“Xiao Zhen… what’s wrong with you?” Yan Yu stared at her, lowering her voice.
Ruo Xiaozhen, her wrist caught, eyes flickering, stammering as she tried to look away, but Yan Yu’s gaze held her firmly, leaving her no escape.
“No, nothing…” her voice weak, she forced herself to say, “Really, it’s nothing, really nothing. I myself slender really just happened to want to take a shower… Look, it’s so hot outside, I really just wanted to bathe. And also, Yan Yu, we’re both girls, so there’s nothing to be shy about showering together, right?”
Yan Yu looked at her, confused.
Those eyes, usually clear and calm, were now clouded with a deep layer of doubt.
Ruo Xiaozhen’s behavior was too abnormal. That deliberate intimacy and cover-up was like a thin sheet of paper, ready to tear at the slightest touch. She felt Ruo Xiaozhen had become a little strange. This strange feeling lingered, like a tiny thorn pricking her heart.
She suddenly remembered the special ability she had acquired earlier.
[Emotion Recognition]
[Usage Condition: Physical contact with the target.]
[Note: Equipping this skill allows you to see through others’ deliberately disguised true emotions. Whether it’s concealment, lies, or insincere words, you can see the real emotional undertones beneath the disguise. Using this information effectively will allow you to always hold the upper hand in dealings with others.]
Yan Yu thought, and aimed her skill panel at Ruo Xiaozhen in front of her.
The air seemed to tremble with invisible threads; the system was “processing.” Moments later, a line of data appeared in Yan Yu’s field of vision:
[Ruo Xiaozhen’s Emotional Exposure: 88%]
Yan Yu stared at the number for a moment. It seemed the skill couldn’t completely read minds, only glimpsing a part. But still, it was better than nothing.
Then a more detailed information panel unfolded before her eyes:
[Name: Ruo Xiaozhen]
[Current Stance: Friendly]
[Current Emotional State: Anxiety, unease, nervousness, grievance, slight jealousy]
[Emotion Analysis: When she saw the photo in your Moments, Ruo Xiaozhen immediately associated it with Su Qinghan inviting you out. This caused her great unease.]
[Su Qinghan, as your ex-girlfriend who abandoned you, is in Ruo Xiaozhen’s eyes a thorough scumbag. And your trust in Su Qinghan worries Ruo Xiaozhen that you will get hurt in love again.]
[At the same time, Ruo Xiaozhen, from an ordinary family, envies Su Qinghan’s abundant wealth and prominent background, believing that the other can provide you with generous material conditions and thus easily win your favor. But she herself, being ordinary, cannot do so and lacks such conditions.]
[This interweaving of inferiority and envy creates a twisted and urgent desire in her to seize more of your time, racing against the clock to confirm her own existence and importance.]
After reading all the emotional analysis, Yan Yu felt as if something gently struck her heart.
But after reading the analysis, a crack quietly opened in her understanding of Ruo Xiaozhen. Yan Yu wasn’t sure if this action was to hide her own feelings, but she gained more understanding of Ruo Xiaozhen’s unusual behavior. The barrier built by that strange behavior, those complex and surging emotions, dissipated a great deal.
‘Is Ruo Xiaozhen feeling inferior?’ she thought to herself.
Actually, to her, everything Ruo Xiaozhen gave her was far more than Su Qinghan’s so-called material things. Sometimes, the warmth of feelings and the mundane coziness of life couldn’t be bought with money. Ruo Xiaozhen staying by her side every day, taking care of her daily needs, for Yan Yu this was a peace of mind and warmth that no amount of money could replace.
“Xiao Zhen.” Yan Yu spoke softly.
Ruo Xiaozhen jolted all over, nearly dropping the teapot in her hand.
When Yan Yu looked at Ruo Xiaozhen again, she had already quietly pulled her hand free, turned around, and was busying herself with the kettle on the tea table, pretending to boil water for tea to cover her inner panic.
She turned back, looked at Yan Yu’s calm expression, remembered how sneaky she had been all day, and the forced composure on her face instantly crumbled, replaced by eyes full of guilt.
She lowered her head, voice muffled with a thick nasal tone: “Sorry… you found out, didn’t you? I’ve been following you all day like sticky candy, annoying you, right? But Yan Yu, believe me, I really didn’t…”
Before she could finish, Ruo Xiaozhen felt her hand taken by another hand. That hand was a little cool, the skin very soft—it was Yan Yu’s hand.
“Xiao Zhen.”
“…Hmm?”
Then Yan Yu smiled slightly. “You know? You are my benefactor.”
Yan Yu rarely smiled. That cool face always wore an aloof expression. So when she truly smiled, her eyes curved, and the depths of her eyes seemed to catch fragments of starlight, carrying a power that stirred the heart.
Ruo Xiaozhen was dumbstruck in that moment. She had never seen Yan Yu smile like that. That smile instantly extinguished all the anxiety and restlessness in her heart.
