“So, you mean you want to sleep with me?”
Xiao Youyi’s voice rang out clearly in the quiet living room. Had she not already started unbuttoning her shirt, Cang Xuehe would have thought she’d misheard her.
Cang Xuehe’s expression froze instantly. She leaped up from the sofa and hurriedly grabbed the other woman’s hands, stammering in a panic, “I—I—I was just speaking off the cuff! You… you… put your clothes back on!”
Having caught an accidental glimpse of the radiant, porcelain-white collarbone and pale lace trim hidden beneath the white shirt, Cang Xuehe had never felt her face burn so intensely.
Cang Xuehe’s sudden movement caught the other woman off guard. Xiao Youyi swayed, losing her balance and falling backward, pulling both of them down onto the floor.
Though the smooth tiles were covered by a thick, plush rug, the impact still jostled Xiao Youyi’s injured elbow. She couldn’t help but furrow her brows, staring silently at Cang Xuehe.
“Uh…”
The atmosphere fell into a deathly silence. Cang Xuehe had never experienced a situation this awkward.
Because—as if the fall wasn’t bad enough—she had landed directly in Xiao Youyi’s arms. What had only been a fleeting glimpse of skin earlier was now a full-on, close-up view right in her face.
The motion had caused Xiao Youyi’s shirt to slip halfway off, hanging precariously from her shoulder, delivering a powerful shock to Cang Xuehe’s innocent soul.
“I didn’t expect…” Si Yao (Xiao Youyi) propped herself up with one hand and pulled her collar together. She looked at Cang Xuehe with a suggestive glint in her eyes. “Miss Cang, you’re quite proactive.”
“It’s just… doing it on the floor might lead to a cold,” Si Yao added, intentionally steering the conversation toward a suggestive tone. She was deliberately trying to create the impression of a frivolous woman to make Cang Xuehe feel repulsed.
[Cang Xuehe’s Affection Level UP]
Si Yao: ?
She could see Cang Xuehe frowning, looking anything but happy. For a moment, Si Yao doubted if the system values were malfunctioning, but Cang Xuehe’s affection level had indeed increased by 1 point.
“You’re quite narcissistic. Who wants to sleep with you?” Cang Xuehe pushed against her shoulders to create some distance, putting them back into a safe space.
Cang Xuehe shot her another look before heading toward her room, throwing a parting remark over her shoulder: “Put some clothes on, will you?”
[Cang Xuehe’s Affection Level +1]
Si Yao: “…”
She looked down at her wet pant legs and the spot where she had dirtied the rug. Giving up on the idea of sitting on the sofa, she shifted her posture on the floor and sank into thought. She didn’t know where she had gone wrong; the “Disgust” progress bar was still grey, yet the “Affection” bar had been activated and had already risen to 3.
Thump-thump, thump-thump—
Cang Xuehe leaned against her bedroom door, pressing a hand to her chest. Beneath her palm, her heart was racing wildly.
That was close! She had almost lost her composure just now.
Back in university, while everyone else was dating, Cang Xuehe was focused solely on making money. Her romantic experience was practically non-existent—let alone having a woman throw such explicit hints at her. This little “closeted” girl had almost let out a “gay panic” scream.
Once her heartbeat calmed down a bit, Cang Xuehe peeked through the crack of the door to check on the person in the living room. Xiao Youyi was still sitting on the floor, seemingly lost in thought.
She had managed to pull her shirt back on, but after being hit by the car, the hem of her shirt and her pant legs were soaked and stained with mud.
Cang Xuehe thought to herself that she should be disgusted by her clean rug getting ruined, but in reality, she didn’t feel any annoyance at all.
This must be the power of being beautiful, she thought.
A few minutes later—
Cang Xuehe emerged from her room carrying a set of clothes. She glanced at Xiao Youyi, who was still sitting on the floor.
Putting on a reluctant expression, she said, “Go change into some clean clothes before you talk to me again.”
