Shrouded and disguised by the heavy darkness, Xu Yinian could not see the paranoid danger lurking within Shen Ruoshuang’s flushed, peach blossom eyes.
Throughout her life, Shen Ruoshuang’s moments of vulnerability could be counted on one hand. Yet, every single one etched into her memory was for the sake of the heartless person standing before her.
The most ridiculous part? Xu Yinian remained blissfully unaware.
Shen Ruoshuang refused to turn on the light. It was her aloof pride at work; she was unwilling to let the other girl see her at her weakest, and even less willing to let her know for whom those tears were shed.
The image she had witnessed outside the infirmary door still scorched her heart. The metallic taste of blood had lingered in the back of her throat from the moment she saw Xu Yinian’s fingers curl in response to Ji Yan.
Her singular jealousy and hatred expanded until they morphed into an endless obsession. After Xu Yinian barged in, her mental state had twisted to the absolute breaking point.
Consequently, a different, morbid impulse took hold.
She wouldn’t let Xu Yinian see her tear-stained face, but that didn’t mean Xu Yinian shouldn’t be held responsible for them. Yes, she should practically swallow the tears I shed for her.
Shen Ruoshuang reached up and wiped the tracks on her cheeks. Her fingertips were instantly coated in a cold, crystalline moisture. Even she was startled—how could her tears be this cold? Was she herself being chilled by them?
She reached out and caught the back of Xu Yinian’s hand, easily pinning her against the edge of the wall and trapping her within her embrace. She could clearly feel the other girl’s soft, warm palm becoming damp under her touch.
It was as if by pressing against Xu Yinian’s skin, these icy tears finally found a source of warmth.
In this position, Shen Ruoshuang’s final silent tear fell, landing on the crook of Xu Yinian’s slender neck and splashing into a tiny, faint bloom of salt.
The girl in her arms reflexively shrunk her neck back from the cold.
Every reaction Xu Yinian gave sent an indescribable throb through Shen Ruoshuang’s heart. Bitterness and satisfaction felt as though they were about to overflow. She narrowed her eyes in a sort of predatory gratification, yet she was not satisfied.
What if… she ate them?
The mere thought made Shen Ruoshuang’s breath hitch.
In Xu Yinian’s impression, Shen Ruoshuang had always been aloof and cold. She was a person of absolute rationality who seemed beyond the reach of the mortal world, as if she possessed no joys or sorrows of her own. Not only had Xu Yinian never seen her cry, but she also couldn’t have imagined that this girl had any weaknesses or flaws.
But there was the nasal tone in her voice, poorly masked by her sharp words, and the icy wetness of the tears clinging to her hand and neck.
Shen Ruoshuang stood alone in this dark, chaotic corner, merging with the shadows. If Xu Yinian hadn’t suddenly barged in, she would never have seen the day the Ice Queen fell from her pedestal.
Yet, her arrogance and fierce pride remained as stubborn as ever. Her demand to keep the lights off was a desperate insistence that no one, no matter how pathetic she looked, would see her like this.
After those words, Shen Ruoshuang didn’t speak again. There were no sobs. Perhaps because their ears were so close together, Xu Yinian could only hear her slightly ragged breathing.
Having stumbled upon this secret, Xu Yinian remained in the position of being held in the other girl’s arms, not daring to even breathe loudly. Although she desperately wanted to escape the embrace, she was even more wary of provoking Shen Ruoshuang in her current state.
Why is she crying?
Xu Yinian was utterly bewildered. The only possibility was that scene in the infirmary where Ji Yan had suddenly gone crazy and forced her to act out that “play.”
Does Shen Ruoshuang already have feelings for Ji Yan?
But that wasn’t how the original novel was written. Shen Ruoshuang’s character was supposed to be a cold, detached protagonist who didn’t fall in love until the very end.
At this point, Xu Yinian just felt mentally exhausted. Shen Ruoshuang and Ji Yan were both getting weirder by the second, and she was caught right in the middle. The original plot was a mess, and since she didn’t have mind-reading powers, how was she supposed to know what these two geniuses were thinking?
Furthermore, Xu Yinian was not good at comforting people—especially someone like Shen Ruoshuang, who seemed like she had never cried a day in her life.
The longer the silence stretched, the more her helplessness turned into a tangible sense of guilt.
Then, a sudden movement from Shen Ruoshuang interrupted her thoughts.
Cold, wet fingertips brushed across Xu Yinian’s lips. It was a detached motion, lacking any hint of lingering affection, yet it still sent a jolt like an electric current through her.
Xu Yinian was so startled she immediately broke free from Shen Ruoshuang’s arms and pressed herself tightly against the wall. Her naturally moist lips felt no different, but when she subconsciously licked them, she tasted a faint, inexplicable saltiness.
It seemed to be… tears?
After a weird silence, a calm settled—the kind that precedes a storm.
In the next second, the trace of vulnerability in Shen Ruoshuang’s voice vanished completely. However, she didn’t return to her usual “keep-away” tone. Beneath her turbulent breathing lay emotions that were impossible to name.
“Is this where she kissed you?”
Xu Yinian froze for a moment before realizing Shen Ruoshuang was talking about what happened that afternoon. She had been dying to explain this anyway, so she shook her head vigorously and stammered in a rush, “Ji Yan and I… we didn’t do anything. She was… she was just pretending…”
Shen Ruoshuang had stood outside the infirmary door for more than just a moment; she knew Xu Yinian wasn’t lying. Connecting the conversation between the two girls, she understood.
Ji Yan had clearly acted on a whim to tease and scare Xu Yinian because of that “I don’t like girls” comment. She hadn’t actually kissed her.
