Mute Beauty

Chapter 11: Acquaintances

The sea water rose, and the sea breeze howled, creating a sense of violent romance.

However, after not being at the beach for too long, Ran Ling truly seemed unable to endure it. At ten o'clock at night, Yu Ting saw Ran Ling off and drove home alone.

Messages and calls from Ran Xue continued to pop up on her phone, which she dismissively ignored. After washing up, she turned off all the lights and her phone, lying in bed, slowly waking up to the emptiness of the dark until deep into the night.

In her chaotic thoughts, the figure of Ran Ling occupied a large part. It was unavoidable.

Yu Ting had long since come to understand herself.

Yu Ting was not a good person; she was shrewd in calculations, self-serving, emotionally detached, and skilled at putting on a façade while being bluntly honest.

Yu Ting would stop at nothing.

Ran Xue was simply too willful, to the point where Yu Ting felt some disgust—those incessant calls and her clumsily worded texts apologizing. It was inevitable; she had to marry into the Ran family because her selfishness and possessiveness made it impossible for her to tolerate having something of hers taken by someone else.

It seemed that Yu Ting had been bad from the beginning.

Thus, she felt no guilt; even when the frail woman trembled in her arms due to her words, filled with affection, it was the same.

Gradually, Yu Ting had a dream.

She dreamed of many, many years ago when her parents were still alive.

When her parents were alive, she often heard people recount their love story. They met as young children, grew up together, got their marriage certificate right after graduating from university, and within a year, they had Yu Ting. No matter who you asked, they would say how deeply Yu Ting's father loved her mother, and Yu Ting used to take pride in that.

At that time, she believed she was the happiest person in the world, full of innocence, naive and carefree, always meddling in others' affairs.

Children possess empathy and compassion, and when all the other kids had delicious ice cream, the silent girl sitting aside easily caught Yu Ting's attention.

She had a serene expression, lacking vitality, like a butterfly resting on a swing.

They said she was mute.

Yu Ting was drawn closer and stood in front of the swing, asking, "Why aren't you eating ice cream?"

The girl smiled without answering, looking even more pitiable and innocent.

"Is it because you don't have money to buy it?" The child's mind didn't entertain many options.

"Your sister has one; your mom is so biased."

The girl was startled by her words.

"Come on, I have money! I'll take you to buy some."

The girl smiled lightly as if asking: Really?

"I'm not lying!"

Yu Ting really had money; a five- or six-year-old child could pull out a hundred-dollar bill from her pocket, not knowing where it came from. She waved it in her hand, showing off to Ran Ling, looking particularly generous as if she intended to spend it all on her.

"Let's go; follow me, I know where to buy it."

So, the girl was led by her as they escaped the yard. Yu Ting took the lead like a little adventurer, bringing her to a nearby mall where she bought a sweet cone she believed was the best, and they hid by the roadside to enjoy it. After a while, the adults came looking for them. Seeing her worried parents running toward her, Yu Ting wasn't flustered at all, spoiled to the point where she didn't need to fear scolding.