Thunder

Click.

The dormitory door opened.

Wang Ning glanced over casually.

The person who entered was drenched, her hair and clothes soaked through.

Her school uniform clung tightly to her body.

As if feeling uncomfortable, she pushed the door with one hand and ran the other through her hair, brushing the damp mist-blue strands off her forehead and behind her ears.

Her pale lips and misty, elegant features came into view.

Her eyes lifted and happened to meet Wang Ning’s gaze.

Wang Ning quickly rolled over and averted her eyes, pretending she hadn’t seen her.

Glass Anne walked straight into the dorm.

Heavy fatigue made her want to collapse onto the bed immediately.

But the clammy wetness made her extremely uncomfortable, so she changed direction and walked into the bathroom.

Wang Ning let out a breath of relief.

She glanced at the empty fourth bed.

She had heard the instructors had all been called to a meeting.

Xiao was also among them.

Perfect.

No one’s paying attention.

Wang Ning stealthily pulled out the book she had hidden under the covers.

Then she began reading it with genuine devotion.

In her previous life, she had known that studying in the dorm was the equivalent of spreading anxiety and shaking morale.

Even though she was clearly the worst student in the room, she still didn’t want to be labeled a try-hard.

So she always chose to study in the sacred sanctuary of the blankets.

She was determined to reclaim the dignity she had once held as a top student!

“Ningning,” Cialie called to her,

“Come down from the bed first, let me undo your hairstyle.”

Wang Ning’s clumsy hands made it impossible for her to tie a decent hairstyle on her own.

So she had long given up.

Cialie, however, had enthusiastically volunteered to do her hair.

Wang Ning set her book aside and slowly climbed off the bed.

She sat in a chair as Cialie carefully unraveled the bun she had styled for her that morning.

“Cialie,” Wang Ning suddenly remembered something and asked,

“Do you know anything about Xiao’s background?”

Cialie was earnestly combing her hair.

At the question, she paused to think before replying,

“Not really. Even with my family’s influence, military information is hard to access.”

“Xiao is in the military?”

“Most likely, and probably a high rank. At the very least, every discussion thread about her on the school forum gets deleted almost instantly.”

Wang Ning lowered her head, deep in thought.

That shouldn’t be the case.

By all logic, someone like her should at least be a major supporting character in the game—even if not a protagonist.

But despite having cleared the game twelve times and memorized the plot inside and out, Wang Ning couldn’t recall Xiao appearing at all.

…Unless her presence here had already caused the story to deviate from its original path?

Once her hair was undone, Wang Ning let it fall freely and went to wash up.

While brushing her teeth, she looked out into the pitch-black night through the window.

In the distance, thunder rumbled faintly beyond the clouds.

Suddenly, the light vanished.

In an instant, the dormitory was plunged into darkness.

A chorus of startled cries echoed throughout the building.

“…Ningning! I think the power’s out!”

Wang Ning heard Cialie calling to her.

She struggled to maintain her balance and widened her eyes, still not fully adjusted to the sudden change from light to dark.

She had only taken two steps forward when suddenly—

A hand reached out from the shadows and grabbed her arm.

Before she could cry out, her mouth was covered.

Immediately after, a warm, damp body pressed up against her back.

An arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

Warm breath tickled her ear.

“Shhh… don’t move. Just wait a moment.”

Wang Ning’s eyes widened in the dark.

Her restrained body couldn’t budge.

She tried to make a sound, but the palm silenced her.

Then—

CRACK–BOOM!

A bolt of thunder split the sky.

The body behind her trembled for a moment.

Then the arm around her waist tightened, almost painfully so.

“…Glass Anne? What’s wrong?” Wang Ning whispered, catching the slight tremble in her voice.

A few seconds later, the arms that held her slackened.

“…It’s nothing. Go on.”

Glass Anne’s tone was flat, as if the person who panicked moments ago hadn’t been her.

Wang Ning turned around.

In the blurry darkness, she caught a glimpse of those emerald eyes.

She reached out and groped blindly until she found Glass Anne’s arm.

“Are you… scared? Of thunder?”

“No. The lights just went out all of a sudden, and I was still in the bathroom. Got startled.”

Glass Anne paused before replying.

“Can you still walk?” Wang Ning stepped back just a little.

“I’m blind, not paralyzed,” Glass Anne said calmly.

“Ningning, are you okay?” Cialie’s hurried footsteps approached from the hallway.

“I’m fine!” Wang Ning called back.

Then she looked at Glass Anne with some relief and said,

“You scared me to death. I thought you were having some kind of episode.”

“…”

She took it back.

This person was not cute at all.