Lin Tingwan's Turning Point

"..."

Meeting her younger sister's clear, innocent gaze, Lin Jianxia somehow felt a flash of inexplicable guilt.

Shaking off that strange feeling, she walked over to Lin Tingwan and asked softly,

"Wanwan? Why did you come out?"

Lin Tingwan reached for the spiral notebook on the table, quickly wrote a line, and handed it to her sister.

"I was waiting for you, Sis."

"Waiting for me..." Lin Jianxia glanced toward the small room beside them. "Are you hungry? I brought you food."

She opened the insulated container and introduced the dishes with some pride.

"Today's food is great. There's braised pork, mapo tofu, and stir-fried pork with green peppers, your favorite."

Lin Tingwan looked at the still-steaming container but did not pick up her chopsticks. Instead, she raised her head, her gaze passing through the still-open bedroom door and settling on the security door across the hall.

After looking for several seconds, she withdrew her gaze and lowered her head to write another line.

"Have you eaten, Sis?"

"Mm, I have."

Lin Jianxia nodded, but when she saw the next line her sister wrote, she froze slightly.

"Did you eat with Jiang Yubai?"

Her gaze lingered on those words for a moment before she answered hesitantly,

"Uh... yes. Since I had to cook for him, I ate with him while I was at it."

Lin Tingwan nodded, but did not write anything else. She simply began eating quietly, taking small bites.

Lin Jianxia closed the bedroom door. The more she thought about it, the stranger her sister's reaction seemed, and she could not help asking tentatively,

"Wanwan... are you upset that I didn't eat lunch with you? Then from now on, I'll wait and eat with you, okay?"

Hearing that, Lin Tingwan did not stop eating. She merely shook her head lightly, indicating that it was fine.

Yet seeing her sister's response only made Lin Jianxia more confused.

Her little sister was not the tsundere type, nor did she have any petty temper. If she said it was fine, then it was fine.

Then... why had Lin Tingwan suddenly asked that?

As the sister who had lived with her for so many years, Lin Jianxia could be said to know her better than anyone else in the world.

As her psychological issues worsened, Wanwan had gradually become someone who only answered when asked, spending the rest of her time quietly immersed in her own world. Even Lin Jianxia could not guess what her sister was thinking.

She could not even remember the last time Lin Tingwan had taken the initiative to ask a question like this.

After all, aside from herself, the only person Lin Tingwan was willing to communicate with even a little was...

Lin Jianxia suddenly froze and instinctively looked at the open spiral notebook on the table.

Jiang Yubai?

If Lin Tingwan had not asked because of her, then there seemed to be only one focus left in that question.

At that thought, an absurd feeling rose in her heart.

No way... they had only been desk mates for a week.

After Lin Tingwan swallowed her final bite, Lin Jianxia spoke softly. "Wanwan, what do you think of Jiang Yubai...?"

Lin Tingwan glanced at her sister and reached for her spiral notebook.

"Well... other than him being a good person," Lin Jianxia hurriedly added.

She really did not want to receive a fourth good guy card.

Lin Tingwan paused as she flipped through their "chat history," then flipped back. She picked up the gel pen beside her and began writing on the newest page.

"He feels very comfortable."

?

Lin Jianxia stared at those three words as a question mark slowly surfaced in her mind.

What did she mean, he felt very comfortable? Jiang Yubai as a person was comfortable? Was that even something you used to describe a person?

Wait a second!

Lin Jianxia suddenly became alert. "Wanwan, when Jiang Yubai was in your room yesterday... what did he say to you?"

That bastard... he had not taken the chance to trick an innocent girl, had he?

She knew that although her younger sister had no problems with her intelligence—and was even slightly better than her academically—she was as pure as a blank sheet of paper when it came to dealing with people.

If Jiang Yubai really had any improper intentions, then Wanwan would...

"He said you asked him to come chat with me."

Looking at the words in front of her, Lin Jianxia blinked several times and silently apologized to Jiang Yubai in her heart.

Sorry for misunderstanding you... I'll make you an extra dish tomorrow to make up for it.

The thought passed in a flash, and Lin Jianxia continued asking without a shred of guilt, "Then... what did he talk to you about?"

"Jiang Yubai asked whose novel it was."

Lin Jianxia: "..."

She covered her face with both hands and suddenly regretted asking.

Lin Jianxia spoke in a muffled voice. "I mean, Wanwan... why did you suddenly start reading this kind of book...?"

"I found it in the bookcase."

Seeing that line, Lin Jianxia helplessly lowered her head and thumped her forehead against the table.

Ah...

Those books had originally been stored in a small box. Ever since she had been fired from the bookstore, she would occasionally take them out to reread. Afterward, too lazy to put them away properly, she had stuffed them into the very back of the bookcase...

Who would have thought Wanwan would suddenly become interested in that kind of book!

Fine, she read it—but Jiang Yubai had found out.

Fine, he found out—but he had exposed her!

Thankfully, Jiang Yubai had not teased her about it today, or she did not know if she would have dropped dead on the spot.

Lin Jianxia raised her head and continued asking, "Then other than the novel, did Jiang Yubai talk to you about anything else?"

Lin Tingwan's pen paused for a moment, then quickly continued writing.

"No."

Seeing that line, Lin Jianxia did not think much of it and merely hummed in acknowledgment.

She was thinking about something else.

After hesitating for a long while, Lin Jianxia finally spoke softly.

"Then... Wanwan, would you hate talking to Jiang Yubai?"

Lin Tingwan raised her eyes. A trace of confusion seemed to flicker through her clear gaze, as though she did not understand why her sister was asking.

But in the end, she still shook her head.

Lin Jianxia's heart suddenly began beating faster, and her fingertips curled unconsciously.

The psychologist who had treated Wanwan before had said that, in the end, she would have to face and overcome such issues herself.

The doctor had also warned that if she continued shutting herself away, her condition would only worsen.

The way to improve it was actually simple:

Go out more, interact and communicate with people more, and preferably make more friends.

But Lin Jianxia had tried many methods—she had wanted to take her sister out for walks, wanted her to meet strangers...

Yet Lin Tingwan had always remained silent. When they had first moved here, she had not even been willing to step outside her room, much less take the initiative to talk to anyone.

Just when Lin Jianxia had nearly given up on the idea, it seemed... a turning point had appeared.

To be honest, her sister being willing to talk with Jiang Yubai for so long last night had already greatly exceeded her expectations.

But now, it seemed...

"Then... then what if..." Lin Jianxia began carefully. "What if Jiang Yubai... came to talk with you every day? Would you be willing?"

Under her sister's breathless gaze, Lin Tingwan quietly thought for a while.

Finally, she lowered her head and wrote a few words in the spiral notebook, then gently pushed it in front of her sister.

Suppressing her quickening heartbeat, Lin Jianxia lowered her head to look—

Only two words were written in the notebook, each stroke clear and distinct.

"Okay."