Chapter 5: She’s Flirting with Her!

Lin Shiyu had assumed that if she simply kept her distance, Su Wan would eventually get the message and back off.

But she had underestimated Su Wan’s patience.

And she had underestimated fate.

Over the weekend, the university’s Anime Club held a cosplay event. Jiang Xiaoxiao practically dragged Lin Shiyu along as free labor to help move props.

“Shiyu, pretty please! Just help us out! I really want to see you in that butler costume!”

Jiang Xiaoxiao clasped her hands together and unleashed her signature puppy-dog eyes.

“I’m not wearing it. I’m only here to move things.”

Lin Shiyu stood firm.

The venue was packed with people.

Carrying a heavy box of bottled water, she carefully threaded her way through the crowd.

Then someone bumped into her.

The box slipped from her hands, about to crash onto her feet—

A hand reached out and caught the bottom of the box with effortless steadiness.

“Careful.”

A familiar voice.

A familiar scent of gardenias.

Lin Shiyu looked up, her breath catching.

Today’s Su Wan was nothing like the gentle, approachable senior she was used to seeing.

She had been recruited as one of the event’s models and was dressed in an elegant black Gothic Lolita dress. Dark makeup accentuated her features, and a tiny beauty mark beneath the corner of one eye made her breathtakingly beautiful, yet dangerously alluring.

It was as though her outfit had given physical form to the darkness hidden within her.

“You again…”

Lin Shiyu stared blankly.

“It seems we really are destined to keep meeting.”

Su Wan effortlessly took the box from her arms.

“It’s pretty heavy. Let me carry it.”

“No, I can—”

“Be good.”

Su Wan spoke softly, but there was an unmistakable authority in her tone that left little room for refusal.

Not far away, concealed behind a patch of shrubs, someone happened to witness the entire exchange.

It was Qin Xiaoyu.

A junior from the Fine Arts Department and one of Su Wan’s direct underclassmen, Qin Xiaoyu was also a hopeless shipper. Quiet and well-behaved on the surface, her imagination was deeper than a black hole.

She had originally been secretly taking photos of Su Wan’s breathtaking cosplay.

But when she zoomed in with her camera…

She accidentally captured the way Su Wan was looking at Lin Shiyu.

For a single instant, Qin Xiaoyu felt as though she’d been struck by lightning.

What kind of look was that?!

That wasn’t admiration!

That was possessiveness!

Obsession!

A gaze that screamed, “You’re my prey.”

Especially with Su Wan dressed in those dark Gothic clothes, smiling at Lin Shiyu with a smile that looked gentle on the surface but concealed unmistakable aggression—

Qin Xiaoyu felt the shipping spirit within her burst into roaring flames.

“Holy shit…”

She couldn’t help blurting out the profanity, nearly dropping her camera.

“So… you saw it too?”

A ghostly voice suddenly drifted up behind her.

Qin Xiaoyu jumped and whipped around.

Standing there was a round-faced girl staring at Su Wan and Lin Shiyu with eyes shining just as brightly.

It was Jiang Xiaoxiao.

“You think they’re incredibly shippable too, don’t you?”

Jiang Xiaoxiao grabbed Qin Xiaoyu’s hands excitedly, as though she’d finally found a long-lost comrade.

“They’re so shippable!”

Qin Xiaoyu nodded frantically.

“A gentle, yandere senior paired with a cool, socially anxious classmate! They’re literally destined to be together! Did you see the way Senior Su was looking at Senior Lin? She practically wanted to devour her!”

“Right?! That’s exactly what I’ve been saying!”

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked as though she’d found her soulmate.

“My roommate kept telling me I was imagining things. But this isn’t imagination—it’s real!”

The two exchanged a glance.

One look was enough.

They recognized each other as fellow shippers.

“I’m Jiang Xiaoxiao.”

“I’m Qin Xiaoyu.”

Their hands clasped tightly together.

Meanwhile, at the center of their attention, Su Wan had already carried the box of water to the rest area.

“Tired?”

She took out a tissue and naturally reached toward Lin Shiyu, intending to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

Instinctively, Lin Shiyu took a step back.

Avoiding her touch.

Su Wan’s hand remained suspended in midair.

For the briefest moment, her eyes darkened.

Then, as though nothing had happened, she calmly withdrew her hand.

“Sorry.”

“I overstepped.”

“It’s… it’s okay.”

“Thank you for helping me.”

Lin Shiyu lowered her head, not daring to meet Su Wan’s eyes.

Su Wan looked at the tips of her ears, now flushed a vivid red.

The corners of her lips curved upward—

Almost imperceptibly.

“It’s alright. We have plenty of time.”

Su Wan spoke softly before turning to leave, the hem of her black dress tracing a graceful arc through the air.

Not far away, hidden in the bushes, Jiang Xiaoxiao and Qin Xiaoyu threw their arms around each other, screaming silently.

“Aaaah! ‘We have plenty of time’! She’s flirting with her!”

“I’m sold! I’m so completely sold! This ship is sailing!”

And so, on that very day, the WanYu CP Fan Club was officially born.

Although it only had two members for the time being, their enthusiasm and combat power were absolutely unmatched.

Meanwhile, Lin Shiyu—the unwitting center of the storm—felt an icy chill crawl up her spine.

The sensation of being watched…

was growing stronger and stronger.