What's in Your Blanket?

Evening.

Everyone returned to the academy. With Lin Yan there this time, Ning Rongrong didn't get into a conflict with Dai Mubai, and they all made it back to their dorms without incident.

The girls' dormitory.

Xiao Wu eyed Ning Rongrong, who had been sobbing her heart out before they left but was all smiles again now that they were back. Confusion filled her pretty face.

"Are you planning to stay?"

Ning Rongrong chuckled.

"Yeah! This place is pretty interesting. It'd be such a shame to leave just like that!"

"Huh? Zhu Zhuqing, what's wrong? Did someone bully you?"

Ning Rongrong saw Zhu Zhuqing enter the dorm, throw herself onto her bed, bury herself under the blankets, and start sobbing. She couldn't make sense of it.

Xiao Wu immediately launched into an indignant explanation.

"It's all because of that Dai Mubai."

Then Xiao Wu told Ning Rongrong about Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's relationship, and his three dates a day.

When Ning Rongrong learned the truth, her brows knitted into a knot. She hadn't expected Zhu Zhuqing to have it so rough—to have a fiancé like Dai Mubai.

Running away to Shrek because she couldn't take the pressure was bad enough. But even though he had a fiancée, he still went to brothels every day. He'd even said things like, "Women are just population resources..."

"He's disgusting!" Ning Rongrong said indignantly. "Zhuqing, do you really want to be with someone like that?"

Zhu Zhuqing poked her head out from under the blanket and sniffled. "It's complicated. You wouldn't understand."

"What's so complicated? Isn't it just the Star Luo Royal Family's rule for inheriting the throne?"

"You and that guy Dai Mubai have your fates tied together. Win, and you inherit the throne together. Lose, and you die together."

"But have you ever considered that, after sinking this low, can he really beat his big brother?"

"Even if he wins, are you willing to spend your whole life with a womanizer?"

As a member of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong knew some of the Star Luo Royal Family's rules. With only a little guesswork, she'd figured out Zhu Zhuqing's predicament.

Xiao Wu stared wide-eyed. She'd only known that the two of them were betrothed. She hadn't realized their very lives were bound together.

Under the blanket, Zhu Zhuqing sighed heavily, her eyes downcast.

"As heirs to the Dai Family and the Zhu Family, this is a fate we can't escape. Even though I know he's rotten to the core, what other options do I have right now? It's a rule no one has dared to defy for generations."

Despair filled her voice. The other two could both feel her sadness: the helplessness of knowing the future was already decided, yet being unable to fight it.

"Of course there's a way!" Ning Rongrong sat up straight. "Your fate is in your own hands. If it comes to it, come to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Sword Grandpa and I will protect you."

"If you don't want this, then no one can force you!"

Zhu Zhuqing froze, then wiped away her tears and looked at Ning Rongrong. She saw the utter sincerity in the other girl's eyes, as if those ideas really could come true.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? One of the Upper Three Sects, wealthy enough to rival a nation. Maybe they really could help her break free...

No! She'd only known Ning Rongrong for two days. Why was she placing her hopes in her?

Zhu Zhuqing came to her senses and realized she was truly grasping at straws, trusting Ning Rongrong far too easily.

Just then, Xiao Wu suddenly spoke up, looking at Ning Rongrong.

"Why does it feel like you've become a completely different person today?"

That was true. With the way Ning Rongrong had talked back to Flender before, how could she say something like that?

Ning Rongrong gave an embarrassed grin.

"Hehe~ Lin Yan spent ages comforting me earlier, and I've managed to think things through."

"I'm only staying because of him. Otherwise, I'd have left already."

"Lin Yan..."

The two girls murmured his name, the young man's fair face appearing in their minds.

So it was because of Lin Yan? Just a few words from him had turned a little demoness like her into such an optimist. What had passed between them?

"Do you like Lin Yan?" Xiao Wu asked Ning Rongrong.

Ning Rongrong's pretty face flushed. She stayed silent for a long while, but by then the two girls had already understood what was in her heart.

Late at night.

Moonlight spilled through the window into the dormitory. Zhu Zhuqing couldn't stop thinking about Dai Mubai. She wanted to escape the shackles of fate and be free, to leave the royal family and live as an ordinary person, to have an equal love instead of becoming someone's subordinate...

For some reason, Lin Yan's figure suddenly appeared in her mind.

Purple hair and purple eyes, a fair face that was both devilishly charming and adorable. More importantly, he was polite and knew how to respect boundaries.

To Zhu Zhuqing, who had endured disapproving stares since childhood, he was like a breath of fresh air.

"Dai Mubai, if only you had even half of Lin Yan's self-control!"

"Why do you have to be such a womanizer?"

Zhu Zhuqing couldn't understand why the dignified Star Luo Prince would go to brothels to listen to music. Did he have no pride at all as a prince?

In the stillness of the night, the more she thought, the more tangled her thoughts became. Her mind was full of Lin Yan's handsome face and Dai Mubai's vile behavior.

But then, a coquettish little moan suddenly sounded in the room...

"Mmm~"

The last traces of drowsiness vanished from Zhu Zhuqing's mind. She pricked up her ears and listened carefully, trying to make sure she hadn't imagined it.

Before long, the faint rustle of fabric sounded, mixed with someone's slightly heavy breathing.

Zhu Zhuqing had never experienced anything like this and thought someone was having a nightmare.

She got out of bed, and the sound immediately stopped. But Zhu Zhuqing didn't stop; she went over to Ning Rongrong's bed.

"Rongrong, are you having a nightmare?"

She gently nudged Ning Rongrong's shoulder. When there was no response, she gave it another, more earnest shake.

She knew what having a nightmare felt like. If you didn't wake the person, the nightmare wouldn't end. Wanting to help, Zhu Zhuqing decided to force Ning Rongrong awake.

Zhu Zhuqing shook Ning Rongrong several times. When the girl still showed no sign of waking, she simply rolled her over.

Their eyes met... Ning Rongrong's face, flushed an unusual shade of red, came into view. Zhu Zhuqing suddenly realized she might have been meddling where she didn't belong.

The air fell silent. Ning Rongrong wanted nothing more than to crawl into a crack in the floor. She'd waited until this late to dare do anything. Who could've guessed Zhu Zhuqing was still awake?

Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. In the end, she decided to pretend nothing had happened and return to her bed.

But just as she turned around, she noticed something strange under Ning Rongrong's blanket, glowing with faint blue light.

"Hey? What's that under your blanket?"

"..."