“So expensive.”
—
“A thousand yuan for such a tiny one-bedroom apartment?”
In an urban village outside the school, inside a self-built building, Bai Yao stood on her tiptoes and whispered into Qiu Ye’s ear.
The rental was exceptionally small.
The bedroom could only fit a single bed and a small desk, while the long, narrow living room only had space for a tiny sofa and a TV cabinet.
The bathroom was so small it was hard to turn around; one had to stand on the squat toilet just to shower.
“It is a bit pricey.”
Qiu Ye turned to look out the window.
The neighboring building was so close that he could reach out and touch the exterior tiles of the opposite wall.
“Should we try another one? This is a bit too small.”
“Mm…”
The two of them walked out of the bedroom.
The landlord, waiting in the living room, asked enthusiastically, “How was it? Pretty good, right? We can negotiate the price. Since you’re students, a one-month deposit and one month’s rent will do.”
“We’ll think about it.”
Qiu Ye took Bai Yao’s hand and led her out of the rental, preparing to contact other landlords to see more places.
He didn’t know why Bai Yao had suddenly changed her mind.
Yesterday, she was still hesitant about renting, complaining about everything, but today she had approached Qiu Ye to look at apartments in the urban village near the school.
The two returned to the streets of the urban village, wandering aimlessly while searching for rental advertisements on utility poles and walls.
Bai Yao followed behind, her head lowered, absentmindedly looking for houses on a mobile app.
Qiu Ye walked in front, occasionally glancing back at the girl.
‘Why do the corners of Bai Yao’s eyes always look so red? It gives her a faint sense of charm.’
Combined with that cold expression, it created a strong sense of contrast that was very suggestive.
“Why do you suddenly want to rent a place again?”
“It’s quite inconvenient in the dormitory,” Bai Yao muttered expressionlessly.
“I’m embarrassed to even wash my underwear.”
“And… I always feel like they…”
Her brow furrowed slightly.
Recalling the roommates’ behavior over the past few days, she let out a helpless sigh.
“Lin Mingxin is okay, but Brother Long and Wang Zuhao don’t seem to dare to talk to me anymore.”
Having once been a man herself, she could understand Chen Zhilong and Wang Zuhao.
If a woman suddenly barged into her life—even if it was just a femboy—she would also feel very uncomfortable.
In truth, Bai Yao could have continued wearing men’s clothing and stayed in the boys’ dormitory; it would simply mean giving up on the Task.
But when she thought about living alone… she remembered that feeling of freedom—doing whatever she wanted.
She couldn’t imagine how great it would be.
In the end, Bai Yao was exactly as she had predicted.
She really couldn’t resist the temptation; once she experienced it, she became addicted…
“How about this one?”
Bai Yao handed her phone to Qiu Ye.
“It’s nearby, and the room looks quite large.”
Qiu Ye took the phone and glanced at it.
“But it’s just a studio? I guess that’s okay…”
“Then when I visit occasionally, will I be sleeping in the same bed as you?”
Although Bai Yao and Qiu Ye had slept together before, that was in the dormitory.
Bai Yao’s eyes flickered, and she didn’t dare look at Qiu Ye, fearing he would see the shyness and anticipation in her gaze.
But a rental apartment was different…
Better not; sleeping together would be a real test of restraint.
They spent the evening wandering around looking for a place, but by 8:00 PM, they returned empty-handed.
The dormitory was noisy.
Even from the hallway, Bai Yao could hear Wang Zuhao’s loud voice—
“Why did you walk up and let them hit you? You’re a total scrub!”
“Super Art! Super Art! Wow — you couldn’t even pull that off?”
“Shoryuken! The opponent keeps jumping like a maniac!”
Lin Mingxin finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“Get the hell out of here! You’re so annoying!”
Bai Yao pushed the door open.
Wang Zuhao and Chen Zhilong were standing behind Lin Mingxin, watching him play Street Fighter 6.
As soon as she entered, the once lively dormitory instantly went silent.
Wang Zuhao stole a glance at Bai Yao.
Like a shy virgin, he didn’t dare let his gaze linger and quickly looked away.
Chen Zhilong was also visibly stiff, but he still greeted her.
“Where did you guys go?”
“I went with Qiu Ye to look at some rentals.”
“Whoa! Moving in together already?”
Lin Mingxin shouted in surprise.
“That fast? Did you two get your marriage certificate yet?”
“No.”
Bai Yao denied it expressionlessly.
She walked straight to her computer and sat down, removing the hair tie from the back of her head and shaking her hair out.
Her hair was almost shoulder-length now.
‘Maybe it’s because of the System, but my hair is growing quite fast.’
She felt like she should go to a barbershop for a trim.
Otherwise, the stray hairs were a mess.
When she tied it up normally, there were too many fine strands that made it hurt to tie, but it looked bad if she didn’t.
Bai Yao opened a drawer, took out a comb, and brushed her hair until it was straight and smooth.
Meanwhile, while watching the Street Fighter 6 match, Wang Zuhao’s gaze was unconsciously drawn to Bai Yao, and he peeked at her out of the corner of his eye.
Bai Yao sat upright in the chair, her knees together and her calves slightly flared, her posture carrying a hint of cuteness.
She tilted her head slightly, gracefully combing her hair.
When she hit a tangle at the ends, she let out a small grunt of pain.
With a light flick of her fingers, her slender hand tucked her combed bangs behind her ear.
Her movements were gentle and full of womanly charm.
Her profile was flushed with a peach-like hue, looking quite enchanting.
Bai Yao turned to look at Wang Zuhao with a cold brow but curious, cat-like eyes, scaring him into quickly averting his gaze.
‘I really should move out.’
Although Bai Yao didn’t think Wang Zuhao would actually dare to do anything to her, being stared at all the time was very uncomfortable.
She vaguely remembered the System saying that Wang Zuhao used to like that chinyu?
Maybe she was overthinking it.
How could anyone possibly lik—
…Fine, she wasn’t that invisible little boy anymore.
It was actually quite reasonable for someone to like her.
Qiu Ye had gone to the on-campus supermarket and arrived a bit late.
He carried a bag of snacks into the room, walked straight behind Bai Yao, and rested his hand on her narrow shoulder.
“Here, is there anything you want to eat?”
Even though he knew Bai Yao didn’t eat many snacks, Qiu Ye still loved to share.
“I’ll just have some fruit.”
Qiu Ye pulled a container of pre-cut fruit from the bag, stabbed a piece of watermelon with a toothpick, and tried to feed it to Bai Yao.
But Bai Yao quickly shook her head and lowered her voice.
“The roommates are all here.”
“They aren’t paying attention to us. Open up—”
Helplessly, Bai Yao opened her mouth and bit the watermelon, guiltily glancing over at her other roommates.
She felt a sense of shame and embarrassment.
Although she tried to maintain a cold demeanor, the flush on her face wouldn’t fade.
“I’ll eat it myself.”
Bai Yao reached out and took the fruit.
As she ate, she asked, “Should we look for rentals again tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
“But what about the evening roll call?”
Bai Yao didn’t really want to deal with the Counselor.
The school’s requirements for living off-campus were quite strict.
“Why be afraid of those Student Union people?”
Qiu Ye didn’t care.
“It’s not like we’re in a hurry. We can just brush them off.”
However, the corner of Qiu Ye’s mouth suddenly twitched.
“Actually, I am in a hurry!”
“Are you jealous?”
Bai Yao raised her eyebrows and looked at Qiu Ye with a smile.
“Am I not allowed to be?”
“Of course you can. Being cared for and having someone get jealous over me feels pretty good.”