MQSP - Chapter 4
Chapter 4
After dropping Baiye off at home, Xia Xiaozi rushed back to the set without stopping. As it happened, Lin Yuqing had also just wrapped up for the day. With the director gone, everyone was in the mood to slack off a bit and had already dispersed early.
In the car, Lin Yuqing reclined her seat and rested with her eyes closed.
"I picked up Xiao Ye and just dropped her off at home," Xia Xiaozi reported.
"Mm," Lin Yuqing acknowledged, her brow unconsciously smoothing out.
Xia Xiaozi glanced in the rearview mirror and saw an exquisite gift box on the back seat. She suddenly remembered it was the DSLR camera Lin Yuqing had asked her to buy for Xiao Ye last week. But they had both been so busy, they hadn't had a chance to meet.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she pressed her lips together.
Back when Xiao Ye had insisted on applying to the performance department at Qin Chuan Film Academy, Xia Xiaozi had wanted to stop her. But for one, she couldn't dissuade her, and for another, she also felt that Baiye's natural talent was so excellent it would be a waste if she didn't act. As a result, she had become her accomplice. But she had told Lin Yuqing that Xiao Ye was applying for the photography program…
Seeing this DSLR camera today, it was clear Lin Yuqing hadn't suspected a thing.
If she found out, would she explode on the spot?
Xia Xiaozi muttered to herself for a moment, then secretly glanced at Lin Yuqing.
"Qing Jie, you know, Xiao Ye has a great image and temperament. For someone her age, she's remarkably steady and poised. With her qualifications, if she were to act…" Xia Xiaozi hadn't finished her sentence when she inexplicably felt a chill in the car. But she hadn't turned on the air conditioning…
She timidly turned her head and saw that Lin Yuqing had opened her eyes at some point. Her large, emotionless eyes were staring straight at her, making her hair stand on end!
【Xia Xiaozi: So scary.jpg】
"Okay, okay, I won't say any more. I was just thinking out loud…"
"Don't even think about it," Lin Yuqing warned sternly, her expression serious.
"Yes, Boss!"
It was over. If she found out that Xiao Ye had not only enrolled in the performance department but was also one of the top students among the freshmen, emmm…
Oh, heavens!
Forty minutes later, the car entered the residential complex and parked in the underground garage. The two of them took the elevator, which went directly into the apartment. It was very convenient and also protected their privacy, saving them the trouble of being followed by paparazzi.
"Xiao Zi, I remember you seem to like children. Starting tomorrow, don't go anywhere else. Just stay and coax those little ones for me."
In the elevator, Lin Yuqing rubbed her aching forehead. Just thinking about those kids gave her a massive headache!
"Pfft… Boss, have mercy! I like children, but they have to be well-behaved like Xiao Ye. I don't like the really rowdy ones. And I can't stand it when kids cry and fuss." Xia Xiaozi chuckled to herself, impressed that Su Yu knew Lin Yuqing's weak spot so well!
She'd heard that while she was away in the afternoon, the assistant director had only managed to film one scene. It was a scene where Lin Yuqing ordered a vice general to be caned. When the soldiers rushed out with their military clubs, the spectacle scared Xiao Bao into tears again. When she cried, Lin Yuqing got annoyed, her expression turning icy. This created a vicious cycle, and the other six little ones couldn't hold back either. A perfectly good scene devolved into a septet. It wasn't just Lin Yuqing; even the assistant director was at his wit's end. He finally gave up and ordered the entire crew to play with the seven brats.
"Is Xiao Ye very well-behaved?" Lin Yuqing's focus seemed to have strayed a little.
"Doesn't she cry a lot too? She just doesn't cry out loud."
"Well, she's never caused you any trouble," Xia Xiaozi retorted, pursing her lips. Would it kill you to praise her a little! If she wasn't well-behaved, would you be buying her gifts?
As they were chatting, the elevator arrived. Xia Xiaozi was pressing the code on the door lock when she suddenly heard a scream!
The sound seemed to come from inside the apartment. Xia Xiaozi froze, thinking she'd misheard. She looked back at Lin Yuqing, who was also frowning.
"Xiao Ye?" Xia Xiaozi remembered that Xiao Ye was home alone! And that voice had sounded just like her!
In the blink of an eye, Lin Yuqing had already rushed past Xia Xiaozi and opened the coded door.
The moment she saw the scene inside, however, Lin Yuqing's heart pounded violently!
The tables and chairs in the living room were scattered everywhere. Baiye was standing, holding onto the dining table. Her white shirt was spattered with dots of blood, and her arm was covered in it, still dripping down her fingers. In her right hand, she was tightly clutching a blood-stained kitchen knife!
Hearing the door open, Baiye turned her head in a panic to look at Lin Yuqing.
"What's wrong?!" Lin Yuqing jogged into the room and quickly moved to stand in front of Baiye, shielding her protectively in an instant.
Xia Xiaozi also hurried toward them, grabbing a feather duster from the shoe cabinet by the door. Mustering her courage, she peeked into the kitchen and froze.
