Thanks to the lack of access controls in the Apartment District, Shen An made it back to Apartment 1301 without a hitch.
It was already midnight by then.
He gently pushed open the door and peeked inside. Xu Yijing appeared to be dozing off, sitting listlessly on the sofa.
“Um~”
Shen An chuckled to himself. She really did look a bit like a delicate little wife waiting up for her husband to return from a late shift.
“You’re getting home later and later every day.”
Xu Yijing noticed him too. She turned her head and stood up. “Keep this up, and pretty soon you won’t bother coming back at all, will you?”
“Uh…” That sounded a little off.
If he’d only thought it resembled that scene a moment ago, her words now made the strange feeling even stronger.
Xu Yijing sensed something was wrong too and quickly rephrased. “Where have you been?”
Shen An’s expression grew even more peculiar. Since when had Xu Yijing been so concerned about him?
He bent down to tidy the books he’d set on the floor and said softly, “Nothing much. Just walking Yuqiong back to her dorm.”
“From the North District to the East District shouldn’t take over an hour, though.”
Xu Yijing crossed her arms, eyeing him scrutinizingly.
“Uh… I took a little stroll along the way.” Shen An picked up the books. “Speaking of which, Senior Sister, why aren’t you asleep yet? I was just thinking I might wake you.”
Xu Yijing couldn’t help but yawn. “I was about to go to bed, but I suddenly remembered there were some things I needed to talk to you about, so I waited.”
“Then hang on a sec, Senior Sister.”
Shen An carried the books to his room and came back out. “What did you want to say to me, Senior Sister?”
“You…”
Xu Yijing frowned slightly. “You’ve joined the Art Troupe?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“I swung by the Art Troupe while I was moving books this afternoon… and I happened to run into Senior Sister Zhao. She… she said I’d passed the interview.”
“I know about that.” Xu Yijing waved it off. “She even pinned the message. What a joke.”
Then why ask?
Shen An grumbled silently to himself.
“I… I really don’t want to discuss this with you anymore.”
Xu Yijing turned and sat back down on the sofa. “But no matter what, you’re my roommate now.”
She cautioned him. “This is my final warning: be careful around Zhao Qingyu.”
Same old song and dance.
Shen An was completely immune by now.
He grinned. “So you waited up more than an hour for me, Senior Sister?”
She’d done the same thing last night, waiting for him to get back.
“Don’t grin at me like that.” Xu Yijing sounded a little annoyed, then sighed. “I guess this is my fault too. I never should have recommended you to the Art Troupe.”
“Um, actually, I get that you meant well, Senior Sister.” Shen An put on a different face entirely in front of Xu Yijing.
He played the part of the clueless innocent, assuming she was just looking out for him.
“Senior Sister Zhao can be a bit hard to get along with, sure, but I think… I’m starting to get used to her a little.”
“Once I’m fully adjusted, I bet I can get along great with Senior Sister Zhao.”
Xu Yijing looked surprised. “You’re still thinking about getting along with her?”
“No choice, right?”
Shen An shrugged. “I’m already in. I can’t just quit now.”
“That would only make Senior Sister Zhao even angrier. And you might not approve either, Senior Sister.”
Xu Yijing nodded slightly. “True. That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”
“You’re officially a member of the Art Troupe now. It’s not easy to avoid her on purpose.”
“So some of what I said yesterday was a bit too idealistic.”
“Right?” Shen An laughed. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I don’t think you need to worry too much, Senior Sister.”
“Senior Sister Zhao might be tough to deal with, but she doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
“If you can see it that way, then yeah, I don’t need to worry so much.”
Xu Yijing yawned again, unable to hold it back.
Her schedule was extremely regular, and staying up until midnight had thrown her internal clock out of whack.
“Yeah, why don’t you head to bed, Senior Sister?”
Shen An urged her.
“Mm…” Xu Yijing rose slowly. “If you run into any trouble with the Art Troupe from now on, you can come to me.”
“If it’s within my power, I’ll help you out.”
“Also, you don’t have to do everything Zhao Qingyu tells you. You’re just her assistant, got it?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Shen An put on a deeply touched expression and watched as Xu Yijing headed to her room.
If he hadn’t known about the old grudge between Xu Yijing and Zhao Qingyu beforehand, he might actually have been grateful to her.
After all, when such a stunning beauty showed concern like that, it was easy to touch someone’s heart.
But as things stood, he remained vigilant around Xu Yijing at every turn.
From all the information he had so far, Zhao Qingyu was an openly “intimidating” figure—the kind whose difficult personality was immediately apparent.
Xu Yijing, on the other hand, hid it deeply. To this day, Shen An still had no idea what she was really after.
As the saying goes, the dog that bites doesn’t bark. It was a harsh way to put it, but the truth held water.
Of course, Shen An wasn’t arrogant enough to think Xu Yijing was scheming for something from him specifically. More likely, she was using him as a pawn in her distant clash with Zhao Qingyu, just like Zhao Qingyu was.
And right now… some of his information was still unclear.
Neither Chen Nannan’s account nor Wang Yuqiong’s had given him concrete proof of Xu Yijing’s “evil” side.
In her rivalry with Zhao Qingyu, Xu Yijing had her own goals.
She wasn’t deliberately trying to slap Zhao Qingyu’s face or pick a fight—just that Zhao Qingyu happened to be an “obstacle” in the path to her ambitions.
To achieve her own wishes, she had no choice but to clash with Zhao Qingyu.
Was it only fair for Zhao Qingyu to domineer over Xu Yijing’s choices, but not for Xu Yijing to make her own decisions?
So it was reasonable to say the conflicts arose because Xu Yijing was too pure and idealistic.
Wang Yuqiong was even more tight-lipped, refusing to tell him the full story.
Which made it hard for him to judge whether Xu Yijing was purely evil or purely good.
Yes, purely good.
It was possible that Xu Yijing was that kind of person.
Some people clung to firm ideals, sticking to their inner principles and striving for them no matter what.
And those sorts of people often offended others, earning themselves a bad reputation.
So Shen An kept his guard up, but for now, he wasn’t ready to label Xu Yijing an “enemy.”
His judgment might be wrong, but he’d need solid evidence to prove it. Relying solely on his own deductions could lead to mistakes born of overconfidence.
With that, he quickly reviewed the information one more time, returned to his room, washed up, and prepared for bed.
He knew the days ahead would leave him no free time at all.
Zhao Qingyu would surely squeeze him for all he was worth…
Perhaps it was precisely because of the contrast with Zhao Qingyu that Shen An found it so hard to tell if Xu Yijing was purely evil or purely good.
Zhao Qingyu’s domineering and willful nature was just so blatant…
By the time he’d finished his shower, it was the wee hours of the morning.
Shen An flopped straight onto the bed, ready to greet the new day.
Tuesday…
He hoped the professors tomorrow would go easy on them.
But Wang Yuqiong would definitely be watching him again. Ah~
The more Shen An thought about it, the more overwhelming it felt.
At the same time, sleepiness was flooding over him.
So tired…
He slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
