Chapter 88: The Secret’s Burden

“I truly didn’t mean it that way…”

Su Mian was so anxious that her voice began to crack, her cheeks flushing an alarming crimson.

‘How could I not control my own mouth?’

She had actually blurted out such an absurd and dangerous thought, born from extreme guilt!

It simply couldn’t count!

Xiao Moyuan watched her flustered, helpless expression, as if she wished to find a hole to crawl into. A faint smile flickered in his eyes.

He deliberately misinterpreted her words, speaking unhurriedly:

“The clothes and underwear I bought for you last time are still neatly tucked away in my wardrobe. You don’t have to worry about not having anything to change into.”

These words were like adding fuel to the fire.

Su Mian felt as if smoke was about to billow from her head. Her eyes began to redden again, imbued with a pleading tone.

“Brother, truly, no… You, you forgot what I said before?”

“My family is very traditional… That kind of thing, it must, must be saved for the wedding night…”

In her desperation, she even brought out the archaic phrase “wedding night.”

Xiao Moyuan finally couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle. This little fox was truly resourceful in finding such an excuse to escape.

He no longer pressed her, offering an alternative:

“Alright, as you wish. Then stay here tonight; you can sleep in the bed, and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

“Lest… you accidentally sleepwalk into my bed again in the middle of the night.”

He deliberately emphasized the word “sleepwalk,” with an obvious hint of teasing.

Su Mian shook her head. “Today, really no, Brother…”

‘Leaving aside that accursed, uncontrollable ‘sleepwalking’ constitution, the crucial point is that I have an early class tomorrow!’

‘Was she supposed to go to class tomorrow morning wearing this women’s attire, or the women’s clothes Xiao Moyuan had prepared?’

‘That would be even worse than asking her to suffer social death!’

Xiao Moyuan watched her resolute refusal. After a moment’s thought, he understood her concerns.

Seeing her still-frightened, pitiful expression, the displeasure in his heart—born from her being coveted by others and the “water delivery incident”—was ultimately replaced by helplessness and a hint of indulgence.

Ultimately, he chose to concede.

“Fine, then shall I drive you back?”

“No need! Truly, no need!”

Su Mian waved her hands repeatedly.

“I can go back by myself, it’s very convenient!”

Fearing Xiao Moyuan would change his mind, she hastily pulled open the front door and rushed into the elevator without looking back.

It wasn’t until she took a taxi back to her small rented apartment that Su Mian felt the heart that had been lodged in her throat slowly return to its place.

She let out a long sigh of relief.

***

The next morning, Su Mian arrived at N University with faint dark circles under her eyes.

Her first order of business was to find the senior from the Drama Club and return the clothes and wig she had borrowed and meticulously washed and dried.

“Senior, I’m truly sorry. I had an urgent matter yesterday and didn’t have time to say hello before taking the clothes for so long…”

Su Mian, with an apologetic expression, handed over the bag containing the items.

The senior laughed heartily, taking the bag. “It’s fine, as long as the clothes are returned in perfect condition.”

As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously drifted back to Su Mian’s chest…

The oversized hoodie and jeans completely concealed her figure; nothing could be seen.

Unless one were to physically touch… but that would be too rude.

The senior’s bad impression of Su Mian vanished completely.

The senior mumbled to herself, the doubt about Su Mian’s gender resurfacing. This junior’s skin, facial features, body proportions, and even that incredibly curvaceous chest from yesterday… were all too perfect, too deceptive.

Yet, he was Lu Yang’s confirmed roommate…

In reality, how could a girl possibly disguise herself as a boy and live in a male dormitory for so long without being discovered?

It wasn’t an idol drama!

Su Mian noticed the senior’s scrutinizing gaze and asked, a little puzzled: “Senior, what are you looking at?”

“Ah? Nothing, nothing!”

The senior quickly averted her gaze, covering up with a smile. Then, as if remembering something, an excited expression appeared on her face.

“But, junior, you’ve gone viral!”

“Viral?”

Su Mian’s heart sank, a premonition of ill omen washing over her.

The senior pulled out her phone, expertly opened the university’s campus forum and Tieba, and turned the screen towards Su Mian:

“Here, see for yourself! The whole school is discussing you and Campus Heartthrob Xiao now!”

Su Mian looked closely, her entire face instantly flushing crimson, then turning deathly pale.

