Chapter 31: And So, They Slept Together

“…And that was my first day at the Su family.”

Under the warm yellow glow of the desk lamp, mixed with moonlight spilling through the window, Meng Wange wrote the final sentence in her diary.

With a flick of her fingers, she spun the fountain pen skillfully and capped it with a soft click as pen and lid met.

Whew…

Meng Wange rubbed her temples, then slumped forward, resting her entire upper body across the desk.

Now that she thought about it, ever since she’d received Uncle Su’s message yesterday, she’d rushed from another city without a break.

It had been nearly thirty hours since she last closed her eyes.

She silently stretched out her arms, letting the cold surface of the desk cool her body, hoping it would help her stay awake.

She couldn’t get distracted just because of Su Wanli.

There were still lessons she had to go through today…

‘But… just a ten-minute nap wouldn’t hurt, right?’

As soon as that thought surfaced, Meng Wange reflexively lifted her head and lightly bumped it against the desk twice, trying to use the pain to keep herself awake.

‘Already slacking off at this stage? There are still so many problems left to solve.’

Then again, it would be pointless if she ruined her health over one day’s workload.

Meng Wange let out a small yawn, forcing herself upright as she rummaged through her backpack for a stack of study materials.

‘I’ll just skim through today’s content… If all goes well, I should be able to finish by midnight.’

‘Hang in there a little longer, Meng Wange.’

She carefully lifted her arm again, took out another notebook from the bag, and gripped the pen, preparing to begin her studies.

However, just as she was about to start, the desk lamp flickered like an unsteady candle—and then abruptly went out.

“…?”

Meng Wange blinked in confusion.

‘A power outage?’

She hadn’t expected this kind of thing to happen on her very first day at the Su residence.

‘Maybe those annoying kids back at the orphanage had been right about her luck after all…’

Letting out a small, helpless laugh, Meng Wange leaned back in her chair.

She stretched her body toward the ceiling with a long, satisfying motion.

‘Well, it is what it is. I can’t exactly pull a Confucius and study by moonlight, right?’

‘Guess this night is over—’

Just as she began to stand, preparing to sink into the brand-new bed behind her, a faint voice drifted past her ear, weak and weary: “—Meng Wange, stop crying.”

A cold, damp female voice.

“You have to do it… Only then can you…”

An icy hand, like a lingering nightmare, settled heavily on her shoulder.

Meng Wange’s breath caught for a moment.

‘Alright, alright…’

She let out a long sigh and didn’t bother putting her notebook away.

Instead, she pushed the desk over to the floor-to-ceiling window, allowing the moonlight to spill onto her workspace.

‘Fine, I’ll just half-ass it. Let’s hope the clouds don’t get in the way.’

Whether it was just her imagination, or the absence of the warm desk lamp’s glow, the room suddenly felt much colder and emptier.

‘Seriously…’

‘Hope I don’t catch a cold. If I do, Su Wanli’s definitely going to laugh at me during tomorrow’s tutoring session.’

At the thought of the bratty heiress she’d only just met, the corners of Meng Wange’s lips curled up slightly. Somehow, her mood lightened.

‘Alright, back to page 223…’

***

Thud thud… thud-thud-thud…

“Hmm?”

In the quiet darkness, every sound became louder and clearer.

Footsteps echoed from outside the room.

‘Could it be Su Wanli?’

‘That makes sense. A sudden power outage could be a perfect excuse for her to throw a tantrum. She might even suspect I had something to do with it.’

Meng Wange thought for a moment, then decided to leave the notebook and materials on the desk.

She quickly turned away, burrowed into the bed, and pulled the blanket over herself.

It would be annoying to explain everything, and if she could trick Su Wanli into thinking she was asleep, that would be ideal.

Sure enough, even after the footsteps passed by her room, they didn’t stop.

Instead, they grew louder, heading directly toward her door.

Click.

Just like that afternoon, her doorknob was suddenly yanked open by Su Wanli.

Meng Wange pressed her lips together, trying to calm her restless heartbeat.

‘First things first, keep my breathing steady. When Su Wanli starts questioning me, I’ll pretend I just woke up and ask why she didn’t turn on the light—ask what’s going on.’

