Chương 221: The Battle for the Silent Shadow Resumes

Of the three girls' gazes directed at Ji Ying, Su Yuqing's was the most direct and intense, even carrying a hint of undisguised aggression.

In her view, sharing a bed with her lover is a matter of course and perfectly normal.

Especially with Ye Zixuan, a rival who suddenly appeared tonight and is extremely threatening in every way, watching her like a hawk, she felt an unprecedented sense of crisis and felt that she had to assert her dominance in the most direct way.

Not to mention, Xiaoying not only kept her own safety a secret this afternoon in order to save this woman, but also had to go through a lot of trouble afterwards to help her cover up the fact that she couldn't go home to her family, bearing huge risks and pressure.

Logically and emotionally, it's only right that Xiaoying sleeps with him and lets him "enjoy" her company as compensation!

Unlike Su Yuqing's possessive and burning gaze, Ye Zixuan's gaze was both gentle and sharp.

Xiaoying had just risked her life to save me from a desperate situation, and gave me the gentlest comfort and affirmation when I was at my most vulnerable and self-doubting.

At this moment, she felt an indescribable gratitude, trust, and intense love for Ji Ying. She desperately longed for closer contact with him in order to seek that unique sense of security and emotional comfort.

Moreover, she had already declared in front of everyone that she would become the most special person in Xiaoying's heart, and she would never easily admit defeat on the "right to sleep with someone," which symbolizes an important indicator of intimate relationships.

Compared to the hostile gazes of the first two, Luo Bingli's eyes, though also revealing undisguised desire, appeared much calmer.

In her arms, she still tightly held the clone that was no different from the real Ji Ying. For her, just being able to hold "Xiao Ying" like this and feel its delicate and soft touch and reassuring aura was enough to make her feel satisfied and happy.

Of course, she also wanted to sleep with Xiaoying herself, but—she dared not imagine what a chaotic scene it would be if Yuqing and Zixuan slept in the same room and on the same bed in order to achieve this goal.

The two of them will most likely continue their previous interaction pattern, making a ruckus until dawn.

However, excluding any one person would be unacceptable to that person, no matter who it is, unless—it is Xiaoying herself who is excluded.

Although she seemed quite willing to do it, that would probably be something none of the three of them could accept.

—In comparison, sleeping with Zixuan might be a more suitable choice, but— Will Zixuan really agree?

Just as Luo Bingli was calmly analyzing the various possibilities and trying to find the optimal solution, Ji Ying, who was being watched by three pairs of eyes at the same time, swallowed hard, feeling that his personal safety tonight seemed somewhat difficult to guarantee.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, she slowly rose from the floor, her face displaying an extremely stiff expression.

With a smile that could even be described as fawning, she tentatively said, "Um—I think how about this, I'll just stay in Yuqing's room for the night, and you three will have to squeeze in a little in Yuqing's room, okay?"

As he spoke, Ji Ying seized the opportunity, turned around and quickly walked towards the door of the room, trying to escape this place of trouble.

However, as soon as she took a step, two slender hands from different owners grabbed her arms, one on the left and one on the right, pinning her firmly to the spot.

—As expected—that's how it is— Ji Ying sighed silently, then stopped in her tracks. She tried to offer her opinion in a final act of defiance: "Um, I think—"

"What?"

"Um?"

Su Yuqing and Ye Zixuan's voices, filled with obvious dissatisfaction and threats, came from behind Ji Ying at the same time. She didn't even need to turn around to clearly feel those two sharp gazes that seemed to pierce through her.

"...'

"You decide for yourselves, I'll follow your arrangements."

Ji Ying readily gave up all resistance, letting them pull her back to the center of the room and sit down on the floor again, looking dejected.

Seeing this, Su Yuqing and Ye Zixuan withdrew their gazes with satisfaction and turned back to each other. The moment their eyes met, it was as if an invisible bolt of lightning flashed through the air.

"Xiaoying, what nonsense are you talking about?" Su Yuqing was the first to attack. She affectionately took Jiying's arm, but her tone was full of unquestionable authority.

"How could I let you sleep in the bed alone? Of course you should sleep with me."

She then raised her chin and said to Ye Zixuan with a straight face, "Hey you over there, let go of Xiaoying's hand right now."

"Oh? It's rare that I actually agree with what you said." Upon hearing this, Ye Zixuan's lips curled into an elegant smile, but her words were full of provocation.

"Unfortunately—only the first half."

"Xiaoying certainly can't sleep alone, but she absolutely can't sleep with you either," she retorted without backing down.

"You should just stay in your own room. I'll just have to make do and sleep in your brother's room with Xiaoying."