On the forum and Tieba, the red-hot post titles were exceptionally eye-catching:

[Shocking! Campus Heartthrob Xiao Princess-Carries Mysterious Beauty Away, Campus Belle Shen Zhixia Likely a Thing of the Past!]

[Live Report! Xiao Moyuan’s Girlfriend’s Beauty Defies Heaven, Temperament Overwhelming, Suspected Daughter of a Wealthy Family!]

[Deep Dive! Who Exactly is the Girl Carried Away by Campus Heartthrob Xiao?]

Attached to the posts were photos of Xiao Moyuan carrying her away yesterday evening!

Below, the comments section had exploded. There were those filled with envy, jealousy, wails of heartbreak, and numerous discussions about her identity and beauty.

The senior wore an “auntie smile” and leaned in curiously, asking:

“I was just about to ask you, weren’t you wearing women’s clothes yesterday to deliver water for Lu Yang’s rescue? How did you end up being… carried away by Xiao Moyuan like that?”

“Now look, the entire school believes Xiao Moyuan has a legitimate girlfriend whose beauty surpasses Campus Belle Shen’s!”

Su Mian felt her vision go dark. She bade the senior farewell in a daze, almost floating out of the Drama Club.

All the way back to her dorm, she felt as if everyone’s whispers around her were discussing yesterday’s “shocking scandal.”

“Did you hear? Xiao Moyuan and his girlfriend…”

“Did you see the photo? She’s truly beautiful!”

“Shen Zhixia must be embarrassed now…”

Every snippet of conversation that drifted into her ears filled her with both shame and panic.

She cautiously pushed open the door to Dorm 304. The moment Lu Yang saw her, he immediately greeted her with a smile:

“Mianzi! You’re here! Thank you so much for yesterday!”

“Are you free tonight? I’ll treat you to a big meal, you absolutely deserve a good reward!”

Su Mian carefully observed Lu Yang’s expression and tone. He seemed… unaware of the campus forum posts?

Her suspended heart relaxed slightly. She managed to force out a smile:

“Boss Lu, you’re too kind…”

She glanced around the dorm. Only Lu Yang and Qin Xuan, who was reading, were present. She casually asked:

“Xia? Not back yet?”

Lu Yang pouted:

“Don’t even mention it. Xia vanished into thin air, hasn’t been seen for days, and isn’t replying to messages. It’s been like this since the haunted house last time. Who knows where he’s run off to.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a male student from the adjacent dorm, with whom they had a good relationship, burst in excitedly, his face alight with the thrill of discovery;

“Holy crap! Yang-ge, Xuan-ge, Yanzi! Have you seen the campus network and Tieba? It’s exploded!”

The boy held up his phone, the familiar princess-carry photo displayed on the screen.

“Campus Belle Shen is truly a clown this time! Yesterday, a super beautiful woman suddenly appeared on campus, and it looks like she’s Xiao Moyuan’s official girlfriend!”

“Xiao Moyuan directly princess-carried her away! Look at this photo! This girl is truly amazing!”

The dorm instantly fell into a dead silence.

Su Mian’s cheeks, which had just regained a little color, instantly drained, turning pale, then flushed crimson again from extreme embarrassment. She wished she could disappear immediately!

Lu Yang’s smile froze. With immense awkwardness, he slung an arm around the neck of the still-chattering boy, practically pushing and dragging him out of the dorm:

“Got it, got it! What’s so good about this kind of gossip! Come on, come on, we still have to study!”

After closing the door, the atmosphere in the dorm became even more stifling.

Lu Yang awkwardly scratched the back of his head, looking at Su Mian, who wished she could bury her face in the ground, and tried to smooth things over:

“Uh… Yanzi, actually… it’s not a big deal. I, I understand everything.”

Su Mian suddenly looked up, her voice urgent and slightly trembling:

“Boss Lu, listen to me explain! Actually… actually, it’s not what you think! Xiao Moyuan and I… we’re nothing!”

She still wanted to make a last struggle.

Lu Yang, however, wore an expression that said, “I know, I know everything.” He sighed heavily, his tone full of sympathy:

“No need to explain, Yanzi. I know, you’re doing all this for Campus Belle Shen…”

He even took the blame upon himself:

“Speaking of which, this is my and Old Qin’s fault! We shouldn’t have given you that terrible idea in the first place!”

