Chapter 17: The Morning After: A Lingering Scent and a Mischievous Pat

The morning light, filtering through the narrow gaps in the curtains, dappled across the disheveled sofa.

Kazami Jin stirred awake, enveloped in a mixture of warmth and a lingering ache.

The instant her consciousness fully returned, memories of Lin Wan’s “enhanced discipline” from the previous night washed over her like a relentless tide, causing her cheeks to flare crimson and her body to instinctively curl into itself.

Cautiously, she turned her head, only to find that Xia Yue, who had slept with her head pillowed on Jin’s shoulder all night, was gone.

The other side of the sofa lay empty as well, leaving behind only the lingering warmth of their combined body heat and… certain unspeakable, overly intimate tactile memories.

Just as she was bracing her somewhat weakened body to sit upright, the bathroom door clicked open.

Lin Wan emerged, towel-drying her damp, flaxen short hair, a refreshing scent of shower gel and steam clinging to her.

Dressed only in an oversized T-shirt and shorts, her eyes immediately lit up upon spotting Jin awake, and she let out a cheerful whistle.

“Morning, Jin~ Sleep well?” she chirped, leaning in with a wide grin.

Before Jin could even reply, that hand, still slightly damp from drying her hair, landed with remarkable naturalness and precision on Jin’s bottom, clad only in thin pajama bottoms, delivering a soft, resonant pat.

“!” Jin’s entire body stiffened, a furious slideshow of last night’s various “teachings” flashing through her mind, turning her earlobes scarlet.

She glared at Lin Wan, who merely returned an impossibly brilliant smile, brimming with the smug satisfaction of a successful prank.

Jin understood instantly.

This was retaliation! Naked, unadulterated revenge! Revenge for her audacious touch in the factory yesterday!

This girl… she truly held a grudge over every tiny detail!

Just as Jin, flushed with shame and indignation, was about to launch a counterattack (though it would likely be futile), Xia Yue emerged from the kitchen.

She had already changed into her neat school uniform, carrying two cups of warm water in her hands, and her steps faltered slightly upon seeing the scene in the living room.

Her gaze swept from Jin’s still-flushed cheeks and earlobes to Lin Wan’s undisguised triumph, a flicker of confusion passing through her icy blue eyes.

She placed the water cups on the coffee table, then looked at Jin, her voice calm yet laced with inquiry:

“Jin, your face is very red.

Did you not sleep well last night? Or…” She frowned slightly, her nose twitching subtly, as if trying to discern some information in the air.

“I just feel like… there’s a strange scent.”

A strange scent?!

Jin’s heart nearly leaped out of her throat!

Could it be… the lingering traces of those overly intimate touches from last night?

Impossible!

Lin Wan had just showered!

Or was Xia Yue’s perception so acutely sensitive it was abnormal?!

“N-no! Nothing at all!” Jin denied almost immediately, her voice rising a pitch from nervousness.

She forced out an incredibly stiff smile, attempting to laugh it off.

“It’s probably just… just that I slept too deeply, and it got a bit hot!

Yes, too hot!

Haha, hahahaha…”

She chuckled dryly, while frantically signaling Lin Wan with her eyes to either help smooth things over or just keep quiet.

Lin Wan received her signal, but far from helping, she only chuckled more triumphantly.

She winked at Jin, then waved a hand at Xia Yue.

“Relax, A’Yue, what strange scent could there be? You’re definitely too sensitive!

I’m going to go change now!” With that, she skipped back to the guest room, humming an off-key tune, her mood clearly excellent.

The living room was left with only a feigning-calm Jin and a still-puzzled Xia Yue.

Xia Yue didn’t immediately look away.

She stared at Jin for a few seconds, her eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, made Jin squirm uncomfortably, cold sweat prickling her back.

“Really… nothing?” Xia Yue asked again, her tone serious and brooking no perfunctory answers.

“Really! Truly nothing!” Jin nodded her head like a pecking chick, her hands tightly clutching the fabric of her pajama bottoms, refusing to admit for anything that she had been subjected to various “bond-deepening” activities under Lin Wan’s “coercion” last night, leaving her legs still a bit weak this morning.

Xia Yue watched Jin, who looked on the verge of tears, and then recalled Lin Wan’s overly bright smile and Jin’s unusually rosy complexion.

She vaguely pieced together a few possibilities.

Most likely… it was that Lin Wan again, taking advantage of Jin’s relaxed guard or when she was asleep, doing something “excessive” but probably not genuinely harmful to Jin.

Since Jin was unwilling to speak, and appeared to feel nothing but shyness, Xia Yue ultimately sighed softly to herself and chose not to press further.

“…Alright.” She shifted her gaze, picking up her school bag.

“If anything happens, you must tell me.

Get ready, it’s time for school.”

Hearing Xia Yue give up on questioning, Jin felt as if she had received a great pardon, letting out a sharp breath and completely relaxing, nodding repeatedly.

“Mm-hmm! I’ll be ready right away!”

She practically fled back to her room, closing the door and leaning against it, panting heavily.

That was too close!

She almost died of embarrassment!

Meanwhile, in the living room, Xia Yue looked at Jin’s closed door, then glanced towards the guest room, shaking her head helplessly.

These two… their relationship was indeed growing more “intimate,” but the method… felt somehow off.

However, as long as Jin was fine, the rest… could probably be ignored for now.

When Kazami Jin had changed into her school uniform and composed herself before leaving her room, Lin Wan was also ready, cheerfully waiting for her with a slice of bread in her mouth.

Xia Yue stood by the door, as calm and composed as ever.

“Let’s go,” Xia Yue said.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Lin Wan naturally linked arms with Jin, as if the little sneak attack from last night had never happened.

Jin looked at the two beside her—one serene, one exuberant—a swirl of emotions in her heart.

This twisted and “unexpected” daily life, it seemed, would continue for a very long time.

And she, too, seemed to have unconsciously grown accustomed to this strange symbiotic relationship, tinged with a bit of shame, yet mixed with warmth and… a racing heartbeat.