Chapter 10: Kept Woman

“It’s my sister.”

Hua Qi’an glanced in the direction where Lin Yanqiu had driven off.

The shadow of her car was already out of sight.

Lin Yanqiu was loaded, and her car was flashy as hell.

Hua Qi’an hadn’t expected it to catch her dormmate’s eye.

At Hua Qi’an’s words, Zhao Yingying raised a skeptical brow, her gaze sweeping up and down the clothes on her body.

What Hua Qi’an wore now was what Lin Yanqiu had brought for her to change into.

She usually stuck to her own cheap buys, but this time, due to the sudden mishap…

The outfit Lin Yanqiu had prepared was naturally far pricier than anything Hua Qi’an would get herself.

“Feels like your clothes are pretty fresh today too, Xiao Qian.”

Zhao Yingying clapped her hands, feigning surprise.

Hua Qi’an wasn’t stupid; though Zhao Yingying hadn’t spelled it out, she knew exactly what the girl implied.

She thought she was a kept woman?

What a boring assumption.

But she still had to live in the dorms—couldn’t afford to burn bridges with these people.

That was why she always put on a smiling face for her roommates.

The school dorm was a six-person room for just four hundred bucks a year.

Plenty griped about it, but for broke Hua Qi’an, she couldn’t lose this cheap roof over her head.

“My sister bought them for me.”

Hua Qi’an knew what she was thinking but didn’t refute—instead, she leaned into it.

“Nice, right?”

As she spoke, she flashed Zhao Yingying a gentle smile.

Losing her cool to that kind of malice would just mean falling into the trap.

Zhao Yingying stared, caught off guard.

“They’re nice, sure…”

She looked away.

“So Xiao Qian, you have a sister? First I’ve heard of it…”

She turned her head toward the trees lining the path, swiping their cards at the school gate as they walked side by side toward the dorm, chatting along the way.

Zhao Yingying kept sneaking glances at Hua Qi’an.

The girl had a lanky build; now in casual wear that screamed brand name, the quality a world apart from her usual stuff.

But on her, the clothes hung loose, like a kid raiding an adult’s closet.

That pretty yet slightly pallid face now smiled mildly, responding to her words now and then.

Her roommate really did have looks, she had to admit.

Hua Qi’an’s smile flooded Zhao Yingying’s mind; she blinked.

Just that her personality was such a pushover—do this, do that, no spine at all, zero fun.

Though maybe some folks were into that spineless type?

Zhao Yingying pictured Hua Qi’an stepping out of that luxury ride, and her gaze turned mocking without her realizing.

Heh, what sister—more like sugar sister.

If she really had a rich one like that, why bother with that fawning act toward them?

Zhao Yingying liked girls too, so from the first time she’d laid eyes on Hua Qi’an, she’d pegged her as the same.

But before, Hua Qi’an had seemed totally uninterested in romance—like she was above it all.

Turns out she was into the sugar baby setup too.

She even knew that back in freshman year, Hua Qi’an had faced some serious harassment—kept it under wraps tight, but Zhao Yingying fancied herself the campus gossip wire, and she’d caught wind of the rumors.

Yeah, some people were into her type.

She hadn’t said yes back then—maybe the offer wasn’t rich enough?

Zhao Yingying tsked inwardly a few times.

Too bad Hua Qi’an wasn’t her flavor, or keeping her wouldn’t have been out of the question…

She gave Hua Qi’an a pitying glance.

The latter suddenly felt a chill crawl over her, brows furrowing faintly as she tugged her sleeves down a bit more.

But she’d long since set her sights elsewhere.

The object of her affection was total goddess material—worlds away from a broke nobody like Hua Qi’an…

With that thought, her eyes drifted to Hua Qi’an’s neck, wrapped in a layer of gauze.

“Xiao Qian, did you hurt your neck?”

Zhao Yingying asked with feigned concern.

Snapping out of the shiver, Hua Qi’an touched her neck at the question.

Under the bandage hid those unsightly handprints…

“Woke up with a crick last night, so I wrapped some ointment on it.”

Hua Qi’an lied without batting an eye.

As she spoke, she rubbed her neck.

Unnoticed, they’d reached the dorm.

Hua Qi’an glanced down at the bag in Zhao Yingying’s hand.

“By the way, Yingying, you just got back from out, right?”

“Out shopping?”

The bag was opaque, so Hua Qi’an couldn’t see inside.

But from the bulges, it didn’t seem like food.

At the question, Zhao Yingying cracked a mysterious smile.

“You’ll find out tonight.”

Hua Qi’an flicked a look at the hallway window; the sun was dipping low, orange-red light spilling into the corridor.

She’d only asked casually, not dying to know, so at the coyness, she just nodded along obligingly.

Back in the room, she hustled to her bunk, tossed her backpack onto the desk, then climbed straight into bed, drew the curtain, and lay down.

A rare wave of ease finally washed over her.

Something even a hospital bed couldn’t provide.

The curtain blocked all light, carving out a private nook for her.

The dorm was shared space, but inside her curtain, she felt oddly secure.

“Heading to bed already?”

Zhao Yingying’s voice drifted up from the lower bunk.

Hua Qi’an mumbled back offhandedly.

“Feeling kinda wiped; might nap for a bit.”

Meaning: don’t bug her.

Their six-bed dorm actually housed only four—a stroke of luck.

Besides her and Zhao Yingying, the other two weren’t back yet.

Propped against the headboard, the phone’s white glow lit her face.

She hadn’t forgotten the culprit behind her string of weird crap.

The sting in her hand and neck throbbed now, a reminder of her earlier screw-up.

Yeah, she’d been too careless, heading solo to some godforsaken nowhere.

Shaking her head, she couldn’t fathom what had possessed her then.

On reflection, the job was riddled with red flags and risks.

No matter how broke she was, she should’ve hunted for something safer…

With that, she opened her messages, hunting for the thread with the HR.

“Hm?”

She spotted a new text from six minutes ago.

[Account ending 0419 received (transfer from another bank)…]

Seeing the number displayed, Hua Qi’an’s eyes flew wide.

This was…?

In disbelief, she scrolled the message back and forth.

Then she fired up her banking app, checking the balance.

“It’s real…”

Staring at the figure in her account, she murmured softly.

Hua Qi’an clenched her left fist tight.

The split skin on her hand’s back no longer felt like pure pain—it carried a weird thrill now.

She flexed and released her fist over and over, assuring herself this wasn’t a dream.

So quick?

She’d only sent the video that afternoon…

All her prior doubts and hesitations melted away under the number’s allure.

Maybe she should just be more careful next time—

Her phone buzzed with another text.

From the HR she’d been talking to.