NOVPUBThe simulated hourglass in my mind dripped sand grain by grain... Time seemed to slow down, stretching each second into an eternity.
I clenched my teeth, shut my eyes tight, and pressed a hand over my mouth, counting prime numbers in my mind to distract myself.
After what felt like an excruciatingly long ten minutes... I finally heard the station announcement.
Trapped under Lan Hua’s palm, enduring the humiliation of being toyed with while battling the dark impulses within myself, teetering between guilt and the overwhelming sense of loss.
It was so close... Just a little more and...
I would have become just like the perverted, shameless freak standing in front of me.
But in the end, it was my ironclad willpower that managed to hold out to the very end. And now...
Finally. Finally. Finally, it’s here!
Whoosh... The door behind me slid open, and the instant it did, my eyes snapped open.
My gaze collided with Lan Hua’s. Our eyes met, and in that moment, it felt as though she could see right through me, as though my every thought was laid bare before her.
But! My body moved faster than her. I’d been preparing for this moment all along. Without hesitation, I gripped her arms and flung them away.
Just like that, I broke free from Lan Hua’s clutches. My body was finally free!
She snapped back to her senses, a frantic look flashing across her face. She immediately tried to reach for my arm, but I was quicker. After shaking her off, my hands were already pressing against her shoulders.
Not a trace of pity in my heart, I shoved her shoulders hard, using the momentum to propel myself backward and out of the carriage.
I crashed into several people, causing trouble for both those getting off and those boarding. Complaints echoed all around me, discontent bubbling over. I must have caused a lot of people a great deal of inconvenience. Though I knew my actions were inconsiderate, I couldn’t afford to care about that right now.
All I wanted was to get away from her as fast as possible. I couldn’t bear to let her get close to me again!
Once I forced my way through the crowd, I sprinted along the subway station corridor like a madman.
There was no destination. I just ran and ran until my lungs felt like they were about to burst.
“Haaah... Haaah...! Haaah... Haaah...!”
I bent over, hands on my knees, gasping ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) for air. I sucked in a few deep breaths of fresh air, then fanned my flushed face with my hands, trying to cool down and disperse Lan Hua’s scent.
Not that her scent was particularly unpleasant. If I had to say, it was actually quite nice. I couldn’t tell if it was perfume, body wash, or just her natural scent as a girl.
A sweet, intoxicating fragrance that made my heart race and my mind go blank.
But there was nothing alluring about it to me. I just wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
Because even the scent lingering in the air made me feel like she was still right beside me!
Lan Hua was just too weird! Her personality was already the type I found impossible to handle, and now, after what just happened on the subway, my impression of her had plummeted to rock bottom.
I originally thought she was just some typical yuri-obsessed pervert, like that psycho from WhiteOBlack, but now it was clear that whatever yuri tendencies she had were completely overshadowed by her psychotic ones.
Her eyes, her voice, her every move — everything about her made me uncomfortable.
Made me feel like my entire body was crawling with discomfort!
When she pressed her body up against mine, I felt trapped, like I was being tied up, or chained down. It was suffocating.
I couldn’t tell if the sensation of being confined came from the cramped, crowded subway car or from Lan Hua herself. Either way, I just wanted to get away from her, to escape to a wide, empty space where I could finally breathe in some fresh air...
“Haah... Cough, cough...! Cough, cough, cough!”
Having been trapped in that stuffy carriage for so long, and then having Lan Hua’s soft chest crush against me, my lungs were already starved for air. After running for several minutes, I was coughing uncontrollably.
“Cough, cough... Ugh... It hurts...”
A wave of nausea surged up, and I clamped a hand over my mouth, dry-heaving twice. Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes, spilling over and wetting my cheeks.
It felt like I’d just run a thousand-meter sprint in one breath...
Ugh, I remember seeing a vending machine back at the subway station. Maybe I should get some water...
Staggering like a zombie, I finally reached the subway station entrance and found two vending machines standing side by side.
A worker pushing a cart had just finished restocking the machines with drinks, but he hadn’t left yet. It looked like he was chatting with someone.
I dragged myself over to the first vending machine, bracing myself against the glass with one hand while rummaging through my pockets for my wallet.
I searched for a long time but couldn’t find it.
Ah... That’s right. My wallet was in my coat pocket, the one that Kan Tsukiyo took with her...
My phone was dead too, so using mobile payment was out of the question... Hah, just my luck...
The thirst was unbearable. My mouth was dry, and there was no cash in my pockets. What now...?
Should I search under the vending machines for forgotten coins?
But doing that in public, crouching down and digging under a vending machine, would look really pathetic. Yeah, I might be broke right now, but I wasn’t about to stoop to the level of some spiky-haired delinquent...
Maybe... I could ask the worker over there for a bottle of water? If he’s a kind-hearted person, maybe he’d take pity on me and give me one for free...
“Excuse me, sir...”
But just as I opened my mouth to ask, I noticed that the worker had already left.
My shoulders slumped, and I leaned back against the vending machine glass, feeling utterly defeated. Tears welled up in my eyes.
Damn it... Why is this happening to me?! I just wanted to go home! I never should have chased after that stalker. I should’ve just gone straight home.
“Smack, smack... Gulp...”
