The air remained stagnant for a long time. Naturally, Ye Xingmian didn’t believe a word the woman said. After hesitating for a while, she whispered, “Can I refuse?”
“No~” Qin Haiyue didn’t care whether Ye Xingmian agreed to her demands or not. She had already made up her mind.
The claim that she liked the girl was, of course, a lie. From start to finish, she only had one goal: to turn the girl into her plaything. Labeling them “lovers” was simply one of the means to justify that goal.
“…” After a long silence, the girl had no choice but to nod stiffly.
Since there was no room for refusal anyway, agreeing early might at least save her some suffering.
Though she felt an inexplicable ache in her heart, she had no choice.
“Fine…” Saying this, the girl closed her eyes, signaling her agreement to Qin Haiyue’s demand.
“Good! Well, in that case…” Qin Haiyue’s tone suddenly became excited. She pulled the girl into a roll, pinning her down beneath her body.
With a mischievous smile on her face and her blonde hair cascading down like a waterfall, she gently stroked the girl’s cheek.
“Let’s do something lovers are supposed to do~”
“Wh… What…?!”
The girl went blank for a moment upon hearing those words, then began to struggle violently. However, her hands were pinned down by Qin Haiyue, leaving her completely unable to move.
“Let me go…! What are you doing?”
She struggled desperately, trying to break free from Qin Haiyue’s restraint. The girl gritted her teeth, but she couldn’t budge an inch.
“Don’t move!” Her tone suddenly turned much colder, and Qin Haiyue frowned. However, this didn’t stop the girl’s resistance. From the other’s words, she felt an unprecedented sense of panic.
“No… You… Don’t touch me…”
Left with no other option, Qin Haiyue finally let go. Seeing her chance, the girl immediately wrapped herself in the quilt, isolating Qin Haiyue from her sight.
“I want to go home…” A muffled voice drifted out from under the blanket. Qin Haiyue began to feel irritated.
She had never treated anyone with such patience, yet the girl didn’t appreciate it at all and kept resisting her. She didn’t even know what the girl was resisting; it wasn’t like she wanted her right this second. She knew now wasn’t the time—at least, not until the moment was ripe.
“Come out!” she said coldly.
The girl trembled under the blanket but didn’t move.
“I’m going to count to three. If you’re still not out, I’ll make things difficult for you.”
“One—two—”
The girl’s body shook visibly, and she finally emerged from under the blanket before the count reached three. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were red as if she had just been crying.
Seeing this, Qin Haiyue’s expression softened slightly. She realized the girl had misunderstood her meaning. She sighed and sat down beside her.
“Relax, I’m not going to do anything to you. Since you aren’t going back tonight anyway, just sleep with me.”
“Is it really just sleeping?”
“Mhm.” Qin Haiyue felt a bit strange herself. Why was she being so patient with Ye Xingmian? She was just a toy, after all. Even if she really did something to her, it wouldn’t actually matter, would it?
“O-Okay then…” Though she was still worried, the girl agreed.
***
Incredibly, nothing else happened. She really was just sleeping with Qin Haiyue.
Lying in bed wearing the pajamas Qin Haiyue had given her, being held tightly like a body pillow, the girl stared blankly out the window.
Tonight was unlike yesterday. The sky was clear for miles, and the moonlight spilled onto the earth like ribbons, reflecting off the pristine snow.
To be honest, the hold was a bit too tight, making the girl feel uncomfortable and breathless. She tried to shift her body to adjust her posture, but Qin Haiyue, who was supposed to be asleep behind her, suddenly moved, scaring her into freezing in place.
“Don’t move…”
The voice was very soft, sounding exceptionally quiet in the silent villa. It was the first time the girl had heard her voice so gentle. Only after Qin Haiyue’s breathing became even and stable again did the girl breathe a sigh of relief, though she didn’t dare move anymore.
The person behind her was still holding her so tightly that her whole body felt uncomfortable. In silence, the girl barely managed to adjust her sleeping position so she wouldn’t be in too much pain.
Her peripheral vision accidentally caught a glimpse of Qin Haiyue behind her. Honestly, she looked quite pretty when she was asleep. Especially under the glow of the bright moonlight, her already fair skin had a healthy pink tint, and her golden willow-leaf brows were slightly furrowed. If her personality weren’t so wicked, many people would probably like her.
Unfortunately, there were no “ifs.”
With such a goddess of plague lying next to her, even though tonight’s events had softened the girl’s impression of her, it was still difficult for her to fall asleep. Despite her efforts to close her eyes, every time she thought of Qin Haiyue beside her, she couldn’t help but open them to look back, checking if the woman was asleep or if she was thinking of doing something strange to her.
In the midst of this torture, the girl developed insomnia.
Her mind replayed the events of the day: from being suddenly taken to a room by Lin Ziyan in the morning and having her identity exposed, to being confusedly asked to “sleep over,” and then the chaotic mess that happened at the Class Monitor’s place. Whether it was realizing what kind of feelings she actually harbored for the Class Monitor or the Class Monitor’s approach and her own intentional distancing—those moments of pain and guilt weighed on her. And then there was Qin Haiyue’s strange attitude toward her up until now.
She felt like her life was becoming more and more chaotic, like a bucket of paint sucked into a whirlpool—stained with every color while being spun around like a top. It was truly exhausting for both her body and mind.
So… regarding Qin Haiyue’s request for her to be her “lover,” what was she after? There was no way she was serious, right?
She couldn’t understand it, but she had an ominous premonition. She felt like she would encounter a lot of trouble tomorrow. As she thought, the girl grew sleepy and decided to stop overthinking. Although Qin Haiyue had a terrible character, being held by her actually felt quite nice; it was warm and soft. The girl had rarely been held since she was a child. Her few memories of hugging traced back to her childhood when her mother was still around. And Qin Haiyue was, after all, an older sister who was nearly twenty centimeters taller than her. This feeling truly made her a bit nostalgic.
Perhaps she was thinking of her mother, but those were distant memories. Moreover, the fact that Qin Haiyue had made her think of her mother felt incredibly ironic. Ultimately, she dismissed those pointless thoughts and fell into a deep sleep.
***
Xu Ming and Lin Cheng worked overtime together late into the night before braving the severe cold and rushing home in their car. They knocked on the cold security door. The lights were on inside; clearly, Lin Ziyan wasn’t asleep yet.
A moment later, Lin Ziyan opened the door. The black-haired girl’s face was cold, and she didn’t show a smile upon seeing her parents return home.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah, it’s so cold tonight. Ziyan, have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“Hmm? Did Xingmian not cook for you?”
“No. she’s not coming back tonight.” Lin Ziyan turned her head as she spoke, her tone as indifferent as ice.