43: Chapter 43 Two against one!

The heavy iron door closed behind them, sealing off the slightly absurd sunset on the rooftop.

The stairwell was dimly lit, and the air was filled with the scent of dust peculiar to rarely visited buildings. Footsteps echoed in the empty space, sounding exceptionally clear.

Huang Mao walked in front, hands in his pockets, not even daring to look back.

That enunciated "Master" from just a moment ago had been far too lethal. It hadn't just fried his CPU; it seemed to have left behind a residue of toe-curling awkwardness in the air.

Silence, like a thick glob of glue, sealed their lips shut.

Not until they had descended half a flight of stairs did Leng Qingxuan suddenly quicken her pace, walking up to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Huang Mao.

She wasn't watching the path; instead, she tilted her head, her usually cold eyes now sparkling with something called "schadenfreude."

She raised her elbow and poked Huang Mao in the side, neither too hard nor too soft.

"Congratulations, Master."

She emphasized the English word, her tone rising at the end with a sarcastic lilt.

"You've acquired a maid so quickly who has top-tier specs and comes with a built-in desire for self-sacrifice. This is a blessing many men wouldn't even dare to dream of."

Huang Mao stumbled, nearly missing a step.

He steadied himself and turned his head to look at this campus belle who loved to stir up trouble, his face full of helplessness: "School Beauty Leng, if you're really that bored, you can go memorize 'abandon' a few more times."

"I've already memorized all of that, and besides, I am offering my sincere congratulations." The corners of Leng Qingxuan's mouth lifted slightly, outlining a subtle arc.

"Eldest Miss of the Su Family, E-grade specs, all-around domestic skills, and comes with an 'obedience' attribute. Tsk tsk, I even feel... what was that word again? 'Thrilled to the skies'?"

"Fly my damn foot."

Huang Mao rolled his eyes in annoyance and reached out to rub his throbbing temples. "Right now, I don't feel like I've taken in a new tenant; I feel like I've adopted a living ancestor."

"And the kind with a bizarre train of thought, always ready to play some weird role-playing game with me."

"Don't just focus on being sarcastic toward me." Huang Mao stopped, turned around, and stared at Leng Qingxuan with a gloomy gaze.

"Just now, someone was blushing like a monkey's backside; did you also recall some unbearable past events?"

"Shut up."

The smile on Leng Qingxuan's face vanished instantly, and her earlobes flushed red at a visible speed. She turned her head away and hurried past Huang Mao.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Hurry up, An Ran is still playing the role of an empty-nester."

Watching her retreating figure as she fled in a panic, Huang Mao sighed.

Was his small, dilapidated villa really going to turn into some new-age psychiatric asylum in the future?

Room 502.

In the abandoned Student Union office, the setting sun shone through the dust-covered glass windows, casting mottled light and shadows.

An Ran lay on the desk covered with old newspapers, twirling her ponytail with her finger out of sheer boredom.

The bag of potato chips in front of her was already empty, leaving only some crumbs. The phone screen lit up and turned off, then lit up and turned off again.

"Why aren't they back yet..."

She muttered, burying her face in the crook of her arm, like a puppy forgotten by its owner at the door of a pet shop.

Playing games alone was boring, and she couldn't focus on watching videos. Her mind was filled with images of Huang Mao and Leng Qingxuan potentially doing bad things together, along with that so-called "mysterious friend."

Just as An Ran was about to sigh for the eighteenth time, the sound of the door lock turning finally rang out.

"Click."

The door was pushed open.

Like a spring, An Ran bounced up from the table instantly.

"You guys are finally back!"

She rushed to the door in two or three steps, her tone filled with thirty percent resentment, seventy percent coquettishness, and a little bit of grievance.

"I was so bored I was about to sprout grass! Leng Qingxuan, is that friend of yours a chatterbox? How can she talk even more than the dean of students?"

However, the expected response did not appear.

The expressions of the two people walking in were very subtle.

Huang Mao had a look of "life has dealt me a blow" exhaustion, while Leng Qingxuan was avoiding eye contact, seemingly still calming herself from some emotion.

The air suddenly fell silent for two seconds.

An Ran's sharp intuition radar instantly activated.

Something was wrong.

The atmosphere flowing between these two was definitely not as simple as just "having a chat."

"What's wrong?" The smile on An Ran's face faded a bit, and her gaze swept back and forth between them. "Did something happen? Or... is that friend very difficult to deal with?"

Huang Mao cleared his throat, walked over to a nearby chair, sat down, and picked up a bottle of mineral water to take a gulp, as if trying to suppress a certain dryness in his throat.

"An Ran."

He put down the water bottle, keeping his tone as steady as possible, as if he were announcing that the cafeteria breakfast price would go up by fifty cents tomorrow.

"There's something I need to tell you. Our home... might have a new member joining us."

"..."

An Ran blinked.

It took her brain about 0.5 seconds to process this sentence.

The next moment, her pupils dilated sharply, and the expression on her face shifted instantly from confusion to shock, finally freezing in an expression of disbelief.

"A new member?!"

An Ran's voice went up an octave, sharp enough to nearly pierce the roof of this old office.

"What does that mean? Don't tell me that after just chatting with that so-called friend of Leng Qingxuan, she decided on a whim to join too?!"

What kind of absurd plot development is this?

Is this a buy-one-get-one-free deal?

Or is Huang Mao's house actually some kind of feng shui treasure trove, specifically designed to attract homeless beautiful girls?

"Actually, yes, that's pretty much it."

Leng Qingxuan had by now recovered her usual composure; she found a comfortable position to lean against the table, crossed her arms, and said in a tone stating objective facts,

"And if there are no surprises, she will come over with her luggage tonight."