Instead of letting go of Ji Ying's hand, she tightened her grip and intentionally or unintentionally pressed Ji Ying's slender arm against her proud curves. Feeling the slight stiffness in his arm, her smile deepened.

Upon hearing this answer, Su Yuqing was stunned for a moment, wondering if she had misheard.

After realizing what had happened, a surge of anger immediately welled up inside her. This woman—how dare she say such outrageous things?! Sleeping in my man's room and still feeling "wronged"?!

She immediately pointed at Ye Zixuan, her voice trembling with anger: "What did you just say?! You're feeling wronged?! You're sleeping in my brother's room and you dare to say you're feeling wronged?! What are you feeling wronged about?!"

"Isn't that right?" Ye Zixuan calmly retorted.

"Xiaoying and I are both girls, and tonight we're sleeping in the room of a complete stranger—a boy we've never met before. Even if we don't feel wronged, we're making do, aren't we?"

"this----" Ye Zixuan's logically impeccable words actually calmed Su Yuqing down a bit.

She suddenly realized that from the other person's perspective, the situation was indeed like that. If she were staying overnight in a strange boy's room, she would definitely feel very uncomfortable.

Of course, this didn't stop Su Yuqing from continuing to be indignant about this statement. She snorted irritably and said, "You want to sleep in my brother's room? I won't let you! Do you think just anyone deserves to sleep in that room?"

"Don't forget, you're nominally a guest invited to my home. As a guest, you should obediently follow my instructions as the host!"

"I already told Mom and Dad before dinner that you and Xiaoli will sleep in my room tonight, and I will sleep in my brother's room."

"If Mom and Dad find you sleeping in my brother's room the next morning, how should I explain it to them?"

At this point, Su Yuqing's face revealed an extremely "kind" smile, and her tone became meaningful: "Could it be that—you actually have a crush on my brother, and you came to stay at our house tonight specifically to keep an eye on him, but unfortunately he wasn't home tonight, so you sneaked into his bed in the middle of the night and fell asleep smelling his scent?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Ye Zixuan's cheeks flushed bright red in an instant.

She never imagined that Su Yuqing would use such—such almost rogue logic—to slander her!

She immediately glared at Su Yuqing, her voice filled with shame and indignation as she loudly denied, "How could I possibly fall for a man I've never even met? And... and fall asleep smelling his scent? That kind of... insane behavior is something only you would do!!"

The thought that the person Ye Zixuan was talking about was right next to her, and that the other person had clearly stated that she had fallen in love with Xiaoying, and now was swearing to her that she would never fall in love with "Ache", made Su Yuqing feel a little amused.

She replied with a grin, "That's not necessarily true~ Maybe you've actually fallen for my brother, you just haven't realized it yet."

"Of course not, I would absolutely not introduce him to you, don't even think about it!"

Luo Bingli, of course, understood the meaning behind Su Yuqing's words and couldn't help but chuckle twice. Ji Ying, on the other hand, glared at Su Yuqing with a helpless look, thinking to herself, "Don't cause me any more trouble."

Ye Zixuan was confused. Seeing that Su Yuqing was still teasing her about this topic, she immediately retorted, "Oh? You reacted so strongly to my statement that I spent the night in your brother's room, and now you're saying you would never introduce him to me—does that mean you have some ulterior motive towards your brother?"

"That thing you mentioned earlier—falling asleep smelling his scent, that's not something you do all the time, is it?"

i, Su Yuqing's face flushed slightly.

—Damn it! How can this woman have such a sharp intuition?!

Ye Zixuan was unaware of the special relationship between herself and A-Che, and she did not want to expose this relationship to him immediately, giving him leverage over her.

But then again—since that bastard Jingjue's matter can't be resolved in the short term, then in the future, Ache will definitely have to deal with Ye Zixuan quite a few times in his own capacity.

Although I think it's highly unlikely that this will happen, what if—this woman really does have some inappropriate thoughts about A-Che?

No way! I must declare sovereignty in advance and completely eliminate this possibility, lest there be another one later!

Thinking of this, Su Yuqing's face lit up with a radiant smile. Instead of denying it, she openly and frankly admitted, "So what if it is? Don't be too envious when I tell you, but I used to sleep with him every single day!"

"Falling asleep to the scent of him is so reassuring!"

"Huh?!"

Ye Zixuan had never thought of this direction before; she only wanted to use this as an excuse to retaliate. However, upon hearing Su Yuqing's shocking statement, she was immediately stunned and began to stammer.

"What are you saying? Aren't you siblings? How can siblings—do this—"'

"Ha, didn't expect that, did you?" Su Yuqing's smugness deepened. She hugged Ji Ying's arm tighter, leaned forward, and said with a smile, "Ache and I became siblings because our parents remarried. We're not related by blood at all, so whatever we do is~perfect~!"

