Chapter 20

That day, Su Louzhi and Ji Kailan played until very late.

After the Ferris wheel, there was a parade, and by the time they'd finished all the attractions, it was already ten at night. Ji Kailan drove her back to school. When the car stopped in front of the dormitory building, Su Louzhi glanced at her phone—it was exactly ten-thirty.

The dormitory curfew was eleven. She dashed through the entrance just in time, ran up to the third floor, and pushed open the door to Room 302.

"Oh!"

Jiang Yi popped her head out from her bed, patting her chest in relief. "You scared me! I thought Zhizhi wasn't coming back tonight! Who knew you'd actually make it back right before curfew."

Su Louzhi blushed a little at her words, standing at the door catching her breath.

She changed her shoes, walked over to her own bed, and sat down, lowering her head to type.

The three roommates' gazes all landed on her at once.

Su Louzhi typed out everything she had asked Ji Kailan today, word for word—how she'd asked if he liked her, and he'd said there were two kinds of liking: one as lovers, one as friends, and he wanted to be friends with her.

She held up her phone for the three of them to see.

Jiang Yi finished reading, a weird expression on her face.

Liu Mengting finished reading, also wearing a weird expression.

Qin Qingyan finished reading and raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't say much.

Finally, it was Jiang Yi who broke the silence: "Fine, friends then. As long as Zhizhi is happy, that's what matters."

The other two nodded and didn't press further.

The days that followed became a little strange.

It was as if the three roommates had reached a silent understanding. Originally, Su Louzhi ate either with Qin Qingyan or with all three roommates together, but now, they seemed to have a tacit agreement not to call her anymore.

Every time class ended, Ji Kailan would appear at the teaching building entrance right on time. Every mealtime, Ji Kailan would set his tray down across from her. Every weekend, Ji Kailan would ask if she wanted to go out for a walk.

Su Louzhi's life had been gradually filled up by Ji Kailan.

But when she returned to Room 302, her three roommates were still the same as before—talking, laughing, messing around. So Su Louzhi didn't notice anything off.

Every weekend, just like during the National Day holiday, Ji Kailan would take her to his place for an afternoon nap.

After she woke up, he'd take her out to have fun all over the city.

There was one thing Su Louzhi noticed but didn't think much of.

Ji Kailan had said his place was basically never brought visitors. The guest room wouldn't be slept in by anyone but her.

Su Louzhi was actually a bit of a homebody. When she'd lived alone before, she'd loved tidying up and doing chores. So every time she napped at Ji Kailan's, she'd fold the quilt, straighten the pillows, and put everything she'd used back in its place.

But later, she noticed that the next time she entered the guest room, the sheets, quilt cover, and pillowcases were all in slightly different positions than before.

It wasn't the way she'd tidied them—it looked like they'd been freshly washed, freshly changed, freshly made.

Even though it looked exactly the same, Su Louzhi knew it wasn't something she'd done.

She felt a flicker of confusion.

Maybe Ji Kailan had someone wash everything after she left and put it back? Or maybe he occasionally let other friends stay there?

But Ji Kailan had clearly said the guest room wouldn't be given to anyone else.

Su Louzhi thought about it for a couple of seconds, couldn't figure it out, and decided it wasn't a big deal anyway.

She quickly tossed the question to the back of her mind.

Today, Ji Kailan had taken Su Louzhi to a horror-themed escape room.

The venue was huge, the set design was realistic, and the NPCs popped out of nowhere. Su Louzhi was scared out of her wits the whole time, running around until she was gasping for breath. By the time they came out, her legs were weak. So when they got to Ji Kailan's place today, she practically fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

Su Louzhi had always found it strange—she noticed that sleeping at Ji Kailan's place was always especially deep, especially sound.

She'd asked him why once.

Back then, Ji Kailan had answered with a smile, saying his room used a special incense that helped people sleep better, and that it was completely harmless to the body, so she could rest easy.

Su Louzhi didn't think Ji Kailan would harm her. She'd asked once and never dwelled on it again.

Today was no different.

The moment she touched the bed, she was dead asleep.

—

In the study.

Ji Kailan sat in front of the computer, the screen showing surveillance footage of the guest room.

In the image, the person was hugging the quilt, lying face down, sunk deep into the soft bedding like a curled-up little animal. Her pajamas had ridden up slightly because of her sleeping position, revealing a small stretch of her lower back.

Pale, delicate, faintly glowing in the dim light.

Ji Kailan stared at that patch of skin, feeling the blood in his veins stir restlessly.

He'd already confirmed she was sound asleep, but he didn't get up right away.

He leaned back in his chair, watching the screen, his Adam's apple rolling slightly.

When he went over there later and actually saw that stretch of lower back, what would it feel like to touch?

It had to be softer, smoother, even more...

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again, his gaze landing on the sleeping silhouette on the screen.

Even now, he didn't believe his feelings for Su Louzhi were love.

But liking her? That was certain.

So, he'd never done anything.

He wanted her willing.

Even though he was perfectly aware that what he was doing now—sneaking into her room while she slept, getting close to her, smelling her, touching her—was essentially no different from drugging her and doing whatever he wanted, or simply taking her by force.

But he was still willing to lie to himself.

At least she wasn't awake.

At least she hadn't found out.

At least he could still tell himself: wait until the day she's willing.

Ji Kailan stood up, turned off the surveillance feed, and walked slowly toward the guest room.