Chapter 9: True Colors Part 2

Clearly, Xu Yinian had completely misunderstood Ji Yan’s meaning. Her outburst was fueled by the grievance and anger of being intentionally hurt.

Anger rose in Xu Yinian’s heart, and a reckless courage took hold of her.

Drawing from some unknown source of bravery, she looked Ji Yan straight in the eye.

“I’m not like you! I don’t like girls, and I’m not some serial lover who—”

While Xu Yinian was fully focused on her resistance, she didn’t notice that outside the door the school doctor had left ajar, a figure walking hurriedly toward them had suddenly stopped in its tracks…

Meanwhile, inside the room…

The strange emotion in Ji Yan’s eyes was like a deep, dark marsh. A silent, cold moisture began to surround Xu Yinian.

In Ji Yan’s gaze, Xu Yinian felt herself drowning in that swamp. By the time she noticed, the muddy pressure and threat had already reached her neck.

She suddenly realized what she was doing.

This was Ji Yan. She was getting angry at the Ji Yan whom no one dared to cross. Why should she be the one to suffer the consequences?

…Based on her identity as a cannon fodder villain?

The logic behind her fear woke up. Not only was her defiance useless, but it would also draw more of Ji Yan’s attention toward her.

Just like Shen Ruoshuang’s explosion last night after she had spoken so bluntly.

In the end, she didn’t finish her sentence about “falling for every girl you see” to insult Ji Yan’s scumbag behavior. Her light eyes were filled with lingering fear, and even her limbs began to feel cold.

To be honest, in Ji Yan’s eyes, Xu Yinian’s sudden halt in resistance was like a timid rabbit that wanted to bite out of desperation, only to realize its teeth had no power before it even landed the blow.

In fact, Ji Yan was almost looking forward to being bitten by those milk teeth, leaving a faint, cute mark behind.

However, the more important thing right now was to expose the other girl’s stubbornness.

“You don’t like girls?”

“If you’re not just being stubborn…”

“Then your self-awareness is a bit skewed.”

Xu Yinian didn’t expect that Ji Yan wouldn’t suddenly lash out like she had when she punished her for spacing out. Ji Yan even skipped over the part where she was called a scumbag, focusing instead on her declaration of being straight.

What did that mean? She really didn’t like girls…

After all, that high school heartbreak where she had liked the wrong person had ended so tragically that it had drained all her emotions.

She would never like anyone again.

In a Yuri novel, was she just supposed to be gay by default?

She said nothing, merely remaining in a stalemate with the other woman.

“The twenty minutes are up. Wait for me.”

Ji Yan spoke suddenly. Before Xu Yinian could react, she stood up and walked straight to the bathroom inside the infirmary.

The same sound of running water as yesterday echoed out.

It was Ji Yan’s obsession with cleanliness.

She hated contact with people, and that naturally included Xu Yinian.

Xu Yinian became even more certain that Ji Yan had only “condescended” to endure the discomfort of her germophobia to help with the ice pack because she wanted to threaten her.

She was washing her hands—did that mean she didn’t plan to torment and interrogate her anymore?

Xu Yinian felt a strange sensation in her heart, feeling that things couldn’t be that simple.

This didn’t feel like the relief of surviving a disaster; it felt like a precursor to something even more bizarre.

Amidst the sound of the water—which sounded like a death knell—Xu Yinian’s unease grew stronger. She even tried to defy Ji Yan’s command, attempting to drag her sprained foot and leave this place alone.

However, just as she used her palms to prop up half her body, the water stopped.

The empty resting room fell into a terrifying silence once more.

Ji Yan’s tall figure reappeared. She first glanced toward the front door.

Her eyelashes fluttered, a shadow passing over her pitch-black pupils. Her gaze shifted and finally locked onto Xu Yinian, who was trying to escape.

Xu Yinian couldn’t help but follow Ji Yan’s gaze, turning her head toward the door in confusion.

Through the crack of the door, it was too dark to see clearly, but there was a faint silhouette of a person, seemingly flinching away.

Was someone outside?

But before she had time to think or identify who it was, something happened that overturned everything Xu Yinian knew.

Along with the forceful intrusion of the unavoidable scent of disinfectant…

Before Xu Yinian could react, she felt her chin being pinched by two fingers.

Her face was forced upward, looking directly into the narrowed, eerily beautiful eyes that were suddenly looming large before her.

Those eyes weren’t cold or empty as usual. In those pitch-black pupils, Xu Yinian clearly saw her own reflection.

It was an unprecedented level of focus and intensity, as if those eyes were filled with only one person.

The back of her head was also cradled by a strong hand. The familiar, icy body temperature, carrying a hint of damp moisture, left her with no way to retreat from the hold.

Xu Yinian felt Ji Yan was exceptionally close. The long, thick eyelashes that lowered slightly as she watched her, the sound of her breathing—everything hit Xu Yinian directly.

The coldness gradually began to heat up, turning into a scorching temperature that blurred Xu Yinian’s vision. A hazy, dreamlike flush rose to her cheeks.

Xu Yinian had never experienced a moment so shrouded in ambiguity.

It was as if everything around her had vanished, leaving only her heartbeat and the other woman’s, gradually synchronizing.

All her senses surrendered at this moment.

She… had actually… so easily… had a physiological reaction to the intimacy of another woman…

Even without any link of love, and even though the other woman’s focus was likely just an act.

How could Ji Yan fail to see the physiological changes written on Xu Yinian’s flushed cheeks and clenched fingertips?

As a means to expose the lie of her “straightness,” this was clearly enough.

Dropping the facade, the color of her pupils instantly cooled, signaling the rising storm in this dark sea.

Xu Yinian felt the surrounding temperature drop abruptly as her vision began to clear.

But the first thing she saw was that those eyes—the ones she had just drowned in—were now filled with malicious mischief. Their gazes intertwined once more.

In a voice that only the two of them could hear, Ji Yan said:

“The person at the door is Shen Ruoshuang.”

“I’m quite curious. What is the relationship between you and Shen Ruoshuang?”