Ji Yuning's gaze lingered on Liao Li for a second before she nodded, "Mm."
Fang Bai walked alone toward the car, while Liao Li and Ji Yuning stood facing each other.
Once Fang Bai had walked away, Liao Li asked, "Yu Ning, how has Fang Bai been treating you these past two weeks? Has she... been bullying you again?"
Ji Yuning answered truthfully, "No."
Liao Li breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
Ji Yuning didn't have complicated feelings for Liao Li. When she spoke to Liao Li, she no longer harbored that hatred and asked in a calm tone, "Aunt Liao, what was the agreement you just made?"
Liao Li guessed that Ji Yuning would ask, but after a pause, she didn't hide anything: "Last time you had a fever, I noticed the scars on your body. That's when I found out how she had treated you for the past three years..."
Liao Li met Ji Yuning's eyes, "I'm sorry, I should have found out sooner, otherwise you would have..."
Ji Yuning interrupted, "It's alright, Aunt Liao, please continue."
Liao Li: "After I finished giving you the IV, I told Fang Bai that I would take care of you, but Fang Bai refused."
Ji Yuning paused for a moment.
Liao Li continued, "Fang Bai said she would always treat you well, and I saw that she meant it. Plus, I've been very busy lately and might not be able to take care of you, so I made a promise with Fang Bai that I would visit you at home every weekend, as a way of supervising whether she was keeping her promise. The two times I called you were to see if she had broken her promise."
"So..." Ji Yuning's eyelids were half-closed, "the reason she started being nice to me was because you wanted to support me?"
Liao Li replied, "No."
Ji Yuning looked at Liao Li with slight surprise.
I don't understand why Liao Li would say no so decisively.
Liao Li gazed at the figure that had already reached the foot of the mountain; the slender back resembled a willow branch that would sway in the breeze.
Liao Li pursed her lips and said, "I know Fang Bai. I can tell that she was very worried about you before I offered to take care of you. She probably regretted it before you got a fever."
Liao Li said, "Perhaps she wasn't keeping our promise during this time, but rather she was genuinely repentant, otherwise she wouldn't have had the face to come see Lu Xia."
Liao Li said, "Of course, Auntie isn't trying to excuse Fang Bai. It's a fact that she abused you, and how she treated you afterwards can't be erased. Whether you resent her or whatever, Auntie understands. You'll be an adult in two years, and then you can choose to leave her. If you get tired of her someday during these two years, you can come to Auntie."
Ji Yuning nodded: "Thank you, Aunt Liao."
"There's no need to thank me. I haven't done anything yet." Liao Li laughed. "That's all I wanted to say. Is there anything else you want to tell me? If not, let's go down the mountain."
Ji Yuning looked at the person leaning against the car, and thinking about how Liao Li's unfinished words could make Fang Bai obediently go down the mountain, she raised an eyebrow and said, "She's very afraid of you."
Ji Yuning didn't ask a question; she said it with certainty.
Liao Li was taken aback for a moment, then realized that Ji Yuning was referring to Fang Bai when she looked in the direction Ji Yuning was looking. "Really?"
Liao Li recalled the past, "It seems so. When the three of us played together, she listened to me a lot."
A thoughtful look crossed Ji Yuning's eyes.
Liao Li didn't care about that. She took her phone out of her bag and handed it to Ji Yuning, "Do you have a phone? Give me your number. You can call me if anything happens."
Ji Yuning lowered her head.
Fang Bai asked her if she wanted to add Liao Li, but she refused.
Now that Liao Li has taken the initiative to add her, she has no reason to refuse.
“Okay.” Ji Yuning reached out and took it, entered her phone number, and dialed the number.
The moment the phone rang, Ji Yuning hung up the call and handed the phone back to Liao Li.
"Let's go, otherwise she'll get angry if we keep her waiting too long," Liao Li said after taking the phone.
Ji Yuning paused, then said, "Mm."
Fang Bai had just torn open a lollipop when he saw Liao Li and Ji Yuning walking down the mountain.
Seeing the candy in Fang Bai's hand, Liao Li asked, "Why are you eating candy?"
Fang Bai held the candy stick between his fingers as if he were holding a cigarette and said, "Quit smoking."
"?" Liao Li asked in confusion, "When did you start smoking?"
Liao Li didn't know?
Fang Bai searched through the original owner's memories and discovered that the original owner had started smoking suddenly three years ago.
Fang Bai shrugged: "It's nothing, I've given it all up."
Liao Li nodded, "I have to catch my flight, so I'll be going now."
Fang Bai nodded.
