She stared at Shen Qingqiu for a while, then reached out and gently lifted her clothes, feeling the bandages with her fingers. Thankfully, they were dry. It seemed to confirm it was just a dream.
Feeling a bit relieved, Xiao Muyu retracted her hand and prepared to lie back down, but she couldn’t help but let her gaze fall on Shen Qingqiu’s lips.
She leaned over and looked, only realizing when she came back to her senses that she had unconsciously moved closer, so close that she could feel Shen Qingqiu’s even breathing.
Feeling somewhat hot, Xiao Muyu quickly lay back down.
Shen Qingqiu was exhausted. The injury was a much heavier burden than she showed, which was why she fell asleep so quickly.
Lying there, Xiao Muyu turned her head to look at her for a while, then her eyes drifted away. She touched her lips, a complex look in her eyes, and finally closed them as if resigned.
She had fallen, and she acknowledged it.
At 6:30 the next morning, the wake-up bell rang, signaling the start of early morning classes at Yuanning High School.
Xiao Muyu was startled awake by the bell, feeling a bit heavy. She glanced down and to the sides, then sighed as she looked up at the ceiling.
Shen Qingqiu was sleeping soundly, clinging to Xiao Muyu like an octopus.
Her arm was draped around her waist, her head resting on her shoulder, and her leg was thrown over her.
Due to this clinging sleep posture, Shen Qingqiu’s clothes had ridden up, exposing her waist and stomach.
Although the warm, soft body in her arms smelled nice, it was quite heavy lying on her.
The wake-up bell didn’t wake Shen Qingqiu, nor did it disturb the other four girls in the dorm. It seemed last night’s nightmare had exhausted them.
Xiao Muyu’s gaze fell on Shen Qingqiu again. The bloodstains on the bandage had dried but were still glaring. Did this woman not feel pain? Even with such a serious injury, she fought the ghost so fiercely.
As she thought about this, her hand, beyond her control, lightly touched the bandage, then unconsciously stroked Shen Qingqiu’s stomach. The skin felt excessively good, delicate and soft, but since it was exposed, it felt cold.
She didn’t just cling; she didn’t even cover herself properly. Xiao Muyu couldn’t lift her body, frowning as she used her fingers to pull the blanket over, covering Shen Qingqiu.
Carefully, she moved Shen Qingqiu’s arm from her waist, then her leg. Finally, extricating herself from Shen Qingqiu’s embrace, Xiao Muyu let out a long sigh. When she turned around, she found the culprit awake, watching her with a smiling gaze.
Xiao Muyu looked at her with a straight face and said coolly, “Your sleeping posture is beyond words. Stay away from me when you sleep next time. You’re too heavy.”
Shen Qingqiu couldn’t stop smiling, “This was just an accident. Usually, I sleep very soundly without moving all night.”
“Oh, did I move you onto me?”
Shen Qingqiu shook her head seriously, “No, it’s probably my body resisting you, wanting to stick to you unconsciously. I can’t control it.”
She looked straight at Xiao Muyu, her gray eyes full of smiles, as if stars twinkled in them. The starlight gave Xiao Muyu an illusion that it was twinkling because of her.
She had always thought Shen Qingqiu’s eyes showed a cynical, malicious, mocking, and cold look when facing danger.
At this moment, she suddenly realized that when Shen Qingqiu smiled at her, sometimes her eyes would be like this, full of stars, making one dare not linger for fear of not being able to get out.
Xiao Muyu, slightly flustered, averted her gaze, stubbornly saying, “If I knew you were awake, I would have kicked you off directly.”
Shen Qingqiu still looked at her fixedly, “I woke up when you touched me, it tickled. But you were too gentle, I couldn’t bear to wake up.”
“When did I touch… I just didn’t want your stomach to catch a cold. You’re so grown up, still like a child.”
Xiao Muyu felt a bit uneasy and sat up to get dressed.
Shen Qingqiu also planned to get up. Xiao Muyu glanced at her, “You don’t need to get up in a hurry, sleep a bit more. You were tired last night too.”
“What about you?” Shen Qingqiu was puzzled.
“I’m not sleepy. I’ll go check on the class. The bell rang, they should be up. But those four haven’t moved, so they might go a bit later since they went in last night. Plus, the system didn’t warn you, so you stay and rest.” Xiao Muyu spoke while dressing.
