Chapter 97: She's still sleeping

Seeing that Mo Ran was about to push the door open, Jiang Ling was so anxious she was about to cry, her eyes rimmed red as she stared at Lin Xiaoyu, as if already foreseeing her own tragic future.

“Thud.”

Mo Ran looked in surprise at the door that wouldn’t budge, raising her voice:

“Are you two alright in there?”

Jiang Ling snapped back to her senses in an instant. Lin Xiaoyu didn’t stop what she was doing, instead lowering her voice to whisper softly by her ear: “Silly, of course I locked the door.”

Jiang Ling was both embarrassed and annoyed as she realized that this person had been fully prepared from the very beginning, clearly having come for her!

No wonder Lin Xiaoyu had been calm and unruffled all along.

She let out a breath of relief, feeling lucky that she wouldn’t have to let Mo Ran see this scene of utter chaos. Just then, she heard a soft rustling sound from outside the door, along with Mo Ran’s voice fading away: “Hope you two haven’t gotten into any trouble from drinking too much?”

“It’s a good thing I have a spare key. I’ll go get it.”

This instantly made Jiang Ling tense up again. Panic-stricken, she bit her lip, her fingers digging into Lin Xiaoyu’s arm, her voice urgent:

“You, you, let me go… please…”

Even in this situation, Lin Xiaoyu didn’t let go of her at all. Instead, her actions grew even bolder, a look of amusement deepening in her eyes: “No.”

Just the thought of Mo Ran about to burst in from outside made Jiang Ling’s waist tremble uncontrollably. Anxiety spread through her heart, making her whimper louder, her weak arms falling to her sides and landing by the hair dryer.

Thud.

That dull “thud” instantly made Mo Ran stop in her tracks.

Realizing she hadn’t left, Jiang Ling, while trying her best to resist the tide of pleasure washing over her, summoned all her strength to shakily grab the hair dryer, turning it on to the lowest setting, then shouted toward the door:

“I… I’m drying my hair…”

Her voice mingled with the noise of the hair dryer and drifted out to Mo Ran’s ears.

Mo Ran immediately relaxed, stopping to ask patiently: “You’re not feeling unwell, are you?”

Separated by just one door, Jiang Ling pressed the back of her hand to her lips, her body straddling Lin Xiaoyu’s lap trembling slightly.

“Mm… no, I’m fine… don’t worry…”

Recalling how muddled Jiang Ling had seemed after drinking earlier, Mo Ran let out a laugh:

“Just now, no matter how I called you, you didn’t make a sound. I thought you were so drunk you’d passed out…

How’s Little Fish doing?”

The named Lin Xiaoyu was busy with her “work,” but still replied in a steady voice, “I’m watching her dry her hair.”

Mo Ran thought there was something odd about that, but couldn’t quite say what, so she let it go:

“As long as you’re both okay. I’ll head back then.”

She glanced at the tray in her hands and bent down to set it on the floor by the door:

“When you finish drying your hair, remember to come out and get the honey water. It’ll help you feel better. I’ll go clean up now.”

As Mo Ran straightened up, through the narrow crack of the door, she seemed to hear a fleeting, abrupt sound.

She tilted her head in confusion, then furrowed her brow and rubbed her temples.

Was she hallucinating again lately?

With that thought, Mo Ran massaged her head as she quietly returned to the kitchen.

Inside the door.

Jiang Ling buried her face in Lin Xiaoyu’s shoulder and neck, feeling mortified and ashamed by her earlier cry.

She breathed heavily, feeling her body growing increasingly strange.

“Lin Xiaoyu… that’s enough, isn’t it…”

Jiang Ling’s voice had a hint of a sob: “Who repays kindness like this!”

But almost immediately, ambiguous sounds rang out in succession. With her ears burning red, Jiang Ling tried to block Lin Xiaoyu’s hand: “Don’t… don’t touch anymore…”

Her body’s involuntary reactions made her want to resist, but her strength failed her, so she could only endure this overwhelming trembling.

The temperature kept rising, making her avert her eyes, enduring the odd sensation in her chest as white light flashed before her eyes.

Her grip on the hair dryer weakened, nearly letting it slip. She desperately tightened her hold, accidentally pushing the switch to the highest setting. The stronger wind roared to life.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

In the midst of all this chaotic noise, Jiang Ling hastily arched her waist, her voice rapid and mortified.

“Ah!”

Her melodious, enticing cry was perfectly masked by the sound of the hair dryer.

A while later, Lin Xiaoyu took the hair dryer and turned it off, setting it aside.

Jiang Ling no longer had the strength to speak, her eyes hazy and half-closed. Before her consciousness faded with exhaustion, her last thought was—

Damn it, how did I get xxoo’ed again!

The next day.

Jiang Ling was once again woken up by the heat.

But this time, instead of Lin Xiaoyu simply hugging her tightly from behind, today—

Jiang Ling looked down at the forearm draped between her legs. After holding back for a long moment, she finally couldn’t take it and smacked Lin Xiaoyu away, shifting herself to the side.

This movement naturally woke the still-sleeping Lin Xiaoyu. She blinked groggily, meeting Jiang Ling’s gaze—full of both embarrassment and a hint of grievance—and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“Up so early and so energetic?”

“And whose fault do you think that is!”

Jiang Ling gritted her teeth and muttered, quickly rolling the blanket into a sort of “demilitarized zone” and placing it between their pillows. She pointed at it righteously: “From now on, we sleep separately!”

With no extra rooms, this was the only way she could set boundaries between the two of them.

At her words, Lin Xiaoyu hid the smile in her eyes and feigned ignorance: “Why?”

“You’re still asking why!”

Jiang Ling shot up, her pajamas in disarray: “You—you—you, have you forgotten what you did last night?!”

If she could, she’d love to forget.

But the lingering soreness in her body made her see nothing but Lin Xiaoyu’s wicked smile whenever she closed her eyes.

Jiang Ling gnashed her teeth, pointing at Lin Xiaoyu in sharp critique: “You’re such a closet pervert!”

She looked so gentle and quiet, but in bed she turned into a wild beast!

Before Lin Xiaoyu could say anything, Jiang Ling’s phone chimed.

She looked over and saw a message from Song Meng.

[Wanna go for a picnic?]

Jiang Ling blinked, checked the time, and then rapidly typed out a reply.

[Sis, you’re asking me out for a picnic at eight in the morning? Are you the crazy one or am I?]

A reply came quickly.

[Say ‘sis’ again.]

Expressionless, Jiang Ling turned off her screen.

Hah… she really shouldn’t have expected anything more from her.

She got out of bed and was just about to go wash up when her phone started ringing.

Jiang Ling could guess with her knee that it was Song Meng calling. She reached for her phone, but saw Lin Xiaoyu snatch hers up first, then tug down her collar to reveal the marks Jiang Ling had left on her neck last night.

“Beep—”

As the call connected, Song Meng frowned at the sight of Lin Xiaoyu’s smiling face on the screen.

Lin Xiaoyu casually flicked her hair, making sure the marks on her neck were visible.

“Looking for Lingling?”

“She was exhausted last night, so she’s still sleeping.”