OO Romance—The Yuri Of All Yuri! - Chapter 4

Bian Lu looked at the freshly drawn hot water in the bathtub, then at Su Yi standing in front of her with her arms slightly spread.

Beneath the misty heat, the face before her—identical to her own—looked like some phantom from a dream. She once again began to doubt whether any of this was real.

Didn’t Su Yi have a cleanliness obsession?

Although it was not so severe that she needed to disinfect everything with alcohol, she still did not like other people touching her.

Just now, Bian Lu had only touched Su Yi’s face, and Su Yi had been unable to stand it, washing her face for ages. So why would she suddenly let Bian Lu undress her?

And back then, Su Yi had not even been able to share a room with someone else. Su Yi was someone who cared deeply about privacy.

A body—especially its private areas—surely counted as privacy, right?

Su Yi was still looking at her, as if silently urging her to hurry up.

This was a dream.

How could this not be a dream?

The first time Bian Lu met Su Yi was at the National Olympiad.

That competition was not the usual one-and-done written exam. It had been split into two rounds: a written test and an on-the-spot group interview. It was an innovation for the Olympiad, and the national television station had even broadcast the entire event live.

To make sure the contestants could compete in the best possible condition, the two rounds had not been scheduled too tightly. Instead, they were arranged over two days, which meant everyone had to stay overnight.

At the time, all the students were arranged to stay at the same hotel. There were double rooms and triple rooms, and even the team-leading teachers stayed that way.

None of the other students objected.

Only Su Yi firmly refused to share a room. She insisted on having a single room.

The matter even alarmed Su Yi’s team-leading teacher, who patiently explained the pros and cons to her.

This was a national competition. So many media outlets were paying attention. If Su Yi acted too willfully, she would lose face not just nationwide, but possibly before the whole world. And if they truly agreed to Su Yi’s request, the other students would definitely have objections. It was just one night. She should make do. She should have a little team spirit.

But no matter how much the teacher talked, Su Yi still refused.

Right in front of the teacher, she paid for a room herself.

And it was a presidential suite!

The teacher’s face went green on the spot. Forget how expensive the presidential suite was. Su Yi was representing the school in the competition, and her actions represented the school.

When Su Yi changed rooms, many people gathered to watch. The media crowded at the front. The school lost all face, and the team-leading teacher’s own face burned with humiliation. Unable to hold back, she scolded Su Yi.

“If you dare demand special treatment, then withdraw from the competition!”

Of course, the teacher had not truly meant for Su Yi to withdraw. She only wanted to scare her a little and save some face for herself.

The teacher was certain Su Yi would not dare quit.

After all, this was not an ordinary math competition. Even putting aside the rare life experience of appearing on television, the practical benefits for high school students alone were enormous.

Placing in the Olympiad could not only add points to one’s college entrance exam score, but the top few contestants also had a strong chance of being noticed by universities and directly recommended for admission.

Students studied bitterly for twelve years for what?

Why did so many people enroll in Olympiad classes and study desperately? Wasn’t it so that, when thousands of troops tried to cross a single-log bridge, they could take two steps ahead of everyone else—or simply take the VIP lane straight to admission?

At the time, Su Yi was already in her third year of high school. Senior year was the most crucial period, when bonus points and direct admission mattered most.

The teacher’s threat struck directly at her weak spot.

If it had been any other student, no matter how unconvinced they felt inside, they would have swallowed their anger at least in that moment. No matter what, they could not let all their efforts go to waste at the final step.

Yet what no one expected was that Su Yi did not even stay in the presidential suite.

She simply ripped off the contestant badge pinned to her chest, turned, and left.

The team-leading teacher was dumbfounded.

The Olympiad had always been fiercely competitive. Each school could have at most two spots. Although Su Yi’s school was a key high school, one of its contestants had been eliminated during the regional round, leaving Su Yi as its sole precious representative.

If Su Yi left, what use was the teacher as a commander without troops?

The teacher knew when to bend and when to stand firm. She hurriedly stopped Su Yi. With red-rimmed eyes and the air of a good mentor, she first apologized for misspeaking, then explained that she had only been too anxious and afraid Su Yi would miss such a good opportunity. Finally, she asked why Su Yi insisted on having a single room.

The person sharing a room with Su Yi was a small, thin omega who looked obedient and soft, not like someone difficult to get along with.

At the time, Su Yi’s cleanliness obsession had not yet reached the point where she could not share a room with anyone.

So why?

What exactly had made Su Yi cause such a huge scene right before such an important competition?

Although omegas faced invisible discrimination in the workplace, things were still relatively fair during their student years. Especially in public-facing events like this, omegas were particularly encouraged to participate. Even the scoring was slightly more lenient for omegas than for alphas and betas, in hopes that as many omegas as possible could make it through.

Even so, the number of omegas who qualified was still very small.

