Chapter 48 : Sleep at my house tonight

Her heart instantly leapt into her throat.

She lifted the curtain and got out of bed, heading straight for the bathroom.

Then she picked up her own comb from the sink and quickly tidied her hair.

After changing into her shoes, she made to dash out the door.

“Yo, isn’t this our busy bee? Just got back and already heading out again?”

Zhao Yingying’s mocking voice came from behind.

“Going out so late? That’s not like you at all—”

“Don’t tell me you’re off to see your ‘good sister’?”

Hua Qi’an’s steps paused for a moment, but she was far too anxious to bother arguing with Zhao Yingying right now.

She can think whatever she wants.

If Hua Qi’an kept pretending to be agreeable with someone who treated her this way, it would look like she was just asking for trouble.

She only put on that facade before because she didn’t want to tear up the dorm atmosphere or make things too ugly.

But that didn’t mean she had no temper.

Lin Yanqiu’s orders had always been unchallengeable—being late was her biggest taboo.

Now there were only a few minutes left till half past eight.

Just thinking of the last time she was punished made Hua Qi’an’s calves ache faintly.

She didn’t look back, simply yanked open the door and ran out, leaving Zhao Yingying with nothing but a hurried, slender silhouette.

“Tch, acting all high and mighty.”

Zhao Yingying curled her lip disdainfully, a flicker of malice in her eyes.

…

The night wind carried a slight chill, rustling the leaves throughout the campus.

It wasn’t quite early or late at this hour; there were still plenty of people moving about the residential area.

Hua Qi’an, clad only in a thin set of pajamas, dashed out of the dormitory building at full speed.

She barely had time to feel the cold, her mind occupied by a single thought: I can’t be late.

Even when dragging Chen Zhiyan along before, she’d never run this fast.

Why did Lin Yanqiu suddenly want to see her?

That question pricked at her heart like a thorn.

All afternoon today, she’d left her old, trackable phone safely under her dorm pillow, taking only her new phone out with her.

By all rights, Lin Yanqiu should think she’d obediently stayed in the dorm all day.

Could it be something else got found out?

All the way there, Hua Qi’an’s heart was in turmoil.

She ran through every possible thing she’d done that might anger Lin Yanqiu, but could never settle on a reasonable explanation.

This kind of uncertainty was even scarier than a punishment she could predict.

The campus at night was much colder than during the day.

The loose pajama collar and pant legs acted like giant wind tunnels, letting cold air whoosh in and giving her exposed skin a layer of goosebumps.

She reflexively hunched her shoulders and hugged her arms tight.

The thunderstruck wood talisman on her chest pressed warm and faint against her skin; the Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist tapped lightly against her wrist bone as she ran.

The distance from the dorm area to the school gate wasn’t short.

By the time Hua Qi’an arrived at the gate, she was panting heavily, utterly out of breath.

She slowly came to a stop, bent over, and started coughing hard, sharp pains stabbing through her chest.

Her vision flickered black at the edges, and a metallic, rusty sweetness welled up in her throat.

Clearly, she wasn’t suited for such strenuous exercise.

She forced herself to swallow down the blood, lifted her head, and looked toward the familiar figure not far away.

Under the hazy yellow streetlights, Lin Yanqiu was leaning at an angle against her flashy red sports car.

Tonight, she wore a sharply tailored black couture trench coat, making her figure look even taller and more striking.

One hand was in her pocket, the other held a slender lady’s cigarette, the crimson ember flickering in the night.

She didn’t smoke it, just let the pale blue smoke curl around her fingertips, making her already sharp and stunning face appear even more unreal.

At the sound of movement, Lin Yanqiu slowly turned her head.

When her gaze fell on Hua Qi’an, those beautiful eyes instantly narrowed, and her brows knit together.

She stubbed out her cigarette, took long strides, and walked toward Hua Qi’an, step by step.

Her high heels hit the ground—tap, tap, tap—each crisp sound striking right at Hua Qi’an’s heart.

Hua Qi’an straightened nervously, unconsciously holding her breath.

Lin Yanqiu stopped in front of her, looking down at her from above.

Her gaze was like a precision scanner, sweeping over Hua Qi’an’s unnaturally flushed cheeks from running… her messy hair… the crumpled pajamas with the cartoon puppy print…

Finally, her eyes stopped at Hua Qi’an’s slightly trembling, bare ankles—still shivering from the run.

That look held scrutiny, dissatisfaction, and a deep, incomprehensible possessiveness that Hua Qi’an couldn’t understand.

“You came out dressed like this?”

Lin Yanqiu withdrew her gaze as if nothing had happened.

Her voice was cold, frosted, betraying no emotion.

Hua Qi’an’s lips moved, but she couldn’t say a word.

What could she say?

That she was afraid of being late and hadn’t had time to change?

Thinking it over, Hua Qi’an decided to play along.

“Sorry, sis… I fell asleep earlier, and only saw your message when I woke up…”

“I was in such a hurry… I just ran out without changing clothes.”

Her eyes flickered, and her words were faintly breathless from the run.

Seeing her like this, Lin Yanqiu’s frown deepened.

She reached out, cool fingertips gently touching Hua Qi’an’s sweaty forehead, then slowly tracing down her cheek.

The icy touch made Hua Qi’an instinctively shrink back.

Lin Yanqiu’s fingers stopped at her chin.

Her fingertip lightly rubbed that small spot on her cheek, feeling the pulse thundering under her tense skin.

“Running so fast—afraid I’ll eat you or something?”

She leaned in, lowering her voice to a near whisper, warm breath brushing over Hua Qi’an’s freezing ear and sending a shiver through her.

Hua Qi’an stood stiffly, not daring to move an inch.

Lin Yanqiu’s gaze swept over her chest, which was rising and falling with every breath; the pajama collar had slipped down, revealing delicate collarbones and a patch of pale skin.

Her eyes darkened. She took off her own trench coat and draped it over Hua Qi’an’s shoulders without asking.

The oversized coat instantly enveloped Hua Qi’an’s petite frame, leaving only a fuzzy head poking out.

The coat still carried Lin Yanqiu’s cool scent, tinged with a faint trace of tobacco.

Now, Hua Qi’an was entirely wrapped in it, surrounded by an unbreakable, invasive barrier.

“In this cold weather, you still don’t know to wear more.”

There was a trace of almost imperceptible reproach in Lin Yanqiu’s voice.

As she spoke, she carefully pulled the coat’s collar closed for Hua Qi’an.

Her slender fingers brushed, seemingly carelessly, over the bandages at Hua Qi’an’s neck.

“Did you put on your medicine today? I’ll help you reapply it later.”

Hua Qi’an’s body instantly stiffened.

Crap.

There were way more fresh “marks” on her neck than before.

With Lin Yanqiu’s vigilance, she’d definitely ask…

There was no way she could tell the truth.

But she couldn’t let anything slip, so she just nodded obediently.

“So, sis, why did you call me out here?”

Lin Yanqiu casually pressed her phone, opening the sports car door; the passenger door swung open automatically.

“Get in.”

“You’re sleeping at my place tonight.”

She said it as a matter of course.

Huh?

Hua Qi’an stared at her in disbelief, as if she hadn’t quite caught what she’d just mumbled.