That text message was like a nightmare suddenly manifesting into reality.
Shen Ruoshuang hadn’t just discovered her plan; she had used her immense influence to ruthlessly cut off any path of retreat. Before her, Xu Yinian was utterly defenseless.
Xu Yinian sat frozen, allowing Shen Ruoshuang to continue Toying with her hair. This eerie intimacy sent waves of numbness through her body every second.
It took a long moment before she could force two words from her throat. “…It was… you?”
“Your ally doesn’t seem very reliable. I offered a few minor incentives, and she defected to my side immediately.” Shen Ruoshuang’s voice was calm, almost conversational. “Xu Yinian, it seems your judgment of character is still as poor as ever.”
In the mirror, their reflections were pressed tightly together. As Shen Ruoshuang leaned down, her long hair cascaded forward, intertwining with Xu Yinian’s soft, damp strands until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.
A strange, unprecedented sense of satisfaction filled Shen Ruoshuang’s heart—an addiction she was beginning to sink into.
She let out a soft chuckle. Leaning close to Xu Yinian’s ear, she spoke in a low voice meant only for the two of them. “Did you truly think you could just swap rooms and have nothing to do with me ever again? You aren’t that naive, are you?”
“I stopped you this time. Next time, I could simply move into your new dorm with you, couldn’t I?” She paused, her breath warm against Xu Yinian’s skin. “If you don’t believe me, feel free to keep trying.”
Though these words were delivered in her usual frost-cold tone, they carried an undeniable threat—much like the faint, chilling fragrance clinging to her—that effectively shackled Xu Yinian in place.
Xu Yinian had always known she was weak, but it wasn’t until she faced Shen Ruoshuang’s true colors that she felt this level of paralyzing dread. She was too intimidated to even think of further rebellion.
“Why?” she asked, her voice faint and powerless.
Shen Ruoshuang didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she pressed the cool back of her hand against Xu Yinian’s pale cheek, savoring the soft warmth she had craved.
The threat had clearly broken Xu Yinian’s spirit. She turned her head slightly in a reluctant gesture of avoidance, but there was no escaping the touch.
“Didn’t you say we had no relationship? That I was an insignificant person?”
Shen Ruoshuang used her fingertips to slowly tuck the messy, damp strands of hair behind Xu Yinian’s ear, the friction eliciting a restless itch. “What do you think our relationship is now?”
Having seized complete control of the situation, Shen Ruoshuang waited patiently for Xu Yinian to revise her answer.
“…Roommates.”
Uttering those two syllables was the sound of Xu Yinian’s total surrender. At this point, all she could do was submit and give Shen Ruoshuang the answer she wanted.
In the silence of the empty dorm, with the atmosphere growing increasingly suffocating, Xu Yinian knew Shen Ruoshuang hadn’t gone to all this trouble just to dry her hair. This blatant display of power had scared her into submission.
“Xu Yinian, you really haven’t changed at all.”
Still heartless. You only respond to the stick, never the carrot. You don’t know how to be good unless you’re frightened.
Shen Ruoshuang left those words hanging in the air. She didn’t say another word until she had finished drying Xu Yinian’s hair. Only then did she release her and head toward the bathroom.
Perhaps it was because she had been in survival mode, but Xu Yinian hadn’t been able to process anything other than fear until she was finally alone. Now that the pressure was gone, her breathing leveled out, and the sensations of Shen Ruoshuang’s touch came rushing back all at once.
She sat at her desk, dazed. She leaned forward, burying her face in her hands, trying to hide the uncontrollable heat rising in her cheeks and ears.
What is wrong with me? She just threatened and bullied me… why am I blushing?
Xu Yinian felt her weak constitution was truly beyond saving.
She wasn’t the only one experiencing a massive psychological and physiological upheaval.
In the bathroom, Shen Ruoshuang turned the shower to its maximum setting. The high-pressure warm water pelted her neck and shoulders with stinging force, yet it did nothing to soothe the burning heat within her.
A suspicious crimson flush crept toward the corners of her peach blossom eyes. At this moment, the Ice Queen’s mask of cold asceticism shattered, leaving her expression muddled and intense.
The roar of the water hid her ragged breathing. Finally, she let out a hot, shaky exhale and turned the dial to the coldest setting. She needed to ensure that when she stepped out, there wouldn’t be a single flaw in her composure.
To avoid any further contact, Xu Yinian quickly gathered her emotions, shoved her things aside, and scrambled up to her top bunk.
Given Shen Ruoshuang’s cold and haughty personality, surely she wouldn’t be “crazy” enough to climb up to the top bunk… right?
Lying in bed, her mind refused to settle. She listened intently to every sound coming from the bathroom. By the time Shen Ruoshuang finally emerged, Xu Yinian realized—though she didn’t dare peek—that the other woman had been inside for nearly an hour.
Remembering Ji Yan’s “clean freak” persona from the original novel, Xu Yinian couldn’t help but marvel at how well-matched the two of them were.
However, curfew was approaching, and Ji Yan still hadn’t returned. Although X University required freshmen to live on campus and performed spot checks, Ji Yan was exactly the type of person who would skip out on the very first night.
Xu Yinian’s guess was correct. Ji Yan had never intended to stay in the dorm.
Currently, she was at the most famous lesbian bar in the center of the capital: La Svegas.
It was a world away from the quiet, simple campus. Midst the thumping bass and the seductive performances on stage, the dance floor was a sea of moving bodies and raw desire. Everyone was losing themselves in the night’s hunt.
In an expensive VIP booth sat several women of striking beauty and high status.
