Chapter 47: Escape

Su Cheng was utterly at a loss for words, burdened by her unspoken plight.

All she desired was a tranquil university life, yet it seemed everything was conspiring to pull her in the opposite direction.

Her gaze drifted from Lin Shiyue on her left to Yin Xuelian on her right, culminating in a helpless sigh.

“Little Chengzi, are you tired?” Yin Xuelian inquired gently, her voice laced with concern.

Su Cheng nodded faintly, a yawn escaping her lips. “Exhausted,” she murmured. “I just want to sleep.”

“Then let’s head back and rest,” Lin Shiyue suggested, giving Su Cheng’s hand a gentle squeeze. A glint of slyness flickered in her eyes as she added, “It’s time for bed anyway; I’m feeling quite sleepy myself.”

Upon hearing this, Yin Xuelian’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and her grip on Su Cheng’s hand tightened. “I’ll escort you back to your dorm, then,” she stated.

Su Cheng’s internal alarm bells immediately blared. She waved her hands frantically. “N-no, there’s no need!” she stammered. “My dorm is terribly messy…”

“It’s quite alright, I don’t mind at all~” Yin Xuelian countered, leaning in closer. Her hair brushed against Su Cheng’s cheek, leaving a faint hint of jasmine. “Besides,” she added, her voice a low murmur, “I’ve already been to your dorm. It’s not messy in the slightest; in fact, it smells rather sweet…”

Su Cheng’s eyes widened in alarm as she stared at the enigmatic smile playing on Yin Xuelian’s lips. Meanwhile, Lin Shiyue’s expression on the other side had turned distinctly grim.

“When was this?” Lin Shiyue demanded, her voice a low growl that, to Su Cheng, sounded deafeningly loud.

“I’m not telling you,” Yin Xuelian stated, raising a defiant eyebrow. Her flippant tone clearly indicated her unwillingness to divulge any information to Lin Shiyue.

Lin Shiyue subtly lifted her chin, only to find Yin Xuelian’s gaze already fixed upon her.

Their eyes met across the space between them, and an unspoken tension, almost like sparks, seemed to fly. Caught squarely in the middle, Su Cheng felt like a cream-filled cookie, utterly squeezed.

“Um…” she began timidly. “Perhaps you two could chat at your leisure? I can manage to walk back on my own…”

“Absolutely not!” they declared in unison.

A thin film of moisture veiled Su Cheng’s eyes, and she pressed her lips together, feeling as though she wanted to cry but had no tears left.

‘They’re so fierce…’

‘Is all of this truly Heaven’s punishment for me?’

‘Evil is repaid with evil, good with good, but I have no one to hug…’

Ultimately, under the curious, strange gazes of the other freshmen, Su Cheng was escorted back to her dorm room door, flanked by her two ‘guardians.’

“Alright, I’m going to rest now,” she announced. “You two should head back quickly.”

Instead of immediately opening her door, Su Cheng turned to first try and persuade Lin Shiyue and Yin Xuelian to depart.

Yet, neither of them moved. Yin Xuelian and Lin Shiyue exchanged a glance, both seemingly waiting for the other to yield first.

“Why are you both just standing there?” Su Cheng pressed. “Aren’t you tired? Shiyue, you should go back quickly; didn’t you say you were sleepy?”

“No rush,” Lin Shiyue replied, the corners of her lips curving upward in a subtle, predatory smile, as if poised to strike.

Su Cheng swallowed hard, then shifted her gaze to Yin Xuelian. “What about Sister Lian?” she asked. “Don’t you need to rush back?”

Yin Xuelian offered a faint smile, her voice soft. “There’s no hurry,” she assured her. “Little Chengzi, you should just head back to your dorm.”

Su Cheng swallowed hard again, then pulled her key from her pocket, taking a half-step backward to position herself closer to the door.

Yet, even as she retreated, she didn’t manage to put any significant distance between herself and the two women.

“What… what exactly do you two want?” Su Cheng demanded, her gaze darting nervously between them. A hint of panic flickered in her usually calm eyes, and the hand clutching her key trembled faintly.

“It’s nothing, nothing at all. Just head back quickly.”

“Chengcheng, don’t overthink it. Just open the door and go inside.”

‘These two girls definitely intend to slip into the dorm with me the moment I open the door.’

‘Hmph, trying to sneak into my dorm? Not a chance!’

