Chapter 65: A Calculated Ruse and Unspoken Fantasies

The hands of time needed to rewind a little further.

As Bai Chen shed the suit in the restroom and donned his well-fitting school uniform once more, a profound sense of lightness washed over him.

“My own clothes truly are superior.”

After handing the suit over to a drama club member, a question suddenly sprang into Bai Chen’s mind: ‘What if they can’t alter the clothes properly? What would I wear on stage this weekend?’

‘Surely such a problem wouldn’t arise; they seemed quite dependable.’

Regardless of the fit, Bai Chen simply didn’t believe such attire suited him.

He held no interest in a life of high taste; merely living well was enough.

Nevertheless… Mo Qiu looked quite fitting in a gown.

Her seemingly incongruous dead-fish eyes did not detract from the gown’s beauty; instead, they imbued her with an even greater charm, accentuated by the splendid attire.

She appeared as a young lady of noble birth, residing in a secluded garden, untouched by worldly affairs.

Recalling the girl in the gown, Bai Chen’s heart couldn’t help but flutter.

On his way back to the classroom, Bai Chen spotted Old Zhu sprinting towards him from afar, his face etched with panic.

“Bai Chen, come here!”

“What’s going on?”

Bai Chen had almost reached the classroom door when Old Zhu suddenly yanked him away.

Old Zhu steadied his breath, his words coming out in a rush, “To make a long story short, something has happened to Mo Qiu.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Chen immediately stared at the classroom door, nearly charging forward.

Old Zhu, however, held him back and recounted the full details of the situation.

“It’s Zhou Yue again.”

Bai Chen scratched his head, a look of distress clouding his features.

“How could Mo Qiu possibly be out ‘fishing for men’ at night?”

Others might not understand her, but Bai Chen knew her best.

Mo Qiu possessed an aloof nature towards everyone, rarely initiating conversation even face-to-face.

Bai Chen, of course, was the exception.

She was like a tiny hedgehog, curled up in a corner, bristling with spines that pricked anyone who dared to approach.

How could such a person possibly lead a promiscuous life at night?

“I don’t believe it either.

While people often have contrasting sides, I don’t think that applies to her.”

No sooner had Old Zhu’s words faded than he noticed the tremor in Bai Chen’s pupils.

“Zhou Yue is playing with fire… Old Bai, don’t be impulsive.

Fighting will only put you at a disadvantage.”

“I know.”

Bai Chen sighed, a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth.

“I’ve come up with a better solution.”

“What do you mean?”

Instead of explaining, Bai Chen turned to Old Zhu, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he asked, “Would you be interested in temporarily becoming a member of my family?”

****

The call ended, leaving the activity room in a stunned silence.

Bai Chen returned the phone to Zhou Yue, observing her utterly astonished expression.

“It really was her cousin?”

“Bai Chen and Mo Qiu’s relationship is better than we imagined; they even know each other’s families.”

“It turns out it was all a false alarm.”

As the others gradually recovered their senses, murmurs began to rise, yet none of these sounds altered Bai Chen’s composure.

Zhou Yue attempted to find a crack in his facade, a tell-tale sign of deception, but she failed.

This fellow stood as firm as a sculpture, utterly flawless.

However, Mo Qiu, standing behind Bai Chen, noticed that the hand he kept hidden behind his back was clenched tightly into a fist, trembling faintly.

As if sensing the girl’s gaze, Bai Chen glanced back at her, his hidden hand forming a ‘V’ sign (TL Note: A common gesture signifying victory or ‘yay’).

Witnessing this, Mo Qiu instantly understood what had transpired.

‘This Bai Chen… he’s actually growing a brain now?!’

The girl felt as though her world was about to collapse.

Zhou Yue clutched her phone tightly, her shoulders trembling.

Seeing her silence, Bai Chen took the initiative to speak, “Now that the truth is out, shouldn’t you do something to compensate Mo Qiu?”

“…Do you want me to apologize?”

“An apology alone isn’t enough.

Delete the photos.”

“…This is my phone, what right do you have to…”

“Enough, Zhou Yue, stop this nonsense.”

President Luo’s words silenced her, as he exuded the authority befitting a club president at this crucial moment.

“Listen to him, delete the photos.”

“Wait, do you really believe that was his cousin?”

Zhou Yue hugged her phone to herself, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the others.

The faces that had previously seemed so agreeable now cast thorny glares her way.

“They’ve already proven it with a phone call; could it still be fake?” President Luo retorted impatiently.

“Besides, this whole matter started because of you.

Shouldn’t you be the one to put an end to it now?”

Rumors carried a low cost; with just a mouth and a picture, countless versions of a story could be fabricated.

However, to stop a rumor, the effort required was far greater than that of spreading it.

“How could that be his cousin? The person in the photo clearly…” Zhou Yue seemed to recall something, clamping a hand over her mouth, unwilling to continue.

Bai Chen extended his hand, “If you can’t bring yourself to do it, I’ll help you.”

“…”

Zhou Yue glared at Bai Chen with resentful eyes, slowly handing over her phone.

When Bai Chen grasped the phone, he still had to exert some effort to pry it from her.

Opening the album, Bai Chen’s finger scrolled past photo after photo related to Mo Qiu, his gaze subtly hardening.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, he deleted all the photos, even checking the recycle bin to ensure they were gone.

