The night was deep, and the cicadas were singing.
Wrapped in a bath towel, Su Mengdie stepped out of the bathroom with traces of steam still clinging to her, finally able to change into the nightdress she had despised as risqué not long ago.
Compared to today’s cat pajamas, this slightly sheer nightdress now looked much more pleasing to the eye.
“Young Lady, it’s already eight tomorrow morning. Aren’t you going to sleep yet?”
Su Mengdie had just untied her bath towel when she turned to see Penelope still sitting at the computer desk under the lamplight.
So late already, she had thought the Young Lady had gone back to her room to sleep.
“There’s still some work from the company. Go to bed first, I’ll turn off the lamp for you later.”
Penelope focused on her computer screen without even looking up.
Seeing her so engrossed in her work, Su Mengdie didn’t disturb her, changed into her pajamas, and crawled into the warm velvet bed.
“Young Lady, good night~”
“Mhm, good night, Xiaodie.”
As soon as Su Mengdie’s head touched the pillow, a wave of sleepiness swept over her, and before long, she slipped into dreamland.
After confirming that Su Mengdie was asleep, Penelope quietly exited the email interface and opened the Black Owl software hidden in an encrypted folder.
‘Ding, your friend Canary has come online.’
Caroline: Got something?
Canary: The info you gave was right. Xiaodie really did meet Swallowtail.
Caroline: Then I’ll go notify Taniya and have her bring that maid back for questioning.
Canary: Don’t!
Canary: I told you this just so you all would stop digging! Xiaodie is mine, none of you are allowed to touch her! I’ve already started my plan today—maybe by tomorrow I’ll get news about Swallowtail.
Caroline: Suit yourself, but first thing in the morning, I’ll report this to the Boss. Signing off.
Caroline: Offline.
Seeing that Caroline was offline, Penelope yawned, quickly exited the software, and turned off the computer and the desk lamp.
She wasn’t worried at all about Caroline tattling.
It wasn’t the first time, after all—when had the Boss ever not taken her side?
In the darkness, Penelope felt her way to the edge of the big bed, then quietly slipped under the covers, now infused with Su Mengdie’s scent.
Feeling something soft at her chest, Penelope stretched out both hands and hugged her tightly around the waist.
Soft and fragrant—tonight was bound to be another night of good dreams.
***
In the early morning, Su Mengdie slowly opened her eyes, waking precisely before the alarm could ring.
Her long lashes trembled lightly.
In the faint light slipping through the curtains, Su Mengdie turned her head and noticed something was off.
Why was she here?!
Seeing the Young Lady beside her on the pillow, Su Mengdie was surprised but thought it made sense.
After all, the Young Lady had worked so late yesterday, so it was only natural to collapse right here from exhaustion.
Only… both of the Young Lady’s hands were now inside her pajamas and underwear, which Su Mengdie found rather unbelievable.
How restless did the Young Lady have to be to sleep like this…?
Su Mengdie tried to extract one arm, but inadvertently woke her.
With a reluctant whimper, Penelope stretched lazily.
“Mm~?!”
Not again!
“Young Lady, I know this was an accident, but could you please not hug me while you sleep next time?”
The curtains had been drawn, and Su Mengdie was already dressed, but her cheeks still carried a blush from the morning’s surprise.
If the Young Lady hadn’t insisted on hugging her in her sleep, her fingers wouldn’t have wandered somewhere they shouldn’t have.
“I can’t help it, Su Mengdie’s scent is just so nice—it makes people want to hold you close without thinking.”
Su Mengdie’s scent was the one Penelope was most familiar with, and it was precisely that scent that gave her the most peace of mind.
So even if she wasn’t hugging her before falling asleep, she might still wrap around her in her sleep.
Su Mengdie couldn’t really blame her for that.
The Young Lady’s scent had the same effect on her.
If that’s the case…
“Young Lady, how about I tie your hands behind your back before you sleep each night?”
While straightening Penelope’s tie, Su Mengdie suddenly suggested this.
“What?!”
Penelope looked at Su Mengdie in disbelief, thinking she’d misheard.
“If the Young Lady’s hands are tied up, you won’t be able to hug me even if you want to, right?”
Su Mengdie thought this idea was pretty good.
It wouldn’t stop the Young Lady from sleeping with her, and would also prevent this morning’s little accident—wasn’t that perfect?
At most, it just meant sacrificing the Young Lady’s hand freedom a little.
“Hmph~ In your dreams! We’ll talk about sleep arrangements when we get back. We have to get to school now, Su Mengdie, don’t say anything strange, alright?”
“You too, Young Lady.”
Su Mengdie thought the Young Lady wasn’t really in a position to say that.
She herself wasn’t worried about getting exposed; after all, the Young Lady didn’t have many friends at school.
As long as she didn’t say anything strange, nothing would go wrong.
But Penelope was different.
The ‘Su Mengdie’ at school was lively and energetic.
She was worried the Young Lady might say the wrong thing without meaning to.
“Good morning, Xiaodie~”
As soon as they sat down in the classroom, a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl appeared beside them, greeting Penelope warmly.
Although Penelope had a vague impression of her, she couldn’t recall her name at the moment.
“Uh…you are?”
“Sorry, Can’er, Xiaodie’s still a little out of it this morning.”
Before leaving home, Su Mengdie had considered all sorts of unexpected situations, but she never expected the Young Lady wouldn’t even remember the name of her own classmate.
Worse yet, the silver-haired, blue-eyed girl in front of her was Su Mengdie’s best friend, Jin Can’er!
She didn’t even recognize her—did the Young Lady look down on her friends that much?
“So that’s it, huh? No worries—as long as Su Mengdie’s okay. For a second there, I thought she’d lost her memory, hahaha~”
Jin Can’er laughed heartily, and casually chatted with Penelope about their weekend.
Su Mengdie pricked up her ears and listened nervously to their conversation.
Before she knew it, it was time for class.
After two periods, everything was still relatively normal.
As expected, the Young Lady talked about nothing but games, but since Su Mengdie usually played games too, it wasn’t that strange.
But on the way to the next classroom, Jin Can’er suddenly stopped, eyeing Su Mengdie suspiciously.
“Miss Jinzhi, why have you been following us all morning? Su Mengdie and I haven’t done anything to upset you, have we?”
“I can go wherever I want. What’s it to you?”
Su Mengdie didn’t like being harsh to her friends, but in order not to slip up, she imitated the Young Lady’s arrogant attitude.
“What do you mean, what’s it to me? I’m Su Mengdie’s friend! If you try to bully her, I won’t stand by and do nothing!”
Maybe she was worried the Young Lady would cause trouble, because the moment she heard Su Mengdie’s words, Jin Can’er immediately moved to shield Penelope behind her.
Can’er, you’re really too kind!
But your friend is right here in front of you…
Su Mengdie was both touched and helpless, looking toward the Penelope behind Jin Can’er for help, hoping she’d come to the rescue.
Catching that pleading look, Penelope nodded in understanding, leaned toward Jin Can’er’s ear, and said,
“Can’er, it’s fine—just let the Young Lady tag along. Lately, she’s been needing a lot of security, even insisting on hugging me while she sleeps at night.”
“?”