Her chest ached with dull pressure. Once Su Qingqing loosened the chest binder, she let out a long sigh of relief.
Warm water washed over her, melting away the day’s exhaustion. Looking around the steam-filled bathroom, she felt a brief sense of unreality.
Just on the other side of the wall sat the novel’s male lead, while she had become the story’s villainous fake heiress. It was a miserable hand to be dealt.
Pushing aside the memory of the original host’s tragic ending, she reasoned that no matter how relentlessly the plot tried to corner her, she should be safe enough as long as she stayed out of his way and did not covet him.
The real danger lay in the plot throwing unexpected curveballs that caught her off guard. The love letter incident was a perfect example, leaving her to wonder how Nangong Li might retaliate. She was not truly afraid of him, but no one enjoyed constantly being targeted.
The shower sputtered to a stop. Su Qingqing turned off the tap and picked up a towel to dry herself. Whatever came, she would deal with it when the time came.
After all, she was stuck in the body of a cannon-fodder supporting character. She had no choice but to accept it.
Lost in thought, she stepped out of the bathroom in her pajamas without bothering to put the binder back on. By the time she realized her mistake, it was already too late.
The moment Su Qingqing walked out, alarm bells rang in her mind. Before she could turn around, a tall, slender figure appeared right in front of her.
Under the harsh light, Su Qingqing stared wide-eyed at Mu Bai, the male lead who had suddenly materialized before her.
Her delicate skin glistened with moisture, her face flushed pink from the steam. Large, dark eyes pooled with a soft sheen, and her pink lips parted slightly, revealing the tip of her tongue.
Mu Bai stood before her like a jade statue. His cold, obsidian eyes reflected her image, touched with a hint of surprise.
Just as his brows furrowed and he seemed about to speak, Su Qingqing noticed his gaze drifting toward her chest. She spun around, dashed into the bathroom, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Heart pounding, she scrambled to secure the strap around her chest. He probably didn’t notice, right? That was too close.
A minute or two later, she emerged to find Mu Bai already in the living room.
Su Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief. He really hadn’t seen anything. Having such a voluptuous figure was truly a nuisance.
She collapsed onto the bed, relishing the cool air conditioning and the soft, light blanket. Rolling over lazily, she noted the stark contrast between her cozy bed and Mu Bai’s stark setup.
Her own bed was far more comfortable. When she poked her head out to peek into the living room, however, Mu Bai caught her in the act once again.
Su Qingqing once again felt as if she had been dropped into an ice cellar. Mu Bai was walking toward her, step by deliberate step.
“You’ve looked at me several times. Is there a problem?” His voice was clear and resonant, yet it carried an unmistakable edge of warning and detachment.
Su Qingqing propped herself up. “If you weren’t looking at me, how would you know I was looking at you?” Was looking at him a crime? Even antique treasures were not treated so delicately, as if a mere glance would wear him away.
Mu Bai’s gaze remained deep and cold as he met her eyes, unmoved by her retort.
Su Qingqing did not back down, holding his piercing gaze without flinching.
Unsurprised by her nerve, Mu Bai turned away and left in quiet detachment.
Su Qingqing shrugged. A couple of glances could hardly count as an offense. Shrugging it off completely, she flopped back onto the bed to sleep.
Just as she drifted into a daze, rustling noises came from across the room. She opened her eyes slightly to see Mu Bai fresh from the bath.
Faint traces of steam clung to his skin, and even the casual motion of rubbing his hair dry with a towel was mesmerizing.
Little did she know, her wide-eyed stare was caught entirely by Mu Bai.
Mu Bai’s brow furrowed. He continued drying his hair with the towel, quietly shifting his stance so his back was turned to her bed.
Su Qingqing had only opened her eyes for a brief glance before drowsiness overtook her again, leaving her vision too blurred to make out what Mu Bai looked like.
