Scattered moonlight filtered through the tips of Wang Yuqiong’s hair, casting a soft glow on her cheek—like opening a door to find snow gently falling.
Shen An couldn’t help but reach out and lightly pinch her cheek. “Just laugh if you want. I think I should get used to your mocking.”
“And your gloating,” he added slowly.
Wang Yuqiong’s eyes flickered, lively and expressive as if they were speaking on their own, betraying her unintentional shyness.
She gave a light cough, and Shen An wisely pulled his hand back.
“So is that why you live with her?” Wang Yuqiong asked softly.
“Uh-huh~” Shen An chuckled. “From the day I reported to school, I was assigned to room with her.”
“But now that I think about it, it’s less like an assignment and more like a deliberate arrangement.”
“I didn’t dwell on it much before, but after hearing what you told me about the school…”
Shen An narrowed his eyes slightly. “I can’t help but wonder.”
“Can I ask you something?”
Wang Yuqiong blinked in surprise. “What?”
He turned slowly, gazing up at the bright moon on the horizon. “You said Senior Sister Zhao is connected to the school’s biggest shareholder, the Zhao Corporation.”
“So she gets to wield her willful privileges without a care—and coincidentally, Xu Yijing’s mother is surnamed Zhao too.”
“Is there any connection between Senior Sister Zhao and Senior Sister Xu?”
Wang Yuqiong pursed her lips.
She wasn’t surprised at all that Shen An had asked. Anyone with half a brain could make that connection.
“You… have you met her mother?” Wang Yuqiong stepped forward, not rushing to answer his question.
“Once,” Shen An said gently. “Her name’s Zhao Li, right? I call her Auntie Zhao.”
“Mm, that’s right.” Wang Yuqiong nodded slightly. “Zhao Li.”
“How do you address her?” Shen An turned back, his expression turning a bit serious.
The corners of Wang Yuqiong’s mouth curved up. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t ask?”
“Uh, I’m not asking about your relationship with Senior Sister Xu.” Shen An cleverly sidestepped. “Just how you address Auntie Zhao.”
“Sly.” Wang Yuqiong shot him a coquettish glare.
But she was prepared. She spoke slowly. “I call her Auntie Zhao too—but more intimately, as Aunt Zhao.”
“Our families have a business partnership.”
Wang Yuqiong met Shen An’s gaze, her face calm and candid.
“So you’re not from an ordinary family either, huh?”
“Eh, we have some background.” Wang Yuqiong grinned.
“A little?”
“Yeah.” Wang Yuqiong’s voice softened. “Compared to Xu Yijing’s family, though, we’re still quite a ways behind.”
“That reminds me of a really important question.”
“What?”
“You’re a rich girl too?” Shen An suddenly looked at Wang Yuqiong with dead seriousness. “Not on the level of Senior Sister Zhao or Senior Sister Xu, but at least a little rich babe?”
Wang Yuqiong: …
She was speechless at his line of thinking.
But she didn’t show any disdain or bother denying it.
She nodded openly. “Uh-huh.”
Then she leaned in closer, tilting her head with a playful coquettishness. “Want to live off me?”
“Uh… that’s not what I meant.”
Shen An retreated awkwardly.
“Oh, but it is.”
He took a step back; she advanced one.
She stared at him unblinkingly, her eyes gleaming with fervor and anticipation, as if she wanted to devour him whole.
“I… I was just joking earlier…”
Shen An backed away in a panic.
“A joke?” Wang Yuqiong smiled faintly. “But I was serious.”
“Really, do you want to live off me?”
She tossed her long hair, arching her neck with pride. “I wouldn’t mind keeping you.”
“But~”
“There are conditions.”
Shen An immediately crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not for sale.”
“Shoo!” Wang Yuqiong’s cheeks flushed pink as she scolded him coquettishly. “Who wants your grubby body!”
“Not selling your body, huh?” Shen An’s attitude shifted. “Then we’re good.”
“Go on, what’re the conditions? Let’s see if I qualify.”
