After being kicked out of the wealthy family along with her yandere childhood friend

She stopped staring at them, closed those pages, and continued working on the anime IP creation she hadn't finished drawing earlier.

She remembered that some teachers also took on game illustration jobs, and those seemed to be priced higher, with a portrait costing fifty to eighty yuan and a full-body image costing over two hundred yuan.

She wasn't in a hurry; she would start with the cheaper options and take it slow.

Bai Tao painted with complete absorption.

Once art students have an inspiration, they can forget to drink water, forget to eat, and forget to sleep.

She doesn't need to think or hesitate; she knows exactly where to place the next stroke.

The air conditioner fan was humming, and she didn't know when Pei Jin had returned.

She lay on the sofa, the tablet resting on its stand. The white light from the screen shone on her face, revealing a focused expression, her lips pursed, and her brows slightly furrowed.

Her face was bathed in sunlight, giving it a rosy glow.

This is the scene that Pei Jin saw when he returned.

The room was dark; the lights were off.

Bai Tao lay sprawled on the sofa, her chin resting on a cushion, the tablet propped against its stand; the white light from the screen was the only source of light in the room.

Her hair was loose over her shoulders, with a few strands falling onto the tablet screen, which she casually brushed aside.

She was wearing a cream-colored cotton nightgown, the hem of which was rolled up above her knees, revealing a section of her fair calves, her toes dangling outside the sofa armrest, swinging back and forth.

Her shoes hadn't been moved; they were still arranged the way he'd left that morning, side by side by the door, neatly aligned, with the toes pointing outwards.

There were no takeout orders in the trash cans, no used bowls or chopsticks on the stove, and no food scraps in the sink.

There was only a glass of water that had gone cold on the coffee table.

Pei Jin slammed the door shut a little louder than usual.

But Bai Tao didn't hear it.

Pei Jin changed his shoes, walked to the sofa, squatted down, and stood next to her head, his eyes level with hers.

The light from the tablet screen shone on his face from below, clearly illuminating the contours of his features, but his face was out of Bai Tao's sight, so she couldn't see it.

Pei Jin leaned closer and realized what she was drawing.

The Demon Orb and the Spirit Orb.

The two characters were intertwined like a Bagua diagram, one crimson and the other icy blue, each displaying their own Dharma forms behind them.

The two images merge in the center of the picture, flames lick the water, and the water envelops the flames. A faint purple hue spreads at the boundary between red and blue.

The composition is grand, the brushstrokes are crisp, and the tension in the picture is like a fully drawn bowstring, ready to snap at any moment.

Pei Jin doesn't know how to paint, but he thinks this painting is very beautiful.

You can sense that the people in the painting are not just standing there; there are stories, entanglements, and inexplicable things between them.

Pei Jin, afraid of disturbing her, just squatted there.

He leaned forward slightly, his chin no more than a fist's distance from Bai Tao's shoulder.

He could see the curve of Bai Tao's eyelashes, the tiny mole on the tip of her nose, and her lips, which were slightly dry from her long period of concentration.

The air was filled with the scent of her shampoo, that sweet, fruity fragrance, mingling with the cool breeze from the air conditioner fan, flowing slowly between the two of them.

A cold white reflection suddenly appeared in Bai Tao's vision.

A thin, silvery-white light, like a needle, pierced her eye, reflecting off the edge of the tablet screen.

She glanced to the side and saw that Pei Jin's face was sullenly illuminated from below by the flat panel light, with a bright chin, a dark forehead, and two deep shadows in his eye sockets.

The cold, aloof face looked somewhat unfamiliar under the dim light, like a sinister, debt-collecting male ghost from a horror movie.

Bai Tao's heart skipped a beat, and she shrank back, almost dropping the pen in her hand.

"what!"

Bai Tao's scream exploded in Pei Jin's ears.

The sound wasn't loud, but it sounded particularly sharp in the quiet basement.

Pei Jin frowned and took a step back. "It's me."

Pei Jin's voice was steady, but his hand was already raised, as if he wanted to cover his ears, but then felt it would be impolite, so he just held it by his ears.

Bai Tao's chest heaved violently, her hand still covering her chest, the neckline of her nightgown pulled askew, revealing a small patch of gleaming white skin below her collarbone.

"When did you get back?"

Bai Tao's voice still trembled with shock, as if half a scream was still stuck in her throat.

She knelt up from the sofa, supporting herself with her hands and sinking her knees into the soft cushions.

