“Huff… Wife… are you leaving?”
“Mm…”
This transaction is over for today.
Gu Linxue wrapped her arms around her slender waist from behind, preventing her from leaving.
“Are you in such a hurry to go back because you don’t want to stay with me?”
The answer was yes, but her mouth said the opposite.
“No, there’s military training this afternoon. I don’t want to be late and get punished standing.”
Cheng Yuexin’s reasoning was sound, and Gu Linxue’s expression relaxed as she breathed in the faint gardenia scent from her. She gently extended her tongue to lick the shoulder blade on her back, kissing deeply, her face full of intoxication.
“Mm…”
Cheng Yuexin endured the pain of Gu Linxue leaving marks on her body, accompanied by slight tingling sensations. The good thing was that leaving hickeys on her back made them hard to discover. But on her elegantly curved collarbone, near the chest, her kiss mark remained.
“Switch to a different body wash. Lavender suits you.”
After giving her assessment, Gu Linxue picked up a lock of her snow-white hair, pressed it to her nose to savor it, then curled her lips in satisfaction.
“Rose scent, not bad.”
“I need to go. Like this, I can’t get dressed.”
Cheng Yuexin didn’t want to dawdle any longer, and Gu Linxue didn’t want to hold her up either. At least today, her performance could earn her some leniency.
“Fine, good luck with training. Come over tonight to keep me company.”
Cheng Yuexin picked up the scattered clothes from the floor and put them on one by one, without responding.
Gu Linxue sat on the bed, staring at her still-flushed face, her sharp gaze piercing the girl’s delicate, glowing skin. Her tone hid a coldness.
“Cheng Yuexin.”
Cheng Yuexin calmly adjusted her camouflage uniform, zipping the loose jacket all the way up, trying to hide the pain in her heart. The girl turned back to look at the naked Gu Linxue. This body was only loathsome because of the soul inside, losing any value for appreciation. Moreover, she had already seen it in her previous life. Her eyes held only calmness and a hint of pleading.
“Yueqing just had surgery. I need to go accompany her tonight. Can we do another day?”
Looking at Cheng Yuexin’s pretty face and her clasped hands, and hearing the plea in her voice, Gu Linxue clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.
“Fine, I’ll let you off today, but…”
Gu Linxue came in front of her, pinched her chin, and slowly lifted her head. Their eyes met, but each had their own thoughts.
“Don’t think you can escape. I’ll soon transfer to Guangnan University too. You might escape once, but you won’t escape a second time.”
It was like a warning. Cheng Yuexin showed no fear on the surface, but her heart skipped a beat.
“So, can I go now?”
“Go.”
Gu Linxue waved her hand, and Cheng Yuexin left the room without looking back.
“The scent of lavender, I don’t like it at all.”
…
Gu Linxue had wasted too much time and didn’t give her any time to eat. Cheng Yuexin occasionally skipped lunch, treating it as dieting. Even though this habit was bad, at least the medical checkup showed no major issues. It was just malnutrition. It didn’t affect her; she was still full of energy. Just occasional stomach pain requiring medicine, and low blood sugar. Even so, it was much better than Cheng Yueqing, who was bedridden.
“Yuexin.”
She turned around and met Chen Yiyi’s worried face.
“Yiyi, good afternoon.”
Cheng Yuexin greeted first, but Chen Yiyi couldn’t smile at her smile.
“That bad person, did she make things hard for you? Are you hurt?”
Chen Yiyi looked Cheng Yuexin up and down while speaking. Aside from her hair being a bit messy, her clothes wrinkled, and her pink cherry lips becoming slightly redder, there were no obvious signs.
“No, she’s my high school classmate. She just wanted to catch up.”
Cheng Yuexin showed a reassuring smile, but Chen Yiyi still didn’t believe her.
“Is she bullying you, making you unable to speak? What kind of high school classmate is so aggressive? And she said you’re her wife?”
Chen Yiyi’s tone grew more agitated. Cheng Yuexin made a shushing gesture. They were near the playground, and there were more passersby around.
“It’s not convenient to talk about this here. I’ll tell you later.”
As Cheng Yuexin’s roommate, Chen Yiyi was not unreasonable. She nodded and kept quiet, just tightening her grip on Cheng Yuexin’s slightly pale hand.
“It’s cool, feels nice.”
Chen Yiyi showed a smile. Every time she touched Cheng Yuexin’s hand, it was always cooler than her own. For Cheng Yuexin, the warmth of Chen Yiyi’s palm was a bit too hot.