Most omegas differentiated at fifteen or sixteen, and during the early stage of differentiation, their heats were extremely unstable. Some even went into heat every week, which seriously affected their studies and daily life. And this period happened to coincide with the most important stage of high school. For them, working hard enough to get into university was already no easy feat. Finding extra energy to study Olympiad math was nearly impossible.

In that National Olympiad, only six omegas had made it to the finals. Compared with the total of fifty-two contestants, that was more than just a little low—and this was already under circumstances where omegas had been given special consideration.

Because they were omegas, and because there were so few of them, the organizers had taken extra care in their arrangements. They had not assigned them triple rooms, but directly given them double rooms.

So why was Su Yi still dissatisfied?

The team-leading teacher’s question was also the question of everyone present.

In truth, the teacher had already asked this question before, and Su Yi had not answered. Asking again now was merely giving both of them a way out. As long as Su Yi gave a reason that made some sense, the teacher could follow that step down, let Su Yi stay in a single room for now, and deal with the rest later.

However, in the end, Su Yi still failed to give the teacher what she wanted.

Su Yi said nothing.

She still left firmly.

Su Yi’s departure shocked everyone.

Some mocked her for being stupid. Some sighed over the excellent opportunity she had missed. Others were glad that one less omega would be competing with them for direct admission. After all, the number of recommendation spots was limited, and as long as an omega squeezed into the top ten, they would definitely be given one.

Most people ridiculed Su Yi. But the small number who had watched the whole thing from beginning to end knew very well that this matter was not really Su Yi’s fault.

On the contrary, Su Yi’s courage to leave so decisively was something they could not hope to match.

At first, Su Yi had not been so unreasonable. She had calmly and politely expressed her needs to the teacher and stated that she would cover the room fee herself. As for the reason, she did not want to say it, nor did she want to make one up.

It was the team-leading teacher who felt Su Yi had challenged her authority and refused no matter what. Only then had Su Yi gone to the front desk herself to check in.

Originally, not many people would have noticed Su Yi at all. It was also the teacher who had loudly reprimanded Su Yi at the front desk, drawing such a crowd.

For the matter to reach that point, the teacher could not be said to be entirely wrong, but she had to bear most of the responsibility.

As for everyone’s speculation, Su Yi did not explain.

Nor did she bother to explain.

It was as if other people’s opinions of her did not matter at all. She simply left with such resolve, giving up that excellent chance at direct admission.

At the time, Bian Lu had been squeezed into the crowd, watching Su Yi’s proud departing figure. She had felt disbelief, amazement, and more than anything else, envy.

She envied Su Yi’s courage.

She envied Su Yi’s decisiveness.

Su Yi’s bold, unforgettable beauty had instead become merely an embellishment.

Su Yi was simply too dazzling.

They all clearly had the same standardized short haircut required of high school students nationwide. No perms, no dyeing, no styling allowed. She was also wearing the school’s loose, oversized uniform.

Yet Su Yi still looked so different.

Like a pearl that had mistakenly fallen among fish eyes.

No, pearl was not quite right.

She should be called a star.

A star among fish eyes.

No matter how one tried to cover her up, her light and brilliance could not be hidden.

That was Bian Lu’s first meeting with Su Yi.

It was also the first time she truly felt the difference between Su Yi and herself—clouds above, mud below.

Many years passed after that. By then, Bian Lu was already Cen Qingke’s secretary.

That day, she accompanied Cen Qingke to a banquet and happened to run into Su Yi. Su Yi usually would not attend such low-level banquets, and Cen Qingke was so pleasantly surprised that she immediately wanted to send Bian Lu away.

Su Yi was Cen Qingke’s white moonlight. How could Cen Qingke allow someone like Bian Lu to affect her pursuit of her goddess?

But Su Yi had already come over and greeted them. Cen Qingke could not make it too obvious. If she did, it would instead make it seem as if there was something unclear between her and Bian Lu. She could only pretend nothing was wrong and bring Bian Lu along to sit with Su Yi.

By then, Su Yi already disliked Bian Lu very much, though not yet to the later extent of mocking her even in public. Back then, Su Yi merely acted as if Bian Lu did not exist and saved her sneers for private moments.

Throughout the entire conversation, Su Yi did not look at Bian Lu once. She chatted with Cen Qingke quite harmoniously. Somehow, as they talked, the topic shifted to that Olympiad.

Slightly drunk, Cen Qingke felt she had grown much closer to Su Yi and asked, “Back then, the news about you withdrawing from the competition caused such an uproar online. Although they didn’t manage to blacken your reputation in the end, no one ever found out why you insisted on changing rooms. I’ve been curious for so many years. May I ask?”

Su Yi sat with her legs crossed, leaning against a soft single-seater sofa. One arm was folded across her chest while the other gently swirled a wineglass. The crimson wine was like Su Yi’s crimson lips, making people want a taste even when they knew she was far beyond their reach.

Bian Lu sat silently off to the side, dutifully being invisible. Aside from drinking nonstop, there was nothing else she could do.

