Both of them were exhausted, severely sleep-deprived. They went back to the bedroom to sleep and slept straight through dinner.
When Xu Jingyi woke up again, it was already three or four in the morning.
She squinted, habitually reaching for the bedside table.
She fumbled for the familiar cup but didn't find it, and she paused for a moment, clenching her empty fist in the air before retracting her hand.
She had a habit of drinking water in the middle of the night, so she always had a glass of water there before bed so she could drink it when she woke up.
Now, the person who put the water there was gone, so naturally, there was no water.
Habits weren't so easily broken. She got up, threw on a jacket, and went downstairs to get some water.
But when she turned the corner of the stairs, she saw a faint light coming from the kitchen.
Who was up so late?
She quietly walked to the kitchen door, saw the person inside, and paused for two seconds before softly saying, "Ru… Yan, why are you in the kitchen so late?"
Emotions were amplified at night, and she almost got the name wrong.
As she walked over, she made no sound with her feet, even in the quiet night.
So, the sudden voice behind her startled Lin Ruoyan, and her hair stood on end.
Quickly turning around, Lin Ruoyan calmed down when she saw Xu Jingyi standing at the door. She didn't consider herself a pervert, but she couldn't help but check the other woman out from head to toe.
Xu Jingyi's pajamas were a bit revealing, with a low neckline. She'd assumed no one was around and just thrown on a coat, not paying attention.
Now, all of it was exposed to Lin Ruoyan's gaze.
Lin Ruoyan lowered her eyes slightly and said, "I haven't adjusted to the time difference. I can't sleep, and I'm a bit hungry, so I came down to get something to eat."
As she spoke, she raised the cup in her hand towards her. Inside the transparent glass were yogurt and oatmeal, only half-stirred, not yet fully mixed.
"Sister-in-law? What are you doing down here so late?"
Xu Jingyi had been leaning against the door.
She slowly straightened up and walked towards the countertop, saying, "I was a little thirsty in the middle of the night, so I came down for some water."
The water heater was next to the refrigerator. Lin Ruoyan had grabbed her yogurt and just stood beside it.
Now, as Xu Jingyi walked over, they were almost touching.
One was getting water, the other stirring yogurt. For a moment, the silence was abnormal, broken only by the gurgling sound of water filling the cup and the occasional clinking of the spoon against the glass.
"Sister-in-law." Lin Ruoyan's hand, which had been stirring yogurt, suddenly stopped. Her voice sounded a little dazed, unlike her outwardly cold demeanor. "Do you think my brother's car accident was really an accident?"
Xu Jingyi didn't say anything for a long time. The police already had an answer to this question, but she didn't quite believe it in her heart.
But…
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Xu Jingyi's eyes, though Lin Ruoyan couldn't see it.
"Didn't the police already investigate? It was just an accident. Don't think too much about it," Xu Jingyi said in a calm tone, as if she had completely accepted this explanation.
"Sister-in-law, do you really believe that?"
"Why did that big truck on the other side happen to turn in when my brother was turning? The police just concluded it was drunk driving and that was the end of it. Isn't that too much of a joke?"
Lin Ruoyan's voice was filled with unwillingness to accept it as an accident.
Xu Jingyi turned around, leaning against the countertop, and lowered her head to drink water, avoiding Lin Ruoyan's gaze.
"Ruoyan, since the police have already reached a conclusion on this matter, there's no need to keep pursuing it.
It's an accident precisely because it was a coincidence. If it wasn't an accident, the police would definitely give us a fair and just result."
"You trust the police?" Her attitude was too dismissive, and Lin Ruoyan couldn't help but sound a bit harsher, even moving in front of Xu Jingyi. "Or is it…"
"Ruoyan." Xu Jingyi interrupted her, raising her eyes to look at her.
"We are citizens of China; if we don't trust the state, if we don't trust the police, then what can we trust?"
"Trust your own imagination?" Her tone grew heavier.
"I…"
Lin Ruoyan also stared intently into Xu Jingyi's eyes. Even without saying much, she understood about seventy or eighty percent of what was going on.
She stepped back, reaching behind Xu Jingyi to pick up her yogurt cup from the countertop. Her voice was a little lower. "Sister-in-law is right."
The topic seemed to have reached a dead end
. As she was about to leave, she turned around and walked a couple of steps, then suddenly paused. "Sister-in-law, it's getting cold at night recently. Wear warm clothes if you go downstairs."
Lin Ruoyan strode away, her height and long legs allowing her to quickly exit the kitchen, leaving Xu Jingyi slightly puzzled and frowning.
"Keep warm?" What did that mean? She wasn't cold. And she was wearing a coat, wasn't she?
Puzzled, she looked down and realized her pajama top's neckline was practically at her chest. The coat was pulling it down, almost exposing her nipples, and half her chest was bare to the air. Lin Ruoyan had probably already seen everything.
Embarrassed, she tugged at her collar. She was used to dressing like this at home, so she hadn't paid much attention.
But they were both women. Lin Ruoyan had just as much as she did, and looked… pretty well-endowed, too.
So, even if she had been seen, it wasn't a big deal. Except, this person was her sister-in-law, so it was still a little awkward.
Adjusting her collar and holding the water, Xu Jingyi left the kitchen. Lin Ruoyan was already gone. She went upstairs, relieved.