“What should I do?”
“Get in here first.”
In the emergency, Jiang Ling couldn’t think of anything else.
She patted the quilt, signaling Lu Yuyao to get into bed.
“Huh?”
“Don’t ‘huh’ me, hurry up.”
The entire exchange took place in an instant.
Jiang Ling lifted the quilt and felt Lu Yuyao’s warm body crawl over her legs.
As Lu Yuyao shrank toward the inner side of the bed, Jiang Ling made sure to cover her properly and switched off the bedside lamp.
At that moment, the door was already being opened.
In the chaos, the tablet had been left at the edge of the bed, and Jiang Ling could only manage to cover it with the corner of the quilt.
With a soft creak, the door opened and then closed.
The sound of slippers grew closer, seemingly heading toward the bedside.
Both Jiang Ling and Lu Yuyao held their breath.
‘It must be Fang Chenxi.’
Jiang Ling’s mind was a mess.
She really didn’t understand why these two sisters were lining up in the middle of the night.
‘First come, first served, I guess.’
On the other side of the bed against the wall, Lu Yuyao tucked her legs in and hugged her arms tightly, huddling as far inward as possible.
Because she was muffled under the quilt, her breathing became somewhat rapid, but she had to suppress it for fear of being discovered by Fang Chenxi.
Wait.
Why was she worried about being caught?
She could have just said she came to hang out with Jiang Ling.
There was nothing taboo about such things between friends.
But since she was already in the bed, Lu Yuyao couldn’t exactly get out in front of Fang Chenxi now, or the misunderstanding would only grow larger.
Jiang Ling’s body was pressed right against hers.
It was pitch black under the covers, but Lu Yuyao reached out and touched Jiang Ling’s thigh based on memory.
She could feel how smooth and soft it was.
Lu Yuyao couldn’t resist giving it a pinch.
Jiang Ling wasn’t wearing pajama pants!
For heaven’s sake, Lu Yuyao truly only meant to play a joke; she had no idea Jiang Ling was naked!
‘Does that mean…’
Lu Yuyao’s hand came to a visible halt as her mind began to race.
Jiang Ling’s body trembled, and her thigh muscles tensed instantly.
She bit her lower lip, her expression a mix of emotions, as she hurriedly swatted away the hand resting on her leg.
‘Is Lu Yuyao’s brain broken? What is she doing now?!’
Lu Yuyao was lying on Jiang Ling’s left.
The next second, the quilt on her right was lifted.
Jiang Ling’s breath caught in her throat—Fang Chenxi had actually climbed into the bed too!
A familiar lemon scent wafted into her nose.
Jiang Ling didn’t dare move an inch.
Fang Chenxi was a mere hair’s breadth away, facing her.
Hot breath brushed against Jiang Ling’s face, making her want to cry from the sheer shock.
‘What on earth are you two sisters trying to do?!’
‘I’ve never heard of Fang Chenxi having a habit of sleepwalking!’
Fang Chenxi was also pressing down on some of Jiang Ling’s hair.
Perhaps feeling an itch, Fang Chenxi let out a soft hum and opened her eyes.
In the darkness, two pairs of eyes met, staring at each other face-to-face.
“Whoa!”
Fang Chenxi sat up in bed, startled.
She pointed a finger at Jiang Ling, who had suddenly appeared in the bed.
“Yo—you, when did you get in here?”
“Ah, haha.”
Jiang Ling gave a fake smile, too lazy to explain.
Seeing that the other girl was awake, she reached out and turned on the bedside lamp, her voice carrying a hint of gritted-teeth restraint.
“Take a good look at where you are.”
The dim yellow light flickered on.
Fang Chenxi blinked, her eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden brightness.
Following Jiang Ling’s words, she looked around the room and realized it wasn’t the guest room she was staying in.
“I went into the wrong room?”
Fang Chenxi had a vague memory of getting up to use the restroom and then heading back to sleep… as it turned out, she had stumbled into Jiang Ling’s room.
Fang Chenxi looked embarrassed and began to explain clumsily.
Jiang Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief, stealing a glance at Lu Yuyao, who was still huddled under the covers.
“It’s fine. Now that you’re awake, go back.”
“Oh, okay.”
Fang Chenxi felt that in two lifetimes combined, she had never done anything so humiliating.
She was no longer in the mood to tease Jiang Ling.
As she scrambled to get off the bed, a loud clack echoed through the room.
