"What are your intentions?" Dugu Yan's eyes were vacant, but her words made Tang Yin, behind her, stop in his tracks and look awkward.
Dugu Yan had been so blunt about tearing away the pretense that, for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
When Tang Yin didn't answer, Dugu Yan slowly turned around to face him.
The afternoon light filtered through the leaves and fell across her unusually pale face, making her emerald eyes shine with an eerie brightness. Yet they were unfathomably deep, like two Poison Springs on the verge of boiling over.
"Lan Yin, tell me. Am I ridiculous?"
She tugged at the corners of her mouth, seemingly trying to smile, but all she managed was an expression uglier than crying.
Her grandfather was her only family and had always been the source of her pride. So even though she'd lost her parents when she was young, she'd still been the envy of her peers, who all fawned over her.
But as time passed, she gradually realized that her grandfather's protection and doting might indeed have made her feel invincible, but they had also affected everyone and everything around her.
Osler, Yu Feng, and even Yu Tianheng—and perhaps Ye Lingling, at first—might have approached her for the sake of their families. The only difference was that Ye Lingling was pure-hearted and had genuinely treated her as a close sister.
"Sister Yan, you really don't need to agonize over this!"
Tang Yin saw the unnatural gleam in her eyes and the madness teetering on the brink of collapse beneath her smile. He spoke calmly. "People meet because they need something from each other, and part ways when those needs can't be met."
"Some people have emotional needs, while others have needs tied to self-interest. They may