Enlightenment

"Curse..." An Shiyu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a delicate earlobe. A playful smirk appeared on her face, "I like that nickname."

"Old man."

"What?"

"That hyperthymesia you mentioned—I have it too," An Shiyu said.

Ye Shuang deliberately feigned surprise, "Really?"

But the next second, An Shiyu scoffed disdainfully, "Stop pretending. Your acting skills are only good enough to clean toilets in movies."

Ye Shuang: "..."

"Sometimes I really want to hold you down and spank you," Ye Shuang suppressed the urge to treat her like an Ansai waist drum but ended up saying it out loud anyway.

An Shiyu replied, "Then go ahead."

"Come here if you dare."

To his surprise, An Shiyu actually shifted her body and lay sideways on the railing, her stocking-clad legs under the pleated skirt boldly on display, as if challenging him to do it.

Ye Shuang remained expressionless but silently withdrew his hand.

If his hand actually landed, she’d probably dial the police the next second.

An Shiyu lounged like a Slaking, squinting with amusement, "Old man, what a coward."

Slap!

The crisp sound of the spank seemed to dissolve into the wind. Both An Shiyu and even Ye Shuang himself froze.

Ye Shuang stared at his own hand, still resting on her backside, then slowly retracted it, pretending nothing had happened as he gazed into the distance.

An Shiyu slowly sat up straight. Though her expression didn’t change, her ears began to flush red.

The air was dead silent until Ye Shuang suddenly murmured with profound solemnity,

"The wind today… is quite noisy."

An Shiyu also deepened her gaze, "Yeah..."

"Perfect weather to call the police."

Seeing the three digits already dialed on the girl’s phone, Ye Shuang’s lips twitched, "Let me explain."

"You’d better explain it to the police."

……

In the end, An Shiyu didn’t actually call the police. She never intended to—she just found Ye Shuang’s slightly panicked expression amusing.

But the lingering sensation of that moment kept replaying in her mind, sending faint tremors through her.

"Let’s go back."

An Shiyu turned and hopped down from the railing.

"Hm?"

Ye Shuang climbed down as well. An Shiyu stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets, glancing at him struggling to descend before smirking,

"Bye, pervy old man."

Her words were carried away by the wind before Ye Shuang could fully hear them. In the blink of an eye, she had already vanished down the stairwell.

Ye Shuang looked at his palm, "Hmm..."

"My self-control’s slipping. How could I let such a brat get under my skin?"

Still…

She really does have the makings of a good drum.

The rooftop wind grew colder. Ye Shuang tightened his white lab coat and headed toward the stairs—

Time to go back.

……

……

Class 3-A.

"Yuyou, wanna go to the restroom together?" Tang Keke asked during break.

After the last incident, Tang Keke made sure to accompany Bai Yuyou every time, afraid something might happen again.

But there wasn’t much need to worry now. The previous incident had blown up so badly that both principals held a school-wide assembly, emphasizing that even a single offense would result in immediate expulsion—no second chances. Moreover, verified reports would lead to the same punishment.

The strict measures instantly silenced the school’s usual troublemakers, putting an end to bullying.

Back then, incidents like these would’ve just led to a parent-teacher meeting, some lecturing, and a written apology.

The school’s philosophy had always been that even the worst students could be reformed.

The results, of course, were useless.

Now, it seemed some students were just born rotten—and their parents were no better, incapable of understanding reason or discipline.

So the school toughened its rules, striving to create a safe environment for students.

Of course, An Shiyu played a role too—

She told her grandfather she’d been bullied, enraging the old man enough to summon the principals.

Though the outcome was An Shiyu beating up three people single-handedly…

"Together..." Though Bai Yuyou didn’t need to go, she stood up anyway, assuming Tang Keke was too scared to go alone.

In the restroom, the two girls turned on the faucet, wetting disposable towels to wipe their faces and refresh themselves after class.

"Yuyou, I heard the third infirmary’s open now, and there’s a really handsome young doctor there," Tang Keke gossiped. "They say he can diagnose illnesses at a glance. Wanna check it out later?"

Bai Yuyou stared at her reflection in the mirror. Compared to before, her face had more color, less pallor, and her once-sharp chin had softened slightly.

"What are you looking at?"

"Mirror..."

"Mirror?" Tang Keke glanced at it but saw nothing unusual.

"Myself... looks... different..."

Tang Keke thought for a moment, recalling Bai Yuyou’s appearance from before, then grinned.

"Isn’t there a saying that being loved makes flesh and blood grow wildly?"

"Being loved..."

"Yep."

Bai Yuyou suddenly remembered Yi Wan, who had plumped up considerably, and quietly filed the phrase away.

"Yuyou, about that infirmary—wanna go?"

The girl shook her head lightly.

"Alright, makes sense. You’ve got your brother now," Tang Keke said. "What do you two usually do on weekends?"

"Do?"

"Yeah."

Bai Yuyou tilted her head in thought. "Eat together... watch movies together... sleep together..."

Tang Keke’s eyes sparkled. "Details on the sleeping part."

Bai Yuyou didn’t understand her sudden excitement but described it plainly. "Ye Shuang... very warm."

"Huh, not what I imagined?" Tang Keke rested her chin on a thoughtful finger.

She suddenly asked, "Do you wanna get even closer to him?"

Bai Yuyou: "?"

"Like, if you wanna bathe together, you can!" Tang Keke’s inner schemer activated as she began strategizing.

Hearing that she could bathe with him if she wanted, Bai Yuyou’s gem-like eyes brightened.

"First, let’s start with bedtime rituals. Your problem’s huge!" Tang Keke leaned in and whispered a long, elaborate plan into her ear.

After processing the information, Bai Yuyou finally understood.

She had attained enlightenment.