Lu Huai woke up in the middle of the night with a cramp and a nightmare, and now he couldn't fall back asleep.

Still shaken, he held his big toe, sweat beading on his forehead.

Once the pain faded, the boy got out of bed and limped out of his room.

No one was in the living room.

Su Xiangrong's door was shut tight. Lu Huai glanced at it and sighed.

The doorbell probably wouldn't suddenly ring at a time like this... right?

That nightmare had felt way too real. Even now, what lingered in Lu Huai's mind was that awful sensation in his mouth... mixed with socks and toes...

He didn't think he'd ever watched any shows or read any novels with that kind of scene... so why had he suddenly dreamed something like that?

He couldn't make sense of it. Lu Huai decided he wouldn't play games for the next couple of days... better wait for her to cool off first. Besides, there was still a bounty on him. Even if he logged in, he wouldn't get anything done. Just a pile of trouble.

Please don't let it turn out like the dream... that's just ridiculous... and there was a gun... and socks too...

At that thought, Lu Huai felt a little nauseous.

I'm not a leg guy!!

With that roar in his heart, Lu Huai pushed open the bathroom door.

Still half-asleep, he turned on the light.

Then he undid his pants, ready to use the toilet.

And suddenly, he realized the toilet at home seemed... kind of the wrong shape.

A toilet should've been the most ordinary kind, clean white, but...

Why did it look so much bigger?

And the color in front of the toilet... seemed a little off too?

White... yes, definitely white... but not toilet white. It should be... it should be...

Legs!

That's right! The color of pale, slender legs.

He'd just said he wasn't a leg guy, and then the first thing he saw was legs. Ha ha... wait.

Wait!

The boy instantly yanked his pants back up and spun around. His hand was already on the bathroom door handle.

He was just about to bolt out, not even caring if he ripped the door off in the process—

"If you dare walk out, you're dead."

That icy voice... as if it came from right behind him. That piercing gaze... sharp enough to cut to the bone...

Lu Huai froze.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

The boy who had only just woken from a nightmare now felt like he'd fallen into another one.

"...I... I didn't see anything..."

Lu Huai faced the bathroom door like he was standing in punishment.

He never would've imagined... Su Xiangrong was using the toilet! And seriously, who uses the toilet without turning on the light?!

When he'd followed that leg upward just now, he really should've realized something was wrong. But... he'd only just woken from a nightmare. His brain hadn't even processed what he was supposed to think in that moment.

So he just kept looking.

And then...

Lu Huai kind of wanted to cry.

He really hadn't wanted to do anything perverted, and he definitely hadn't wanted to create some chance to get closer to Su Xiangrong in a way like this.

But... but it had just happened to line up that way.

Which was exactly why, when someone's unlucky, everything comes one after another.

You could walk out the door and realize you're out of toothpaste, then get on the bus and find out you forgot your money, get to school and realize you didn't bring your homework, and after finally making it home, discover you forgot your keys too.

On the verge of tears, Lu Huai stood facing the bathroom door, not daring to move an inch.

Until he heard a rustling sound behind him...

It sounded like she was putting on her pants or something...

Then she stood up.

Thunk, thunk, thunk—

The footsteps seemed to stomp right on top of his heartbeat, getting closer and closer.

Then they finally stopped behind him.

Lu Huai was still thinking about how to explain himself... She wasn't going to do what happened in the dream, was she? Shoot him... or stab him or something? Thank god this was the bathroom and not the kitchen.

"Turn around."

"L-listen to me... I—"

"Turn around!"

Lu Huai turned around.

Very honest, very obedient, very well-behaved.

Innocent and small, timid and terrified.

Smack!

Lu Huai shut his eyes the moment her hand swung over.

But... his face didn't hurt.

Su Xiangrong, her face frosty enough to freeze over, not even a sneer on it, had slapped her palm against the wall beside his head.

Then she leaned her whole face right in front of his.

That flawless face, carrying a cold aura and a distant, breathtaking beauty, looked like a completely different person from the one she'd shown in the afternoon.

Dangerous... extremely dangerous.

Lu Huai already wanted to kneel and beg for forgiveness.

"What did you see just now?"

Her voice was cold. Those beautiful eyes, as if they could look straight into someone's heart, stared directly at him.

Lu Huai felt like if he so much as shifted his gaze, she'd warn him for it.

"N-no... I didn't see anything..."

That was all Lu Huai could say, weak and powerless...

"The truth?"

A slight smile rose on her lips, but it didn't warm the boy in the slightest. He just felt cold.

He wanted to go home.

Oh. Right. This was his home. Never mind then.

"The truth..." She's not going to make me swear, is she?

Lu Huai was so nervous he didn't even know where to look. As long as it wasn't Su Xiangrong's face, because the moment he looked away, he'd think of those pale thighs and...

Su Xiangrong nodded. Still wearing only a tank top, the young woman's full chest pressed into a deep cleavage. The faint but unforgettable fragrance on her body kept stirring up the boy's immature thoughts.

"Good. Then answer whatever I ask. If you tell even one lie..."

