After Being Bent by Reader

Unless under pressure, Xu Chuanchuan rarely dreamed when she slept. And even if she experienced a dream, she would hardly remember the dream's details when she woke up. Yet, despite her work and life going smoothly recently, she ended up having a nightmare this night.

She dreamt of a masked person pushing her down on the bed and lashing at her with a whip. Then, when she struggled to break free from her assailant, the other person leaned into her ear and viciously asked, "Do you dare eavesdrop again?"

Xu Chuanchuan was enraged at being attacked. Then, taking advantage of her assailant's brief lapse of attention, she pulled off the other party's mask, revealing a near-perfect and familiar face. Upon seeing this familiar face, Xu Chuanchuan cried out in horror, "It's you?!"

A mischievous smile appeared on the other party's face. Then, her assailant ambiguously said, "Oh, I got found out?"

Afterward, Xu Chuanchuan woke up from fright.

Xu Chuanchuan shivered at the cold that suddenly assaulted her body. She also found that her nose was blocked as if she was about to catch a cold. When she turned on the lights, she found that she had kicked her blanket off the bed amidst her sleep.

After placing the blanket back onto the bed, she made her way to the bathroom. While washing her hand, she looked at her miserable expression in the mirror and murmured, "I must be going insane."

She had dreamt of Murong Shi whipping her. If she wasn't going insane, what other explanation could she give for this situation?

When morning arrived, Xu Chuanchuan made her way to the bathroom once more with two dark circles under her eyes. In the bathroom, she came across Little Yan, who had similarly just woke up.

"Morning, Chuanchuna," Little Yan greeted with her usual enthusiasm, behaving as if none of the awkwardness yesterday had ever happened.

When Xu Chuanchuan looked at the other party's face and compared it to her own, she found that there was no comparison to be made. Little Yan's skin was pale with hints of red, and her eyes looked clear and bright. In contrast, Xu Chuanchuan looked no different than a zombie.

Turning away awkwardly, Xu Chuanchuan responded, "Morning. It seems you slept well last night."

"That's right! Exercising before bed has improved my sleep quality tremendously," Little Yan said with a bright smile.

Exer...cising?

Xu Chuanchaun knew that she shouldn't overthink things, so she wore a blank expression as she mindlessly squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush.

Then, Little Yan leaned closer to look at Xu Chuanchuan's expression and asked, "Did you not sleep well last night?"

After stuffing the toothbrush into her mouth, Xu Chuanchuan replied with a vague "mhm."

A moment later, Little Yan suddenly blushed, and she whispered, "By the way, please don't tell anyone about Miss Murong's visit last night."

Xu Chuanchuan blinked when she heard Little Yan's request. Then, she inwardly thought, If you moan any louder, the whole floor will find out even if I don't say anything.

As an outsider, Xu Chuanchuan naturally couldn't bring herself to tell others about such an embarrassing matter. So, she nodded to Little Yan's request without hesitation, though a strange feeling appeared in her heart when she recalled yesterday's events.

If Little Yan really is Murong Shi's new girlfriend, couldn't the two of them find a more private place when they're trying to be intimate with each other? Can't they be considerate of the person living next door?

Murong Shi had just confessed to Xu Chuanchuan last week, telling Xu Chuanchuan that she held affection for her. Yet, in the blink of an eye, Murong Shi had found a girl much younger and cuter than her. Xu Chuanchuan even had a creeping suspicion that Murong Shi deliberately did all those intimate actions with Little Yan to spite her.

Let's hope I'm just overthinking things.

…

When lunch break arrived, the time of gossip arrived once more. Chen Lina leaned into Xu Chuanchuan and asked, "Little Xu, do you know if that Little Yan is related to Miss Murong in some way?"

"I don't know," Xu Chuanchuan answered with a guilty conscience.

"You're living together with her, so how can you not know?" Chen Lina asked skeptically.

"I never asked… I don't know," Xu Chuanchuan mumbled.

Knowing too much wasn't necessarily a good thing. Take the nightmare she had last night, for example.

Unfortunately, although Xu Chuanchuan was doing her best to get the matter between Little Yan and Murong Shi out of her mind, fate did not allow her to do as she wished.

…

The next night, when Xu Chuanchuan was writing her novel, she heard strange noises coming from next door once more. Upon hearing these sounds, she immediately lost all mood to continue writing.

