The Lost Lamb's Trap - Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Moon
Lin Ke calling Duan Jiayang “Xiao Yang” was something Duan Jiayang strongly disliked and reacted against. The second time Lin Ke called her that, Duan Jiayang threw a tantrum and tore up her test papers. Later, she poured out her ink.
Once, twice, Lin Ke never resisted, and Duan Jiayang became bolder.
She also became more and more bored.
Duan Jiayang could only ignore Lin Ke. She wrote a phrase on her palm: “Don’t talk to Lin Ke”.
In English class, she randomly wrote a word next to it. Since she had to look at her palm several times a day, like a self-reflection, she ended up memorizing that long word.
So, every day she added a new word next to “Don’t talk to Lin Ke.” She would start reviewing in the morning when she got in the car and wash it off before going to bed at night.
One time, Lin Ke sat next to her, tilted her head, and said, “What do you think I am?”
Duan Jiayang didn’t understand what she meant. She looked at her palm again and continued to memorize: “Mons…”
“Monster? A monster?” Lin Ke asked.
Duan Jiayang rubbed her palms together, blurring the word. The description fit Lin Ke perfectly. She had broken her vow. “Yes, you’re a monster.”
At that time, Lin Wan and Duan Litian were often not at home. They would even send the cook away, leaving the two of them to eat outside. After half a month of tutoring, they had a ten-day break. During these ten days, no one bothered them at home. Duan Jiayang was happy and ordered takeout every day.
But there were only two takeout places nearby, and she got tired of them quickly.
Lin Ke always cooked and ate by herself. She would mash up rice and vegetable leaves and stew them together. She placed the pot on the table and asked enthusiastically, “Xiao Yang, do you want to eat with me?”
Duan Jiayang ignored her and went upstairs to play games. At three or four in the afternoon, the housekeeper still hadn’t returned. She rummaged through the refrigerator for something to eat and saw a thermos with food on the stove. Lin Ke had specifically left it for her.
Driven by curiosity and hunger, she took a spoonful of Lin Ke’s dish. The next second, she gagged into the sink. She drank a few mouthfuls of water, but the nausea continued. The taste was something else. This was not food for humans. She went back to the kitchen and sniffed the container.
It hadn’t gone bad; the food just tasted like that. A few simple leaves and rice with seasoning had somehow developed a fermented, rotten flavor.
In all her life, this was the first time she had tasted something so disgusting.
Duan Jiayang leaned against the wall and called He Xiao. She spoke with a sense of disgust. “I suspect… Lin Ke tried to poison me!”
He Xiao asked, “What’s wrong with Lin Ke? How did you see her?”
Duan Jiayang turned her head and saw Lin Ke.
She wiped the water from her lips. “Nothing!”
Lin Ke looked thoughtful. “Was it really that bad?”
The house was empty. One or two times, and then frequently, no one was home to cook. Duan Jiayang was also worried that Lin Ke would poison her. She constantly looked for her dad, but he was always away. At first, he said he was in Hong Kong, and then when she called again, he was in the United States.
Duan Jiayang became a little suspicious and questioned her dad about what he was doing outside. Duan Litian didn’t want to tell the truth and came up with a dinner plan for her, telling her to go to the neighbor’s house for dinner.
That is, to Lan Yao’s house.
The Lan family was wealthy. Lin Wan insisted that Lin Ke go as well.
Lin Ke had an extreme dislike for Lan Yao.
Lan Yao was an anomaly in the territory that Lin Ke had marked.
Lan Yao and Duan Jiayang had always been neighbors. They knew each other before Lin Ke came. In June, Lin Ke moved into the Duan family, just as Lan Yao was taking her college entrance exams. Something happened in her family, and Duan Litian graciously invited Lan Yao to take their family car. During that time, Lan Yao often took the Duan family’s car to school.
What annoyed her the most was… Duan Jiayang taking her to see the cats.
Lan Yao came to pick Duan Jiayang up for dinner. The two of them stood side by side behind the house, looking at the cats. A small cat rubbed against Duan Jiayang’s leg. Duan Jiayang introduced the cats to Lan Yao. “Little Black, Little Orange. They’re a couple. My dad won’t let me bring them home, so I have to secretly take them back for baths.”
