Chapter 35: A Midnight Scare and a Royal Guard

Upon reaching the dorm room, Shen Jing’an was uncharacteristically quiet, simply sitting alone at the other side of her desk, browsing the internet, and speaking very little. Lin Duo, whose impression of her was only average to begin with, was quite content with the peace and quiet, and casually browsed the news online.

In the blink of an eye, it was already 9 PM. Shen Jing’an stood up, pacing restlessly around the room, until she finally couldn’t hold back anymore. “Um, Lin Duo, why don’t we shower together?”

“If you want to go, just go by yourself!” Lin Duo replied without even lifting her head.

Finding no other option, Shen Jing’an walked behind Lin Duo and gently massaged her shoulders. “Please, let’s go together, okay? You’re going to shower before bed anyway, right?”

Annoyed beyond measure, Lin Duo finally stood up and playfully pinched Shen Jing’an’s small nose. “You truly are a little princess who can’t leave home. Just wait a moment!”

Lin Duo retrieved a large basin she had prepared from her wardrobe, stuffed her pajamas and toiletries inside, and then accompanied Shen Jing’an to the shower room at the end of the corridor. Conveniently, there were two adjacent empty stalls.

Lin Duo slipped into a cubicle, immediately locked the door, and repeatedly checked that it wouldn’t open before she began to undress.

Once completely undressed, Lin Duo first lowered her gaze to assess her own development. Her chest, she noted, was still adorned with a pair of small ‘steamed buns,’ a fact that left her feeling a touch resentful. She wished she could simply inflate them.

Of course, she knew such things couldn’t be rushed. Her adoptive mother had also mentioned that girls experience a new phase of development around sixteen, which brought Lin Duo a great deal of reassurance.

As she was showering, a voice suddenly called from the adjacent stall. “Lin Duo? Are you in there?”

“I am!” Lin Duo replied, washing her hair as she spoke.

“Shall we chat for a bit?”

“About what?”

The adjacent stall fell silent for a moment before the voice returned. “What do you think of that boy from dinner earlier?”

“What about him?” Lin Duo hadn’t quite processed the question. “He seemed like a rather handsome and thoughtful boy, didn’t he?”

“Um, I… I think I might like him a little…” Shen Jing’an’s voice, tinged with shyness, drifted over.

Lin Duo’s hands, in the midst of washing, paused. She was utterly taken aback; this sudden romance seemed far too quick. They had only just met once, hadn’t they?

“Hey, what are your reasons for liking him?”

“There are so many reasons! First, he’s handsome. Second, he’s handsome. And third… hmm… he’s handsome?”

As expected, first impressions were entirely based on looks. Lin Duo silently began to apply her body wash, saying nothing further.

Soon, however, Shen Jing’an’s voice floated over again. “Um… I was just joking earlier! Please don’t take it seriously!”

After that, the cubicle next door fell silent, with only the sound of flowing water remaining.

After her shower, Lin Duo dried herself and slipped into her favorite two-piece pink pajamas, complete with a rabbit-eared hood. She emerged from her cubicle and waited by the door for two minutes before Shen Jing’an finally came out, and the two returned to their dorm room together.

A subtle difference was that Shen Jing’an was wearing a nightgown, and specifically one made of silk, which made it somewhat revealing. Moreover, she seemed to have no sense of caution, simply sitting cross-legged on her bed, engrossed in her computer, exposing a considerable length of her rather shapely thighs.

This made Lin Duo feel a little uncomfortable, prompting her to direct her gaze elsewhere.

In the blink of an eye, it was 11 PM. Both girls were feeling sleepy and dutifully lay down in their respective beds. Although it was still a bit warm outside, the dorm room had air conditioning, allowing them to comfortably pull up their thick blankets. Soon, they both drifted off to sleep.

****

“Lin Duo… Lin Duo… wake up for a moment…”

In the dead of night, a voice drifted around Lin Duo’s ear.

Lin Duo groggily opened her eyes, only to find a disheveled ‘female ghost’ perched at the head of her bed. She let out a startled cry, immediately sitting upright.

“Shhh, keep your voice down, you’ll wake the next room!” The ‘female ghost’ seemed a little displeased.

Only then did Lin Duo realize that the ‘female ghost’ was actually Shen Jing’an. Her hair was somewhat long and disheveled from sleep, and the room was so dark, which had led to the initial mistaken identity.

Lin Duo picked up her phone from the bedside table and saw it was only a little past two in the morning. She was immediately very annoyed. “What do you want, waking me up?”

