He had already looked into it. Su Yun’s parents were just regular workers at an electronics factory. The guy himself looked average and his grades were terrible.
In comparison, Shi Lezhi was in the top ten of his class, student council president, and came from a well-connected family in the area.
How could he possibly lose to someone like that?
No matter how much he thought about it, Shi Lezhi couldn’t make sense of it.
He had shamelessly chased after her for so long, only to be met with a cold “get lost.” And yet, this new loser who had just entered the school had managed to win her over so easily?
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason Shi Lezhi was so frustrated.
Since Monday, he had already ordered people to investigate local motel records, hoping to find Su Yun and Qin Xue’s names. But no matter how they searched, they found nothing.
His plan had been to expose them and ruin Qin Xue’s reputation on campus. Clearly, it had failed.
But he wasn’t about to give up that easily. He managed to get ahold of Qin Xue’s parents’ phone number and planned to use his position to tell them their daughter had fallen for a delinquent, skipped class, and was constantly sneaking off to do indecent things.
A normal parent would panic hearing their daughter was being tricked by a bad guy.
But that number—he’d been calling it since Tuesday and not once had anyone picked up. One time, someone did answer, but as soon as he started speaking, they hung up immediately.
He wanted to be more aggressive, but he knew Qin Xue’s family had some background. He didn’t dare stir up trouble blindly.
So now, Shi Lezhi was stuck—timid and powerless. He couldn’t even deal with that bitch Chen Tingting.
Every single moment this week, all Shi Lezhi could do was seethe in jealousy, picturing that college freshman seducing Qin Xue.
“President, someone’s looking for you.”
A student council member walked up to him.
“Get lost!” Shi Lezhi snapped without hesitation, annoyed that someone dared bother him right now.
“Sorry…” The student was startled by his outburst and hurried away.
Shi Lezhi continued standing on stage for several minutes before finally stepping down and sitting on a nearby step alone.
As he sat there thinking, something suddenly struck him.
That girl named DUI, Su Xiaoyun—she hadn’t shown up at all this week.
Was she off on a trip with that freshman?
Just the thought made Shi Lezhi even more upset. He hated that girl, sure—but she was still cute, with those slender legs. Now that guy had both girls? How unfair.
He stewed in his jealousy, so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t even hear the laughter of nearby couples on the steps.
“Wait… something’s not right.”
Suddenly, Shi Lezhi shot to his feet.
That white-haired girl—he hadn’t seen her before.
With his investigative skills, a girl that pretty should’ve been noticed long ago.
(He had checked the entire freshman student card list before school started.)
Even if she transferred, there should be records.
So how did she suddenly appear?
Shi Lezhi thought of the similarity between Su Yun and Su Xiaoyun’s names. His brow furrowed.
—
“Ugh… don’t…”
A soft, weak voice echoed through the quiet room, surprisingly clear in the silence.
The hand that was reaching out to nudge the sleeping figure froze instantly on the bed.
It was almost noon, and Su Yun had planned to wake Qin Xue for breakfast.
But the moment she nudged her, Qin Xue let out a moan that completely stunned her.
Anyone hearing that might’ve thought something else was going on.
“…Sister.”
Two pale hands hovered in the air, motionless.
“Sister Xue, it’s time to get up.”
“Are you still feeling dizzy?”
Su Yun stopped pushing and instead leaned closer, softly calling her name.
But no matter how she called, Qin Xue didn’t respond.
Left with no choice, Su Yun gently pushed her shoulder again.
“Ah… be gentle…”
“…”
Su Yun froze again, nearly rolling her eyes.
She took a sip of water, trying to suppress her strange thoughts.
This was the first time she had heard Qin Xue make such a lovely sound.
Of course, Su Yun understood it was probably just because Qin Xue wasn’t feeling well.
She felt guilty.
After several more nudges, Qin Xue finally opened her eyes.
Her head was still spinning, her body weak.
Seeing that, Su Yun’s heart filled with guilt and distress. She ended up feeding Qin Xue spoonfuls of congee herself, this time making sure to reheat it thoroughly.
“Ah~”
“Mmm~”
Leaning against the headboard, Qin Xue parted her lips slightly.
Su Yun scooped up some congee with a spoon and held it to her lips. Qin Xue ate it without hesitation.
It wasn’t until the whole bowl was gone that Su Yun finally put the spoon down.
“Thank you, Sister Xiaoyun.”
Qin Xue’s voice lacked its usual playful lilt—it was soft, almost tired.
“Mhm.”
Seeing her so frail, Su Yun even considered taking her to the hospital.
She eventually voiced the thought out loud.
“No need for the hospital. Just let me hug you for a while longer and I’ll be fine. Come on.”
Pat pat.
Qin Xue patted the empty spot next to her, motioning for Su Yun to join her.
“Uh… alright then.”
Su Yun hesitated, but still obediently climbed onto the bed.
In bed, she was immediately pulled into a tight embrace.
The face-to-face position left her arms awkwardly wrapped around Qin Xue’s waist.
And like that, Su Yun stayed completely still in her arms.
Soon, the girl’s breathing and heartbeat settled into a peaceful rhythm.
She had fallen asleep.
Once Qin Xue was truly asleep, her grip loosened slightly, giving Su Yun more room to move.
This time, Su Yun didn’t sneak away. She didn’t try anything either.
She just stayed there quietly, curled up in her embrace.
She wasn’t sleepy, though, and lying still like that was… honestly pretty boring.
About two hours later, around 2 PM, Qin Xue woke up on her own. She looked much better than before.
“Sister Xiaoyun~ As expected, hugging you really makes me feel better.”
As soon as she opened her eyes, she hugged Su Yun again, tightly—like she never wanted to let go.
She nuzzled into her while asking:
“Sister Xue, you’re not feeling sick anymore?”