After returning the phone to Zhou Yue, she turned and bolted out of the drama club, the startled exclamations and complaints of passersby echoing from the corridor outside.

As she departed, President Luo raised his arms, clapping loudly.

“All right, all right, the matter is settled.

Everyone, go back to rehearsal.

The weekend is almost here, and we’re running short on time.”

Everyone rallied their spirits, resuming their previous progress, while Bai Chen led Mo Qiu to a corner.

No sooner had they sat down than someone rushed over, her face full of apologies: “I’m so sorry, we completely misunderstood you just now.”

The water she offered was accepted by Bai Chen on Mo Qiu’s behalf.

As soon as one person left, several more arrived, all expressing their apologies for the recent misunderstanding.

Mo Qiu remained silent throughout, with Bai Chen accepting everyone’s apologies for her, and urging them not to dwell on what was already resolved.

Just then, Old Zhu entered the classroom, only to be caught by President Luo.

“Zhu Youcai, where did you run off to? We’ve been waiting for you.”

“Haha, my apologies,” Old Zhu said, pressing his palms together and bowing his head with an embarrassed chuckle.

“Something urgent came up, so I had to step out for a bit.”

“You definitely went to see your girlfriend again, didn’t you? Will your relationship last a whole semester this time?”

“Nonsense! My longest relationship lasted an entire academic year!”

After the banter, Old Zhu passed by Bai Chen, their eyes meeting.

They exchanged thumbs-up, a silent understanding passing between them.

Others might not have noticed, but Mo Qiu saw everything clearly, muttering subconsciously, ‘So he was the one who answered the phone just now.’

As if sensing Mo Qiu’s thoughts, Bai Chen smiled and began to explain the truth.

Fortunately, Old Zhu had informed him in time, allowing Bai Chen to devise this plan.

The reason no one recognized Old Zhu’s voice was because he had installed a voice changer on his phone.

Back in their freshman year, Old Zhu had played a prank on Bai Chen using it, deliberately teasing him with a sweet, loli-like voice.

“You figured it out quickly?” Mo Qiu asked.

“Mm… he fooled me for a month.

I was so angry at the time, I almost broke off our friendship with him.”

Bai Chen remembered chasing Old Zhu all over the sports field back then.

Afterward, their friendship, far from breaking, had only grown stronger.

“But thinking about it still makes me mad!

I really thought I was about to have some romantic luck (TL Note: ‘Taohua yun’ refers to good fortune in love or romance), and it turned out to be a guy on the other end of the line.”

“Do you really hate that kind of thing?”

“Yes, quite a lot.”

Since then, Bai Chen had lost interest in girls who approached him, even suspecting them of being male (TL Note: ‘带把的’ is a colloquial, somewhat crude, way to refer to someone as male, implying they have a penis) even when face-to-face.

“If someone tried to trick you like that again, what would you do?”

Bai Chen paused, then answered with a serious expression.

“Then I wouldn’t care if they were male or female.

If they tried to seduce me, they shouldn’t blame me for throwing them into a ‘little dark room’ (TL Note: ‘小黑屋’ (xiǎo hēi wū) literally means ‘small dark room,’ often used in slang to refer to being isolated, punished, or even subjected to non-consensual acts, depending on context.

Here, it carries a double meaning, from playful punishment to something more sinister in Mo Qiu’s imagination).”

First, I’d lock them up for two days and two nights, let Officer Uncle instill some proper morals in them, and then listen carefully to their repentance.

That’s the cruelest punishment Bai Chen could imagine.

However, upon hearing the words “little dark room,” an entirely different scene unfolded in Mo Qiu’s mind.

In a secluded dark room that no one could ever find, the girl lay bound hand and foot with ropes, tossed into a corner.

Her skin appeared excessively pale from prolonged confinement indoors without sunlight, and was now covered in crimson marks from her struggles and the bindings.

At that moment, Bai Chen approached, chuckling chillingly, and forcibly shoved a thick, hard iron rod into the girl’s stretched-open mouth.

Only after she swallowed the thick milk (TL Note: ‘牛奶’ (niú nǎi) literally means ‘milk,’ used here as a euphemism for semen) did he withdraw the rolling pin (TL Note: ‘擀面杖’ (gǎn miàn zhàng) literally means ‘rolling pin,’ used here as a euphemism for a penis or similar object).

Yet, Bai Chen would not let her off so easily.

A siege ram (TL Note: ‘攻城枪’ (gōng chéng qiāng) literally means ‘siege spear’ or ‘battering ram,’ used here as a euphemism for a penis) would soon target the most vulnerable part of the girl’s fortress wall, thrusting fiercely into it, allowing the crimson droplets on the floor to stain the dark room with a hint of bloody sweetness.

Groans rose and fell, volatile liquids permeated the room, and even if the girl were utterly broken, he would not cease, forever making her his plaything.

To deceive Bai Chen meant being disciplined and becoming his personal property.

Mo Qiu instinctively clamped her thighs together, her fingers almost uncontrollably reaching towards her lower body.

‘No, I can’t… I can’t let him find out.’

At that very moment, Bai Chen suddenly looked at her with a serious expression, asking a question that made the girl’s heart seize.

“Mo Qiu, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”