Rain pattered softly outside the window, tapping against the glass. The night view beyond it was blurred.

They played until eleven. Lin An received Xiao Chacha’s transfer and accepted it all. At this hour, she was usually about to log off too, so he asked if she wanted to sleep first.

Xiao Chacha seemed to catch the extra meaning in his words. She murmured softly, “Yeah, I should sleep. I still have to go apologize tomorrow. I’ll probably get scolded to death, so I need to rest up.”

“Then good night, Lin An. Mua~”

As she said that, she left the voice call before he did. At eleven, Lin An stood by the window and glanced at the rain outside. He tried softly calling Xu Qinghuan’s name twice, and Xu Qinghuan walked into his room.

“Hm?” Xu Qinghuan gently rubbed her eyes and asked, “What is it?”

“You’re back... I thought you still weren’t home. I was about to call you.” Lin An scratched his head.

Xu Qinghuan was wearing the new black nightgown she’d bought. It looked even cooler than before, and the hem was shorter too. She seemed to really like wearing this kind of seductive clothing in front of Lin An.

The neckline of the nightgown was very loose, so Lin An could see large stretches of snowy skin.

She walked in, sat on Lin An’s bed, then lazily lay down. Even flat on her back, the curve of her chest was still striking. Lin An looked at her dark, clear eyes, blanked out for a moment, then asked, “What do you want to drink?”

“Mmm, a Moscow Mule.” A mysterious smile touched Xu Qinghuan’s lips.

But Lin An didn’t notice. He only thought it was a coincidence. Yesterday, the drink he’d recommended to Xiao Chacha had also been a Moscow Mule. So he walked out. There happened to be two copper mugs in the house, and the fridge still had what he needed to mix it.

A few minutes later, he came back holding two Moscow Mules. Xu Qinghuan sat up a little, and her chest gave a soft bounce. Judging by the shape, she probably wasn’t wearing a bra again.

Though to be fair, there was no need when sleeping.

This was one of the little perks of a man and woman living together. Xu Qinghuan held her cup and looked into Lin An’s eyes. “Are you trying to get me drunk so it’ll be easier for you to do something weird?”

“What are you even thinking?” Lin An smiled helplessly.

“Hehe, who knows?” Xu Qinghuan crossed her slender legs. The hem of her dress was so short that her white panties were showing, but Lin An didn’t care. He was used to it. He’d long since gotten tired of seeing it.

“You spent all night playing games with that little one?”

“Yeah. She’s a patron.” Lin An answered casually.

Xu Qinghuan only blinked, then asked, “Then when you went to see her last night, was she pretty? Her voice sounded nice when I heard it before.”

“Huh? Pretty cute, yeah. But still a bit behind you.”

“You really know how to sweet-talk me.” Xu Qinghuan clearly knew he was being slick, but she still couldn’t help feeling a little pleased.

That was the emotional side of girls.

“Want to guess who I went to see today?” Xu Qinghuan looked into his eyes, teasing at the corners of her lips.

“Huh? Who?”

“A girl we both know. Someone who once left a very heavy mark on your world.” Xu Qinghuan’s voice was calm. She took a sip of her drink, and Lin An came back to himself before asking in return,

“Qin Xueming?”

“Mhm.”

After getting her confirmation, surprise showed on Lin An’s face. The moment he said that name, it was like countless memories rushed into his mind all at once. About two seconds later, he continued, “Why did she want to see you?”

“She asked me about how you’ve been lately.” Xu Qinghuan shrugged.

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” Lin An looked at Xu Qinghuan, unable to guess what she was thinking.

“Do you want me to tell her?” Xu Qinghuan looked into his eyes, waiting for his answer.

“Even if what happened back then was her choice, and maybe she had her reasons, I still won’t forgive her, so...” Lin An spoke gently to Xu Qinghuan. “I’d rather she stayed far away from all of us. Better if we never see each other again in this lifetime. There’s no point paying attention to her.”

“I was just thinking, what if you still had some lingering feelings? Then I could help reconnect you two.” Xu Qinghuan seemed to be in a good mood.

“Oh, stop it. I never want to see her again. You probably wish she’d die sooner. I don’t believe for a second that you’d feel any goodwill toward her.” Lin An saw right through her.

Xu Qinghuan shot him a mildly reproachful look. “So in your heart, I’m that kind of bad woman?”

Lin An walked over and sat beside her. Then he put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his arms. “Alright, alright. Not bad at all. Just a little bad to me.”

“When have I ever?”

“If you say no, then no. But somehow, the worse Xu Qinghuan is, the more I seem to like her.”

“Because that bad Xu Qinghuan doesn’t interfere with your love life. She lets you have your freedom. She gives you the right to fool around, so of course you like that bad Xu Qinghuan, huh.” Xu Qinghuan let out a cold laugh.

“That’s not it.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll still have plenty of freedom for a long time. At least through high school, it’ll stay that way. We’re both still growing, still looking for answers to a lot of questions.”

Xu Qinghuan reached out and gently pinched his earlobe. Her eyes were bright and intoxicating.

“Is this really okay, Xu Qinghuan?”

