We'll Just Have to Shower Together

Only after hearing that familiar voice did Lin Meng realize what was happening. She hurriedly flung off the arms wrapped around her and turned to see Su Yutang—whose wig was now half askew.

Su Yutang was a pampered young miss born into wealth and privilege. How could she possibly look so disheveled?

But the next moment, the woman's voice came again. "Darling, I'm so cold... Do you know how long I've been waiting here for you? You never came home, so I just kept waiting. I thought you weren't coming back tonight."

Her tone was utterly pitiful, like a little dog shut outside the door, waiting for its owner to return. When the owner finally comes back, the puppy whimpers and whines, pouring out all its grievances and sorrows.

Lin Meng had never seen her like this before. Beyond the novelty, she felt a faint, hidden guilt. After all, when Su Yutang's arms had wrapped around her earlier, it had truly felt like a cold snake coiling around her—that was why she had been so terrified.

Lin Meng stepped forward and touched the back of Su Yutang's hand.

Mm... sure enough, it was freezing.

But she was a young miss. When she left the house, countless nannies waited on her hand and foot. Why hadn't she grabbed a coat before coming out?

The moment Su Yutang felt Lin Meng's warm palm against her skin, she quickly reached out with hands nearly frozen stiff and clasped Lin Meng's warm hands.

That trace of warmth quickly brought her temperature back up, and her heartbeat seemed to return to its normal rhythm. "Darling, I really am so cold. I argued with my family, so they kicked me out... Now I truly have nowhere to go. Can I come into your home and sit for a while?"

Seeing Su Yutang so pitiful and bedraggled, Lin Meng felt an inexplicable pang of sympathy. By all logic, she shouldn't feel sorry for a young miss who'd had everything since birth—but when she heard that the young miss had been kicked out after arguing with her family, all those suffocating scenes from before flashed through her mind again.

She couldn't bring herself to refuse someone so downcast.

But she had already decided to draw a clear line between herself and Su Yutang. Was inviting her in now really appropriate?

Lin Meng hesitated. "But my place is small and messy?"

Su Yutang furrowed her brow, looking utterly aggrieved. "No matter how small it is, it can still fit two people, right? I really just need a place to stay for one night. I'll pay you, alright? It's just that my phone was confiscated too—I only brought cash. However much you want, I'll give it to you..."

She started reaching into her coat pocket for money. Lin Meng quickly stopped her. "No, no!"

At that, Su Yutang lowered her head in a fluster, as if frightened. In truth, in that dim hallway, the moment she lowered her head, a faint smile of triumph flickered across her face.

It was rare for Su Yutang to be so pitiful. Lin Meng thought she'd help her just this once. As long as Su Yutang remembered this kindness and stopped targeting Yun Huaizhu, stopped crossing moral lines—that would be enough.

Lin Meng let out a helpless sigh, then shielded the keypad with her body as she entered the code. The door clicked open, and she held it wide for Su Yutang. "Come in first."

This person truly was the little dog she'd taken a liking to—always so gentle with her.

Su Yutang suppressed the smile tugging at her lips, then put on a frail, pitiful expression as she carefully stepped through the door.

Honestly, when Lin Meng said her home was small and messy, Su Yutang hadn't thought much of it.

How much smaller could it be than her bathroom?

Turns out, it really could be...

Fortunately, Lin Meng's rented apartment was only cluttered with too many things; the place itself was actually very clean.

The moment she entered, she sat down on Lin Meng's small sofa. Lin Meng went to a narrow kitchenette partitioned off beside the living room to boil water.

Su Yutang really hadn't brought her phone. Her mother's bodyguards had taken it the moment she was locked in the old mansion. Even if she wanted to call for help now, she couldn't.

Right—Huo Yi had plenty of properties. She could hide out for a few days at her seaside villa in Hai City.

But if she ran, Su Yurong would surely search for her like a madwoman, and Huo Yi would certainly be under surveillance too. That woman might even have offered Huo Yi—that money-grubbing, refined merchant—some kind of incentive. Even if Huo Yi received her call, she might not help.

