X
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Join the Server“You’re moving out?”
Lu Yang clearly hadn’t anticipated such news.
The bright smile on his face instantly froze, replaced by an expression of undisguised shock and disappointment.
He set down his dumbbell and strode over to Su Mian, his voice laced with confusion. “Haven’t we been getting along well? Why the sudden decision to move out? Did we inadvertently make you uncomfortable?”
Compared to Lu Yang’s candid reaction, Qin Xuan, seated at his desk, appeared far more composed.
He merely lifted his gaze from his book, adjusted the glasses perched on his nose, and let his eyes linger briefly on Su Mian’s slightly taut T-shirt.
Then, as if nothing were amiss, he lowered his eyelids, a silent acknowledgment that this development was perhaps not entirely unexpected.
His keen observation had already registered subtle shifts in Su Mian’s demeanor; moving out, he mused, might have been an inevitable choice.
“No, it’s not you, don’t overthink it!”
Su Mian hastily waved her hands, a blush creeping up her cheeks, fueled by her urgency and the need to fabricate an excuse. “It has nothing to do with you guys; everyone here has been really good to me!”
Lu Yang scratched his head, his thoughts taking a uniquely circuitous turn.
“Is it… did you get a new girlfriend these past few days? Planning to start a sweet cohabitation? Oh, if that’s the case, your brothers will definitely support you! It’s good that you’ve let go of the idea of Miss Shen!”
“No, it’s not like that!”
Su Mian’s face flushed even deeper, almost crimson.
‘I actually got a ‘boyfriend’…’ she thought.
‘Though the whole process was nothing like I imagined!’
Her mind raced, and in her desperation, she could only use her sister as a shield. “It’s… I have a younger sister! She’s taking her college entrance exams next year, and her grades have been slipping badly lately.”
“My family was worried, so they asked me to move in and look after her for a while, and help tutor her with her studies…”
The excuse was half-truth, half-fiction. She indeed had a sister, Su Baixue, but their relationship was notoriously strained.
“A sister?” Lu Yang’s eyes widened, as if he had discovered a new continent. “Mian, you actually have a sister? You’ve never mentioned her before!”
Su Mian stiffened, pushing through her lie with a deliberately crafted tone of helplessness. “Yeah… our relationship wasn’t great before, so I didn’t really talk about her.”
“This time, our family also hopes I can use this opportunity to spend more time with her and mend our relationship.”
Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke.
Upon hearing this, the confusion on Lu Yang’s face melted away, replaced by understanding and sympathy.
He clapped Su Mian on the shoulder with a sigh. “So that’s how it is. For your sister’s future, there’s really nothing else to do. Being an older brother carries a lot of responsibility!”
Feeling Lu Yang’s unquestioning trust, Su Mian’s guilt intensified.
She quickly added, “I’ll only be tutoring her for a while. Once her grades stabilize, or if she finds a better tutor, I’ll move back! Besides, I’m not transferring schools; we’ll still see each other every day on campus!”
Hearing this, Lu Yang’s smile returned. “Then it’s a promise! Our dorm has to get together during the National Day holiday! You can’t miss it!”
Su Mian’s heart tightened as she immediately thought of Xia’s unsettling seaside villa.
She quickly suggested, “Gather! We definitely will! But… let’s not trouble Xia by going to his villa, okay? How about we just hang out in the city? We could do a murder mystery game, an escape room, or go karaoke? That way, it’s convenient for everyone.”
Given her current physical state, she dared not venture into any situation that might involve an overnight stay.
Lu Yang, being easygoing, immediately agreed. “Sounds good! Whatever you say! By then, see if you can invite Miss Shen out too? We brothers will create an opportunity for you; maybe we can even set you two up!”
He was still keen on helping Su Mian win back her ‘white moonlight.’
Su Mian’s eyes lit up. This was an excellent chance to gauge Shen Zhixia’s attitude and, incidentally, to provoke Xiao Moyuan. She nodded at once. “I can try!”
***
Just then, the dorm room door softly pushed open, and Xia returned.
The moment he saw Su Mian, a smile that could only be described as ‘radiant’ bloomed on his face. A fleeting gleam seemed to dance in his light blue eyes, betraying the pleasure of a hunter spotting a coveted prey back in their sights.