Xiao Youyi also seemed to dislike being dirty. She took the clothes and added, “I want to take a shower.”
“The bathroom is over there.”
Cang Xuehe picked up the soiled rug. She initially intended to throw it in the trash, but after a second thought, she tossed it into the laundry basket in her master bedroom’s bathroom instead.
She then rummaged through her things, pulled out a small first-aid kit, and placed it on the coffee table, staring toward the bathroom with an unreadable expression.
After a while, the bathroom door opened.
Xiao Youyi stepped out. Her long, slender, snow-white legs nearly blinded Cang Xuehe.
Perhaps noticing the obvious surprise on Cang Xuehe’s face, Xiao Youyi explained, “The waist of the pants is a bit loose.”
The two were similar in build, but Xiao Youyi was taller and thinner—a sort of pale, delicate thinness. The pants were already loose on Cang Xuehe, so they were even harder for Xiao Youyi to keep up.
For the top, Cang Xuehe had grabbed a long silk shirt at random. On Xiao Youyi, it was long enough to cover her thighs. Her smooth long hair draped obediently down her back, with a few damp strands resting on her shoulders, leaving wet spots on the white silk. It created a sense of “forbidden” beauty.
It was a very casual, domestic look, but to Cang Xuehe, it felt entirely “not normal.”
For this little “closeted” girl, this scene was simply lethal.
“Whatever,” Cang Xuehe looked away, busying herself with the first-aid kit on the coffee table.
Xiao Youyi paused for a moment before walking straight toward her and sitting down by her side, appearing as though she wanted to say something.
Cang Xuehe found the cotton swabs and iodine. She looked at the injury on Xiao Youyi’s arm; it was right on the elbow, making it difficult for the girl to treat it herself.
After a moment of hesitation, she said, “Lift your arm.”
The hot shower had washed away the dirt from the wound, revealing the raw, pink flesh beneath. It looked painful.
Seeing the wound, Cang Xuehe’s pretty face involuntarily scrunched up. She truly admired the girl’s high pain tolerance.
At the same time, there was a small trace of heartache mixed in.
The living room was quiet. Realizing the silence had become awkward, Cang Xuehe took the initiative to find a topic.
“Why were you running around outside instead of staying home tonight? You even got hit by a car and ended up in this state.”
“…” Xiao Youyi didn’t answer immediately. After a brief silence, she said, “I had a fight with my family. I had nowhere else to go.”
“Oh—” Cang Xuehe understood instantly. “So you ran away from home.” She continued applying the medicine while saying, “It’s lucky you ran into me today. If it were anyone else—a little girl like you who doesn’t know any better—you could’ve been kidnapped and wouldn’t even realize it.”
Xiao Youyi’s skin was very pale and her arms were thin; she looked exactly like a fragile lady who couldn’t lift anything heavy. Cang Xuehe didn’t dare use too much pressure—it was no wonder Ding Hongyuan liked her.
Hearing that Xiao Youyi had run away from home, Cang Xuehe, having been through things herself, could relate a little.
She asked again: “Where do you work? Or are you still in school?”
“I’m doing some part-time work at the moment.”
Cang Xuehe wanted to ask what kind of part-time job, but fearing that asking too much might make the other woman uncomfortable, she stopped her inquiry.
“Oh. You can sleep in the guest room tonight. We’ll talk about the rest tomorrow.” After finishing with the elbow wound, Cang Xuehe was about to put the iodine away when she noticed some scrapes on Xiao Youyi’s legs as well.
Without thinking, she held Xiao Youyi’s knee and squatted on the floor, reaching for a cotton swab to treat the leg wounds as well.
The swab was soaked in iodine, but just as she reached out, her hand was caught by the other woman. She heard Xiao Youyi say: “I can do it myself.”
Her voice sounded a bit unnatural. Cang Xuehe was confused and about to ask why, but then she saw the other woman’s hand—whether intentionally or not—pressing down on the hem of her shirt.
