University life was rarely tranquil, especially when group assignments forced disparate personalities together.
In Lan Yucheng’s group, one girl harbored considerable resentment regarding the task distribution.
During their online discussions, her words grew increasingly sharp, laden with dissatisfaction and provocation.
Lan Yucheng calmly refuted each point, but the girl’s unreasonable and entangled attitude still ignited a flicker of irritation within her.
She was not one to silently endure insults; rather, she was accustomed to cloaking her emotions in logic.
Eventually, she exited the group chat, set her phone aside, and massaged her temples.
Qing Xinxue, who had been quietly sitting nearby, immediately caught the subtle shift in Lan Yucheng’s demeanor.
“Sister Cheng?” She put down her book, her voice soft and tentative. “Are you upset? Is it about the group project?”
She had vaguely overheard a few of the voice messages being played aloud.
Lan Yucheng leaned back into her chair, closing her eyes, and hummed in assent, offering no further words.
Qing Xinxue watched her subtly furrowed brow, her fingertips unconsciously curling inward. That girl who had argued with Sister Cheng felt like a thorn piercing her own heart.
A familiar dark impulse began to surge, but this time, she took a deep breath, striving to make her voice sound steady and helpful.
“Do you need me to… do anything?” she asked, her gaze holding a carefully cultivated earnestness.
Lan Yucheng opened her eyes, looking at her with a hint of surprise. This reaction piqued a sliver of her investigative interest.
“Oh?” Her brow arched slightly. “What do you intend to do?”
She wanted to know how Qing Xinxue would respond to such ‘threats’ after the ‘guidance’ she had provided over the past while.
Qing Xinxue grew a little nervous under her scrutiny, twisting her fingers together, yet her gaze did not waver.
She seemed to be carefully choosing her words, attempting to give an answer that would express loyalty without overstepping boundaries.
“I…” She pursed her lips lightly. “I could keep an eye on places she frequents… and then ‘accidentally’ spill coffee on her assignment? Or, place something harmless but uncomfortable in her usual library seat, like… expired juice that smells bad?”
She paused, observing Lan Yucheng’s expression. Seeing no sign of displeasure, she continued in a low voice, “Or… anonymously post some messages on the school forum about her slacking off in previous group projects, or some harmless but troublesome news? It would never implicate Sister Cheng.”
After speaking, she nervously awaited judgment.
These thoughts were still dark, yet they had shed their bloody bluntness, cloaked instead in a sugary veneer of calculation.
She was learning to use more ‘indirect’ methods to express that twisted ‘protection’.
Lan Yucheng listened in silence, a flicker of surprise indeed crossing her heart.
No longer the pure roar of violence, but a learned sense of weighing options and strategy.
The methods, though unsavory, at least… showed she was considering ‘consequences’. This was a twisted form of progress, yet it aligned perfectly with Lan Yucheng’s expectations.
Her face remained impassive, but the cold scrutiny in her eyes softened slightly.
She did not comment on the specific methods, merely watching Qing Xinxue’s nervous, hopeful demeanor.
The vexation that had arisen from the earlier argument strangely dissipated a little.
The feeling of control always brought pleasure.
She extended a hand, her fingertips lightly brushing beneath Qing Xinxue’s collarbone, flicking the silver bell hidden beneath her clothing.
A clear, crisp ‘ding’ echoed pleasantly.
Qing Xinxue’s body trembled slightly, and she gazed at Lan Yucheng with confusion.
“The methods aren’t clever,” Lan Yucheng finally spoke, her tone flat, “but…”
She deliberately drew out the last syllable, watching Qing Xinxue’s eyes widen with anticipation.
“…at least you’re using your brain.”
This was by no means praise, almost a mere statement. Yet, in Qing Xinxue’s ears, it instantly ignited her eyes! Sister Cheng hadn’t reprimanded her! She had even… acknowledged her ‘use of her brain’!
A warm current, a mix of humility and pride, surged through her heart.
Watching her ecstatic reaction to this almost condescending ‘affirmation’, Lan Yucheng’s inner sense of satisfaction grew even fuller.
She felt that perhaps a more substantial ‘reward’ was due, to solidify this ‘progress’.
She withdrew her hand, leaning languidly back into the chair, speaking in a casual yet undeniable tone:
“Today, you were quite ‘obedient’.”
“Given that…”
She met Qing Xinxue’s eyes, which had suddenly held their breath, filled with an unbelievable light.
“…I grant you one wish.”
One wish?!
Qing Xinxue’s heart felt as though it had been violently squeezed and then released, beginning to pound frantically! Blood rushed to her head!
She almost suspected she had misheard! Sister Cheng… had proactively offered to grant her a wish? This was an unprecedented first!
Ecstasy and countless dark or bright thoughts instantly overwhelmed her, leaving her momentarily stunned, mouth agape, utterly bewildered.
“Think carefully before you speak,” Lan Yucheng added faintly, seeing her state, a warning in her voice. “This opportunity is only once.”
She was very curious what Qing Xinxue would ask for under this rare ‘permission’. Intimacy? Freedom? Or something else?
This, in itself, was also a test.
Qing Xinxue took a deep, forceful breath, trying to calm her emotions that threatened to explode.
She gazed at Lan Yucheng’s bottomless eyes, which seemed to penetrate everything, and forcefully suppressed those overly eager and dark thoughts.
She couldn’t waste it.
She had to make a request that Sister Cheng might grant and that would satisfy her to the greatest extent.
She bit her lower lip, her cheeks flushed with excitement and shyness, her eyes flickering for a moment. Finally, as if gathering all her courage, she spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum, yet brimming with yearning:
“I… I want…”
“Tonight… could I… sleep holding Sister Cheng?”
“Just like… like that time in the library…”
“I promise… I’ll be very well-behaved… I won’t move at all… just… hold you…”
After speaking, she immediately lowered her head, not daring to look up, her heart pounding, awaiting the final verdict.
This was her deepest and most likely to be granted desire at that moment. A mere embrace, without deeper invasion, like a return to a sanctioned dependency.
Lan Yucheng listened to her request, a ripple of emotion, almost imperceptible, passing through her eyes.
Just… holding her while sleeping?
She had expected a more transgressive demand. This wish was so simple it seemed almost naive within the grey area she had personally constructed.
She watched Qing Xinxue, who had placed all her hope in this moment, silent for several seconds.
Only their soft, shallow breathing filled the room.
Finally, Lan Yucheng uttered a single word:
“Granted.”
Qing Xinxue abruptly looked up, her eyes bursting with a brilliant, almost illusory light, tears instantly welling up, a veritable ocean of joy.
“Thank you, Sister Cheng! Thank you!” she choked out, almost crying tears of happiness.
Lan Yucheng watched her, saying nothing further, merely picking up her phone again, as if the recent concession were insignificant.
But only she knew that in the instant Qing Xinxue made her request and it was granted, something deep within her heart had also subtly trembled.
This complete, humble dependence, and the immense satisfaction gained from even a small bestowal…
Indeed, it was easy to become addicted.
That night, as Qing Xinxue, her wish fulfilled, carefully curled up beside her, clinging tightly as if to a treasure yet faithfully keeping her promise not to move, Lan Yucheng lay awake in the darkness.
She felt the warmth and faint trembling emanating from behind her.
She thought that perhaps this dangerous balance could truly persist.
As long as she always held tight to the reins, and the candy.