NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17 - Heroine's self-destructive tendencies
Tang Yuan patted her chest and assured her, “Don’t worry, I’ll show you what it means to be a professional!”
Jiang Zi chuckled lightly.
After she had finished blowing her hair, Tang Yuan sprawled smoothly on Jiang Zi’s bed, holding her phone and scrolling through the videos.
Jiang Zi put away the hairdryer, grabbed her pyjamas and headed to the bathroom for a shower. When she returned, she saw Tang Yuan swinging her soft pink little feet in the air. The silk hem of her dress barely covered her thighs, revealing her slender, smooth legs. Imagine those legs wrapped around her waist, leaving red marks…
Jiang Zi’s fingertips trembled slightly, her gaze darkened, and she walked over to the bed, pulling the blanket up to cover Tang Yuan’s legs.
The sudden warmth made Tang Yuan turn to look at her. Jiang Zi was now dressed in a royal blue silk pyjama set, long sleeves and pants covering her arms and legs, with the top button fastened. Only a tiny glimpse of her collarbone could be seen from the modest V-neck.
Tang Yuan openly eyed her up and down before propping herself up with her hands. She patted the spot beside her, “Come over here; I found the video. Let’s practice this.”
Jiang Zi glanced at her phone. The video on her phone showed two girls dancing provocatively. As their hips swayed, the air thickened with a suggestive atmosphere. The title read, ‘Troublemaker’.
After calming her emotions, Jiang Zi sat down in the spot Tang Yuan had pointed out.
“See,” Tang Yuan scooted closer, pressing her arm against Jiang Zi’s, and replayed the video. “The dance moves aren’t too complicated. We can master it in seven days. I’ll do the female role since it’s a bit harder, and you learn the male part.”
Jiang Zi watched the two women on the screen swaying their hips in sync with the beat, their eyes radiating allure.
She understood. The essence of this dance was all about creating an air of ambiguity.
Seeing the look on Jiang Zi’s face, as if the video completely entranced her, a mischievous idea began forming in Tang Yuan’s mind.
“Should I take this chance to twist and sway to seduce sister?”
“I’ve learned this dance after watching the video twice. Just watch me control her, hehehe.”
Tang Yuan cleared her throat, just about to speak, when Jiang Zi suddenly turned her back to her and reached out to turn off the bedside light.
The room was plunged into darkness, and it took a while for Tang Yuan’s eyes to adjust before she could make out the faint outline of Jiang Zi. She blinked and reached to place her hand on Jiang Zi’s shoulder.
“Sister? Are you sleepy?”
Jiang Zi gave a soft hmph in response and gently brushed Tang Yuan’s hand away. She lay down, resting her head on the pillow, her eyes dim as she glanced at the confused girl still sitting in the dark.
She was afraid—afraid of Tang Yuan teasing and seducing her like this. In such a situation, she feared she wouldn’t be able to resist and might end up taking advantage of her.
Tang Yuan sighed inwardly with regret, and the room was too dark for her to notice Jiang Zi’s reddened ears.
Her eyes darted around, and slowly, she moved to the other side of the bed, lying down as well.
There were two pillows on this bed. Wasn’t this a perfect opportunity for her?
She tugged on the blanket, pulling it over herself. After a moment, she felt it was unfair, so she pulled out half of it and spread it over Jiang Zi.
“Well… goodnight?”
“Goodnight.”
Seeing that Jiang Zi had no intention of driving her away, Tang Yuan closed her eyes, feeling happy.
Before long, steady breathing filled the room. Jiang Zi turned to her side, watching her sleeping face. She really had it easy—eyes closed, fast asleep, without a trace of burden.
Jiang Zi lay awake until the middle of the night, her restlessness growing stronger by the minute.
The voice in her mind was unbearable, nagging her relentlessly to reach out to Chu Yu, urging her to lower her pride and reconcile.