However, when he heard from Lu Yang that Su Mian would be temporarily moving out, the smile on his face rapidly receded like an ebbing tide.
Though he maintained a semblance of politeness, the warmth in his eyes plummeted, replaced by a swift, almost imperceptible flash of displeasure and gloom.
Lu Yang, ever boisterous, remained utterly oblivious to this subtle shift in atmosphere.
He casually slung an arm around Xia’s shoulder, teasing, “Xia, why do you look so reluctant to let Mian go? You’ve only known each other for a few days, and your feelings are already that deep?”
Xia swiftly reined in his outward emotions, donning his gentle, slightly melancholic mask once more.
He spoke calmly, “I just feel a little sad that just as we’ve all gotten to know each other, our dorm will be one person short.”
Lu Yang laughed heartily, patting his back vigorously. “Don’t worry! Mian is just going to look after her sister for a while; she’ll be back later!”
“Oh, right, we’ve agreed to go out and have fun during the National Day holiday, so we won’t trouble you by going to your villa this time.”
“But Xia, you’re so handsome, your popularity must be sky-high. You must have been constantly surrounded by girls lately, right? How about we call a few pretty girls for a mixer then? Our dorm is counting on you to find a girlfriend!”
Xia nodded compliantly, agreeing readily. “Alright, no problem.”
His gaze, however, subtly swept over Su Mian once more, as if assessing some ongoing plan.
Su Mian glanced at the time. “Ah! I have class, I’m leaving now!”
With that, she practically fled the dorm room.
***
Upon arriving at the classroom, Su Mian was met with an unexpected surprise.
Shen Zhixia, instead of her usual spot beside Xiao Moyuan, had chosen the empty seat next to her.
“A’Mian, you’re here?” Shen Zhixia greeted her proactively, a smile on her face that Su Mian hadn’t seen in a long time, one that bordered on intimacy.
Su Mian was flattered, instinctively sneaking a glance in Xiao Moyuan’s direction.
Sure enough, he sat alone in his usual spot, his expression so grim it looked as though water might drip from it.
Suppressing a surge of secret delight, she quietly asked Shen Zhixia, “Zhixia, why aren’t you sitting with him today?”
Shen Zhixia smiled faintly, reaching out to naturally link her arm through Su Mian’s.
Her tone was light. “I suddenly felt like sitting with you, A’Mian. What, you don’t want me to?”
“I do! Of course I do!” Su Mian quickly nodded her small head, her heart blossoming with joy.
The surprise had come too suddenly!
She couldn’t help but wonder if Xiao Moyuan had had a change of heart, and Shen Zhixia had confessed to having a ‘girlfriend,’ leading her to proactively keep her distance from him?
It seemed her recent ‘sacrifices’ and ‘efforts’ had not been in vain after all!
However, her fleeting joy lasted only a few seconds before it was abruptly interrupted by the sudden drop in atmospheric pressure beside her.
Xiao Moyuan approached, his face dark, and without a word, he sat directly on Su Mian’s other side.
Su Mian: “!!!!”
She froze instantly, her mind momentarily crashing.
‘W-what is happening?’
‘Am I really caught between two people?’
‘No! This is clearly a case of ice and fire!’
Seeing this, Shen Zhixia’s aversion to Xiao Moyuan deepened.
‘He already has other women, yet he’s still putting on this jealous act in front of me. It’s truly repulsive.’
She completely ignored Xiao Moyuan’s presence, focusing all her attention on Su Mian.
“A’Mian, I didn’t bring my textbook today; let’s share yours,” Shen Zhixia said, leaning even more intimately into Su Mian.
Her soft, delicate arm pressed almost entirely against Su Mian’s as she reached to move Su Mian’s textbook on the desk.
At the instant their skin touched, Shen Zhixia’s heart stirred faintly. ‘A’Mian’s arm feels so incredibly smooth…’
“Mm… okay…” Su Mian’s body was rigid, like a puppet nailed to its seat.
To her right was Shen Zhixia’s sudden closeness, and to her left, Xiao Moyuan’s icy gaze that felt as though it could pierce right through her.
She felt as if she were suffocating.
From the looks of it, Xiao Moyuan had definitely not confessed anything to Shen Zhixia!
So what was his current reaction…?
“I didn’t bring my textbook either…”
Xiao Moyuan’s deep, unmistakable voice resonated from her left.
