Hee-hee — Not Hee-hee

Gu Ximan had already been thoroughly molded by Gu Luo’s influence—whether it was her signature habit of responding with a soft "Mm-hmm," the way she’d awkwardly clear her throat when flustered, or the unconscious twitch at the corner of her lips.

And—just like him, her heart was soft too.

The type who yielded to tenderness but never to force.

Of course, this side of her was reserved only for those closest to her.

To outsiders—like that clown of a class monitor—she wouldn’t give even a shred of warmth.

But the key point was, Lu Xuexue was undoubtedly the person closest to Gu Ximan besides Gu Luo, even surpassing the three Luo sisters in importance.

Years of sisterly friendship had long since made the two of them family.

And Xuexue sweetly called her "Sister Man" every day, willingly playing the role of the younger one. If Ximan told her not to approach Gu Luo, she wouldn’t dare to do so without permission—utterly obedient in every way.

Deep down, Gu Ximan truly couldn’t accept sharing Gu Luo with another girl, even if that girl was her best friend.

She had put on a haughty front, demanding that Lu Xuexue stay away from Gu Luo, secretly hoping Xuexue would defy her just once—so she could openly declare a rivalry.

But to her utter shock...

Lu Xuexue actually held back, following her words to the letter.

Left with no other choice, Ximan could only postpone the matter.

But this wasn’t a permanent solution.

Lately, Gu Ximan had gradually warmed to the idea that once she and Gu Luo were officially together, she’d discuss with him the possibility of... accepting Xuexue into their lives as well.

Living together as three didn’t seem entirely unacceptable.

After all, Xuexue was as dear to her as family.

Hmm... if it really came to that, she’d drag Gu Luo along to live off Xuexue’s wealth—eating her food, spending her money, traveling the world, and lazing around for the rest of their lives.

It wasn’t like her best friend would ever run out of riches.

Only then could Gu Ximan feel slightly balanced, reluctantly accepting the idea of two women sharing one man.

But the thought of that jerk Gu Luo enjoying such a heavenly fortune—being with two stunningly beautiful girls—was downright infuriating.

At this realization, Gu Ximan couldn’t help but glare at Gu Luo, who was looking at her with a puzzled expression. "What’s with that face, you jerk?"

"Ahem... nothing."

Gu Luo scratched his head, giving her a strange look. "Just didn’t expect you to sigh like that..."

Hearing this, Gu Ximan immediately bristled and pounced on him.

"What’s that supposed to mean? Looking down on me?"

"No, no—ow! Stop biting!"

Once the siblings’ tussle ended, Luo Shuling cheerfully handed the deck of cards back to Gu Luo, her eyes curved into playful crescents. "Brother, your turn~~~"

Putting on a show of nonchalance, Gu Luo blew on his fingers for luck, then closed his eyes and randomly drew a card.

When he opened them, the card read: Truth—Who is your favorite celebrity?

Huh?

That easy?

Gu Luo was surprised. Compared to the questions the other three had drawn, this one was downright tame.

"No fair!"

Gu Ximan immediately protested, puffing her cheeks in indignation. "Draw again, Gu Luo! This one doesn’t count!"

"Why not?"

Gu Luo flipped her off, then after a moment’s thought, answered:

"Well... Tang Qi. My favorite celebrity is the diva Tang Qi."

After all, they’d shared a meal before, and she’d even driven him and Shuling home. Her complete lack of celebrity pretenses had left a great impression on him.

"I love Sister Qi too!" Gu Ximan instantly raised her hand excitedly, completely forgetting her complaint from seconds ago.

Clearly, she’d also fallen under Tang Qi’s spell.

In private, she’d sneakily chatted with the star more than a few times.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Call her Auntie," Gu Luo said, lightly flicking Ximan’s forehead.

"Bleh~~~"

"You haven’t been bothering her, have you?"

"Of course not!"

"Better not."

On the surface, it seemed like things had returned to normal between them, with no trace of awkwardness.

But what was really going on in their hearts? Only they knew.

"Now it’s my turn!"

Luo Shuling declared as she casually plucked a card from the deck.

Truth—What is your dream?

"Ugh, Shuling and Gu Luo both got such boring questions. No fun at all," Gu Ximan grumbled, clearly intent on ruining everyone else’s fun too.

But at the sight of this question, Luo Shuhe’s expression stiffened slightly.

