As the sky darkened, lights blinked on in every house, and the long tube lights in the Qian home chased away the gloom of the living room.
One meat dish, two vegetables, and a soup—the Qián family still lived fairly well. Even though the ingredients weren't expensive, the meal was flavorful and satisfying.
Le Yuxin used her chopsticks to slice off a small piece of the pork patty with preserved vegetables. The savory, salty taste of the preserved greens and the umami of the mushrooms had completely soaked into the meat—making it perfect with plain rice.
The fried tofu and blanched cabbage were great, too; the cabbage was refreshing with a subtle sweetness, and the fried tofu was rich with sauce.
The soup was seaweed and egg drop, since Star Engraving was close to the Seaport, and seaweed around here was cheap. Although they hadn't put in much salt and the flavor was a bit light, after finishing the savory fried tofu and pork patty, this soup felt just right and somehow even settled the stomach.
This meal left Le Yuxin genuinely satisfied.
The only problem was that Qian Yuya had been staring at him the whole time.
Feeling truly unsettled under Qian Yuya's gaze, Le Yuxin said helplessly, "Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Your friend probably ran off because of my reputation."
Le Yuxin actually had a pretty good idea why Li Ying had fled so suddenly, but it wasn't really his fault. He'd tried his best; it's just that Qian Yuliu's reputation was so rotten, it was hopeless from the start.
Le Yuxin sighed, "People out there really misunderstand me way too much."
Qian Yuya stared at Le Yuxin for a while, then after a moment finally said, "You seem to have changed lately."
"Yeah, some stuff has happened recently, and, well, people always change," Le Yuxin said, going along, "Is Li Ying a close friend of yours? I really don't want your relationship to get distant because of me… Uh, you can invite her over to our house more often. If everyone spends more time together, gets to know each other, she'll naturally stop being scared of me."
Le Yuxin had genuinely meant those words—he knew how precious close friends were to teenagers, and of course he didn't want to damage anyone's friendships.
Now that Li Ying knew Qian Yuliu and Qian Yuya lived together under one roof, there was no guarantee she wouldn't start looking at Qian Yuya differently—for plenty of friendships, just a family member could cause distance like that, and it happened all the time.
Back in his childhood, Le Yuxin had started drifting away from a friend after discovering that friend's mom was overly strict and hot-tempered. Partly it was her controlling nature, but partly it was Le Yuxin's own lingering fear.
"Friendship isn't really all that solid a thing. It's like glass—pretty, beautiful, and fragile. Maybe some friendships survive the test, but… before a real test comes, don't test it too much. Fix what you can, treasure what you have, while it lasts."
"Some might think these friendships are 'fake' and not worth treasuring, but most things in this world are just a bit of fun for the moment. Who can guarantee their own relationships are unbreakable and eternal? Before a relationship ends, all most people can do is enjoy the good parts."
And besides, Le Yuxin wasn't Qian Yuya. Who knew if Qian Yuya thought of Li Ying as a real sister from another mother and father? To avoid her resenting him and refusing to eat with him ever again, Le Yuxin decided to throw out a possible solution—basically, to shift the blame first.
"That's just treating the symptoms, not the root of the problem," Qian Yuya said calmly, "Li Ying is afraid of you, not because of your looks or how you talk, but because of the things you've done. As long as what you did doesn't change, Li Ying's always going to be afraid of you."
"As long as you're a bad person, people will always hate you."
The air suddenly went still.
After a moment, Le Yuxin forced a laugh, "Maybe I can become a charming villain?"
His clumsy attempts at humor didn't faze Qian Yuya. She suddenly held out her palm toward Le Yuxin, and with each sentence, curled back one finger,
"Did you execute Backlight Particle agents directly, without trial, just because of an order?"
"Did you kill your former teacher, Lin Jinyao?"
"Did you arrest plenty of your old classmates and bring them back to the Statistical Department?"
"Did you carry out the Statistical Department's senseless orders to kill?"
Qian Yuya curled the last finger in, making a tight fist with her right hand, clenching hard.
She took a deep breath and asked the final question, "Are all the rumors about you true? Or is there something else behind them?"
So that's how it is…
Only then did Le Yuxin understand why Qian Yuya was so moody and sarcastic tonight—she'd heard rumors about Qian Yuliu, and Qian Yuliu hadn't given her any warning!
He hadn't told the family he was about to start a 'brand new life as a mole,' hadn't even bothered with the classic 'Don't believe the rumors, Sis, your brother's actually a good guy' reassurance!
Qian Yuya only exploded and questioned him now, which showed just how good Qian Yuliu was at hiding things.
But Le Yuxin wasn't the type to hide and bottle things up like Qian Yuliu. In fact, he felt trapped by the secret too—after all, he'd shot Lin Jinyao dead, and had no one to vent to. Now that Qian Yuya was directly asking, he figured he'd just dump some big truths on her out of kindness!
But just as Le Yuxin opened his mouth, a series of memories crashed through his mind,
Lin Jinyao, "Yuliu, think carefully. Joining the Statistical Department to become a White Night spy is very dangerous. Don't rush in. Remember, this isn't just about you—it's about your family, too."
Qian Yuliu, "My parents died years back. The only family I have now is Yuya. Sir, can you arrange for Yuya to live somewhere safe?"
Lin Jinyao, "Your sister will be old enough for the National Academy in two years, right? I can talk to the organization and get her a place at the Royal Academy in Yanjing."
Qian Yuliu, "If that's the case, then I'm good with it."
Lin Jinyao, "You can still change your mind, Yuliu. Also, about your mission as a spy, you can't tell anyone—no one, including your family. Me and 'Star Catcher' can take our secrets to the grave, but not everyone's got our resolve. The more your sister knows, and the more she cares, the more danger she'll be in."
Qian Yuliu, "So, as long as I don't tell the secret and stay distant with Yuya, I can keep her safe?"
Lin Jinyao, "That's technically true, but if your sister's left in the dark, she'll be affected by outside rumors. She might distance herself from you, despise you, even see you as an enemy… Yuliu, we'd understand if you decline the mission. Some people can handle being a hero who dies for their cause, but can't bear being spat on as a coward."
Qian Yuliu, "It's fine."
"Anyway, Yuya doesn't really like me."
...
Le Yuxin rubbed his temples, let out a long sigh, and swallowed the words he was about to say.
When Qian Yuya saw Le Yuxin hesitate, her anxiety boiled over. She slammed her fist on the table, making the bowls and plates jump, and tried to keep her voice steady as she demanded in a trembling tone, "Why won't you answer me?"
Le Yuxin stared into Qian Yuya's eyes.
He saw in those clear, bright eyes a swirl of worry, anxiety, and anger.
Le Yuxin finally realized he actually had one thing over Qian Yuliu—at the very least, his emotional intelligence was way higher than Qian Yuliu's.
Qian Yuliu, oh Qian Yuliu—you think your sister doesn't like you? She cares about you a lot, you idiot.
"But why, if you chose to be the bad guy, do I have to clean up your mess? I'm not the one who…"
Although Le Yuxin felt nothing but resentment toward Qian Yuliu, when he looked at the pleading, nearly begging look in Qian Yuya's eyes, he just smiled, nodded, and said,
"Everything you said is true."
"The one sitting in front of you—enemy of Backlight Particle, killer of Star Engraving's own teacher, destroyer of classmates, butcher for the Statistical Department—is Qian Yuliu."