Valkyrie Dormitories.
One minute earlier.
"Mr. Ye Feng?"
Mei's voice sounded from outside the door. Kiana scrambled off the vanity in a panic, knocking over a makeup box.
Before she could take more than a few steps, she was pressed against the bookshelf by the door.
「You bastard, let go of me!」
「I can't do that. We're in the middle of our bet. You wouldn't want to be someone who goes back on her word, would you, Kiana? Or are you deliberately breaking our agreement because you actually want me to pull Mei in here too?」
「Guh...」
Kiana instantly deflated like a balloon in a vacuum.
If she broke the agreement, she would lose face for the Kaslana name.
If she continued, she would be discovered by Mei.
Trapped in a dilemma, Kiana couldn't help but break out in a sweat.
The young woman was drenched in fragrant perspiration, looking as if she had just been pulled out of water. Her cheongsam clung tightly to her skin, radiating heat into the early summer air.
The damp fabric was stretched taut and semi-transparent, faintly revealing the reddish flush of her skin.
The calls from outside grew more urgent, and Kiana's heart tightened in tandem.
「You utter bastard, Mei's about to come in!」
「And what does that have to do with me?」
Kiana was furious.
What does it have to do with you?
How dare you say it has nothing to do with you?
Why don't you take a look at what you're doing right now?
Huuu...
Focus. Calm down.
Kiana was a quick-witted girl.
She turned her head and forced a smile at Ye Feng.
「Please, I'm begging you, can you apply the 'invisibility' status to me?」
Ye Feng returned an equally gentle smile.
Their gazes met, and Kiana thought she had succeeded.
「No.」
She was rejected flat out.
Ye Feng's smile was brimming with amusement. 「You're asking me to violate my principles. I'm not like you, little tuna, always wavering between keeping a promise and breaking it. Once I've agreed to something, I see it through to the end. It's a bit like 'once the clothes are off, I finish the job'. I said I wouldn't apply any status effects to you this week, so I won't.」
「...」
Kiana was speechless.
She almost wanted to praise Ye Feng for his integrity.
It was true.
Ever since she arrived in this world, he had always done what he said he would, never lying.
"If you don't open up, I'm going to force my way in, you hear?"
Mei's anxious voice came from outside the door again.
Kiana looked at Ye Feng in a panic.
Just by looking at Kiana's eyes, Old Ye knew what she was worried about and explained:
「It's just an ordinary door. Forget Mei, even a reasonably strong adult could break it down.」
「!!」
Kiana's pupils constricted. She stared at the door, her heart in her throat.
Only a single door separated them, but Kiana could almost picture Mei's anxious face on the other side.
If Mei really did come in...
「Heehee, scared, are we? Call me 'darling' just once, and I'll solve this little problem for you.」
「...」
「Worried Mei will find out? You don't have to say it out loud. Just picture my face and say it in your mind. See? I'm so considerate of you.」
「...」
「If you don't make a decision soon, Mei is going to come in. I won't be responsible for what happens then.」
「Aah, fine, I get it!」
Kiana reluctantly shouted in her mind.
「...D-Darling.」
Even just thinking it felt incredibly awkward for Kiana, and the word came out in a stammer.
As for Ye Feng's face, she didn't even need to consciously picture it; his detestable visage just popped into her head.
「Good girl.」
Ye Feng patted the little tuna's head.
「It is my duty to help my dear darling out of a bind.」
「Cut the crap and think of something, quick! Mei is coming in!」
「I'm already invisible. Mei won't notice your lower half. You can open the door now.」
"Huuu~~"
Hearing this, the little tuna let out a long sigh of relief in her heart.
Without a moment's hesitation, she opened the door just before Mei was about to break it down.
That was how much she trusted Ye Feng's words.
"...Mei, what are you doing here?" Kiana asked, feigning a relaxed tone.
Mei's eyes darted around, clearly sensing something was wrong.
She rushed in, looking left and right as if searching for something.
Kiana's heart leaped into her throat again.
Just then, that utter bastard Ye Feng's teasing voice echoed in her mind once more, at the worst possible moment.
「Fate truly is a cycle. Yesterday, you were the one who was invisible, and today it's my turn. How about it? Isn't it interesting? Don't be so nervous. Mei will choose to be oblivious to the room's scent and certain liquids. I said I'd find a way to help my darling, so of course, I'll see the good deed through to the end.」
「Heh, do you want me to thank you?」
「That won't be necessary. Just a friendly reminder, my dear little tuna: if the number on the heart on your abdomen doesn't change within three minutes, I will become visible.」
「Eh, you—!」
「Good luck.」
And with that, Ye Feng went limp, cutting off their mental communication and leaving Kiana to her panic.
Wait, three minutes for the number to go down by one?
Could he even do that himself?
Kiana was truly at her breaking point.
After all, this bastard always did what he said he would.
If she was exposed, she didn't know how he would feel, but Kiana would definitely be too ashamed to ever face Mei again.
And so, her ponytails began to fly wildly as she desperately performed squats.
Beads of sweat, large as beans, streamed down from her forehead, gathering at her chin. The crystalline droplets refracted the warm light of the room.
"Kiana?"
Mei looked over, completely baffled.
She really felt that something was off.
But if you returned to your dorm and saw your roommate furiously doing squats, what would you think?
You wouldn't think much of it, just that your roommate was a fitness enthusiast.
Besides, being a Valkyrie inherently emphasized physical conditioning.
Squats were a standard part of physical training.
Kiana stood in a wide horse stance, her fair thighs exposed by the high slits of her cheongsam, her hands clasped behind her head.
"Mei, is something wrong...?"
"Er..."
Something felt off. Mei stared at the sweat-drenched Kiana. "Why are you doing squats in here...?"
"That... uhm, well, it's... uh... yes! I practiced for the Valkyrie exam right here! That's how I got such a good score."
Kiana had finally managed to come up with a cover story.
"I see! Some people were saying you might have cheated, and it made me so angry. So it turns out you were working hard here all along!"
A genuine smile bloomed on Mei's face.
When she looked again, Kiana's bizarre squatting movements didn't seem so strange anymore.
"Your form is wrong, and you don't need to go so fast."
Mei walked over with a light chuckle to adjust Kiana's posture.
"Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointing forward. You don't need to squat so low with your hips."
"Eh eh, Mei? I know, you don't have to, mmph..."
"Kiana, listen to me. You'll injure your leg bones like this. Just lift your hips a little, so your thighs are parallel to the ground... hmm?"
Mei was lifting Kiana's thigh from underneath when she suddenly heard a faint "pop."
What was that sound?
Before she had time to think, she saw a horrified expression on Kiana's face. Kiana frantically pushed Mei away, her hands reaching down, seemingly searching desperately for something...