“Why…… is it with you?” She tried hard to keep her voice steady, but the words emerging from her throat trembled uncontrollably.
“That day, when I was cleaning her house, I saw it,” Xu Wanyue said. “Back then, I had no idea it was yours. I only heard him say it had been left behind by the house’s previous owner. She didn’t want it anymore and asked him to throw it out, but he found it too much trouble and was too lazy to bother. So he ended up giving it all to me.”
“That’s my stuff!” Jiang Lingxue’s voice suddenly sharpened. She stared in shock at her own outburst.
“I know, I know…… Don’t be mad……” Hearing the edge of anger in Jiang Lingxue’s tone, Xu Wanyue sounded flustered. “I—I can give it all back to you. I’ve only worn this one pair out once…… I only tried on the jewelry that one time. I, I didn’t get anything dirty.”
Her voice trailed off smaller and smaller. Unwilling to meet Jiang Lingxue’s gaze, she slowly lowered her head.
Xu Wanyue had never bought anything expensive like jewelry or fine clothes. Growing up with her uncle and aunt, she had always been instinctively frugal, squirreling away every bit of pocket money to buy her uncle a bottle of good liquor for his birthday. He would laugh with delight, and that would make her happy too—the faint guilt lingering in her heart would ease just a little.
She knew her aunt didn’t like her. She knew her uncle’s son didn’t like her either. Their arrival—hers and her sister’s—had turned the family into a heavy burden. So she had been sensible from a young age. After junior high, she helped out in her uncle’s kitchen every summer. By fourteen, she could chop vegetables with expert precision. In high school, she took winter and summer jobs, striving for good grades…… But she remembered her uncle and aunt arguing late one night about how she’d go to university after high school. Supporting three college students on a little restaurant’s earnings seemed impossible.
Fortunately, Xu Wanyue’s mind was slow. Whether it was because of Misfortune, she didn’t know, but anything she crammed into her head one day would slip away by the next. On multiple-choice tests, if luck was all she had, she always picked wrong. Every time.
Eventually, she attended junior college. Then Luck awakened—what should have been her greatest joy—but her sister fell into a coma the very same day. After twists and turns, she joined the Alliance. Her income finally rose enough that she no longer fretted over basic survival. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to splurge on pretty jewelry or clothes.
She had quietly envied her female classmates’ accessories and lovely dresses in the past. She envied the stickers and tapes they bought, the celebrity posters they chased, the pricey skincare products. She hadn’t joined the Alliance at eighteen—not right away. Months passed first. Once the acne cleared from her face, she became strikingly beautiful, her skin flawless. She had no clue why at first. During those months, chances came to buy pretty jewelry and skirts: a rich kid from school who pursued her, an older man she met waitressing at a lounge bar. Xu Wanyue admitted it—she had wavered, just for an instant…… She didn’t know when her sister might wake. Junior college felt like a haze, her future stretching out endlessly.
Sometimes, a person’s despair doesn’t come from failing to see the future. It comes from seeing one that’s utterly irreversible.
Yet she returned the bag from that rich kid—sent via his roommate—completely untouched. And she flung her beer right in that old man’s face. She believed her sister would wake one day. If her sister learned she’d become some vile woman, she’d be heartbroken. Xu Wanyue was the big sister. She had to lead by example. Her sister would wake. Things would get better. As long as hope remained…… she couldn’t give up.
The day Lin Cheng gave her those shoes and jewels, unease had gnawed at her. But she sensed keenly that he had no ulterior motives. That was why she accepted them. Even so, she spent the entire night agonizing, messaging him to ask if she should return them. He refused. Somehow, the conversation shifted to him wanting to see her in White Silk Leg Socks tomorrow.
That rascal.
Xu Wanyue didn’t dislike Lin Cheng one bit. But she knew full well…… he didn’t like her. Maybe a tiny spark? That flicker felt so fragile, like it could wink out with the slightest breeze.
It only left her more anxious, torn between hope and fear.
A heavy, inexplicable silence settled over the changing room. Jiang Lingxue suddenly had nothing left to say. She seemed to glimpse Xu Wanyue’s unease and remorse but didn’t know how to respond. She sat on the chair and silently slipped the shoes off once more, placing them back on the rack.
“No need. These were things he bought in the first place. He can give them to anyone he likes. They really are the things I told him to toss back then. Earlier…… I was just feeling nostalgic. Wanted to try them on one more time.”
Xu Wanyue looked up at her. “I’m sorry……”
“Why apologize to me?” Jiang Lingxue shook her head gently. “You have no reason to.”
She stepped to the clothing rack, peeled off her T-shirt and bra, and pulled the swimsuit from her bag. It was black, with tie-side bottoms that radiated a sultry allure. She knotted the ties with care, then neatly folded her discarded clothes. Beside her, Xu Wanyue changed too, slipping back into the black one-piece from last time. It hugged her chest and waist securely—no more worrying about Lin Cheng tugging at strings.
Though the chest felt just a smidge snug.