Hearing Su Yuqing's explanation, and noticing that the other party had even changed the way she addressed him from "brother" to the extremely intimate "Ache," Ye Zixuan immediately understood that she had been teased by this guy again. Her cheeks instantly turned bright red, and her heart was filled with indescribable embarrassment and annoyance.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and then launched another counterattack: "Since you like your A-Che so much, then you can go sleep in that room by yourself. Xiao-Ying is also a guest staying at your house temporarily, and it's only natural for the host to properly meet the needs of her guest."

"It's really inappropriate to have a girl like you, who's still in middle school, sleeping in a boy's room with you, especially since that boy is someone you like!"

"That is—" Su Yuqing was caught off guard and speechless for a moment. Of course, she couldn't explain to the other party that Xiaoying was also the owner of this house, and even the true owner of that room.

She felt that unspeakable frustration once again, and could only glare at the innocent-looking Ji Ying beside her.

—It's all your fault for being too lazy back then and casually saying you were still in junior high! Now I not only can't refute this woman's twisted logic, but I also have to carefully cover for you and not let this secret be exposed. It's so infuriating!

—I really want to tell all the facts right now, so I can see what kind of interesting expression that hateful woman will make!

Ji Ying knew perfectly well why Su Yuqing was glaring at her. Feeling a little guilty, she shrank back and secretly clasped her hands together in front of Su Yuqing, giving her a tender expression.

Seeing her pitiful and adorable appearance, Su Yuqing's heart softened instantly, and she sighed helplessly in her heart.

—Never mind, whatever, you're my favorite A-Che. — —I'll let bygones be bygones for what happened tonight, but as compensation, I'm going to hold you and suckle for a good ten minutes or so later, not a second less!

She immediately turned her head to the side, snorted irritably, and said stubbornly, "I don't care! As a guest, shouldn't you obediently follow my arrangements as the host?"

"I've already given you and Xiaoli your room, what more could you want?"

"You know, that's not the point." Ye Zixuan gently shook her head, calmly gazing at Su Yuqing.

"As long as I can sleep with Xiaoying, what does it matter if it's your room, the floor, or the sofa?"

"I asked you to come back with us before because I was worried that you were injured and not in good condition. I thought that if you stayed at my house, you could be taken care of. Don't push your luck, or I won't let you come next time!" Su Yuqing threatened angrily.

"I understand that very well, and I am very grateful to you. I will definitely find a way to repay your kindness in the future," Ye Zixuan replied in a deep voice, her tone extremely sincere.

"However, I will absolutely not back down when it comes to Xiaoying, unless—you kick me out of here right now."

"you----" Su Yuqing was once again rendered speechless.

Seeing that the topic was getting heated again, Luo Bingli quickly spoke up to persuade, "Yuqing, Zixuan, stop arguing. How about the three of you squeeze into this bed for one night? I'll sleep in Yuqing's room tonight."

"Of course not!" Su Yuqing immediately rejected the suggestion without even thinking.

"How can we exclude you, Xiaoli?"

"Besides, even if I were here, I absolutely could not accept her sleeping in the same bed as Xiaoying!"'

"She's right about that," Ye Zixuan rarely agreed, "Xiao Li, you're a guest too, how can we let you sleep alone in her brother's room?"

Luo Bingli's cheeks flushed slightly, and she nodded gently without saying anything more. Actually, she had her own little selfish reason for making this suggestion.

Holding Xiaoying's clone in his arms, sleeping in her bed—it would definitely be an unforgettable experience for him. In comparison, being the only one excluded—seemed somewhat acceptable, after all, it was only for one night.

Su Yuqing turned to look at Ye Zixuan again, and asked irritably, "I'm asking you, are you absolutely not going to give in tonight?"

"Of course," Ye Zixuan replied without hesitation.

"How about this then?" Su Yuqing's eyes darted around, a mischievous smile suddenly appearing on her face. She then suggested, "Why don't you come out and talk to me alone? Maybe—after we talk, you'll change your mind?"

As she spoke, she took the initiative to let go of Jiying's arms and picked up her phone from the bedside table.

"Whatever." Although Ye Zixuan was a little puzzled by Su Yuqing's sudden suggestion, she still readily agreed.

"But I don't think you can offer any conditions that would entice me."

"Hehe, it's not too late to draw a conclusion after you hear my conditions~" Su Yuqing said, adding before leaving, "Oh, and remember to take your own phone."

"----I see."

Ye Zixuan felt that the meaning was somewhat unclear, but she still did as she was told.

Then, she followed Su Yuqing out of the room, leaving Jiying standing there with a confused expression.

What's going on here?