Chapter 28

Until those two girls ran off with tears in their eyes, Su Miao Miao didn’t understand what had happened.

In a quiet corner, after a long silence, she carefully raised her face and, from beside the boy’s shoulder, strained on tiptoe to peek her little head out.

Between the bookshelf and the wall behind Shang Yan, there was no one left.

Su Miao Miao finally released the small breath she had been holding unknowingly.

She lowered back onto her heels and curiously looked up at the boy in front of her.

“Master, just now…”

As soon as she started speaking, the boy in front of her turned his head slightly. With his eyelashes lowered, Shang Yan gazed down at the girl who was very close to him.

Earlier, when he was pretending, he had slightly bent over, with his arm resting on the edge of the bookshelf next to the girl’s ear.

At such a close distance, he could almost count the girl’s eyelashes.

It was extremely quiet.

In this tiny corner, only their breathing remained.

Every bit of air seemed to stretch infinitely, entering and exiting almost silently between the girl’s slightly parted, petal-like lips.

Her amber eyes, slightly damp from fear, were wide open, looking at him innocently.

Countless voices in his mind told him:

No.

Don’t.

Step back.

…

Only in the deepest abyss, there was a faint, enticing voice, barely audible, like a bewitching melody seeping through the cracks of his fortified heart, growing louder until it completely devoured his rationality—

While she knows nothing…

Make her yours.

———

You belong to me.

That final phrase felt like an invisible hand pushing him towards the abyss.

All the warnings were drowned out.

His entire consciousness fixated on that one sentence…

Shang Yan’s eyes half-closed, the light in them dimming as he bent down, holding the girl by her waist—

“…Master.”

A very soft voice stopped him at the last second.

Shang Yan’s Adam’s apple moved, and he looked up.

“….”

In the girl’s clear eyes was a hint of unrecognized fear. Her fingers at her sides were tightly clenched.

But she neither screamed nor struggled; she just looked at him that way.

“Are you going to be like… Shu Wei…”

Su Miao Miao lowered her gaze uneasily, suppressing the panic in her heart, and repeated in a low voice.

“Like her…”

Shang Yan’s eyes darkened.

But he straightened up and, after a moment, laughed softly.

“What, you think I’m using you to get back at her?”

“….”

Su Miao Miao didn’t answer. Seeing the boy step back, she let out a slight sigh of relief and then looked at him with lingering apprehension.

Shang Yan snorted lightly, averting his gaze.

“She’s nothing.”

On the boy’s cold, pale face, there was a touch of disdain in his sharp brows.

After a moment, those emotions faded away. Shang Yan lowered his gaze and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Didn’t I tell you yesterday that there’s nothing between her and me? If I have to repeat it again…”

Shang Yan stopped speaking.His gaze dropped to the girl’s slender legs.

Su Miao Miao uneasily shrank back.

“Then just now…”

“…I was teasing you.”

Shang Yan lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping away from the girl.

With his tongue lightly pressing against the roof of his mouth, he raised the corner of his lips and let out a soft, mocking laugh.

“Scared you?”

“…”

The girl instinctively nodded in agreement with his words. But then she quickly shook her head, lifting her clear eyes to meet his gaze.

“We agreed—you don’t dislike me, and I won’t be afraid of you.”

Shang Yan’s body stiffened for a moment.

After a brief pause, he reached out and ruffled Su Miao Miao’s long hair.

“Next time, remember to call ‘Master’ sooner.”

With that, he turned and walked out from behind the bookshelf.

As he turned away, the smile in his eyes quickly darkened.

…

Are you crazy, Shang Yan?

*

The self-study area was located at the back of the entire library, near the windows.

Outside the window were the lush, leafy crowns of old trees, with sunlight filtering through the leaves like patches of golden foil.

A few beams of warmth fell through the leaves, casting shadowy patterns on the tables and chairs by the window.

The light was bright but not harsh.

This area had long tables that seated ten people, five on each side. At the moment, there weren’t many students, just a few scattered around nearby.

Shang Yan chose an empty table with two adjacent seats and pulled out a chair, gesturing to the girl.

“Sit here.”

“…”

Su Miao Miao nodded silently and sat down, hugging her backpack.

Shang Yan sat to her left.

He took out a blank test paper given to him by the biology teacher during the last class break and placed it on the table in front of Su Miao Miao, tapping on two of the main questions.

“Redo these two problems.”

Unlike his usual lazy tone, his voice carried an undeniable calmness.

Su Miao Miao turned her head slightly, stealing a glance at him.

His strikingly handsome face, with its clear and defined features, had a cold white complexion that was highlighted by a thin layer of light. From her current angle, the curve of his nose looked particularly prominent and attractive.

But there was no expression.

Such a strikingly handsome face, usually almost flamboyant in its attractiveness, now had no expression at all. His lips were slightly pressed together, exuding a bit of a sharp and brooding aura.

It seemed he was quite displeased about something.

Just as Su Miao Miao was about to look away, she heard his voice, slightly vibrating.

“Are the answers and the questions written on my face?”

“…”

Su Miao Miao guiltily raised her eyes.

She met the gaze from those dark eyes directly.

Yikes.

So fierce.

