Chapter 255: Truth or Dare |
The air was thick with awkwardness and confusion.
Jiang Xueli’s jealousy, He Qing’s doubts, and Han Wenwen’s panic.
All those emotions tangled together, making time itself feel like it had slowed down.
The little fox was the first to break the silence with a dry laugh. “X-Xiao Qingqing, I just happened to be going to the bathroom and thought I’d stop by to check if Lin Zhengran was asleep.”
He Qing looked back at Han Wenwen but said nothing.
Her round almond-shaped eyes blinked twice.
Even with her smiling expression, Han Wenwen had cold sweat forming on her forehead. She knew full well that excuse made no sense.
After all, Xiao Qingqing and Lili were clearly Brother Zhengran’s girlfriends. Her sneaking into his room in the middle of the night? There was no way to justify that.
No excuse could cover it up.
Her question made the situation even messier. He Qing glanced at Lili and noticed the unusually strong jealousy on her face.
At that moment, Lin Zhengran let out a quiet sigh. Just from those few eye exchanges, he’d already figured out the gist of what was going on.
Clearly, tonight wasn’t going to end peacefully.
But since all three girls were his, as the “man of the house,” Lin Zhengran had to step up and sort things out.
A few minutes later, Jiang Xueli, Little He Qing, and Han Wenwen were all sitting on their respective beds.
Lin Zhengran put on a jacket. There was no way he’d be sleeping tonight.
He looked at jealous Lili first. He’d already noticed something was off with her back when they went out to buy noodles—she called his name but didn’t bring up anything specific. Now he finally understood what had been on her mind.
Jiang Xueli, seeing Lin Zhengran looking at her, turned her jealous gaze away and said nothing.
Then Lin Zhengran looked at Little He Qing, who was sitting on the middle bed. The afternoon’s intimacy between them flashed through her mind the moment she felt his gaze.
A blush appeared on He Qing’s face as she gave him a sweet, obedient smile.
But her eyes also drifted toward the little fox by the bed.
Finally, Lin Zhengran looked at the little fox herself. Han Wenwen bit her lower lip, staring at the floor.
Lin Zhengran spoke. “Let me explain—”
But Han Wenwen interrupted, “Let me talk to Xiao Qingqing.”
At this point, Han Wenwen knew there was no hiding it. Even though Xiao Qingqing hadn’t seen anything concrete, the way she had looked at her just now clearly showed she already suspected something.
There was no way to keep it a secret anymore. And since it had been her idea to keep everyone in the dark in the first place, it was better for her to come clean rather than let Brother Zhengran take the fall—it would seem like he was avoiding responsibility.
Lin Zhengran saw Han Wenwen looking up at him and gently asked, “You sure? It might be hard for you to explain.”
Han Wenwen smiled. “A little, yeah. But I’ll talk to Xiao Qingqing alone. Brother Zhengran, you go comfort Lili…”
The clever Han Wenwen also realized that Lili’s jealousy stemmed from Xiao Qingqing. But since Lili had been asleep at the time, she didn’t know exactly what had happened.
Still, the moment “Brother Zhengran” came out of Han Wenwen’s mouth—
Both He Qing and Jiang Xueli froze.
They’d never heard Han Wenwen call Lin Zhengran that before. In their minds, she’d always addressed him as “Lin Zhengran” in a formal way, for years without change.
Lin Zhengran turned back to He Qing. “He Qing.”
Little He Qing blinked, then responded, staring at him. Even if she wasn’t the brightest, she could sense something from the way he was looking at her.
Was Lin Zhengran... into Wenwen too?
Her little face showed a trace of jealousy, but she still nodded, as if to say, “Don’t worry, Wenwen and I will talk it out.”
No fighting.
Lin Zhengran smiled and patted Little He Qing’s head. Seeing that, Jiang Xueli’s jealousy flared again. Her small hand clenched the blanket, and her heart tightened for a moment.
Until Lin Zhengran walked over and said, “Put on a jacket. Want to take a walk with me?”
Jiang Xueli looked puzzled. “W-Where are we going...?”
Lin Zhengran didn’t say much. Jiang Xueli just grabbed her coat from the bed, glanced back at He Qing, and followed him out.
The door clicked softly shut behind them.
Now only Han Wenwen and Little He Qing remained in the room.
The two best friends who used to talk about everything were now sitting in silence for the first time.
Han Wenwen parted her lips to speak, but before she could say anything, Little He Qing got out of bed, stepped into her slippers, and went to flush the toilet.
