Chapter 90: Stop Coveting My Body

Bai Yan’er smiled lightly, very faint, but the light in her eyes was intense and burning.

It was definitely not the kind of smile a normal younger sister would give her older sister.

If anyone were present right now and saw that expression on Bai Yan’er’s face, they’d probably feel a chill run down their spine.

That wasn’t the warmth of family, nor the attachment between sisters. It was a more complex emotion—hard to tell if it was love or obsession, affection or possession.

If everything went according to her plan, Su Qinghan should be about to exit the stage by now.

Bai Yan’er mentally rehearsed her chessboard again.

Who was left by Yan Yu’s side now?

Su Qinghan had already been knocked out. No money, no credit, and she was starting to worry about where she’d live.

Dai Feng? That outsider was insignificant.

And that ordinary, foolish Bai Zhen’er?

Bai Yan’er sneered inwardly.

‘That silly girl still hasn’t caught on. She thinks her love for Yan Yu comes from some noble sisterly bond.’

Now was Bai Yan’er’s perfect chance to strike.

She shifted slightly, adjusting into a more comfortable position, leaning back in the bathtub.

In the hazy steam, the girl’s body was indistinct, not quite clear, yet that only added a touch of ambiguous beauty.

Bai Yan’er’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“The aquarium, huh? How romantic.”

“Miss Su sure knows how to pick a place. An environment full of couples everywhere—perfect for two people to cultivate feelings.”

She murmured to herself, then leaned back against the edge of the tub, starting to plan her next move.

“But I can’t lose to you.”

“Next weekend, I’ll have a date with Sister too.”

The “Omniscient Perspective” skill didn’t last very long. Yan Yu had only learned about Su Qinghan’s conflict with Jiang Muyun and losing her keychain.

As for what happened after that, she had no idea.

Conflict was a good entry point. Yan Yu could certainly use this opportunity to sneak in, to soften Su Qinghan with tenderness and thoughtfulness, to make Su Qinghan fall for her, then pressure her with the keychain incident.

But she wouldn’t go overboard, because she knew that when those two eventually made up and Jiang Muyun waved her hand, Su Qinghan would definitely go back to her.

So, she had to hold back on some things.

Be good to Su Qinghan, but not too good. At the same time, she had to intentionally or unintentionally attract her attention.

As for how to attract attention, Yan Yu thought of another piece on her chessboard—Dai Feng.

Last time, Dai Feng had mentioned she was interested in art, right? Maybe that could be a way to create an opportunity for interaction.

Unfortunately, the city’s art exhibition was coming up in a few days, and her advisor was pushing her to submit her painting.

She had to finish her own work before talking to Dai Feng.

Tuesday.

Yan Yu took leave because of the art exhibition and stayed home, intending to finish the final part of her painting.

Overcast sky. Thick clouds pressed down over the city, filtering the sunlight into a uniform gray-white.

The light outside wasn’t great, but it was perfect for painting. No strong contrast between light and shadow, so her eyes wouldn’t tire easily, and she could see colors more accurately.

Coincidentally, Ruo Xiaozhen, who had no classes, also stayed in the apartment. For some reason, she stuck to Yan Yu like a personal bodyguard, never leaving her side.

Yan Yu didn’t think much of it at first.

Ruo Xiaozhen usually liked to cling to her, chattering about interesting things at school, or curling up on the couch scrolling through her phone, occasionally lifting her head to ask:

“Yan Yu, are you thirsty?”

“Yan Yu, are you hungry?”

But today was different.

Today, Ruo Xiaozhen wasn’t talking.

She wasn’t curling up on the couch either. Instead, she kept pacing around Yan Yu.

Walking over, walking back. Walking over, walking back again.

Her footsteps weren’t heavy, but in the quiet rental apartment, they were especially clear. One after another, rhythmic like a pendulum.

Yan Yu was mixing paint.

She squeezed some titanium white into a small compartment of her palette, added a bit of ultramarine, and slowly stirred the two colors together with the end of her brush.

While mixing, she kept an eye on Ruo Xiaozhen’s movements out of the corner of her eye.

Ruo Xiaozhen walked to the other side of the table, picked up a cloth, and started wiping a vase on the table.

That vase was clean.

Yan Yu had just wiped it yesterday; the glaze was so shiny it could reflect a person’s face.

But Ruo Xiaozhen wiped it very seriously—inside and out, top and bottom—not missing a single curve, as if it were a Qing Dynasty antique that had gathered dust for centuries.

Yan Yu lifted her eyelids slightly but said nothing. She lowered her head and continued mixing her paint.

Blue was about right.

She dipped her brush, made a test stroke in the corner of the canvas, added a bit more white, and tested again.

Ruo Xiaozhen finally put down the cloth.

Yan Yu thought she might go do something else and sighed inwardly with relief, only to find Ruo Xiaozhen starting to wipe the glass window.

