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Join the ServerSu Yutao didn’t know how to react.
Shen Nian reached out and pinched her cheek.
“Your skin is pretty good too. I couldn’t tell yesterday when you were all dirty.”
Su Yutao’s cheek was pinched, and she dared not move.
Shen Nian pinched the other side as well.
“White hair, purple eyes, and such a good look—what breed are you?”
Su Yutao opened her mouth.
She couldn’t answer.
Shen Nian didn’t seem to need an answer. She kneaded at will.
Pinching her cheek.
Ruffling her hair.
Poking her shoulder.
“You’re as skinny as a little chick.”
“This arm is so thin I could snap it with a pinch.”
“Hey, are those eyelashes real? They’re so long?”
Su Yutao was kneaded back and forth like a doll.
She wanted to dodge but didn’t dare.
She was eating out of Shen Nian’s hands—literally. What could she say?
Shen Nian’s hand reached out again, this time pinching her waist.
Su Yutao’s whole body stiffened.
Too close.
She shrank back.
Shen Nian clicked her tongue: “What are you dodging for? It’s not like I’m going to eat you.”
Her hand reached out again, this time aiming for her ear—
Su Yutao couldn’t take it anymore.
She opened her mouth, and a sound came from her throat—
“Whimper…”
Very soft.
Like a small animal being bullied to its limit.
Shen Nian froze, her hand stopping mid-air.
Then she laughed out loud: “Oh, so you can make sounds?”
Her hand reached out again.
Just then, a phone rang.
Shen Nian rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone.
“Hello? Xiao Xue?”
Lin Qingxue’s voice came from the other end.
Shen Nian: “I know, I know, I’m feeding her.”
The other side said something.
Shen Nian: “Alright, alright, make it quick. I’m busy.”
The other side paused for a moment.
Then Lin Qingxue’s voice came through the phone, tinged with confusion: “What’s that sound over there?… I think I heard someone whimpering?”
Shen Nian’s face stiffened.
She glanced down at Su Yutao.
Su Yutao was curled up on the sofa, looking back at her with an innocent expression.
Shen Nian cleared her throat: “Nothing, you misheard.”
The other side was silent for a second.
Lin Qingxue’s voice came again, this time with a hint of amusement: “Nian Nian, you’re not actually bullying the little mute, are you?”
Shen Nian’s face darkened: “Who’s bullying her? I’m feeding her!”
The other side chuckled: “Then what were you doing just now? I heard the whimper.”
Shen Nian was at a loss for words.
She opened her mouth to explain but couldn’t.
Su Yutao, beside her, still had half a mouthful of rice, quietly ‘watching’ the conversation.
Shen Nian took a deep breath: “Alright, fine, nothing’s wrong. I’m hanging up!”
Without waiting for a reply, she hung up directly.
The room fell silent.
Shen Nian looked at Su Yutao, and Su Yutao ‘looked’ back at her—though she couldn’t see.
Two seconds of silence.
Shen Nian reached out, not to pinch but to flick her forehead.
“It’s all your fault.”
Su Yutao touched her forehead and didn’t dare say a word.
Shen Nian picked up the bowl and offered another spoonful of rice: “Open up.”
Su Yutao obediently opened her mouth.
Chew, chew, chew.
Shen Nian looked at her with a complicated expression.
“You know, you can’t talk, yet you manage to stir up trouble.”
Su Yutao chewed, thinking, ‘I didn’t do anything. You were the one pinching me the whole time.’
But she couldn’t say it.
So she just kept opening her mouth.
Kept eating.
After the meal, Shen Nian took the dishes away.
Su Yutao curled up on the sofa, not daring to move.
Shen Nian came back after washing the dishes, flopped onto the sofa, pulled out her phone, scrolled for a moment, then tossed it aside.
“So boring.”
She glanced at Su Yutao, who was huddled in the corner.
“What do you usually do? Just sit here like this?”
Su Yutao didn’t know how to answer.
Besides, she couldn’t talk.
She could only nod.
Shen Nian clicked her tongue: “That really is boring.”
She picked up the remote and pressed a button.
The sound of the TV turning on.
“Let’s watch some TV. Better than staring at you doing nothing.”
As soon as she said it, she paused, then turned to look at Su Yutao: “Oh right, you can’t see.”