By now, Lin Yuqing had also figured out the situation. On the kitchen floor, slashed once and covered in blood but still flapping about, was a tenacious fish. Lin Yuqing was utterly dumbfounded.
Lin Yuqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. That girl had scared her to death. She thought something terrible had happened! Her expression immediately darkened.
However, when she turned her head, she saw the little one naturally hugging her arm. Her guilty and helpless expression made it impossible for Lin Yuqing to scold her. She took another deep breath and pulled her arm out of Baiye's grasp.
"Xia Xiaozi, how could you let her do something so dangerous?" she said, decisively opening fire on Xia Xiaozi.
"...??" Xia Xiaozi was completely bewildered, but she knew one thing for sure: she was fated to be the scapegoat!
"Auntie Lin, it's not Auntie's fault. I just wanted to prepare this fish, but I didn't dare use too much force…" Baiye felt wronged, too. She had gone through a long internal struggle before deciding to kill the fish herself. After finally mustering the courage to close her eyes and bring the knife down, splat! The fish went flying! It landed on the floor, splattering blood everywhere! Its mouth was still opening and closing as it struggled tenaciously. The scene was as gruesome as it could be, and it had scared her so much she screamed.
Xia Xiaozi was torn between laughter and tears. "Alright, alright, I'll take care of it. You go get cleaned up." She took the kitchen knife from her.
Baiye nodded. With lingering fear, she glanced back at the kitchen before scurrying upstairs.
Lin Yuqing sat on the sofa for a moment to calm down. She had inexplicably broken out in a cold sweat. Was she getting old? Was her constitution weak?
She looked down and saw two bloody handprints on her arm where Baiye had grabbed her. Her eyelid twitched, and she got up to go change her clothes as well.
Xia Xiaozi rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen. The bloody mess was enough to give her a good scare. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were shooting a horror film.
In her room, Baiye went into the bathroom first to wash the blood from her hands. As she washed, the image of Lin Yuqing standing in front of her, protecting her, surfaced in her mind. She remembered how tightly she had held onto her arm, and the faint, fresh scent of mint on her.
She smiled unconsciously. It had been a long, long time since she had been this close to Auntie Lin.
Gu Baiye was an orphan adopted by Lin Yuqing.
Her memories from before she was six were already blurry, but she still clearly remembered everything that happened before she met Lin Yuqing.
She remembered a dark, damp, strange-smelling room. She remembered rotten food and muddy water. She remembered the endless scolding and beatings…
But the memory that was most deeply etched in her mind was Lin Yuqing's appearance.
That day, she was like an angel from a fairy tale. She didn't mind the filth on her body. She would look at her so seriously, hold her so gently, and say in a beautiful voice, "I'm taking you home."
From that day on, Baiye knew that her life and the name Lin Yuqing could never be separated.
Lin Yuqing liked quiet, so Baiye became even quieter than her.
Lin Yuqing liked to read, so Baiye gave up her playtime every day to sit and read storybooks by herself.
Lin Yuqing didn't like children, so Baiye did everything she could to mature, trying her best not to act like a child who only knew how to cry and make a fuss.
She was always striving to become the kind of person Lin Yuqing would like.
A year later, Lin Yuqing's career began to take off. She grew busier and busier and no longer had time to care for her. Due to the constraints of her public profile, she had to entrust seven-year-old Xiao Baiye to a friend's care. The person who adopted Baiye was none other than Xia Xiaozi's older sister, Xia Nan.
The two families were fairly close, but Lin Yuqing saw Xiao Baiye less and less. Though Baiye missed her, she never dared to disturb her, afraid that Lin Yuqing would think she was an immature, clingy child.
Only when Lin Yuqing missed her would Xia Xiaozi come to pick her up on a weekend to stay for a few days.
After cleaning the blood off herself, Baiye walked to the closet and pulled open the doors.
Inside, hanging neatly from left to right, were clothes of all styles for every year and every season of her life, from childhood to the present.
Although, she had basically never worn any of these clothes. After she turned seven, she rarely came back here, but the clothes for each season were always present, not a single one missing.
She didn't know who prepared them. She had asked her Auntie, and her Auntie said that Auntie Lin had instructed her to prepare them, afraid that Baiye wouldn't have clothes that fit when she came back.
In her excitement, she had run to ask Auntie Lin, but Auntie Lin's blank expression, as if she knew nothing about it, dealt her a harsh blow. She wilted on the spot, like an eggplant after a frost.
And for a long time after that, she ignored Xia Xiaozi, thinking that she had made up a lie to trick her.
Baiye finished changing and put her dirty clothes in the sink to soak. Remembering that she had gotten Lin Yuqing's clothes dirty too, she quickly turned and left her room, just in time to see Lin Yuqing coming out of the room next door, also having changed.
"Auntie Lin, let me wash that for you," she said, looking at the dirty clothes in Lin Yuqing's hand.
"No need."
"I'm free on the weekends. Besides, I'm the one who got it dirty. I should wash it for you."
Lin Yuqing frowned and glanced down. "It's just a piece of clothing."
However, seeing Baiye's persistent expression, she said, "If you want to wash it, take it." She tossed the clothes to Baiye and turned to go downstairs.
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