What to do, what to do?

Just as she was racking her brain, Lin Meng set a cup of hot water in front of her.

Su Yutang's thoughts snapped back. She looked up at Lin Meng, confused.

Lin Meng was speechless. "Didn't you say you were cold? Drink some hot water and you won't be."

At that, Su Yutang broke into a bewitchingly charming smile. "Darling, you really do dote on me the most."

Just as she was about to grab the cup and gulp it down, Lin Meng stopped her. "Are you an idiot? That water was just boiled—blow on it to cool it down before you drink."

At that, a flicker of indignation crossed Su Yutang's face. She pointed at herself in disbelief. "Me? An idiot?"

Lin Meng hadn't been treating Su Yutang like a young miss at all just now. Su Yutang was the one begging her for shelter—why should Lin Meng still be so meek?

But then she thought about it: she probably couldn't beat Su Yutang in a fight right now. If she really made Su Yutang angry, her life might genuinely be in danger.

Lin Meng quickly switched to a smile. "I meant, I was afraid you'd burn yourself."

At that, the fire that had just begun to rise in Su Yutang's heart was completely extinguished. She stepped forward and eagerly grabbed Lin Meng's hand. "I knew it. Darling, you're the best."

Her legs were simply too long. Sitting down, she didn't look much different from anyone else, but standing, she was like an Arctic hare. Her leg accidentally bumped the corner of the table, and the cup of boiling water on it toppled over.

Fortunately, the cup didn't fall to the floor and shatter, but the hot water splashed all over her.

Sharp, burning pain surged into Su Yutang's brain two seconds later. She put on an expression of extreme agony. "Wuwu... Darling, I got scalded by the hot water. It hurts so much."

Lin Meng had just warned her. She hadn't expected this young miss who'd never known hardship to still be so careless.

She saw tears instantly well up in Su Yutang's eyes and hurried over to check.

A patch of Su Yutang's jeans was soaked through, and faint wisps of steam still seemed to rise from it. This would definitely blister!

Last time, when her hand had been scalded and blistered, it was Su Yutang who had applied medicine and bandaged it for her. By any measure, she owed it to Su Yutang to help.

Lin Meng looked up urgently. "Are you wearing anything underneath your pants?"

Su Yutang had been about to cry to win Lin Meng's sympathy—but before she could even shed a tear, why was Lin Meng asking what she was wearing underneath?

Su Yutang didn't know what was wrong with her. She, who was usually so open about such things, actually blushed and her heart raced because of that one question.

Seeing her frozen in place without answering, Lin Meng grabbed her and pulled her toward the bedroom.

The apartment she rented was small—only a few steps from the living room to the bedroom. Before Su Yutang could react, Lin Meng had pushed her down onto the bed.

Su Yutang was astonished by her initiative. She hadn't expected Lin Meng—who trembled all over just from applying medicine—to actually push her straight onto the bed.

Had Lin Meng been learning techniques for her sake all this time?

In that moment, Su Yutang was lost in her own beautiful fantasy, pink bubbles of delight practically floating off her face—until she saw Lin Meng approaching with a pair of scissors glinting coldly in the light. The fantasy shattered instantly.

This little dog hadn't learned obedience; she'd grown bold enough to commit regicide!

Su Yutang's eyes flew wide. She scrambled backward across Lin Meng's neatly made bed. When Lin Meng saw her rumpling the sheets she'd smoothed out that morning, utter disgust appeared on her face.

Seeing that expression, Su Yutang became even more certain Lin Meng meant her harm. "Hey! Darling, what are you trying to do? I don't think... I've ever done anything particularly awful to you, right? There's a limit to being willful. If you put those scissors down right now..."

Before she could finish, Lin Meng lowered her head and cleanly snipped open the scalded section of her jeans.

Su Yutang froze again, utterly dumbstruck.

After Lin Meng cut the fabric open, the reddened, scalded skin on Su Yutang's leg was revealed. There were faint traces of blood spots, but fortunately no blisters had formed. Rinsing it with cold water and applying some medicine would be enough.