Then, Shuling closed her eyes, clasped her hands together as if in prayer, and said with a radiant smile:

"My dream is for Brother, Shuning, Shuhe, Ximan, and me to live happily together forever."

Her words sent ripples through everyone’s hearts.

Gu Luo thought—Ah, our little sunshine, always so pure. As a certified sister-con, just imagining this dream coming true filled him with warmth.

Luo Shuning and Gu Ximan, however, grew wistful, their minds drifting back to the past two months of living together—every tender moment replaying in their minds like scenes from a movie.

But then, Luo Shuhe suddenly spoke in her usual calm tone:

"Shuling, that’s impossible."

In an instant, all eyes turned to her.

She continued matter-of-factly, "Brother will eventually marry and start his own family. This kind of unrealistic fantasy is nice to imagine, but that’s all it is."

Her words cast a sudden silence over the room.

Though undeniably true, saying it aloud in such a warm moment felt like a splash of cold water.

Gu Luo thought—Yeah, Ximan, Shuhe, and Shuling will all marry someday.

Luo Shuning thought—Yeah, Shuhe, Shuling, and Ximan will all marry someday.

Gu Ximan thought—Yeah, Shuning, Shuhe, and Shuling will all marry someday.

The time when all five of them could be together every day would likely be limited to these two years at Guangya.

Even if Gu Luo and the Luo sisters ended up in the same place later, she’d still be stuck studying at Guangya.

"Who knows what the future holds?" Luo Shuling blinked, her carefree smile never wavering.

Then, she tucked the first deck of cards into her shorts pocket and waved a second deck with a mischievous grin.

"Since Ximan thinks the truth game is boring, let’s spice things up a little."

"This one’s a toned-down version of a ‘bar game’—not as wild as the real deal, but still plenty fun."

"Ximan’s the youngest, so we’ll follow her lead and play this one."

Gu Ximan wanted to protest that she hadn’t meant it like that, but seeing how considerate Shuling was being, she couldn’t bring herself to dampen the mood. After a moment’s thought, she nodded in agreement.

At the very least, she’d drag Gu Luo down with her.

And admittedly, she was curious about this so-called "bar game lite."

Without waiting for further input, Luo Shuling handed each of them a die, her grin widening.

"The rules of the game are simple: roll the dice, and the person with the lowest number can choose either [Truth] or [Dare]. Once you make your choice, there’s no going back."

"If two or more people roll the lowest number at the same time, they’ll take turns picking."

"If there are no objections, let’s begin!"

And just like that, everyone rolled the dice.

In the first round, both Luo Shuning and Luo Shuhe rolled a one.

Following the rules, they had to choose between [Truth] or [Dare].

"Big sister should go first."

Though Luo Shuhe really didn’t want to play along with Luo Shuling’s game, there was no way out—they were already here.

"Then I’ll pick [Truth]." With that, Luo Shuning drew a card from the [Truth] deck.

After all, the previous [Truth] question had been easy enough to answer, so this one should be... uh...

Truth—Can you accept your partner’s kinky sx... preferences?

Seeing this question, Gu Luo instantly perked up, his previously relaxed posture straightening a little.

"Wow~~~"

Gu Ximan, the resident hype-woman, covered her cherry-red lips in excitement.

This... this was way too spicy!

Who knew how Luo Shuning—usually so angelically pure and gentle—would answer?

"Ah..." Luo Shuning’s cheeks immediately flushed pink. She stole a glance at Gu Luo, bit her lip, then turned her face away and murmured shyly:

"I... I can accept it."

Gu Ximan dramatically gasped: "Wooow~~~—!"

Holy smokes, this was intense!

Who knew Luo Shuning was like this?!

Hearing her answer, Gu Luo’s breath hitched for a second, his mind involuntarily conjuring images of just how "kinky" those preferences might be...

Ahem...

This was something to look forward to.

"Shuning really cares about her future partner, huh?" Luo Shuling teased before turning to Luo Shuhe:

"Shuhe, will you pick [Truth] or [Dare]?"

"Dare."

Luo Shuhe answered flatly and immediately drew a card.

Dare—Kiss the forehead of a member of the opposite sex present here for thirty seconds.

At this, Gu Ximan’s excited expression froze instantly.

Her grin vanished.

Wait.

Wait...

Wait!!!

Unless something was terribly wrong, the only guy in this room was that jerk Gu Luo, right?!

............

............