It's under control

Tang Qinqin approached her mother, who was busy in the kitchen.

She craned her neck to peek into the bedroom and saw her sister studying with intense focus. Feeling somewhat reassured, she turned back and moved closer to her mother.

In a soft voice, Tang Qinqin asked, “Mom, what’s been going on with sister lately?”

“She seems a bit off,” Tang’s mother replied.

At Tang Qinqin’s words, the faint smile on Tang’s mother’s face vanished instantly.

She sighed softly, her tone laced with helplessness and worry as she spoke quietly, “I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with your sister these days.”

“Her grades have dropped sharply, and sometimes she comes home with red, swollen eyes. When I ask her, she just won’t say anything.”

“She always brushes me off with ‘I’m fine.’”

Her expression darkened slightly as she spoke, clearly frustrated by Tang Manman’s silence.

As she sliced two cucumber pieces, Tang’s mother suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned to her youngest daughter, her eyes filled with a hopeful question: “Has your sister told you anything?”

“No, she hasn’t,” Tang Qinqin answered without hesitation.

Then, as if to make her answer more believable, she added with a mischievous grin, “If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you, Mom~”

Tang’s mother found her daughter’s reasoning reasonable and nodded, choosing not to press further. She turned back to focus on preparing lunch.

With no useful information gained, Tang Qinqin left the kitchen.

Standing in the hallway, she glanced to her left.

Through the wide-open bedroom door, she saw her sister.

Tang Manman was slumped over an old wooden desk marked by the passage of time. One hand gripped a pen, her gaze vacant. Though she appeared to be studying, her distracted eyes betrayed her wandering mind.

Tang Qinqin, clever beyond her years, stroked her chin thoughtfully.

Seeing her sister in such a dazed state, she grew even more curious about Lin Yu—the one who had changed her sister into this.

Is he a good person or a bad one?

She glanced back to see her mother still intently chopping vegetables for lunch.

Biting her lip, Tang Qinqin thought it over and decided to go ask Yu Kai.

Although, due to their differing stances, she couldn’t trust everything he said, getting more information was always better.

It’s better to be prepared!

With that in mind, Tang Qinqin turned right and headed out the door, speaking as she went, “Mom, I’m stepping out for a bit.”

“Where are you going?” came a gentle voice, reminding her, “Dinner’s almost ready. Don’t wander too far.”

“I know,” Tang Qinqin replied, her tone a little higher, “I’m just going to take a walk nearby. It’s been a while since I came back—I want to see how much the neighborhood has changed!”

With that excuse, Tang Qinqin left home and followed the route she remembered, heading straight to Yu Kai’s place.

Arriving at the familiar spot, she looked at the security door, unchanged from her memory, and gently knocked.

“Who is it?”

A clear, strong female voice came from inside the door. Tang Qinqin’s sweet voice said:

“Auntie, it’s me.”

“I’m Tang Qinqin.”

“Qinqin?”

The voice inside turned surprised.

Soon after,

the security door was pushed open. Inside, a middle-aged woman looked at the smiling young girl standing outside, her face lighting up with joy as she called out:

“Qinqin!”

“You’ve been discharged?”

“When did you get out?”

“This morning.”

Tang Qinqin replied obediently.

The middle-aged woman nodded with a warm smile. She quickly stepped aside and invited,

“Come in, Qinqin, come in.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Tang Qinqin thanked her in a clear, bright voice and stepped into the room.

She sat down on the sofa in the living room and got straight to the point:

“Auntie, is Brother Yu Kai home?”

The middle-aged woman bent down and took a bottle of almond milk from a drink box in the corner of the living room. As she turned and walked toward Tang Qinqin, she said,

“He’s not home. He went out to buy some soy sauce.”

“But he should be back soon.”

“Are you looking for him for something?”

“Not really,” Tang Qinqin scratched her head and said,

“I just wanted to ask him some study-related questions.”

“I see.”

The middle-aged woman nodded and handed the almond milk to Tang Qinqin with a smile:

“Then just wait for him a bit. He’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.”

Tang Qinqin nodded and took the almond milk with both hands, thanking her brightly:

“Thank you, Auntie.”

After handing over the drink, the middle-aged woman didn’t leave. She looked at the young girl she hadn’t seen in a long time, her mind full of things she wanted to say.

She sat down beside Tang Qinqin and asked the question she cared about most:

“Qinqin, is your illness completely cured now?”

Tang Qinqin shook the bottle of almond milk and replied in a clear voice:

“Not yet.”

“But my condition has stabilized a lot.”

“I don’t have to stay in the hospital every day anymore.”

“That’s good.”

The middle-aged woman breathed a sigh of relief. She looked the girl over, noticing how her figure was starting to stretch out, and teased with a smile:

“You’ve really grown a lot these past few years.”

“I think in a few years, you’ll be as tall as your sister.”

“Mm.”

The middle-aged woman stared at Tang Qinqin’s fair, almost dewy skin and nodded to herself:

“Mm.”

“You’re growing up beautifully.”

“You’ll definitely be even prettier than your sister when you grow up!”

Tang Qinqin laughed, not the least bit modest, her face thick-skinned as she said:

“Hehe.”

“That’s exactly what I think too.”

Their conversation was lively when suddenly the door clicked open. Both of them looked toward the sound. The security door had been unlocked and opened, revealing a handsome young man with a slightly disheveled air standing in the doorway.

“Brother Yu Kai!”

Tang Qinqin called out in a bright voice.

“Qinqin?”

A flicker of surprise shone in Yu Kai’s eyes as he instinctively asked,

“What are you doing here?”