Chapter 14: A Forgotten Key, A Kabedon Confrontation

As dusk settled, Mu Rong Xin Xue’s figure appeared at the entrance of her home. Yet, as she fumbled in her pocket, a sudden realization made her freeze.

“Drat it, how could I have left my keys inside?”

Without her keys, calling was the only recourse. But then, another problem dawned on her: her phone, it seemed, was still in the classroom.

“This is hopeless; I’ll have to resort to the most primitive method.”

Gently tapping her forehead, Mu Rong Xin Xue could only sigh in exasperation. Who else was to blame but herself for carelessly leaving her keys at home and her phone at school? With no other choice, she raised her hand and gently knocked on the main door.

“Xiao Ye, open the door!”

Meanwhile, at this very moment, inside Mu Rong Luo Ye’s room…

“Bot lane, bot lane, go! Ultimate, ultimate, ultimate! Flash and ult!”

Completely oblivious to the knocking downstairs, he remained fixated on the images flickering across his computer screen.

“R-Flash ult!”

Unbeknownst to him, time gradually slipped away, and Mu Rong Xin Xue, still standing at her doorstep, had been knocking for what felt like an eternity.

Glancing at the faint light filtering from Mu Rong Luo Ye’s room, Mu Rong Xin Xue couldn’t help but feel a pang of bewilderment. Mu Rong Luo Ye was clearly home, so why hadn’t he come down yet?

She continued to knock for a while, pressing her ear tightly against the door, but the anticipated footsteps never materialized. It seemed Mu Rong Luo Ye truly hadn’t heard her, or perhaps, he was doing it on purpose.

But, surely not on purpose? From Mu Rong Xin Xue’s understanding of Mu Rong Luo Ye, he would never intentionally refuse to open the door for her.

However, now she could only wait. ‘Alas,’ she thought, ‘is this what it feels like to have a home yet be unable to enter?’

Just at that moment, a familiar figure appeared behind her.

“Xin Xue-jie, why are you standing outside alone?”

Hearing her name called, Mu Rong Xin Xue quickly turned around.

Gazing at the black-haired girl before her, a flash of excitement sparked in Mu Rong Xin Xue’s eyes. After waiting for what felt like an eternity, her savior had finally arrived.

“Huang Beifeng, you’ve truly come at the perfect time!”

Unable to dodge in time, she was suddenly enveloped in Mu Rong Xin Xue’s embrace. She could only feel two soft mounds pressing against her, effectively sandwiching her face.

“Mmph, Xin Xue-jie, let go of me!”

Having nearly squeezed Huang Beifeng breathless, Mu Rong Xin Xue finally released her from the embrace.

“Cough, cough, cough, Xin Xue-jie, you really are too much!”

Comparing Mu Rong Xin Xue’s formidable assets to her own, an invisible wave of self-consciousness washed over Huang Beifeng.

Observing Huang Beifeng’s somewhat dazed expression, Mu Rong Xin Xue couldn’t hold back a chuckle. As if merely laughing wasn’t enough, she then raised an eyebrow at Huang Beifeng, pointing to her own ‘formidable assets.’ “Huang Beifeng,” she teased, “surely you’re not jealous of your elder sister’s figure, are you?”

“Eh?”

Having her innermost thoughts exposed, her face, of course, flushed crimson. Clutching her burning red cheeks, Huang Beifeng vehemently shook her head.

“N-n-no, not at all!”

“Oh, really?”

Raising an eyebrow, she gazed at the face so red it looked as if it might bleed, then chuckled softly a few more times. “Not honest at all, are we? But big sister won’t tease you anymore.”

Gently patting Huang Beifeng’s shoulder, and waiting for her complexion to return to normal, Mu Rong Xin Xue then cut to the chase.

“Huang Beifeng, did you bring a key?”

“A key? Hasn’t the lock been changed yet?”

Observing the expression on Mu Rong Xin Xue’s face, Huang Beifeng could surmise why she had been standing at the door, asking about keys.

“Xin Xue-jie, you didn’t forget your keys, did you?”

“If I hadn’t forgotten my keys, how else would I be stuck outside? And Xiao Ye, for some reason, hasn’t opened the door.”

From Mu Rong Xin Xue’s account, Huang Beifeng learned the full story. She fumbled for the keys on her person, and after carefully sifting through them, pulled out the one they needed.

As their two families were long-standing acquaintances, both households possessed a spare set of the other’s keys. Thus, Mu Rong Xin Xue asking Huang Beifeng if she had a key was not at all surprising.

“Oh, right, Huang Beifeng, what brings you here today?”

While Huang Beifeng was busy unlocking the door with the key, Mu Rong Xin Xue couldn’t help but inquire.

“Well, my parents will be away for work for a while, and after discussing it with Uncle and Auntie, they’ve arranged for me to stay here for a bit.”

“So that’s how it is.”

Pondering for a moment, she realized her parents would likely have informed her too, but because her phone was left at school, she remained unaware.

Mu Rong Luo Ye, on the other hand, should have received the message.

“Um, you can sit in the living room for a bit; I’ll go call Xiao Ye.”

Suddenly realizing that having her brother’s childhood friend see him dressed in women’s clothes might not be ideal, she decided to go warn Mu Rong Luo Ye first. Mu Rong Xin Xue, however, remained oblivious to the fact that Mu Rong Luo Ye and Huang Beifeng had already met.

She gently pushed open the door to Mu Rong Luo Ye’s room. What greeted her eyes was Mu Rong Luo Ye, utterly engrossed in the computer screen.

“No wonder he wasn’t opening the door; so this is where he was.”

The thought that she had been knocking for so long, and Mu Rong Luo Ye’s complete lack of reaction was simply because he was playing a game, was utterly unacceptable to her.

Glancing at the circuit breakers in the hallway, Mu Rong Xin Xue immediately located the one for Mu Rong Luo Ye’s room. Without a moment’s hesitation, she pulled the switch down.

****

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Just as I was still staring intently at the computer screen, the next second, it suddenly went black.

Not only the computer screen, but even the lights in the room suddenly went out.

‘Was this a power outage?’

However, in the very next second, both the lights and the computer screen flickered back to life simultaneously.

‘Something unusual always points to mischief. Judging by this, someone must be playing tricks.’

‘Of all times to choose, they just had to pick when I was backdooring a tower. Great, now it’s over, utterly ruined.’

‘Argh! Who did this?’

Just as I was still fuming, the room door suddenly opened, and immediately after, Mu Rong Xin Xue’s figure appeared before me.

Before I could even react, she yanked me from my chair, then, with a swift movement, ‘kabedon’d’ me against the wall.

‘Wait a minute, why are we ‘kabedon’ing’ again out of nowhere?!’

After nervously swallowing, a hint of tremor entered my gaze as I looked at Mu Rong Xin Xue.

‘Unable to struggle, I suppose I’m at her mercy.’

“My dear brother, it’s time we had a little chat about your transgressions.”

‘H-heck no!’