She thought Su Yi would not answer. After all, even when the situation had escalated so badly back then, Su Yi had not said a word.

Yet unexpectedly, Su Yi did not hesitate at all. She told Cen Qingke very easily.

“Actually, it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be said. I wanted to change rooms simply because I didn’t like changing clothes or sleeping in front of other people. I’m someone who values privacy very much.”

“Then why didn’t you say that? If you had said it, things wouldn’t have escalated to the point of withdrawing.”

“I was young, hot-blooded, and cared too much about face. There were some things I couldn’t bring myself to say no matter what. It’s different now. Now, I can say anything. No one can make me feel too embarrassed to speak, and no one can make me wrap myself in a blanket and cry in secret.”

Cen Qingke asked in surprise, “You wrapped yourself in a blanket and cried back then?”

“Yes.” Su Yi gave a careless little laugh. “Back then, my skin was thin. Even when I was furious, all I could do was go home and hide under the blanket to cry.”

Cen Qingke smiled. “Then what a pity. If I’d been by your side back then, wouldn’t I have been able to take advantage of your weakness?”

Su Yi took a light sip of the crimson wine. Her red lips gleamed faintly with moisture as she smiled. “Not a pity. Back then, I hated alphas very much.”

“And now? Do you still hate them?”

How had Su Yi answered at the time?

Bian Lu could not remember clearly.

She only remembered that she had drunk several glasses. Lafite, whiskey, brandy—she drank whatever she happened to pick up, all mixed together in a mess. In the end, she got terribly drunk and even threw up all over Su Yi.

For many days afterward, whenever Su Yi saw her, she turned and walked away, as if Bian Lu were some terrifying virus that would kill her if she touched it.

How could someone like Su Yi, who had a cleanliness obsession and valued privacy so much, possibly ask Bian Lu to help her undress?

And even help her bathe?

It was a dream.

As expected, this had to be a dream.

Su Yi waited for a long time, but Bian Lu still did not move. Then she saw Bian Lu’s dazed, dreamlike expression, and anger immediately surged up.

Su Yi was standing here wrapped in this filthy skin, uncomfortable all over, while Bian Lu was drifting through the heavens, leisurely as could be!

“Bian Lu!”

“Ah… mm?”

“Ah”?

She dared to “ah” at her?

And with the sound dragged out like that?

What was with that foggy, confused expression?!

Su Yi laughed from sheer anger.

“What are you ‘ah’-ing for? Do you think you can avoid this by dragging things out?”

“Avoid? Avoid what?”

She still would not admit it?

Su Yi pointed at herself and smiled without warmth.

“This is your body. If you don’t wash it, are you expecting me to strip it naked myself and wash it myself?”

So that was her logic.

That one sentence punctured the illusion of unreality.

Bian Lu inhaled lightly. The damp air slowly steadied her drifting heart.

This was not a dream.

This really was not a dream.

She could not keep letting her thoughts wander.

Too many things had happened all at once. She really was losing control a little.

Bian Lu explained, “I might be having aftereffects from soul transmigration. I keep feeling like none of this is real. Like it’s all a dream.”

Su Yi sneered. “It is a dream. A nightmare. Why don’t I knock you unconscious right now? Maybe when you wake up, we’ll have switched back.”

Bian Lu said, “That doesn’t seem good. What if such a beautiful face gets scarred?”

Su Yi said irritably, “I meant knocking your body unconscious.”

Bian Lu answered quickly, “That doesn’t seem good either. You’re in my body right now. It would hurt a lot.”

Su Yi: “…”

Su Yi: As expected, she was a green tea. She put on that harmless face while saying things that could infuriate a person to death!

With a cold expression, Su Yi said, “Stop babbling. Hurry up and wash your own body. After that, we still need to quickly figure out how to switch back.”

Bian Lu: As expected of someone with a cleanliness obsession. At a time like this, the most important thing to her wasn’t switching back as soon as possible, but taking a bath?

After weighing her words, Bian Lu reminded her, “Are you sure you want me to help you?”

“What else?”

Su Yi raised her brows, and for some inexplicable reason, a sense of revengeful pleasure rose inside her.

Was Bian Lu embarrassed?

Was she feeling awkward?

Good.

That was exactly right.

Bian Lu said, “In that case, I still recommend that you wash yourself.”

“You want me to wash your body? Heh. Do you need a water pump? I can sponsor one for free to drain all the water from your brain.”

Bian Lu clicked her tongue lightly and said gently, “Then let me confirm one last time. Are you sure that ‘your’ noble hands are going to undress ‘me’?”

As she spoke, Bian Lu lifted her long, beautiful fingers and waved them in front of Su Yi. Wearing Su Yi’s face, she deliberately emphasized it again.

“Your hands. Yours.”

Su Yi’s expression gradually stiffened.

Bian Lu wisely lowered her hand and smiled in a perfectly harmless way.

“Of course, I don’t mind at all. Then I’ll start?”