Su Qingqing’s clear eyes met Mu Bai’s as her mind raced with a million guesses.
His thin lips barely moved. “Move.”
The undisguised coldness in his voice snapped her back to reality.
I was overthinking things, she realized, a wave of relief washing over her. As she stepped aside, the bathroom door slammed shut behind him.
Su Qingqing glared at the closed door, annoyed. Why does a dorm this luxurious only have one bathroom?
She would have to be more careful when changing her chest binders from now on. Still lost in thought, she didn’t notice a hand settle on her slender shoulder.
She dodged it with lightning reflexes. But the intruder didn’t back off; instead, he grabbed her arm.
Chu Yunhan leaned in, his face inches from hers. “Hey! Why have you been acting so weird the past couple of days?”
The frail thinness of her arm beneath his palm gave him pause.
Su Qingqing shook him off. “If you want to talk, then just talk. Keep your hands off me.”
Only last night, she had learned that this man was the novel’s devoted second male lead. At this point in the story, he didn’t even know he’d fallen for the female protagonist. By the time he did, his love would be a terminal illness—incurable and utterly hopeless.
Unfortunately, the female lead only loved the male lead. The second male lead was nothing more than a side character she used for amusement when she was bored.
“Hiss… You…” Before he could finish, Su Qingqing had already shaken him off and walked out of the dorm, completely ignoring him.
The second male lead had bullied the original Su Qingqing countless times in the novel, especially after her identity as a fake heiress was exposed and he heard she had a crush on Mu Bai. He had relentlessly mocked her then.
Her stomach growled, leaving her famished. Su Qingqing hurried toward the cafeteria.
Chu Yunhan, who had been left standing there after her dramatic exit, glared after her. “That little… Just you wait, I’m going to teach her a lesson!”
“Teach who a lesson?” a cool voice asked.
Chu Yunhan jumped in surprise and spun around. “Mu Bai? Weren’t you abroad?” When did he get back?
He tried to throw an arm over Mu Bai’s shoulder, but the other man smoothly dodged the gesture. Chu Yunhan didn’t mind; he was long used to Mu Bai’s aloofness and his germaphobic streak.
“I just got back,” Mu Bai’s cool voice echoed in the dorm.
“Your uncle…” Chu Yunhan hesitated, unable to bring himself to say it. Knowing Mu Bai’s temper, if he found out his own uncle had been sabotaging the Mu Family from the shadows, he wouldn’t show any mercy.
Mu Bai was meticulous and ruthless. If his uncle had truly dared to make a move against the Mu Family… the outcome was easy to guess.
His long, dark lashes cast shadows that hid the emotion in his eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Chu Yunhan abandoned the line of questioning and changed the subject. He grinned, throwing an arm over Mu Bai’s shoulder. “My dad wants me to invite you over for a visit. When can you do us the honor?”
His family had always pushed him to get closer to Mu Bai; after all, the gap between the Mu Family and the Chu Family was a chasm that could never be crossed.
“When I have time.”
Mu Bai flipped open a book, seemingly uninterested in continuing the conversation.
“Oh, by the way,” Chu Yunhan added, “while you were abroad, Su Qingqing kept asking me where you were and when you’d be back. It was like she had something urgent to discuss with you.”
How was Chu Yunhan supposed to know when Mu Bai was returning? The strange part was that Su Qingqing hadn’t approached him in the last two days. Even when they ran into each other on campus, the look she gave him was completely unfamiliar.
Mu Bai’s fingers paused for a moment. A slight frown creased his brow, as if he found the topic aversive.
Chu Yunhan continued to complain about Su Qingqing’s lack of respect. “You little brat,” he muttered to Mu Bai, “I’m going to camp out by her dorm today and give her a proper ‘interrogation’ when she returns.”
Mu Bai kept flipping through his book, completely ignoring Chu Yunhan’s endless rambling.
Meanwhile, Su Qingqing was eating in the cafeteria. As expected of an elite school, the food was excellent. She took her tray and looked for a quiet spot in the corner.
“Look, it’s Su Qingqing! The one sharing a dorm with Mu Bai.”
“So that’s him! I heard he even pissed off Duan Xinghe right after class.”
“Does he think living with Mu Bai gives him a free pass to act like he owns the place? Has he forgotten how miserably he was bullied before?”
“Just talking about it makes me laugh. Back then, Mu Bai walked right past her without even glancing her way.”