Lin Meng tossed the wet denim into the trash, then looked up with a serious expression. "Young Miss, what exactly goes on in that head of yours? Alright, go rinse it off in the bathroom. I only have my own towel here—use it if you don't mind."

Only after seeing Lin Meng cut the fabric did Su Yutang snap out of it. "So that's what the scissors were for?"

Lin Meng nodded. "Yes. If the burn is severe, the flesh can fuse with the clothing. To avoid secondary damage, I had to do it this way. Fortunately..."

She didn't say the words "thick-skinned."

At that, a flicker of disappointment crossed Su Yutang's face—but she quickly rallied, leaping off the bed and throwing her arms around Lin Meng. "So Darling was worried about me all along! I'm so touched."

Su Yutang had no sense of restraint when making such sweeping movements. Lin Meng's neck nearly snapped from the force of the young miss's embrace.

She hurriedly pried at Su Yutang's arms locked around her. "Urk—could you let go of me first? I'm about to suffocate."

Only when Su Yutang heard her voice strain did she hastily loosen her grip—but in that instant, those glass-bead eyes flickered.

Lin Meng was rubbing her neck and catching her breath, while Su Yutang collapsed back onto the bed with a pained expression. "Aiyo, my leg hurts so much... Is my leg going to be ruined? I can't walk now—what should I do?"

Seeing Su Yutang suddenly react so dramatically, Lin Meng rushed over. "What's wrong? Where does your leg hurt? Should I call an ambulance?"

She really was a pampered young miss. Lin Meng had thought someone raised in a greenhouse like Su Yutang couldn't possibly be fine after being scalded by boiling water.

Hearing Lin Meng's suggestion, Su Yutang quickly said, "No, no, no, there's no need for all that trouble. I think rinsing it with cold water will help, but I can't walk right now. Darling, can you help me to the bathroom?"

Something felt off to Lin Meng. She furrowed her brow slightly. "Just helping you rinse it with cold water will fix it?"

Su Yutang fixed her with utterly sincere-looking eyes. "Mmhm. It's so late, I don't want to see Darling running around busily."

Her gaze seemed genuine, so Lin Meng helplessly reached out to support her. Su Yutang leaned bonelessly against Lin Meng as she was led into the bathroom.

The bathroom was divided into wet and dry areas, but the shower area could barely fit both Lin Meng and Su Yutang. And Lin Meng had to look after Su Yutang, her injured charge, so her current position was extremely awkward.

At first, Su Yutang had been quite disdainful of this bathroom, but when she saw how close Lin Meng's body was to hers, the bathroom suddenly looked much better to her.

Su Yutang watched Lin Meng's current posture and kept wanting to press herself against her, but Lin Meng kept her wits about her and restrained herself.

Right now, she really wanted to press Lin Meng against her chest.

Su Yutang braced herself against the white-tiled wall of the bathroom, looking pitiful and helpless. "Darling, I don't think I can pull my pants down by myself right now. Can you help me?"

Lin Meng looked up blankly. "Huh?"

Su Yutang lowered her head to look at this adorable person. "This is just to help treat my injury. I've helped Darling with this before too. Can Darling really not help me?"

Doubt began to churn in Lin Meng's mind. She felt more and more that something was off—but Su Yutang had indeed helped her before, and the young miss had gotten hurt in her home, so she was partly responsible.

It was just helping her pull down her pants.

Lin Meng gritted her teeth, then closed her eyes and slowly began to unfasten Su Yutang's belt.

Really, she was too innocent, too cute.

She and Lin Meng had already done everything they should and shouldn't have done, yet Lin Meng still closed her eyes when pulling down her pants. Lin Meng's soft fingertips brushed against her waist from time to time, and her face grew even redder under this faint, elusive teasing.

If Lin Meng could smell pheromones, she would surely find this cramped bathroom filled with the sweet scent of musk roses.

After Lin Meng pulled down Su Yutang's pants, what was revealed were Su Yutang's long, straight, fair legs. But after one quick glance, Lin Meng squeezed her eyes shut.