Liao Li spoke a few more words to Ji Yuning, then turned to leave, but suddenly asked Fang Bai, "By the way, when are you taking Yuning to my place for a checkup?"
Fang Bai took the candy out of his mouth. "When are you free?"
Liao Li: "I'm going back to Hushi on Thursday, how about Friday? Yu Ning will be on holiday then."
Fang Bai shook his head: "Friday won't work, let's choose another day."
Why not?
Fang Bai thought about the phone call from the day before yesterday, "It's Young Master Fang's birthday, and the old man wants me to go over."
The original owner called her father "old man," and as for Young Master Fang, he was the child of the original owner's stepmother.
Liao Li asked, "Are you taking Yu Ning with you?"
Fang Bai: "Mm."
Liao Li raised her hand and glanced at her watch. Time didn't allow her to chat any longer. "Okay, let's talk about it when I get back."
Liao Li walked towards the taxi she had hailed. "Let's go."
Fang Bai waved lazily: "Okay, be careful."
Ji Yuning also said goodbye.
After the taxi drove away, Fang Bai stared at Ji Yuning for a few seconds in silence, then turned and got into the car.
Once Ji Yuning got into the passenger seat, Fang Bai tossed a green apple-flavored cigarette into her lap, saying, "I didn't see you eat the peach flavor last time, so try this one. It's quite delicious."
Ji Yuning picked it up; she wasn't going to eat it.
After fastening her seatbelt, Ji Yuning waited for the car to start, but after more than ten seconds, there was no movement from the driver's seat.
Ji Yuning turned her head and met Fang Bai's gaze.
Fang Bai: "You don't like apple flavor either? I have other flavors here, you can choose one yourself."
Ji Yuning: "..."
Finally, under Fang Bai's watchful gaze, Ji Yuning tore open the candy wrapper and put the candy in her mouth.
Fang Bai then started the car. After driving out of the cemetery area, Fang Bai asked, "Would you like to eat out for lunch or go home?"
Ji Yuning's answer was the same as before: "Either is fine."
The candy in her mouth was so sweet that it made her not want to talk.
The candy wrapper rustled in her hand as Ji Yuning stuffed it into her pocket.
The car finally quieted down.
An hour later, the car drove from the suburbs into the city.
Fang Bai chose to take Ji Yuning out to eat because she had a question for Ji Yuning.
After ordering, Fang Bai hesitated for five minutes between asking and not asking after the waiter left the private room. Only after the first dish was served did Fang Bai ask the question she had been holding back all the way.
Fang Bai looked at Ji Yuning and asked, "What did Liao Li say to you?"
Ji Yuning sat upright in the chair. She had finished the candy several tens of minutes ago, but there was still an apple taste in her mouth. She drank a few sips of water to dilute the sweetness.
Feeling down, she had lost all desire to act. Ji Yuning, a half-smile playing on her lips, asked slowly, "Aunt Fang wants to know?"
Fang Bai nodded: "Mm."
Why should I tell Aunt Fang?
Fang Bai didn't expect Ji Yuning to ask her why, and said, "I just... wanted to show you some concern."
Ji Yuning half-closed her eyes, her smile fading, and said directly:
"He said he would take care of me."
"But you rejected me."
"Well……"
She knew Liao Li would say it.
Fang Bai poked at the plate with his chopsticks. "Actually, there's a reason I refused. I—"
Fang Bai paused, thinking about what reason he should come up with.
Are you suggesting she said she refused because she wanted to be by your side and get along with you?
That's too blunt.
Even if Fang Bai could say it, Ji Yuning wouldn't believe it.
Before Fang Bai could come up with a reason, Ji Yuning said, "I won't leave."
Fang Bai looked up in surprise.
He asked incredulously, "...Really?"
Ji Yuning put down her water glass, the sweetness finally gone from her mouth. She said slowly, "Didn't Aunt Fang say that she would give me what my mother left me after I came of age? If I leave early, will Aunt Fang still keep her promise?"
His words were full of distrust towards Fang Bai.
Ji Yuning looked at Fang Bai, only to see Fang Bai's eyes sparkling. He rested his chin on his hand and said with surprise, "Xiao Ning, this is the first time you've spoken to me at such a long length."
Ji Yuning thought Fang Bai would be angry if he heard the sarcasm in her words: ?
“…”
Is this the key point?
The waiter entered and served the food, interrupting their conversation.
Once the waiter left, Fang Bai had already regained his composure. With Ji Yuning's assurance, Fang Bai's anxiety finally subsided, and he was in a good mood.