Ning Chuxue panted heavily, finally running back to the office after a long trek.
Until she saw the closed door, she slowed down and her tense nerves relaxed.
‘Thank goodness, Sister Mu Wan hasn’t come back yet.’
Although she didn’t know what Mu Wannuo was doing, at least her running around hadn’t been discovered, so she wouldn’t have to suffer that unique “punishment” of hers.
Keys… keys.
Ning Chuxue felt around her pockets, muttering to herself.
After searching for a while, she pulled out a key from her coat pocket.
She inserted it into the lock and turned it once.
The locked door opened.
Almost the moment the door opened, the comfortable breeze from the air conditioner surged out through the narrow crack.
Ning Chuxue shivered involuntarily.
‘Strange, why is the air conditioner on when no one is here?’
The air from the conditioner was gentle, neither cold nor hot.
Could it be that Mu Wannuo used it to regulate the indoor temperature?
Ning Chuxue guessed as much.
The room looked very clean, as if it had been cleaned in advance.
Not a speck of dust, not even in the corners.
Ning Chuxue stopped at the entrance and saw an extra shoe rack behind the door.
On the rack, a pair of white slippers were specially labeled with the name “Ning Chuxue,” apparently prepared just for her.
The slippers had a cute rabbit pattern printed on them, and even had two white cotton flannel strips extending out as rabbit ears.
Ning Chuxue’s inner doubts grew heavier; the indoor scene seemed especially strange, almost completely different from when she had left.
Including the mopped floor, the air conditioner that hadn’t been turned off, and the shoes at the entrance.
However, Ning Chuxue didn’t think too much about it and simply assumed that Mu Wannuo had come back specially to tidy up.
So, she took off her own shoes and picked up the slippers with her name on the rack.
Her small feet, wrapped in white stockings, slowly slid into the slippers.
She lifted the part where the heel had been pressed down, then stood up and tried walking a couple of steps.
She had to admit, they fit perfectly and were very comfortable to wear.
She wandered aimlessly around the room and noticed a small cake on the desk, along with a pill and a cup of warm water still steaming.
Ning Chuxue was very familiar with the pill—it was the kind she usually took.
‘Sister Mu Wan must have prepared this in advance, right?’
Ning Chuxue hesitated for a moment, then attributed it all to Mu Wannuo.
She picked up the pill, put it in her mouth, then picked up the water cup and swallowed it down.
After the pill went down, Ning Chuxue paused for a moment, and once the strange sensation in her throat disappeared, she downed the rest of the water in one go.
Because she drank too quickly, a few drops spilled from the corner of her mouth and then dripped down onto her clothes.
Her pure white top became wet from the drops, turning translucent.
The pink skin under the clothes could faintly be seen.
After drinking freely, she casually wiped her mouth with her hand.
Then, she picked up the remaining small cake and the used cup.
First, she put the cup back by the water dispenser, then took the cake into the bedroom.
By the small table near the head of the bed, Ning Chuxue ate the cake in one go.
Suddenly having nothing to do, Ning Chuxue felt a bit of emptiness and loneliness.
Moreover, judging by the current situation, Mu Wannuo seemed to have just gone out, so it might be a while before she returned.
So, she took out her phone from her pocket, thinking she would kill some time and maybe catch up on lessons or something.
But, just as she turned on her phone, a heavy rain alert pop-up appeared at the top.
The estimated time was half an hour later.
Noticing the pop-up, Ning Chuxue looked out the window in confusion.
Although it was completely dark, Ning Chuxue still didn’t see any dark clouds; she could even see a few stars twinkling.
‘This doesn’t look like there’s a heavy rain coming?’
Ning Chuxue muttered, “Weather forecasts really are just for reference.”
The weather forecast hadn’t been accurate these past few days.
It said rain, but it turned out sunny.
It said sunny, but it ended up pouring.
Even worse, sometimes they’d change the forecast only after it started raining.
But to be cautious, Ning Chuxue still stood up and walked around the room.
Only after she had closed all the windows did she lie back down on the bed with peace of mind.
After all that fussing, she no longer had the desire to play on her phone.
Having just attended a banquet and then expended energy on the earlier commotion, she was now a bit sleepy.
‘Maybe I’ll just take a quick nap.’
Ning Chuxue yawned, squeezing a few tears from the corners of her eyes.
Thinking this, she rubbed her eyes, wiped away the forced tears, and lay down on the bed.
Just as she was about to close her eyes and fall asleep, a sudden clap of thunder startled her awake.
The thunder was so loud it seemed to pierce through the sky and earth.
Then came the sound of wind battering the windows.
The extremely fast wind made a howling noise like wailing ghosts and howling wolves.
Ning Chuxue hadn’t expected there to actually be a heavy rain.
But that didn’t stop her from continuing to question the accuracy of the forecast.
Because according to the forecast, the heavy rain was supposed to come half an hour later.
But only a few minutes had passed?
Ning Chuxue checked the time; only about six minutes had passed from start to finish, far from half an hour.
‘I knew it, how could the weather forecast ever be accurate?’
Ning Chuxue put on a knowing expression. “I almost thought the forecast was going to be right this time.”
It was still as inaccurate as ever.
But now wasn’t the time to feel relieved that the forecast had let her down.
Judging by the current situation, this heavy rain was truly “heavy” in the real sense.
Just hearing the rumbling thunder outside was enough to feel the pressure of an apocalyptic doom.
Perhaps in response to Ning Chuxue’s anxiety,
A huge lightning bolt streaked across the sky, illuminating the entire sky.
Soon after, an even more intense thunderclap reached Ning Chuxue’s ears.
She restlessly circled the room again, making sure all the windows were closed with no omissions.
Suddenly, she thought of Mu Wannuo, who hadn’t returned yet.
Although Ning Chuxue knew that Mu Wannuo probably wouldn’t be in any danger, her deep-seated worry compelled her to ask.
So, she pulled out her phone from her pocket and sent Mu Wannuo a few concerned messages.
After a painful wait for a while, the chat box still showed no reply.
Seeing her own concerned message left unread, Ning Chuxue grew a bit anxious.
Instinctively, she wanted to make a phone call.
But just as her finger was about to press down, she heard the sound of a lock opening from outside the door.
Ning Chuxue didn’t need to guess; she knew Mu Wannuo was back.
Because there were only two keys—one she had, and the other was with Mu Wannuo.
As she had guessed, Mu Wannuo appeared behind the door.
“Chuxue, did you not listen to me?”