Chapter 7

Sweat was dripping down. Su Linye casually dabbed at it with the sleeve of her school uniform and answered, “There were people chasing me from behind.”

Lu Jiang frowned slightly. “Chasing you?”

“Mm. A few people who looked like thugs, I guess. They asked me for money and wanted to beat me up.”

Lu Jiang asked, “Where?”

Su Linye pointed in a direction. “Over there.”

She sighed, sounding very helpless. “I already live in that kind of place. How could I possibly have money?”

Lu Jiang glanced at her. “It’s possible they weren’t after money.”

She paused, then asked, “You were running for your life. Why did you pull me out too?”

Su Linye said, “I saw those people seemed to be bullying you too.” She leaned a little closer and observed Lu Jiang’s expression, asking with concern, “They didn’t do anything to you, right?”

The distance was a little too close. Lu Jiang could almost see the extremely faint mole on the tip of the other girl’s nose. Without showing anything, she stepped back and widened the distance between them. “I’m fine. They can’t do anything to me.”

“You weren’t afraid they’d catch up if you saved me?”

Su Linye said, “I couldn’t just see someone in danger and not save them.”

Besides, you’re a delicate omega pretending to be an alpha. Of course, that means a comparatively tougher beta like me has to help you out.

A car passed by on the road, and its flowing light fell into Lu Jiang’s dark eyes, making them seem incomparably clear for an instant. “You’re not afraid of retaliation?”

Su Linye thought about it. “Probably not. I ran so fast. I don’t think anyone saw my face.”

Lu Jiang: “…………”

“Are you a hummingbird in flight? So fast no one can see your soaring wings?”

Su Linye: “…………”

Her tone turned faint and said. “I saved you, at least.”

Lu Jiang said, “Do you want me to call you my lifesaving benefactor?”

Su Linye: “…………”

Even the cowlick on top of her head wilted.

Just as she was feeling gloomy, the cowlick was suddenly scooped up and weighed in someone’s fingers.

“Are you a Teletubby? You even have this kind of receiver.”

Su Linye sighed. “I don’t know either. Maybe it’s because I’m too lively, so lively it overflowed from the top of my head.”

Lu Jiang’s gaze slowly swept over her from top to bottom, making no comment on that statement.

Su Linye grew alert. “What’s with that expression?”

Lu Jiang looked away. “Nothing.”

Su Linye did not believe her and continued looking at her suspiciously.

Both of them were still wearing their school uniforms, black and white interwoven. Because Su Linye was hot, she had taken off her jacket and draped it over her shoulder, giving her an unruly, roguish air.

Lu Jiang was different from her. Her uniform was still neat and proper, zipped all the way to the top. Only her sleeves were rolled up to her forearms, revealing the black cord bracelet and watch she wore. They suited her aura exactly as expected, adding a few extra degrees of coldness.

The evening breeze blew gently, and the light slid past frame by frame like a movie.

Su Linye yawned.

Lu Jiang lowered her eyes to look at her watch. “It’s almost ten. I’ll take you home.”

There was still a bit of moisture at the corners of Su Linye’s eyes from yawning. She raised a hand and rubbed them. “No way. If they’re still there waiting, wouldn’t we just be delivering ourselves right to their door?”

Lu Jiang lowered her hand. “Then are you planning to sleep beneath the sky and on the ground?”

Su Linye looked at the hard asphalt road all around them and felt that this method would not work either. “Seems a little cold.”

Lu Jiang gestured. “There’s a hotel not far over there.”

Su Linye dug through her empty pockets, a little awkward. “Seems like I don’t have any money.”

The few coins she had were still slapped away by Scarface.

Lu Jiang said, “What about the staged-accident money?”

Su Linye touched the tip of her nose. “My phone was confiscated.”

Lu Jiang nodded and stated without emotion, “Genius.”

You really managed to drive yourself into a dead end.

Su Linye’s toes did exercises inside her shoes. “You go back first. I’ll think of a way myself.”

Lu Jiang looked at the time again and started walking. “Follow me.”

Su Linye pointed at herself. “Me?”

Lu Jiang’s voice drifted into her ears with the wind. “Is there anyone else here?”