“Mhm~ Thank you, Sister Xiaoyun.”
“No need to thank me…”
Su Yun smiled a little helplessly.
If she had to be a body pillow, so be it. As long as Qin Xue felt better.
Her body was flexible anyway—it wasn’t hard to stay in the same position. She could bend her arms 360 degrees, after all.
She was soft like the cotton inside a pillow. Naturally cool to the touch, but if you held her long enough, she’d warm up.
She didn’t need much air, had pale skin, and if she sat there without speaking, she could easily pass for a life-sized doll.
A real… body pillow.
Su Yun couldn’t help but poke fun at herself internally.
After that, she and Qin Xue went to the kitchen together to cook a dish of stir-fried carrots with meat.
About forty minutes later, lunch was ready, and Qin Xue finally ate.
“Sister Xue, want to go out this afternoon? There’s a big pond just up ahead—it’s really pretty.”
Su Yun sat beside her, asking carefully.
“A pond? Sure! Sister Xiaoyun, take me there.”
“Mhm.”
To her surprise, Qin Xue agreed right away.
Su Yun felt pleasantly relieved.
After changing clothes, the two of them headed out together.
They were both dressed in baggy men’s clothing, which contrasted sharply with their youthful, feminine faces.
To avoid attention, Su Yun had even chosen a hooded jacket to cover all her white hair.
(She had washed her hair yesterday, and all the black dye had faded.)
As for Qin Xue, she wore her hair in a high ponytail. With her slim figure and cold, elegant beauty, she now looked like a mature office lady.
“Sister Xue, we’re here.”
“Hm?”
After a ten-minute walk, Su Yun led Qin Xue through the garden gate.
They were met with lush green trees and a grassy field scattered with red flowers beneath them.
It didn’t have the neat symmetry of a city park, but instead felt more natural and serene.
At the center of the garden was a large lake. The surface was clear and green, and you could even see the depth beneath it.
“Sister Xiaoyun, look! There’s a little goldfish!”
Walking along the path by the lake, Qin Xue suddenly squatted down and stared curiously at a tiny goldfish flicking its tail underwater.
It looked like it had just been born—so small and cute.
“Can I take her home, Sister Xiaoyun?”
Qin Xue turned to her with hopeful eyes.
“Um… probably not a good idea.”
Su Yun shook her head helplessly.
It would be too hard to take care of it right now.
“Okay…”
A little disappointed, Qin Xue stayed crouched there, watching quietly.
Soon enough, she noticed there were more little fish in the water, all kinds of shapes and colors.
Seeing how happy she looked, Su Yun remembered there was a convenience store nearby.
She took Qin Xue to buy a few loaves of bread, and when they returned, they stood on the bridge, crumbling the bread and tossing it to the fish.
“Sister Xiaoyun, look! They’re eating it!”
Qin Xue bounced with excitement on the bridge, pointing eagerly at the fish nibbling on her bread crumbs.
“Yeah.” Su Yun responded blankly, surprised by her enthusiasm.
She wasn’t good at interacting with girls and didn’t really know how to respond to this kind of joy.
Still, watching Qin Xue’s radiant smile made her happy too. She smiled quietly along with her.
After they finished feeding the fish, the two of them sat in a small lakeside pavilion to rest.
There were no rides or activities here—just peace and nature.
“Sister Xiaoyun, can you swim?”
“Huh?”
Sitting on a stone bench, Su Yun was caught off guard by the sudden question.
“I can’t swim.”
She answered honestly, and then said nothing more.
“Oh.”
Su Yun felt the conversation going awkward already, just as she feared.
But then, Qin Xue suddenly laughed.
“The way those little fish swish their tails back and forth is really cute—just like you, Sister Xiaoyun. But you can’t swim, huh? Guess that makes you a dead fish~”
“Pfft.” Qin Xue burst into laughter.
“Hehe…”
Su Yun didn’t get the joke, so she could only give a dry chuckle in return.
From then on, Qin Xue just kept talking.
Most of the time, Su Yun only replied with a few words, but surprisingly, the mood never turned awkward.
If this were with strangers, she would’ve felt suffocated.
“Sister Xiaoyun, do you prefer quiet places or lively ones?”
“Um, quiet, I guess.”
“Why’s that?”
Qin Xue leaned forward with her chin resting on her hands, looking at her with interest.
“Lively places make me feel anxious. I’d rather be alone.”
“What, being around people isn’t okay?” Qin Xue’s expression darkened slightly.
“That’s not what I meant… I’m fine if they’re close friends. But if I don’t know anyone there, I get really uncomfortable, like I just want to run away…”
“Really? But now that you’ve got so many friends, you don’t feel that way anymore, right?”
Qin Xue asked again.
And Su Yun shared everything with her.
She explained how she never had real friends before, and the ones she did have were mostly due to being roommates.
Even now, she didn’t have many true friends.
She even talked about her dream of one day living somewhere far from the noise of the city.
Once she got going, she couldn’t stop. It was like she’d finally found someone she could open up to.
Qin Xue, who had been talking non-stop earlier, turned into the listener.
But she wasn’t just pretending to care—she listened intently, gently asking follow-up questions to guide Su Yun along.
By the time they finished chatting, Su Yun was shocked to realize that nearly an hour had passed. The sky outside had already started turning dusky.
She had spent all that time talking with a girl.
And not just talking—she had done most of the talking.
For a moment, Su Yun was amazed.
And proud.
“My butt’s sore from sitting… Sister Xiaoyun, are you heading home now?”
Su Yun looked up at her.
Bathed in the golden sunset, her face seemed to blend into the surrounding nature, beautiful and enchanting.
“Yeah. Let’s go home.”
Su Yun answered cheerfully.
She was truly happy.
(End of Chapter)