NOVPUBPink.
It was pink.
I’ve lived long enough to know that I don’t have any issues distinguishing colors, so there’s no way I was seeing things.
But... what if? What if I really was seeing things wrong?
Unwilling to accept what I was seeing, I changed angles, moving to Lan Hua’s side to get a better look.
Still pink.
That same cherry blossom pink as Serena and Cora. Lili had once told me that was the color of love.
If her title turned pink when she was facing Lillian, I could understand it. But it was pink while facing me?
Does that mean she likes me? Is that what it means?!
My heart raced as the unsettling conclusion settled in. I took another look at Lan Hua.
She was completely engrossed in my hand.
No, don’t get the wrong idea. I mean, she was utterly absorbed in playing with my hand.
Like an archaeologist who had just unearthed a prehistoric relic, she held my hand in both of hers, staring at it with a dazed, almost manic grin.
Her half-open mouth let out a soft, dreamlike, “Heh heh heh...” as a thin thread of drool trickled from the corner of her lips.
But the worst part was that intense, unnerving gaze.
Her eyes were locked onto my hand, not blinking once, her pupils dilated and bloodshot.
It felt like my hand was being seared by her burning stare.
That gaze... It was like she wanted to take a microscope to my hand and examine every pore, every line.
It was unsettling. Terrifying.
I had no idea {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} why just holding my hand could get her so... excited. She was totally absorbed in it, as if she were addicted.
Was she really that obsessed with me?
This was insane. My jaw practically dropped to the floor.
No, no, no, no! This has to be one of those Three Great Delusions of Life!
I’ve never experienced any of them before. Never had the delusion of thinking my phone was ringing (because nobody ever called me), never thought someone was knocking on my door (because nobody ever visited me), and definitely never imagined a girl liked me.
There’s no way some girl I barely even spoke to would suddenly fall for me out of nowhere. That’s just too ridiculous.
Uh, Lillian doesn’t count. She only started paying attention to me because of the seductive magic circle in my head, and after that, she only clung to me because she wanted my corpse.
But Lan Hua... She wouldn’t have been affected by that, right?
Right? There’s no way she’d look at me like that because of a spell... Would she?
“......”
No matter how much I tried to think of another explanation, I couldn’t.
I wasn’t being conceited or anything, but the way she was looking at me... That was definitely the look of someone in love, right?!
The way she looked so surprised, so overjoyed, so bashful when she first saw me... The way her face turned beet red after touching me, the way she kept smiling stupidly while playing with my hand...
Everything about her was screaming, “I like you!”
Unless... Unless she was actually in love with my right hand?! Huh?!
But why me?!
Am I really that lucky? Is this what they call a peach blossom curse?
No, no. I hate things that don’t make sense, things that are completely unreasonable.
Anyway, whatever the reason, getting stalked by a girl with a fixation on me is definitely not good news! It’s a disaster! And I should know — I’ve read enough novels and manga to understand that much!
I need to get out of here. Now.
This sense of urgency spurred me to take immediate action.
First, I put my jaw back in place, then put on a gentle, non-threatening smile and softly called her name.
“Lan Hua?”
She didn’t respond. No surprise there. So, I shifted tactics. I wrapped my left hand around hers, holding her hand as I said her name again, this time with a slightly confused, questioning tone.
“Lan Hua?”
Maybe feeling my touch snapped her out of it. Lan Hua blinked, staring blankly at my hand for a good five seconds before...
“A-Ah?! A-Ahh! That, that, that... I-I wasn’t... I mean, um... B-Because you suddenly reached out... And it was the first time touching... So, I couldn’t help... A-And my palms are sweaty... Eeeeeek! I-I-I...”
She was flustered. Completely disoriented.
Her eyes were darting all over the place, her pupils spinning like a slot machine. Her cheeks were so red they looked like they might burst into steam.
Her words tumbled out like a broken tape recorder, stuttering and incoherent. I had no idea what she was trying to say.
But even in her confused state, she still didn’t let go of my hand. Just how obsessed with my hand was she?!
No matter what she said or did, I already had my next move planned.
I gently pulled my right hand free from hers, placed both hands on her shoulders, and smiled as warmly as I could.
“It’s okay. There’s nothing to apologize for. If anything, it was my fault for bumping into you. You really don’t need to thank me for anything. Heh heh.”
Step one: establish boundaries. Make it clear that I was the one at fault for bumping into her. That way, there would be no reason for her to keep thanking me, which would prevent any further unnecessary contact.
Before she could respond, I immediately followed up with the next line.
“Well, I’d better get going, Lan Hua. It’s getting late, so you should head home too. Hahaha.”
Damn it. That laugh sounded so forced. Even I could hear how fake it was.
But it worked. Mission accomplished.
“A-Ah, wait—”
I pretended not to hear her, turning around and walking away as fast as I could.
As for her stalking me... Yeah, let’s just forget about that for now.
I sped up, heading straight for the subway station. In one smooth motion, I bought a ticket and squeezed myself into the crowded train on Line 2.
The time was a little past six in the evening, right around the end of the rush hour. The train was packed. I was like a little fish swimming upstream against a tide of bodies.
By now, I was pretty sure I’d lost Lan Hua. With this many people packed into the train, even if she managed to get on the same train, she wouldn’t be able to find me.