Yan Yu spoke unhurriedly, her voice gentle as if coaxing a child: “Xiao Zhen, actually, I can live here and live each day peacefully all because you are by my side taking care of me. My body is gradually recovering also because you cook different meals for me every day.”
The system’s skill prompt had quietly closed. Yan Yu was completely unaware of how earth-shattering an impact her ordinary heartfelt words had on Ruo Xiaozhen’s heart.
Finally, when she raised her head to look at Ruo Xiaozhen, she saw that the girl’s cheeks, which had been slightly pale, were now flushed with two red clouds that spread all the way to her ears.
“Xiao Zhen?” she called softly.
Only then did Ruo Xiaozhen snap back to reality, as if waking from a beautiful dream. She opened her mouth to defend her earlier loss of composure, to say that she didn’t have such ugly dark thoughts. But in the end, all her words turned into a deep breath.
She no longer avoided it. Instead, she reached out with both hands and firmly held Yan Yu’s slightly cool hand in return.
“Yan Yu…” her voice trembled but was exceptionally firm, “No, I mean… Xiao Yu, can I call you that?”
“Mm,” Yan Yu let her hold on, “Xiao Zhen can call me whatever you like.”
“Um… Xiao Yu,” Ruo Xiaozhen looked up, her eyes hiding a blazing light, like a torch lit in the dark night, “From now on, whenever you need me, I’m willing to do anything for you…!”
Yan Yu was a bit surprised by her sudden seriousness, but she didn’t take the vow too seriously. She just smiled gently and used her thumb to lightly rub Ruo Xiaozhen’s hand.
“Having this thought from you is more than enough for me. I cherish you, so no matter what, I won’t let you do anything that hurts yourself for my sake.”
Ruo Xiaozhen just stared at her blankly, listening to those words, her heart already completely lost.
—
A Yue had already received the news three times this month that Dai Feng was coming to their college to audit classes. To be honest, she was a bit annoyed.
At first, when she heard Dai Feng say she wanted to audit, she thought it was just another three-minute whim of this willful young lady. But now, once, twice, three times. Could this young lady Dai Feng have truly fallen for art studies?
Walking on the tree-lined campus path, with old plane trees on both sides, their branches interwoven, casting shifting spots of light on the ground.
A Yue kept turning her head, looking up at Dai Feng, who was a full ten centimeters taller than her, and her expression was hardly pleasant.
“Hey, Dai Feng,” she couldn’t help saying, “Suddenly so serious? That’s not like you.”
“Because I’m serious,” Dai Feng answered nonchalantly.
A Yue clenched her school bag straps with both hands, not taking her eyes off the other’s face. “Why are you coming to our school to audit classes again today? By the way, aren’t you from the Finance Department? Is your department that idle?”
“Oh, my classes,” Dai Feng waved her hand dismissively, the delicate electronic watch face on her wrist lighting up, showing today’s packed schedule, “I skipped them all, didn’t want to go.”
A Yue opened her mouth, momentarily speechless. After a while, she found her voice. “No way, Dai Feng, my dear young lady, are you serious? Skipping your own major courses to come hang out here? Don’t tell me you actually want to minor in an art degree?”
“Sounds good, doesn’t it?” Dai Feng raised an eyebrow, her tone matter-of-fact. “Managing the family business is tough. Cultivating an artistic hobby is just the thing to refine one’s character.”
“Tough? Tough my…” A Yue swallowed the words that came to her lips and switched to a different remark. “Su Qinghan studies hard at school every day, and at home she still manages the family affairs in perfect order. But you? You’re either hanging out in luxury stores, or going surfing and skiing, or partying at bars until dawn. Where’s the slightest bit of a proper young lady?”
A Yue came from an ordinary family. If she were facing any other young lady, she would never dare speak like this. But she knew Dai Feng’s temperament. This young lady was big-hearted, didn’t like putting on airs, and loathed the hypocritical rules of high society. That was why, when A Yue got along with her, she didn’t take many things to heart, feeling especially relaxed, and spoke without much restraint.
“I’m enjoying life,” Dai Feng corrected her with righteous indignation. “Enough nonsense. What’s that class you have today called… Introduction to Art Design? Which classroom?”
“You didn’t even remember the full class name and you came to audit?” A Yue narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “It’s hard not to be suspicious of your motives.”
“Stop nagging, just lead the way.”
The two of them bickered all the way as they walked toward the teaching building.
In fact, Dai Feng was thinking about something else: would Yan Yu come to this class today?
The art department students’ major courses were roughly the same, but elective classes varied. Dai Feng didn’t know Yan Yu’s exact schedule, so she could only rely on luck.
Of course, she would never ask. Dai Feng had her pride. Asking would be admitting that her daily visits to the School of Art to audit classes were all just to see Yan Yu.
Until now, the image she maintained in others’ eyes was still that cool, casual, easygoing older woman persona. Dai Feng herself liked this persona very much, so she absolutely couldn’t let it collapse.
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