Chapter 65

After logging into the cloud drive on her computer, Yue Bai recopied the link from the class group chat and clicked download again. The progress bar advanced at a visible speed.

Yue Bai nodded in satisfaction and leaned back on the bed to play with her phone.

Ding-dong. A message notification.

“Little Bai, open that Learning 3.0 folder for me, take a screenshot of what’s inside, and send it over,” Sang Wan messaged.

“Okay,” Yue Bai replied.

She moved the mouse, found the folder Sang Wan mentioned, and clicked it open. Two images appeared inside. Yue Bai photographed each one and sent them over.

“Got it,” Sang Wan replied.

Yue Bai set her phone down and glanced at the progress bar, now halfway done. Bored out of her mind, she clicked around idly. Her gaze landed on the Learning 1.0 folder.

It was like she could tell exactly what Senior Sister studied every day.

Yue Bai hesitated as she moved the mouse over the folder. Senior Sister wouldn’t mind if she took a peek, right?

“Senior Sister, can I check out what you usually study?” Yue Bai typed and sent.

She wanted Sang Wan’s permission first.

“Sure,” Sang Wan replied.

It was a bright sunny day, the two o’clock sun scorching the skin.

Little Bai, this is what you wanted to see.

Sang Wan closed her eyes. She’d been wondering how to share these with Yue Bai, but now it seemed she wouldn’t have to bother.

She stood and stretched. The glass desktop reflected the shape of the computer. Sang Wan bent down to save the file Yan Nianyi had sent her onto the USB drive.

Yue Bai’s heart raced with excitement as she clicked open the folder. A screen full of videos jumped out, each marked with a number.

“Senior Sister watches so many videos,” Yue Bai muttered in surprise.

She randomly clicked one, and the picture slowly came into view.

“It’s a movie,” Yue Bai remarked with a tsk. Probably something Senior Sister watched in her free time.

But why save it to the cloud drive?

Two women slowly appeared on the screen.

It looked pretty low-budget. With Senior Sister’s taste, why would she watch this? Yue Bai forced herself to keep watching.

One woman started taking off her jacket, then the two of them kissed…

Yue Bai’s lips twitched. Was this some kind of romance film Senior Sister was into?

Then came the muffled sounds as the two of them…

Yue Bai: ???

“Holy…” Yue Bai nearly swore. She covered her eyes but peeked through her fingers.

It was an action film.

Caught between curiosity and reluctance, Yue Bai somehow watched the entire video, which was under ten minutes long. The screen went black, and she finally realized what it was. She fumbled to close the player.

Her fingers trembled, her breathing quickened. Yue Bai licked her dry lips and grabbed the water bottle from the nightstand, chugging two mouthfuls.

Why did Senior Sister have these?

She calmed herself down and scrolled further. The last one was numbered 38.

Over thirty of them.

She clicked another one—same thing, different people.

It was like discovering something new. Yue Bai wavered back and forth between wanting to watch and not wanting to.

As she hesitated, her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, a wave of shame surged through Yue Bai.

The software download had finished. Yue Bai tried to sound casual as she answered the call, clicking the downloaded app with her other hand.

“Hey, Senior Sister.”

It was the familiar voice, laced with a hint of tension. Sang Wan’s eyes flickered. “Little Bai, did you look at those folders of mine?”

“Huh? N-not yet. I’m downloading the software—wait, downloading the software…” Yue Bai stammered.

Sang Wan understood. She took a sip of water. “Don’t look at Folder 1.0, okay?”

“I d-didn’t. Senior Sister, the software’s done. I’ve logged out of the account.” Yue Bai’s heart pounded as she quickly logged out of Sang Wan’s account and shut down the computer, trying to cover up what she’d done.

“Good.” Sang Wan lowered her gaze, ripples spreading in her eyes.

The call ended. Sang Wan exhaled and leaned back against the railing. In the courtyard, the groundskeepers were trimming the flowers and plants.

Was this too rushed? Sang Wan frowned thoughtfully. Little Bai might not be ready to accept it yet.

Yue Bai gently patted her burning cheeks as water streamed down from the showerhead, but it did nothing to calm her inner turmoil.

It was like a door to a new world had opened. She was afraid to delve deeper into it, retreating with a rustle. Yet curiosity pulled her back in.

Stuck at the threshold, unable to advance or retreat, she was wedged in the doorway.

The scenes replayed relentlessly in her mind, frame by frame, beyond her control, looping over and over.

Steam filled the bathroom. Yue Bai turned off the shower and soaked in the bathtub.

Unknowingly, Sang Wan’s figure appeared in her thoughts.

That morning, she’d pulled open the other’s sleepshirt and touched those abs.

“Wahhh.” Yue Bai covered her face. “Why does it feel so weird now?”

She hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.

Lying in bed, Yue Bai had no interest in her phone and tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

That night, she woke from a dream in a fright…

Now, Yue Bai didn’t dare initiate contact with Senior Sister, only replying passively to messages. Sang Wan came looking for her twice during that time and stayed over, but Yue Bai held back her impulses.

This went on until the day before school started.

Dragging her suitcase, Yue Bai entered the Teachers’ Apartment. The over-an-hour car ride, plus a bad night’s sleep the evening before, left her utterly exhausted.

“Senior Sister.” Yue Bai wailed and threw herself into Sang Wan’s waiting arms. “I’m so tired.”

“That’s all it takes to tire you out?” Sang Wan chuckled, flicking her nose.

“Yeah. So tired.” Yue Bai sighed softly.

“Want to nap?” Sang Wan suggested.

“Mm.” Yue Bai nodded.

