After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

Shen Qing ran out from behind Lin Ye and almost tripped over the threshold.

She steadied herself, quickly walked up to Shen Na, and reached out to take the suitcase handle from her hand.

Shen Na didn't let go. She looked down at Shen Qing—from head to toe, from her new honey-brown hair to the healthy rosy glow on her face, from her clean white T-shirt to her new canvas shoes. Then she reached out and pulled Shen Qing into her arms.

"You scared me to death."

Her voice, muffled on Shen Qing's shoulder, trembled slightly with emotion.

"I thought something had happened to you again. You didn't even call, and you didn't tell me you were moving—"

Shen Qing was so tightly embraced by her that she could hardly breathe. She patted her back with one hand and gripped the suitcase handle with the other.

"Sis, didn't I tell you I'm fine? I really am."

Shen Na released her, raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, and then turned her gaze back to Lin Ye.

This time, her gaze was different from before—not scrutinizing, not wary, but something more complex.

It was as if she saw the "person who took care of her" that Shen Qing had mentioned, but she wasn't quite sure whether this young man was worthy of the praise her sister had given him.

"Is this the person who took care of you?" she asked.

"it's me."

Lin Ye took the unlit cigarette out of his mouth, his tone calm.

Shen Na stared at him for a while longer.

Her gaze swept from his short hair to his jawline, from his shoulder to his hands in his pockets, and then landed on the colorful girls peeking out from under the dim lights of the barbecue stall behind them.

Her brows furrowed slightly again, but before she could speak, Huang Mao's voice flew out from the barbecue stand.

"Sis! Sister Shen Qing's sister! Come in and eat! I just asked the boss to add some grilled lamb chops, enoki mushrooms wrapped in foil, and a case of ice-cold beer!"

Shen Na was taken aback by this address.

The blond-haired boy had already sprung up from the plastic chair, his honey-brown head standing out conspicuously under the light.

As soon as she spoke, the other girls moved as well—the girl with the tattooed arm stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and sat up straight; the girl with the tattooed legs swept the bamboo skewers on the table into the trash can; the girl with green hair and pink hair gave up the chair they had been occupying; and the girl with bangs moved over and took Wangcai into her seat.

Shen Na stood at the entrance of the barbecue stall, watching as the colorful girls turned to look at her in unison, each face displaying a different degree of enthusiasm but all pointing in the same direction.

She was a little taken aback by this scene and glanced back at Shen Qing.

Shen Qing took her arm and pulled her toward the barbecue stand.

"Sis, come in and sit down first, I have something to tell you."

Shen Na was pulled inside by her, and the wheels of her suitcase made two more clattering sounds on the cement floor.

Lin Ye followed behind, bent down, picked up the handle of the suitcase, lifted the whole suitcase, and walked into the barbecue stall, placing it in a corner against the wall.

Shen Na glanced back at him, her lips moved but she didn't say anything, though the wariness in her eyes thinned slightly.

Shen Qing pulled out the chair next to her for Shen Na to sit down, and then took a new set of bowls and chopsticks from the table and placed them in front of her.

The bowls are disposable plastic bowls, and the chopsticks are still warm from being taken out of the sterilizer.

After setting out the bowls and chopsticks, Shen Qing picked out a few skewers of freshly served, still steaming hot, and put them into Shen Na's bowl, her movements so practiced it seemed she had done it many times before.

Watching Shen Qing's series of actions, Shen Na didn't pick up her chopsticks, but instead reached out and took Shen Qing's hand.

"What exactly happened? Where have you been staying these past few days? What have you been eating? Has anyone been bullying you?"

The tattooed man shifted the direction of his cigarette and replied in a tone that was both a report and a casual chat.

"Don't worry, sis. Shen Qing is living with us now. My brother paid the whole year's rent, the sofa is brand new and cost 12,000 yuan, she had a full VIP medical check-up, her hair was just done at that custom-made salon on the third floor of the mall, and tonight's barbecue was an extra treat after we left the karaoke bar—if you want to ask her what she's been eating these past few days, I suggest you just look at her face, it's gotten rounder."

Shen Qing turned her head and glared at the tattooed arm, but couldn't help but smile.

Shen Na's gaze swept from the arm covered in koi fish stripes, then from the blond and honey-brown hair to the rose tattoo on the legs, from the green and pink hair with ear-dye to the fat stray cat with a double chin in the arms of the girl with bangs, and finally landed on Shen Qing.

Her expression shifted from worry to surprise, from surprise to confusion, and finally settled on a complex emotion of relief but not complete relief.

"So you're not living in one of those mixed-gender, chaotic places now?"

She asked Shen Qing, her voice still filled with worry, but it wasn't as sharp as before.

Before speaking, Huang Mao removed a lamb skewer from the bamboo stick, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster's, and mumbled, "It's just mixed-gender dorms. The seven of us share a room with you, brother. Don't worry, sister, brother sleeps on the sofa. We... brother is a decent guy, he never—"

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

Because the tattooed man kicked her under the table, and the tattooed man tapped the edge of her bowl with chopsticks, while Shen Qing was pouring water for Shen Na, her movements visibly froze for a moment.

Yellow Hair swallowed the meat in his mouth, picked up his beer glass and took a swig, pretending nothing had happened.

Shen Na placed her suitcase against the wall, turned around, and glanced around the barbecue stall.

The blond guy was leaning over the table, poking at the grilled kidneys with chopsticks; the tattooed man was using a bamboo skewer as a toothpick; the tattooed woman was sitting with her legs crossed, swinging her toes; the green-haired and pink-haired men were huddled together fighting for the last skewer of chicken wings; the woman with bangs was hugging Wangcai and dozing in a corner; Shen Qing was standing next to her, her hands clasped together, like a primary school student who had brought their parents to a parent-teacher conference.

Shen Na looked at the group of colorful girls, took a deep breath, then turned to Lin Ye and asked the question that had been weighing heavily on her mind all night: "Did you bully my sister?"

Shen Qing's face flushed red.

She reached out to tug at Shen Na's sleeve, saying urgently, "Sister, don't—", but before she could finish speaking, Shen Na pulled her behind her.

Shen Na shielded her behind her, spreading her wings like a mother hen protecting her chicks, her chin slightly raised, her eyes fixed on Lin Ye, as if to say, "Try saying one wrong word."

Lin Ye leaned back in the plastic chair, crossed his legs, and held an unlit cigarette between his fingers.

He wasn't intimidated by Shen Na's imposing manner, nor did he rush to defend himself. He simply held the cigarette to his nose, sniffed it, and then spoke calmly, "I didn't bully her."