Only then did she belatedly realize that from her current angle, if she were so inclined, she could see things she wasn’t supposed to see.
If it were anyone else, Cang Xuehe would probably have joked bluntly, “We’re both women, I have whatever you have, what’s there to hide?”
But facing Xiao Youyi now, she found it inexplicably difficult to say those words. She gave a dry cough, stood up, and looked down at her. “Then do it yourself. I’m going back to my room.”
Back in her room, Cang Xuehe intended to browse her phone until she fell asleep as usual, but picking it up felt dull and pointless. When she closed her eyes, Xiao Youyi’s face appeared, specifically that moment she unbuttoned her white shirt.
After tossing and turning several times, she simply lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, her ears unintentionally straining to listen for movement outside.
The light from the living room leaked in through the crack of the door. There were no footsteps; Xiao Youyi was still in the living room.
After much deliberation, Cang Xuehe threw off her blanket and got out of bed.
Before entering the guest room, her gaze instinctively drifted toward Xiao Youyi. The guest room was cleaned by professionals every week; the bedding was tidy and ready for someone to move in at any time.
Cang Xuehe turned on the guest room light and called out toward the living room, “You’re sleeping in here tonight.”
Xiao Youyi packed up the first-aid kit and walked over. Cang Xuehe glanced at her damp hair and added, “The hair dryer is in the desk drawer. Call me if you need anything.”
Xiao Youyi nodded and said thank you, then fell silent. Cang Xuehe didn’t know what else to say and prepared to head back to her room.
“What would Miss Cang like to eat tomorrow?” Xiao Youyi suddenly asked. “As thanks for taking me in, I’ll make you breakfast.”
Cang Xuehe’s footsteps paused. Surprised that Xiao Youyi was so thoughtful, she replied with an air of nonchalance, “Whatever. Just see what’s in the fridge and make that.”
The system wanted her to farm Cang Xuehe’s “Disgust” points, but since she had truly received help, Si Yao still wanted to thank her.
Though, in reality, Si Yao also wanted to fill her own stomach and save some breakfast money before leaving.
Once she calmed down, Si Yao lay in bed and began planning her next steps.
After their interaction just now, she realized Cang Xuehe didn’t have the spoiled temperament of a rich young lady she had imagined—though it was baffling that the affection points were increasing instead of decreasing.
Thinking it over, she couldn’t give up on the Ding Hongyuan lead; she still had to find a chance to meet him.
As for her family issues: her grandmother had been hospitalized previously, and all the money Si Yao had was spent at the hospital. Even after being discharged, regular follow-up visits were required.
Si Yao was someone with a strong sense of crisis. In the real world, she didn’t need money to feel secure, but here she was alone with an elderly grandmother. She desperately needed a stable job to prepare for any unexpected expenses.
After thinking for a moment, she suddenly opened a recruitment app.
She found a company that indeed had several positions open. She selected one and submitted her resume.
Next, she just had to wait for the HR response.
Before sleeping, Cang Xuehe thought about finding an excuse the next morning to ask for Xiao Youyi’s contact information. But she slept until dawn, and by the time she woke up, Xiao Youyi was already gone.
There was only a cold breakfast on the table, with a sticky note placed beside it.
Cang Xuehe read the words left by Xiao Youyi over and over. The handwriting on the paper was bold, forceful, and elegantly lined. They say handwriting reflects the person; the script revealed the writer’s cultural refinement.
Given what she knew of Xiao Youyi’s background, she was somewhat surprised.
After eating breakfast, the note remained on the table. As she moved to clear the dishes, she paused. Holding a corner of the square yellow paper, she checked the back—there were no numbers. Aside from the Chinese characters, she hadn’t left a single digit.
“Sigh…” Cang Xuehe let out an unconscious sigh and tucked the note into her pocket.
She had left without a word. Who knew if they would ever meet again?