She was tall with long legs, and in a short amount of time, she had already walked quite a distance away.

Su Linye ran a couple of steps to catch up and walked beside her.

It was the same place as last time: a high-end residential compound, a large flat with one elevator per household.

Su Linye asked something she had been curious about all along. “You live alone?”

Lu Jiang opened the door. “I live as half a person.”

She turned on the lights inside.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows at the far end, the rows of neon-lit towers instantly dimmed, leaving only the furnishings inside the room and the two people at the entrance reflected there.

Su Linye: “…………”

She stepped inside and shut the door behind her. “I mean, you don’t live with your family? Don’t you get lonely living alone in such a big place?”

“I don’t live with them. If I’m lonely, I can watch horror movies.” Lu Jiang bent down and took out a new pair of slippers for her. “Wear these.”

“Thanks.” Su Linye balanced on one foot to change shoes, hopped twice because she could not keep steady, and still did not forget to answer the previous sentence. “You’re really funny.”

“Can’t compare with you. Doing acrobatics at the door.” Lu Jiang’s tone was very casual. After changing her shoes, she placed her backpack [stolen content]by the entrance, removed the watch from her wrist, and set it to the side. The black cord bracelet was still properly worn. “Water?”

Su Linye arranged her shoes neatly. “A little.”

Lu Jiang pointed in a direction. “The kitchen is over there. Pour it yourself.”

Su Linye gave an “oh.” “I thought you’d pour it for me.”

Lu Jiang pulled down her zipper, took off her school uniform jacket, and tossed it onto the sofa. “Am I your nanny, or are you missing arms and legs?”

Su Linye went to the kitchen and fumbled around for a while, then held a disposable cup and gulped down two big mouthfuls. Her whole body felt comfortable. “I thought I was a guest.”

Lu Jiang swept her a glance, the tip of her brow moving slightly.

Su Linye narrowed her eyes.

She seemed to have detected contempt floating in the air.

Was it an illusion?

Lu Jiang went into her room, and Su Linye began looking around the space.

The entire place was reasonably divided into two bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom. The decor was very simple, with an overall light color scheme. There was not much furniture, but it felt very lived-in, and some things were placed around in a slightly messy way.

Su Linye stood where she was with great propriety and simply poked her head out to look around.

Last time, when she saw Lu Jiang not letting Qin Yu touch her shoulder, she had thought the former had a cleanliness obsession. Now, it seemed that was not the case?

Perhaps it was just an omega’s sense of distance, not wanting her boundaries invaded.

She did not look for too long.

After changing into loungewear, Lu Jiang carried a new set of bedding to the room opposite. “Come make your nest.”

Su Linye went over with quick little steps.

When she entered, Lu Jiang was shaking out the bedsheet.

Su Linye’s face was full of surprise. “You even know how to make a bed?”

Lu Jiang: “…………”

“Otherwise what, I sleep on the mattress?” She put down what she was holding, speaking concisely. “Do it yourself.”

Su Linye went over to take over her work, shook the sheet out in the air, spread it flat, and patted the bed surface. “That’s not what I meant. I thought you’d be the kind of rich young lady who only stretches out her hands to be dressed and opens her mouth to be fed, never touching household work.”

A dark gleam flashed through Lu Jiang’s eyes and disappeared in an instant.

“The guest room has a bathroom too. Help yourself if you want to shower. This set of pajamas is read the original at bailiantales.comnew and has been washed. There’s a dryer in the outside washroom.”

Su Linye said, “Wow. Thanks.”

Lu Jiang gave an “mm” and left.

After Su Linye finished showering, she carried her dirty clothes to the outside washroom and set up the machine. When she came out, she ran into Lu Jiang, who was drinking water. “You cleaned those shoes?”

In the washroom, she had seen the white shoes that she had stepped on, leaving a print, now clean again.

Lu Jiang was fiddling with her phone, seeming to be replying to a message. Hearing her voice, she darkened the phone screen and casually set it on the counter.

Her expression was listless. She raised a hand to press her temple, her eyes slightly closed. “If I didn’t clean them, was I supposed to keep them as a souvenir?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Su Linye tried hard to look sincere. “I was thinking that since I got them dirty, I should be the one to clean them.”

