Slap!
A crisp slapping sound rang out.
The overly loud noise immediately drew the attention of many who had been absorbed in their own tasks.
The girl with a flushed face still held her arm in the position of the strike.
Her lips were red, a hint of crystal gleamed in the corners of her eyes—
Honestly, that adorable look was…
Extremely alluring.
Had she been overwhelmed by the anger brought on by this sudden assault?
Or was it simply her conditioned reflex toward Bai Ruoxi, triggered by this second public intimacy in a row?
Yin Xiaomeng, who had always tried hard to keep these “close relationships” from being exposed to the public, had for the first time so proactively broken that concealment.
Even though she knew there were many eyes and that her impulsive act might cause unpredictable deviations in her future life trajectory…
She couldn’t care less anymore.
‘Kill…’
‘I’ll kill you…’
Having been “humiliated” time and time again, the tower named “Reason” crumbled under the combined assault of shame, anger, and a slight hint of psychological fear.
Though the emotional collapse lasted only a moment.
Though reason quickly returned after the cathartic slap.
Feeling the probing gazes that shouldn’t have existed, knowing that she and Bai Ruoxi had become the focus of many onlookers, Yin Xiaomeng was now left with only deep regret.
Why hadn’t she been decisive and cut off the relationship when she first discovered this person’s true nature?
Knowing full well that the other was an uncontrollable variable, why did she foolishly think about revenge?
When faced with similar uncontrollable variables in the past, hadn’t she severed ties cleanly and quickly?
Why this time… had she acted like she’d lost her mind?
She completely negated her past actions, realizing her mistake…
But there’s no medicine for regret in this world.
“…”
The girl withdrew her raised arm and wiped the moisture from the corner of her eyes.
After glaring fiercely at the one who seemed to still be savoring the moment, she turned and walked away from the “scene of the crime.”
As for Bai Ruoxi?
She had been slapped so that her head tilted slightly to the side.
She took a deep breath, and her expression didn’t show any negative change despite the slap.
The pain still lingered on her cheek, but the pleasure of seeing the longed-for sight perfectly balanced the strange emotions brought by the pain.
Especially when she straightened her gaze and caught a glimpse of the crystal gleam in the eyes of the soft girl who had just been in her arms—
That delicious expression on the verge of tears.
Her excitement reached a climax.
‘No…’
‘I need to calm down…’
Bai Ruoxi struggled to take deep breaths.
The pounding of her heart made her breathing somewhat unsteady.
“…”
Maybe… I went too far?
Ah…
But Xiaomeng was just so cute.
I simply couldn’t hold back…
…
“…Your face is really red.”
Inside the transfusion room, the girl sitting on the hospital bed looked at Yin Xiaomeng, who sat by the bedside with an obviously stiff expression, and blurted out a confused question.
Of course, there was nothing unusual about the other’s complexion.
But a woman’s sixth sense told Situ Ling that her best friend, who had said she was “going to the restroom,” was now in a very strange state.
If it were a normal day…
She quickly glanced at where Yin Xiaomeng was sitting, and her own expression unconsciously turned serious.
‘If it were a normal day, even though I’m sick, in a situation where the two of us were almost lying together…’
‘She would definitely take the chance to tease me in some weird way, right?’
‘How could she be so indifferent now?’
Could it be that her appearance had dropped so much due to illness that the other was no longer interested?
Hiss…
She took an almost imperceptible breath.
Looking at the girl sitting beside her who showed no reaction to her words, Situ Ling unconsciously raised a hand to touch her cheek.
“…”
That shouldn’t be the case.
“Xiaomeng?”
“Monitor?”
“Hello? Hello?”
After a brief moment of self-doubt, the girl eventually gave up worrying alone.
She raised the hand with the IV needle and waved it in front of Yin Xiaomeng’s eyes.
Trying this way to wake up the one who was as good as asleep.
“Hm?”
“Ah… Little Ling’er, what’s wrong?”
“Are you thirsty and want some water?”
As if waking from a deep dream, the girl finally snapped back to reality.
She hadn’t clearly heard what the girl beside her had just said, and she looked a bit flustered.
“…”
“Mm, I am a bit thirsty.”
“Could you trouble me to get another cup of water?”
Situ Ling forcibly suppressed her desire to ask what had happened after the other left the transfusion room.
A forced smile squeezed onto her still-pale and haggard face as she very considerately followed her friend’s lead.
Of course.
Yin Xiaomeng didn’t notice how forced that smile was.
She simply kept escaping, picked up a paper cup, and walked toward the water dispenser in the corner of the transfusion room.
She didn’t even dare to open the chat window that was still flashing with unread messages.
‘I shouldn’t have proposed that date with her in the first place…’
For some reason, the girl began to miss the Bai Ruoxi who had acted hesitant when facing her.
If she hadn’t been so impatient back then, and had investigated thoroughly to the bottom before making plans, maybe everything would be different?
“…”
‘Is it too late now?’
No, it wasn’t too late yet…
The clothes she and Situ Ling were wearing weren’t “school uniforms” but a combination of “short sleeves” and “long pants” more like casual wear.
There were no “school” tags on the clothes, and the other person didn’t know the full name of the Situ Ling she was accompanying to see the doctor…
Most importantly, she had always communicated with that person using a fake name and fake identity.
As long as she cut off cleanly from that scumbag right now and blocked all contact methods! Everything could still be salvaged!
“That’s right…”
‘Everything can still be salvaged.’
‘As long as I harden my heart this time and completely root out this restless factor from my life…’
‘Everything can return to normal!’
It was such a simple truth—why had she only now made up her mind?
Her eyes, which had been somewhat dazed, became lively again.
Yes, even if she dumped Bai Ruoxi, she still had Lin Qingya (No. 3), Su Miuge (No. 7), Tang Xiaoyan (No. 6).
The fish in her pond had already reached a number where losing one was bearable, wasn’t it?
Why cling to this uncontrollable person?
Just for “revenge”?
‘A stable life is the foundation for having the confidence to take revenge on others. If my current life becomes a complete mess…’
‘Then I won’t just lose a bit of initiative.’
She squeezed the paper cup slightly.
Yin Xiaomeng convinced herself.
From an angle she had never considered before, she tossed the problem into a trash can labeled “Escape.”
—
Of course.
The relationship between the two didn’t completely end just because one party denied it.
As for what our cute No. 4 would do after discovering she had been “abandoned”…
Please stay tuned.