Within two seconds, she was sound asleep once more. She had been hoping to dream of the original novel’s plot, but to her disappointment, she simply drifted into an ordinary, dreamless slumber.
When morning light filtered through the curtains, dimly illuminating the dorm room, Mu Bai opened his cool eyes, his brow furrowing in slight annoyance at how poorly the curtains blocked the sun. He sat up halfway.
As he prepared to get out of bed, Su Qingqing’s sleeping posture on the opposite bed caught his eye.
Her slender legs dangled over the edge of the mattress. At some point, her pant legs had rolled up to her thighs, exposing smooth, pale skin that drew the eye. Facing toward his bed, her entire body was teetering on the very brink of falling off.
Frowning deeply, Mu Bai slipped gracefully out of bed and walked over to her side.
He reached out with a lean, strong hand to grasp her arm, but the delicate softness under his grip gave him pause. He looked down at her profile as she slept sweetly.
Before he could do anything else, Su Qingqing rolled over in her sleep, tumbling safely toward the inside of the bed.
Mu Bai released her arm, yet his gaze lingered. A few stray strands of hair framed her neck, making her look remarkably pale and fragile.
By the time Su Qingqing finally woke up, the dorm was empty. She had expected as much. Being in the room without the male lead around was wonderfully liberating.
Her peace and quiet did not last long. A knock came at the door, followed by Chu Yunhan’s voice from the hallway.
“Su Qingqing! Come out!”
She had just sat down to find a show to watch when the pounding started. It was Chu Yunhan again. The male lead was supposed to despise the original host most of all, so why was he suddenly clinging to her?
The heavy thuds against the door showed no sign of stopping, sounding almost as if he intended to break it down. Her ears ringing from the racket, Su Qingqing had no choice but to get up and open it.
Chu Yunhan stood there in a casual tracksuit, hands shoved into his pockets. “What took you so long? My hands hurt from knocking.”
Su Qingqing looked at him coldly, wondering what he was actually after. His insistence on dragging her to the party made her suspect another scheme.
In the novel, he had despised the original host, and even on her first day here, his gaze had been full of disgust. This sudden eagerness to invite her out was too sharp a turn, putting her on high alert.
“Just tell me what you want,” she said, cutting straight to the point to avoid wasting any more breath on him.
Chu Yunhan looked over her slight, fragile frame. “Tsk. I’m only just noticing how skinny you are, like you’ve never had a full meal.” Her wrists looked so thin he could snap them with one hand.
Used to his evasive answers, Su Qingqing refused to let him change the subject.
“I’m not going to the party.” Su Qingqing took a step back, ready to slam the door shut.
Chu Yunhan pressed his hand against the frame, his face darkening. “If you don’t go, I’ll knock on your door all day.” He was dead set on dragging her along.
Su Qingqing was speechless. Had this idiot lost his mind?
His scowl vanished as quickly as it had appeared, melting into a grin. Leaning in close, he murmured, “I’m lonely. I need you to keep me company.”
If she weren’t currently disguised as a man, that would have been outright sexual harassment.
Just as she was about to shut the door in his face, a fleet of limited-edition luxury sports cars pulled up outside the dormitory building. The drivers honked their horns relentlessly, as if determined to announce their presence to the entire world.
Su Qingqing maintained a deadpan expression. The true torment of transmigrating into an old-school Mary Sue novel was the secondhand embarrassment. The endless cringe and overbearing dialogue everywhere she looked made her want to curl into a ball and disappear.
“Young Master Chu, what’s taking so long?” one of the men called out casually, leaning an arm on the rolled-down car window.
Chu Yunhan completely ignored him. Keeping his eyes fixed on Su Qingqing, he grabbed her wrist in his large hand and pulled her toward one of the waiting sports cars.
It seemed staying peacefully in the dorm was no longer an option. As a villainous cannon fodder, her presence at these dramatic confrontations usually catalyzed the plot for the main characters. Since she couldn’t avoid it, she had no choice but to face it head-on.