Her leg seemed to have bumped into something, sending it crashing to the floor.
“Is this… Yu Yao’s tablet?”
Fang Chenxi picked it up, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Jiang Ling heard the noise as well.
Seeing the tablet in Fang Chenxi’s hand, her pupils dilated.
Just as she was about to say something, Fang Chenxi subconsciously turned the screen on.
“Eh? Why isn’t there a password?”
Fang Chenxi seemed to have discovered something extraordinary.
After unlocking, the tablet hadn’t gone to the home screen; instead, it was open to the gallery, where a rather bold illustration caught her eye.
“Hey, why are you just opening other people’s things?”
Jiang Ling tried to use a stern tone to ward her off, but the scenario where Fang Chenxi would simply hand back the tablet didn’t happen.
Fang Chenxi’s expression suddenly turned playful.
Her eyebrows arched, and her phoenix-like eyes drifted toward Jiang Ling with a teasing glint.
Then, she turned the tablet around to show Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling’s eyes went wide.
The tablet clearly displayed the Maid Erotic Image that Lu Yuyao had finished that afternoon.
If it were just the image, Jiang Ling might have been able to talk her way out of it by saying she had borrowed the tablet and had a momentary lapse in judgment.
However, the image was clearly labeled: [Jiang Ling Character Setting Image Part One].
Blonde hair, a maid outfit, and Jiang Ling.
Combining those three keywords, it wasn’t hard for Fang Chenxi to guess who the model for this erotic image was.
Fang Chenxi didn’t stop there.
Her finger swiped gently across the screen, and the clothing references Lu Yuyao had shown earlier replayed before her eyes.
Jiang Ling covered her face, unable to look.
“What is this?”
Fang Chenxi raised an eyebrow.
Aside from surprise, her eyes were filled with nothing but mischief.
Jiang Ling was defeated, utterly and completely.
She lowered her head, then looked up a moment later with a pitiful gaze.
“Give me the tablet first, and I’ll explain it to you, okay?”
“Mhm.”
Fang Chenxi smiled radiantly and handed the tablet directly to Jiang Ling.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, crossed her legs, and sat back down on the edge of the bed.
“I’m all ears.”
***
The situation outside didn’t seem right.
Actually, it wasn’t just “didn’t seem,” it was definitely not right.
Lu Yuyao had been poking Jiang Ling’s supple thigh with her finger while eavesdropping on their conversation.
Fang Chenxi was originally about to be fooled and sent away by Jiang Ling.
But in an instant, the tables had turned.
Fang Chenxi had actually discovered the art she had drawn!
Jiang Ling had lost!
Lu Yuyao no longer had the heart to tease Jiang Ling.
Her mind was racing with anxiety.
Should she come out and defend Jiang Ling right now?
But if she did, wouldn’t her identity as the Artist be exposed?
As Lu Yuyao hesitated over what to do, she suddenly heard Jiang Ling speak again.
“Actually… I usually like looking at erotic images. Then, on a whim, I wondered what it would be like to try and draw myself as the protagonist, so I commissioned an artist.”
Jiang Ling spoke each word carefully, her expression mournful.
“That maid outfit you just saw was a draft the artist finished this afternoon. The rest are just clothing references the artist sent me for selection.”
Jiang Ling spoke with such sincerity, and the shame on her face after being “caught” was so realistic it didn’t seem like an act.
Fang Chenxi listened, dumbfounded.
She could have guessed some of it, but hearing Jiang Ling admit it personally felt completely different.
Liking erotic images and commissioning suggestive art based on herself.
‘Jiang Ling, I really can’t see through you in this life.’
‘Just how many secrets are you hiding?’
Fang Chenxi continued her interrogation.
“Then why were you using Yu Yao’s tablet to look at them?”
“Because the tablet screen is bigger. It’s… more satisfying.”
“Does Yu Yao know about this?”
“No, she doesn’t. These images were saved in an encrypted folder. Yu Yao usually doesn’t notice.”
Jiang Ling put on a tearful face again, her eyes watery as she pleaded, “Please don’t tell her.”
‘Lu Yuyao, I don’t owe you anything anymore!’
As Jiang Ling spoke, her hand under the quilt pressed down on Lu Yuyao’s constantly moving head, her face full of grim determination.
Lu Yuyao clearly hadn’t expected Jiang Ling to go to such lengths just to protect her identity.