NOVEL NEXT 35. A Fateful Encounter
“Ugh~”
Ye Xuan groggily woke from her sleep, suddenly realizing that there were two people lying beside her. No! There were two of them. Only then did she remember—this was Ling Ning’s place.
Staring blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling, she couldn’t even recall when she had fallen asleep. She wanted to grab her phone to check the time, but found it wasn’t beside her pillow. Instead, it was charging on the desk.
“Sigh~”
With a helpless sigh, Ye Xuan glanced at Ling Ning, who was sound asleep beside her. Quietly, she slipped out of bed, tiptoed over to the desk, and picked up her phone, finding that it was just past 3 a.m. No wonder it was still pitch dark outside. It seemed like a good idea to head back to sleep.
Just then, in the faint light from her phone, Ye Xuan’s gaze fell on Ling Ning’s delicate feet. For some reason, her eyes seemed glued to them, unable to move away.
Slowly, she stepped back towards the bed, reaching out her right hand, her intentions unclear, but she managed to hold herself back. Silently, she chanted, “I’m not a pervert,” then decisively lay back down, deciding it was better not to see.
However, Ye Xuan’s eyes soon opened again. She found herself completely unable to fall asleep, her mind restless, and every time she closed her eyes, all she could see were Ling Ning’s pure, flawless little feet.
“Could I be… a pervert?” Ye Xuan questioned herself in her heart. She had never felt this way when looking at anyone else’s feet before, so why did seeing Ling Ning’s make her feel… almost like love at first sight?
Ye Xuan covered her face with her hands. She refused to admit that she had a foot fetish.
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“What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well last night?” Ling Ning asked, concerned, as she noticed Ye Xuan looking exhausted.
“It’s nothing, I was just thinking about some things,” Ye Xuan replied.
Since waking up at three in the morning, she hadn’t slept a wink, her mind filled with questions about whether or not she really had a foot fetish. There were several moments when she almost acted on her impulses, but reason held her back every time. She had this nagging feeling that if she gave in, she’d lose something important.
“Or… maybe I should just lick them?” The sudden thought startled Ye Xuan, and she quickly shook her head, trying to banish the ridiculous notion. How could she think of something so perverted?
Ling Ning gave Ye Xuan a curious look. Since waking up, something had felt off, but since Ye Xuan wasn’t saying anything, Ling Ning decided not to press her. Turning away, she headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Breakfast was a simple bowl of noodle soup, but with Ling Ning’s cooking skills, it had a unique flavor. Ye Xuan even went for seconds, something she rarely did.
After breakfast, Ling Ning left Ling Ye’s pocket money on the table and then left for work with Ye Xuan.
On their way to work, Ling Ning couldn’t shake the feeling that Ye Xuan was looking at her strangely, her gaze frequently drifting towards her legs—much like the male customers at the café usually did. But Ye Xuan was always so aloof. There was no way she could be doing that, right? It had to be her imagination.
However, Ling Ning soon realized it wasn’t her imagination. Throughout the entire workday, she caught Ye Xuan repeatedly staring at her legs, making her wonder if there was something wrong with her stockings. Were they torn?
“Ye Xuan, um… is there something wrong with my legs?” Ling Ning finally asked, unable to bear it any longer.
“N-no, nothing at all.”
Ye Xuan’s face remained as indifferent as ever, but inwardly, she was a bundle of nerves. She had no idea why her eyes kept drifting to Ling Ning’s legs and feet all day.
“Ling Ning, your regular customer is here again. And this time, he brought a pair of high heels!” Zhou Xiaoxiao’s voice rang out, filled with schadenfreude. Ling Ning could only sigh and head over to deal with the troublesome “godlike” customer.
Watching Ling Ning leave, Ye Xuan finally let out a breath of relief. If Ling Ning had kept questioning her, she truly wouldn’t have known how to respond.
“I’m stepping out for some fresh air.”
Ye Xuan went over to the counter and told Chu Mengyao before heading outside without waiting for a reply. The sky was covered in dark clouds, with flashes of lightning visible in the distance—it looked like a storm was brewing.
She headed to a nearby shop and, to the cashier’s surprise, bought a pack of cigarettes—strong ones, not the kind marketed to women. She opened the pack, pulled one out, and lit it up, exhaling a cloud of smoke.
She couldn’t even remember the last time she had smoked. She only smoked when she was really stressed out. The feeling of nicotine flooding her lungs made it seem like she was exhaling something more than just smoke—perhaps all her frustrations too.
The cigarette didn’t last long, and once it was done, Ye Xuan put out the butt and tossed it, along with the rest of the pack and her lighter, into the trash. Just as she was about to head back to the café, she noticed a USB drive on the ground, marked with the words “TOP SECRET.”
Curious, Ye Xuan picked it up and examined it. It looked like an ordinary USB drive—likely dropped by someone by accident.
She looked around, but there was no one in sight. She figured she’d take it back to the café for safekeeping. If someone came looking for it, she could return it.
Back in the café, Ye Xuan casually placed the USB drive on the counter.
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Shortly after Ye Xuan returned, a shifty-looking man came by, his head down as he searched for something. He was having the worst luck—just recently, he had lost a hard drive full of mother-daughter yuri content that he had collected over three years. And now, he had misplaced his foot-fetish yuri drive.
He scoured the area thoroughly but found nothing. Scratching his chin, he thought carefully. It seemed like the USB drive had gone missing after he had left the maid café. Could it have fallen inside?
His eyes turned to the café, but the idea of his “study material” being inside made him hesitate. What if the contents had already been discovered? If he went in to ask, he’d certainly be labeled a pervert.
The man stood at the café entrance for a while, torn between options, but in the end, he chose to leave. It looked like he’d have to start his collection all over again. Though he had five more USB drives like this one, losing even one felt like a real blow. He needed to be more careful in the future—this was a treasure beyond value. If it fell into the hands of someone worthy, that would be one thing, but if it ended up in the hands of someone with ill intent, it could be disastrous.
He gave the café one last, lingering look, shook his head, and walked away. There was an unmistakable air of melancholy in his retreating figure.
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Author’s Note:
The salted fish is dying~ Will resurrect tomorrow.