“That’s about the gist of it.”
In the spacious and luxurious living room, only Mu Wannuo and Shen Ruqing were present.
Mu Wannuo was dressed in a black sheer nightgown. Apart from a few critical areas covered by some black fabric, her entire body was visible through the thin black material, revealing her smooth, slightly flushed skin.
Her thighs were bare of any adornments, clean and unadorned. But beneath the translucent hem, it only heightened the mystery, inviting a desire to explore further.
Shen Ruqing, sitting across from her, was still in her plain, pure white set — a pajama top and bottoms.
But even so, it couldn’t hide the precious treasure she possessed.
The air fell silent for a few seconds. Shen Ruqing’s words echoed in her mind, refusing to dissipate.
“Think carefully about whether sending Ning Chuxue to school was the right move. Every word I said was true.”
With that, Shen Ruqing lifted her teacup, took a sip of water, stood up, and returned to her room.
Only Mu Wannuo remained in the vast living room.
She felt no drowsiness at all now, only worry over Shen Ruqing’s words — Ning Chuxue was exceptionally popular at school.
She had been busy with Wen Yasheng these past few days, dealing with the Qian Family matter, and had completely neglected her “special care” for Ning Chuxue.
Even though Shen Ruqing was keeping an eye on things, it wasn’t like Ning Chuxue could run into any trouble at school.
But still, Shen Ruqing was just a student, and she wasn’t exactly well-liked.
Even if her grades were the best of the best, no one knew about it.
This meant Ning Chuxue would still end up entangled with others, and Shen Ruqing could at most act as a deterrent.
Mu Wannuo didn’t know what her Eldest Sister and Third Sister were thinking, but she absolutely would not allow her prey to have any contact with others.
‘It seems I’ll have to restrict Little Pitiful’s movements after all.’
Her eyes were bloodshot, but she still stared at her phone, unwilling to look away.
On the phone screen was the information of the few people Shen Ruqing had mentioned who had interacted with Ning Chuxue.
Name, address, ID, credit records…
All of it was there, and very detailed.
“Especially Director Zhang’s disciple, Ying…”
After flipping to Ying’s file, her left hand instinctively clenched tightly, and her breathing became rapid.
Only when a charging prompt popped up on her phone did Mu Wannuo snap out of it.
Shen Ruqing had a competition to attend.
Wen Yasheng, being a top-tier celebrity, had no time to spare.
Mu Wannuo knew that the only person she could rely on now was herself. Losing her mind would be the stupidest choice.
With that thought, she put down her phone, stood up, and headed to the bathroom.
Cold water splashed over her head. The biting chill completely sobered her from her frenzy.
She looked up at the mirror beside her. Her reflection was a mess, and she felt nothing but fear and regret deep inside.
Her wet clothes clung tightly to her skin, even the reinforced areas were faintly visible.
The clock’s hour hand rested on eleven. Outside the door, the sky showed no trace of stars, only the moon.
A cold wind blew in through the bathroom window, stinging with cold.
It was bone-chillingly cold. But her expression did not appear pained or uncomfortable. She looked rational to the point of being frightening.
This was exactly what Mu Wannuo wanted. She had to force herself to calm down.
Only then could she better plan how to lure her prey into the trap.
Once rationality had completely taken over, she shed her clothes, picked up the towel hanging nearby with “Ning Chuxue” embroidered on it, and wiped her dripping hair and water-streaked skin.
Then she refolded the towel and placed it back exactly as it was.
After making sure there was no hair on the towel, she took her own bath towel and wrapped it around herself.
Even though she had chosen a slightly larger size, it still couldn’t fully cover her, leaving half exposed.
There were larger bath towels available, but they would need to be wrapped very tightly, making her chest uncomfortable.
After trying each one, she found that this size was the best, so all her subsequent bath towels were this size, never changing.
After tidying up, she didn’t return to her own room but first went to Ning Chuxue’s bedroom.
Standing at the door and listening carefully, she could clearly hear the faint sound of snoring from behind it.
She tried to turn the doorknob, but the door wouldn’t open.
It seemed to be locked from inside.
Helpless, she had to abandon the idea of checking on Ning Chuxue.
The night was deep and quiet, and also very cold.
But for some people, the night was actually a good haven.
Only at this time did time and life belong to themselves.
Only at this time could they cast aside the hidden sorrow in their hearts.
And only at this time could they satisfy that humble, bone-deep wish.
Mu Wannuo walked in the back garden, aimlessly.
Red knots from the last banquet still hung on the trees. They hadn’t had time to take them down because they were all busy.
She was now in a state of heightened alertness, feeling no drowsiness at all.
Like rain that could fall anywhere, her thoughts were everywhere.
Mu Wannuo was thinking.
Thinking about every possibility for Ning Chuxue’s future.
She had to plan ahead and find the perfect plan to keep Ning Chuxue by her side forever.
***
The next day, pale golden morning light pierced through the screen window, falling onto Ning Chuxue’s little head.
But the light should have fallen on her feet…
Ning Chuxue had her legs wrapped around the blanket, and the pillow that should have been under her head was now clutched tightly in her arms. Her whole body was in a comically awkward position.
But during her deep sleep, she had performed a one-hundred-eighty-degree rotation.
So now she was lying at the foot of the bed instead of the head.
It was clear how terrible her sleeping posture was.
Ding-a-ling —
The phone’s alarm clock was like a death omen, echoing through the room.
Ning Chuxue frowned slightly, her pink lips smacking a few times.
Then her eyes slowly opened, like the calm surface of a summer pond, revealing no ripples.
Ning Chuxue instinctively reached for her phone and turned off the irritating alarm.
9:01
Today was the last day before the break. There were no classes in the morning, so Ning Chuxue wasn’t in any hurry.
She slowly lifted the blanket and got out of bed, moving with fluid grace, completely unaware of her absurd sleeping position.
Considering her past experiences of Mu Wannuo repeatedly breaking into her room, she had also gotten into the habit of sleeping in pajamas.
Walking into the bathroom, she first checked to make sure the hot water was working.
Just as she was about to grab a towel to wash her face, she suddenly caught a faint scent of lily perfume.
The source was the towel with her name printed on it.
She stopped in surprise, instinctively bringing it closer to her nose to sniff it carefully.
That scent had disappeared.
‘Am I overthinking this?’ She looked at the towel in her hand, conflicted.
‘It must be perfume Sister Wen Ya sprayed…’
The explanation was reasonable enough. She successfully convinced herself.