She leaned forward, and the neckline of her nightgown drooped down with her movement, revealing a white semicircle that looked somewhat dazzling in the dim light.

Pei Jin leaned his head back.

His neck was stretched taut, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes quickly shifted from that direction to the edge of the floral fabric dangling in the corner.

He rubbed his face up and down a few times, then stood up hastily. "Turn on the light?"

Pei Jin's voice came down from above, already back to his usual calm.

"it is good."

The moment the light was turned on, Bai Tao's eyes felt a little uncomfortable. The light was so bright that her eyes felt slightly sore. She squinted for a moment, shielded her eyes with the back of her hand, and waited a few seconds before putting them down.

Pei Jin watched as she knelt on the sofa for a while, and the color in her face gradually returned to normal.

He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, but his hands were clenched into fists under his clothes, his nails digging into his palms, leaving a shallow, crescent-shaped mark.

I sent you a message but you didn't reply.

Pei Jin's voice came from the spot near the wall, unhurried, "What do you want to eat? Let's go out and buy some; we didn't buy any groceries tonight."

Bai Tao held up her phone screen and looked at her current appearance.

Her hair was disheveled, with a few strands sticking up by her ears, as if she had just woken up and hadn't combed it yet.

There were red marks on his face from the sofa cushions, a diagonal line extending from his cheekbone to his chin.

My eyes were bloodshot from staring at the screen for too long, and my lips were dry and pale, almost transparent.

Very dull.

She hasn't left the house for two days; she really should go out for a walk.

The air cooler has been running for almost 24 hours straight, since last night, and the body feels warm to the touch.

She didn't know if the device could work continuously for so long, but she felt it should be given a break and allowed to rest.

Otherwise, if there's a sudden strike one day, she'll have to go back to those sweltering nights where it's uncomfortable whether she covers herself with a blanket or not.

Bai Tao nodded, put her legs off the sofa, and stepped barefoot onto the cool cement floor, her toes curling slightly.

"Then I'll tidy up."

"it is good."

Pei Jin leaned against the door, waiting for Bai Tao to slowly tidy up.

Bai Tao wore a white, tight-fitting short-sleeved top with a thin fabric that clung to her body, accentuating her waistline into a smooth arc.

She wore a gray pleated skirt that reached about two hand widths above her knees, revealing a section of her pale thighs that shone brightly under the streetlights.

Pei Jin was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and black trousers. From a distance, the two looked like they were wearing matching outfits.

There are many mosquitoes in summer.

Especially in these humid alleys where people use insulated boxes to grow flowers and grass on both sides, the air is filled with the smell of soil and decaying leaves, making it a favorite place for mosquitoes.

Pei Jin was wearing long pants with the legs tied at his ankles, so the mosquitoes couldn't get through and he didn't feel anything.

Bai Tao's legs were bare, her two fair and tender calves exposed to the air. The two had only been in the alley for a short while when mosquitoes, attracted by the smell, came and buzzed around Bai Tao's legs.

A few of the bolder ones even landed directly on her legs, their dark spots pressed against her fair, glowing skin.

"oops!"

Bai Tao glanced down and saw a mosquito perched on her left calf, its abdomen slightly swollen, probably because it had just bitten her and hadn't had time to drink its fill yet.

She slapped it down, flattening the mosquito, leaving a small pool of her own blood in her palm.

Even if a mosquito doesn't bite her, just the places it flies over her legs will make her feel itchy.

The itch isn't the itch you feel after being bitten; it's more of a psychological effect. You know a mosquito is flying around your leg, you know it might land at any moment, and your skin starts to itch in advance.

"Ugh! There are so many mosquitoes!"

Bai Tao would rub her left calf against her right leg every two steps, the two legs rubbing against each other like two chopsticks rubbing against each other.

I rubbed my left leg, then my right, then my left, but it still itched.

Pei Jin stood a step behind her, gently waving away the mosquitoes behind her.

His palm swept across her back without touching her skin, shooing the mosquitoes away from her legs.

Bai Tao saw that she was finally about to reach the main road, so she ran forward two steps.

Her skirt billowed behind her, then fell back down, revealing a glimpse of white skin at the base of her thigh, which flashed briefly in the dim light of the streetlamp.

Pei Jin's gaze followed the curve of her skirt for a moment before returning to the ground.

"I can't stand it anymore, Pei Jin, I'll go wait for you up ahead."

Without waiting for Pei Jin's response, Bai Tao ran out with her head down.

