Xia Yanran walked out of her mother’s room, step by step heading towards Lin Yu’s room. The images of what might happen next played in her mind, making her heart beat faster with every step.
Ever since she was little, it had been like this. Before doing anything significant, she would go to her mother for encouragement.
Her mother never refused, always encouraging her, believing she could definitely do it.
And she had always lived up to those expectations, except for that one time with the confession.
After all this time, she had figured it out. Lin Yu was just rejecting her in another way.
But, sometimes, the way he looked at her clearly held affection. Why would he reject her then?
What she feared was Lin Yu not liking her. But since he had those feelings too, wasn’t this just him being stubborn?
Even the hardest mouth is soft when kissed. If the situation was right, she didn’t mind being a little forceful.
Even if they couldn’t go too deep, a little taste should be fine, right?
He probably… wouldn’t mind either. Maybe he’d even like it?
The girl’s lips curled up uncontrollably, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
She was so nervous she forgot to knock. Subconsciously pressing the handle, she unexpectedly pushed the door open.
“Huh…”
She froze for a moment, then realized what had happened. Her eyes instantly lit up, and the curve of her lips became even more impossible to suppress.
‘Hmph, I knew he was just being stubborn. He even left the door open for me.’
Of course, she didn’t consider that the door might just be broken.
She gently pushed the door open. Unlike her quiet inquiry in the afternoon, she walked straight in this time, then closed the door behind her.
Clutching the fabric over her chest tightly, her gaze fixed on the corner, wanting to see Lin Yu the moment he appeared in her line of sight.
Only… the person she wanted to see didn’t appear. Instead, someone she never expected walked out from around the corner.
Lin Mowei stared at her with an expressionless face, even a hint of coldness in her eyes.
“Yanran? What are you doing here? And what’s with that outfit?”
Seeing it was her in the room, Xia Yanran’s eyes widened in surprise. Her first thought was that she had walked into the wrong room.
“Sorry, Sister Lin, I…” She turned to leave immediately, but then realized she wasn’t mistaken. Her brow furrowed slightly. “Wait, Sister Lin, isn’t this Lin Yu’s room? Why are you here?”
It might not be a complete reversal of roles, but Lin Mowei wasn’t in a good position to explain.
Xia Yanran could openly admit she was here to find Lin Yu. Could Lin Mowei?
Well, she could, but being in her younger brother’s room at this hour… using the ‘sister’ excuse felt a bit strange.
Lin Mowei was momentarily stumped by the question, a flash of panic in her eyes.
It wasn’t really her fault. It was just… the natural apprehension of the defeated facing the victor.
“Ah, I came to talk to Xiao Yu about something, but he’s not here, so I was waiting for him. But what are you doing here, Yanran?”
She quickly adjusted her mindset, rallied her spirits, and summoned a bit of the authority befitting an older sister.
“Oh, he’s not here.” Xia Yanran blinked, lowering her head slightly. Her tone carried a hint of disappointment and shyness. “I, I told him during the day I’d come find him tonight. I didn’t expect him to be gone.”
Feeling like she was facing a parental figure, she didn’t outright say she came to sleep with Lin Yu tonight. That seemed too blunt and embarrassing.
“I see.” Lin Mowei narrowed her eyes slightly, not particularly surprised by this girl’s actions. After all, she spent the most time clinging to her younger brother.
“Huh? Yanran, why are you dressed like that in this weather?”
Lin Mowei looked her up and down, her gaze full of suspicion. The white stockings, the only part visible at her ankles, especially made Lin Mowei think of some unpleasant things.
Of course, ‘unpleasant’ was from her own perspective.
‘Little hussy, playing quite the game. Definitely here to seduce Xiao Yu again! Who knows what she’s wearing under there? Ugh!’
Mentioning this made Xia Yanran’s face even redder.
How could she have expected to run into his sister when coming to find Lin Yu? If she discovered the specially prepared ‘equipment,’ wouldn’t that be mortifying?
“N-nothing! I’ll go first then, Sister Lin! I’ll come find him a bit later!”
After saying that, regardless of Lin Mowei’s reaction, Xia Yanran immediately turned, opened the door, and walked out.
Lin Mowei stood there, her gaze dark as she stared at the closed door.
‘She’s really like a piece of sticky plaster, impossible to shake off.’
She had wondered why she ran into Qin Wuyue and her daughter here. It must be because Xia Yanran said she wanted to find Xiao Yu, and then her teacher used some connections to find out.
“Humph, the wicked privileged class!”
Of course, saying this, she forgot she had done the exact same thing.