The main lights in the room had been turned off, leaving only a few warm yellow floor lamps. They covered the night in a hazy veil, making everything around them seem gentle and soothing, like a story being told slowly.

Lu Jiang’s sharp, cold features were softened by it, leaving only her natural beauty. Even so, she still refused to spare anyone with her mouth. “Forget it. I’m afraid they’d come back completely unrecognizable.”

Su Linye did not quite agree. “I’m not that clumsy, am I?”

Lu Jiang placed her teacup on the tabletop, producing a crisp sound.

“Oh.”

Su Linye said, “That perfunctory?”

Lu Jiang lifted her eyes, her beautiful pupils fixed on her. “You accurately stepped on a 0.05-square-meter shoe surface in a seventy-square-meter classroom. Isn’t it a little unreasonable to expect people to trust you?”

“…………”

Su Linye fled miserably. “Sleeping, sleeping.”

The next day, Su Linye got up early. Taking advantage of the time, she sneakily went back to the rental room, took some daily necessities and clothes, and went to school.

The dorm assignment had already been given. Su Linye huffed and puffed her way up to the fourth floor and found her room, 416.

It just so happened to be the time when students were getting up.

Su Linye easily entered the room and found her bed.

The dorm had loft beds with desks underneath, one set per person, not interfering with each other. It was very convenient.

She climbed onto the bed and started making it. Someone came in, chatting and laughing.

Su Linye heard a familiar voice.

“Really, trust me, this comic is absolutely good. Especially good. My desk mate was so ​read the original at bailiantales.com​absorbed in it she didn’t even know Old Ban had come over.”

With this topic and this tone, it was hard for Su Linye not to recognize her.

She poked her head out from above. “Gu Feng?”

Below, Gu Feng stopped in her tracks and looked around. As if afraid of the cold, she hugged her arms and said to the person beside her, somewhat terrified, “I think I heard my desk mate call my name. Is our dorm haunted too?”

Su Linye: “…………”

The girl beside Gu Feng looked rather speechless and pointed upward.

Gu Feng lifted her head and instantly breathed a sigh of relief. “You scared me to death. I thought heaven was punishing me for saying bad things about people behind their backs.”

“…………”

Su Linye could not hold back and was genuinely curious. “Do you often say bad things about people behind their backs?”

Gu Feng paused, then stiffly changed the subject, her face full of surprise. “Desk mate, why are you here? Did you feel my longing for you?”

Su Linye sighed. “So fake.”

But she decided to give her desk mate some face. “I’m going to live on campus.”

Gu Feng was puzzled. “Why? Didn’t you say even dogs wouldn’t live in the dorm?”

Su Linye: “…………”

Was her desk mate a little too straightforward? She could not even tell she had been insulted?

Su Linye turned around and worked on putting the duvet cover on. She patted and slapped at the quilt, wanting to make it fluffier and softer, but somehow the motion carried the feeling of gritted teeth. “I’ll live here. It’s the dorm I’m living in. Dogs won’t live here, but I will.”

Gu Feng was amazed. “Why are you even scolding yourself?”

Su Linye: …………

Not only had she scolded herself, she had scolded almost the entire school. Did you know that, desk mate?

Su Linye sighed. “When one wanders the jianghu, one cannot always act as one wishes.”

Gu Feng said, “How philosophical. Are you still not done? Want me to help you?”

Su Linye huffed and puffed as she stuffed the quilt into the cover. “No need. I’m handling it with ease.”

Gu Feng stood below with her head tilted up, very worried. “Then be careful not to stuff yourself inside.”

Su Linye: ??

What kind of genius could possibly do that?

“So, you think they were deliberately instructed by someone to block you there?”

The two of them were on the way to the classroom. After listening to Su Linye’s guess, Gu Feng turned her head and widened her eyes.

Su Linye nodded with a grave expression.

“Do you know who instructed them?”

Su Linye’s expression became a little dazed. After a long while, she slowly nodded. “More or less.”

“Then what are you planning to do?”

Su Linye lifted her head and looked toward the swaying emerald-green branches in the distance. The branches stretched out freely, swaying as they pleased.

She let out a light breath and relaxed.

“I’ll take it one step at a time.”