âHer surname is Bai?â Something flitted across A Miaoâs mind. She then saw Bai Lu beaming and nodding at her. âYes, Bai Youran is my biological brother.â
A Miao suppressed her surprise and returned her greetings placidly. âNice to meet you.â
Ji Xue, who stood on the side, sneered. âEnough of that, Lulu. Since youâve greeted her, letâs go. If we keep getting seen with a woman like this, itâll affect our reputation.â
âXiaoxue!â Bai Lu cast her a disapproving glance and then walked up to A Miao. In a gentle and soft voice, she said, âI know there are some misunderstandings between you and my family, but rest assured that my brother is his own person. Iâm separate from him.â
A Miao frowned. âWhat do you wish to say, Miss Bai?â She wasnât stupid enough to think that this young lady from the Bai family was here to befriend her.
âIâm a freshman too! Iâm studying international trade,â Bai Lu said with a smile. âWeâll be schoolmates in the future. Oh, thatâs right! I heard you study archaeology. Why did you choose to take such a strange major?â
âI donât think weâre very close? Whatâs up with you sounding like youâre my good friend?â
âItâs just my personal interest.â A Miao took a step back without any expression. âIâm in a hurry. If you donât have anything important to say, Iâm taking my leave.â
Ji Xue scoffed. âSee, Lulu? You insist on seeing her but she doesnât even care for you!â
âStop talking, Xiaoxue.â Bai Lu looked as if she was reproaching her friend but her tone was still gentle. âA Miao, Iâm here to befriend you today. We need to stay in contact in the future.â
Without waiting for A Miaoâs response, she looked considerately upon her. âSince you have something to attend to, hurry and go. Letâs have a meal together next time!â She waved her hand and walked away with Ji Xue in tow.
âThatâs what I call a true white lotusâŚâ A Miao sighed.
Xia Wan was mere childâs play compared to this girl named Bai Lu. A Miao didnât believe that Bai Lu was truly trying to befriend her. In this world, there was a romance without rhyme or reason. Naturally, this was the same for friendship.
The school gates.
âThat girl in front, wait.â
A Miao ignored the voice and continued to walk.
âHey! Iâm talking about you! Stay there.â An arm immediately reached for her. âAre you deaf? Didnât you hear me calling for you?â
A Miao turned her body sideways with a scowl and raised her head. The one who stopped her was a young man. He was tall and wore basketball attire.
âDo you have any business with me?â She must have forgotten to check the almanac before leaving todayâŚ
The young man was rather handsome and looked like the poster boy for a campus hottie. His radiant face wore an impatient look as he sized up A Miao.
âYour looks are little too ordinary!â the man said unhappily. âUgh, forget it. I donât have the time. Letâs go!â
A Miao took two steps in retreat and then turned around to leave.
âWhere are you going? Come with me now!â
âI donât know you.â A Miao dodged his hand.
The young man looked at her in surprise. âFreshman?â
âDoes it matter?â
âEven if youâre a freshman, you ought to have heard of me.â The young man flipped his hair. Just as he was about to pronounce his name, he saw a man standing in front of him.
Shen I cast the brat a glare before turning his head to ask, âMiss, are you okay?â
âIâm fine. Letâs go.â A Miao turned around and swiftly left the place. Shen I gave the young man a warning look before following closely after her.
Inside the car, Shen I started the engine and tried to sound out A Miao. âMiss, is the brat courting you?â
âYouâre overthinking thingsâŚâ A Miao smirked. âHe stopped me earlier but I donât know what heâs up to.â
Shen I immediately said, âIs he hitting on you? I shouldâve given him a good beating.â
âForget it. I think he must have something he needs from me!â A Miao had a feeling that the young man earlier wasnât hitting on her, even though he was rather hateful for saying those words.
Though that was what she said, Shen I didnât think so. After sending A Miao home, he turned around and immediately reported this to Shen Xinglan.
âBoss, there was an insolent youngster hitting on Miss.â
Shen Xinglan had just walked out of the meeting room when he heard these words and stopped in his tracks. The managers walking behind him didnât stop in time and all of them threw themselves forward. The one standing in front of them looked like he was about to crash into Shen Xinglan.
âBoss!â Shen IIâs reaction was swift. With a kick from him, several managers formed a mass of limbs and fell in front of Shen Xinglanâs feet.
Shen Xinglan slowly turned around. The managers swiftly stood up and didnât even dare to pant.
âPresident⌠President ShenâŚâ
Shen Xinglan entered his office after sparing them a glance.
âBoss, should I go and investigate?â Shen I began rubbing his fist after entering after Shen Xinglan.
âAre you that free?â Shen Xinglan glanced at him.
Shen I: ââŚâ
âIf youâre that free, go to Africa and help Shen III.â
âNo, Boss!â Shen I immediately said. âIâm very busy. Every day, I have to monitor⌠no, protect Miss and report her circumstances to you at any time.â
Shen Xinglan stared fixedly at him. âWho told you to make these reports?â
âYouâre the oneâŚâ Seeing Shen Xinglanâs gaze, Shen I didnât dare to speak his mind.
âBoss.â Shen I pushed the door and entered. âIâve turned down all dinner parties. You can spend the weekend at home in peace.â
âWeâre going home.â
Right then, A Miao was practicing the university song inside the living room. Just as she howled the first verse, she saw Shen Xinglan standing at the door.
âYou⌠You⌠Why did you come back so early?â
Shen Xinglan gave her a look of distaste. âWhat bad singing.â
âItâs because I donât know how to that Iâm practicing!â A Miao ignored him and put on her earphones, ready to go upstairs.