Her lips parted as she spoke.

Those thin lips weren't wet with saliva, yet they somehow felt like the entrance to some fragrant demon's cave.

Lu Huai swallowed.

He watched the woman curl her lips into a bewitching smile.

"Then you can find out what it feels like for your youth to end at seventeen."

"At least it's not execution by gun..."

"What did you say?"

"N-nothing..."

Lu Huai pressed himself obediently against the door. He couldn't retreat even one step.

"Your name."

"Lu Huai..." He had no idea what kind of question this was, but he could only answer.

Su Xiangrong's expression gave nothing away. It only felt like she could turn hostile at any second. Then she parted her red lips again.

"Age."

"Seventeen..."

"Where do you study?"

"Chuzhou No. 1 High School..."

"What's my name?"

Lu Huai glanced at Su Xiangrong.

Then he saw the playful look in her eyes and immediately turned away in panic.

"Su... Su Xiangrong..."

"Am I pretty?"

Even in a situation like this, no matter how he thought about it, this woman shouldn't have any weird fetish or anything, but... his heart still couldn't help beating even faster.

Those narrow eyes of hers had a beauty all their own. Not the simple kind of big-eyed impact, not that blunt goldfish-eye sort of prettiness.

Like a woman in a northern land of snow, lightly plucking a plum blossom, then turning back with a glance that could make all living things lose themselves...

Whether he should say it... or hide it a little... was a huge problem.

But under a gaze like this, it felt like there was nowhere for him to run...

"Pretty..."

He could only be honest, even if... it was a little embarrassing, and a little shy.

The moment the boy said that, he lowered his head.

Shy in the purest, most genuine way.

But the questioning continued.

"Then before going to sleep tonight, did you imagine what I looked like and jerk off to it?"

"N-no!!!"

Lu Huai was dumbfounded. How could this woman ask anything and everything?!

Was that even a normal question?!

She was obviously still so young, so how could she say something like that so smoothly?!

"Hehe... sounds like a lie."

"It absolutely isn't!" Lu Huai didn't even care about being embarrassed anymore.

This concerned his reputation. Fantasizing about a pretty girl's face and jerking off to it... at least up until now, he had never done that!

Su Xiangrong's smile grew even more alluring as she continued.

"What day is it today?"

"It's already... Saturday..."

"What fruit do you like?"

"Watermelon..."

"What style and color are my panties?"

"Red lace..."

"..."

Lu Huai was horrified.

The flustered boy raised a hand and covered his mouth.

But the words he never should've said were already out.

He hated it. Why... why did it have to be red?!

If you hadn't worn red, would it have been that clear?! If you hadn't worn red, how would my brain have remembered it so well?!

But compared to those chaotic thoughts, there was one fact he had to face.

Right now... he was in danger. Extreme danger. Serious danger.

Lu Huai's whole face was red, from his ears all the way down his neck. He looked exactly like some decent girl being teased by a hooligan.

"Hehe... you got a very good look, huh."

With his mouth covered, eyes wide, Lu Huai looked at Su Xiangrong with a hint of pleading. He even shook his head helplessly, trying to tell her with that attitude—

It really... really wasn't on purpose!

"I didn't..."

"Didn't? You saw enough to make out red lace, Lu Huai-didi. I'm very impressed with your eyesight. Seventeen-year-old boys really do have great vision. Now then, how should I reward you for looking so carefully?"

The woman reached out and grabbed Lu Huai's burning red earlobe.

She rubbed it slowly, her nails bringing a slight sting. Lu Huai felt that if he somehow survived tonight in one piece, he'd probably end up with an extra ear piercing at this rate.

"S-sorry..."

Apologizing was all he could do.

Even though... even though the person who used the bathroom without turning on the light wasn't him...

"If apologies worked, then why would there still be murder cases in the world?"

A dangerous thing to say.

Lu Huai was already scared.

"W-wait... this... this isn't a death-worthy crime, right...?"

Still smiling, Su Xiangrong looked at Lu Huai like that.

"Fine, then suggest a solution. Killing you isn't realistic. How about gouging out your eyes? Agree?"

"How is that any better?! And... and... it's because you didn't turn on the light... that's why I..."

"Oh? So you're saying it's my fault?"

The brighter Su Xiangrong smiled, the more panicked Lu Huai became.

"N-not exactly... I... I just didn't expect it... S-sorry..."

Su Xiangrong's fingers rubbed Lu Huai's earlobe again, making the boy's heart pound in fear.

Then she seemed to think of something.

Smiling, she said to Lu Huai,

"In that case, I was at fault too. And I scared you like this. Seems like I should make it up to you."

"Th-that... won't be necessary..."

How would he dare let you make it up to him?!

If you're making it up to me, can you move out right now?

Lu Huai sincerely wanted to ask, but he truly didn't dare say it.

Su Xiangrong let go of him, then patted Lu Huai's thin shoulder.

"Then I'll make it up to you this way."

"What... way?"

"From now on, you'll wash my underwear. Since you like it so much."

"..."