“Sure, you’re the most devoted person alive. I’ve certainly never seen you pull off another girl’s underwear.” Mu Yao’s words carried a hidden meaning.

“Weren’t you the one who said you wouldn’t hold a grudge? How about this—an eye for an eye. I’ll let you pull off mine, too.”

Nangong Ruihui pretended to tug at her own underwear, startling Mu Yao.

“Stop! Who wants to see that disgusting thing?! Urgh—”

“What’s so disgusting about it? You’ll be eating it someday anyway…”

Time seemed to freeze in an instant. Nangong Ruihui and Mu Yao stared at each other in silence.

Mu Yao beat her for who knew how long. Nangong Ruihui only remembered the last thing she saw: a knife and fork flying from Mu Yao’s hand.

It hurt, but she accepted it willingly.

Taking advantage of Mu Yao was the greatest joy in life—even if she had to lean against the wall on her way to class that afternoon.

…

“Mu Yao, how did it go? You didn’t lose, did you?”

Back in the dorm, Zhou Yuan had finally managed to catch Mu Yao and was now asking anxiously.

“No. She wanted to compete with me in solving math problems…”

“Tch. You had me worried for nothing. So that’s what it was.”

Zhou Yuan waved a hand and flopped down to sleep. Even Gu Shasha understood the principle of knowing yourself and your enemy. Challenging Mu Yao in one of her strongest subjects was practically asking for trouble.

Winning two out of three rounds wouldn’t be a problem. What worried Zhou Yuan was the boast Mu Yao had made beforehand: if she lost even one round, it would count as a total defeat.

She’d really talked herself into a corner.

Fortunately, Mu Yao had won today. If the position of Elder Sister were lost, Zhou Yuan wouldn’t even know how to explain it to the company. It was far too ridiculous.

“Don’t sleep yet. Get up quickly. We have self-study this afternoon, so we can go a little later. I’ll secretly tutor you here in the dorm~”

Mu Yao sat beside Zhou Yuan’s bed and gently shook her by the waist.

“Huh?”

“What do you mean, ‘huh’? I promised you before. I was too busy, so I put it off for a while. You’re not angry with me, are you?”

At those words, Zhou Yuan suddenly turned her head.

Mu Yao’s bright eyes captivated her like two rare gems—lively, vivid, and full of life.

If the phrase “bright eyes and charming glances” referred to anyone, it had to be Mu Yao. Zhou Yuan could sense both sides of her charm. No wonder so many people liked her. Everyone knew quality when they saw it.

“I’m not… You still remembered…?”

Zhou Yuan parted her lips slightly and managed to force out a few words.

“Manager Zhou, I’m sixteen, not sixty. Dementia hasn’t caught up with me yet.”

Mu Yao joked around. If she hadn’t brought it up, Zhou Yuan might have forgotten about it herself. Fortunately, Mu Yao remembered clearly. When it came to the two of them, it was enough for one person to remember.

“You’re a lot like the ‘Long Xueer’ from three years ago. Or rather, you haven’t changed at all. Everyone else keeps updating themselves, so why are you still standing in the same place?”

“Mm… Haven’t I been trying hard enough?”

Mu Yao didn’t understand the meaning behind Zhou Yuan’s words.

“No. You’ve been working very hard. Take off your shoes and come up. There’s only one chair in the dorm. I can’t exactly make you stand.”

Mu Yao didn’t understand, and Zhou Yuan didn’t explain further. Some things were better left unsaid. With Mu Yao’s intelligence and memory, she would understand sooner or later.

She didn’t have to follow the tide and become the perfect person in everyone else’s eyes.

She was simply being her truest self, without a mask.

That was all.

“It’s rare to see you looking so serious.”

Mu Yao added that unnecessary comment as she took off her little leather shoes and tossed them onto the floor.

“Is that so? Then starting today, you’ll get to know more sides of me.”

“…Are you unhappy?”

“Quite the opposite. Let’s drop it. My grades have completely stalled. Are you planning to tutor me in every subject?”

Zhou Yuan picked up a Chinese workbook from beneath the dormitory bed and teased her.

“Of course! If you trust me as your little teacher, I’ll tutor you properly. If we can’t finish today, we’ll continue tomorrow. If we can’t finish tomorrow, we’ll continue the day after. We’ll take it one step at a time, like Jingwei trying to fill the sea. If you listen carefully, we might even finish faster.”

Mu Yao believed it was perfectly normal for people sharing a dorm to help each other. Zhou Yuan had played no small part in helping her become Elder Sister. Tutoring her was nothing in comparison.

Helping Mu Yao become Elder Sister wasn’t part of Zhou Yuan’s duty. For that alone, Mu Yao would never forget her promise to help with her studies.

“Then I won’t listen carefully after all…”

Zhou Yuan pouted.

“What did you say?”

“N-Nothing.”

Zhou Yuan hurriedly tried to cover her tracks. She couldn’t believe she’d actually said what she was thinking.

“Teacher Mu, may this student request a more efficient study method?”

Zhou Yuan made the suggestion.

“Of course! What is it? Tell me.”

“It’s… I heard there’s a rather special way to study.”

Zhou Yuan began to falter.

“It requires the teacher to take off her clothes~”

“What are you planning to do?”

Mu Yao covered herself with both hands. Her eyes gradually filled with distrust, as if Zhou Yuan were about to attack her.

“Nothing. I only heard that writing vocabulary on someone’s skin helps them memorize it.”

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged, her back straight as she fully entered the role of a studious student.

“Hmm? What’s the principle behind that?”

Mu Yao had to ask for clarification. What if Zhou Yuan had simply made it up?

“And why did the Chinese textbook in your hand suddenly turn into an English textbook?! If Sichuan opera didn’t invite you to perform your face-changing routine, it would be wasting a national treasure!”

“Ahem. That’s not important. Have you heard of a human banquet? Food is placed on someone’s body for guests to taste. I think the principle is probably similar. The goal is to leave a deeper impression~”

“Why do I feel like you’re tricking me…?”

Even so, Mu Yao took off her outer jacket. She already exposed plenty of skin whenever she came out after showering. Zhou Yuan should’ve seen enough by now.

“What could I possibly gain from taking advantage of you? I’m a girl, too.”

Zhou Yuan spoke while her eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Your eyes are making that very hard to believe! I’m only taking off one jacket, okay? And remember, don’t use a marker that won’t wash off. Honestly, you’re impossible.”

Mu Yao decided to trust Zhou Yuan for now. After the tutoring session, she would quiz her. If Zhou Yuan couldn’t answer, Mu Yao wouldn’t let her try this again. From then on, she would reject every unreasonable request.

If it actually worked, though, she might consider continuing.

The mental hurdle wasn’t a big deal. Could another girl really overpower her?

The main problem was Zhou Yuan staring at her so intently. It made Mu Yao feel a little awkward. Otherwise, everything was fine.

“Don’t write words like apple and banana! Are you trying to fool around?”

“Could you press a little harder? That tickles~”

“What am I going to do if I regret this…?”

…

“All done! Twenty words to start. They’re all words that are easy to confuse. I mix them up all the time.”

Zhou Yuan capped the marker. Nearly every sensitive spot Mu Yao had exposed was covered in English vocabulary.

“Tell me, what words could apple and banana possibly be confused with?”

Mu Yao pointed at the crook of her arm and the area near her armpit.