Chapter 113: Breaking Point Part 2

The moment the door clicked shut, Shen Ruoshuang, who had been organizing data for tomorrow’s group meeting, finally looked up at the silent doorway.

She stood up, but instead of following them, she walked into the empty bathroom.

Her gaze swept the room and settled on the white bundle on the rack.

It was the nightgown Xu Yinian had planned to wash herself.

Seeing it placed next to Ji Yan’s towel, Shen Ruoshuang’s features instantly sharpened.

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she reached out and took the nightgown.

It seemed to still hold the girl’s warmth, carrying that familiar scent of body wash—the kind of faint fragrance that one would miss if they weren’t paying close attention.

Only when this comforting scent was within reach did the tension in Shen Ruoshuang’s cold face relax slightly.

Expressionlessly, she turned on the faucet. Her pale, slender fingers met the biting cold water, scrubbing the fabric bit by bit.

Crumpling it, then smoothing it out.

Kneading it as if into her very bones… then smoothing it out again.

It was as if the fabric were a substitute for its owner, enduring the strength and obsession of those long fingers.

On the other side, Xu Yinian had finally finished drying her hair under Ji Yan’s unhurried gaze and tied it up haphazardly.

“…It’s… it’s too high.”

The moment she looked up and met Ji Yan’s eyes, her face began to heat up instinctively, and she stammered.

“Little shorty, if you’re this weak, how are you going to take care of anyone else?”

It was a familiar tease, but the words that followed were excessively soft. “That’s why I have to be the one to ‘serve’ you.”

Ji Yan simply crouched halfway down, yet she still looked like a scene from a photoshoot. There wasn’t a hint of a “lowly” posture about her; the innate wildness and arrogance in her bones couldn’t be hidden.

She tilted her narrow eyes, smiling with a lazy, somewhat roguish charm as she looked up at the towering Xu Yinian.

…In a scene like this, it felt as though a chain should be fastened around her neck, with the controlling end forced into Xu Yinian’s small, soft, trembling hand.

Telling her: Please… restrain me as you wish.

Xu Yinian had dried Jiang Ke’s hair before, so she wasn’t unfamiliar with the process. She held the hair dryer in one hand while running her fingers from the roots to the tips.

However, Ji Yan’s hair was much coarser than her own fine strands; the ends felt sharp and distinct as they brushed against her fingertips.

The movement was incredibly soft, and a warm sensation tingled from Ji Yan’s scalp all the way to her toes.

Ji Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

But as if remembering something, she suddenly snapped her eyes open, a hint of suspicion flashing through them.

“Xu Yinian, have you been secretly drying someone else’s hair behind my back? Why are you so practiced?”

Startled by the sudden call-out, Xu Yinian’s wrist shook. “…Huh?”

“Jiang… Jiang Ke?”

The moment she heard that name, Ji Yan flared up with jealousy.

“How old is she? Is she missing hands and feet? Why does she need you to help her dry it?”

“You… aren’t you the same…”

Xu Yinian found it baffling and couldn’t help but mumble a rebuttal.

“I have germaphobia. Can she be the same as me?”

Ji Yan spoke as if it were perfectly logical, but the thought that this wasn’t the first time Xu Yinian had dried someone’s hair made her feel a surge of impotent rage.

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself quite a bit.”

Xu Yinian’s voice grew smaller and smaller; she had the heart to snark but not the courage to follow through.

Just as Ji Yan was about to say something, a flurry of footsteps echoed from outside, drawing closer.

“Some… someone is coming…”

Feeling as guilty as if she were doing something scandalous, Xu Yinian set the hair dryer on the rack and stood in the corner like a student being punished.

It’s just drying hair, is there a need to be this embarrassed? Ji Yan stood up and moved to her side.

She didn’t intentionally hide her presence, but they were already in a dark corner, and it was incredibly quiet.

The two girls who entered didn’t notice anyone was there. They carefully shut the door and began chatting as if no one were around.

“I almost got caught by my roommate! I told you not to kiss me while they’re washing up.”

“But you didn’t exactly push me away…”

Realizing this was a couple in a secret relationship, Xu Yinian’s face turned awkward.

She suddenly remembered that in the original book she had dreamed of at the very beginning, Shen Ruoshuang and Ji Yan were also a couple carrying on a secret affair right under “her” nose.

But now… the plot had strayed to who-knows-where.

It was the complete opposite of her original plan to stay far away from the Protagonist-top and her love interest.

She had even given up on trying to fix the plot a long time ago…

But even so, Xu Yinian clearly understood her own stance of avoidance.

No matter how far things strayed, the ending of a “passerby” character wouldn’t change.

The distance between her and these darlings of fortune was too great—as if they lived in different worlds.

They were perfect characters in a book, while she was just a “wayfarer” who had accidentally crossed paths with their fates after receiving a bit of divine insight.

Their attention was too light—as fleeting as the moon’s reflection in water or flowers in a mirror.

Perhaps it couldn’t even be called “love”…

So far, among the few people interested in her, only the Senior Sister had actually confessed.

But Xu Yinian knew full well that the Senior Sister had an extensive romantic history and plenty of tricks; she couldn’t help but feel this was just one of many ways the woman pursued people.

Aside from that one clear confession, she couldn’t even voice a rejection to the others.

She was terrified that the moment she did, these darlings of fortune would narrow their noble eyes and sneer, “You didn’t actually think I liked you, did you?”

She couldn’t repeat the mistakes of high school. Her only way to protect herself was to stall and avoid until the situation became undeniable.

…And then reject them.

The lock in Xu Yinian’s heart clicked shut once more.

While she was lost in thought, she had no way of knowing that the other girl’s complaints were just for show. The couple became affectionate, and even though they were right by the door, they began to kiss passionately, their bodies bumping against the door with a clear thud.

Wh-Why are they already kissing?!

Xu Yinian’s face exploded into a bright red. She subconsciously looked at Ji Yan.

Ji Yan was staring at Xu Yinian’s reaction with great interest; the girl was clearly much better to look at than the couple.

Ji Yan didn’t forget to wrap her long arm around Yinian, pulling her back and hiding her dazed figure.

Xu Yinian found herself trapped once again in the small space created by Ji Yan’s arm, with intimate scenes she had never witnessed before unfolding right before her eyes and ears.

Every second was pure torture.

“Don’t… touch there, we’re outside!”

“Okay.”

“You liar—ah…”

Before the sentence could even be finished, the rest was drowned out by a series of strange, suggestive noises.