“Well, then I’ll just…” Su Cheng began, her words trailing off as she swiftly inserted the key into the lock. ‘Flight is the best policy!’

With lightning speed, Su Cheng twisted the key, opening the door just enough for her to slip through. In a single, swift movement, she darted into her dorm room.

The moment Yin Xuelian and Lin Shiyue’s hands grazed the door, it was already firmly shut.

“Little Chengzi, open the door!”

“Chengcheng, I still have something important to tell you!”

Leaning against the door, Su Cheng clapped her hands together, a triumphant expression on her face, and let out a long, relieved sigh.

Inside the dorm, Sun Xiaochen and Chen Xi watched the entire spectacle unfold, blinking in curious amusement.

They could clearly hear Yin Xuelian and Lin Shiyue’s persistent knocking from outside the door.

“What’s going on?” Chen Xi asked, her eyes wide with a hint of shock as she stared at the thumping door and Su Cheng’s now-relaxed expression. “Are your girlfriends causing a ruckus right outside our dorm?”

“Chengzi, I must commend your unparalleled ability to attract trouble, or rather, admirers,” Sun Xiaochen remarked, giving Su Cheng a thumbs-up from her bed, her expression one of mock admiration.

Su Cheng removed the cap from her head and wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. She shot Chen Xi and Sun Xiaochen two icy glares in retaliation. “You two had better not add to my troubles,” she warned, “or I’ll deal with both of you.”

Chen Xi and Sun Xiaochen both scoffed, then pulled their blankets over themselves and returned to their phones.

With her roommates now quiet, Su Cheng turned her attention back to addressing her two ‘ex-girlfriends’ outside the door.

Su Cheng turned to face the door and called out, “Hmph, you two should really go back now! If there’s anything, we can chat on WeChat. I’m going to sleep!”

The moment she finished speaking, the knocking abruptly ceased.

“Alright, I’m off then. Good afternoon, Little Chengzi.”

“Chengcheng, good afternoon. See you this afternoon.”

Su Cheng pressed her ear against the door, listening through the wood as the footsteps gradually receded. She could discern the distinct scuff of leather heels alongside the heavier thud of military boots, until finally, both sounds vanished completely.

‘Finally, I’ve managed to send these two formidable presences away.’

Su Cheng patted her chest, a wave of complete relaxation washing over her as her body went slack, practically melting onto the chair.

She pulled out her phone, placing it listlessly on the desk, and stared at the screen, her mind awash with a myriad of thoughts.

‘Why was her university life increasingly beginning to feel like walking a tightrope?’

‘It was as if one wrong step would send her plummeting into an abyss of no return. And why were all her ex-girlfriends so unusually invested in her now?’

‘Even Gu Xiya didn’t seem entirely normal.’

Su Cheng shook her head, trying to dislodge these peculiar thoughts.

She busied herself with tasks in her mobile game, then removed her shoes and socks, found a fresh set of clothes, and prepared to change for her afternoon nap.

By the time she had changed, the game quest she had left running on her phone was nearly complete.

She settled onto her bed, scrolling through videos on her phone. Message notifications occasionally popped up on WeChat, but Su Cheng ignored them all.

Since it was her time to rest, she decided to truly embrace it. Simply dealing with Yin Xuelian, Lin Shiyue, and Gu Xiya during the day had already exhausted her, not to mention the grueling military training.

She switched her phone to silent, tossing it aside. She didn’t even want the vibration mode on, knowing that constant buzzing would only disrupt her much-needed sleep.

All Su Cheng wanted now was a good night’s sleep. If only she could rest for a day or even half a year, that would be truly ideal.

The only thing that could halt the military training was rain, yet she also worried that after the rain, some theoretical lessons would be waiting for her.

‘Oh, what a dilemma: no rain isn’t good, but rain isn’t good either.’

‘Life after rebirth is truly exhausting.’

As she inhaled the faint, familiar scent of oranges from her pillow, Su Cheng’s mood gradually softened, and her eyelids grew increasingly heavy.

She hoped she wouldn’t have any more nightmares, that Yin Xuelian wouldn’t appear in her dreams, nor Lin Shiyue, and certainly not Gu Xiya. All three of them seemed to harbor strange intentions towards her.

As Su Cheng drifted into a deep slumber, she remained oblivious to the subtle changes unfolding outside her window, where a gentle, persistent rain had begun to fall.