“That’s just the Bai family. If you want power, you have to obey the family’s marriage arrangements. Everyone is just a puppet. Even Bai Ran has to choose one or the other.”
“We’ll see if she’s willing to give up everything she owns for Xu Yinian.”
Lu Zhou’s family environment was similar to the Bais, though they didn’t treat internal competition like a bloodsport quite as openly. Lu Zhou only got away with her lifestyle because she was the youngest daughter, far removed from the center of power.
“I’ll wait for your news then.”
Elsewhere, Xu Yinian finished a dinner heavy with unspoken thoughts alongside Bai Ran. Shen Ruoshuang never returned.
It wasn’t until the dormitory curfew passed that Xu Yinian finally accepted that Shen Ruoshuang was staying out for the night.
This was the second night since starting university that Shen Ruoshuang wasn’t in the room. The first time, Xu Yinian had practically celebrated the other girl’s absence.
But with one person missing, the dormitory felt strangely, excessively hollow.
Xu Yinian felt a weight in her chest. No matter what she did, her mind kept flashing back to that figure standing frozen in the shadows, her pride being snapped bit by bit.
She didn’t dare show her feelings. In front of Bai Ran, she could only offer a forced smile and act as if nothing was wrong.
Bai Ran had handled everything perfectly and was incredibly attentive to Xu Yinian’s low mood all day. It only made Xu Yinian feel more guilty. She shouldn’t ignore Sister Ran like this; she shouldn’t make her worry…
She said goodnight to Bai Ran early and climbed into her bunk. She didn’t see the dangerous emotions swirling in Bai Ran’s bloodshot eyes as they adjusted to the darkness after she turned away.
It was a morbid agony and a carnal yearning that could no longer be suppressed.
Shen Ruoshuang was clearly the culprit who had allowed rumors to isolate and attack Xu Yinian back in high school; her cold indifference had been a primary catalyst for that suffering. Yet, she had never once stepped forward to clarify the truth or offer Niannian even a shred of protection.
Hypocritical, disgusting, and utterly selfish.
Bai Ran’s target had never truly been Shen Ruoshuang’s psychological weaknesses or her nightmares; rather, she sought to punish the woman for every ounce of pain she had inflicted upon Niannian. This was supposed to be Shen Ruoshuang’s one-sided fall from grace—a moment where her most unsightly, filthy side was ground into the mire.
But why… why was Niannian still worried and heartbroken for a person like that?!
Watching Xu Yinian pick at her food with a hollow expression made everything feel meaningless, even though she had witnessed Shen Ruoshuang’s total breakdown.
Bai Ran finally realized the bitter truth: the more she tormented Shen Ruoshuang, the more Niannian would ache with pity and compassion for her. Even though all the trauma of her high school years had originated from that woman, Niannian was so relentlessly kind that she simply chose to forgive.
She never wanted to mention it, and she certainly didn’t want to pursue any reckoning.
The jealousy and hatred Bai Ran had suppressed all evening finally exploded, swallowed by the devouring darkness. Beneath her carefully maintained mask of gentle warmth, every one of Bai Ran’s pathological, frenzied thoughts demanded a release.
In the past, she had relied on violent outbursts or her own hands to find relief.
But tonight was different. Curfew had already passed. Aside from the two of them, there was no one else here to disturb them…
Once a wicked thought took root, it did nothing but swell rapidly within the heart. The mere thought of it was enough to make one tremble, yet it was an addiction she couldn’t shake. She had never felt as strongly as she did now that if she didn’t get some kind of “antidote” from Xu Yinian—the girl she craved so desperately—the backlash of these dark impulses would drive her to do something far more terrifying.
Yes… I am protecting Niannian.
I’m only taking a small reward, something that means nothing to her.
A girl as excessively kind as Niannian… she would surely understand, wouldn’t she?
Bai Ran’s heart had long since turned black. Even her love and obsession for Xu Yinian were “flowers of evil” growing from that absolute darkness. She had never intended to let Xu Yinian go, nor did she ever plan to.
***
Inside the dim confines of her bed curtains, Xu Yinian lay silently on her side. She gripped her phone, her WeChat interface lingering on her chat window with Shen Ruoshuang.
Her heart was full of a single question—Are you okay?—but remembering Bai Ran’s warning not to bring it up, she ultimately remained silent.
Given her tendency toward avoidance, she was quite adept at keeping quiet…
Caught in a daze of internal conflict and exhaustion from the long day, Xu Yinian eventually drifted off to sleep. Her phone continued to emit a faint, shimmering glow, and she was completely unaware that her palm was pressing against the chat box.
The night deepened.
In her sleep, Xu Yinian vaguely felt a strange weight pressing down on her. Her hand was taken.
This sensation caused scenes from earlier in the day to bleed into her dreams. She was back in the Secret Room, entangled with different women in the darkness.
She felt the phantom sensation of her knees tightening against Lu Zhou’s waist, the touch of Ji Yan’s hand brushing against the clasp on her back, and the light, stirring pressure of Shen Ruoshuang’s finger in her mouth.
Gradually, the imagery settled on the cold, glamorous face of that high-and-mighty, elegant woman.
The woman leaned back languidly, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked down with a frown. Her gaze swept over Xu Yinian inch by inch, unrestrained and filled with a critical, dismissive air. Finally, that gaze stopped as it met Xu Yinian’s own—suddenly wide, almond eyes shimmering with mist and a trembling, liquid light.
In her dream, Xu Yinian remembered. This was a detail she had overlooked in her sheer terror while facing Shen Yi…
The dream shattered abruptly. Xu Yinian snapped her eyes open.
Her hands were shaking for no apparent reason, and her fingertips felt a strange, lingering warmth. Suddenly sensing movement coming from the ladder to her bed, she blurted out the first name that came to mind without thinking:
“Shen Ruoshuang?!”