“But the school bully let him off the hook just for Mu Bai’s sake, didn’t he?”
“Tsk… with a face prettier than the school beauty, what kind of man is he?”
“He looks like a stiff breeze could knock him over.”
The gossip from the nearby table reached Su Qingqing’s ears, every word crystal clear. She stopped mid-stride, then turned and walked back toward the girls who were still talking about her.
Under their bewildered gazes, Su Qingqing gently placed her tray on their table and sat down with effortless grace.
The girls opposite her fell silent.
The realization that Su Qingqing had heard everything turned their faces crimson. They tried to speak, but as they met her gaze, they found themselves spellbound. There was no denying it—she was breathtaking.
Ignoring their stares, Su Qingqing ate her meal in peace. After finishing, she rose and headed back to her dorm, leaving the girls behind to cover their faces in awe.
“He’s so beautiful,” one whispered. Though calling a man “beautiful” felt strange, it was the only word that fit.
“Even that short hair can’t hide his looks! he’s absolutely stunning!”
“He’s miles ahead of the school beauty,” another added. “I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful—man or woman.”
“I only saw hi. from a distance before,” one girl gushed. “But up close… my heart can’t take it!”
“Me too! Me too!”
Outside, the sky had already darkened. The wind had picked up, but thankfully it hadn’t started to rain. If it had, Su Qingqing would have been a drowned rat by the time she reached her dorm, so far from the cafeteria.
As she walked back in the evening breeze, Su Qingqing’s thoughts drifted to the male lead, Mu Bai, who was currently in her dorm. She wanted nothing to do with the original story’s protagonists; she was just a cannon fodder supporting character.
In this kind of plot, she was the first one to suffer if anything went wrong. After all, the protagonists had their plot armor. More importantly, she had to keep her cross-dressing a secret. If Mu Bai discovered the truth now, he would assume she was trying to get close to him for some ulterior motive.
Given his ruthless nature… would he show her any mercy? She might have to pray she’d never run into him in her next life. This was a classic Mary Sue novel, and the male lead was always the same: tyrannical and merciless.
By the time Su Qingqing snapped back to reality, she was already standing at her dorm door. She exhaled slowly, but before she could step inside, an arm shot out and blocked her path.
Su Qingqing stared at the arm, then up at its owner, her expression one of utter confusion.
“Hey! You ran off without saying a word. Care to explain?” Chu Yunhan leaned in, his face inches from Su Qingqing’s.
Under the bright lights, Su Qingqing’s delicate features seemed veiled in mist, ethereal and hauntingly beautiful. Her neck was long and pale, her skin as smooth and fragile as white jade.
Chu Yunhan stared, mesmerized. “You’re… so pretty,” he murmured, “too pretty for a guy.”
Su Qingqing met his gaze with a flat stare. “Do I really need to check in with you just to grab a meal?”
The spell broke. Chu Yunhan’s admiration vanished, replaced by a flash of anger. “You’ve got some nerve talking to me like that!”
He stepped forward to teach her a lesson, but his gaze snagged on her face again.
As Su Qingqing wondered how she could punch him without hurting her own hand, Chu Yunhan’s rage softened. He leaned in close once more.
“If you don’t want me to rough you up, let me pinch your cheek.” His fingers itched to touch her soft, flawless skin.
“In your dreams,” Su Qingqing snapped.
“I’m not losing to you!” Chu Yunhan lunged, his hand reaching for her face.
Su Qingqing brushed past his arm, walked into the dorm, and threw a final jab over her shoulder before slamming the door.
“Keep dreaming!”
The door shut with a resounding thud.
Chu Yunhan nearly got his nose flattened. Realizing he’d been played, he snarled and tried to wrench the door open, only to find it locked from the inside.
“Su Qingqing! This isn’t over! Open this damn door!”
He pounded on the door, making it rattle on its hinges, but Su Qingqing acted as if he didn’t exist. She went about her business, completely unfazed by the noise he was making in the hallway.
As she cleared her desk, her hands suddenly froze. Wait… did I forget something?
The male lead!
She spun around. A figure sat elegantly on the living room sofa. Who else could it be but the male lead, Mu Bai?
Mu Bai’s gaze was fixed on her. He slowly closed his book, rose to his feet, and began walking toward her.
Su Qingqing felt the cold, overpowering aura typical of a chosen male lead from a classic Mary Sue novel. She could only watch in dread as he advanced on her step by step…