Mute Beauty

Chapter 86: New Year's Eve

Yu Ting was frozen in place for a few seconds, unable to react.

Ran Ling frowned, giving her a skeptical look, then pulled out her phone, typed something, and showed it to Yu Ting.

Yu Ting glanced down. On the screen, it read: "Didn't you say you understood sign language? Were you lying?"

"I do understand..." Yu Ting held her phone tightly and murmured, "I was just... surprised by you."

Her tone was soft, with a barely detectable catch in her voice, like the brush of a cat's tail against one's nose. She looked up at Ran Ling, eyes filled with relief. Her whole body relaxed, as if she'd been pulled out of water and could finally breathe freely, the clouds in her mind dissipating.

She wanted to say something, maybe complain, but held back, swallowing her words.

Ran Ling had saved her.

Ran Ling had just touched her face, wiping away her tears. Yu Ting savored that feeling, yearning to hug her, but restrained herself and simply looked at her, saying, "I'm really happy."

She truly was happy.

It had been a very long time since she'd felt this way.

"I'll really pursue you wholeheartedly, and I meant what I said earlier." Embarrassed at having cried, Yu Ting regained her composure, though the words sounded clumsy coming out of her mouth. She never imagined herself saying such things. Worse still, there were lingering tear stains on her face, her eyes rimmed in red.

Ran Ling sighed, looking somewhat troubled.

She hadn't planned to relent so soon, but Yu Ting had poured out so much and made so many promises.

To quit her job, to never see Su Nian again—it seemed she'd truly realized her mistakes.

She'd softened, and seeing her cry like that was undeniably moving...

When Ran Ling sighed, Yu Ting asked nervously, "What's wrong?"

Ran Ling pointed to Yu Ting's neck: "What happened to your neck?"

Earlier, while Yu Ting was turned, talking to Wei Rumei, Ran Ling had noticed a dark bruise on her neck.

Yu Ting reached up to touch it, realizing that Ran Ling's frown had been because of this.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just tripped and hit the table."

Yu Ting wondered if Ran Ling still cared about her.

Would she stroke her face again like she did when she wiped her tears?

She hoped so, but without further touch from Ran Ling, Wei Rumei chuckled from beside them: "Xiao Yu, is your work urgent? If it's not, why don't you stay and join us for New Year's Eve dinner? Even though it's not a holiday here, every Chinese person celebrates the New Year, don't we?"

Yu Ting glanced at Ran Ling, who took her phone back from Yu Ting's hand. Just as she turned to leave, she glanced at Yu Ting and mouthed something.

"Stay."

Then she turned away and left, without another backward glance.

Yu Ting's heart gave a little jump. She was captivated by Ran Ling's graceful retreat in her long dress, that last glance making her heart itch.

Keeping her expression neutral, Yu Ting responded to Wei Rumei, "Thank you, Aunt Wei. I'd be honored."

Wei Rumei nodded enthusiastically. "Ah, I heard from the staff that you brought lots of gifts. I was so eager to find you both that I didn't get a chance to look at them properly."