Ashe had slept very deeply. When she woke, Qilin and Rui Mengmeng, who had stayed by her side, were asleep beside her.
A ray of sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains and fell across Ashe. Its warmth helped her feel more awake.
She glanced at the two beside her.
A smile crept onto Ashe's lips. She reached out and lightly traced a finger over each of their noses.
Rui Mengmeng's brow furrowed. She let out a soft "Mmm~," nuzzled her pillow twice, then sank back into a deep sleep.
The instant Ashe touched the tip of Qilin's nose, Qilin's eyelids twitched and she slowly opened her eyes.
There was none of the grogginess most people felt upon waking in her gaze.
Qilin's bright eyes met Ashe's directly, making Ashe feel a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, I woke you. Want to sleep a little longer? It's still early."
"It's fine. I don't need to."
Her lips moved as she answered Ashe's question, and Qilin looked her up and down.
"How are you feeling? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry." Those two simple words were enough; Ashe knew Qilin didn't need her to say more.
"That's good. Sister Lian Feng and Sister Yu Qin said yesterday that they wanted to give you a thorough examination once you woke up."
"But I knew you'd guess you were just pretending. So I told them you were asleep and that they could have you see them tomorrow."
"Mm, sure. I'm really fine. I don't even have a scratch. I'm just a little tired."
Ashe explained, but didn't ask why Qilin knew she had been pretending.
After all these years together, Qilin could read Ashe's thoughts from the tiniest expression or gesture.
If anything were really wrong with Ashe, Qilin would spot it at a glance.
Most of the time, they understood each other without needing to say a word.
For instance, Qilin now slapped away the wandering hand of someone trying to cross the line.
She rolled her eyes at Ashe and said crossly, "You've barely been awake a minute and you're already acting up. Behave yourself today."
"I still haven't settled the score with you over what happened in the bathroom that day!"
"Wait, you're still holding that against me? You seemed pretty—"
"Hmph!" Qilin glared with her bright eyes and pouted, her cheeks flushing. She fixed Ashe with a look that said, Say another word and you'll regret it.
Honestly, she really was impossibly cute.
Seeing that, Ashe could only smile and raise both hands in surrender while still lying in bed.
At that, Qilin's anger turned to laughter, and her smile was unbearably sweet.
There was something so delightful about making Ashe admit defeat.
Qilin sprang lightly out of bed.
With a practiced flick, she gathered her hair in her left hand and looped a hair tie around it with her right.
Then she headed for the kitchen attached to the dorm room.
"Rose said the academy cafeteria still needs a little more time to get ready."
"She said it'll take a while for them to deliver the special ingredients they're preparing for us."
"While you were asleep, I went out and bought some food. Go take a shower first. I'll make breakfast."
"Okay, okay."
Without wasting a moment, Ashe gave Rui Mengmeng's slightly chubby cheeks a couple of gentle pinches.
Her lips were parted, and she looked completely content. Ashe figured the girl was probably dreaming about eating something delicious.
She smiled to herself, got out of bed, and went into the bathroom.
Meanwhile, next door, in Rose's dorm room.
Rose had been awake for a while. Sitting at her dressing table, she let out an involuntary sigh.
Once again, Ashe had filled her thoughts all night. But maybe she was getting used to it—or maybe watching the recording of Ashe's fight in the street had shaken her—because Rose had slept surprisingly well. She had even dreamed that she and Ashe... Sigh.
"What a cursed connection!" Rose had no idea how to describe what she was feeling. For once, even she, usually so sharp-tongued, couldn't find the words to roast herself.
And with nowhere to vent, all she knew was that her feelings were a tangled mess.
It wasn't as if she could go ask her old man for advice about this.
She pictured herself carefully asking her old man, who had devoted his heart to the country, what she should do when she couldn't stop thinking about a girl.
Rose could imagine him staring at her in stunned silence for a second, then taking her straight to a psychologist.
Forget it. The thought was too mortifying. Rose didn't want to picture it.
She sighed and kneaded her cheeks twice.
"A bunch of hopeless weirdos, a roommate with gender identity issues, and now me on top of that. How are we supposed to fight aliens?"
"The road ahead is bleak. This is downright horrifying!"
Rose shook her head, deciding she'd better stop overthinking it.
After tidying up and putting on some makeup, she instinctively reached for the flashy jacket on her bed, then paused.
Why was she dressing up so nicely to go pick up that loser?
She put the jacket down and dug a plaid shirt she'd bought ages ago out of her closet.
"Yeah, this'll do."
After studying herself in the mirror, Rose walked out of her dorm.
At the same time, Ashe had finished showering and eating breakfast. Having lived a previous life, she had kept her old habits; when it came to things like showering and eating, she was unusually quick.
She changed into the tracksuit Qilin had prepared.
After letting Qilin know, Ashe was about to head out for a workout.
Just as she opened the door, Rose happened to be walking by and turned around.
Their eyes met, and both of them paused.
Ashe thought, Dressed like that, she must be going to pick up Ge Xiaolun.
Rose thought, Dressed like that, won't Ge Xiaolun start mooning over her again when he sees her?
Should I tell her Ajie sold her out?
Before you continue