Half an hour slipped by.

With a crisp beep, the lights in the room came on.

Ye Yubai asked in surprise, “Gan Lan, when did you learn to predict things so accurately?”

Gan Lan waved a hand.

“It’s nothing.”

She kept her good deed to herself.

Ye Yubai gazed at her like she was his idol. “So, can we start catching the mouse now?”

Gan Lan gave a quiet “Mm” and casually closed the door.

Ye Yubai brought her a table and chairs and set them in front of the door.

“What now?” he asked, watching her nervously.

Gan Lan rolled up her sleeves, grabbed a stool, and gave him a cool glance.

“Take off your shoes and sit on the bed. Stay out of the way.”

...

Ten minutes later.

Gan Lan dropped the bloodstained stool and picked up a dustpan and broom. She swept up the dead rat and dumped it into a trash bag.

Ye Yubai watched her, trembling.

Well, damn.

That had been a close call.

The rat had thrashed around in its death throes, then leaped into the air, nearly landing on his bed. It had scared him half to death.

Luckily, Gan Lan had been quick on the draw and knocked the rat flat with a single swing of the stool.

Ye Yubai was so moved, he was nearly in tears.

Was this really his childhood friend, the one who used to be such a scaredy-cat?

She seemed so reliable!

“Don’t just stand there watching. Take the trash bag out and throw it away.”

Gan Lan said, then added,

“And don’t forget what you just promised me. You’re in charge of cleaning the common areas for the next two weeks.”

Ye Yubai gave her a complicated look. “Come on, Gan Lan. It’s you and me—there’s no need to be so particular.” Heaven knew how much he hated doing housework.

Gan Lan said, “There is.”

She wasn’t Ye Yubai’s free housekeeper, much less his personal maid.

If they were going to split everything fifty-fifty, then they had to split everything fifty-fifty.

She couldn’t let him keep taking advantage of her for free.

More importantly, she had to teach Ye Yubai to be civilized and keep things clean. She couldn’t just stand by and watch him get sloppier and sloppier!

It was for his own good—and for the sake of all his little fangirls, too.

Thinking about it that way, Gan Lan felt pretty great about herself.

Once she’d made up her mind, she headed out with her backpack.

Ye Yubai hurried after her and grabbed her by the wrist.

“Gan Lan, wait! Let’s sleep together tonight!”

Gan Lan stiffened.

She turned around.

Ye Yubai was looking at her with the pitiful eyes of an abandoned puppy.

She casually pulled free of his grip.

They were a man and a woman, so of course they couldn’t sleep together.

She wouldn’t let the accident from her past life—when they’d ended up sharing a bed—happen again in this one.

“We need to keep our distance. Don’t just barge into my room whenever you feel like it. Good night.”

Gan Lan said it stiffly, then hurried into her room.

Ye Yubai was left standing there alone, rubbing his chin as he stared at her door.

In the darkness, a glint flickered in his eyes.

“Gan Lan’s acting really strange today.”

If she didn’t want him coming in whenever he pleased, then he’d just have to come in whenever he pleased.

Having made up his mind, Ye Yubai went back to his room, grabbed a few clothes and a piece of wire, then went to Gan Lan’s door and knocked.

When she didn’t answer, he went straight to picking the lock.

Gan Lan finally lost patience and opened the door.

“What do you want?!”

“I... I’m scared there might still be mice in my room. I’m sleeping with you.”

As he spoke, Ye Yubai squeezed his way inside.

He tossed the pile of clothes in his hands onto Gan Lan’s chair, kicked off his shoes, and sprawled across her bed.

Gan Lan said, “I wonder what your fangirls would think if they saw you acting like this.”

Ye Yubai grinned. “They won’t see! Just keep it a secret!”

Gan Lan said, “You’re huge. You’ve taken up half the bed. Where am I supposed to sleep?”

Ye Yubai spread his arms and gave her a lecherous grin. “Come on, I’ll hold you while we sleep.”

Gan Lan: “...”

Just looking at this shameless guy gave Gan Lan a headache.

After thinking it over for a few minutes, she started gathering up her bedding and clothes.

Ye Yubai thought she’d come around. Instead, he heard her open the door and leave.

He sat bolt upright.

“Gan Lan, where are you going?”

“If you’re sleeping in my room, then I’m sleeping in yours.”

Before she left, Gan Lan even took Ye Yubai’s lock-picking tools with her.

When Ye Yubai tried to use the same trick again, he realized his tools were gone and could only sigh in dismay.

“Gan Lan’s acting really strange.”

He sat cross-legged on Gan Lan’s bed, rubbing his chin as he thought it over.

“That girl never used to avoid me like this. Could she be dating someone?”

As he thought about it, his gaze fell on Gan Lan’s backpack.

“Hmm. Let’s see if there’s anything interesting in here.”

...

A few minutes later.

Ye Yubai found the postcard, and his expression immediately darkened.

“So, Meimei...”

“Flirting with me wasn’t enough—you had to go after my best friend, too?”

“You’ve got some nerve.”

Ye Yubai squeezed the postcard hard, then tossed it into the trash.

He folded his arms and sulked for quite a while.

“Wait. Gan Lan’s so naive and doesn’t know how to turn people down. She’ll definitely get tricked by those bad women.”

“No way. I have to go on this date!”

“I have to protect Gan Lan. If I don’t, no one will!”

A tremendous sense of responsibility welled up inside him for no clear reason.

“If I’m going on a date, shouldn’t I think about what to wear today?”

With that thought, he immediately got out of bed and started trying on clothes.

As he tried them on, his expression darkened.

“Heh. I’m an idiot. There’s a much more direct way to ruin their little scheme.”

If he kept Gan Lan with him, those women wouldn’t get the chance, would they?

...

Meanwhile.

Lying in Ye Yubai’s bed, Gan Lan was tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

“By now, Ye Yubai should’ve seen that postcard.”

She sighed and sat up.

“Maybe testing him like this isn’t very nice.”

Ye Yubai was still just an ordinary high schooler right now.

“Maybe I should go get that postcard back after all?”

Uneasy, Gan Lan got out of bed and quietly opened the door.

“But if I really do that, could I change history? If I remember right, Meimei was one of his many ex-girlfriends!”

The more Gan Lan thought about it, the more conflicted she felt.

She walked back to her room and was just about to knock.

But her hand hovered in midair, unable to come down.

A hand suddenly reached out from inside, grabbed her, and pulled her in.

“Gan Lan.”

He said her name, his voice serious.

“Hm?”

Gan Lan didn’t dare look up at him. She could only stare at the floor.

Ye Yubai had her cornered in the narrow space between him and the door.

“You were so sure I’d go see a movie with Meimei, weren’t you?”

“...”

Ye Yubai tipped up her chin and narrowed his eyes, glaring at her coldly.

“Then let me tell you right now: I’m not going with her tomorrow, or the day after, or ever.”

Gan Lan stared at him blankly.

He poked her forehead.

“This weekend, you and I are going. Just the two of us.”