Shen Qingqiu shook her head, “I can’t sleep if you’re not here, I want to get up too.”
Xiao Muyu’s hand froze, turning to look at Shen Qingqiu. She was already sitting by the bed, swinging her legs, showing her fair feet.
Her expression was serious, but her tone was soft and delicate, with an unintended tenderness.
Xiao Muyu watched her for a long time, then turned to find clothes for her from the cabinet by Shen Qingqiu’s bed.
Shen Qingqiu took the clothes and chuckled.
“What are you laughing at?” Xiao Muyu was puzzled.
Shen Qingqiu, dressing, reminisced, “I just think you’re very domestic. You folded my clothes before, and now you’re finding clothes for me.”
“Stop dreaming, get up if you’re awake.” Xiao Muyu rolled her eyes at her.
After washing up, they didn’t go to the classroom first but went to the teachers’ dormitory.
After knocking, Su Jin opened the door. Seeing Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu, they both sighed in relief.
“Are you alright?”
Xiao Muyu shook her head, “We didn’t have time to talk last night. If it weren’t for you and Tian… Zuo Tiantian, someone here would have been done for last night.”
She almost called her Tiantian but swallowed it after starting.
Shen Qingqiu paused, then obediently endured Xiao Muyu’s sarcasm without saying a word.
Zuo Tiantian and Su Jin didn’t notice anything wrong. Su Jin quickly waved her hand, “We’re teammates, it’s what we should do. If it weren’t for you and Miss Shen being so strong, we wouldn’t have dared to hit that ghost with a basketball.”
“Yes, if it weren’t for Miss Shen, we wouldn’t have thought players could make a ghost cry out. Last night we were scared but also excited. And don’t scold Miss Shen anymore, she was just worried. Don’t fight anymore.” Zuo Tiantian agreed.
Xiao Muyu gave her a strange look, almost blaming her, but quickly turned away, mumbling, “How did I scold her? She yelled at me last night, scolding me to tears.”
Shen Qingqiu stared wide-eyed at Xiao Muyu, looking incredulous, such a petty person.
Zuo Tiantian and Su Jin were stunned, exchanging glances, “How could that be?”
Shen Qingqiu burst out laughing, seeing Xiao Muyu’s increasingly frowning face at her smug look. How could it be impossible? Shen Qingqiu was often excessive.
Seeing Xiao Muyu’s expression, Su Jin hurriedly added, “We mean, with others, we would believe they’d stab us without a second thought. But Miss Shen is different with you, she wouldn’t yell at you.”
Zuo Tiantian nodded like a pecking chick.
Xiao Muyu couldn’t be bothered, turning to leave, “Let’s go to class.”
Shen Qingqiu nodded repeatedly, following Xiao Muyu, “Exactly, how could I scold you, I can’t even stop caring for you.”
“Shut up!” Xiao Muyu snapped without turning back, walking faster.
Although this dungeon had just started with many unknowns and dangers, Shen Qingqiu was in a particularly good mood now.
“Mu Yu, were you about to call her Tiantian? Why didn’t you?” Shen Qingqiu asked, looking smug.
Xiao Muyu glanced at her, “Annoying.”
Shen Qingqiu caught up, seriously asking, “Can you call me something closer?”
Xiao Muyu paused, suddenly turning to Shen Qingqiu, “How close? Qiuqiu?”
Shen Qingqiu almost bumped into her, Qiuqiu? Clearly an overly affectionate nickname, but Xiao Muyu said it so coldly, it sounded awkward.
“How can you make such a mushy name sound so cold?” Shen Qingqiu muttered.
“Shen Qingqiu, let’s go.” A soft, somewhat helpless voice, Xiao Muyu called, waving to Shen Qingqiu. Shen Qingqiu felt this Shen Qingqiu sounded better than any Qiuqiu, and it felt close too.
When they returned to Class Seven, it was still not fully light. The school buildings looked so similar in the dim light, they almost went to the wrong one.
When they entered the classroom, everyone but those who went in last night was there.
Seeing them, the weak reading voices stopped, and almost everyone turned to look at them, their faces full of shock, as if seeing a ghost.
Shen Qingqiu walked in confidently, attracting most of the attention. Xiao Muyu looked indifferent, her eyes taking in everyone’s reactions.
Most behaved normally, except the temporary students who panicked.