"As for her identity..." Leng Qingxuan glanced at the petrified An Ran, "You might have heard of her."

"She is someone in this school whose popularity is about the same as mine, and perhaps in some aspects... even more so."

She paused, then slowly uttered the name: "Eldest Miss of the Su Family, Su Muxue."

Boom!

If Huang Mao's words just now were a hand grenade, then this sentence from Leng Qingxuan was a nuclear bomb detonating directly inside An Ran's brain.

Su Muxue.

This name was simply thunderous to the students of this university.

If Leng Qingxuan was the unreachable "iceberg," then Su Muxue was the gentle and watery "white moonlight."

But what left the deepest impression on An Ran was not Su Muxue's illustrious family background, nor her personality that was said to make people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.

It was...

An Ran subconsciously looked down at herself.

As a Sports Student, her figure was toned and firm, and she had curves in all the right places; a B-cup wasn't small among ordinary girls, and could even be considered a fairly perfect contour.

But.

That woman, Su Muxue...

That is cheating!

An Ran's mind conjured up the photos she had seen on the school forum, as well as the topics those annoying roommates in her dorm discussed late at night—

"I heard that campus belle Su's bust size... is at least an E, right?"

"It even jiggles when she walks; I really don't know how she maintains her center of gravity."

"That must be what they call the 'ceiling of innocent sexiness,' pure face, devilish body..."

"Hmph, to be blunt, that kind of woman looks innocent on the surface but is wild as hell behind the scenes; who knows how many guys she's ridden."

"Exactly, exactly."

...

She had inexplicably recalled the lewd rumors those idiots had manufactured about her as well.

After the memory faded, the thought of such an existence coming to Huang Mao's house caused an unprecedented, massive sense of crisis to instantly engulf An Ran like a tsunami.

One Leng Qingxuan was already hard enough to deal with.

Although Leng Qingxuan had a cold personality and was useless at daily life, that face was definitely striking, and she had already moved into Huang Mao's house, seizing the advantage of "being close to the water."

Now this.

Another Su Muxue coming.

A top-tier rich and beautiful girl, a gentle persona, plus that... that exaggerated figure that was enough to make all girls feel inferior!

An Ran felt her "childhood sweetheart" advantage was being diluted at high speed, almost to the point of becoming a negative asset.

"Huang Mao!"

An Ran turned her head sharply, staring fixedly at the man sitting on the chair.

Her eyes were slightly red, and her gaze was filled with grievance, anger, and a questioning look as if she were staring at a heartless lover.

"Why?!"

An Ran's voice trembled slightly, "Is your house an asylum? Why do you bring just anyone home?"

"Leng Qingxuan is one thing, after all... she is a classmate. But that Su Muxue, what is she supposed to be?!"

What she didn't say out loud was: Did you fall for her figure?

Huang Mao looked at An Ran, who looked like she was about to cry, and his head hurt even more.

He knew it would be like this.

"Calm down, An Ran." Huang Mao sighed, attempting to shine the light of reason onto this chaotic ruin.

"First of all, she isn't coming to squeeze in with me; she is paying rent. And it's a large amount of rent, which will greatly improve my quality of life, and even our quality of life."

"Secondly, her family situation is quite special; it's considered... to some extent, coming out to experience life."

"It might not even take a few weeks; once she's in a better mood, she'll leave."

"Is that it?" An Ran bit her lip, clearly dissatisfied with this explanation.

"That's it." Huang Mao spread his hands. "What else could there be? Do you think I have the kind of charm that would make the Eldest Miss of the Su Family throw herself at me?"

An Ran opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but didn't know what to say.

In her eyes, Huang Mao certainly had charm.

But for someone like Su Muxue... it was indeed a bit unscientific.

"Besides," Leng Qingxuan added a timely stab from the side, "Su Muxue promised to help with household chores, including cooking, cleaning, and laundry. She even has certificates as a senior nutritionist and pastry chef."

"From a practical standpoint, she is much more useful than the two of us."

An Ran: "..."

This wasn't just stealing a man; was she trying to occupy the "virtuous wife and good mother" track as well?!

If Su Muxue were allowed to move in, cooking and doing laundry for Huang Mao every day, showing concern, plus having that figure swaying back and forth in front of him...

An Ran imagined that scene and felt the world go black before her eyes.

No!

Absolutely not!

This was no longer a simple issue of letting someone stay over; this was a battle of life and death concerning her future status in the family!

An Ran took a deep breath.

She closed her eyes, forcing back the soreness in her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, those eyes, which had been a bit flustered, were once again burning with fierce fighting spirit.

She was a Sports Student.

In the dictionary of a Sports Student, there were no such words as "giving up."

Since she couldn't stop it, then fight!

"Fine."

An Ran gritted her teeth and squeezed out the word from between them.

She clenched her fists, her gaze sweeping over Huang Mao and Leng Qingxuan, finally fixing on a point in the void, as if the formidable enemy who was about to arrive was standing right there.

"Let her live here! Who's afraid of whom!"

An Ran puffed out her chest; although she might be slightly inferior in scale, she absolutely could not lose in terms of momentum.

Isn't it just housework? She could do it too!

Isn't it just cooking? She could learn that too!

"Huang Mao, listen to me carefully!"

An Ran walked up to Huang Mao in a few steps and pointed at his nose from below.

"Don't think that just because an Eldest Miss has arrived, you can do whatever you want. This home... hmph!"

If one comes, I'll beat one; if two come, I'll beat the pair!

No matter if it's some Iceberg Campus Belle or some wealthy heiress.

She, An Ran, would take on the whole damn world by herself!