“I think it’s pretty good.” She smiled. “In a relationship, I don’t want to be the older-sister type who has to take care of a little brother. I want you to grow up faster. Then when you’re by my side, you can take care of me instead. You can control my life.”

“So work hard toward that goal.”

Xu Qinghuan held the copper mug and drank the last mouthful. Then she set it down, climbed onto Lin An’s bed, flopped backward, and rolled around on it a few times.

“Then I’m sleeping here tonight.”

“Has today’s torture already started?” Lin An looked at her with a bitter smile.

“Hehe.” Xu Qinghuan’s smile was innocent and pure. She lifted a corner of the blanket and slipped inside, then blinked at Lin An, her eyes practically saying, Come play, come play.

Even though she wouldn’t give Lin An anything in the end, she loved the process very much.

The night was long.

The next morning, Xiao Chacha woke up early. Her home was large, but empty. Unlike Su Yuejin’s place, hers was clean and tidy. A light rain was still falling outside, but it wasn’t cold. If anything, it felt especially cool and refreshing.

In weather like this, Xiao Chacha opened her wardrobe and took a look. It was full of clothes that girls in the lolita and JK circles would envy, but her fingertips brushed over them one by one and passed them all by.

In the end, she picked a loose gray sweater with a koala printed on it. For the bottom, she wore a pair of clean white jeans. Her hair fell naturally down her back. She yawned at the mirror and looked at herself.

She looked pretty lively, at least.

Xiao Chacha washed up. She didn’t put on makeup, and she didn’t bother tying up her hair either, though she did wear a hair tie around her slender wrist. Behind the wall in front of her was a shoe cabinet filled with shoes. In the end, she chose a pair of white canvas sneakers. After putting them on, she slung her little white canvas bag over her shoulder and walked out.

Her car was parked downstairs in the residential complex. She was the kind of girl who drove to and from school every day in an especially flashy way, the kind with especially high visibility on campus.

Xiao Chacha attended a girls’ school. The discipline there was fairly strict, but she often skipped class and disappeared. Even so, because she was the school board chairman’s daughter, the teachers always turned a blind eye.

After arriving at school, Xiao Chacha checked the time. Ten in the morning. It was just the break after first period.

She walked into the classroom, but instead of going to her own seat, she went to another girl’s desk. That girl was about an eight out of ten in looks, the pretty and quiet type.

Of course, she was one of the four girls who had dumped Xiao Chacha that day.

“Chacha.” She turned her head slightly, but her expression was cold.

“Do you still have some sweet words left to say?” the girl murmured softly, looking into her eyes.

But Xiao Chacha put away her usual flirty, cute expression. This time, she was unexpectedly serious as she spoke softly to her.

“I came to apologize to you. No matter what, I owe you an apology.”

The girl across from her froze for a moment.

“Someone like you... can actually apologize seriously?”

Xiao Chacha looked at her like that, but still lowered her head. Very seriously, and full of remorse, she said softly, “I’m sorry. I don’t dare ask for your forgiveness. I only hope that after this... you can go back to living the normal life you want.”

“If you want... we can still be friends. If you ever need help in the future, you can contact me.”

The girl across from her was stunned for several whole seconds. Looking at Xiao Chacha’s humble posture, at the genuine guilt on her face, she let out a soft sigh after two or three seconds.

“I accept your apology.”

“Thank you.”

Xiao Chacha answered softly. She stood up and walked toward the classroom door. But this time, she didn’t put her canvas bag on her desk.

“Chacha?”

“Mm?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong... I’m planning to transfer schools,” Xiao Chacha said softly.

“Why?” The girl didn’t understand.

“I don’t know either. Maybe I just want to start a new life. An adventure I’ve never tried before. A dazzling, bizarre memory. I want to meet someone interesting. Nothing to do with love.”

As she said that, she lightly waved at a girl in the classroom next door, full of mature big-sis aura.

After Xiao Chacha sincerely apologized to the three girls, noon came. She walked out of the school gate, only to unexpectedly see someone she recognized, but wasn’t familiar with.

That person walked toward her step by step.

“Xiao Chacha!” The woman was tall and slender, wearing an aqua-colored long dress, her hair tied up. On a rainy day like this, she was still wearing silver high heels.

Her figure was graceful. The long dress clung to her skin, and her delicate, beautiful face looked like an elf fallen into the mortal world.

Xiao Chacha remembered this person, but didn’t know her well. Still, a few days ago, these people had called to warn her.

And now, this person had walked right up to her.

“Hello.” Xiao Chacha tilted her head, a little confused.

“Hello. I’m Qin Xueming.” The girl looked beautiful and poised, though she was actually the same age as Xiao Chacha.

But the two of them clearly had very different temperaments. One was a youthful, rebellious girl. The other carried an inexplicable air of elegance and nobility.

“Do you need something?” Xiao Chacha had no desire to shake hands. She still had one last girl left to apologize to, but this woman called Qin Xueming blocked her path.

“Tell me, how did you seduce Lin An into bed?”

Her words were so blunt that Xiao Chacha stood there stunned for several seconds.

“Huh?”

Although I haven't decided how many heroines this story will have, it'll probably start with at least six.