Chapter 32: Goodnight, Su Wanli

“Sleep… together?”

Meng Wange silently raised her unrestrained hand and brushed away the bangs on her forehead, letting out a wry smile.

‘What a willful and forceful young lady,’ she thought.

‘I wonder what she’s holding onto so tightly in her dream.’

With Su Wanli gripping her so firmly, there was no way Meng Wange could slip out of bed unnoticed, let alone sneak over to the desk to study by moonlight.

Her captured hand and the warmth radiating from Su Wanli’s body against her back began to spread a gentle heat through her own limbs.

At this point, even if she struggled free and woke Su Wanli up, once Su realized she was lying completely naked in someone else’s bed, she would definitely blow up.

Just like earlier that day—Meng Wange had merely glimpsed her in her pajamas and had her mother’s hairclip taken away in retaliation.

Meng Wange sighed softly.

‘Well then, let’s just go with the flow. When she wakes up and realizes this isn’t her room, she’ll know she’s in the wrong.’

At least this way, Meng Wange wouldn’t have to come up with any excuses.

She could just claim she’d been fast asleep all night and didn’t know anything.

Though… today’s study plans were definitely ruined.

She bit her lip lightly, then curled her fingers around Su Wanli’s warm hand in return.

‘In that case, Miss Su, let this be my little revenge.’

She tucked herself in a bit closer and cautiously slid her cold toes against Su Wanli’s bare calf.

So warm…

Su Wanli shuddered slightly at the touch of her icy toes, frowning in her sleep.

But rather than pull away, she moved in aggressively—clamping Meng Wange’s feet between her calves, like she was stubbornly determined to melt a block of ice with her body heat.

“…”

Feeling the unexpected response, Meng Wange couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

‘Sorry, Miss Su. But you came to me first—so don’t blame me for this.’

Almost as if in retaliation, Su Wanli suddenly shifted forward.

Her damp, soft hair brushed against the back of Meng Wange’s neck, leaving behind a moist, warm scent.

‘You didn’t even dry your hair?’

‘You’re going to catch a cold like this, dummy.’

Meng Wange gave a small, helpless smile and shook her head gently.

She began to move away, trying to distance her chilled body from Su Wanli.

But just as she shifted slightly, Su Wanli suddenly rolled over.

Her arm slid across Meng Wange’s abdomen and wrapped around her waist, pressing her down onto the bed.

“…!”

‘Was she… awake?’

Meng Wange instantly stiffened, instinctively trying to sit up and apologize.

But Su Wanli didn’t wake.

Instead, her breathing remained slow and steady.

“Hoo… huh… hoo…”

‘Still asleep?’

‘Is she really that exhausted—or does she just not know how to keep her guard up?’

The warmth of the girl’s body and the steady rhythm of her breathing seemed to cast a spell over her, and Meng Wange’s consciousness began to drift.

‘The last time I shared a bed with someone like this… when was it?’

‘It must’ve been over ten years ago—back when Mom was still around.’

But even then, her mother’s body had been just as cold as hers.

She had never liked physical contact.

Not like Su Wanli…

‘I wonder how she’ll react tomorrow when she wakes up.’

‘Well, I’m too tired to care right now.’

‘I’ll leave it to tomorrow’s me to deal with everything.’

“Good night, Meng Wange.”

Listening to the sound of breathing beside her, she turned her head slightly and gave a gentle smile to the black-haired girl behind her—

“Good night, Su Wanli.”

***

While Meng Wange finally enjoyed a warm and peaceful sleep, things weren’t going quite so well on Su Wanli’s side.

After squinting her eyes and barely managing to pull the curtains shut, she crawled back into bed.

The moment her head hit the pillow, she felt like she blacked out and slipped into a hazy dream.

In the dream, she found herself piloting a massive ship.

The sea was calm and peaceful, and she had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the scenery.

Suddenly, the sky turned dark as thick storm clouds gathered.

A towering iceberg appeared right in the ship’s path.

“Turn port! Turn port! No, wait, starboard—just turn already!”

Unfortunately, there were barely any crew members on the ship who would actually listen to her.

Su Wanli had no choice but to grab the ship’s wheel herself and try to steer away.

But whether it was the storm or her lack of strength, the ship refused to change course.

[Warning. Warning. Probability of collision with iceberg is—60%, 80%, 98%.]

An annoying speaker kept blaring useless information.

“Shut your damn beak! If you’ve got time to talk, then help me steer this thing!”

Right after yelling, Su Wanli looked up—only to see the iceberg looming just ahead, far too close to avoid.

Clenching her jaw, she crouched down and held onto the wheel tightly, hoping to brace herself and lessen the impact.

The next moment, with a thunderous crash, the ship slammed right into the iceberg.

As a massive chunk of ice fell from above, Su Wanli looked up and reached out toward the sky, trying to put up a last, futile resistance—

“No! Please don’t—!”

Of course, there was no iceberg.

Su Wanli was simply waving her hands weakly in the air, still dazed from the dream.

Staring blankly at the ceiling, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Haha… so it was just a dream after all…”

She yawned, sat up, and tossed the pile of blankets off herself.

After a lazy stretch, she prepared to lie back down and go back to sleep.

‘…Wait a second. Something didn’t feel right.’

Su Wanli blinked and turned to glance beside her—

A brown-haired girl was sitting with her back to Su Wanli, wearing a wrinkled white dress shirt.

Perhaps because she had been stripped of the warmth of the blanket, the girl curled her body slightly and hugged her knees.

“…”

Su Wanli swallowed hard and glanced around the room again.

The layout was almost the same as her own, but the space felt emptier.

There were unfamiliar, yet vaguely familiar, decorative paintings on the walls.

‘I see…’

‘This must be a dream within a dream!’

‘Haha, I can’t believe I actually dreamed of sleeping next to Meng Wange. That just proves how charming the heroine is!’

‘Still… why am I naked?’

‘That part makes no sense. No one in their right mind would…’

[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully completed the side mission: Shattered Morning.]

[By stealing Meng Wange’s blanket and leaving her body fully exposed to the cold air, you caused her to wake up from the cold. That’s quite a nasty tactic.]

[Evil Girl Performance Rating: Standard.]

[Rewards will be issued once the mission series is complete.]

“…”

Su Wanli sat frozen for a moment.

She looked at the sleeping Meng Wange beside her.

Then at the sliver of sunlight peeking through the gap in the curtains.

And finally, at her own completely bare body.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH——!!”