Immediately after, a large hand, bony and slightly cool to the touch, unceremoniously covered Su Mian’s hand, which rested on the other side of the textbook, pulling the book slightly in his direction.
“!”
The moment Xiao Moyuan’s hand covered hers, a powerful jolt of electricity seemed to shoot through her entire body from the point of contact.
Su Mian’s face flushed crimson, even her earlobes and neck turning a vivid pink.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, beating so fast it made her dizzy.
She couldn’t comprehend why, when Shen Zhixia touched her, she felt only a sense of familiarity and a slight nervousness.
Yet, when Xiao Moyuan touched her, it triggered such a violent, almost shameful reaction.
The sensation—a mix of panic, flutter, and a hint of secret longing—threatened to overwhelm her.
Su Mian’s overly obvious blush was naturally noticed by Xiao Moyuan in its entirety.
The ice in his eyes seemed to thaw slightly, and a nearly imperceptible hint of satisfaction flickered through them. His previously foul mood instantly improved.
However, this scene was interpreted entirely differently in Shen Zhixia’s eyes.
She merely assumed Su Mian was blushing from anger, provoked by Xiao Moyuan’s childish and domineering challenge.
This caused her impression of Xiao Moyuan to plummet even further.
But she wasn’t ready to completely break ties with Xiao Moyuan just yet, considering Xia’s mission.
At the thought of consuming blood, her gaze inadvertently brushed across Su Mian’s neck.
It was then that Shen Zhixia’s attention was drawn to the familiar necklace around Su Mian’s neck.
She paused slightly, her voice laced with surprise. “A’Mian, why are you wearing this necklace again?”
‘Yesterday, the girl Xiao Moyuan was on a date with seemed to be wearing the exact same necklace,’ she mused.
Shen Zhixia didn’t overthink it, simply attributing it to coincidence.
Suddenly, Su Mian’s heart skipped a beat, almost stopping entirely!
‘Oh no! I’ve gotten so used to wearing this necklace these past few days that I forgot to take it off when I changed back into my male clothes today!’
A tremendous fear instantly washed over her.
Her first, almost instinctive reaction wasn’t to explain to Shen Zhixia, but to whip her head around, looking frantically at Xiao Moyuan beside her—’Would he notice anything amiss?’
Indeed, Xiao Moyuan’s gaze had also fallen upon the necklace, his eyes deepening with a meaningful intensity.
His fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the desktop, as if contemplating a crucial question.
Su Mian was terrified out of her wits, quickly turning back to Shen Zhixia, her voice urgent with explanation:
“I-I wanted to examine the clasp of this necklace for the past two days! I wanted to see if someone could take it off by themselves, and… and I accidentally put it on again, and now I can’t take it off…”
Before Shen Zhixia could reply, Xiao Moyuan suddenly spoke.
His voice was steady, yet imbued with a deliberately crafted, thought-provoking quality. “This necklace is very beautiful, and its design is quite unique.”
“To my knowledge,” he paused, his gaze sweeping over Su Mian’s pale face with a hint of a smile, “not many people in N City own one.”
He slowly continued, “Coincidentally, not long ago, I also gave someone an identical one.”
The words struck Shen Zhixia like a thunderclap.
She instantly confirmed it: she definitely hadn’t been mistaken yesterday!
Xiao Moyuan had indeed given that girl this very necklace!
This scumbag, in her mind, was now thoroughly confirmed as such!
A powerful wave of nausea and anger surged through her.
Shen Zhixia completely disregarded Xiao Moyuan, and couldn’t be bothered to delve into why Su Mian hadn’t returned the necklace to the friend she claimed it belonged to.
“I’ll help you take it off,” Shen Zhixia said, reaching out her hand again, her fingertips directly probing for the clasp at the back of Su Mian’s neck with a very intimate motion.
Su Mian’s mind was in turmoil, all her attention focused on Xiao Moyuan’s inscrutable expression.
She was so frightened she could barely think, only able to stiffly allow Shen Zhixia to approach.
However, just an instant before Shen Zhixia’s fingertips could touch the necklace clasp—
“Don’t you dare take it off!”
Xiao Moyuan’s voice, brimming with chilling coldness, suddenly rang out.
The air, in that moment, seemed to solidify.
…
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