Hearing these words, Jiang Ling’s expression froze instantly.
She stared in disbelief at Song Meng, who was smiling gently at her, her voice trembling: “You, how did you know…?”
Seeing this, Song Meng raised an eyebrow with interest, stretched out a finger, and lightly patted Jiang Ling’s cheek, her tone playful.
“Secret.”
After saying this, Song Meng turned and walked away with a polite smile, waving her phone slightly.
“I’ll contact you when I get back.”
“Wait—”
Jiang Ling anxiously tried to call out to Song Meng, but she noticed students leaving the school in groups of twos and threes, the crowd bustling and quickly swallowing Song Meng’s figure, leaving no trace.
“Why are you so distracted?”
Mo Ran looked at Jiang Ling, who had been zoning out since returning to the dorm, and asked with confusion.
This was just too unusual.
“Well, I have a question. It’s about a friend of mine…”
Jiang Ling chose her words carefully, speaking cautiously: “She got caught in a compromising situation by someone she hasn’t known for long. What should she do?”
Mo Ran chuckled.
“Ask around like you are.”
“It’s not me! It’s my friend!” Jiang Ling, realizing she might have slipped up, raised her voice frantically to change the subject.
“Ah, forget it, let’s not talk about other people’s business!”
Flustered, she clutched her phone tightly and returned to her room.
Lin Xiaoyu seemed to have gone out shopping, so the bedroom was empty except for Jiang Ling.
She sat there, hugging her phone, waiting from six to seven o’clock, her heart pounding with anxiety as she stared at Song Meng’s chat window, terrified of missing any message.
Just as she was getting drowsy from staring too long, a notification sound jolted her, causing her phone to slip from her hands and crash onto her face.
“Ow!”
She let out a pained yelp, biting her lip as she picked up the phone to check.
Song Meng had sent a photo—it was the cat-ear maid picture Jiang Ling had been forced to take yesterday!
“Aaahhh!”
Jiang Ling quickly looked away and started rolling around on her bed.
What the heck, what the heck!
How could such an embarrassing photo be seen by someone she barely knew?
Sob sob sob.
Tearfully, she picked up her phone again, her hands trembling.
Perhaps noticing Jiang Ling’s lack of response, Song Meng sent a confused emoji followed by a three-second voice message.
Jiang Ling braced herself and tapped to play it.
“You don’t want me to tell anyone about this, do you?”
It was Song Meng’s signature gentle, girlish voice, laced with a teasing, suggestive tone that made Jiang Ling blush uncontrollably.
She squeezed her eyes shut, hearing a ding-dong failure sound effect in her mind.
It was over.
She had provoked someone formidable.
About five minutes later, Jiang Ling hesitantly typed out a message.
[You won’t tell anyone, right?]
The reply came quickly.
[Depends on your performance.]
Depends on your performance, my foot!
Jiang Ling nearly cursed out loud but ultimately lowered her proud head in frustration.
[I’ll do whatever I can, just don’t tell anyone.]
[Then send me a selfie right now, in pajamas, making a heart pose.]
[…Why don’t you just kill me instead?]
Jiang Ling flopped onto her soft bed, kicking her legs to vent her embarrassment and anger.
What kind of person was this?!
She decided to pretend she hadn’t seen the message and let the conversation die naturally.
[If you pretend you didn’t see it, I’ll just go post it on the school’s confession wall for the whole world to see.]
[I’m so sorry, my bad, I’ll take the photo right now.]
“Ugh, whatever, do what you want!”
Jiang Ling pursed her lips, stood in front of her wardrobe, and, in a fit of resignation, whimpered as she grabbed a set of pajamas with her eyes closed.
When she opened her eyes, she nearly fainted.
Why did she grab that set, the most embarrassing one?!
—
Song Meng propped her chin up, fiddling with her phone, her fingertip tapping repeatedly on Jiang Ling’s chat window.
“Such an interesting kid.”
She murmured with a bright smile.
Just as she was about to send another message, she noticed Jiang Ling had sent a photo.
The moment Song Meng opened it, she froze.
In the photo, the petite Jiang Ling was kneeling on her bed, aiming the camera at her face in a selfie.
She wore a fluffy hooded pajama set with long bunny ears dangling down, the loose fabric partially covering her skin but still revealing patches of fair, rosy complexion.
As instructed, she stared at the camera, making a half-heart shape with her hand, looking adorable and captivating.
Before Song Meng could say anything, the photo was retracted.
[You saw it, didn’t you? You definitely saw it!]
—
After retracting the photo, Jiang Ling took a deep breath.
Her entire face, including her neck, was flushed red, and she was even finding it hard to breathe.
Click.
When Lin Xiaoyu entered the room, she saw Jiang Ling, red-faced and fumbling with her phone.
She squinted suspiciously.
“Are you secretly looking at R18 stuff?”
“No way!!!”
Jiang Ling, startled by Lin Xiaoyu’s words, immediately flipped her phone face-down on the bed, blushing as she protested.
“Is it hot in here?”
Lin Xiaoyu handed Jiang Ling a box of cookies she’d bought, munching on one herself as she asked vaguely.
Jiang Ling shook her head weakly.
“It’s not hot—it’s my heart that’s exhausted…”
Lin Xiaoyu looked puzzled but didn’t press further.
After finishing her cookies, she headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Once she was gone, Jiang Ling slowly turned her phone over.
Her eyes fell on a few new messages from Song Meng.
[Keep going until I’m satisfied.]
[I’ll be at your first performance.]
These words sent Jiang Ling’s heart racing.
She quickly turned off the screen and paced around to calm herself.
Why was her new life so full of ups and downs?!
With a helpless sigh, Jiang Ling went to the bathroom when Lin Xiaoyu returned, washing up with a whirlwind of emotions before climbing into bed.
The next day.
At the crack of dawn, Jiang Ling woke up.
More accurately, she was woken by the heat.
Frowning, she opened her eyes to find a pair of soft arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly.
She was somewhat used to it by now, less panicked than the first time.
She skillfully tried to pry the arms off, but as she touched the person’s elbow, the grip tightened.
Even their legs were now entangled!
Feeling the warm, almost scalding touch, Jiang Ling started struggling desperately, but the more she fought, the deeper she sank, until their bodies were pressed impossibly close together.
“Still not up? Time for breakfast, yeah?”
Mo Ran, seeing they hadn’t stirred, pushed the door open as usual, only to be greeted by the sight.
A messy blanket, crumpled sheets, and the two of them entangled!
She gasped, then tried to act nonchalant, backing out of the room soullessly while muttering.
“Uh, I didn’t see anything, carry on…”