Bai Ningning started to panic.

Qin Yue was tall and slender, but she was surprisingly strong. The arms holding Bai Ningning were steady and tight.

Bai Ningning could feel her fingers sinking into the soft flesh of her thigh.

She didn't know why, but she understood one thing.

She'd messed up.

Calm down. Right now, she should gently ask if she'd said something wrong.

“Why are you so mad?” The girl in her arms still had a cold little face. “Did I hit a sore spot?”

Qin Yue kicked the door open. The loud bang made Bai Ningning's little heart tremble again.

Then she was tossed onto the soft bed in one move.

Qin Yue was furious. Her face was covered in suppressed frost.

Bai Ningning tried hard to tell herself not to panic. There was still a chance. Big Sis's mood was obviously off. She should remind her not to be so angry.

The girl parted her cherry lips slightly.

“Mad?”

Mad mad mad mad mad?

Qin Yue was so angry she laughed instead. She stood by the bed and looked down at her from above.

“Bai Ningning, I've always wanted to ask you something.”

She bent down, leaning over the girl's fair neck, and whispered softly,

“Tell me. Do you cry? I mean real tears.”

Eh?

Was she cosplaying a Batman v Superman line?

Of course I cry. Not only can I cry, I can also—hiss!

Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!

Qin Yue was already furious to begin with, and she'd had a little alcohol too. She had no sense of restraint at all. It was like a level 25 panda had activated Drunken Fist, every hit a critical.

Bai Ningning kept her little face tense, her body trembling slightly.

It's over. It's starting. Wuwuwu.

Maybe it was her body, maybe it was her personality, maybe both were a problem. Anyway, no matter when, she always kept a calm, aloof expression.

She was beautiful, sure.

She was just way too punchable.

Qin Yue found a moment to lift her head and see whether this little green tea had any regret on her face. But she found that the girl neither cried nor made a fuss. At most, she let out a few muffled whimpers.

That made her remember what Bai Ningning had said before—

“With what little skill you have, I'm really worried.”

“I'm really worried.”

“Really worried.”

“Worried.”

“...Ah.”

Qin Yue's anger shot through the roof. Not only had she activated Drunken Fist, she'd borrowed Drunk Berserk too. Even her basic attacks came with magic damage.

Bai Ningning finally understood a girl's pain.

It hurt a hundred times more than Kaneki's singing.

Little by little, Bai Ningning's consciousness blurred. At death's door, she remembered the person who had told her, “It'll only hurt for a second.”

Bastard. Total liar.

...

In her hazy sleep, Bai Ningning had several dreams.

She dreamed of the car accident that had sent her flying into this life. She dreamed of the mirror, of the new starting point of her life. She even dreamed of those domestic youth romance movies she'd watched before.

Those movies always had narration saying youth was bound to be full of pain. The old Bai Ningning had scoffed at that. But now, she felt it deeply.

This hurts way too much. Wuwuwu.

After who knew how long, the endless night finally came to an end, and dawn climbed over the hills.

Qin Yue turned over lazily, revealing a beautiful face still lovely despite the weariness on it.

The AC was on. In the blanket, she was hugging a soft, fragrant “body pillow.” It felt amazing. She even wanted to go back to sleep for a bit.

But then she suddenly remembered something. She forced herself awake and reached for her phone.

“President Qin, good morning. What can I do for you?”

“Cancel the morning meeting. Change it to a video meeting this afternoon.”

“This afternoon... what time?”

Qin Yue thought for a moment.

“Three.”

Twenty years of life, like a dream, like an illusion.

Bai Ningning woke in unease. Something felt off. Cool and chilly.

No way. It's not over yet?

She trembled in fear.

“Don't move around,” Qin Yue's voice came. “I'm applying medicine.”

The voice was cold, but somehow it made her heart warm a little. Look, she was even applying medicine.

Had those sincere words from earlier worked after all?

“Don't overthink it. Heh.” Qin Yue let out a cold laugh. “It's just for sustainable use.”

...Oh.

She was too sleepy and too exhausted. Before long, Bai Ningning fell asleep again.

When she woke up for real this time, it was already afternoon. The sun had climbed high.

So sore. So tired. Couldn't get up.

Bai Ningning tested it a few times and found that staying down was still the better choice. Anyway, she didn't need to go to school or work today.

From the inner room beside her, the one without a door, came the sound of people talking, like a voice call. She pricked up her ears and listened for a bit. There were lots of professional terms she couldn't understand.

Got it. Company meeting.

For a moment, Bai Ningning's feelings were unbelievably complicated.

Pretty big sister, thank you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come deal with me.

Thank you so much!

A while later, the voices from the inner room gradually faded, followed by the sound of a computer shutting down.

Qin Yue came out from the inner room. Because of the meeting, she was dressed very formally: a fitted women's suit, a black pencil skirt, black stockings, and high heels.

She was already tall to begin with. In heels, she looked even straighter and more striking. Cold, gorgeous, and a little cool.

The kind of person who looked like she had very high attack power.

“Can you still sit up?” Qin Yue asked.

No, Sister. My waist feels like it's about to snap, my thighs can barely feel anything, and even talking is hard.

Even though she hadn't cried or screamed during the whole thing, only whimpered a little... whimpering tires out your throat too, okay?

Bai Ningning wanted to use a pitiful, lovable smile to express her complicated feelings.

“Hehe.”

That was the actual result.

“Fine. Then just listen like that.” Qin Yue didn't mind. She began, “I know you're homeless right now. I've already rented out your old place, so you'll stay here and pay off your debt. As for when, how many times, and how often, that'll all depend on my mood. Until the debt is paid off.”

She paused slightly, then added,

“Including during the school term.”

There were less than two weeks left before sophomore year started.

Bai Ningning perked up a little. She didn't really want to go through college again, but a diploma was important. If she didn't go to school, she wouldn't get one.

But then she thought of a problem.

“But I don't have any money,” the girl's voice was a little hoarse. “No money for next semester's tuition.”

The original owner hadn't had any assets to begin with. She'd relied entirely on Qin Yue to support her. Later, after everything was exposed, Qin Yue had secretly set a trap and taken back all the valuable things she'd given her before.

Or destroyed them outright, like accessories in a game.

So no one could have them.

Qin Yue smiled. Her slender, elegant fingers hooked slightly inside her pocket, pulling out a bank card.

She waved it in front of the girl.

“There's ten thousand yuan in here.”

Ten thousand yuan. Just enough for next semester's tuition and related expenses. Not a cent more, not a cent less. At most, there'd be a few dozen yuan left over.

Bai Ningning was still thinking about what tone she should use to say thank you when she heard Qin Yue speak again.

“There are no free lunches in this world, Bai Ningning. Your free lunch days are over. So if you want money, tell me—what can you do?”