Oh no, my deskmate is a yandere!

"Splash..."

Turn on the tap, and clear tap water pours out of the spout.

He took a deep breath, clasped his hands together, collected some water, and then splashed it all over his face.

The chill caused water droplets to gradually slide down the curves of her cheeks and gather at her chin.

It causes a slight stinging sensation.

This method is one of the few ways he has been able to calm himself down in the past six months.

A brief period of peace is always better than prolonged oppression.

Jiang Nianxi... Su Lingyi...

Yang An looked at his reflection in the mirror and opened his mouth.

Under Jiang Nianxi's strict schedule, her face was noticeably fuller.

But I don't know if it's just psychological, but I always feel a bit pale.

Numbness?

"..."

Outside the bathroom, a woman's calm voice suddenly rang out.

"You're coming back tomorrow?"

"...Okay, once you're home, send me a message."

"Of course I'm not home..."

"Goodbye."

"..."

Yang An pushed open the bathroom door and looked toward the source of the sound. Jiang Nianxi was wearing an apron and holding a kitchen knife in one hand. She had just put down the phone and was pointing at something with her head down.

"Um?"

Hearing the noise, she looked up, a smile playing on her lips: "Goodness, why are you suddenly looking at me?"

"Who were you talking to on the phone just now?"

"..."

She paused, startled, and after a long while, slowly said, "You heard everything?"

"No, it's your freedom to call whoever you want. I was just... asking, and I have no right to interfere." Yang An shook his head, completely absolving himself of any responsibility.

He just asked it offhand.

It's funny, actually.

Jiang Nianxi strictly controls her social interactions, and rarely lets him know about her own.

If this is what she means by love and the lack of privacy... it seems quite ironic.

Ha... Why do I care so much?

Do you expect a pervert to be forced to be completely unreserved, just like yourself?

"Heh, I gave you my phone so you could check up on me, but you were so indifferent... What, suddenly got it today?"

Jiang Nianxi approached with a smile and reached out to rub the top of his head.

"..."

Yang An didn't speak, he just looked at her expressionlessly.

Realizing that teasing him further was pointless, Jiang Nianxi left a light kiss on his lips.

"Okay, that was my mom on the phone."

She pinched Yang An's cheek: "My mom said she's taking the train back tomorrow, saying... she wants to come back and be with me."

"Your mother?"

"Um."

"..."

Yang An raised an eyebrow at the mention of Jiang Nianxi's mother.

A tiny bit of hope suddenly welled up in my heart.

Just now, judging from Jiang Nianxi's tone, she didn't seem to be in a good mood.

If... there is a conflict between mother and daughter, it can also be used as an important turning point.

Night fell silently.

Hot water was poured over my body, and the scalding temperature made my skin turn red.

The tingling pain did not stop Yang An.

Outside the bathroom, a small cabinet held a pile of clothes neatly folded.

"Waaah—waaah—"

On the sink, the vibration of his phone immediately caught Yang An's attention.

The screen lit up on its own, and a string of unfamiliar numbers vaguely appeared in the hazy fog.

"..."

He hesitated for a moment, then instead of turning off the shower, he stepped out of the shower area and simply wiped his hands with a towel.

Then he picked up the phone, which was still relatively dry.

The shower was very loud.

It's big enough to cover up the movement of a mobile phone and a person.

If Jiang Nianxi hadn't gone to such an extreme degree, she probably wouldn't have installed anything strange in the bathroom.

The clothes were outside, and Jiang Nianxi herself was in the bedroom. There was noise from the water, so as long as she spoke softly enough...

"What is it?"

Upon answering the phone, Yang An blurted out the answer without even thinking.

On the other side, the woman's voice hesitated for a moment.

He slowly said, "Yang An."

"Um……"

"..."

"..."

Neuropathy.

Yang An put down his phone, looked at the in-call interface on the screen, and cursed under his breath.

Aside from his parents, is there not a single person he can talk to properly?

Is there not a single normal person among them?

He answered the phone with trepidation, speaking very softly, afraid of being recorded by a bug hidden in his clothes.

Then the woman called his name.

I'm not going to say anything more.

Are you trying to appear profound and mysterious here?

He took a deep breath and said patiently, "I know you are Su Lingyi. Just say what you want to say, don't keep me in suspense."

Thanks to Jiang Nianxi, my temper has improved by more than a little bit.

In the past, the call would have been disconnected long ago.

Are you taking a shower?

"..."

"?"

On the other end of the phone, there seemed to be some rustling or stirring in the blankets.

The woman's voice was as melodious as a high school student's.

Yang An's face immediately darkened.

Depend on.

This scene is all too familiar.

Last year, when I was playing a game, Jiang Nianxi started playing in the same way.

He was making crazy guesses about what he was doing.

"Don't misunderstand, the sound of water is very loud over there. It's nighttime now, so it's not hard to guess."

The woman's helpless explanation.

However, Yang An had already been washing for a while, and he knew that if he delayed any longer, Jiang Nianxi would definitely come out to find out what was going on.

Quick fight.

He wanted to see what this woman was up to.

"If you're just calling to chat, then I'm hanging up."

"Yang An, I feel... it seems like you weren't with that woman willingly."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean...? Your tone already tells you, doesn't it? That woman doesn't treat you well usually, does she?"

"..."

Yang An felt a dull ache in his heart upon hearing these words, as if he were being pricked by needles.

Perhaps driven by his subconscious, he gritted his teeth and said, "Su Lingyi, don't talk nonsense."

"hehe……"

"You're not the same Su Lingyi as before. The way you are now really makes me feel... disgusted."

"...If I stay the same as before, I won't be able to hold onto anything."

"you!"

Why can't everyone just speak normally?

At this moment, Yang An's head was spinning, unsure whether it was from the warm mist around him or from Su Lingyi's indifferent tone.

Mingming's voice was just like the soft, gentle voice of the former class representative.

Why has it become so... difficult to deal with?

Just like... just like Jiang Nianxi.

"I used a little bit of resources. Don't you think your movements are a bit strange?"

In her luxurious bedroom, Su Lingyi chuckled as she looked at the information sent to her in the chat box on her tablet.

But the hotel booking records were so glaring.

September 3, 2026.

September 21, 2026.

2026...

Each one, each date.

Each time she saw it, it made her breathless.

She said she didn't care, but she couldn't imagine her beloved pinning someone else down.

The more she thought about it, the less the smile on her face faded.