With all that had just happened, she’d completely forgotten to flush earlier.
The sound of running water echoed in the silence.
He Qing stood at the bathroom door, looking at Han Wenwen.
Han Wenwen looked back at her.
They stared at each other for a while.
Then both smiled at the same time. Little He Qing’s voice was soft and sweet. “I brought a deck of cards. Wenwen, want to play? Whoever loses has to tell the truth—no lying allowed.”
Han Wenwen understood what she was trying to do, and slowly nodded. “Okay.”
Meanwhile, out on the street—it was only a bit past 9 PM, so the place wasn’t deserted.
In fact, it was lively. The snack street wasn’t jam-packed, but you could see laughing couples and tourists everywhere you looked.
The mountains after rain carried a fresh, cool scent.
Lin Zhengran and Jiang Xueli strolled through the snack street.
He asked if she was hungry.
Jiang Xueli shook her head. “We already ate, remember? I don’t eat as much as He Qing and Han Wenwen, and I’m not big on snacks.”
Lin Zhengran looked at the naturally tsundere Jiang Xueli. “You’re jealous, huh?”
Jiang Xueli hadn’t expected him to say it so bluntly. She stammered, “E-Even if I try to act tough and say I’m not jealous… who’d believe that?”
Lin Zhengran spotted a small lookout platform ahead.
Since it was late, the mountain below was pitch-black and there wasn’t much of a view. Hardly anyone was there.
“Let’s go over there.”
The two of them slowly made their way to the platform.
There wasn’t a soul in sight—and no lights.
They stood by the railing, looking down the mountain.
Jiang Xueli leaned against it. “It’s so dark. Can’t see anything down there. Kinda creepy.”
Lin Zhengran smiled. “Scared?”
Jiang Xueli snorted. “As if. I’m not that cowardly… Besides, you’re right here with me. I’m not scared at all. The only thing I’m scared of in this whole life is…”
She paused, then mumbled softly, “...is you suddenly not liking me anymore.”
“That’s impossible. If I like someone, I like them all the way. Honestly, I think I’m a really devoted guy.”
Jiang Xueli pursed her lips. Her expression changed a little.
“I believe the first part. But the rest? You’re kidding, right? It’s not like I just met you today, you dummy.”
Lin Zhengran chuckled.
“When you looked at He Qing back in the room, you were super jealous. Were you about to ask what happened between me and her this afternoon? Me and her, earlier, we…”
Jiang Xueli’s lips trembled. From his tone, she already knew the answer. She quickly cut him off. “Zhengran, don’t say it! I-I’ll cry.”
Lin Zhengran looked at her.
Jiang Xueli’s voice had turned hoarse. She said slowly:
“I only realized today just how selfish I really am. I don’t want you doing... that kind of stuff with anyone else.”
Her voice cracked. “I know we all agreed it’s every girl for herself, but I can lose at anything—except losing you. I thought I could accept you being intimate with He Qing, but just imagining you two doing those things today… I got super jealous. It hurt so much. It made me not even care about the music competition I’ve looked forward to for so long.”
Her tsundere eyes looked out into the dark, wiping her tears with her sleeve.
“You know you’ve always been the most important thing to me... nothing else compares. You…”
Her emotions suddenly broke. Her eyes welled up.
“You didn’t really do it with He Qing, did you? Waaah! Why didn’t you choose me?! I was so ready for this trip, and I still ended up being the loser!”
She cried hard in front of Lin Zhengran.
He reached out and pulled her into a hug.
Jiang Xueli cried even harder in his arms, like her heart was breaking.
Lin Zhengran stroked her head gently. “What do you mean, ‘loser’? It’s not like we broke up.”
“Waaah! Zhengran… I feel so selfish. I know both me and He Qing are your girlfriends. I know I already agreed. But I still get jealous… especially about your first time!”
“It’s not selfish. That’s just being human. I mean, I like all of you—that’s why I want all of you.”
“Waaah! You big playboy!”
“There, cry it out. You’ll feel better. But tell me the truth—do you hate He Qing?”
“No! I don’t hate her. We’re actually pretty close. We’re all good sisters. But… that was your first time! Hurry and comfort me, Zhengran, I’m heartbroken! You know I’m usually strong, but I can’t stop crying, waaah!”
Lin Zhengran noticed a storage room next to the platform. Though it was locked, that didn’t stop him from opening it.
Time to find a quiet place and really comfort her.
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