“Want Senior Sister to keep you company?” Sang Wan pressed.

“No.” Yue Bai mumbled into Sang Wan’s chest, her voice muffled.

“Alright. I’ll wake you for dinner.” Sang Wan indulged her.

Back at school, everything returned to normal.

Early in the semester, the workload wasn’t heavy. Aside from classes, Yue Bai spent her evenings strolling the track with Sang Wan after dinner, then heading to self-study hall on the way.

“Senior Sister, I might be late coming back tonight,” Yue Bai said, holding Sang Wan’s hand as they walked the track.

“Why’s that?” Sang Wan asked gently.

Her voice was always soft and gentle like this. Yue Bai turned her head. In the sunset glow, Sang Wan’s profile took on an unfamiliar orange-red hue, golden light scattering and blurring half her cheek.

The memory of those videos resurfaced, and a thought popped into Yue Bai’s mind.

Would Senior Sister’s voice sound like this during that kind of thing? Maybe even better.

“Hm?” Seeing Yue Bai fall silent for so long, Sang Wan turned to look at her. Their gazes inevitably met, and Yue Bai’s breath hitched.

“The counselor wants me to stop by her office during self-study. It’s probably about the competition—submissions are due tomorrow, so I might need to revise for a while tonight,” Yue Bai explained quietly.

“Sounds good,” Sang Wan said. “Didn’t you mention hitting a bottleneck? The teacher’s advice should help a lot.”

Yue Bai discreetly looked away, her finger tapping Sang Wan’s soft palm. She still hadn’t mustered the courage to ask why Sang Wan had so many of those videos.

She couldn’t imagine the ever-serious Senior Sister watching them.

Learning 1.0. Yue Bai clearly remembered the folder name.

“What are you thinking about?” Sang Wan stopped walking. Yue Bai kept going unconsciously, stretching the distance between them until their joined hands formed a straight line.

Yue Bai backtracked a few steps. “Does Senior Sister have plans tonight?”

“Nope. Why?” Sang Wan asked.

“Just asking.” Yue Bai said.

“Mm.”

They walked two more laps around the track before parting in front of the Teaching Building.

“See you tonight, Senior Sister,” Yue Bai waved.

“Tonight,” Sang Wan replied, standing still.

Yue Bai jogged up into the Teaching Building, turned a corner, and entered the Counselor’s Office.

“Teacher,” Yue Bai said, knocking at the door.

“Come in.” The Counselor looked up.

On the electronic screen, Yue Bai’s painting was magnified, its fine details displayed one by one.

“This painting is excellent, and the details are well-executed,” the Counselor praised first, then continued, “But it’s too perfect. Sometimes, a touch of imperfection is good. For instance, the face here is painted beautifully—almost too beautifully. It ends up feeling unrealistic.”

“Should I revise it?” Yue Bai asked, only half understanding.

“No need to revise. Submit it as is, and first prize is yours. I called you here because I don’t want you fixating on minutiae. That could hinder your future growth. In art, don’t get tunnel-visioned on one spot. Take in the whole picture. A standout detail isn’t enough; it has to blend seamlessly into the composition without sticking out. Make viewers notice the overall work at first glance, not just one part.” The Counselor spoke slowly.

Yue Bai got the gist. “Like when Rodin sculpted the Balzac statue and chopped off the hand because it was too lifelike and disrupted the whole?”

“Exactly.” The Counselor smiled faintly.

When Yue Bai left the Counselor’s Office, self-study hadn’t ended yet. Thanks to the Counselor’s prior notice, she headed straight back to the Teachers’ Apartment.

She opened the door to find the lights already on. Sang Wan had returned.

Following instinct, she headed to the bedroom. Sang Wan sat at the computer desk, organizing materials.

The bedroom light was off. The screen’s cold glow illuminated Sang Wan’s face. In the quiet room, only the soft clicks of the mouse sounded.

“Isn’t it that you said you’d be back a bit late today?” Noticing someone standing at the door, Sang Wan turned her head to look.

Yue Bai walked in and naturally rested her chin on Sang Wan’s shoulder. Her gaze fell on the computer screen, where the netdisk had been resized into a small window.

“The teacher said there weren’t any major changes, so she let me come back early,” Yue Bai said truthfully.

“That’s great.” Sang Wan smiled. Her palm reached back to stroke Yue Bai’s chin before she patted her own thigh invitingly.

Yue Bai obediently sat down, her arms wrapping around Sang Wan’s neck.

“Little Bai,” Sang Wan murmured softly, one hand sliding around Yue Bai’s waist.

“Senior Sister?” Yue Bai tilted her head up. The small mole on Sang Wan’s jaw stood out even more under the glow of the screen.

“Do you know what’s in my netdisk?” Sang Wan’s free hand grasped the mouse, the cursor drifting idly across the netdisk window.

Yue Bai had no idea why Senior Sister was asking this all of a sudden. She swallowed hard. “Study materials.”

“Mm.” Sang Wan let out a slow, deliberate laugh, her arm tightening around Yue Bai’s waist.

During the New Year celebrations, all the people and matters at home had left her dizzy and overwhelmed. Countless documents had demanded her verification.

Fortunately, she had handled most of them by now.

She lowered her head, inhaling the faint fragrance at Yue Bai’s neck.

Her nerves, strung tight for so long, finally began to unwind. “Have you looked at it?”

“N-No…” The panic in Yue Bai’s voice grew more evident.

Sang Wan let out a soft sigh. She nipped at Yue Bai’s earlobe, her voice low and husky. “Want Senior Sister to show you?”