Frank

“Fancy seeing you again, cutie!”

Just as Wang Ning was still hesitating whether she should shamelessly go back upstairs, a crisp and cheerful voice cut through the summer heat and reached her ears. It sounded oddly familiar.

She looked up.

Something icy cold and metallic touched her cheek—still damp with condensation.

Startled, Wang Ning stepped back in a fluster and looked at the person in front of her.

Karin grinned brightly, holding two cans of soda.

She nonchalantly pulled back the one that had touched Wang Ning’s face and held it out again as if she hadn’t just ambushed someone with a freezing cold drink.

Wang Ning took it wordlessly and complained, “I feel like no matter what you do, Senior Karin, you’re always so upfront about it.”

Even if it was clearly a prank, her smiling face made it impossible to get angry.

This trait… it felt oddly familiar.

She resembled some kind of animal.

The golden-haired upperclassman raised her chin slightly.

Her high ponytail swayed like a golden ribbon in the air.

Her slender, knuckle-defined fingers popped the soda tab and brought it to her rose-colored lips.

The sound of her swallowing the sweet and sour drink only deepened her smile.

Her brows lifted ever so slightly, and under the dim evening light, a glimmer danced faintly in her eyes.

“Really? No one’s ever said that about me before.”

Her voice became even lighter, her gaze falling on Wang Ning’s neutral expression.

As the eldest imperial princess, most people praised her for being warm and approachable, for her efficiency and fairness in handling affairs.

Only her mother accused her of lacking composure—always smiling too much, not showing even a shred of royal dignity.

“I’m glad that’s how you see me,” she said with a laugh, leaning in just a bit closer.

Wang Ning stared at her silently.

The moment Karin drew near, she instinctively leaned back, narrowly dodging her.

The crown princess blinked in confusion.

“I already asked around. There’s no such thing as a cheek-kissing greeting.”

Wang Ning stared her down triumphantly, her voice tinged with smugness. “You can’t fool me this time!”

Karin froze, her smile faltering.

Wang Ning thought she might be angry.

Panic replaced her smugness in an instant.

No way… was she really this easy to offend?

In the game, Wang Ning had almost never seen Karin lose her temper—not even when she was framed and killed. She had simply smiled gently and said goodbye to the world.

But this was reality.

Maybe rich people really didn’t know how to take a joke.

Was this the part where she offended another noble?

Her mind instantly spun a melodramatic tragedy:

Bullied out of school → fell into debt → couldn’t find work → died miserably on the streets → grieving sister swore revenge → years later, finally killed her enemies in a thrilling and bloody finale.

“Pfft—hahahaHAHAHA!”

She hadn’t expected Karin to suddenly burst out laughing.

She nearly doubled over, wiping away tears of laughter as she pulled Wang Ning into a hug and enthusiastically ruffled her hair.

“Ningning, you’re just too cute! Hahaha!”

Wang Ning stood there stiffly, her imagination crashing down around her.

She had no idea what part of her story hit Karin’s strange sense of humor.

Above them, the moonlight softly floated across the sky.

The campus lights gradually lit up, enhancing the glow of the moon—bright and gentle, illuminating the dark walkways.

The campus buildings, embedded with luminous mineral powder, shimmered with intricate reliefs and colorful mosaics.

It was as if a golden, dreamlike symphony was playing through the architecture.

Wang Ning and Karin sat together on a wooden bench, quietly admiring the nighttime scenery that the day had never revealed.

“By the way, why aren’t you back in your dorm yet?”

The student council president seemed to suddenly remember her actual duties.

Wang Ning looked at her mechanical wristwatch.

It read 9 o’clock.

She had been out of the dorm for over two hours.

“I think… I made my roommate mad.”

She told Karin what had happened—leaving out her roommate’s name and embellishing parts of the story with some “artistic flair.”

After all, someone like Karin—crown princess, student council president—had to be good at handling interpersonal problems, right?