Her eyes drifted back to Jiang Lingxue. Taking in her suited-up figure, she couldn’t help sighing, “Your body is seriously perfect.”
Jiang Lingxue’s proportions were balanced and elegant, her breasts modestly sized. Any outfit would suit such a frame, especially with her spine held ramrod straight, exuding proud poise.
“How’s he been lately?” Jiang Lingxue asked abruptly.
“He……” Xu Wanyue blinked, turning to her. “What do you mean?”
“What has he been up to?” Jiang Lingxue pressed mildly.
“Watching TV at home…… napping…… occasionally wandering out…… We went to the amusement park together a few days ago……”
“You and him?”
“Yeah……”
“You two are……?”
“Well……” Xu Wanyue’s gaze darted away. Today marked the Romance Contract’s final day, but she recalled Lin Cheng’s words: just be herself, no need for anything forced. Did he want Jiang Lingxue to know? Or not? Her mind spun in circles, yielding no answers. “You…… you should ask him.”
Jiang Lingxue let out a soft hum. “Thank you,” she murmured.
She turned toward the changing room door, but Xu Wanyue seemed to remember something and called after her softly.
“Hey……”
“Hm?” Jiang Lingxue glanced back.
Xu Wanyue’s hands fidgeted awkwardly. After squirming a moment, she mumbled, “I just feel…… he still cares about you—a lot. He’s just too proud to show it. B-but it’s not for sure. Just…… my hunch……”
Afraid of stirring trouble for Lin Cheng or Jiang Lingxue, she phrased it vaguely. It felt like saying nothing at all.
Jiang Lingxue’s expression froze briefly. She nodded with a quiet “Mm.” “Thank you.”
She stepped out of the changing room. Xu Wanyue followed soon after. Lin Cheng was afloat in the pool now, draped over a Little Yellow Duck Swim Ring. Litchi and Grape were setting up the barbecue grill, while Lemon lounged on her own ring, her pale, tender legs kicking lazily. She looked utterly relaxed.
Xu Wanyue slipped back into the pool, hands clasped behind her, eyes fixed on him with a mysterious glint. “Let’s see you try pulling anything now.”
“Where’s the white silk? White silk? White silk?” Lin Cheng blurted.
Last time, that swimsuit had come with sopping, clingy white silk to ogle!
Xu Wanyue always cringed on others’ behalf. Lin Cheng’s brazenness brought a faint blush to her cheeks. She slipped the hair tie from her wrist, gathered her hair into a ponytail, and swam to his side. With a sharp toss of her head, the tail whipped across his face.
“Ow!” Lin Cheng reached out mournfully and prodded her waist. Xu Wanyue retaliated by splashing him, then grabbed his ring and towed him around the pool. Lin Cheng wasn’t much of a swimmer to begin with; dragged along like that, he gulped down several mouthfuls of water.
Once playtime wore them out, Xu Wanyue and Lin Cheng settled into soaking. Jiang Lingxue perched on the pool’s corner steps, water caressing her skin up to her neck in gentle ripples. Her face was serene, eyes unfocused on the surface, lost deep in thought.
Lin Cheng stole glances at her.
The swimsuit flattered her figure beautifully. Her collarbones were exquisite, her shoulders smooth and snowy. Those tie-sides always evoked memories of the lingerie Jiang Lingxue once bought—ready for indulgence with a single tug.
A snowball plonked onto her collarbone, making her shiver faintly. She blinked back to reality and looked up. Lin Cheng wielded a Handgun, firing snowballs everywhere. He’d aimed for Lemon this time, but it was a stray shot.
Lemon’s toy water guns turned streams into snowballs. She’d loaded them with space tech earlier—hundreds of rounds, no reloads needed.
Jiang Lingxue’s eyes met his, and Lin Cheng looked sheepish. He scratched his head. Xu Wanyue clutched a small water gun now, as did Lemon. The trio had been goofing off. Their shared glance thickened the awkward air anew.
Then Xu Wanyue winked at Lemon. “One more round.”
Lemon conjured another Handgun like magic. Xu Wanyue swam over to Jiang Lingxue. “Join us? That guy’s such a bully.”
“Two-on-one and you call in reinforcements? Heh, don’t cry when I strike first.” Lin Cheng leveled his Handgun at Jiang Lingxue’s head. The snowball splattered her cheek. She snapped alert in that instant, snatched up a water gun, took aim at his head, and fired.
Lin Cheng twisted aside. The vast pool gave their four-way chase ample room. Grape focused intently on the grill…… Anything Litchi touched turned disastrous.
Litchi watched the quartet splashing in pursuit. It didn’t match her imagined scene exactly, but…… it felt about right.
Lemon stood with hands on hips, voice-activating her Handgun’s Infinite burst mode. Snowballs pelted Lin Cheng into a ragged retreat. He dove under, surfaced by Lemon, seized her dainty white foot, hoisted her up, gripped her wrist, and unleashed the Infinite barrage on Xu Wanyue and Jiang Lingxue—brrrt, brrrt, brrrt.
“We should just rename the group Fruit Kindergarten,” Litchi sighed in resignation.
