Ring, ring, ring.
The afternoon bell rang, jolting the drowsy Yun Hui awake. She mechanically packed her bag and headed toward the dorm.
At noon, she had eaten a quick meal and immediately crawled into bed to sleep.
—Because she and her sister had watched the sunrise early that morning, her sleep had been severely reduced, and she desperately needed to catch up.
By the afternoon, she was still exhausted, but since she sat in the front row—she didn’t dare actually fall asleep—so her eyelids and eyelashes battled through two class periods.
Squinting, she trailed at the end of her classmates.
At that moment, Meng Yao and Yueming stood outside her classroom waiting for her, drawing curious glances from passing boys.
“Hey, hey, hey! Is there a student named Yun Hui in your class?”
Meng Yao stopped a female classmate to ask.
“Yes, she’s at the back.” The classmate pointed at Yun Hui, who was still squinting.
“Yun Hui!” Bai Yueming shouted with a frown.
Yun Hui, who was rubbing her eyes, jumped in surprise, and the books she was holding flew into the air.
“What’s wrong, Yueming?” Seeing Bai Yueming’s grim expression, she muttered softly.
Bai Yueming pointed at her forehead: “What were you doing last night? You didn’t even check in, and we called you nonstop without a single reply. What’s going on? I really thought you’d been kidnapped. We spent the whole noon searching for you everywhere.”
Meng Yao’s expression was even grimmer: “Don’t scare us like that, sis! We were terrified!”
She had almost thought that because she asked Yun Hui to buy flowers, something bad had happened to her on the way back. She regretted asking Yun Hui for help.
Yun Hui opened her round, wide eyes: “No! There aren’t any messages from you on my phone! I… I swear, look!”
She held out her phone for them to see—indeed, there were no messages at all.
Bai Yueming took Yun Hui’s phone, opened her own message list, and tapped the three dots—Yun Hui had blocked both of them!
“Yun Hui, did you block us?” Bai Yueming’s tone was serious.
When did I block you?!
“No! I didn’t block you!” Yun Hui snatched back her phone to prove her innocence, only to discover that she had indeed blocked them.
…
Yun Hui was speechless. With the evidence right in front of her, any excuse would only add fuel to the fire.
So she chose to remain silent.
Meng Yao shook her head: “Yun Hui, you don’t sleepwalk, do you? Why would you block us for no reason?”
Yun Hui thought and thought but couldn’t figure it out—she hadn’t blocked them herself. Her roommates were good people and held a certain place in her heart… How… how could she possibly block them?
The only person I was with was…
…
Yin! Han! Sou!
It must have been because we went to bed early last night, and Meng Yao and Yueming kept calling, so Sister simply blocked them!
Bai Yueming frowned and spoke softly: “Is it that woman? Did she come back?”
Yun Hui’s toes curled repeatedly inside her shoes.
She had called Bai Yueming a liar just that morning…
“Yes…” Yun Hui’s voice was barely audible.
Bai Yueming straightened up and let out a long sigh: “You’re truly hopeless, aren’t you? It’s only been a few days? You even blocked us. If she ends up kidnapping you later, who will you call for help?”
Yun Hui blushed: “Don’t… don’t say that. Let me treat you to a meal?”
In her eyes, treating someone to a meal was the highest form of courtesy.
Bai Yueming put her hands on her hips and shook her head: “We came here for something more important.”
Yun Hui looked at the two of them, her face full of confusion: “What’s wrong? What is it?”
Bai Yueming stepped away from Yun Hui and returned to Meng Yao’s side: “Let Meng Yao tell you.”
Meng Yao’s eyes widened brightly. “The school administrators notified both of us earlier. I missed my flight and arrived late, while Yueming was away for training and couldn’t make it back in time. So we were assigned to Room 316—it’s a mixed-gender dorm.”
She took a breath and continued, “When we arrived, the dorm advisor told us that Room 316 could have new occupants at any time. Originally, the three of us were already on the list, so it seemed normal.”
Yun Hui asked, puzzled, “Wh-what’s wrong?”
“This afternoon, several women came into our dorm. They cleaned up the last bed, laid out bedding, and arranged everything.”
“Do we have a new roommate?” Yun Hui actually sounded a bit excited.
