“Ahh… mm, did I fall asleep?”
The small hospital room echoed with a lazy yawn.
Cheng Yuexin got up from the bedside like a little kitten.
Cheng Yueqing’s eyes curved into crescents as she looked at her sister, put down her phone, and nodded.
“You fell asleep. Managed to doze off while playing on your phone.”
Cheng Yuexin smiled awkwardly as she picked up her phone, which had fallen onto the bed.
“Sister must be tired. It’s almost ten o’clock.”
Cheng Yuexin glanced at the time, tucked the strand of hair sticking to her lips behind her ear, and straightened up.
“Time to rest soon. Yueqing, you should sleep early. I’m heading back to school.”
Cheng Yueqing nodded, secretly grabbing Cheng Yuexin’s wrist.
Feeling her warmth for just a moment was enough to soothe Cheng Yueqing’s heart.
“Sister, you worked hard today. Good night.”
“Mm, good night, Yueqing.”
If it weren’t for military training early tomorrow morning and no rest at noon, she might have stayed at the hospital to keep Cheng Yueqing company.
Cheng Yuexin turned to leave, but Cheng Yueqing held her wrist firmly.
With the shyness and cuteness befitting a 16-year-old girl, her eyes slightly dodged Cheng Yuexin’s puzzled gaze.
“Don’t you want sister to go?”
Cheng Yuexin crouched down, gently stroking Cheng Yueqing’s hair, a soft smile on her face.
The girl whose hair was being stroked bit her lip lightly, her eyes brimming with joy.
In their previous life, Cheng Yuexin hadn’t been particularly close to her sister, but in this life, Cheng Yueqing had completely changed.
Of course, Cheng Yuexin had changed too.
“Sister, did you forget my goodnight kiss?”
Cheng Yuexin paused, then smiled openly.
She knew exactly what Cheng Yueqing meant by “goodnight kiss.” Their relationship in this life was anything but ordinary.
“Almost forgot. Mwah~ Hurry up and rest now.”
Feeling the lingering warmth and moisture on her cheek, Cheng Yueqing broke into a happy smile, her cheeks flushing, as she watched Cheng Yuexin leave.
“Okay, sister, be safe on the way.”
Closing the hospital room door, Cheng Yuexin leaned against the wall, pondering for a moment, and let out a sigh.
Cheng Yueqing, ah, Cheng Yueqing. A little one who needs her sister’s kiss every night to sleep.
Even though it was only a kiss on the cheek, each time Cheng Yuexin did it, her heart raced.
“Haa… let’s head back.”
…
On the bus back to school, she received a WeChat message from Chen Yiyi.
Her profile picture was a white cat, which she said was her pet at home.
Chen Yiyi: “Yuexin, you’re not back yet?”
Cheng Yuexin: “On my way back, twenty minutes.”
Chen Yiyi: “^ω^ Okay, I’ll wait for you to come back and go to sleep.”
Cheng Yuexin’s lips curled slightly, as if she could picture the smile on Chen Yiyi’s face when she sent that message.
She was a good girl.
If she had met Chen Yiyi in her previous life, she would likely have pursued Chen Yiyi instead of Gu Linxue, and none of what followed would have happened.
The dim yellow streetlights flickered on and off as Cheng Yuexin lowered her gaze in a daze, her mind unsettled.
Now that Gu Linxue had come knocking, her plan to escape had completely failed.
And Liu Yingqiu, that “good friend,” would find her sooner or later.
Maybe, for Cheng Yueqing’s sake, she should pick the more reliable Gu Linxue.
But doing so would be no different from jumping into the abyss herself.
‘Am I going to become a lesbian too?’
Even though everything was perfectly reasonable in this world, Cheng Yuexin couldn’t accept it.
In her previous life, it was lesbians who had driven her to her death. Now, she had to rely on this kind of improper “transaction” just to maintain her current life.
Cheng Yuexin laughed bitterly. But as she stared at the hospital bill half-lit by the streetlight, her bitterness turned to helplessness, and then despair.
50,000 yuan, due in one week.
A college freshman who had just started school—where could she find 50,000 yuan?
Even if she had worked hard and saved money from her previous life, she wouldn’t have scraped together 50,000 yuan over four years of college.
But if she didn’t pay the medical fees, Cheng Yueqing would stop receiving treatment. This hard-won chance for a complete cure—she couldn’t give it up.
She couldn’t stand to lose Cheng Yueqing again. Not a second time.
Even if the price was everything she had, even her life.
The pain in her heart made her breathing sluggish and heavy.
Gu Linxue seemed to be the only one who could solve her problem.
Rich, and she liked her. (Master and pet.)
Chen Yiyi was just an ordinary kid from a normal family. There was no need for her to sacrifice so much.
Forcing herself to swallow, Cheng Yuexin stared at her phone.
She didn’t want Cheng Yueqing’s treatment to stop for even a moment. She needed this money urgently.
Because she still believed what the doctor said—this would be the last surgery, and it would cure Cheng Yueqing’s illness.
She scrolled through her WeChat contacts to find Gu Linxue’s profile.