Although it felt counterintuitive, Meng Wange didn’t believe Su Wanli was the unreasonable type.

Maybe once she realized Meng Wange was still asleep, she would stop making a fuss… hopefully?

Either way, pretending to be asleep couldn’t hurt.

However, after the doorknob was pulled open, the expected interrogation didn’t come.

All Meng Wange heard was a loud exhale.

“Ha…choo…”

Meng Wange squinted slightly, peeking toward the silhouette in the room.

‘…Huh?’

That slender, petite figure was definitely Su Wanli.

Her ink-black hair shimmered faintly silver under the moonlight.

‘But—was she wearing… only a towel?’

‘She must have just finished bathing—her body still carried a rich gardenia fragrance.’

Showing up dressed like that to pick a fight—’she must be really mad.’

Meng Wange sighed quietly and curled deeper under the covers, shaking her head in resignation.

‘I just hope my acting convinces her enough to calm down and head back to her room.’

***

But after a few moments, Su Wanli still didn’t approach.

Instead, she walked toward the large window at the edge of the room and stretched under the moonlight.

The loose towel nearly slipped from her chest, but she managed to hold it in place with one arm.

‘Huh? That pose doesn’t look like someone here to argue…’

So then, was she here to…

The next second, Su Wanli grabbed the gray curtain beside the floor-to-ceiling window and pulled it shut with force.

The moonlight that had dimly illuminated the room vanished, plunging everything into darkness.

“…?”

Meng Wange instinctively held her breath.

‘Wait… did she just… walk into the wrong room?’

Before Meng Wange could react, her blanket was yanked away.

A wave of freshly-showered, warm floral scent rushed over her.

“…My bed… my big bed…”

Su Wanli murmured softly as she climbed onto the mattress, reaching out and blindly feeling around.

Meng Wange reflexively pulled away, retreating toward the far edge of the bed.

‘No, wait—that’s not right. I should let her touch me so she realizes she’s in the wrong room.’

But the moment had already passed.

Su Wanli had climbed fully onto the bed, sinking into the soft blankets.

Not only that—she had stolen most of the covers, using one corner to towel off her still-damp hair before burying her head in the bedding.

“….”

“Ugh… need to set my alarm… four a.m…”

Just as Meng Wange thought Su Wanli was about to fall asleep right there, Su Wanli suddenly popped her head back out and reached forward, grabbing Meng Wange’s arm.

“Four…”

Feeling the grip tightening on her arm, Meng Wange realized she couldn’t keep pretending anymore.

She reached out with her free hand, gently patting Su Wanli’s shoulder as she tried to slip her arm out of the girl’s grasp.

“Ahem, Miss Su? Miss Su? Did you…”

But Su Wanli didn’t wake.

Instead, her brows furrowed, and she pulled even tighter.

Startled and unsure, Meng Wange was tugged forward.

Her arm was now pressed directly against Su Wanli’s bare, exposed skin.

She really had just come from a bath—her body was unusually warm, almost hot.

Meng Wange, with her naturally cold hands and feet, couldn’t help but feel a little envious.

“…So cold…”

Mumbling softly, Su Wanli clung tighter—like a clingy octopus—trying to pull Meng Wange fully into her embrace.

“…!”

Seeing the towel about to slip completely off Su Wanli due to her shifting movements, Meng Wange quickly turned her back.

A warm, soft pressure pressed against her spine.

The towel… had fallen off.

Realizing what had just happened, Meng Wange froze.

‘She really just climbed into my bed, completely naked, after bathing…’

Then again, in her mind, both rooms probably belonged to her.

‘What do I do now…?’

The best plan might be to keep pretending she didn’t notice and leave it to Su Wanli to realize on her own.

‘But judging by her current state, who knew when she’d snap out of it?’

And Meng Wange still had plans she hadn’t finished tonight…

With that in mind, she gently moved Su Wanli’s hand from her waist upward, trying to escape the girl’s grasp.

But the moment she touched it, Su Wanli’s hand tightened around hers.

“…Don’t move.”

A soft breathy voice sounded by Meng Wange’s ear.

“…Just sleep like this.”