Suddenly, she heard a sound behind her. Turning around, she saw nothing.
Walking into the bedroom, she carefully observed her surroundings and noticed the window seemed off.
If she remembered correctly, the window was closed when she came in. So why did it seem only loosely shut now?
Reaching out, she opened the window. The cool night breeze blew in, carrying the scent of earth and grass, seemingly dispersing a bit of the gloom in her heart.
Sticking her head out, she looked left and right below, finding nothing. Then she closed the window and flopped back onto the bed.
If she had looked up just then, she would have seen her beloved younger brother being held by Xin Yao, dangling from the edge of the window on the floor above.
And both their faces bore an obviously unnatural flush, as if they had just done something.
Just as Lin Mowei and Xia Yanran were having their conversation, Lin Yu realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
While continuing to soothe Xin Yao, he whispered in her ear:
“How long would you need to take me out the window, close it, and make no sound?”
The warm breath from Lin Yu’s words brushed against Xin Yao’s crimson ear tip, making her neck instinctively shrink back.
After Lin Yu’s soothing, Xin Yao’s thirst had subsided considerably, and her rationality was back online.
She remembered everything that had just happened and didn’t know how to face it, which was why she had remained silent.
Hearing his question now, she immediately understood his intention and gave a precise answer.
“I-if you can amplify my strength, 0.2 seconds.”
Lin Yu frowned slightly. That wasn’t much slower than a blink. The chance of success was high, but…
“Aren’t you afraid it might make things worse?”
Xin Yao was silent for a moment. Her tone held bitterness and a touch of reproach. “Could it get any worse than now?”
“Sigh…” Lin Yu could only sigh softly, not knowing how to comfort her. “Then let’s begin.”
—
“Hah… hah…”
As if having survived a disaster, the two of them lay on the hotel rooftop, gasping for fresh air as if trying to expel each other’s scent from their bodies.
The sudden relaxation after extreme tension even caused Lin Yu to feel briefly dazed. He didn’t notice at all that the woman beside him had sat up.
Only when something cold pressed against his neck did he snap back to reality.
He couldn’t see Xin Yao’s expression clearly, but from her trembling shoulders, he could tell her expression must be terrible.
“Where did you get that knife?”
There was no place to hide anything on that tight suit of hers. Lin Yu remembered clearly; he had confirmed it personally.
‘Surely she didn’t hide it there… If so, I’d be utterly impressed.’
“It’s a monomolecular cutting blade. When not activated, it’s as thin, soft, and pliable as fabric.”
“Oh.”
Lin Yu didn’t understand what mindset she was in to explain that. He continued, “So, what are you doing now?”
Xin Yao was silent for a beat, as if making a huge decision. “I’m going to kill you, then kill myself.”
“…” Lin Yu opened his mouth, momentarily speechless. “That… that’s a bit much, isn’t it? We didn’t actually do anything, did we?”
“What more do you want? You might not care about face, but I do! And…” Her voice gradually lowered. “I know. Even if it’s nothing now, I’ll definitely blame you for everything later…”
Lin Yu could feel her hand holding the knife trembling. She was clearly quite conflicted too.
He had nothing to say to that. It was the truth.
Records of this kind of condition were too scarce, and he couldn’t remember all of them.
At this moment, he felt a strange sense of peaceful resignation. He shifted his gaze to the sky.
“There are no stars tonight. I don’t like cloudy days.”
Hearing the boy’s seemingly random statement, seeing his utterly calm expression, Xin Yao found she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
She wasn’t sure if it was her mind stopping her or her body resisting.
It was as if instinctively, she felt she should protect him. Instinct…
“Heh, hehehe…” She suddenly let out a dark chuckle. The laughter was light at first, then became somewhat hysterical, filled with self-mockery, despair, and a kind of reckless, frantic abandon.
“Huh?” The laughter gave Lin Yu goosebumps. “Wh-what’s wrong with you?”
He could understand wanting to kill him or not, but this laughter was off.
Just as Lin Yu was bewildered, Xin Yao flung the knife aside. Then, under Lin Yu’s horrified gaze, she leaned down and kissed him.
‘No! What does she want to do?’
Lin Yu soon found out what she wanted to do.
“Hey? Don’t take my pants off!”
“Wait, you… Mmm!”
Next, Lin Yu personally experienced and gained a profound understanding of the fastest, most convenient way to remove the tight suit Xin Yao was wearing.
Turns out, there were several hidden magnetic locks and quick-release zippers on the sides. It just required a specific technique and sequence…
T/N : Ch 87 missing in original novel
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