There is a narrow transition between the alley entrance and the main road. On the left is a low wall with a few drooping scallions planted in styrofoam boxes on top. On the right is a utility pole covered with little "drain cleaner" stickers.

The streetlights, positioned atop the utility poles, cast a dim, yellowish glow, unable to illuminate the shadows cast by the low wall.

A middle school student carrying a backpack turned from the main road and was about to rush into this alley.

He was wearing a baggy school uniform with his trousers rolled up to his ankles, his backpack bouncing behind him, and his headphone cord hanging out of his collar, swaying back and forth in front of his chest.

He should have been home by now. He was kept after school today and got a scolding from his homeroom teacher, so he's in a bad mood.

He sped up as soon as he saw that no one was on this road, wanting to get home quickly and go back to his room to play games.

As soon as they turned the corner, they bumped into Bai Tao, who was running out of the alley.

With a dull thud, the two fleshy walls collided.

The boy's elbow struck her chest hard, precisely on her left side.

The force was considerable; the speed of his sprint, combined with his entire weight, caused both of them to stumble and nearly fall.

The boy took two steps back, his heel hitting the base of the utility pole. His schoolbag swung behind him, almost knocking him over.

Bai Tao tilted to the side, bracing herself against the low wall with her hand, her palm pressing against the edge of the styrofoam box, almost touching the sharp stone next to her.

Before Bai Tao could speak, the little boy glanced at her sideways.

The light from the streetlamp fell on his face, illuminating the boy's still-undefined features and a pair of impatient eyes.

He thought it was an older woman, but upon closer inspection, he realized she was actually a beautiful young lady.

But as long as you hit him, no matter how beautiful she is, she's a bad woman.

"Hey lady, are you blind? Can't you watch where you're going?"

His voice was still hoarse from puberty, and his tone was as sharp as if he had swallowed gunpowder.

It was so late, and the streetlights were already dim. He had sped up because he thought there was no one on this road, but who knew he would run into a blind adult.

He glanced at Bai Tao's dress, then at her posture leaning against the wall, and his lips curled down slightly.

"unlucky."

He cursed again, this time softer, but it still reached Bai Tao's ears clearly.

Before Bai Tao could react, clutching her chest where she had been hit, he had run away.

The hem of the school uniform billowed in the night wind, and the footsteps grew farther and farther away, lighter and lighter, until they finally disappeared around a corner deep in the alley.

Pei Jin only saw Bai Tao sway at the intersection, as if someone had pushed her from the side.

He vaguely heard someone say, "Are you blind?" His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly ran out.

When he ran to Bai Tao's side, the boy had already run far away. The alley entrance was empty, with only the streetlights quietly shining on top of the telephone poles.

"What's wrong?"

Pei Jin's voice was more urgent than usual, and his speech was unusually fast.

Bai Tao's eyes welled up with tears from the pain.

Her eyes were red, and tears clung to her eyelashes, threatening to fall.

Her hand was still pressed against her chest, her fingers slightly curled, afraid to exert any force.

I didn't dare to breathe too deeply, because with each inhale, the place where I was hit would throb faintly.

She bit her lip and held back, not wanting Pei Jin to get too anxious or angry; now was not the time to cause trouble.

"It's nothing, I just got bumped by that brat."

Bai Tao's voice was a little strained, and she forced a smile.

"Did he insult you? Which way did he go?"

Pei Jin's gaze swept over the several forks in the alley. There were too many intersections here. Even if he wanted to chase after the boy to apologize, he wouldn't know which fork in the road the boy had taken.

He stood there, his shoulders tense, and the lines of his jaw tightened.

Bai Tao reached out and grabbed him.

Her fingers gripped his wrist, but not with much force.

Pei Jin looked down at her hand. Her nails were nude pink, neatly trimmed, and her fingertips were cool and soft against his warm skin.

"It's okay, it should be fine after a while."

Bai Tao pulled Pei Jin's arm towards her, signaling him not to chase after them anymore.

"Let's go buy groceries, I'm a little hungry, I didn't eat anything for lunch."

The two of them went to the supermarket at the main intersection and bought vegetables and meat, as well as some snacks that Bai Tao liked. The snacks cost a lot of money, more than the vegetables and meat combined.

When it was time to pay, Bai Tao hesitated for a moment while looking at the numbers on the cashier screen, but still put the snacks into her shopping bag.

Bai Tao initially thought that she had only been bumped and would recover quickly.