It wasn't even nine o'clock right now. Apart from the sounds coming from next door, her surrounding environment was relatively quiet. Hence, even though Xu Chuanchuan had put on her earphones, she still ended up getting affected by the noises coming through the wall. And although she tried increasing the music's volume one time after another, she was incapable of calming her mood down no matter what.

Eventually, she gave up writing completely and turned off her computer. Then, she grabbed her phone and keys and left her room.

As Xu Chuanchuan was a little absent-minded at the moment, she ended up using a little too much strength when closing the main entrance's door. While the sound might've disturbed the two people inside the house, she couldn't care less about that right now.

After leaving the air-conditioned dormitory, Xu Chuanchuan immediately felt her body heating up. She had long since gotten used to living by herself, so she normally wouldn't leave her house at night for fear of coming across people with ill intentions. And even if she didn't meet such people, coming across rats or beggars was still more than enough to sour her mood.

However, Xu Chuanchuan felt a little impulsive tonight, so she didn't put too much thought into her safety. After walking aimlessly under the street lights for some time, she ended up arriving in front of the supermarket she previously visited with Little Yan.

To Xu Chuanchuan's surprise, the supermarket's business at night was booming. There were even children playing on the kiddie rides set up outside the supermarket. As Xu Chuanchuan listened to the childish music coming from these kiddie rides, her irritable mood gradually settled.

Then, Xu Chuanchuan went inside the supermarket to buy a bunch of fruits and snacks. Before paying, she saw her favorite ice cream displayed in the refrigerator next to the checkout counter, so she grabbed herself a cup on the way out.

The entire shopping trip lasted no more than ten minutes. Xu Chuanchuan was worried that the people at home still wouldn't be done with their "exercise" if she returned so soon, so she opened the cup of ice cream and sat on the lounge chair placed near the kiddie rides.

When a little boy playing on the kiddie rides saw the ice cream she held, he inadvertently drooled. If not for the kiddie ride still shaking about, the boy would've probably climbed down and rushed toward her.

The boy's mother eventually noticed her child's gaze. Then, she warned her son, "That's too cold for you. You'll get a stomach ache if you eat that."

The boy put on an expression like he was about to cry.

Xu Chuanchuan felt that it would be cruel for her to continue sitting here and eating her ice cream, so she decided to avoid the children's ardent gazes and move to another spot. But as soon as she stepped away from her seat, a black car stopped in front of her, blocking her way.

If it were any normal car, Xu Chuanchuan would've circled it and continued on her way. However, she recognized the black car in front of her. This black Maserati Quattroporte was of the exact same color and model as Murong Shi's car.

Amidst her daze, the car's window came down. Then, Xu Chuanchaun saw Murong Shi inside the car. Upon closer observation, she also found that Murong Shi was by herself.

Little Yan is...probably tired.

For a time, Xu Chuanchuan found the situation too awkward to speak up.

Then, Murong Shi took the initiative to speak first, saying, "Little Yan wanted to have supper with you. I didn't think you would leave the house at such an hour."

After pondering for a moment, Xu Chuanchuan responded, "I don't usually eat supper."

"What are you eating now, then?" Murong Shi asked as she pointed her chin at the ice cream in Xu Chuanchuan's hand.

Xu Chuanchuan: "..."

Before Xu Chuanchuan could figure out what Murong Shi was trying to get at, she saw Murong Shi getting out of the car and standing right in front of her.

Xu Chuanchuan: "..."

Staring at the ice cream in Xu Chuanchuan's hand, Murong Shi asked, "What is this flavor?"

After taking a glance at the ice cream cup, Xu Chuanchuan replied, "Blueberry."

"Is it good?"

"It's a little sweet...but I quite like it... Do you want to try it?"

"I'm not eating, but Little Yan might like it," Murong Shi flatly responded.

"Oh."

After a slight pause, Murong Shi said, "I'll buy one for her. Can you bring it back to her for me?"

"Okay," Xu Chuanchuan responded, a hint of reluctance in her tone. Normally, Xu Chuanchuan would be more than happy to help out with such a simple request. This time, though, she found herself unable to readily agree to Murong Shi's request.

Meanwhile, after getting a positive response, Murong Shi promptly ditched Xu Chuanchuan and walked to the supermarket.

The refrigerator storing the ice cream was located beside the checkout counter. However, as many people were waiting to make payment, Xu Chuanchuan had to wait quite a few minutes before Murong Shi returned. Then, Murong Shi handed a plastic bag to Xu Chuanchuan and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting for so long."

When Xu Chuanchuan accepted the bag, she noticed that it was strangely heavy. After taking a look into the bag, she asked, "Why did you buy so many?"

