The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Around 4 p.m., Xiaoxue woke up from her afternoon nap.

After she, Ye Shu, and Lili's sister returned home, the family had lunch together. However, he was not feeling well because of motion sickness, so after lunch he pulled Ye Shu to take a short nap.

Before Xiaoxue even opened her eyes, she sensed that something was wrong with the thing she was holding in her arms. It was very soft and not Ye Shu.

She hummed softly, opened her eyes a crack, and saw the sunlight from the window shining on the large carrot pillow in her arms—it was Little Crispy No. 2.

The sheets beside him were wrinkled; they were where Ye Shu had lain, but she was no longer there.

She propped herself up on her arms, looked at the sunlight outside the window, rubbed her eyes, and didn't even notice a small strand of hair stuck to the corner of her mouth.

Her bedroom window faces the small courtyard behind the main gate. From the window, she can see the Podocarpus macrophyllus tree in the courtyard. Cicadas are chirping loudly, so loud that they can be heard even with the window closed.

Outside the window, some kind of large insect was buzzing around, and along with the sound of the air conditioner running in the corner of the room, it created that sticky, quiet feeling unique to a summer afternoon.

"Ye Shu?"

She called out softly, her voice still a little hoarse from just waking up.

No one answered, the door was closed, and she was alone in the room.

She felt a little uncomfortable, not exactly sad, just a sense of emptiness, the kind of panic she felt when she woke up and couldn't find anyone.

Xiaoxue sat on the bed, facing the window to wake herself up. The insect outside the window flew away. Xiaoxue pulled a strand of hair from the corner of her mouth, picked up Little Crisp No. 2, and got off the bed.

Wearing fluffy bunny slippers, I walked to the door and opened the bedroom door. I could hear the TV downstairs, my parents chatting, and the sound of chopping vegetables on the cutting board.

My mom mentioned at lunch that we'd be making dumplings for dinner, so she's probably chopping the filling.

Well... Ye Shu must be downstairs helping to make dumplings.

Thinking of this, Xiaoxue felt a little better, and she carried Little Su No. 2 downstairs.

As soon as she came downstairs, Shen Jingwan saw her and smiled at her:

"You're awake? Sleep a little longer, the dumplings are all cooked."

"It's normal for a child to sleep more when they're uncomfortable."

Ye Guoqiang, who was making dumplings with a dumpling wrapper next to him, chimed in.

Xiaoxue didn't respond. She glanced at the four people gathered around the table: her father, mother, Ye's father, and Aunt Liu... Ye Shu and Lili's sister were not there.

She turned to Shen Jingwan and asked:

"Mom, where's Ye Shu?"

"This child, the moment he opens his eyes, is looking for Ye Shu."

Shen Jingwan smiled, holding a dumpling wrapper in one hand and using a small spoon to put filling into it with the other.

"Xiao Shu and Li Li went out to buy things. They've been gone for a while, they should be back soon."

"Oh……"

Xiaoxue didn't say anything more, but just carried Little Crisp No. 2, turned around and went upstairs, though her steps seemed a little heavier than before.

After returning to her room, she closed the door, kicked off her rabbit slippers, climbed back into bed, rested her chin on the Little Crispy No. 2 pillow, and muttered softly:

"Why didn't you invite me to come along...?"

After thinking about it, she couldn't resist and picked up her phone from beside her pillow to call Ye Shu.

The call was answered quickly, and before Ye Shu could even speak, Xiao Xue hurriedly asked:

"Ye Shu, where did you and Sister Lili go? When are you coming back?"

Ye Shu's hushed voice came from the other end of the phone; he seemed to be in a very quiet place.

"Xiaoxue, you're awake? Don't worry, we'll be back soon."

He didn't answer where they went, he just kept telling himself they'd be back soon.

"Hmm...then come back quickly."

After saying that, Xiaoxue hung up the phone before Ye Shu could say anything more. The screen went out, revealing her slightly reddened eyes.

Ye Shu's words just now, which subtly implied a sense of evasion, amplified Xiao Xue's feelings of abandonment, which she hadn't yet experienced, many times over, especially after her afternoon nap.

Of course she knew that Ye Shu and Qin Lili couldn't possibly have anything going on. Sister Lili was the older sister that all four of them recognized, and Sister Lili was also... she couldn't possibly have anything going on with Ye Shu.

And Ye Shu, of course, had no doubt; she could feel Ye Shu's love for them.

She could be completely at ease about the relationship between Ye Shu and Qin Lili.

But... but they didn't call me. Ye Shu and Sister Lili went out together, but they didn't take me with them.

After the feeling of being abandoned came a familiar yet strange loneliness, a loneliness that she seemed to have forgotten what it felt like, but was suddenly brought up again.

Xiaoxue hugged Little Crispy No. 2 and sat on the bed, curling up a bit.

She found herself increasingly unable to leave Ye Shu. She wanted to see Ye Shu as soon as she opened her eyes, and she wanted Ye Shu to be by her side every minute and every second. She was extremely fond of the warm sense of security that Ye Shu gave her, like a cotton quilt that had been warmed by the sun.

But precisely because of this, once that sense of security is briefly removed, the previous panic will gradually creep up, engulfing her from the ground, chilling her to the bone.

This feeling was different from how Ye Shu usually felt when she went to work. Before, when Ye Shu went to work in Yunduanyuan in the morning, even though she was alone when she woke up, she could know Ye Shu's whereabouts and knew that Ye Shu would come back at the appropriate time in the evening.

Even if things don't go well, regardless of whether she can do it herself, if she's pushed to the limit, she can rush to Ye Shu's side. She knows where Ye Shu is, or rather, she knows how to find Ye Shu.

But things are different now. She doesn't know where Ye Shu is, when Ye Shu will come back, or what Ye Shu is doing.

She was rushing out desperately, not even knowing which way to run.

She hated this feeling. She felt like she was back to the life she had before she met Ye Shu—alone, huddled in her room, silent, lonely, and cold…

Tears streamed down her face. Xiaoxue was too sensitive and too fragile, a fact she herself knew.

But she just couldn't control herself, she couldn't stop thinking about Ye Shu, about those bad things that she knew were impossible.

For example, what if Ye Shu doesn't come back? What if Ye Shu leaves me? What if Ye Shu doesn't even exist?

She sat there, holding Little Su No. 2, curled up by the bed, facing the window.

From this angle, you can see the main gate of the courtyard perfectly.

She didn't move, just stared, imagining the door opening the next second and Ye Shu coming back, waving and smiling at her.

The cicadas on the Podocarpus macrophyllus were still chirping loudly, the flying insects outside the window were still buzzing, and downstairs, Mom and Dad were still making dumplings.

But in her little corner, there was only silence and the sound of her own pounding heartbeat.