Bai Yueming stared at Yun Hui. “You still don’t get it?”
What was there to get? Having a new roommate was a good thing—it meant making new friends… Hopefully, the new roommate would be decent.
Meng Yao explained, “Let me tell you, what kind of normal person has subordinates? It’s obvious that some extravagant, spoiled rich girl has enrolled in the school.”
Yun Hui still didn’t understand. “I think Yueming is richer.”
Meng Yao: …
Bai Yueming: …
“Anyway, life is about to get harder. These rich girls are all spoiled rotten. Who knows, one day I might laugh too loudly, and if she scolds me, I won’t even dare talk back.” Meng Yao shook her head and sighed.
Bai Yueming smiled. “Don’t worry. If she wants to bully someone, Yun Hui will be the first target. Because Yun Hui’s brain doesn’t work fast enough.”
Yun Hui blushed. “S-someone will protect me.”
The three of them walked out of the teaching building together. Meng Yao spoke first. “Yun Hui, want to get barbecue? A new shop opened outside the school—new customers get thirty skewers of pork belly for free!”
Yun Hui’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, yes! I’ve never tried Haicheng-style barbecue before!”
Bai Yueming facepalmed. Two foodies in the dorm.
One was bold and straightforward, the other soft and timid. Just like a skewer of pork belly—some parts fatty, some parts lean…
Meng Yao glanced over. “Yueming, are you coming?”
It went without saying—Bai Yueming, the fitness and diet guru, meticulously counted every calorie she consumed. How could she possibly go to a barbecue joint?
She was just going through the motions, asking Yueming out of courtesy.
Bai Yueming waved her off. “You two go ahead. If I go, I’ll just be standing there like I’m being punished. I’d rather go work out.”
Yun Hui turned back. “Bye, Yueming!”
And so, the two of them happily headed off to the barbecue shop for a feast.
Just as Bai Yueming was about to leave, her phone rang.
“Bai Yueming?”
“Xi Yue?”
It was Xi Yue’s voice on the other end.
Her tone was cold. “Bai Yueming, I’m begging you—give me that girl’s contact info! I want to pursue her, be her girlfriend! Please!”
Bai Yueming frowned and hung up, then blocked the number.
It was absurd. Ever since Xi Yue was put in her place by Yun Hui that night, she had become obsessively infatuated with Yun Hui.
It was as if Yun Hui had twisted something inside her.
Xi Yue thought about Yun Hui every day… Bai Yueming had even blocked all her numbers, but she still managed to borrow phones to call…
Lying at home, Xi Yue stared at the ceiling, her bandaged hand tensing slightly.
“I want to submit to you so badly. Once my injuries heal, I’ll come find you. Wait for me!”
She felt no regret looking at the bandages—instead, she felt a strange sense of relief. She had finally revealed her true orientation, and only now did she realize how much she had been hiding before.
“Haicheng University! I’m coming! Wait for me!”
Xi Yue had practically become Yun Hui’s little fan, waiting for her wounds to heal so she could pursue that soft yet cool “idol.”
Bai Yueming replied to messages in her social circle as she walked, reading while on the move.
Arriving at the dormitory building, she instinctively glanced toward her own room.
What kind of person was this new roommate, really?
With speculation in mind, she climbed the stairs step by step.
Opening the dormitory door, a peculiar atmosphere washed over her.
The orange glow of the setting sun pierced through the room, casting rectangular beams of light beneath the opened door. The lights inside were off, and in the faint dimness, a woman sat at the “empty bed” near the door.
The evening breeze brushed past the wind chimes in front of Yun Hui’s bed, producing a gentle tinkling sound.
She sat quietly at the desk, holding a cup of coffee in her hand.
Wispy steam floated within the beams of light, and the rich aroma spread through the tranquil room.
Yin Han Sou held the spoon handle, gently stirring the coffee in her cup. The sound of the spoon clinking against the cup wall—like a soft piano melody, crisp and melodious.
Light passed through her, illuminating her elegant figure. She turned her face slightly, the light blocked by her, leaving a mysterious silhouette before Bai Yueming.
Her slender hand tapped the spoon lightly against the rim of the cup, the sound echoing in the dark room.
She spoke.
“You must be Bai Yueming?”