Su Miao Miao didn’t dare to argue, she just glanced at him secretly before lowering her head again. A small bright spot of light fell on the biology paper, and Su Miao Miao hesitated for a moment before extending her left hand to block the light spot.

The part on the paper became clear again. The girl unconsciously curled the corner of her mouth slightly, and Shang Yan looked on with a smile. He silently brought a thin booklet and held it up to adjust the height, shielding the light coming through the leaves outside the window for the girl.

Su Miao Miao sensed something and was about to look up when she heard a cold and indifferent tone beside her ear.

“Focus.”

Su Miao Miao: “…”

What she didn’t see was the expression and gaze of the person looking at her, making the autumn sun outside the window pale in comparison.

Even though it was a redo of the test, biology didn’t have any bonus for Su Miao Miao.

While pondering over the questions, the girl unconsciously bit the tip of her pen.

Shang Yan’s gaze unintentionally fell in this direction and didn’t move away. After staring for a few seconds, his eyes darkened.

Shang Yan: “No biting pens.”

Su Miao Miao: …

As if afraid she would forget, the boy squinted lightly, “For every pen I see, I’ll confiscate one.”

Su Miao Miao: …

Unable to resist, Su Miao Miao reluctantly took out her pencil case to find a suitable new pen.

But before she could even flip through, she heard a surprised murmur from not far above her head.

“Shang Yan?”

Su Miao Miao instinctively looked up.

—

Shu Wei.

More accurately, Shu Wei standing side by side with her rumored new boyfriend.

“Ah…”

Su Miao Miao muttered softly.

Turning back, she looked at Shang Yan with concern.

Shang Yan had been lowering his gaze, staring intently at the neutral pen he had just confiscated. At the sound of the voice, he glanced lazily at the speaker and then lowered his eyes.

Directly meeting the girl’s gaze.

Shang Yan frowned, reaching out to lightly hold the girl’s chin, pushing down her pretty and radiant face.

“Focus on your work.”

Su Miao Miao was so angry she wanted to bite this fair-skinned knuckle nearby.

She obediently closed her eyes again.

Unfortunately, these subtle changes in expression did not escape the eyes of the person beside her.

Shang Yan chuckled softly.

“What’s wrong, want to bite your master?”

“No…”

“Then what were you just thinking?”

“Um…”

After a moment of silence, the girl murmured softly with a soft voice, “Yawning.”

Shang Yan grinned and withdrew his hand.

Beside the desk, Shu Wei standing in the aisle had a grim expression.

She glared at Shang Yan, who held a thin booklet and used his hand to shield the girl from the sunlight, her eyes slightly red.

“Shu Wei…”

The boy beside her softly called out.

Shu Wei snapped out of it.

She bit her lip, forced a smile, and said, “What a coincidence running into someone we know… Let’s just sit here.”

Without giving the boy a chance to object, Shu Wei tightly gripped her backpack strap and placed the bag on the empty seat across from them.

Shang Yan glanced up, gave an impatient glance, and then lowered his eyes again.

Shu Wei sat down gritting her teeth.

A few minutes later.

Su Miao Miao furrowed her brows slightly as she stared at her paper, not lifting her eyes to reach for her water bottle.

When she touched it, she paused.

“What’s wrong?”

Shang Yan, noticing with his peripheral vision, turned and asked.

Su Miao Miao shook her cup awkwardly, “I forgot to fill it with water before coming.”

Setting down the thin booklet in his hand, Shang Yan rubbed his stiff arms and stood up.

“Give it to me.”

Su Miao Miao hesitated, “I can do it myself…”

Before she could finish her sentence, her chin was lightly held by someone.

“Focus on your work.”

Su Miao Miao: …

“Be obedient.”

The male voice chuckled softly, taking the girl’s water bottle and heading towards the water room on this library floor.

Su Miao Miao felt her cheeks inexplicably warm.

She hurriedly tried to lower her head, only to meet Shu Wei’s fierce gaze from across the way.

Su Miao Miao froze.

Before she could say anything, Shu Wei glared at her resentfully, then turned, grabbed her backpack, and pulled out some tissues.

Standing up, “I’m going to the restroom.”

Without waiting for any reaction from the boy beside her, Shu Wei turned and followed in the direction where Shang Yan had left.

….

On each floor of the library, the restroom and the water room were indeed located in adjacent rooms.

Watching the uneasy glance from the boy sitting next to Shu Wei, Su Miao Miao lowered her head with mixed feelings.

However, the already difficult exam became even more challenging for Su Miao Miao after Shu Wei left. She had to read each question four or five times just to retain some impression.

After a few minutes of stalemate with her biology paper, Su Miao Miao finally couldn’t help but put down her pen.

The girl stood up, looking hesitant.

Although Shang Yan was stern today, he was still her master. She couldn’t just sit idly by…With this thought in mind, Su Miao Miao left her seat.

Passing through the entire reading area, there was a narrow corridor entrance ahead.

At the end were the restroom and the water room.

But as soon as Su Miao Miao turned into the corridor, her body froze.

She looked ahead in bewilderment.

—

At the end of the corridor, Shang Yan held her water bottle tightly hugged by Shu Wei.