That night, Yu Shuman persistently questioned Qin Ran: "Do you hate me? Did I do something wrong? Why did you avoid me that day?" Her relentless questioning left Qin Ran feeling overwhelmed.
But no matter how relentless Yu Shuman's questions were, Qin Ran patiently reassured her over and over, "No, I don't hate you. You haven't done anything wrong..."
For the last question, however, no matter how many times Yu Shuman asked, Qin Ran dodged the answer.
Eventually, Yu Shuman grew tired and couldn't keep herself upright any longer. She slumped into Qin Ran's arms, falling asleep with soft snores.
Qin Ran was left in a bit of a predicament, calling out "Xuejie" a few times, but Yu Shuman didn't respond at all. It was then that Qin Ran realized she was in big trouble.
Qin Ran really wished she could carry Yu Shuman in a romantic, bridal style and easily take her to bed, but her strength and stamina just weren't up to the task. She tried a few times and finally managed to get Yu Shuman onto her back. Staggering with each step, she slowly carried her to the bedroom.
Using all her strength, she gently laid Yu Shuman down on the bed, then collapsed at the bedside, leaning against it as she panted heavily. Despite having exercised for quite some time, she still felt like a weakling.
Maybe… I really need to hire a personal trainer, Qin Ran thought. She didn't want to build muscles, but at least she wanted to be able to carry Yu Shuman from the doorway to the bedroom.
After resting for a while, Qin Ran finally caught her breath. She got up and faced the next challenge.
Yu Shuman was lying comfortably on the bed, hands curled up beside her face, softly snoring in a way that was almost adorable. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically, and if it weren't for her earlier questions, no one would have guessed that she was drunk.
The most pressing issue was that Yu Shuman was still wearing her high-end gown. Qin Ran didn't know about anyone else, but she knew that Yu Shuman would be extremely distressed if she woke up and found her dress all wrinkled. Although the dress had been given to Yu Shuman, Qin Ran had instructed Manager Li to tell Yu Shuman that it was just on loan.
If Yu Shuman slept in it all night, it wouldn't be presentable by morning. Qin Ran took a deep breath, knowing she needed to change Yu Shuman into something more comfortable to prevent her from waking up to a nightmare. She found a nightgown in the wardrobe and then looked at Yu Shuman.
If they were just friends and Qin Ran had no other feelings for Yu Shuman, she could easily help her change clothes. But Qin Ran's feelings for Yu Shuman were far from innocent. The summer dress Yu Shuman was wearing was thin, and the evening gown she wore had built-in padding—meaning she wasn't wearing anything underneath.
Qin Ran wrestled with herself for a long time before she finally extended a trembling hand. She gently turned Yu Shuman over, her fingers carefully pulling down the hidden zipper. With a soft sound, the zipper came undone, and Yu Shuman's smooth, fair back was fully exposed to Qin Ran, causing her face to flush red.
For a moment, Qin Ran was at a loss, unsure if she should continue. After all, it felt wrong to do this when she harbored impure thoughts about Yu Shuman.
But after agonizing over it, Qin Ran decided she couldn't bear to see Yu Shuman upset. She turned her head away, chanting "stay calm" in her mind as she carefully dressed Yu Shuman in the nightgown.
She avoided looking at Yu Shuman's front, only working from behind, grateful that the nightgown was a simple pull-over style with no buttons. Once she finished dressing Yu Shuman, she tucked her into bed and took the gown, carefully hanging it on the nearby clothes rack.
Afterward, Qin Ran went to the bathroom, returned with a damp towel, and gently wiped Yu Shuman's face, hands, and feet. Only after everything was done did Qin Ran let out a sigh of relief. It had been exhausting, but what really took a toll was her heart; she couldn't handle such temptation.
She sat by the bed to rest, checking her phone and noting that it was quite late. She stood up and left the bedroom, pausing at the door to glance back at Yu Shuman. Softly, she whispered, "Goodnight, Xuejie," before turning off the light with a quiet click, leaving the room in peaceful silence.
Yu Shuman woke up the next day at 10:30 AM, her head aching slightly from the alcohol she had drunk the night before. She sat up in bed and rubbed her temples, and the memories of the previous night came flooding back.
In that moment, Yu Shuman's face turned red with embarrassment. She felt utterly mortified. Not only had she accidentally knocked Qin Ran over, causing her to fall hard on the ground, but she had also pinned her down, bombarding her with all sorts of questions.
