“Singing in the middle of the night, are we?”
Wang Zuhao turned his head toward the closed bed curtains and picked at his ear.
“They’re already singing a love duet; why aren’t they married yet?”
Lin Mingxin had just returned from a shower.
As soon as he entered the room, he heard them singing.
“Are they consummating the marriage tonight?”
Chen Zhilong, being loyal, frowned slightly.
“Listen to you guys.”
He also looked up at the top bunk.
Under Qiu Ye’s lead, Bai Yao wasn’t as withdrawn as before.
Wasn’t that a good thing?
He had never heard Bai Yao sing before.
At least he stayed in tune with the original singer, and it sounded quite nice.
“Nightly roll call, it’s time for lights out.”
A Senior from the Student Union knocked on the door.
A moment later, he pushed it open and looked inside.
“Is everyone here?”
Bai Yao’s singing stopped instantly.
“We’re all here, we’re all here,” Chen Zhilong waved his hand dismissively.
“Lights out now.”
With a quick glance, the Student Union member checked the names off the roster, even though he only saw four people.
“Do you need help turning off the lights?”
“Oh, thanks.”
The school cut off the lights and internet at 10:00 PM sharp every night, but the power remained on.
At 10:00 PM, the internet disconnected.
Wang Zuhao let out a wail.
“Shit! The internet cut out mid-match!”
“You didn’t watch the time,” Lin Mingxin said, sitting at his computer and patting skincare products onto his cheeks to enhance absorption. “Why don’t you try using a hotspot?”
Wang Zuhao glanced at him.
“A grown man using face masks? Are you some kind of sissy?”
Hearing this, Lin Mingxin opened a drawer, took out a stack of face masks, and handed them over.
“Want to try? Your face will be supple and hydrated after using one.”
“Then I’ve definitely got to try one.”
Chen Zhilong took a face mask and rushed to wash his face.
“I use it after washing my face, right?”
“Yeah.”
Seeing this, Wang Zuhao also took a sheet and followed Chen Zhilong to the balcony.
Before long, three meticulously groomed boys wearing face masks appeared in the boys’ dormitory.
When Bai Yao got out of bed to go to the bathroom, he shuddered in fright.
The face masks were wrinkled and draped over their faces like dead skin, making them look like three White-faced Ghosts.
“Bai Yao, do you want to try one too?”
Lin Mingxin continued to promote the masks.
“It’s really good for your skin.”
“Yeah, yeah! I’ve only had it on for a bit and I already feel like my face is tender~” Wang Zuhao nodded his head happily.
‘What?’
Wang Zuhao was the roughest guy in the dorm.
When he noticed Bai Yao’s skin getting better earlier, he had even mocked him, asking if he was secretly using skincare products.
Now, this guy was using a face mask too?
He looked at Chen Zhilong, who was also wearing a mask.
Brother Long, a boisterous and iron-straight man, was actually using one?
Bai Yao was often called girly by others, so he was even more self-conscious.
“Uh… no thanks.”
“Come on, come on! It’s for whitening and hydrating!”
Lin Mingxin ran over and shoved a sheet into his hand.
“I have a ton of these. A Senior girl gave them to me. Might as well use them.”
“…”
Lin Mingxin looked up at Qiu Ye, who was peeking out from behind the bed curtains.
“You only have one hand, so forget it.”
“True, it’s not convenient.”
Thus, Bai Yao also put on a face mask, joining the ranks of the White-faced Ghosts.
‘It really does feel hydrating~ I feel like my skin is being nourished~’
From time to time, he adjusted the edges of the mask to make it fit his skin better.
‘The dorm has turned into some kind of beauty parlor…’
Chen Zhilong even mimicked a lady of leisure by holding up a prim-and-proper finger and crossing his legs awkwardly, making Lin Mingxin and Wang Zuhao burst into laughter.
[**It’s time to establish a regular skincare habit! Miss Bai Yao, although you have slightly improved your skin through a healthy diet, you are already over 30 and yet you are still lazy every day. It’s one thing not to know how to apply makeup, but you’re even too lazy to do skincare! Did you rely entirely on your sex life to maintain your skin before?**]
[**You don’t want to be called a faded beauty one day, do you?**]
[**Maintain a skincare routine. Every 10 days, cash reward: 100**]
‘A hundred-dollar reward every 10 days? That’s 300 a month?’
‘That’s a great deal~’
‘Does facial cleanser count? Well, probably not, or this task would have appeared long ago.’
‘But free face masks definitely count!’
Bai Yao went to the bathroom.
