Xu Yinian suddenly remembered something from back when Ji Yan still acted like a “mad dog.” On the day of her recording session at the studio, Ji Yan had forced her to “wipe away” the traces Qin Jiashu had left on her knees.
It was Ji Yan’s pathological germaphobia…
Was she suppressing her dark, forced compulsions this time because she was afraid of scaring her? Was she only daring to wipe them away now by masking it as a “reenactment”?
Xu Yinian didn’t know that Ji Yan’s mental defects were a projection of the trauma from her mother’s domestic violence. However, the fear she had felt last time was slowly transforming into a sense of being overwhelmed.
Ji Yan seemed… truly different now.
She was clearly changing for Yinian. To avoid hurting her, she was learning to carefully control her own malice.
“So, what was the second half of that sentence you wouldn’t let Shen Ruoshuang finish?”
Ji Yan’s abrupt question snapped Xu Yinian out of her thoughts. The woman asked in a low voice, clearly already harboring a pessimistic guess.
It took a moment for Yinian to realize she was talking about the answer to the “biased” comment.
Though she tried her best to avoid looking at Shen Ruoshuang, she could feel the other woman’s gaze suddenly become searingly hot.
This was a “death trap” question…
If she told the truth—that Ji Yan was the “unfavored” comparison point—would Ji Yan let it go? But if she didn’t admit it, how would Shen Ruoshuang use that secret against her later?
“…In that situation, could there be any other answer? Just like how I can’t refuse you right now… I-I can’t win against any of you.”
Xu Yinian avoided both of their gazes, using her softest, most vulnerable tone to voice her resentment. It was a verbal jab that struck both of them in the heart.
She couldn’t lie to herself, though. Half of it was because she was forced, but the other half was a genuine outpouring of emotion.
Both women knew Xu Yinian was speaking out of spite, but they also knew exactly how powerful her resentment could be. In this competitive dynamic, any point deduction was an opportunity for their rival to swoop in. The loss far outweighed the gain.
Shen Ruoshuang had already received the answer she wanted most. She had the patience to wait for the flower to bloom. As for Ji Yan, she had at least secured Xu Yinian’s outward refusal to choose Shen Ruoshuang over her; the furrow in her brow smoothed out slightly.
Xu Yinian lowered her eyes and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Her drunken breakdown last night hadn’t been a waste of dignity after all. It turned out that in front of these women, she could have a little temper and express her grievances.
She was learning to be “bad.”
Xu Yinian had completed her task and didn’t dare stay in this wolf-infested darkness a moment longer.
Knowing she wanted to leave, the others competed fiercely to solve the puzzles. Their progress was lightning-fast.
While Shen Ruoshuang decoded one clue, Ji Yan would find a key item, and Lu Zhou used her extensive escape room experience to locate the hidden exit.
The four of them were the first to clear the game. The lounge was occupied only by a few staff members and the class committee members who had been watching the monitors.
As soon as Xu Yinian entered the room, she keenly felt the meaningful looks the people inside were shooting her way.
…Abnormal. This was way too abnormal.
Of course, everyone had been watching a “Shura Field” soap opera on the monitors.
While the storage closet lacked a camera, and Shen Ruoshuang had intentionally avoided the lens when she locked Yinian in the inner suite to indulge herself, the observers had spent almost the entire time switching cameras just to follow Xu Yinian.
Sure enough, a staff member spoke up, barely suppressing a laugh. “The detection method for the infected completing their task is a bit special. If you all would follow me to get checked.”
Only then did Xu Yinian remember. After being tagged by the “patient,” she had been coated in a special powder that would transfer to anyone she touched.
Her heart skipped a beat as she recalled her repeated physical encounters with the others.
That… that means it will all show up…
The “end-of-the-world” panic on her face was so obvious that the “investors” in the room—those rooting for their favorite “stock”—almost lost their battle against their laughter. In fact, before the group arrived, they had even been placing bets on who would have the most marks on them.
“What kind of detection?”
Ji Yan narrowed her eyes and looked at Shen Ruoshuang. Seeing that the other woman also looked concerned and equally ignorant of this rule, Ji Yan’s heart found some balance.
Once the staff explained the process, the air grew thick with a subtle, dark undercurrent.
All three of them had had significant contact with Xu Yinian, and in the darkness, none of them knew exactly what their rivals had done to her. Lu Zhou’s interactions with Yinian were even more of a mystery; since neither of them would admit to anything, the evidence was about to be set in stone.
More importantly, this was basically a final tally of the “war of conquest” that had happened inside the secret room.
Who won and who lost would be clear at a glance.
“The infected should go first.”
“D-Do we really have to do the detection?” Xu Yinian asked in a small voice, her cheeks flushed a bright crimson.
“If you have their patient cards*, you don’t need the detection.”
Yinian was still debating how to ask the others for their cards when Ji Yan spoke up first.
“How many people did you secretly provoke behind my back? You look so guilty.” Ji Yan turned her gaze to Lu Zhou. “Regardless of anything else, I want to see Lu Zhou’s imaging scan. This is a personal grudge between her and me.”
Xu Yinian was choked by her words, once again remembering the hand she suspected was Lu Zhou’s. She had thought Lu Zhou would give her the card to avoid the check.
Instead, Lu Zhou stopped pretending entirely. She shrugged, her voice devoid of any panic.
“Fine by me. I don’t mind. Just don’t have a breakdown when the results show you had less contact than I did.”
Xu Yinian looked over in shock, meeting Lu Zhou’s gaze once more.
Only this time, Lu Zhou no longer bothered to hide the intense interest in her eyes. “Ji Yan’s guess was right on the mark, wasn’t it?”
![After I Abandoned the Protagonist [Quick Transmigration]](https://i0.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/System-novel-yuri-1.jpg?resize=151,215 "After I Abandoned the Protagonist [Quick Transmigration]")