âStand right there.â
This was the third time someone told her to stand in place. A Miaoâs anger inexplicably came to a boil.
âDonât you people know how to speak? If you donât then go back to kindergarten and study. Donât keep telling other people to stand right there. Other people arenât robots that you can control with your voice!â
Silence fell over them.
Shen I and Shen II quietly retreated out of the living room.
âIâŚâ A Miao immediately covered her mouth as soon as she realized what she had said. âHehe⌠My brain short-circuited earlier. Can you pretend like you didnât hear anything?â
Shen Xinglan: âNo⌠way.â
The result of her blunder was her cleaning Shen Xinglanâs toilet at night. Moreover, it was she who chose this punishment.
âOkay. Itâs my fault. I shouldnât lose my temper.â A Miao decided to surrender after seeing the man stare at her with a gloomy face throughout the dinner.
Based on her previous experience, an act of terrifying revenge would await her if she didnât apologize today.
âSince you know itâs your fault, then you must pay the price.â Shen Xinglanâs gaze shifted. âThe housekeepers wouldnât be coming tomorrow. Clean the villa.â
âAll three floors of it?â
âWhat else?â
A Miaoâs eyes widened. âStop teasing me. It usually takes five housekeepers to clean the villa. You want me to do it on my own?â
âTwo options,â Shen Xinglan said, interrupting her. âIf you donât want to clean the villa, clean my toilet.â
Thus, after careful deliberation, A Miao decided on cleaning the toilet.
After dinner, she watched as Shen Xinglan, Shen I, and Shen II step into the study. She made a beeline for the storeroom to find gloves and cleaning tools.
âThe cleaning lady sweeps the washroom every day. Iâm sure it canât be that dirty!â She returned to her room to change into a pair of sports shorts before pushing the door to Shen Xinglanâs room open.
Sure enough, when she entered the bathroom, she found that the black toilet was so bright that it could reflect her face.
âDo I still have to clean when itâs already so clean? What a waste of water.â
A Miao poured the toilet cleaning agent in and started putting effort into scrubbing the toilet bowl with a brush. She stood up after giving it two rinses.
âIâm done.â She leaned against the glass door of the bathtub. âTsk, tsk. It looks even brighter now. Iâll have the psychopath use the toilet bowl as his mirror!â
Her voice had barely faded when the glass door supporting her disappeared and she fell backward.
With a thud, she fell into the water.
âAh!â A Miao was so shocked that she flopped around. When her hand accidentally touched something, she instinctively grabbed onto it.
It wasnât until her head popped out of the water that she realized that she had fallen into a massive bathtub.
âWhy are you using such a large bathtub?! What a fright! I nearlyâŚâ Her voice stopped with a grunting sound as she stared dumbly at the man beside the bathtub. Then she slowly shifted her line of sight.
Her right hand was placed between the manâs legs and the heat in her palm was scalding enough to make her panic.
âAhhhhhhhâŚ!â
âSilence.â
Shen Xinglan looked as vicious as Cerberus. He stared at her with a mixture of fury and an unknown emotion.
âWhenâwillâyouâreleaseâyourâhand?â He emphasized every word with frightening malice.
A Miao looked at her hand in a daze, where she was holding something cylindrical.
âAhhhhhhhâŚ!â
âSilence.â
A Miao immediately withdrew her hand. âIâm sorry⌠So sorry⌠I didnât do it on purpose⌠I didnât do it on purposeâŚâ
Shen Xinglan felt like he was in a terribly bleak condition. It was as if the blood in him had concentrated between his legs. When she released her hand earlier, he unexpectedly felt disappointed.
âGo outâŚâ he said, clenching his teeth.
A Miao was close to tears, though it wasnât certain whether it was out of fright or fear that Shen Xinglan would kill her to silence her. Trembling, she stood up and tried to walk past the bathtub. However, she didnât see Shen Xinglanâs leg and accidentally stepped on it.
âAre you blind?â Shen Xinglan suppressed the urge rising in him.
He himself wasnât sure if he wanted to throw himself at this woman to throttle her or do something elseâŚ
âIâm⌠sorryâŚâ A Miao apologized as she sobbed. She held the sides of the bathtub and climbed out of it while trembling. However, she lost her balance when she stepped out and ended up falling on Shen Xinglan.
Two lumps of soft flesh crashed into his embrace. Shen Xinglanâs body stiffened. He lowered his head to meet a pair of beautiful and charming eyes.
âYour makeupâŚâ His voice turned hoarse. It shocked even him.
A Miao didnât know if her face was drenched with water or tears. She felt her eyes and instantly knew the fake skin had fallen off.
The steam inside the bathroom filled the entire space. The man lay bare inside the bathtub with A Miao on top of him. The thin sportswear clung tightly onto her skin. Her face was flushed and her eyes were so mesmerizing that they looked like they belonged to a siren trying to seduce oneâs soul.
âYouâŚâ She had barely opened her mouth when she felt a sudden heat.
Shen Xinglan had pressed his lips on her soft ones, gently and slowly. A Miaoâs eyes widened and she went completely still.
Slowly, their lips began to moisten. It was to the extent that they could hear the sounds of their lips smacking.
âUhâŚâ A Miao opened her mouth to breathe but an even softer object slipped inside.
She felt a sudden jolt and pushed him away with force. She saw the besotted and disbelieving look in the manâs eyes.
âPa!â She gave him a slap.
A Miao withdrew her hand with tears brimming in her eyes. She then climbed out of the bathtub and returned to her room.