After Saving My Possessive Best Friend, I Couldn't Escape (GL) - Chapter 11

The little rabbit on the latte art bobbed as Fang Zhile walked back to the dormitory.

The campus was quiet now. Even couples walking hand-in-hand on the sports field had returned to their respective dorms, ready to wash up and go to bed.

Fang Zhile greeted the dorm supervisor. The auntie recognized her, likely from her frequent work schedule, and had specifically left the door open for her.

“Hurry up and get ready for bed, the lights are about to go out,” the auntie urged in a soft, Southern accent.

Fang Zhile smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Auntie. I’ll be quick.”

Fang Zhile’s dorm was on the second floor, just around the corner from the stairs. However, the door to her dorm, which was usually open even after lights-out, was tightly shut and completely dark inside.

Fang Zhile twisted the doorknob to open it and found it was locked from the inside.

“Hello? Could someone please open the door?” Fang Zhile knocked on the door.

There was no response inside. Fang Zhile waited silently for a few seconds, then knocked again. “I don’t have my key. Please open the door.”

She always carried her key, but the door was bolted from the inside, meaning even her key wouldn’t open it.

Fang Zhile said, “I know you’re in there. This joke isn’t funny at all. Please open the door.”

A few sounds of contemptuous laughter were faintly transmitted through the solid door, as if the people inside deliberately wanted her to hear.

They locked her outside the door and refused to open it, no matter how much Fang Zhile called out.

The lights-out time arrived. The hallway instantly went dark, with only three faint yellow ceiling lights at either end and in the middle providing minimal illumination.

Fang Zhile, in the imperfect darkness of the night, quietly curved the corner of her mouth into a smile.

Cornered dogs will jump over the wall. They had locked her outside; the gloves were officially off.

Fang Zhile was very satisfied with their actions.

She wasn’t in a hurry, nor did she go to the dorm supervisor for help. Instead, she took a book from her backpack to use as a cushion on the floor, hugged her knees, and squatted down, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Summer evenings were not exactly cool, but they were certainly not scorching hot, especially during the transition from late summer to early autumn. A few wisps of wind blowing in from the end of the corridor stirred Fang Zhile’s drooping bangs, bringing a slight, restless movement to the sleeping person.

“Wake up. Why are you sleeping here?” The voice in her ear sounded like it was coming through a thick layer of fog, indistinct.

Then, a pair of slender hands covered her shoulder and gently shook her. The voice came again, “Fang Zhile, wake up.”

Fang Zhile opened her hazy eyes, startled by the person in front of her.

Ye Yu had just returned from the calligraphy room, the back of her hand still stained with a bit of accidental ink. She was used to writing late. The silence of the night allowed her mind to settle, making her writing less restless. Following her usual habit, she returned to the dorm half an hour after lights-out, hoping not to disturb anyone.

She hadn’t expected to find a curled-up figure in the usually empty hallway. The person was huddled weakly against the wall corner, the exposed side of their face slightly furrowed, as if their sleep had been disturbed and they were not resting well.

“Ye Yu, is that you?” Fang Zhile’s voice was thick with nasal congestion. She leaned against the wall to adjust her breathing, the initial shock having subsided. “It’s so late. Why are you here?”

Ye Yu lowered her eyes and looked at her for a few seconds. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“It’s almost ten o’clock. Why are you sitting alone in the hallway?”

Fang Zhile braced herself against the wall and stood up. Her legs were numb from being curled up for too long, and she stumbled immediately upon rising.

“Be careful.” Ye Yu quickly supported her arm but felt something sharp underneath her touch—the person not only looked thin but felt equally slender and frail.

Fang Zhile awkwardly withdrew her hand, her movements constrained and uneasy, and softly explained, “I came back too late from work, and they were all asleep, so I thought I shouldn’t wake them.”

Ye Yu’s brow twitched. A faint, inexplicable anger spread in her chest, making her feel strangely stifled.

“So you sat here and fell asleep?” Ye Yu couldn’t agree with this. “If they slept all night and didn’t open the door for you, were you planning to stay here all night?”

Under Ye Yu’s pressing questions, Fang Zhile lowered her head, like a child who had done something wrong, stammering to argue—not to clear herself, but to appease the person in front of her and stop her from being angry.

“I didn’t plan on sleeping,” Fang Zhile’s head was bowed even lower, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito’s buzz. “They don’t sleep this early. Usually, when I get up to use the bathroom at two in the morning, I can still see the light of their phone screens inside their quilts. They often play games and chat online until midnight…”

“I thought they might not hear me, and they would assume I had left, then they would push the door open to check, and that way I could seize the chance to talk to them and ask them to let me in.”

This explanation was much more logical and easier to understand than the image of Fang Zhile simply sleeping by the door. Yet, Ye Yu’s frown never eased.

Realizing her previous tone had been somewhat stern, Ye Yu softened her voice, took a step back, and said calmly, “They won’t open the door for you. Don’t wait. Come sleep in my dorm.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly!” Fang Zhile immediately retorted, but when she looked up and met Ye Yu’s deep gaze in the darkness, her voice of protest shrank. “That would be too much trouble for you…”

Ye Yu gently inhaled. She bent down to pick up Fang Zhile’s backpack from the floor, and remembering the ink on her own hand, she switched to the other hand to carry it, stating without room for refusal, “Let’s go.”

Fang Zhile had no choice but to follow her back to her dorm.

“Your toiletries are on the table. I have plenty of spare school uniforms you can change into. You can go take a shower.” Ye Yu turned on the small night light in the dorm. The warm light illuminated the two figures, outlining their silhouettes.

Fang Zhile nodded, then shook her head, biting her lower lip. “I, I won’t shower. It’s too late. I’ll just brush my teeth and wash my face…”

Ye Yu didn’t insist further, nodding, “Go ahead and wash up first.”

After Fang Zhile finished tidying up, Ye Yu took her toiletries bag into the bathroom. She took longer than Fang Zhile but only did simple brushing and washing. In this humid and hot summer night, both of them tacitly chose not to take a shower.

When Ye Yu came out of the bathroom, Fang Zhile hadn’t gotten into bed yet. Ye Yu looked at the brand-new bedding she had prepared for Fang Zhile and said quietly, “These are all new, never used.”

“No, I’m not bothered by that,” Fang Zhile was clearly waiting for her. “I, I’m not sleepy yet.”

Ye Yu checked the time. Half-past ten. For many teenagers, the night was just beginning. However, both of them had to wake up early tomorrow. At this hour, according to their usual sleep habits, they should already be asleep.

Ye Yu said calmly, “Even if you’re not sleepy, you should sleep.”

Fang Zhile’s expression strained when she heard her voice. She pursed her lips and quickly averted her gaze, as if trying to hold back tears. “I, I’m so sorry for disturbing you again and again.”

Ye Yu sighed. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”