Chapter 46: Deeply Entangled Part 1

Amidst the surrounding clamor, Shen Ruoshuang’s voice wasn’t particularly loud. However, Xu Yinian’s petulant retort died in her throat, and she instinctively shrank back.

Listening to that clear, logical argument, she found herself at a loss for words. If she hadn’t known she was the one being played, she might have actually fallen into the trap Shen Ruoshuang had laid out.

How can someone be this wicked?

Yet, in Shen Ruoshuang’s narrative, Xu Yinian was indeed the one in the wrong, leaving her at the other’s mercy. All Xu Yinian could do now was bite her lip and swallow her grievances.

While she had been forced to accept Shen Ruoshuang as her partner, she never expected the very first warm-up stretch would require such close cooperation. She hadn’t even prepared herself mentally…

The exercise was similar to the seated forward fold from the physical fitness test. The only difference was that a partner would help press down on your back and shoulders to help you reach further.

Xu Yinian was terrible at it. Every time she struggled to push her hands toward her toes, she felt like she couldn’t bend at all. Her results were often negative numbers, which always drew bursts of laughter from her classmates. Even the PE teacher had teased her, saying her body was stiffer than a steel plate.

The only reason she had chosen yoga was because she was even worse at other sports; she simply didn’t possess an athletic bone in her body.

Right now, Xu Yinian didn’t know what was more embarrassing: performing her “steel plate” routine in front of Shen Ruoshuang, or the inevitable, shameful contact that would come with it.

“Should you go first, or me?”

Even though Shen Ruoshuang was the one constantly forcing the issue, her tone remained as cold as ever. She sounded no different from the other students already starting their stretches, making Xu Yinian’s hesitation seem particularly out of place.

But Xu Yinian had seen more than once what lay beneath that cold, ethereal skin—the scorching, obsessive paranoia.

“It’s just a normal exercise, isn’t it? Everyone else is doing it. What are you afraid of?”

The light voice drifted into Xu Yinian’s ear, easily seeing through the defenses hidden behind her hesitation. Shen Ruoshuang understood her too well. She knew that to prove she wasn’t overthinking things, Xu Yinian would be goaded into acting like everything was fine.

Right… it’s just a normal stretch. What’s so strange about partnering with Shen Ruoshuang?

“I-I’m not afraid! I’ll help you first.”

Putting up a brave front, Xu Yinian hurried forward. Because she was looking down, she nearly crashed right into Shen Ruoshuang’s arms.

Shen Ruoshuang watched as Xu Yinian hopped back like a startled rabbit. She hadn’t even done anything yet, and a crimson flush was already creeping across the girl’s cheeks.

Despite constantly claiming she wasn’t gay, Xu Yinian always had the strongest reaction to physical intimacy with the same sex.

Recalling the incident in the car, Shen Ruoshuang’s eyes dropped to that same spot. Someone who didn’t know the truth might think she had done something terrible to Xu Yinian.

Well, she wanted to do something.

Looking at Xu Yinian, her mind was filled with the desire to devour her completely. Yet, what she was best at was hiding that yearning and her own descent into obsession. Even when they shared a bed and she used Xu Yinian’s tiny movements to bring herself to a quiet peak, she could do so without making a sound.

Xu Yinian would never know just how much of an emotional ripple her “ordinary” physical contact sent through Shen Ruoshuang beneath that calm expression.

…

Even the act of kneeling behind the “Unreachable Beauty” felt awkward. Raising her eyes bashfully, Xu Yinian was met with a glimpse of cold, pale skin on the back of the neck, framed by cascading black hair.

While Xu Yinian was staring blankly at the aesthetic contrast of black and white, Shen Ruoshuang suddenly turned her head.

Their faces were inches apart. Their gazes collided and became entangled in an instant. Both of them froze, their hearts skipping a beat at the sudden impact.

Xu Yinian’s eyes were a very light shade, and because of her embarrassment, they were shimmering with a watery sheen—clear and translucent. Facing such a pure girl, one couldn’t help but develop improper thoughts. It was as if any hint of red at the corners of her eyes only served to fuel a base, possessive desire.

The sensation forced Shen Ruoshuang to look away as if escaping.

Since her controlling behavior at the start of the semester had made Xu Yinian increasingly afraid of her, she had tucked away the dark obsessions she had accumulated over the past two years. She had approached carefully, maintaining the same cold indifference she showed everyone else, only reaching this point today. She didn’t want to let everything go to waste.

Xu Yinian only snapped out of it when the other girl turned away. She couldn’t even process the strange sensation of her heart fluttering. Her mind was a complete blank, yet she could clearly hear the sudden acceleration of her pulse.

It wasn’t fear, and it wasn’t just shyness…

Then what was it?

Before she could think further, the teacher walked over. “Why haven’t you started yet?”

A lifelong fear of teachers made Xu Yinian stop thinking immediately. In her panic, she instinctively placed her hands on Shen Ruoshuang’s shoulders.

Shen Ruoshuang hadn’t expected the usually hesitant Xu Yinian to be so proactive. Caught off guard, her thin shoulders gave a slight shudder.

That tremor traveled into Xu Yinian’s palms, and her first thought was that her hurried movements had been too rough and hurt Shen Ruoshuang. She became flustered; she didn’t know whether to keep her hands there or pull them away, and she didn’t dare press the other’s body forward.

Unfortunately, the teacher seemed to think they were being sluggish and decided to stay right there, watching them. This left Xu Yinian paralyzed, unable to move.

Partly to hide her own loss of composure and partly to help Xu Yinian deal with the teacher she feared, Shen Ruoshuang took the initiative to lean forward. Her beautiful curves folded over her legs. Without needing Xu Yinian’s help, she reached far past her toes.

“This student has excellent flexibility!” the teacher praised before turning to Xu Yinian. “Try pressing down firmly. Let’s see where her limit is.”

Being an obedient student to her core, Xu Yinian reflexively followed the teacher’s instructions. Although she was still worried she might hurt the other girl again, she had no choice but to apply pressure.

However, Shen Ruoshuang didn’t lean any further forward. Xu Yinian wasn’t using enough strength.

Xu Yinian was confused. If she isn’t moving, then that sudden shudder in her shoulders earlier wasn’t because I was too rough? Then why did she shake?

Seeing the teacher’s expectant expression, Xu Yinian grit her teeth and continued to push. In the end, her entire body was practically hovering over Shen Ruoshuang before she finally felt the other girl sink a bit lower.

Xu Yinian panted softly. Looking at the silken hair just inches beneath her, she suddenly realized what an awkward position she was in—practically pinning Shen Ruoshuang beneath her.

The girl beneath her seemed to be trembling slightly from the strain of the stretch. To see the “Unreachable Beauty” trembling so helplessly under someone… Xu Yinian felt her own breathing start to change.

She bit her lip, trying to stay silent, but her breath escaped in shallow, ragged gasps that were even harder to endure.

The surroundings were quiet. No one called for them to stop. Shen Ruoshuang didn’t say a word, and her expression was hidden. While everyone else looked perfectly normal, Xu Yinian felt like she was the only one acting strangely.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her. Was it because she had read that Baihe novel and knew Shen Ruoshuang was the “submissive” one? Was that why her mind kept trying to desecrate this cold, divine beauty?

“Alright, switch places.”

As if being released from a prison sentence, Xu Yinian stood up instantly. She realized her legs were so weak she nearly fell over. Stumbling back to her own yoga mat, she didn’t dare look at Shen Ruoshuang, terrified the other girl would notice something.