Following his “perfectly logical” deduction, he continued:

“Were you originally trying to find a suitable girl to have an online relationship with Xiao Moyuan, but after searching around, you found it too difficult to find someone even prettier than Campus Belle Shen? So… you decided to step in yourself, in women’s clothing, right?”

Su Mian stared at Lu Yang, dumbfounded.

He… he actually guessed it?

And almost perfectly! When did Lu Yang become so smart?

Seeing Su Mian’s shocked expression, Lu Yang became even more convinced of his guess, his tone filled with emotion:

“Sigh, it really was hard on you, Yanzi! To win back Campus Belle Shen, you actually sacrificed so much! I understand, I truly understand!”

“After all, finding a girl prettier than Shen Zhixia to attract Xiao Moyuan’s attention isn’t easy. You look so beautiful in women’s clothes, so personally stepping in would definitely yield the best results!”

Su Mian opened her mouth, finding herself speechless.

From Lu Yang’s perspective, this deduction… was surprisingly seamless!

Lu Yang pursued curiously: “So now, hasn’t your plan already succeeded? The whole school knows Xiao Moyuan has a girlfriend, and Campus Belle Shen must know too. What are your next plans?”

“My plan… succeeded?”

Su Mian paused. Only when Lu Yang reminded her did she suddenly realize.

Yes, wasn’t her original goal to make Xiao Moyuan fall in love, and then, after the announcement, make Shen Zhixia give up on him?

Now, by a strange twist of fate, this goal truly seemed to be close to fruition.

“That’s right!”

Lu Yang nodded affirmatively.

“So, what are you going to do about Xiao Moyuan? How will you handle the identity of that online girlfriend?”

Upon hearing this, Su Mian’s mood instantly became complicated. The slight ease she had felt from her “successful plan” was immediately replaced by immense disappointment and confusion.

She lowered her head, her voice muffled, carrying a reluctance she hadn’t even noticed herself:

“What else can I do… Of course, I’ll completely destroy that ‘female disguise identity,’ and then… I’ll just say the person doesn’t exist.”

She spoke lightly, yet her heart felt as if something had squeezed it, a fine, sharp pain spreading through her.

Lu Yang looked at her like this, momentarily speechless.

Indeed… Su Mian had no idea that Xiao Moyuan already knew the truth and was enjoying it.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed all his words. This complicated love triangle was truly not something an outsider like him should meddle in.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

After a moment’s hesitation, Su Mian quietly asked the question that worried her most:

“So… Boss Lu, Brother Xuan, do you… do you find me… disgusting for doing this?”

She was referring to the matter of cross-dressing to have an online relationship with Xiao Moyuan.

“Ah, what’s the big deal!”

Lu Yang immediately waved his hand dismissively.

“Yesterday, your cross-dressing helped me immensely, allowing me to vent a lot of frustration! I can’t thank you enough!”

“Besides, my good buddy looks prettier in women’s clothes than the campus belle—how much face does that give me to brag about!”

Qin Xuan, who had been silent, finally looked up from his book, pushed up his glasses, and spoke in an even tone:

“It’s just a personal hobby, it doesn’t affect our normal interactions. If you yourself feel it’s fine, I don’t care.”

Su Mian looked at her two roommates, her eyes slightly warm, an indescribable surge of emotion welling in her heart.

She had prepared herself to be ridiculed, ostracized, or even despised.

She never expected… them to accept it so easily, even comforting her in return.

Su Mian sniffled, trying hard to suppress the lump in her throat, and spoke her true feelings. Being understood truly lightened the heavy burden on her shoulders instantly.

Lu Yang immediately beamed. “Then let’s eat together tonight!”

“Mm!”

“But!”

Su Mian quickly emphasized, her expression becoming incredibly serious,

“You absolutely must keep my cross-dressing a secret! It absolutely, absolutely cannot get out!”

Lu Yang patted his chest, guaranteeing: “Don’t worry! Your Brother Lu’s lips are sealed.”

He pointed to Qin Xuan: “As for Old Qin, you know what kind of person he is, right? He’d find it too much effort to even speak.”

Su Mian nodded vigorously, then added the most crucial point:

“Especially… it absolutely cannot reach Xiao Moyuan’s ears! Otherwise… I’ll truly be finished!”

Lu Yang’s smile instantly became somewhat stiff and subtle. He let out a dry laugh, vaguely responding:

“Uh… don’t worry, don’t worry…”

He only hoped that when the truth eventually came out, Su Mian wouldn’t think he and Qin Xuan had spilled the beans…