“Will you come to the restroom with me?” Shen Jing’an sat beside Lin Duo, clutching her small hand.

“You woke me up just for this?” Lin Duo grew even angrier, shaking off the other girl’s hand. “You know the way to the restroom, can’t you go by yourself?”

“I… I’m scared…” Shen Jing’an shamelessly leaned her soft body against Lin Duo’s shoulder, beginning to whine. “It’s so dark in the corridor, what if I run into someone bad?”

Lin Duo realized one thing: if she didn’t agree, she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep herself.

Resigned, she reluctantly climbed out of bed and slipped on her slippers. She accompanied the little princess into the corridor.

As luck would have it, a heavy rain began to fall outside, accompanied by distant rumbling thunder. Just as Shen Jing’an stepped into the restroom, a tremendous clap of thunder erupted, startling her into a loud scream.

“Hey, hey, do you want to wake up the whole building?!” Lin Duo quickly covered her small mouth from behind.

Shen Jing’an calmed down, forcing out an apologetic smile. “But it was truly terrifying… Hey, you absolutely have to keep talking to me while I’m inside the cubicle.”

And so, Shen Jing’an slipped into a cubicle, her voice drifting out from within. “Lin Duo, say something!”

Lin Duo wasn’t sure what to say in such a situation, but then a thought struck her. “How about I sing a song?”

“Yes, please do!”

And so, amidst Lin Duo’s soft singing, a sound akin to flowing spring water could be heard. Before long, Shen Jing’an emerged from the cubicle, seemingly in high spirits, and proactively took Lin Duo’s small hand. “Let’s go, let’s head back!”

“Hey, hey, you haven’t washed your hands, have you?”

“Oops, I accidentally forgot!”

“Get away from me!!”

Back in the dorm room, both girls burrowed into their respective blankets, leaving only the hum of the air conditioning. Lin Duo didn’t fall asleep immediately, as she had a lingering worry: if this little imp dared to wake her in the middle of the night today, would she perhaps strip her completely while she was sound asleep tomorrow?

Lin Duo’s concern was not unfounded, for she wore absolutely nothing beneath her pajamas. Besides, who wore underwear with pajamas anyway?

Furthermore, her adoptive mother, Wu Bijuan, had always advised her that girls should spend a suitable amount of time each day in a ‘vacuum state’—allowing their skin full contact with the air—to ensure it remained soft and smooth in the future. Lin Duo had always been meticulous about her appearance, and thus strictly adhered to her adoptive mother’s teachings.

In most situations, Lin Duo had no chance of her secret being exposed. Her upper body was indistinguishable from other girls her age, even more slender, and even the female doctor during her pre-high school entrance exam hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

As for what lay below, her ‘little stick’ remained rather listless, and her pajama bottoms were quite loose, ensuring no hint could be discerned from the outside. However, if her pants were to be taken off, that would be an entirely different story!

Hesitating for a moment, Lin Duo decided to warn the young girl. “Hey, don’t ever come near me when I’m sleeping again!”

“Why not? We’re both girls, it’s not like I’d do anything to you while you’re asleep.” Shen Jing’an, predictably, was unconvinced.

“I… I’m prone to killing in my sleep!” Lin Duo finally concocted a reason.

Shen Jing’an, who hadn’t read many extracurricular books, turned over in her blanket to face Lin Duo, blinking. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’m extremely vigilant, especially when I’m asleep. Once, when I stayed over at a friend’s house, she tried to wake me up in the middle of the night, much like you did. I sat up in an instant and sent her flying with a kick, right into the wall. She ended up with a fractured left rib and took a long time to recover.”

The story was riddled with holes, yet Shen Jing’an believed most of it, her body trembling slightly. “Is it really that dangerous?”

“Absolutely! May I be a puppy if I’m lying! So, it’s sheer luck you weren’t kicked flying just now!” Lin Duo continued to intimidate the naive girl. “I don’t do it on purpose, it’s just a subconscious reaction. But it’s fine, if you did break a bone, I’d take responsibility for looking after you!”

“Then… then I won’t disturb your sleep anymore…” Shen Jing’an’s voice clearly held a trace of lingering fear.

That night, Lin Duo indeed slept soundly until morning. However, she remained somewhat uneasy. After lunch, she went to an accessories store outside school and purchased an imperial sword, which she then placed on her bedside table every night before sleep. Shen Jing’an observed this, and without a word, subtly pushed her own bed further away from Lin Duo’s.

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