Su Yutao lowered her head.
Shen Nian added, “But you’re not deaf, are you? Listening is fine.”
She turned up the volume a bit.
Something was playing on TV—seemed to be the news.
The anchor’s voice, clear and measured: “…Welcome to the midday news. First, a breaking story from our station…”
Shen Nian leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs.
Su Yutao continued to curl up, motionless.
She was wearing Lin Qingxue’s clothes—a loose white T-shirt with sleeves so long they covered her hands, the hem reaching her thighs.
The pants were also Lin Qingxue’s; the cuffs of the sweatpants were rolled up several times but still dragged on the floor.
She looked like a child who had stolen adult clothes.
The anchor’s voice continued: “…A vicious case occurred in our city a few days ago. Police discovered a female body in an abandoned demolition building in the old city district the night before last…”
Su Yutao’s ears perked up instantly.
The night before last.
Old city district.
Abandoned demolition building.
Female body.
Her hands slowly clenched the fabric of her pants—the loose fabric bunching in her fists.
The anchor’s voice went on: “…According to preliminary police investigation, the victim was a female aged approximately 25 to 30. Cause of death was sharp force trauma, with three stab wounds—two to the heart and one to the abdomen. Police have preliminarily ruled it a homicide.”
Three wounds.
Two to the heart.
One to the abdomen.
Su Yutao’s mind flashed back to that rainy night—she was holding that person, that person clutching her hand and saying ‘save me,’ then the cold voice approaching, then the three thuds.
Su Yutao felt a chill run through her.
Shen Nian stared at the TV, muttering, “Three wounds, two to the heart… That’s pretty ruthless.”
She turned to look at Su Yutao: “Hey, Su Yutao, where were you the night before last? You weren’t there, were you?”
Su Yutao’s whole body stiffened.
She shook her head frantically.
Shook so hard that the wide neckline of the T-shirt slipped to one side, revealing half her shoulder.
Shen Nian glanced at her and chuckled: “Yeah, you’re a little blind girl. Where could you go? Besides, that’s the old city district, far from here.”
She turned back to the TV.
The anchor’s voice continued: “Notably, surveillance footage from the area surrounding the crime scene is missing due to unknown reasons, posing difficulties for the investigation. Police are canvassing the surrounding area and urging citizens with any information to come forward.”
Shen Nian clicked her tongue: “They can’t even keep the surveillance footage. These cops are pretty useless.”
She tossed a sunflower seed into her mouth, chewing while staring at the TV.
Su Yutao curled up on the sofa, slowly unclenching her fists.
Her palms were slick with sweat.
But her body was still trembling.
Very lightly.
An uncontrollable tremor.
Shen Nian seemed to sense something and glanced at her again: “Are you cold?”
Su Yutao froze.
Cold?
She wasn’t cold.
But she was indeed shaking.
She quickly nodded.
Shen Nian stood up, grabbed a blanket from somewhere, and tossed it over her: “Cover up.”
The blanket landed on Su Yutao’s head, covering her entirely.
In the darkness beneath the blanket—though it was already dark for her—Su Yutao curled into a ball.
The loose clothes wrapped around her, the blanket wrapped around her, a tiny bundle nestled in the corner of the sofa.
The news report continued on TV.
The anchor’s voice went on: “The victim’s identity has been preliminarily determined. Her name is Zhou Wan, 27 years old, a local resident. She worked as a freelancer before her death. Police are contacting her family. According to sources close to the investigation, Zhou Wan was frequently seen in the old city district and had a complex social circle.”
Shen Nian chewed her seeds, mumbling indistinctly: “Zhou Wan… complex social circle… Those are the ones most likely to get into trouble.”
She glanced at Su Yutao again.
Su Yutao was hidden under the blanket, motionless.
Shen Nian reached out and poked her shoulder: “Hey, Su Yutao, are you asleep?”
Su Yutao shook her head.
Shen Nian poked her face again: “You know, not being able to talk is really boring. Here I am rambling on alone, and you just listen?”
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, Reborn in My Arch-Enemy's Body, I Rule Over the Divine Magical Girl is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : Reborn in My Arch-Enemy's Body, I Rule Over the Divine Magical Girl
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