As Xu Yinian’s blurred vision swept over the mirror, it captured all three of them in a single frame. The two peerless beauties behind and beside her had closed in until she was completely imprisoned. The strands of their hair tangled on her shoulders until one couldn’t tell whose was whose—a knot that could only be untied by death.
Just like their current situation… chaotic and entangled.
Thirty minutes later, Xu Yinian grabbed her nightgown and fled into the bathroom.
If the Calamine Lotion didn’t have to be washed off after a certain amount of time, neither of them would have let her go. They would have continued that absurd contest where no winner could be found, and only she suffered the consequences.
The bathroom door was locked with a sharp click, a clear sign of who she was guarding against.
“What did Bai Ran do?”
The moment the sound of splashing water began, Shen Ruoshuang glanced at Ji Yan, her eyes filled with a bone-chilling frost.
Ji Yan leaned back in her chair casually, meeting the gaze with a contemptuous smirk. “I already know about Jiang Ke. Do you have anything else left to trade?”
“Did something happen with the arranged marriage? Or was it the kind of ‘incident’ where she came out on top?”
There was a natural certainty in Shen Ruoshuang’s calm voice that was infuriatingly accurate.
Ji Yan bit her lip. She had already guessed that the disruption of Bai Ran’s overseas line had been Shen Ruoshuang’s doing. Naturally, Shen would have anticipated Bai Ran’s reaction. Ultimately, the problem was Lu Zhou; she had no power in the Lu family and didn’t even realize her eldest sister had teamed up with an outsider like Bai Ran!
“She can’t go abroad. The overseas line was just meant to cut off one of her wings and delay her takeover of the Bai family.”
From the start of her retaliation, Shen Ruoshuang had been fully aware of the potential outcomes. However, Bai Ran’s sudden leave of absence and her departure from the dorm made Shen uneasy.
Ji Yan had known something was wrong for a while. After a moment of silence, in order to deal with the most unstable factor, she told Shen Ruoshuang about what happened today.
“She called Xu Yinian over to play for sympathy. Looking at the reaction, she probably didn’t throw too much dirt on me.”
Ji Yan’s brow throbbed with irritation. If Xu Yinian hadn’t been willing to talk to her when she returned, she would have been ready to go down in flames with Bai Ran.
“…Just playing for sympathy?”
Shen Ruoshuang frowned. If she were Bai Ran, she wouldn’t have left Xu Yinian alone for so long.
“Oh, and you’re the only one who understands her?” Ji Yan scoffed again. “Bai Ran is currently staying in a VIP ward at Xinyu Hospital. Half the Bai and Lu families are surrounding her, trying to haggle over details. She’s too busy hiding people; would she dare let Xu Yinian visit her there?”
Whether by logic or the results of her investigation, Bai Ran really was hospitalized. Furthermore, Lu Zhou was scheduled to accompany the Lu family to “visit the patient” tomorrow evening.
Looking at that schedule of “minor visits” every two days and “major negotiations” every three, just dealing with those old foxes of the elite families should be enough to keep Bai Ran occupied.
Shen Ruoshuang remained silent, her eyes drifting toward Xu Yinian’s desk, lost in thought.
Since they truly couldn’t meet, then with Bai Ran’s pathological obsession, she must be monitoring everything about Xu Yinian in real-time. She needed to check if Xu Yinian’s phone was bugged and if there were cameras in the dorm.
Checking these things wasn’t hard; the difficulty lay in doing it without alerting Bai Ran and exposing her true nature to Xu Yinian…
Especially since Xu Yinian currently trusted Bai Ran the most. It would be too easy for Bai Ran to lead her by the nose, which would only startle the snake. If it weren’t for the lack of a perfect plan, Shen would have acted long ago. Why wait until now?
Regarding Jiang Ke, Ji Yan assumed she knew more than Shen Ruoshuang, so she didn’t bother asking further. She took out a bottle of alcohol spray and a pair of gloves, meticulously treating the area around her bed in preparation for the night.
If it weren’t for staying in the dorm for the sake of love, when would the Young Mistress of the Ji family ever have to hold her nose and do such labor herself?
Because the dorm’s air conditioning was on a separate electricity quota provided by the school, every room used it whenever possible.
Xu Yinian emerged from the bathroom wearing a long-sleeved, white cotton autumn nightgown. She assumed her roommates were used to seeing her like this, but the moment she stepped out, she felt a scorching gaze glued to her body.
She met Ji Yan’s dark, shadowed eyes with a look of confusion. It was only then that Xu Yinian realized—Ji Yan hadn’t left the dorm today!
…And she had never seen Xu Yinian right out of the bath before.
Her relaxed posture turned stiff instantly. Xu Yinian’s face burned as she looked down to check if she was decent. Aside from a small patch of the white dress that had turned translucent and dark where her wet hair had dripped on it, everything was modest.
…After all, it was a nightgown she wore in front of Shen Ruoshuang; naturally, there was nothing wrong with it.
But what Xu Yinian didn’t realize was that regardless of how much she was covered, her glistening, damp, and sweet presence was enough to draw anyone in. Her snowy-white wrists, slender ankles, and the soft contours of her thin frame were all highlighted. The wet footprints her slippers left on the floor were small and delicate.
The only reason Shen Ruoshuang and Bai Ran could control themselves was because they had learned to hide those thoughts over many days.
Seeing the alcohol in Ji Yan’s hand, Xu Yinian asked in belated shock:
“You… you aren’t leaving today?”
It was a perfectly normal question, but to Ji Yan’s ears, it sounded like a little wife who had been left alone night after night, surprised that her spouse was staying over.
“You’re having an allergic reaction. Can you even survive without someone here? How could I leave?”
She retracted her wandering thoughts, speaking like a perfect gentleman.
Xu Yinian’s face, already warm, turned a deep, explosive red. “I… I don’t need…”
“Don’t need what? If you don’t need me, do you need Shen Ruoshuang?” Ji Yan pressed her with every word.
Xu Yinian: “…”
What does this have to do with Shen Ruoshuang?!
“…As long as your germaphobia is okay with it.”
It wasn’t until Xu Yinian sat down at her desk that she noticed the messages from Jiang Ke. Her attention shifted instantly.
It was to be expected. After all, Jiang Ke’s lie to cover for her absence the previous night was still fresh in her mind. There was no way her cousin wouldn’t follow up.
Jiang Ke had sent several messages in a row. Xu Yinian could almost picture the hesitation on the younger girl’s face as she typed them:
[Sis, did you stay out all night?]
[I’m just worried about you, I don’t mean anything else. Besides, it rained so hard last night…]
[If it’s a secret, you don’t have to tell me.]
Xu Yinian carefully weighed her words, sticking to the script provided by Secretary Zhou:
![The Vicious Supporting Female Must Die [Transmigration]](https://i0.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/must.png?resize=151,215 "The Vicious Supporting Female Must Die [Transmigration]")
![The Alluring Movie Queen and Her Subject Beneath the Skirt [Ancient to Modern Transmigration]](https://i3.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/anc.png?resize=151,215 "The Alluring Movie Queen and Her Subject Beneath the Skirt [Ancient to Modern Transmigration]")