Being as lazy as the system described, he didn’t even leave the mask on for more than 5 minutes before peeling it off and washing his face.
“Hey! Bai Yao, do you think my skin has gotten more tender?”
Seeing him remove the mask, Wang Zuhao also went to the balcony. He cupped his face with both hands and pinched himself narcissistically.
“I feel like it’s much more hydrated!”
Bai Yao looked at Wang Zuhao’s face under the balcony light…
Well, his pores were large, acne scars were prominent, and his skin tone was uneven.
His face was indeed wet, but it just looked like he had just wiped it.
“No change.”
“…” Heartbroken, Wang Zuhao went into the bathroom.
After washing his face, Bai Yao climbed back onto the bed.
Qiu Ye was sitting cross-legged at the head of the bed reading a novel.
“Excuse me.”
Qiu Ye made some space and looked up.
He watched as Bai Yao poked his butt out and crawled into the bed curtains, passing by him.
Bai Yao’s waist curved beautifully with a slight dip.
Those high, pert buttocks made his hand feel a bit itchy.
Although he had made Bai Yao angry last time, Qiu Ye couldn’t help himself this time and gave them a gentle thwack.
Bai Yao’s entire body shuddered.
He quickly pulled his rear back and sat on his calves to avoid another attack.
His body was very sensitive.
The moment his butt was hit, the sensation of pain, accompanied by an electric current, rushed to his brain.
His body stiffened for a moment, leaving him both embarrassed and annoyed.
“You have a problem, don’t you! Get out!”
Qiu Ye immediately caved.
“My bad, my bad. I’ll buy you a Coke tomorrow.”
“If you touch me again, I’m going down to sleep on the floor…”
Bai Yao muttered his threat, but unfortunately, his voice was soft and sweet, carrying no deterrent power whatsoever.
He threw back the blanket and lay down with his back to Qiu Ye.
“I’m going to sleep. Don’t disturb me.”
“Can you pass a charging cable over?”
Bai Yao conveniently tossed a charging cable to Qiu Ye.
He fiddled with his phone, but his mind couldn’t stop wandering.
‘With my current feminine body, surely Qiu Ye wouldn’t get touchy-feely with me? The system even said my body is very erotic?’
The bed frame shook slightly, and Bai Yao could clearly feel Qiu Ye lying down too, gently pulling a corner of the blanket over himself.
It was a bit cramped…
Qiu Ye’s shoulder bumped against Bai Yao’s shoulder blade.
Although they were both fully dressed, he could still clearly feel Qiu Ye’s burning body heat through two layers of T-shirt fabric.
“Move over a bit.”
“Move over more.”
Qiu Ye couldn’t help but remind him, “I’m going to fall off.”
“Then sleep on your side too.”
He helplessly turned over, sleeping with his face toward Bai Yao’s back.
He wanted to turn to the other side, but his left arm was fractured.
A little movement was fine, but if he were to crush it with his body, it would be a disaster.
The roommates downstairs were still chatting in low voices, but the two on the bed were incredibly quiet.
So quiet that Qiu Ye could almost hear the sound of Bai Yao’s breathing.
The light from the phone screen illuminated the dark bed curtains, allowing him to vaguely see Bai Yao’s slender back and the side of his face.
Inside the nearly enclosed curtains, the scent of body wash and shampoo became even clearer, seemingly mixed with an indescribable, faint fragrance.
Qiu Ye felt a bit awkward.
Because of the fracture, he hadn’t showered today, and he might have sweated quite a bit.
He felt a bit embarrassed to use Bai Yao’s blanket, so he only pulled a corner over his waist to cover his stomach.
The 16-degree air conditioning made him feel a bit of a chill.
Bai Yao rose slightly and pulled the blanket, draping half of the air-conditioning quilt over Qiu Ye.
‘As expected… Bai Yao is as gentle as an angel…’
Bai Yao pulled his earplugs from under the pillow and stuffed them into his ears.
“I’m sleeping.”
“Yeah…” Qiu Ye paused for a second.
“Goodnight.”
“Night.”
Bai Yao wriggled around to find a comfortable position, curling his legs to his side and leaning comfortably against the pillow to sleep.
But by curling his legs, his butt naturally pushed back, nearly pressing against Qiu Ye’s lower abdomen.
Feeling awkward, Qiu Ye moved outward again, his back pressing against the bed rail.
There was truly nowhere else to go.
He played with his phone, but his gaze kept drifting toward Bai Yao’s back, almost uncontrollably.
For some reason, the more he looked, the more erotic it felt, making his throat feel dry.