Because Wen Xiaojing said she wanted to play some kind of game, everyone followed her into her bedroom.

I really didn’t want to go.

“Nope, senpai. If you don’t come, I’ll tell Yuqian-senpai about how you stole the skewer I was eating earlier, the one with my saliva on it.”

She threatened me with that. Damn it… twisting the facts and using such a dirty trick.

And talking about saliva is seriously disgusting.

Since this is a villa, the room was ridiculously huge. Compared to our apartment back home—nice renovation and all, but the bedroom’s like a little matchbox, pathetically tiny—this felt absurd.

We sat in a circle on the tatami she’d already laid out.

It was boring at first, so I let my eyes wander around the room. Total girly vibe—sky-blue curtains, pink sheets, dressing table, wardrobe, everything in place. Most importantly, there were tons of cute dolls lined up on the bed.

I could hardly believe it. Someone like Wen Xiaojing—short hair (okay, it’s silver, with a blue hairpin), loud and careless, loves teasing people, nothing “quiet” about her at all—how could she be into collecting dolls?

“Senpai, what’re you looking at…?”

Her gaze turned toward me. I hurriedly looked away.

“I… wasn’t looking at anything…”

I still felt a little guilty inside.

“Senpai, you mustn’t have any impure thoughts about your junior’s bed, okay? And don’t sit there daydreaming about your junior sleeping naked, okay?”

“Who would think about that?!”

I snapped, annoyed. Feiya seemed to get startled; she shuffled away a little, like she was scared.

“Youjie… you’re awful, scaring Feiya like that.”

Su Yuqian pulled Feiya into her arms to comfort her while scolding me.

“I—I didn’t…”

“Senpai, that’s really awful of you…”

What are you chiming in for?! I screamed in my head. If I yelled out loud again, I’d just scare Feiya one more time…

I sighed and let my shoulders droop.

“Jie…” Zhiye, who was sitting on the other side, suddenly called me.

I looked up at her.

“Wanna come out with me and feel the sea breeze…”

Zhiye asked me like that. Getting some air sounded great; I really didn’t want to stay here. But when I glanced at Wen Xiaojing’s face—that look that said, If you leave, I’ll definitely spill everything—I had no choice but to turn her down.

“Sorry, I don’t want to go…”

“Yeah? Then next time…” Obvious disappointment flashed across Zhiye’s face, but she still smiled as she spoke.

That made me feel a bit guilty. I’d just have to go with her next time. This time I really had no way out. Thinking that, I turned my eyes back to Wen Xiaojing.

I wanted to carve this annoying girl’s face into my memory.

“Senpai, you’re totally looking forward to the game, right?”

Wen Xiaojing dragged the tatami closer to me and deliberately leaned her body toward mine.

“Who—” I was about to say what I really thought, but Wen Xiaojing secretly made a little licking-her-finger gesture.

“Ahaha! I’m super looking forward to it!”

I forced out the words with a smile that didn’t reach my eyes.

“Since senpai’s that excited, let’s get the game started.”

Wen Xiaojing stood up and walked to the light switch by the door. I was wondering what she was up to when she suddenly flipped it.

The room plunged into darkness.

“So dark…”

“Feiya, don’t move around…”

The ones speaking were Feiya and Su Yuqian.

I was just about to say, “Wen Xiaojing, what the hell are you doing—”

When a small ball of fire suddenly appeared. Wen Xiaojing was holding an old-fashioned oil lamp in her hands.

“Surprised? Feeling a little scared yet?”

“You think you’re telling ghost stories or something…”

I grumbled in my head.

“Senpai, you’re exactly right… Next up is the ghost-story segment. People who are scared, enter at your own risk.”

Can she read minds or what? And I’m already here; this is basically a scam.

“I’m really sensitive to ghost stories… so I’d like to sit out. Is that okay?”

Zhiye suddenly spoke.

“Zhiye-senpai’s really sensitive to ghost stories, huh… Well, can’t be helped then.”

Zhiye stood up and walked straight out of the room. As she left, she said, “Have fun, you guys…”

In the dim firelight, I caught a glimpse of a cold, lonely look in Zhiye’s eyes.

I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it. By the time I tried to get a better look, she’d already shut the door. The room sank back into gloom, and only the light from the oil lamp in Wen Xiaojing’s hand barely let us make out the shapes around us.