She wasn't a monk; her self-control wasn't that good. Su Yutang was a great beauty to her too. Setting aside fear and the complications of Su Yutang's identity, Su Yutang was actually a beauty she'd always wanted to get close to.

Once Lin Meng finished, she wanted to hurry out, but she suddenly felt a chill pour down over her head.

Su Yutang's hand had "accidentally" landed on the shower switch. The mischievous grin on her face was impossible to conceal. "Oh, I'm sorry, Darling... My leg went numb in that position just now, so I was trying to change posture, but I think I accidentally hit the switch. Looks like we'll have to shower together."

Lin Meng's bangs were plastered to her eyelashes by the water. She glared at Su Yutang through water-blurred eyes, cheeks puffed with anger.

This person had been doing it on purpose from the start!

What was wrong with her?

There was nothing wrong with her at all!

Lin Meng knew she shouldn't have softened toward Su Yutang. After all, plenty of people pitied Su Yutang. Even if no one did, Su Yutang could always hug her eight lifetimes' worth of money and cry into that!

Right now, Lin Meng wanted to hug herself for comfort.

...

In any case, thanks to Su Yutang's "meddling," her shower took an hour.

Because of what had happened at the banquet that day, Lin Meng didn't dare let Su Yutang sleep in the same bed as her. Just as Su Yutang, wrapped in Lin Meng's towel, was about to walk into her bedroom to rest as if it were only natural, Lin Meng suddenly dug out a bunny-patterned blanket from her wardrobe and placed a small pillow on the little sofa outside.

Su Yutang followed her every move. "What's wrong, Darling? What are you getting those out for?"

After setting everything up, Lin Meng dashed into her bedroom. As she was about to close the door, she poked her head out and said to Su Yutang, "You're sleeping on the sofa tonight. Goodnight, Young Miss!"

Su Yutang looked incredulous. "You're making me sleep on the sofa?"

Bang—

Her question overlapped with the heavy slam of Lin Meng's door.

Su Yutang had just been fantasizing about holding Lin Meng and kissing her all over again. She hadn't expected Lin Meng to refuse her even a spot on the bed.

Angry and aggrieved, she stood outside the bedroom door and knocked. "Darling, open the door. I just want to sleep in the same bed as you. The sofa outside is so cold and small—my legs can't even stretch out. Can you bear to see me so uncomfortable?"

"Darling Mengmeng, open the door, please. I'm begging you..."

Su Yutang knocked for a long time, but the person inside still didn't answer.

She didn't know how long she stood there sulking, but eventually she walked to the sofa with a petulant expression, curled up her legs, and pulled the blanket over herself.

Hmph, it's just one night of not being allowed in bed. Tomorrow I'll definitely sleep in the same bed as you.

With that thought, Su Yutang closed her eyes.

But when the clock hands reached three in the morning, she was still tossing and turning under the blanket. The sofa was so small she couldn't even stretch her legs, and there was no one beside her to hold her. How was she supposed to sleep?

Just as she lay with her arms pillowed behind her head, gazing around the small apartment, she suddenly noticed a string of something shiny hanging from a cartoon hook by the door.

Her eyes lit up as if she'd discovered buried treasure.

...

After shutting Su Yutang out, Lin Meng tidied her bed and lay down comfortably with earplugs in.

Truly, out of sight, out of mind.

Now she could finally sleep until dawn.

Lin Meng rarely had nightmares. Work was exhausting every day; after dinner and some phone scrolling, she'd collapse into sleep, so she had no time for nightmares.

But tonight, she dreamed of something sticky, like an alien tentacle, reaching toward her.

Seeing such a terrifying monster, she wanted to scream for help—but no matter how she shouted, no sound came out.

The more she struggled in the dream, the tighter it coiled around her. A purple, slimy tentacle wrapped around her waist. She clawed desperately at the tentacle wrapped several times around her middle, but no matter how she pulled, she couldn't move it.

Left with no choice, she bit down—but just as she did, another tentacle that had silently appeared behind her quickly gagged her mouth.

