beloved old baby has plenty of suitors—so don't pick on a little girl like me. Our homes are two buildings apart; you standing guard in the hallway certainly isn't waiting for me, right?"

"Pfft—"

"Nobody knew who let out a laugh; the sound seemed contagious, and the shrewish Aunt Wang, who had been causing trouble all her life, felt her chest tighten and lost face!"

"She immediately launched into a tirade, cursing the entire building; others instantly became displeased—who was she scolding? Is it justified to bully a little girl?"

"They all shouted back at her; Aunt Wang, outnumbered, slunk away like a defeated rat. Before leaving, she gave Ling Yue a venomous glare."

"Ling Yue gave a cold smile and shut the door."

"It's a simple two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment of about a hundred square meters; the furnishings, though old, are clean and tidy, and with only one occupant it feels somewhat austere."

"Ling Yue first went to the kitchen, took out the seldom-used small bowls and plates, and walked to the balcony to look outside."

"Caw-caw."

"The few crows circling above suddenly halted, flapped their wings, and landed on the balcony, as if unintentionally tilting their heads; a pair of eyes the size of soybeans swiveled to look inside."