“I wonder what the afternoon training will be. Hopefully not running.”
Chen Yiyi said, and Cheng Yuexin listened quietly.
“By the way, we didn’t get to eat KFC at noon. How about I treat you tonight? There’s no evening training, so we can go out and wander around.”
Cheng Yuexin showed an apologetic smile. Chen Yiyi already knew her answer after seeing it, but still felt unwilling to give up.
“Sorry, I need to go check on my sister tonight. After her recent surgery, I want to spend more time with her.”
Chen Yiyi nodded slightly, her dark eyes blinking.
“That’s true. Well, if you’re free tomorrow, I’ll make it up to you. Even though it’s no longer Crazy Thursday, it’s not a big deal.”
Cheng Yuexin didn’t understand why Chen Yiyi was so persistent; the only reason she could think of was her personality. In her previous life, she had never interacted with Chen Yiyi. Her understanding of her was limited to less than half a month of cohabitation. She knew very little.
“Okay, but it’s fine. Next week works too.”
Chen Yiyi shook her head.
“No, this week is this week. Who knows what next week will bring? So it’s settled, I’ll treat you tomorrow noon.”
“Alright, alright.”
Cheng Yuexin couldn’t refuse such kindness.
The afternoon military training continued as usual. Compared to the morning sun, the heat was just as intense.
“This afternoon, first run eight hundred meters around the field, then practice parade square formation marching. Attention! Right turn!”
Cheng Yuexin had to admit she wanted to award Chen Yiyi with a fortune teller badge. Speak of the devil.
She pinched her slightly sore thighs, using the pain to stop the slight trembling. She no longer knew if it was due to not eating or the aftereffects of Gu Linxue’s forced love. To be precise, both factors contributed, but Gu Linxue’s influence was greater.
But reality gave her no retreat. She followed at the back of the group, jogging slowly. The autumn heat and her empty stomach made Cheng Yuexin’s pace slower and slower. The instructor on the other side saw the slow-running group, blew a whistle, and it was like pressing fast-forward; the main group quickened their pace. Cheng Yuexin, whose legs were growing weaker, was forced to fall behind.
Seeing this, Chen Yiyi slowed down and came to Cheng Yuexin’s side. Normally, Cheng Yuexin wasn’t like this.
“Yuexin, if you feel unwell, you can ask the instructor for leave to rest. I can put in a word for you.”
Cheng Yuexin shook her head. She was panting heavily, and large beads of sweat slid down her pretty face, wetting the hair at her temples.
“I’m fine… ha… ha… don’t worry… huff…”
Chen Yiyi wanted to stop her. Her breathing rhythm was obviously much faster, and her steps were clearly unsteady.
“Don’t push yourself. If you really feel bad, you can rest.”
Cheng Yuexin still refused.
“It’s fine. You go on ahead. I can finish running.”
Chen Yiyi knew her roommate’s stubbornness well.
“Alright then. Call me if there’s a problem.”
“Okay…”
Watching Chen Yiyi speed off, Cheng Yuexin struggled to maintain her own slow jogging pace. But her legs grew heavier, as if sinking deeper into a swamp. Her vision began to sparkle, her breathing rate increased, but her body couldn’t muster any strength. As if completely drained.
In the last two hundred meters, Cheng Yuexin lost the ability to maintain her balance. Her body uncontrollably tilted forward and she fell heavily to the ground.
“Yuexin!”
Chen Yiyi heard the sound of clothes scraping against the plastic track and ran over in alarm.
“Yuexin, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, fine. Huff…”
She helped Cheng Yuexin up from the ground.
“Hiss… ah…”
As soon as Chen Yiyi touched her palm, a warm, wet feeling transferred to her hand. Realizing Cheng Yuexin was injured, Chen Yiyi frowned deeply.
“Your hand, let me see.”
Before Cheng Yuexin could act, Chen Yiyi turned her palm over, revealing the wound stained with blood and dust.
“It hurts, doesn’t it…”
Cheng Yuexin forced a smile.
“It’s fine. It’s just a small injury. I’ll go to the infirmary later and get it treated.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Chen Yiyi’s eyes were full of determination, leaving no room for Cheng Yuexin to refuse, her tone resolute.
“What about training?”
By the time Cheng Yuexin asked, she was already being dragged away by Chen Yiyi. A gust of wind blew, scattering Chen Yiyi’s answer. Cheng Yuexin couldn’t hear clearly, so she simply followed her to the infirmary.
Judging by the lip movements, she was probably saying.
“Military training… nothing is more important than you.”