Knocking sounds came from the door, accompanied by angry curses.
Du Yuqing indifferently reached for the glass cup on the bedside table and threw it at the door. Immediately, the clear glass shattered and scattered across the floor after letting out a mournful wail.
The person outside appeared to have been frightened. After pausing for a few seconds, the person cursed one more time, which was then followed by the sound of distancing footsteps.
"Trash." Du Yuqing snorted disdainfully.
After the nuisance was gone, Du Yuqing pasted the sketch next to the other drawings on the wall.
If one were to carefully look at the wall, one would find various papers densely covering it, and every one of them contained drawings outlining the same person.
…
Even as the days passed, Yin Zhao-an continued competing with Fang Ling over the rights to Tang Yu's arm. Only, Yin Zhao-an's real goal was never just Tang Yu's arm but her hand instead. Yin Zhao-an had always emerged victorious when it came to this regard.
The time that Tang Yu had been worrying over eventually arrived. However, contrary to her expectations, nothing happened. The day had gone by so uneventfully that she couldn't help but suspect whether the "missing" criminal was still alive.
To ensure no accidents happened, Tang Yu even started throwing tantrums every now and then before the potentially disastrous day arrived, begging her mother to keep her company.
Due to the nature of her work, Yu Wanrou had to spend most of her time boarding and getting off planes. She had originally already felt guilty for being constantly absent from her daughter's life. So, she quickly succumbed to Tang Yu's crocodile tears and took a year off work to play her role as a mother.
Meanwhile, although Tang Yu felt a little guilty for keeping her mother at home, she didn't regret her actions.
Yu Wanrou going out to work meant that she would be alone, which also meant that she could potentially come across an accident at any given moment. She definitely wouldn't be as safe as she would be if she simply stayed in the military compound. At the very least, it should be impossible for any outlaws to extend their hands to this place.
"Take this lunch box, Little Yu. Stop buying junk food, and don't stay out too late after school," Yu Wanrou said as she put the lunch box she had prepared into Tang Yu's school bag. Then, she handed the bag to Tang Yu, who was still sipping on a glass of soy milk.
"Okay." Tang Yu quickly finished the rest of the soy milk and accepted the school bag. Then, she sweetly smiled and said, "Thank you, Mommy."
…
Yin Zhao-an no longer stood at the intersection in wait for Tang Yu, opting to crouch behind a bush instead.
After failing to catch Tang Yu on her way to school for some time, Yin Zhao-an took a smarter approach. Before the sky had even brightened, she would crouch and hide along the path to school. Although she didn't catch Tang Yu on her first few attempts, she eventually succeeded after several failed attempts.
Yin Zhao-an felt both elated and disappointed by this success. After all, even though they could have met on their way to school every morning, not once had they met each other thus far. It just showed how much her Tang-Tang was trying to avoid her.
Since intentional meetings troubled her Tang-Tang, Yin Zhao-an decided she would create "chance encounters."
Yin Zhao-an enjoyed the experience of "stalking" Tang Yu. This was because she discovered a side Tang Yu had never shown her.
When greeting the breakfast shop's shopkeeper, Tang Yu would smile happily at the middle-aged woman.
When coming across a puppy on the side of the road, Tang Yu would stop and look at it with a gentle expression.
When coming across problems that troubled her, Tang Yu would subconsciously mutter to herself.
Yin Zhao-an had never seen Tang Yu showing such a carefree and genuine smile or speaking in such a soft and gentle manner before, or not to her, at least.
Some might ask why Yin Zhao-an was so adamant about befriending Tang Yu. The answer was simple—it was because her heart couldn't resist wanting to get close to Tang Yu. She had a strong urge to protect Tang Yu and see Tang Yu happy. Anything was fine so long as Tang Yu didn't feel sad.
…
Fang Lang was the center of attention when attending middle school, and Tang Yu's group also received the same treatment when they joined the middle school section.
It was mainly because Yin Zhao-an's budding facial features and continuously growing height made many people think of her as a handsome young man. From time to time, there would be girls running over to surround Yin Zhao-an, who was following behind Tang Yu.
In Fang Ling's case, she received so many love letters from boys that she eventually lost count. Unfortunately, her strict family made it impossible for her to give any of her admirers a positive response.
Out of the group of three, Tang Yu had the easiest time. After being awarded the title of "Iceberg," she only needed to focus on her studies and the actions of the people around her, including Du Yuqing, who hadn't appeared in front of her for a while long time already.
Du Yuqing should be abroad right about now. Although Tang Yu didn't know what Du Yuqing had left to do, she couldn't care less so long as the other party didn't appear in front of her. Not to mention, Tang Yu felt that with how much she had distanced herself from Yin Zhao-an already, Du Yuqing should no longer have any more reason to come after her.
…
Once school was over, Fang Ling packed her bag and went to look for Tang Yu. The classroom was noisy as everyone let loose the exhaustion and frustration they had accumulated throughout the day. After scanning the classroom and failing to find Tang Yu's figure, Fang Ling stopped a boy exiting the classroom and asked, "Do you know where Tang Yu went?"
The boy appeared to be in a hurry. After curtly answering Fang Ling with an "office," he hastily ran away, leaving Fang Ling feeling frustrated.
There are so many offices! Which one are you talking about?!
Fang Ling tried to ask a few more people, but everyone responded with the same vague answer. Even the most detailed answer she got was only: "A teacher called her away, but I don't know which teacher it is."
A few kind souls also reminded her, "She might have gone home already."
When Fang Ling came across Yin Zhao-an by the school gate, she relayed the answers she got to Yin Zhao-an. Then, after looking at her Doraemon watch, she said, "I'm going to have to take my leave first. Are you going to continue waiting here?"
"You can go first, then. I'll continue waiting," Yin Zhao-an said, frowning when she saw fewer and fewer people on the campus.
"Okay," Fang Ling said. Then, just as she was about to leave, she suddenly thought of something and added, "The off-duty time for teachers is 5:40. If you still don't see her past this time, she should have gone home already."
"Okay, I got it."