She couldn't breathe, and her face turned red. The tentacle's disgusting slime was like yam juice. Though she didn't want to swallow it, some of it accidentally slid down her throat. Her throat felt itchy, and even her chest felt blocked by a ball of hot air.

And that wasn't even the end of it. She saw more tentacles emerging from the darkness, slowly reaching toward her most secret place.

Lin Meng's eyes flew wide open. She struggled violently, shaking her head hard to escape. With all her effort, she finally managed to free one hand from that pile of disgusting things, and she bit down hard on the tentacle gagging her mouth.

And the next moment, she heard the "tentacle" scream.

That voice sounded far too human—and remarkably like someone she knew.

"Let go, let go!"

Only then did Lin Meng slowly open her eyes... and what greeted her was Su Yutang's deathly pale face, and Su Yutang's wrist clamped between her teeth.

Lin Meng hastily let go. On Su Yutang's fair wrist, a red-purple bite mark now stood out. Though the skin wasn't broken, there were flecks of blood in the impression.

Lin Meng thought she was dreaming within a dream. But when she felt the wetness of drool at the corner of her mouth, she realized she was probably awake.

She jolted upright and looked at the person lying in the same bed as her. "You... why are you here?"

Su Yutang, frowning, blew on the spot Lin Meng had bitten, then looked up. She held up her wrist—marked with bite impressions on both sides—like presenting evidence of a crime. "Darling, you were the one who bit me."

Lin Meng narrowed her eyes. This time she wasn't going to be led around by Su Yutang's logic. "I'm asking why you're in my bedroom. You should be sleeping on the sofa outside."

And besides, she had locked the bedroom door before going to sleep last night.

How had Su Yutang gotten in?

At that, Su Yutang immediately covered her mouth. As if unable to hold back her laughter, she pointed at something on the bedside table. Lin Meng followed her finger, and when she saw the key to her room, her brain short-circuited.

Seeing Lin Meng's stunned expression, Su Yutang quickly extended the hand with the bite mark. "Darling, hear me out. Next time you let someone stay at your place but don't want them sleeping in your bed, could you put the key away first? It makes things very difficult for others, you know."

You clearly don't want me in your bed, yet you leave the key hanging there in plain sight.

I'll take that as you flirting with me.

At that, Lin Meng's face instantly burned red. She quickly buried her head under the blanket.

Humiliating. How could it be this humiliating?

Su Yutang pulled the blanket off Lin Meng's head and held the bite mark up to her face again. "Look, you're the one who bit my hand like this. It really hurts, you know. This mark won't fade for at least a week. How am I supposed to face people?"

Lin Meng slowly poked her head out from under the covers. "Then what do you propose?"

Su Yutang leaned over Lin Meng, face to face with her. "Since I'm homeless now anyway, I'll just have to trouble you to take me in for another week. At least until this bite mark fades."

Lin Meng immediately refused. "No!"

Su Yutang pouted, throwing a tantrum. "I don't care, I don't care. You're the one who bit me like this, and I have no home to go back to. You have to take me in!"

Lin Meng was speechless.

Was this any way to ask someone for a favor?

Seeing her like this, Lin Meng lowered her head. "You have so many houses. Is there really nowhere you can go?"

At that question, Su Yutang's eyes darted around. She sat up and said with utter sincerity, "Even if I have all those houses, they're my mother's. If I argue with my mother and then go stay in her house, how humiliating would that be? If I have to grovel and beg, I'd rather die. Darling, would you want me to die?"

Lin Meng: "?"

How did the conversation get to dying again?

Lin Meng didn't know why, but she really couldn't stand hearing Su Yutang say things like "die." Helpless, she could only nod. "Fine."

The moment Su Yutang heard her agree, it was as if she'd received the most wonderful promise in the world. She threw herself forward and hugged Lin Meng tightly. Her posture now was just like when she secretly slipped into Lin Meng's bed at night and buried Lin Meng's head against her chest to sleep.

Lin Meng, gasping for air, patted Su Yutang's body.

And just then, the phone by her pillow lit up. On WeChat, the contact "Poor Little Pearl" showed: [Mengmeng-jie, good morning.]