Yu Shuman didn't remember exactly how long she had pestered Qin Ran, but she knew she had been incessantly asking those three questions while Qin Ran patiently answered each one. Even now, Yu Shuman could still hear Qin Ran's voice in her head: "That's not true, Xuejie is great, you didn't do anything wrong. I could never hate you, not ever."
Qin Ran, who usually struggled to string together a full sentence, had spoken so much last night. In fact, she had said more in one night than she typically did in a week. Realizing this, Yu Shuman felt even more embarrassed. At the same time, she couldn't help but feel puzzled: Wasn't Qin Ran being too good to her?
This wasn't the first time Yu Shuman had these thoughts. Ever since she found out that Qin Ran was the boss of 99 Entertainment and had started the company because of her, Yu Shuman had been growing more and more uncertain. That's why Qin Ran's behavior—clearly avoiding her a few days ago—had been so hard for Yu Shuman to accept.
Normally, Qin Ran would never distance herself from Yu Shuman. So when she started to avoid her, even over the next couple of days, it really shook Yu Shuman.
Before the event, knowing that Qin Ran would be attending, Yu Shuman had feared that Qin Ran might deliberately avoid sitting at the same table as her. Because of these worries, she had even asked Xiao An, "What do you think it means if a close friend suddenly starts avoiding you?"
At the time, Yu Shuman had been getting her makeup done while Xiao An sat nearby, going over the schedule for the upcoming week. Hearing Yu Shuman's question, Xiao An had thought about it for a moment before replying, "Is your friend in a relationship?"
Yu Shuman's first reaction was to deny it, saying, "That's impossible." Her response was so strong that she had looked up at Xiao An in the mirror, causing the makeup artist to accidentally draw her eyebrow too far out.
The makeup artist frowned and put down the eyebrow pencil, preparing to correct the mistake.
Yu Shuman realized she had overreacted, disrupting the makeup process, and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry."
The makeup artist, seeing her sincere apology, didn't say anything further but couldn't help asking, "Why is it impossible? If your close friend is around your age, it's not uncommon for people in the industry to date in secret, even if it's not allowed. If your friend is from outside the industry, dating is even more normal."
Yu Shuman couldn't explain that Qin Ran was a hardcore homebody who, if she were to develop a crush, was more likely to fall for a 2D character or even express her desire to marry Hatsune Miku than to walk up to her with a guy and say, "Xuejie, this is my boyfriend!"
Yu Shuman simply couldn't imagine Qin Ran dating anyone. But after Xiao An mentioned the possibility, Yu Shuman started to wonder… could it be true? Qin Ran wasn't bad-looking, just not interested in dressing up most of the time. But when she did, like at that last event, she could hold her own against any celebrity.
Moreover, Qin Ran had an aura that Yu Shuman couldn't quite describe.
On top of that, Qin Ran was young, wealthy, and practically advertised her status as a "rich woman looking for love." Yu Shuman fell silent. Someone like Qin Ran could easily be pursued by others, and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary if she decided to have a sweet romance with someone who caught her eye.
Because of these thoughts, Yu Shuman had ended up drinking more than usual at the event. And embarrassingly, she had gotten herself quite drunk.
Later, Qin Ran had struggled to carry her back to the room and even changed her clothes. Yu Shuman vaguely remembered bits and pieces of this, though the memories were hazy. Now, seeing that she had changed clothes, and noticing the gown from the previous night hanging neatly on the rack, she knew it had been Qin Ran who had taken care of her, confirming the fragments of memory.
"This is so embarrassing…" Yu Shuman muttered, grabbing her hair and giving it a frustrated rub.
She had always wanted to be someone Qin Ran could rely on, but she hadn't succeeded. Instead, she had ended up depending on Qin Ran, even making her take care of her after getting drunk. How could she face Qin Ran after this?
After dwelling on it for a while, Yu Shuman finally got out of bed around 11 AM, slowly making her way to the guest bathroom to freshen up and change clothes before heading out. Qin Ran wasn't home; she had left a note on the living room table saying she had gone to class early that morning.
"Xuejie, by the time you wake up, I'll probably already be at school. The housekeeper will come to make lunch; eat, then rest more in the afternoon. I'll be back to cook dinner," the note read. The table was already set with the lunch that the housekeeper had prepared, each dish being something Yu Shuman liked, clearly chosen by Qin Ran.
Yu Shuman put down the note and began eating lunch after serving herself a bowl of rice. Since she had woken up late, she was quite hungry, but the food prepared by the housekeeper was light and easy on her stomach, just what she needed.
The question that had been lingering in her mind resurfaced as Yu Shuman ate: Why is Qin Ran so good to me?