Chapter 44: [World 2] Strange Campus 13: Floor Mat

The dormitory was silent and shrouded in darkness.

Only the faint moonlight by the window spilled into the room, casting light on a face covered in bruises and scratches, revealing two streaks of bloody tears on that person’s cheeks.

A strange girl dressed in white sat quietly on the table by the window, her exposed skin covered in shocking wounds.

Her limbs were all bent at unnatural angles, her eyes dull, with blood seeping from the corners.

Xunian watched the girl cautiously, her hand silently resting on the doorknob.

“Click.”

The lights suddenly flicked on.

The seat by the window was empty; the girl vanished the moment the light came on, making one wonder if they had been mistaken.

Only after the lights were on could they see the room clearly.

Two desks were pushed together by the window, a bunk bed hugged the corner on the left, with bedding on both the upper and lower bunks.

On the right side of the floor stood two cabinets and a full-length mirror.

“This looks like a dorm for two,” Shen Mosi said.

Xunian didn’t have any particular thoughts about the living conditions, but…

With the bunk bed, and them chained together, it wasn’t very practical for her and Shen Mosi to sleep on the upper and lower bunks separately.

They had agreed to keep their distance from each other…

Xunian glanced at Shen Mosi, who smiled back, her eyes seemingly asking if there was something on her mind.

“I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Xunian conceded.

“What?!” Shen Mosi tried to sway her with her pitiful eyes. “Deskmate~ let’s sleep together…”

“No.”

Xunian rejected her mercilessly.

“This place is too scary. I’m afraid at night…” Shen Mosi tugged on Xunian’s sleeve, blinking her sincere big eyes.

“You want to sleep on the floor?”

Xunian raised an eyebrow.

“Fine, I’ll sleep on the floor then.”

Shen Mosi pouted.

So she wouldn’t let her sleep together, huh? Let’s see if she tries climbing on the bed at night.

The two approached the bed, which faced the full-length mirror across the room.

“I’ll lay out the floor bedding!”

Shen Mosi eagerly took on the task.

With some time to spare, Xunian began observing her surroundings and inadvertently glanced at the mirror, drawn by the reflection.

Two girls appeared in it; behind her, Shen Mosi busied herself, the chains lightly swinging with her movements.

Shen Mosi was unquestionably human.

Her appearance, body temperature, and the reflection in the mirror all told Xunian the same thing.

Shen Mosi was not the Duke’s Daughter.

Xunian didn’t know what she was holding onto, but deep inside, she hoped Shen Mosi and the Duke’s Daughter were the same person.

She lowered her gaze, letting her hair fall to cover her eyes, hiding the struggle within.

She.

Xunian.

Perhaps really was…

A pure… scoundrel?!

After wrestling with the thought for a while, Xunian decided to observe a little longer.

What if Shen Mosi was just pretending?

Some of these thoughts lingered close to the edge of her moral boundaries; she neither wanted to doubt Shen Mosi nor accept the possibility that she herself might be a scoundrel.

A trace of agitation stirred in her heart.

Beside her, the bedding was neatly stacked on the floor, and Shen Mosi stood up.

The tall figure reflected in the mirror, the girl standing behind her, asked,

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing, let’s sleep.”

The lights went out.

This time, the girl covered in wounds and twisted limbs by the window was gone.

Shen Mosi lay under the bed. “Good night, deskmate.”

“Good night.”

Xunian turned away, leaving her only her back.

……

Night.

“Xunian?”

No response, only the steady sound of breathing.

A figure slowly rose from the floor and climbed onto the bed.