I'll try harder

"Why are you still awake?" Little Fan Wushuang asked in an emotional tone. She did not know how else to speak to him. From the moment Little Wu Yuexue introduced them to each other, Little Fan Wushuang had been making fun of him.

When she heard his voice earlier, it just made her want to act like before...

"..." There was a moment of silence before Little Han Ye said in an uncertain tone, "Wushuang?"

Other than what Little Wu Yuexue told him, he had not heard from Little Fan Wushuang ever since she moved away... which was expected since the girl somewhat hated him. Thus, he was surprised when he heard that familiar rude voice.

"Yeah." She sniffed and wiped off her the remainder of her tears. Hearing a familiar voice soothed her a little, even if it was his voice.

"I'm studying, why, what's wrong?" asked Little Han Ye in a hushed tone. His mother was sleeping in the other room and the wall in their tiny apartment was almost as thin as paper.

"Nothing…" Little Fan Wushuang said. She then thought, "His voice... got deeper?"

Honestly, she was surprised that he still continued to talk her even after knowing that it was her that called him.

Hearing the tone in her voice, Little Han Ye placed his pencil down and leaned back against his chair as he asked, "Have you been crying? You sound like you've been crying."

Little Fan Wushuang wanted to put on a fake front but she broke down and cried as she told him everything.

Little Han Ye did not know what to say, so he just let the girl vented her frustrations. Once she was done, he comforted her by saying, "You're a brave girl, don't give in to them. Tell your uncle about it when you see him."

"I want to go back," she said as she wiped off her tears with the back of her hand.

"But you can't... Your eldest uncle is not back yet, and I don't think your Uncle Chuan would let you…"

Little Fan Wushuang pouted. She knew that he was right. Her Uncle Chuan either dismissed or brought the staff from her house over. If she were to go back now, there would be no one in the house waiting for her.

"Coward Han Ye, can you tell Yue Xue that I miss her?" Little Fan Wushuang said. She then added quickly, "Well, I miss you too, but not as much as I miss her…"

Little Han Ye chuckled. No matter what, he was older than her, so he figured he should not treat her badly just because she was behaving like a little girl.

"Well, thanks… We miss you too," Han Ye replied as he picked up his pen. As he twirled the pen around his fingers, he said, "Oh yeah, Yue Xue said that she's planning to go and visit you once the school holidays begin. I think her parents had agreed to it."

Little Fan Wushuang sat up and said excitedly, "Really? Don't lie to me!"

All her sadness were gone at the thought of being able to see her friends again. She had been telling her uncle that she wanted to go back but the man always said no. He always used the company as an excuse not to bring her back.

Hearing the enthusiastic voice coming from the other side, Han Ye could not help but laugh softly. "Yeah, really! If her parents allowed, I might be able to go as well. Don't cry anymore. I'm saving money now so that when I go to visit you, I can buy you ice-cream. You like that expensive ice-cream, right? That Tom and Jerry, or something..."

"Ben and Jerry!"

"Yeah, that. So, don't be sad anymore. Just a few more weeks. Try harder at school. I was the new kid once, so I know how hard it is for you to make friends. Just give it more time and try harder, alright?"

After a while, Little Fan Wushuang nodded. "Alright… I'll try harder."

"I have to go back to my books. There's an exam next week. If you're upset again, then give me a call. I usually sleep at 12 a.m.."

Little Fan Wushuang nodded. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Thanks for talking to me, Coward Han Ye."

The boy laughed. "Well, if you really want to thank me, you should stop calling me a coward. Bye, I'm hanging up."

"Bye..." Little Fan Wushuang said with a smile on her face.

That short conversation with Little Han Ye made Little Fan Wushuang felt a lot better and she could finally fall asleep.

The next day, Little Fan Wushuang did her best not to do anything to her aunt. When the woman asked who let her out, Little Fan Wushuang said that she did not know and that by the time she woke up, she was already out of the closet.

"Those damn servants!" her aunt snarled before glaring at the head of staff.

"I'm going to school now," Little Fan Wushuang said before she ran out with her bag.

She stayed low profile the entire day, trying to appear weak and good. When she got back from school, she took a bat and broke the lock of her closet. As she stood in front of her closet, she thought to herself, "No one can lock me up anymore!"

When night arrived, she decided to wait for her uncle in his workroom. She knew that her uncle had the habit of going to his workroom every night before he slept.

She was sitting in his chair at the desk when she saw the door being pushed open.

Standing up, she was full of anticipation. She wanted to complain to her uncle about what her aunt did to her.

She knew that if she had complained to him before, he would have kicked his wife out. After all, she was the heir and he was her blood uncle.

However, when Little Fan Wushuang heard the voices coming from outside the room, she immediately hid underneath the table.

"Chuan, you've been away for a night. Did you sleep well?" asked Yi Xia as she walked behind her husband.

Fan Chuan shrugged. "There's something at the estate that I have to do. Close the door. What happened when I was gone?"

Yi Xia closed the door before she said, "Nothing."

With a brow raised, Fan Chuan looked at her with a suspicious glance. "Nothing? You didn't lock my niece up in a cupboard?"