Chapter 19: Intimately Close

“Hey, why isn’t Sister saying anything? Embarrassed?”

“Hey, Sister’s face is red. Are you sick?”

“If you’re feeling uncomfortable, just let it out. No one outside can hear.”

‘It’s just a wooden door apart—how could they not hear me!’

Su Mengyao curled up in the corner of the restroom stall, listening to the footsteps that came and went, not daring to take a deep breath.

‘But of all times, Bai Xue is talking nonsense!’

‘They’ll hear us!’

Su Mengyao imagined the scene.

An unfamiliar female classmate would push open the door, see Bai Xue lying on my chest, get startled, and then yell, “There’s a lolicon in here!”

‘Ugh… then I’d definitely get executed…’

‘And what about Bai Xue? Would Cat Star ban early relationships?’

‘Falling in love with me… no, it’s just one-sided on my part, just ambiguous at best… Would Bai Xue get a criminal record?’

‘When Bai Xue grows up and looks for a job, would the interviewer say, “Your file shows you had a relationship with an older sister when you were young—we don’t hire bad girls who date early!”‘

‘And then Bai Xue would end up on the streets, starving and begging passing older sisters for food!’

‘God, punish me instead—I am guilty!’

Su Mengyao pressed her hand even tighter over her mouth, not making a single sound, terrified that one careless move would bring a tragic end to the little angel before her.

The footsteps outside came closer, then faded, then came closer again, finally stopping at the door.

Knock, knock, knock—a crisp sound of knocking.

“Hey, is there someone in there?”

‘Here it comes!’

The girl held her breath, her heart pounding wildly, her eyes fixed on the door behind the girl.

Bai Xue showed a malicious grin.

‘Oh god, no, absolutely not!’

As she kept praying in her heart, Su Mengyao felt like her brain was deprived of oxygen, almost suffocating.

“Is anyone there…”

“There should be someone, right?”

Bai Xue tilted her head back, making as if to shout.

Su Mengyao’s mind went completely blank.

On instinct, she reached out and pulled, and Bai Xue tumbled into her arms.

A faint fragrance rushed toward her, and warmth and softness filled her embrace.

The girl’s figure wasn’t spectacular, but it held the vitality typical of a girl her age—a gold mine waiting for another girl to discover.

And as a professional miner, Bai Xue was more than happy to dig into your treasure (๑>؂<๑)

The girl fell silent, burying herself in Su Mengyao’s body, savoring the intoxicating softness and fragrance.

Everything seemed so perfect.

But Su Mengyao’s earlier movement had been too big—her elbow slammed into the wooden partition with a loud bang!

The noisy restroom instantly fell silent—utterly silent, with not even the sound of dripping water.

‘It’s over…’

The girl was plunged into despair.

“Classmate, are you okay?”

Someone lightly knocked on the wooden door.

“Did you fall? Do you need help?”

‘No need! Absolutely no need!’

‘It’s nothing! Don’t worry about it!’

Su Mengyao wanted to tell them to leave, but the words stuck in her throat.

She could only lean limply against the cold tile wall.

“Why isn’t there any sound?”

“Is she having a heart attack or something? Passed out?”

“Should we open the door and check?”

The last speaker’s words were immediately met with agreement from the others.

They crowded around the door, trying to pull it open.

‘No!’

The girl resisted desperately but couldn’t make a move.

She could only hear the crowd growing outside and the lock creaking and groaning.

“It’s nothing!”

Just as Su Mengyao resolved to commit seppuku to atone and clear the little loli’s name, the girl in her arms gently broke free.

“I just lost my footing—no injuries.”

The girl’s voice trembled with forced calm, making Su Mengyao even doubt whether she had actually stumbled and fallen.

‘But how could that be? Bai Xue still has a smile on her face.’

Ding-ling-ling—

The class bell rang.

The girls who still wanted to say something quickly dispersed, and soon there was no sound outside.

Click—

From behind the slightly ajar door, Bai Xue poked her head out and looked around.

There was no one outside anymore.

“Let’s go, Sister…”

She whispered, as if thieving, making even Su Mengyao tense up.

“Where are we going? Back to class?”

“No, what’s the fun in going back to class?”

“Then what are we…”

“Going out on a date!”

“Huh?”

Before Su Mengyao could process the meaning of “date,” Bai Xue grabbed her wrist and started running at a quick pace.

“Wait, slower!”

The teaching building, now in class, was very quiet.

Only their footsteps echoed in the hallway.

The girl was a little scared, but also felt a strange thrill—rebellion?

She had never experienced this before.

Having always been a good girl, she was starting to give in.

“Haah…”

After running for a long time, Bai Xue finally stopped.

She let go and lay on her back on the grass, her small chest heaving violently.

The afternoon sunlight fell on her face, white tinged with gold, giving the girl’s pure white a fluffy golden edge—maybe a golden retriever would suit Bai Xue well?

Standing stiffly in place, Su Mengyao looked back with a mix of excitement and worry.

There was no dean chasing after them to punish them.

It was a novel feeling.

The girl had never thought that rules didn’t have to be followed.

Her family had never told her that, and she had never had the courage to try.

‘So… have I become a bad girl?’

“Sister Yao, lie down with me.”

The girl invited her to sleep together.

‘Should I lie down?’

‘The grass is a bit dirty, and the sun is glaring. If I were lying here alone, it would definitely be unpleasant.’

‘But Bai Xue is with me.’

Without hesitation, Su Mengyao bent down and lay side by side with the girl.

The ground was real grass, prickly to lie on.

The girl wasn’t quite used to it.

Moreover, though it was still summer, it was the end of summer and not hot.

A gentle breeze blew.

The girl was only wearing a thin jacket with the zipper open, and after such intense exercise, she was now feeling a bit cold.

‘And Bai Xue? She’s only wearing a single layer. She must be cold too, right?’

“Wow, the wind is so cold.”

‘See, she is cold.’

‘Maybe I should get up, sit properly, or just go back to class and apologize.’

“In that case, I’ll just have to hug Sister.”

“…”

‘Huh?’

A small head entered her field of vision, blocking the sun and occupying half the clear sky.

The sky was azure, but not as blue as Bai Xue’s eyes.

The drifting white clouds were nothing compared to the girl’s hair color.

She tilted her head and giggled.

The sunlight blurred her outline, dyeing the girl with a sacred color—noble, pure, inviolable.

It was like an angel’s halo.

‘No, is it a god? Or perhaps God himself?’

Su Mengyao held her breath, ready to receive a heavenly reward.

‘Would it be a kiss? Or a hug?’

It was neither.

With a “heave-ho,” Bai Xue lay back into her arms, reached out with her small hand, and pulled up the jacket’s zipper.

She shifted her little bottom, burrowing deeper into the girl’s embrace.

“Hehe, now I’m not cold anymore~”

Bai Xue squinted her eyes contentedly, as if shaking a nonexistent tail.

The clouds were thin, the sun warm; the sky blue, the grass green.

The thin jacket wrapped the girl and the young woman together, intimate and inseparable.