Lan Yao also squatted down, stroking a cat. “They’re so cute.”
“You can take them to my place. We have dogs, and my parents don’t mind.”
At that time, Duan Jiayang wasn’t very close to her, so she politely said, “You don’t have to go to all that trouble.”
Lin Ke stood on the balcony, frowning, thinking with annoyance: This person is so annoying. She’s touching my cats and wants to hold my cats.
So, she didn’t listen to her mom’s advice again.
She didn’t go to the Lan family for dinner.
On the 25th, college entrance exam results were released.
Duan Jiayang and Lin Ke started their tutoring again. Lan Yao still came to hitch a ride in their family car.
Lin Ke would habitually perform a small action: she would lift her leg and put a little pressure on Duan Jiayang’s skirt hem. It was a very subconscious action. She didn’t understand why she did such a strange thing, but she clearly knew that this feeling was different from how she felt about Zhou Maosheng.
Duan Jiayang shuffled forward to talk to Lan Yao. She was more reserved and tugged at her skirt. Lin Ke remained still. Duan Jiayang said unhappily, “What are you doing?”
Duan Jiayang pulled her skirt hem free. Lin Ke went to grab it, but Duan Jiayang instinctively slapped her hand away.
Lan Yao turned her head and gave Lin Ke a very impolite, cold stare.
Lan Yao said, “687 points.”
“Are you the top scorer?”
“No, someone from another school got 708.”
At that moment, Lan Yao was different from them. She had a different aura than both Lin Ke and Duan Jiayang. She had become an adult.
Duan Jiayang looked at her with a unique gaze. Her eyes were fixed on her, and she said with admiration, “You’re amazing… Sister Lan Yao. If only I had half of you…” …of your intelligence. “How can your brain be so smart?”
Lan Yao smiled slightly. When they arrived, she got out of the car and waved.
Duan Jiayang politely waved back.
“Do you want her?” The person next to her suddenly spoke.
Duan Jiayang ignored her.
She treated the two of them completely differently.
After the results were out, Lan Yao wore formal clothes every day when she took the car. Her posture was straight, her figure slender, and her long hair was tied up. She looked like a capable, elite professional. Duan Jiayang admired Lan Yao even more because she was interning at her dad’s company.
Every time Lan Yao rode in the Duan family’s car, she would bring Duan Jiayang a small gift, sometimes a piece of cotton candy, sometimes a little fruit yogurt.
At seventeen, she was complex and contradictory. She wanted to turn eighteen and explore the world of adults. She saw the outline of her future self in Lan Yao.
She would always look forward and think: I’ll be like that one day.
They got out of the car in a small plaza. Dawn was breaking, and a faint light was emerging. There wasn’t a single person on the street besides them. The two of them walked under a streetlamp, their long, blurry shadows overlapping.
“Is 687 points really that high?” The voice behind her was cool.
“Isn’t it?” Duan Jiayang turned her head. The coolness came from Lin Ke. She didn’t like Lin Ke’s tone. “You might not even get that score. Don’t be jealous of Lan Yao. I can smell your sourness.”
During that time, Lin Ke called Duan Jiayang “Xiao Yang.”
Duan Jiayang called Lan Yao “Sister.”
Lin Ke frowned, looking even more uncomfortable.
She said, “Duan Jiayang, 687 isn’t impressive at all.”
Duan Jiayang got angry. “What are you talking about? I don’t think you got that high of a score, did you? I remember your first test was only 680.”
That was because she controlled her score, purposely getting questions wrong for Duan Jiayang to copy.
Lin Ke didn’t say anything. Duan Jiayang laughed. “You’re all talk. Sister Lan Yao is truly amazing. She’s from Huali High School, and she’s always been the top student.”
Lin Ke took a step forward and walked side by side with her. She said, “If I get a score of 700, will you call me ‘sister’?”
Duan Jiayang saw her frowning, looking unsure. She said, “If you don’t get it, can you make your mom get out of my house? Can you do that?”
Lin Ke was silent for several minutes. She finally nodded and said, “Okay.”