The avatar was a white-haired fox girl, added just today.
The fox girl was grinning and flashing a peace sign.
Ciallo～(∠・ω< )⌒★
The thought of that meme suddenly struck her, and Cheng Yuexin’s lips twitched, but the next second, her expression flattened.
She typed words into the input bar, only to delete them decisively, then hesitantly typed them again, only to delete them once more.
Without a note in the chat box, no one would know it was Gu Linxue.
She still felt a bit of cowardice toward Gu Linxue.
Biting her silver teeth, Cheng Yuexin had no other choice. She had said that for Cheng Yueqing, she would do anything.
But that didn’t mean Gu Linxue would be willing to pay for her problems. Was she just flattering herself?
No, what was between them was just a transaction.
Cheng Yuexin gripped her phone tightly, her teeth biting her lip so hard it almost bled.
“Thump, thump…”
She pounded her chest twice, suppressing all the fear in her heart.
She truly had no other way.
The words she had edited and deleted over and over were finally sent.
Cheng Yuexin: “Um, my sister needs 50,000 yuan for medical fees… could you… lend me some?”
Transfer received: 50,000 yuan.
Gu Linxue’s reply came immediately.
Gu Linxue: “The hotel at noon today. Same room. Come now.”
Cheng Yuexin: “Thank you.”
Cheng Yuexin stared at the screen, helplessly forcing a bitter smile.
At least Cheng Yueqing’s medical fees were taken care of.
Chen Yiyi would surely ask again.
Cheng Yuexin still didn’t know if Gu Linxue’s appearance was good or bad.
To her, perhaps only her body had value.
If she had to go this far for her family, she would accept it.
Nothing was more important than her sister’s life.
Getting off the bus, she didn’t step through the school gate. Instead, she walked into the darkness, heading toward the hotel.
“Ding-dong, ding-dong…”
“Creak…”
The door opened, and Gu Linxue appeared.
The girl with slightly pink hair was wearing a red slip dress, as if she were about to sleep.
But Cheng Yuexin’s message had completely erased her drowsiness.
She hadn’t expected this rabbit to be so determined to smash itself into the tree stump.
“You’re here. Go change.”
Gu Linxue casually stepped aside from the doorway, and Cheng Yuexin nodded, entering the room.
Gu Linxue followed behind and suddenly pinched Cheng Yuexin’s butt.
Cheng Yuexin looked back, her face only showing forced composure.
“Coming to see me this late—you won’t have a chance to go back.” Gu Linxue seemed to be warning the girl, as if there was still a chance to regret it now.
But she wouldn’t run. Gu Linxue had that confidence.
“I know.”
From the moment she decided to send that message to Gu Linxue, Cheng Yuexin had already prepared herself mentally.
“Alright.”
Gu Linxue watched with satisfaction as Cheng Yuexin undressed in front of her and changed into a white nightgown that matched her hair color, curling her lips.
Cheng Yuexin smoothed her hair and stood before Gu Linxue.
Gu Linxue’s laughter made Cheng Yuexin’s skin crawl. Her arm, like a lotus root, already wrapped around Cheng Yuexin’s slender waist, pulling her into an embrace.
“This nightgown really suits you.”
“And it suits you, doesn’t it?”
Gu Linxue smiled without a word. With a single effort, she lifted Cheng Yuexin and threw her onto the bed, her snow-white hair spreading wildly across the sheets.
Looking at Cheng Yuexin—this once-proud snow lotus, now dressed so scantily, like a meal on a plate—
Waiting to be devoured.
Gu Linxue curled her lips in disdain. Thinking back to how she had to go through so much trouble chasing her back then, what a waste of energy.
Now, she was just a little fox being toyed with in her palm.
“Cheng Yuexin, consider this compensation for rejecting me. Tonight, I won’t let you off easy.”
Cheng Yuexin’s breathing grew rapid. The thin nightgown on her body had already been torn by Gu Linxue, her face flushed crimson.
The disgust in her heart mixed with the strange sensations spreading through her body. She hated herself, wanted to vomit.
“For her sake, you really are willing to sacrifice a lot.”
“Don’t… say that…”
Cheng Yuexin’s words came in fragments, but Gu Linxue pressed on relentlessly, conquering ground.
Why was Cheng Yuexin so captivating to her? Perhaps it was the expression brought on by this complex mix of emotions that enchanted her.
It was a face that hated having to do such things, dyed in colors of pleasure, groveling before her.
Like the joy a climber feels upon conquering Mount Everest.
“Hahaha…”
Gu Linxue’s manic laughter pierced Cheng Yuexin’s ears. The girl who didn’t want to abandon her dignity couldn’t break free from Gu Linxue’s hold.
‘I’m sorry, Yueqing…’
‘I’m sorry, Yiyi…’
Guilt welled up. The girl covering her mouth and weeping only excited Gu Linxue further.
That sense of conquest, the achievement, was amplified by Cheng Yuexin’s tears.
“Wife, oh wife, wouldn’t it be better to just give in to me?”
“I refuse.”