Karin listened, then immediately looked outraged.

“That’s just awful!”

Wang Ning: “Right?!”

Karin: “How could she treat your kindness like that?!”

Wang Ning: “Exactly!!”

Karin: “You haven’t even bitten my ear!”

Wang Ning: “Yes, yes, yes… wait, what?”

Karin grew increasingly indignant.

She grabbed Wang Ning’s shoulders and leaned in, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Ningning, do you want to bite me?”

Wang Ning: …Excuse me, WHAT?

“I. Do. Not. Have. An. Ear. Biting. Fetish.” Wang Ning stated robotically, enunciating each word as if swearing an oath.

Karin looked genuinely disappointed and let go of her.

Wang Ning let out a breath of relief, feeling incredibly moved that her innocence remained intact.

And then—

She watched as the golden-haired student council president pondered something for two seconds… and took off her jacket.

She handed it to Wang Ning, revealing a pristine white dress shirt underneath.

Wang Ning: ?

“Would you help me put it on?” Karin beamed brightly.

Wang Ning: …

What the hell are you thinking?!

Wang Ning looked at her in disbelief.

Seeing her lack of reaction, Karin furrowed her brows slightly in mock trouble and leaned in closer, carrying with her a faint, alluring fragrance.

“We’re out here in public…” she whispered softly near Wang Ning’s ear.

Then, she gently took Wang Ning’s hand and slowly guided her fingers to the top button of her shirt.

Karin Shugles II.

To the public, she was the most brilliant and disciplined heir of the royal family.

No matter what uniform she wore, her buttons were always done up to the very top—leaving only the clean, chaste line of snowy skin at her throat.

Her smile was always soft but distant.

She was the model of an elite student, excelling at everything.

And now—

The perfect student was tempting the pure white angel under the cover of night.

Karin tilted her chin upward.

She looked like she was surrendering her neck to the blade, or offering herself to a god.

Her rosy lips curled slightly.

She said, “Undo it for me.”

Wang Ning’s fingers stiffened in her warm grasp.

Her hand was slowly moved toward the button, and the moment her fingertip touched the cold surface—

She snapped back to her senses.

She yanked her hand back as if electrocuted, and stood up with a whoosh.

Karin: “You…”

Before she could finish, a jacket flew toward her face and covered her head.

Darkness fell over her vision.

Karin blinked slowly.

By the time she pulled the jacket away, Wang Ning had already vanished.

Only the rising stars above and the wind slipping through the hallway remained.

“Ah… looks like I scared her off again…”

Karin murmured with a faint note of regret, though her voice clearly held a trace of delight.

She calmly put her jacket back on and returned to the composed grace of a crown princess.

Her expression was utterly serene—none of the seduction from earlier remained.

She pinned on her armband, picked up her logbook, and resumed her evening patrol.

As she passed a student, she smiled and greeted them warmly, the perfect image of a responsible, attentive president.

Wang Ning had once jokingly called Karin’s personality “unfiltered.”

And in a way, she had hit the mark.

Because Karin knew exactly what she wanted—and had the power to get it.

She indulged her desires freely, exposed her flaws openly, and watched calmly as her targets—whether cautious or reckless—bit the bait.

Then, she would reel them in, enjoying their struggle.

It was as if the royal bloodline was inherently wired with a sick kind of aggression and possessiveness.

Other royal members displayed this trait blatantly.

Karin, however, showed none of it—on the surface.

Maybe she had never needed to.

Or maybe…

Nothing until now had been interesting enough to bring it out.

Her days had always been filled with boredom.

She was passionate about everything—and yet, indifferent to everything.

Until Wang Ning appeared.

The barren wasteland inside her suddenly sparked with fire.

It spread silently.

Maybe it would spiral out of control someday.

But Karin let it burn.

As for what might happen when that day came—

What horrors it might bring—

The golden-haired president smiled faintly.

Maybe…

She just wouldn’t let Wang Ning escape, no matter what.