My mouth was so dry that even swallowing was a struggle. My throat felt like sandpaper.
I wanted water so badly...
“Here. Drink this.”
It was as if the heavens had heard my silent plea.
Right in front of me, a hand extended, holding a bottle of water.
“Oh... Oh, thank you!”
I reflexively grabbed the bottle of mineral water handed to me and started drinking. The cap had already been unscrewed — how thoughtful.
Gulp, gulp. I drank half the bottle in one go but still kept my cheeks puffed out, holding the water in my mouth.
I was ready to finish off the entire bottle.
However, now that my immediate thirst was quenched, my mind started working again. I began to think, “Who was so kind as to give me this water?” and instinctively glanced around with the corner of my eye, searching for the “good person” who handed me the bottle.
And the result?
It was Lan Hua.
What?! What?! What?! WHAT?!
Lan Hua!!!
“Pffft!!!”
The water I had yet to swallow burst from my mouth in a powerful spray.
Unlike those awkward moments when you spit out your drink after hearing something shocking, this time, I genuinely spat it all out because I was so stunned. And since my mouth was still full of water, the result was that it all ended up splattering right onto Lan Hua.
She even tilted her chin up slightly, opened her mouth, and stood there without moving, as if she had expected my reaction all along, accepting the water I’d sprayed on her as though it were a gift.
What the hell?!
I quickly lowered my head, spitting out the remaining water onto the ground, then burst into a violent coughing fit.
“Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough!”
“Here, a handkerchief.”
Once again, a handkerchief was thrust in front of me at just the right moment.
But this time, I didn’t take it. Instead, I wiped my mouth roughly with my sleeve and then looked up at Lan Hua, shouting in shock.
“Y-You! Why are you here?!”
Where the hell did she come from? I hadn’t noticed her at all earlier, but now she was suddenly right beside me. It was like she could appear out of thin air, like some stealthy assassin.
Don’t just pop up like that! You nearly scared me to death!
Also, how did she manage to find me again? And not only that — it was as if she knew exactly where I would go, waiting for me like some kind of stalker. It was terrifying!
Lan Hua pressed her index finger to her cheek, looking at me with an innocent expression as she said matter-of-factly,
“Well, I saw Ethan running off like that and figured he’d get thirsty, so I just came to the vending machine first and waited here to... mm... ambush you.”
You were about to say “ambush” just now, weren’t you?! You were waiting here like some demented hunter, just waiting for this dumb rabbit to hop along, weren’t you?!
No, wait. How the hell are you able to predict my thoughts so accurately?! You’re just like Shirley, aren’t you?!
“What the hell do you want?! Why are you following me?!”
I was so anxious that I accidentally squeezed the water bottle too hard, causing it to burst open. The water shot out like a fountain, thoroughly soaking Lan Hua’s clothes a second time.
Now she was completely drenched.
“Oh no... Ethan got me all wet... Mm...”
Lan Hua’s cheeks flushed a faint pink as she clasped her hands behind her back, lowering her head shyly.
Don’t think that playing cute is going to work on me!
There’s a time and place for being cute, okay?!
After everything you just did to me, do you honestly think you can win me over by acting all cutesy now?! You must be joking. I’m not that shallow!
Sure, it was cute. And yeah, she did look pretty damn adorable like that. But no way in hell was I going to admit it!
“Ethan? There’s still some water on your neck that you haven’t wiped off yet...”
Lan Hua took a step forward, reaching out with the handkerchief to wipe my neck.
I immediately stumbled backward four or five steps, raising my arm to shield my neck and shouted nervously,
“Wait! Hold on! Don’t come any closer!”
And just like that, she stopped in her tracks. She didn’t move any closer. Instead, she just stood there, holding the handkerchief, looking as if someone had abandoned her. Her expression was one of deep sadness and disappointment.
Uh... That’s weird. Why did she suddenly become so obedient?
I hadn’t expected her to listen so readily. My expression became even more puzzled as I said to her,
“Um, maybe you should wipe yourself down instead... You’re completely soaked.”
Lan Hua, who had been sprayed in the face with water and then had another wave of it dumped over her, now looked like a drowned cat.
Strands of hair clung to her face, a messy tangle. Her soaked shirt clung to her skin in a thoroughly uncomfortable way, and since it was a white shirt, I could clearly make out the faint pink bra underneath. The soaked fabric clung to her generous curves, emphasizing her voluptuous figure.
And with her face now showing such a sorrowful, pitiable expression, she looked just like a little kitten that had been abandoned in the rain.
A drenched, pitiful beauty...
She was so heartbreakingly pathetic that it made you want to take her into your arms and hold her tight.
“No, I can’t wipe it off. This is Ethan’s punishment for me... I don’t deserve to wipe it away.”
What? Punishment? Uh, that was just an accident...
But Lan Hua clearly didn’t see it that way. She lifted her gaze slightly, eyes filled with a resolute determination as she said with a solemn expression,
“Just now, I did something really awful to you, Ethan. I finally realized that... So, I was waiting here to apologize.”
With that, she bowed deeply, a full ninety degrees, and shouted her apology loud and clear.
“I’m so sorry! Please forgive me, Ethan!”
Huh?!
What kind of bizarre plot twist was this?!
Director, can I please get a copy of the script?!
