Give Me Another Smile

A sudden knock on the door gave Yin Zhao-an a jolt, waking her up from her daze. When she looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already 1:30 am, she felt that Tang Yu must've come home.

"Where's your computer, Brother Zhao?" Zhao Yu asked, poking his head through the entrance as soon as Yin Zhao-an opened the door. However, he quickly stood at attention and behaved obediently when he saw Yin Zhao-an rolling her eyes at him in annoyance.

Yin Zhao-an poured a cup of water for Zhao Yu before sitting on the living room sofa by herself.

Zhao Yu was a techno-geek, and he had a great interest in games, just like she did. The two of them had been friends since elementary school, so they knew everything there was to know about each other, sexual orientation excluded.

"Where is Sister-in-... Cough. Is Big Sis Tang not home?"

Zhao Yu almost choked on what he said. He had talked about this topic so frequently with Gao Rang in private that he nearly exposed his actions in front of the topic's protagonist. Fortunately, he managed to change his wording before he made a blunder.

"Her? She's throwing a tantrum," Yin Zhao-an said, clicking her tongue. Then, she leaned her head against the sofa and continued, "She's even hanging up my calls. Whatever. Who cares about her? She'll come back once her anger subsides."

Zhao Yu frowned when he heard Yin Zhao-an's answer. Unable to help himself, he asked, "Wait, so you're just going to let her stay outside by herself this late at night? Aren't you worried something will happen to her?"

How could Yin Zhao-an not worry? She had dialed Tang Yu's phone so many times that her own phone was running out of power already. However, after moving her bangs aside, she feigned calmness and said, "She answered my call once. She should be fine."

Zhao Yu frowned but did not say anything more.

Yin Zhao-an could be considered a child ruler during elementary school. Since girls entered puberty earlier than boys, Yin Zhao-an, already very tall at the time, was incredibly protective of Tang Yu. Particularly, after the great changes that had taken place in Tang Yu's family, Yin Zhao-an had rarely left Tang Yu's side. As one of those greeted by Yin Zhao-an's fists, Zhao Yu naturally became Yin Zhao-an's underling, and he would often address her as Brother Zhao.

Unfortunately, his Brother Zhao was incredibly dense in the head. Even though Yin Zhao-an was great at studying, she seemingly never noticed the love in Tang Yu's eyes. As a bystander and a close friend of Yin Zhao-an, Zhao Yu would be lying if he said he wasn't worried for the two girls' future. However, Tang Yu didn't seem keen to express her feelings, so Zhao Yu had no choice but to secretly ship the two girls together.

…

"...Yes, I'm done, I'm done. I'm heading home now. Are you going to come to fetch me? Then…" Zhao Yu quietly responded to the person on the other end of the phone. Unfortunately, even though he had already kept his voice down, he still ended up waking Yin Zhao-an.

Yin Zhao-an looked at the clock with her tired eyes, the originally tightened brows tightening even further.

3.30 am.

Yin Zhao-an's computer was working normally already. After stretching his back, Zhao Yu yawned and packed up his tools. Then, he said, "Sorry for waking you up, Brother Zhao. Your PC's fixed. You should head to bed soon. My brother will come and pick me up later, so I'll head downstairs first."

"Alright. Thanks for your help."

…

It was possible to look down to the apartment lobby from the balcony. Yin Zhao-an stood behind the balcony's glass door as she watched Zhao Yu standing downstairs with his arms huddled around himself. Sometime later, a black Volkswagen rolled up next to Zhao Yu.

Yin Zhao-an could vaguely see a man in a black trench coat getting out of the car and taking off his trench coat. Then, the man draped the coat over Zhao Yu and gently kissed him on his forehead.

It wasn't until the car had driven away did Yin Zhao-an return to her seat.

She still remembered seeing Zhao Yu in the bar that day, his head wrapped in gauze and his hands and feet covered in plaster. Even though he looked like he was at death's door, he smiled like a fool as he patted Gao Rang, who sat next to him and cared for him, and triumphantly said that he had won the fight.

She was confused by Zhao Yu's words at the time, but after seeing the scene just now, she felt that he must have succeeded in securing his own happiness. Realizing this, she couldn't help but wonder when she would meet someone who would also pursue her with such selfless devotion. Probably never...

…

The faint sound of a car honking came from outside the balcony, waking Yin Zhao-an up from her dream. Immediately afterward, she tentatively reached for her phone...

An unread message! Tang-Tang!

Yin Zhao-an hurriedly opened the text message from Tang Yu. However, her anxious expression gradually turned into one of rage, and the panic in her eyes gradually faded. Then, she threw her phone aside with a gloomy face and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Displayed on the phone's screen were several lines of words: I don't want to care about you anymore. I hope you will leave me alone as well. Let's both reflect on ourselves.

Yin Zhao-an looked at her sleep-deprived face in the mirror. An inexplicable sense of anger bubbled in her heart, her hands that gripped the washbasin's edge turning white from all the force she subconsciously applied.

...

When Yin Zhao-an sat back in front of her computer, she habitually clicked on the aqua-blue logo and watched the beautiful loading animation with a dull look on her face. As soon as she logged in, a steady stream of message prompts appeared in her message bar.

"This is..." Yin Zhao-an couldn't help but lean forward to take a closer look. Immediately afterward, the light in her eyes reappeared as she exclaimed, "Nobody has cleared the new dungeon yet!"

After replying to her messages one after another, Yin Zhao-an eagerly began to gather the experienced members of her guild and set off to challenge the unkilled boss again, completely forgetting that she still had unsolved matters to deal with.

…

In a dark and damp basement, Tang Yu curled up her sore body, dried blood covering her hands and face. The hot and labored breaths she exhaled caused the fine dust on the ground to become airborne.

An-An will realize I'm missing, right? She will find me, right? She will definitely find me… Definitely… Just like when we were small… She will stand in front of me and…

Tang Yu shuddered. Although tears were rolling in her eyes, she bit her lip to stop herself from crying.

......

Just a little more!

Yin Zhao-an moved her mouse nervously, paying close attention to her character's positioning.

So long as we can seal off this path…

Buzz— Buzz—

The phone on her desk suddenly vibrated. Holding back her annoyance, Yin Zhao-an quickly picked up her phone and glanced at it, only to have her annoyance grow even greater. After saying a bunch of things into the phone, she hung up the call and put her phone on silent.

Do you think I have to answer the phone just because you called? Since you ignored all of my calls last night, fine! You don't want me to care about you, right? Who cares about you?!

…

Du family residence:

Du Yuqing fiddled with her curly chestnut hair as she nonchalantly gazed at the white Persian cat sitting in the corner of the sofa, her long white legs overlapping each other. The white skirt she wore barely reached the base of her thighs, the sight very thought-provoking.

Suddenly, a servant entered her room with cold sweat pouring down her forehead. The servant was so nervous that even her palms were sweaty. "Young Miss, the woman in the basement..."

"Hm? What's the matter?" Du Yuqing didn't even lift her head or glance at the servant.

"She... She died."