Besides, I had deliberately passed through two train cars just to make sure. There was no way she could spot me now.
Just as the train was about to depart, the crowd shoved me against the door, almost pushing me out. If it weren’t for the station attendant helping me back in, I would have been left behind.
Phew... Finally, I could catch my breath.
I leaned against the now-closed train door and let out a long, weary sigh.
Lan Hua, huh...
I brought my right hand up to my nose and sniffed it. Amid the scent of sweat, there was a faint, sweet milky fragrance. Probably some kind of skincare lotion. After all, girls tend to pay attention to that sort of thing.
My right hand still felt slightly damp. No matter how many times I shook it, the feeling of Lan Hua’s clammy grip still lingered.
Touching a girl’s hand should have been a pleasant experience, but this time, I couldn’t feel happy about it at all.
Comparing it to how Lillian holds my hand — she likes to interlace her fingers with mine but doesn’t go all the way to the base of the fingers. She keeps it light and playful, shaking our connected hands like she’s teasing me. Sometimes she grips too hard, and it actually hurts. If I try to pull away, she just laughs and tightens her grip, rubbing her palm against mine like she’s compensating for the pain she caused. It always feels like she’s messing with me.
If she’s in her Softie mode, she holds my hand differently — just lightly grasping my fingers without touching my palm. But her shy, bashful expression is enough to make my heart pound like crazy.
Snowy’s hand is small. I can wrap it completely in mine. She always curls her fingers in, making it easier for me to hold her hand. It’s a warm, comforting feeling — my big hand holding her tiny one.
But Lan Hua...
When she grabbed my hand, it felt like my hand wasn’t even mine anymore. It felt like it had been completely taken over.
I rubbed my right hand against my cheek, trying to wipe away that lingering sensation.
After standing there for a whole stop, the train finally slowed to a halt. I shifted from leaning against the door to leaning against one of the metal poles, trying to make myself as small as possible to avoid getting pushed out by the crowd.
This wasn’t my stop. I couldn’t get off here.
A mass of people poured out of the train, only to be replaced by another wave of commuters. Thankfully, I had a firm grip on the pole and managed not to get swept away in the chaos.
Once the doors slid shut, I let go of the pole and went back to leaning against the door. It was uncomfortable against my back, but at least it kept me out of the crowd’s direct flow.
Psssshh... The train jerked forward, and everyone swayed in unison, like a wave of bodies.
See, this is exactly why I prefer standing by the doors. If I were in the middle of the crowd, I’d be sandwiched like the filling in a meat bun.
Plus, who knows if there are any pickpockets in this mob...
Suddenly, someone pushed through the crowd and crashed into me.
The moment I saw her face, my eyes nearly popped out of my head.
It was... Lan Hua?!
How the hell did she find me?! Her targeted approach was way too accurate!
“Ouch...”
Lan Hua was rubbing her nose as she slowly lifted her head. The expression on her face went through a whole series of changes: from discomfort, to surprise, to embarrassment, and finally to shy awkwardness. Her entire face became a narrative of her internal turmoil.
If I were a clueless bystander, I might have thought, “Oh, poor girl. She must’ve been pushed by the crowd and accidentally bumped into me. Heh, what a lucky break~”
But after what I just went through, was I supposed to believe this was an accident? 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
I wasn’t that naive!
Lan Hua bit her lip and dropped her gaze, standing there quietly for a moment. Then, without lifting her head, she glanced up at me with a shy, almost demure look.
“U-Um... Juncheng... S-Sorry about that... The subway is just so crowded... Did I... bother you?”
“N-No, it’s fine...”
My voice sounded way too forced.
The frantic panic she showed earlier was completely gone now. Either she had mentally prepared herself, or she had already calmed down. Now, she only looked shy — but who knew if it was real or fake?
Just then, the train jolted, and Lan Hua was pushed forward. She barely managed to catch herself, planting her hands against the door on either side of my head.
Now, she was leaning over me, her face inches away from mine. She was struggling to hold herself up, biting her lower lip, a strand of hair hanging down by her mouth. The whole scene was painfully... suggestive.
I almost wanted to say, “If it’s too much, you don’t have to force yourself...”
But then it hit me — was she... acting?
Ugh. But still, considering her strength, holding herself up like that against the crowd really did look tough...
While I was hesitating, the train hit a sharp turn. The sudden shift in momentum was too much for Lan Hua. She lost her grip and fell forward.
Straight into me.
Her entire body pressed against mine.
Soft. Everything was soft.
Unlike Snowy’s flat, slender figure, Lan Hua’s body was curvier, fuller. Her chest was plush, and her thighs had a subtle plushness to them, hinted at by the way her over-the-knee socks squeezed against her skin.
And now, that very thigh was pressing right into my crotch.
Oh crap... This is... really, really awkward.
Her face was so close that I could feel her breath against my cheek.
Too close! Way too close!
“Pfft...”
Huh? Did she just... giggle?
Even though her voice was barely above a whisper and the train was loud, I still heard it.
Maybe it was because I’d gotten so used to listening to Snowy’s quiet voice, but I definitely caught it.
Lan Hua was giggling. She was pressing against me, her face buried in my chest, and she was... laughing.
“Hehehe... I did it...”
So it was deliberate?!
She did it on purpose!