After the window, the coffee table. After the coffee table, the desk lamp.

Was Ruo Xiaozhen cleaning? But why only the areas around her?

Yan Yu couldn’t figure it out.

A bucket of water got dirty, the paint swirling in the water.

Yan Yu set her palette on the small table next to the easel, turned her wheelchair, and headed toward the bathroom to get a fresh bucket of clean water.

The wheels of the wheelchair rolled over the floor tiles, making a faint sound.

Footsteps echoed behind her.

Yan Yu stopped.

She turned around and looked behind her.

Ruo Xiaozhen stood at the kitchen door, hands on her hips, her posture stiff as if someone had grabbed her by the collar from behind and lifted her up.

“Xiao Zhen, what are you looking at?”

“I’m looking at the scenery.”

But there was no scenery outside that window.

The north side of the apartment faced the back of another residential building, gray concrete walls covered with air conditioner outdoor unit pipes.

Yan Yu stared at her for three seconds.

Ruo Xiaozhen didn’t move, keeping that “enjoying the scenery” pose, not even blinking.

Yan Yu opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Forget it.

Leave her alone.

She’d finish the exhibition painting first.

She turned her wheelchair, changed the water, and went back to painting.

Not long after, the painting was done.

Yan Yu leaned back, squinting at the whole piece.

The transition of light could be smoother. The golden reflection on the river should be more fragmented. The back figure in the wheelchair could be lighter.

But overall, she thought it was good. It should fit the “Cityscape” exhibition theme.

Beauty wasn’t always about bustling crowds.

A person quietly watching the lights on a river—that was also beauty.

Sometimes, silence is beauty. Loneliness is also beauty.

Yan Yu put down her brush with satisfaction.

She glanced at her arms. There were a few streaks of paint on her forearm—ultramarine, titanium white, and a bit of lemon yellow.

“Got dirty with paint. I need to take a bath.”

Thinking this, Yan Yu turned her wheelchair and headed toward the bathroom.

However, what she never expected was—Ruo Xiaozhen followed again.

This time, Yan Yu couldn’t force a smile anymore.

She stopped her wheelchair at the bathroom door, one hand on the doorframe, and turned her head to look at the girl who had been following her all day.

The wheels of the wheelchair were just stuck on the edge of the threshold, making a faint clicking sound.

“Xiao Zhen, why have you been following me?”

Ruo Xiaozhen stood less than two steps behind her, both hands behind her back, her toes shuffling on the floor, a subtle expression on her face.

Her voice was half a pitch higher than usual.

“Huh? Nothing.”

“Then why did you follow me?”

Yan Yu asked, her gaze fixed directly on Ruo Xiaozhen’s face, leaving no room for escape.

“Oh, about that…”

Ruo Xiaozhen cleared her throat, her eyes darting to the ceiling, then back to Yan Yu’s face.

“It’s just… I happened to want to take a bath too.”

Yan Yu grew even more wary.

Her fingers tightened on the doorframe, her knuckles turning slightly white.

The bathroom door was half open, letting out a faint scent of body wash—the cherry blossom fragrance she had just changed to yesterday.

The tap wasn’t running. The showerhead hung quietly on the wall, still.

Drip.

Drip.

Water droplets slowly fell.

Ruo Xiaozhen’s gaze slipped through the crack of the half-open door, then quickly pulled back.

“Xiao Zhen, if you want to bathe, you go first.”

Yan Yu said, her voice steadier than before.

“I’ll wait outside. After you’re done, I’ll go.”

“Oh, how could that be?”

Ruo Xiaozhen laughed, waving her hand. That bright smile was a bit too fake.

“It’s obviously Little Yu who came first. How could I go in by myself?”

As she spoke, she took a step forward.

“How about…”

Another step.

“We bathe together? We’re both girls, after all. You have everything I have. There’s nothing to be shy about, right?”

Before she finished speaking, she reached out, grinning, and pushed Yan Yu’s wheelchair, heading straight into the bathroom.

The wheels bumped over the threshold, muffled, then Ruo Xiaozhen used brute force to push them across, and they rolled with a rattle onto the wet bathroom tiles.

Yan Yu immediately resisted.

She spun around sharply and grabbed Ruo Xiaozhen’s wrist, her fingers tightly clamping down on the slender wrist bone.

Her eyes widened slightly, Ruo Xiaozhen’s awkward smile reflected in her pupils.

Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

Something was wrong.

This Ruo Xiaozhen was very, very wrong!

Yan Yu’s instincts were screaming alarms in her head.

The Ruo Xiaozhen who had stuck to her since morning, who had pretended to wipe the vase, who had stared at a blank wall, who now wanted to bathe with her—she was definitely problematic.

Her instinct told Yan Yu she had to find out right now what this sneaky girl was thinking.