The afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the gaps in the blinds, casting streaks of dismal orange-red light and shadow onto the white tiled floor of the infirmary. The air was thick with the pungent scent of povidone-iodine and disinfectant.
“Hiss…”
Su Ruanruan sat on the patient bed. When the cotton swab soaked in medicine touched the crack at the corner of her mouth, she couldn’t help but let out a soft groan. Tears of physical pain welled up in her eyes.
“Endure it! You’re going to look like a pig!”
Although Chu Youyu sounded fierce, her movements were as light as if she were touching fragile soap bubbles. As she applied the medicine, she cursed angrily, “That mad dog Lin Lie… to actually strike this hard! If I see her again, I’ll definitely kill her.”
On the other side, Saginomiya Shiori was kneeling on the floor, using a wet towel to help Su Ruanruan wipe the dust off her knees.
She kept her head down, her refreshing black-blue short hair concealing her expression.
No one saw that Shiori was currently staring at Su Ruanruan’s swollen lips with a timid, stolen glance.
Those were the marks left by Lin Lie.
An emotion called “envy,” mixed with a deep sense of inferiority, quietly spread through her heart.
‘…She was kissed.’
‘She was kissed by that barbaric and crude Lin Lie.’
Shiori’s fingers trembled slightly, and her heart felt incredibly bitter.
‘How nice… Lin Lie is so lucky.’
‘Even though she’s mean and violent, she dared to pin Ruanruan against the wall and take what she wanted so brazenly.’
‘If it were me…’
A flash of imagery uncontrollably crossed Shiori’s mind: she, too, could hold Ruanruan as forcefully and taste the flavor of those two lips.
But in just an instant, she was so frightened that she extinguished the thought herself.
‘No, no! What am I thinking!’
‘How could I do something like that to Ruanruan? If I did that, Ruanruan would definitely hate me.’
The more she thought about it, the more she felt she was useless. Instead of Ruanruan, her eyes were the first to turn red, like a small puppy that had been wronged but didn’t dare to cry out.
“Shiori? What’s wrong?”
Su Ruanruan’s gentle voice suddenly came from above, carrying a hint of worry.
“Ah! N-Nothing…”
Saginomiya Shiori suddenly snapped back to her senses. She hurriedly buried her head even lower, terrified that her treasonous thoughts from a moment ago would be discovered.
“I just… I just think Lin Lie is too mean! If… if I were as strong as Youyu, I could protect Ruanruan…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, humble to the point of being buried in the dust.
—
After treating the wounds, Su Ruanruan declined the two girls’ offer to walk her home.
She wrapped herself in Chu Youyu’s oversized jacket, pulling up the collar to hide the marks on her neck.
“I want to be alone for a bit… I’m really okay.”
After saying goodbye to the two reluctant girls, Su Ruanruan dragged her exhausted body onto the path home.
The sky had already turned completely dark.
Arriving at the front door, she took a deep breath and adjusted her expression.
She absolutely couldn’t let her mother or her younger sister see anything wrong. Her mother’s work was already hard enough, and as for her cold younger sister, Su Xiaoxiao… if she found out her sister had been bullied like this at school, she would surely look down on her “small fry, useless sister” even more.
Click.
The key turned in the lock, and Su Ruanruan pushed the door open.
“Mom, Xiaoxiao, I’m home…”
Her voice echoed in the empty entrance hall, receiving no response.
The house was pitch black and desolate.
“Huh? Is no one here?”
Su Ruanruan froze for a moment and reached out to turn on the lights.
Just then, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
She took it out and saw it was a text from her mother.
[My Dearest Mom]:
“Ruanruan, I’m sorry. The company has a very important social event today.”
“Miss Gu Qingleng drank a bit too much to help Mom deflect some drinks. Now I’m taking her back to a hotel to rest. She didn’t bring an assistant with her, so I have to stay and take care of her.”
“Miss Gu is truly a good person. Even though she’s a young lady, she’s so considerate of her subordinates. Mom really feels too bad to just leave. I won’t be back tonight. Order some takeout for yourself, or cook some noodles. Remember to lock the doors and windows.”
Looking at the words on the screen, Su Ruanruan’s hanging heart settled, and she even felt a wave of emotion.
‘President Gu… is truly a good person.’
Su Ruanruan sighed in her heart.
Not only did she help her waive the interest on the predatory loan and take such good care of her at school, but now she even got drunk to help her mother.
How could such a gentle, considerate, and perfect person have any bad intentions?
Su Ruanruan replied with a “Okay, Mom, take care of yourself” emoji and tossed her phone onto the sofa.
Although the house was a bit lonely with no one there, it was for the best.
With her current appearance, it would be difficult to explain if her mother saw her. Now she could take this chance to shower and change out of these clothes that were tainted with the smell of tobacco and a stranger’s scent.
She hung up Chu Youyu’s jacket and was about to go to the kitchen to find something to eat.
“Beep — Lock opened.”
The electronic sound of the fingerprint lock unlocking suddenly came from the front door behind her.
Su Ruanruan was startled and looked back.
The door was pushed open, and a tall figure walked in.
It was her younger sister, Su Xiaoxiao.
She was wearing a black tracksuit, carrying a gym bag, and her hair was tied in a neat high ponytail. A few strands of wet hair clung to her cheeks; she had clearly just returned from a workout.
With a 175-centimeter height and the smooth muscle lines built up from years of exercise, she didn’t look coarse. Instead, she exuded a cold beauty full of a sense of power.
“Sis?”
Su Xiaoxiao finished changing her shoes and looked up. Her narrow phoenix eyes swept over Su Ruanruan indifferently.
Because the living room lights were somewhat dim and Su Ruanruan had specifically turned her back to her while pulling up the collar of her school uniform shirt, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t notice anything unusual about her neck at first.
“Ah, Xiaoxiao, you’re back.”
Su Ruanruan guiltily tugged at her collar. She didn’t dare to turn around, pretending to organize her schoolbag. “Um… Mom sent a message saying she’s not coming back tonight. She has to take care of a drunk CEO Gu.”
“Oh.”
Su Xiaoxiao’s reaction was very cold, as if she didn’t care at all.
She walked to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of ice water, and tilted her head back to take a gulp. Her slender neck moved slightly with the swallowing action, and sweat slid down her collarbone.
“Since Mom isn’t here, how are we handling dinner?”
Su Xiaoxiao turned around and leaned against the refrigerator door, her gaze seemingly wandering over Su Ruanruan’s back.
Even though her tone was still that cold one reserved for her “hated sister,” deep in her eyes, there was a trace of difficult-to-detect scrutiny.
‘Sis looks… a bit different today.’
The aura of shrugging her shoulders like a wounded animal was a world apart from the arrogant “mesugaki” who used to boss her around and demand she cook. Moreover, why didn’t she dare to look at her?
“I… I’m not hungry. You eat by yourself.”
Su Ruanruan didn’t dare to speak much with her sister, fearing that the more she said, the more mistakes she would make. She grabbed her pajamas from the sofa and rushed toward the bathroom like she was escaping.
“I’m going to shower first! Being covered in sweat feels disgusting!”
Bang.
The bathroom door slammed shut.
Su Xiaoxiao’s hand holding the water bottle paused in mid-air, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
She looked at the closed bathroom door and listened to the sound of water coming from inside, the corner of her mouth curling into a faint, indistinct smile.