Lin Ke was always confident in her grades. She could get whatever score she wanted. She didn’t really care about grades or honors. During that time, she didn’t show up in the cafeteria at noon. Duan Jiayang ate her meals without much enjoyment. When she turned in her test paper, she would look at Lin Ke an extra time. Lin Ke was always doing practice problems. Duan Jiayang’s heart was both anxious and hopeful. She prayed every day that Lin Ke wouldn’t get over 700 points.
The final exam was a week before summer break. The minute the results were posted, Duan Jiayang rushed to see the scores. On the honor roll, Lin Ke was ranked first in the city.
She had scored 716 points.
The people looking at the scores were in a frenzy.
Duan Jiayang stood in the crowd, watching everyone excitedly talking about how amazing Lin Ke was. She turned around and bumped into Lin Ke, who was behind her, smiling brightly and openly.
Duan Jiayang’s head was spinning with bl00d. She felt completely hopeless. She pushed her way out of the crowd. Lin Ke followed her and said, “I’m amazing too, right?”
Lin Ke followed behind her. Duan Jiayang refused to bring up the “sister” matter and retorted, “Yeah, yeah, you’re amazing. But… what does that have to do with me?”
“Xiao Yang, you promised… you’d call me ‘sister’.”
He Xiao was pushed around and shook her head. She finally squeezed out of the crowd. Just as she was about to call Duan Jiayang, she was startled by what she heard.
Lin Ke’s tone was so sweet. Did she like Duan Jiayang?
In August, school went into holiday mode. Duan Litian and Lin Wan weren’t at home, so it was just the two of them. But they rarely had time together.
During the day, Duan Jiayang would go to Lan Yao’s house for dinner, carrying her books with her. At noon, Duan Jiayang would return with wet hair, carrying a tablet and wearing clothes that weren’t hers.
She turned her head and looked at Lin Ke upstairs. She could sense Lin Ke’s discomfort and jealousy. Lin Ke was jealous of her having such a good childhood friend like Lan Yao.
She also intentionally tried to provoke Lin Ke. I’m not going to call you ‘sister’.
“Why are you only just getting back?” Lin Ke asked her from the neighboring balcony.
Duan Jiayang silently hung her clothes on the balcony, not answering her.
Lin Ke’s gaze swept over her. “Why aren’t you wearing pants?”
Duan Jiayang turned around and lifted her long-sleeved shirt, revealing the hot shorts underneath. “It’s called the ‘no pants’ look. What do you know?” Turning her back to Lin Ke, she showed her legs. “This is a gift from Sister Lan Yao today.”
Lin Ke said, “Long clothes don’t look good on you. Short ones are better. You can tuck one side into your waist. It’s very sexy, like a Victoria’s Secret model.”
Duan Jiayang’s hand paused. She wanted to ask, “Really?” But she forcefully pursed her lips and tugged at the hem of her shirt. “This is a gift from Sister Lan Yao. Even if it doesn’t look good, I’m going to wear it.”
After hanging up her clothes, Duan Jiayang went back to her room to call Lan Yao. Lan Yao said her brother was back, and the family was going out for dinner tonight. She also invited Duan Jiayang. Duan Jiayang and Lan Yao’s brother were the same age, and they were both bad students, so they didn’t get along. They hardly ever contacted each other, and it would be awkward to go.
Duan Jiayang took a shower. When she came out, she put on a short-sleeved shirt. As she walked into her bedroom, she was startled by the person who had suddenly appeared. Her eyes were fixed on the person sitting on her bed. “Lin Ke?”
Lin Ke’s eyes were like a deep pool. She sat there quietly, not like a person, but like a demon. She tilted her head and smiled eerily. “Duan Jiayang, my mom and your dad aren’t home today. I’m a little scared by myself. Can you sleep with me?”
Their gazes met in the darkness.
Duan Jiayang was completely confused. She held onto the bathroom door and stomped her foot on the absorbent mat. “Lin Ke, are you crazy!”
Lin Ke nodded. “Yes, I’m not feeling well today.”
She couldn’t possibly be expected to take care of her for the rest of her life just because she had pushed her away once, right?
Duan Jiayang quickly packed her things and went to Lan Yao’s house again, even earlier than expected.
…
A heavy storm broke out that night. Lin Ke was all alone in the Duan family house.
Lin Ke lay on the living room sofa.
Her eyes were closed. There was no one on the floors above or below.