Oh no! My yandere school beauty is so clingy!

After Lin Anran finished speaking, only the sound of the clock pendulum remained in the living room.

Shen Yu was silent for a few seconds before speaking, his voice flat and even:

"A very thrilling story."

Lin Anran raised her head and looked at him.

His face remained calm.

Lin Anran asked in a soft, tentative voice:

"And what about you?"

"After all that, how can you still be so...calm?"

She paused, seemingly considering how to phrase it.

"Back when we were in school, I didn't notice anything different about you. You were the class monitor, had good grades, and were popular. You seemed... no different from those people from happy families."

She looked at him, her eyes filled with confusion, and also a hint of... envy that she herself didn't realize.

"How...did you do that?"

Shen Yu leaned back on the sofa, her gaze fixed ahead, as if she were looking at something, yet also as if she wasn't looking at anything at all.

"I've cried all the tears I needed to cry. After all, so much time has passed. I can't just give up on life from now on... As for why I'm calm, that's just my personality."

"My dad always told me to keep my emotions stable and to calmly resolve problems, so I chose to call the police instead of killing him for revenge. It's that simple."

"Crying and making a scene won't solve the problem, and seeking sympathy won't change the facts. What's done is done. All I can do is handle the aftermath and... keep living."

He turned his head and looked at Lin Anran.

"Then...aren't you feeling uncomfortable?" Lin Anran asked, her voice even softer.

"Won't you...hate me?"

Shen Yu looked at her for a few seconds.

"It hurts, it makes me hate it."

"But pain and hatred are useless except for draining yourself. Just keep them in your heart. There's no need to keep bringing them out to hurt yourself."

He put it simply, but Lin Anran understood.

It's not that he doesn't feel pain, it's not that he doesn't hate.

He simply chose the least strenuous way to bear that pain and hatred.

Suppress your emotions and finish what needs to be done.

Because he didn't know how else to live.

Looking at his calm profile, the self-pity that had risen in her heart because of her own experiences suddenly faded a little...

So... he went through the same thing.

It's just a different approach.

"I..." She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but then felt that anything she said would be superfluous.

"It's almost time." Shen Yu glanced at the clock, stood up, and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Oh well..."

Lin Anran ultimately said nothing more and watched Shen Yu walk into the bathroom.

The sound of water in the bathroom lasted a long time, longer than usual...

Lin Anran sat on the living room sofa, holding a book in her hand, but she couldn't concentrate on reading a single word.

She kept her ears open, watching for the direction of the bathroom.

The sound of water finally stopped.

A while later, the door opened, and Shen Yu walked out, drying her hair, her body carrying the warm steam and the fresh scent of shower gel...

"Go ahead," he said to Lin Anran, his voice as usual, without any inflection.

"Mmm," Lin Anran responded, put down her book, picked up her change of clothes, and went into the bathroom.

While she was taking a shower, she was still thinking about the conversation she had just had.

Shen Yu said he felt uncomfortable and resentful, but he suppressed it.

Just because something is suppressed doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Especially... she brought up his past tonight.

He took such a long shower just now... was he... thinking about these things too?

Lin Anran quickly washed up, dried herself, changed into her pajamas, and went out.

Shen Yu was still sitting on the sofa, holding an open book in his hand, but his gaze did not seem to be focused on the words.

Hearing her voice as she came out, he looked up and glanced at her.

"If there's nothing else, go back to your room and sleep. I'll watch a little longer, then I'll go to sleep too."

As usual, it was Shen Yu's normal tone.

Lin Anran stood still, without moving or saying a word.

She looked at Shen Yu. Under the warm yellow light, his profile was clearly defined, and his brows held their usual calm.

But Lin Anran felt that something else was hidden beneath that calm.

A faint, almost imperceptible hint of weariness, or... loneliness.

Perhaps she was overthinking it, or perhaps it was because they had discussed such heavy topics tonight that she was seeing everything through a lens of prejudice.

But she just felt that something was off about him...

Shen Yu waited a few seconds, and seeing that she didn't move, he looked up at her again: "What's wrong?"

Lin Anran remained silent, simply staring at him for several seconds.

Then, she suddenly took a step forward, and then another, until she reached the sofa.

Under Shen Yu's slightly questioning gaze, she sat down beside him, turned sideways, and stretched out her arm, gently yet firmly, hugging him...

Her arm was wrapped around his shoulder, and her cheek was pressed against the ends of his hair.

The movements were a bit clumsy, even a little stiff, but the hug was very firm...

Shen Yu's body froze instantly.

His hand holding the book froze in mid-air, his other hand instinctively rose slightly, then stopped at his side, remaining motionless...

He spoke, his voice dry and hoarse: "You... what's wrong?"

Lin Anran didn't let go, but buried her face even deeper, whispering in his ear in a very soft, almost inaudible voice:

"I think...you might need this..."

Her voice was muffled, carrying a hint of uncertainty and a touch of stubbornness.

"..." Shen Yu fell silent, remaining motionless in the embraced position.

He could feel Lin Anran's body touch, even through the thin nightgown...

He could also feel her arms wrapped around his shoulders, the grip was a little tight, as if she was trying to convey something.

Several seconds passed before he seemed to finally understand what she meant...

He slowly lowered his hand that was holding the book, letting it hang at his side.

Then, the other hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, rose up and, hesitantly and tentatively, gently embraced her back.

The movements were very light and careful.

The two of them remained in a somewhat stiff, yet unusually close embrace on the sofa...

The living room was quiet, with only the sound of each other breathing and the occasional gust of wind passing by outside the window.

Lin Anran felt Shen Yu's arm embrace her; the force was light, yet it carried a real warmth.

Her heart was racing, and her cheeks were flushed, but she didn't let go...

Shen Yu didn't move. He remained in that position, his chin almost touching the top of her head, his eyes staring unfocused at the blank wall in front of him...

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Anran finally felt that Shen Yu's arms around her tightened slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Just a tiny bit.

You can hardly feel it.

But Lin Anran sensed it.

She closed her eyes, buried her face deeper into the crook of his shoulder, and the corners of her mouth curved silently...

After a while, Shen Yu gently patted her back.

"alright..."

"...Thanks."

Lin Anran then released her grip and straightened up.

She didn't dare look at him, her head lowered, her cheeks flushed, and her voice very soft:

"...You're welcome."

Shen Yu picked up the book again and said, "Go to sleep."

"...Okay, goodnight," Lin Anran said softly, then turned and quickly walked back to her bedroom, gently closing the door behind her.

With her back against the door, she could still hear her own heart pounding like a drum.

In the living room, Shen Yu remained in the same position for a long time... Although her eyes were fixed on the words in the book, she couldn't concentrate on reading it...