Shen An brimmed with confidence and eager anticipation.
Wang Yuqiong smirked teasingly. “First: obey me unconditionally.”
“Second: follow my every command without question.”
“Third: don’t contradict me even if I’m wrong.”
“Fourth: I’m always right.”
She held up four slender fingers, their pink nails and fair skin shimmering in the moonlight.
“You’re not keeping me—you’re buying a slave.” A black line appeared on Shen An’s forehead.
“What’s the difference?” Wang Yuqiong shrugged. “I’d cover your food, drink, and board. Shouldn’t all your labor belong to me?”
“Then forget it. I’ll live off Senior Sister Xu instead.”
Shen An sure wasn’t accepting those harsh terms.
Wang Yuqiong’s expression shifted as she caught a whiff of something off.
“Senior Sister Xu’s…?”
She pinched the soft flesh at his waist, demanding, “You two are more than just employer and employee?”
“It is employer-employee.”
Shen An said smugly, “But she covers my food, drink, and board too—and her attitude’s way better than yours. No slave-era demands either.”
“To tell the truth, I’m her nanny in name only. Senior Sister Xu doesn’t treat me like one at all.”
“It’s more like roommates—the kind who don’t bother each other, live and let live.”
A trace of emotion rose in Shen An as he spoke. “Come to think of it, the gig isn’t half bad.”
“Free food and board, no chores. Pure freeloading.”
“If it weren’t so embarrassing to admit, I’d happily do it forever.”
Wang Yuqiong sneered. “Looks like you’re already set for life with it.”
“Nah.”
Shen An waved it off. “Sure, but I’m still a man. I’ve gotta find something of my own to do.”
“What if she wants to keep you at it forever?” Wang Yuqiong pressed.
“That’s even less likely.”
Shen An chuckled lightly. “I know my place. Senior Sister Xu doesn’t actually need a nanny. She’s just sparing her mother’s feelings by not kicking me out.”
“So once Senior Sister Xu graduates, our ’employment’ ends.”
Wang Yuqiong narrowed her eyes. “Sounds like you’re both playacting.”
“Pretty much.”
Shen An nodded. “We agreed on it from the start. She keeps up the employer act, and I don’t have to lift a finger.”
“We just don’t get in each other’s way and keep things status quo for now.”
A faint sourness stirred in Wang Yuqiong’s heart. “Sounds pretty nice.”
“Yeah, it does on paper.”
Shen An agreed verbally, but a trace of melancholy crossed his face.
He turned to Wang Yuqiong abruptly, mouth opening—then closing again in hesitation.
After a moment, he decided to speak. “How about… you lend me some money to cover the breach penalty?”
Wang Yuqiong looked puzzled. “Aren’t you enjoying the job? Why breach it?”
“Well, it’s just self-consolation talk…”
Shen An gave a self-deprecating smile. “Truth is, I feel guilty taking it—and deep down, I can’t stomach this unequal setup.”
“No mutual interference, no work required, sure.”
“But it weighs on me. Our habits clash, and since I’m living off her dime, I always have to yield in any conflict.”
“Like when we live together—I have to get fully dressed in the bathroom before coming out, even though I’m used to drying off first and dressing after.”
Wang Yuqiong couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Now she understood.
“Tsk, that damn male pride~”
“Heh, don’t just pick on me—you’d crack too.” Shen An grumbled.
“I could never accept it, but~” Wang Yuqiong smirked smugly, “my mom never shoved me into a nanny role.”
Shen An smiled and gently brushed her tousled long hair, tidying it for her.
“I’m an orphan, actually. No parents since I was little.”
“She’s my foster mother. She raised me, put me through school—her kindness runs deep. Even if I’m unwilling, I have to respect that.”
Ah…
The smugness vanished from Wang Yuqiong’s face in an instant.
She hadn’t meant to mock him—it was just a little joke…
“Sorry.”
She murmured softly.
“Why apologize? I was just explaining why I didn’t refuse.”