Jiang Zi opened her eyes and sat up, glancing at the girl beside her. She slept peacefully, with only a few occasional turns, never making any large movements. She always kept a distance—not too close, but not too far either.
Such a beautiful night, ruined by this wretched plot pulling her down.
She carefully got out of bed, took a small knife from the nightstand, and walked toward the bathroom.
[Warning! Warning! Heroine’s self-destructive tendencies detected! Host, stop her immediately!]
[Warning! Warning…]
Tang Yuan was jolted awake by the system’s alarm. She shot up from the bed, her eyes still not fully open, but the system’s words resounded in her head once again.
[Heroine’s self-destructive tendencies detected! Host, stop her immediately!]
Tang Yuan finally came to her senses. She looked at the empty space beside her and, panicking, jumped out of bed without even putting on her slippers.
“Jiang Zi!”
In her haste, she banged her waist against something, fumbling to find the switch and turning on the room’s lights.
In the bathroom, Jiang Zi stood in front of the mirror, her gaze unfocused. She looked down at her palm, where bright red blood bloomed vividly across the white sink.
This time, she had cut open her palm, so there was a lot of blood. But it wasn’t enough. She even wondered if she had grown numb to the pain.
“Jiang Zi!”
The anxious voice broke into Jiang Zi’s ears, pulling her back to reality. She glanced down at her injured hand and quickly turned on the faucet, running water over it. Without realizing it, she had turned on the hot water, but she didn’t care. She focused on using the water to wash the blood from the sink.
Steam began to fog up the mirror, blurring her reflection, but the more she rinsed, the more blood flowed. Panic started to rise within her. She didn’t want Tang Yuan to see this—especially not in the middle of the night. It would definitely scare her.
“Jiang Zi!”
The voice called out again, and this time, there was a knock on the bathroom door.
Jiang Zi forced herself to calm down. She grabbed a towel from the nearby rack, wrapping it loosely around her body. Her gaze lowered as she slipped out of her nightgown entirely, letting the towel loosely cover her before slowly walking over to open the door.
Tang Yuan raised her hand, about to knock again, but the door opened from the inside. The room was filled with steam, and Jiang Zi stood there holding the towel with one hand, her other hand gripping the door handle. Her gaze was as calm as a deep, still pool.
Tang Yuan swallowed nervously, but she remembered why she was here.
The towel was short and hastily wrapped, hanging loosely around Jiang Zi’s body as if it might fall at any moment. So she clutched it tightly with one hand to keep it in place.
Water droplets clung to her collarbone, sliding down her graceful neck, and her smooth legs still glistened with moisture, creating a strangely alluring scene, like a goddess emerging from the water.
Tang Yuan, flustered, forced herself to stop looking and met Jiang Zi’s eyes directly. “You—what were you doing in there?”
“Taking a shower.”
“In the middle of the night?”
“Yeah.” Jiang Zi’s face betrayed nothing.
Tang Yuan quietly observed her momentarily, then said, “Stop showering and come back to bed. I had a nightmare. I’m scared.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Zi turned and shut the door, but a hint of frustration crossed her face.
This time, the cut was a little deep, and there was nothing in the bathroom to stop the bleeding. If she just went out like this, it would definitely raise suspicion.
She regretted not telling Tang Yuan to sleep in her own room earlier.
But then again… she said she had a nightmare.
“Jiang Zi!”
The voice outside urged her again.
Jiang Zi sighed silently.
She rinsed her palm under cold water and grabbed some tissue to stop the bleeding. She figured she could turn off the lights once she returned to the room to avoid any questions.
However, when she stepped out of the bathroom, she was met with an unexpected sight—Tang Yuan had set down a box she had been holding. She opened it on the bed, revealing a small first-aid kit. In that brief time, Tang Yuan had returned to her own room to fetch it.
“What are you standing there for? Come here!” she barked, her face wearing a fierce expression.
It was… kind of cute.