Chapter 151: Entanglement Part 3

Xu Yinian hadn’t read the original post. She could only shake her head, looking dazed.

The monitor played a short video for her. It was a snippet from the collection of evidence—surveillance footage showing Xu Yinian’s back as she was nearly “accidentally” bumped into while holding a flask of sulfuric acid.

Her face wasn’t visible, and her privacy was completely intact.

But Xu Yinian understood immediately. Back then, only Shen Ruoshuang had been sharp enough to notice that the man had intended to use the chaos to shove her. And only someone like Shen Ruoshuang could have easily obtained the surveillance footage from the chemistry laboratory on such short notice.

“On the very day he bullied you, Shen Ruoshuang stayed up all night investigating and gathering evidence. She contacted every single victim, including me. In just one day, she compiled and wrote that rigorous, crystal-clear exposé. It didn’t have a single loophole. It blew up on the Confession Wall and even made the trending searches.”

“I was so angry at the time that I told her about how he’d bullied you regarding your financial aid before. She was silent for a while before saying she understood. After that, her exposé never mentioned a single thing about you.”

Despite the mountain of evidence, not a single piece of it exposed Xu Yinian’s privacy to the center of the storm—even though she had been the one whose dignity was most cruelly belittled.

Shen Ruoshuang had sought justice for her, yet protected her to the greatest possible extent.

She had long since shed the immature air she carried three years ago. Only that silent, protective devotion remained unchanged.

“She really cares about you. She’s done so much behind your back.”

…How could it be like what people said? That she was just playing around, or that Xu Yinian was the one desperately clinging to her?

Xu Yinian couldn’t snap out of it for a long time.

She had long since forgotten those “accidents” from high school, but Shen Ruoshuang would never forget. Not for a single moment did she stubbornly demand anything from Yinian or seek to punish her.

Shen Ruoshuang was just a peer, a young woman who had just reached adulthood and technically had nothing under her mother’s suffocating control. Yet, no one could have done better or sacrificed more than she did.

After class, the Teaching Assistant called out to Xu Yinian. It turned out she had forgotten to ask the previous TA for their class’s experiment reports, so she hadn’t brought them to distribute.

Since this was the final session, she asked Xu Yinian to accompany her to the Zhiyuan Honors Class laboratory to pick them up.

At the mention of the “previous TA,” Xu Yinian’s heart skipped a beat.

“Are we going… to see Assistant Shen to get them?”

Only Xu Yinian knew how much hope was hidden in those words.

“I just messaged her. She said they’re in the locker and to just help ourselves. She probably isn’t there.” The TA smiled warmly. “What, do you admire our Junior Shen so much you’re dying to see her?”

“No… I don’t…”

Seeing her cheeks flush and the way she stammered, the TA knew better. She leaned in to share some gossip with the soft-looking junior.

“Junior Shen has been very busy lately. She doesn’t come to the lab often. But she has her own designated seat in the Zhiyuan building’s self-study room. You might have some luck if you go there.”

After swiping into the laboratory, the TA opened the locker labeled with Shen Ruoshuang’s name.

Xu Yinian’s gaze was instantly drawn to a bottle of mineral water sitting conspicuously inside. It was the school’s own brand, sold in vending machines, and it featured the limited-edition packaging from the Military Training period.

Xu Yinian usually only drank the free water from the dispensers, which cost a mere twenty cents a cup. The only time she had ever bought a bottle of ice-cold water from a vending machine was during Military Training, when she had used it to coax Shen Ruoshuang after the girl was punished with standing because of her.

The TA noticed Xu Yinian’s gaze and chatted casually. “Don’t think it’s weird to have this in the lab. Our school’s purified water is actually extremely high quality—better than the big brands. It can be used directly for experiments in a pinch. So, we keep a bottle or two in the lab just in case the distilled water runs out. You can even drink it.”

“But Junior Shen has had this bottle for a long time. Since the end of September, she hasn’t drunk it or used it. Last time, someone thought it was for general use and almost unscrewed the cap for an experiment, but she snatched it back immediately.”

“Wow, you have no idea how scary Junior Shen’s cold face was… Anyway, no one dares touch that ‘precious’ water anymore.”

Since the end of September…

Wasn’t that the exact bottle she had given her?!

She actually never drank it?

It was just… a bottle of water…

Xu Yinian’s cheeks burned hot. But she quickly realized that the water was likely the only thing she had ever truly “given” to Shen Ruoshuang.

How much did she care? And was she so afraid that Yinian would find her obsessive or perverted that she hid it here in a laboratory locker?

For some reason, Yinian thought of the time Shen Ruoshuang had hidden away to cry.

Cold, aloof, rational—none of those words seemed to fit the Shen Ruoshuang of this moment. But only for her, the darling of fortune was humble, fragile, and full of flaws.

For her sake, she was willing to cast aside her untouchable pride and step down from her pedestal.

After that chemistry lab, Xu Yinian felt as though she were ill. She began to obsess over everything related to Shen Ruoshuang.

In the past, when Shen Ruoshuang had intentionally chosen the same classes and clubs as her, Yinian had avoided her at all costs. Now, she was absurdly using those very things to search for traces of her.

Like her current elective, Folk Arts Heritage.

Since it was the final class, there was no roll call or exam. People only came to pick up the ceramics they had made previously. Jiang Ke couldn’t come due to an exam, but Yinian had already promised to give her the handmade ceramic bowl she’d made.

The finished product was shaped like the rose-white rabbit Jiang Ke had requested—small, with one floppy ear and one upright ear. Though the surface was still uneven, it looked much cuter than expected after being glazed.

As Xu Yinian went to collect it, the teacher stopped her.

“Student, I see you’re also from Room 503. Your roommate Shen Ruoshuang didn’t show up to sign in. Why don’t you take her ceramic project back to her?”

As expected… she didn’t come.