"Since the two of you like it, you might as well stock some up in the fridge for convenience's sake," Murong Shi nonchalantly said.

As Murong Shi had said "the two of you," it probably meant that she also included Xu Chuanchuan's share in the bag. Finding it awkward that she had somehow profited without doing anything, Xu Chuanchuan said, "Give these to Little Yan. I'll come out and buy my own if I want to eat some."

"It's just a few cups of ice cream; they don't cost much money. Not to mention, it's dangerous for a girl like yourself to go out at night alone," Murong Shi said. Although she spoke in a light tone, she wore the commanding expression she typically used at work. This meant that she wouldn't take no for an answer. "Little Yan is young and ignorant when it comes to life. I might have to trouble you to take care of her in the future."

Sure enough, there were no free ice creams in this world. Xu Chuanchuan instantly felt the weight of the plastic bag becoming unbearable. Then, after pondering for a short moment, she said, "You seem to be very considerate of Little Yan."

Revealing a light smile, Murong Shi said, "She's still young, after all."

Xu Chuanchuan had already gotten used to seeing Murong Shi's cold and contemptuous smiles. However, this was the first time she had seen Murong Shi making such a gentle and doting smile, and she couldn't help but have mixed feelings about this. Suddenly, she said in a bitter tone, "There's a question that's been constantly bugging me."

"What is it?"

Although Xu Chuanchuan repeatedly told herself not to pry into others' matters, she still couldn't help herself from doing so. Then, looking at Murong Shi's emotionless eyes, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Is Little Yan an adult yet?"

After pondering for a moment, Murong Shi answered, "She turned eighteen last month. Why?"

Sure enough, she's still a child.

The sugar in Xu Chuanchuan's mouth gradually dissolved. Then, after swallowing the saliva that had pooled in her mouth, Xu Chuanchuan said, "Nothing, I was just curious. Well, it's getting late, so I'll be heading back first."

However, before Xu Chuanchuan could walk away, Murong Shi stepped forward and blocked her.

Xu Chuanchuan was very surprised by this situation.

Meanwhile, Murong Shi lowered her head, her dark and slender eyes looking intently at the shorter woman's face. Then, she said, "Have you noticed that you have a habit?"

"What?"

Murong Shi pointed at Xu Chuanchuan's eyes. Then, while swaying her finger from side to side, she leisurely said, "Your eyes will look away whenever you lie. Depending on your anxiety levels, you'll even become cross-eyed."

Xu Chuanchuan's expression froze, and her tongue stiffened. "W-When did I ever lie?"

"Just now. The first time I noticed this habit was when I called you to my office and asked whether you've been badmouthing me behind my back. You showed this reaction back then."

Isn't this person's memory and observation skills a little too good? Xu Chuanchuan truly did not know how she should refute Murong Shi's words. Breathing out a heavy sigh, Xu Chuanchuan said, "Alright, fine. I wasn't just asking casually."

Maintaining a calm composure, Murong Shi asked, "What are you trying to say, then?"

In this tense moment, Xu Chuanchuan needed to eat some ice cream to calm herself.

There wasn't much ice cream left in the cup. After scooping everything with the spoon, Xu Chuanchuan stuffed it into her mouth. Then, while enduring the coldness, she quickly chewed and swallowed the ice cream.

Murong Shi rolled her eyes at Xu Chuanchuan. Then, she said, "There's still a bit left on the spoon. Do you want to lick it clean first?"

Xu Chuanchuan disliked wasting food, so she naturally wanted to lick the spoon clean. However, there was no way she could bring herself to do so in front of Murong Shi's face.

After storing the empty cup away, Xu Chuanchuan wiggled her frozen tongue a little. Then, she took a deep breath and said, "I think Little Yan is still quite delicate. Although she's an adult now, some things should still be done in moderation."

"Do what in moderation?" Murong Shi asked, tilting her head. She also wore an expression that practically said, "I don't know what you're talking about." Moreover, based on how calm her eyes were, it didn't seem like she was pretending.

Xu Chuanchuan started regretting running her mouth. After all was said and done, this was someone else's private affair. What qualifications did she have to express her opinion on this matter?"

Faking a cough, Xu Chuanchuan said, "Nevermind. Just pretend as if I was spouting gibberish."

"Xu Chuanchuan, are you overthinking things again?" Murong Shi asked, narrowing her eyes.

In response, Xu Chuanchuan awkwardly turned her head away and said, "No. I'm going home."