“Besides, your hair’s getting long. Time for a trim.”
Shen An hooked a strand of her long hair in his palm. “Right about here would be perfect.”
He pointed to her chest.
“I like long hair, but not too long.”
“Because blow-drying it would be such a hassle.”
Shen An’s voice was gentle.
Wang Yuqiong froze, then pursed her lips. “It’s not you who’d have to dry it. Why’s it a hassle for you?”
“I told you—it’s what I like~”
Shen An’s tenderness blended with the pure moonlight. “The girl I like is the one I’ll be with in the future.”
“And I’ll blow-dry her hair for her.”
Wang Yuqiong’s heartbeat erupted into chaotic flutters once more.
He…
What was he saying??
Was he… was he hinting at something??
Again??
Wang Yuqiong felt a little thirsty and couldn’t help licking her lips. In a hoarse voice, she said, “Even then, you shouldn’t be telling me. I’m not the one you like.”
Her soft words drifted down as she lowered her head. She quickly stole a glance at him before dropping her little head again.
Shyness and embarrassment intertwined within her, mingled with a faint trace of anticipation.
Shen An said nothing. He simply gazed at Wang Yuqiong with a warm smile.
His silent stare carried a gentle warmth. The restless pounding of his heart and eager anticipation beat like drumbeats in his chest.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Why was she getting thirstier and thirstier…
Damn it, her heart was racing so fast…
Wang Yuqiong couldn’t help but clutch at her chest. Seeing that he was still wearing that smiling expression, she gritted her teeth. She desperately wanted to pry open his mouth and make him speak!!!
Staring at her like that…
She…
She was going to die!!
“I want…”
“What do you want?” Wang Yuqiong jumped in immediately.
“I want you to try going along with my conditions,” Shen An said as he cupped her face. “That way, maybe I can consider changing the nature of our relationship.”
Wang Yuqiong’s pupils froze, her little mouth falling slightly open…
She wasn’t happy. She found it utterly ridiculous!
She stomped down hard on the top of Shen An’s foot—even though he was wearing slippers, she twisted deliberately for good measure.
Hiss.
Shen An winced in pain.
Wang Yuqiong laughed out of sheer fury as she grabbed the soft flesh at his waist and pinched. “You’re utterly shameless! You consider it? Pfft!”
“Even if you got down on your knees right here and begged this young lady to give you the time of day, this young lady wouldn’t spare you a single glance!”
The corner of Shen An’s mouth twitched. “As expected, we can only be good bros. That’s exactly what I was thinking too.”
It was undoubtedly the greatest insult to Wang Yuqiong.
She lifted her little foot from his shoe and glanced around to either side, as if searching for something.
Shen An recognized the move all too well and tactically backed away. “Hey, don’t do anything crazy. Calm down.”
“Oh~”
Wang Yuqiong acknowledged him quietly, then casually picked up a dry tree branch from the ground.
Shen An knew he was in trouble and bolted.
“You stand right there!”
Killing intent radiated from Wang Yuqiong.
Draped in her pink pajamas and pink slippers, brandishing a brittle tree branch, she charged forward like a heroic female general swinging her sword at the enemy.
“I… I’m heading out first. See you tomorrow! Sweet dreams. Good night!”
“Don’t chase me! Good night! Bye!”
Shen An’s figure vanished at top speed, disappearing from Wang Yuqiong’s sight in the blink of an eye, swift as lightning.
Only the echo of his voice lingered in the air.
Wang Yuqiong, who had chased him all the way out, finally stopped to catch her breath. She looked around once more, but Shen An had completely vanished from view.
That jerk…
Panting with rage, Wang Yuqiong hurled the branch away.
Just you wait!
I’ll deal with you tomorrow!
Hmph.
Wang Yuqiong clapped the dirt from her palms and headed back toward Dorm 105.
But as she walked, she suddenly lifted her long hair and muttered to herself, “Is it really that long? It’s not… it only reaches my waist, after all…”
