"Ap... apologize?"
Gu Chensha froze on the spot.
Putting aside why Ye Lingling had gone out of her way to find him and apologize, the fact that she had managed to find his dorm room was strange enough.
They had only met twice in total:
Once in the Academic Affairs Office.
Once at the scene of last night's fight.
They hadn't even exchanged a single word.
Could they be twins who looked alike?
No, that would mean they had even less of a connection.
"Mm. May I come in and explain?"
Ye Lingling's voice seemed even more nervous than his.
Gu Chensha fell silent for a second, then stepped aside to let her in.
Ye Lingling walked in with her head lowered. As she passed him, she brought with her the faintest scent of begonias.
The fragrance was clean and sweet, yet somehow stirred a sense of incongruity in Gu Chensha.
It felt completely at odds with her usual cold, aloof air, wrapped in black and keeping everyone at a distance.
And there was something else that felt off, though he couldn't put his finger on it.
He casually shut the door, then finally got his first look at her without her black veil.
Today she had changed out of her trademark black clothes and into a knee-length white cotton dress, its hem embroidered with tiny silver begonias.
A pair of thin, gossamer-white stockings covered her slender calves, making her skin look almost translucent.
Against her waterfall of blue hair, she had a startlingly pure beauty.
But that deliberately cultivated softness, paired with her uneasy expression, made the atmosphere in the room feel strangely charged.
A man and a woman alone in one room. He had been in a situation like this before, when Bai Chenxiang had dropped by, but this felt worlds apart.
Gu Chensha's mouth twitched.
Why was this starting to look more and more like the classic opening to one of those indescribable movies from his previous life?
Ye Lingling also quietly surveyed the simple dorm room.
There were no unnecessary decorations. The bed was neatly made, and the desk was clean.
If anything, it hardly looked like the room of a teenage boy.
"Sit down."
Gu Chensha pulled over the only chair and offered it to her, then sat on the bed himself. Whatever her reason for coming, it wouldn't do to make a guest stand.
Ye Lingling sat down gently, placed her hands neatly on her knees, and sat bolt upright, still with her head lowered.
Several times, she seemed about to speak. Her lips moved, but each time she swallowed her words.
After a full half-minute, she finally took a deep breath and looked up, her eyes full of guilt.
"I'm sorry about Orleans."
Gu Chensha raised an eyebrow. "Why are you apologizing for what Orleans did?"
"I told him to test you."
Ye Lingling's voice grew quieter. "I only asked him to test your strength. I didn't expect him to hold a grudge and bring more than a dozen people to surround you."
"...And he said those insulting things to your friends."
"I didn't think it through. I caused you all trouble."
Gu Chensha was taken aback.
He'd already found it strange that a noble like Orleans would suddenly target a new student he barely knew.
So Ye Lingling had been behind it.
But that made even less sense.
He and Ye Lingling had no grudge between them. Why had she sent someone to test him?
Surely it wasn't because their eyes had met in the Academic Affairs Office?
He watched her for a few seconds, then slowly asked, "Why did you want to test me?"
Ye Lingling's body trembled slightly, and she bit her lip even harder.
Her lips parted, as if she wanted to say something.
But when the words reached them, it was as though something had blocked them, and she couldn't force them out.
The girl who usually seemed as if nothing in the world concerned her now sat there like a child who had done something wrong, flustered and helpless, every inch of her radiating awkward embarrassment.
Her mother had only told her to get to know Gu Chensha first, but had repeatedly warned her never to tell him about the family's affairs, or it would only backfire.
Now that he had asked her to her face, though, she couldn't come up with a decent excuse.
What's more, when her mother found out that she had sent Orleans to test him without permission and had nearly caused a serious incident, she had flown into a rage and ordered Ye Lingling to apologize in person, with sincerity.
This was the first time Ye Lingling had had to pay for her own mistake.
She had no idea how to apologize to someone, much less to a boy she had met only twice.
All she could do was awkwardly follow her mother's instructions—and spray on a little of the perfume her mother had given her.
Seeing her eyes grow slightly red, Gu Chensha found himself at a loss.
What kind of turn was this?
Was his question really so hard to answer?
Why did it feel as if he were the one bullying her?
The whole scene looked bizarre. Anyone who didn't know better might think he had gotten hold of the Imperial Fighting Team goddess's weakness and forced her to put on a dress and come to his room to apologize.
He was the one who'd been wronged here.
He sighed inwardly.
Still, Ye Lingling had come forward of her own accord, admitted her mistake sincerely, and apologized in person. He wasn't going to keep holding it against her.
"If you don't want to say, then don't. I forgive you."
Gu Chensha spoke.
Ye Lingling looked up, surprise filling her eyes. She clearly hadn't expected him to let it go so easily.
"But..."
Gu Chensha changed course, meeting her eyes. His tone was calm but serious.
"You should know that the worst things Orleans said weren't said to me. They were said to my friend, Fei Yu."
"Those insulting words were directed at her, not me."
"In my eyes, she's the one who was hurt the most."
"So I'm not the only one you need to apologize to."
"When she comes back, apologize to her too."
Ye Lingling was silent for a few seconds, then nodded lightly.
"Okay. I understand."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Gu Chensha froze for a moment, then felt a little awkward.
He hadn't deliberately meant to keep Ye Lingling in his dorm. He just thought that, given the circumstances, she ought to apologize to Bai Chenxiang.
But he'd already said it. He couldn't exactly make her wait in the corridor.
If she stayed, she stayed.
Only...that feeling of incongruity was growing stronger.
The faint fragrance had grown more intense at some point.
Wisps of it crept into his nose, and an inexplicable heat began to rise in his lower abdomen. Even his breathing grew heavier.
At first, he'd thought it was just the weather, but after sitting there for so long, the heat hadn't faded. It had only burned hotter, as if a fire were blazing in his lower abdomen.
Gu Chensha's expression changed. He quickly closed his eyes, trying to use his Soul Power to suppress the abnormal heat.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his expression suddenly change, Ye Lingling asked in confusion.
"I should be asking you,"
Gu Chensha's brow twitched. "What kind of perfume did you spray on yourself?"
Only after he pointed it out did Ye Lingling belatedly realize that her body was growing hotter too, and her cheeks were burning.
An indescribable restlessness rose within her. She felt an overwhelming urge to tear off all her clothes at once.
She had been so focused on apologizing that she hadn't noticed anything strange about her body.
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