While showing the students around the competition venue, the accompanying teacher emphasized, "Make sure to remember where the restrooms are. Otherwise, you'll waste precious time if you have to use the restroom during the competition. Of course, I suggest that you don't drink too much water before entering the exam hall."
"Okay."
Afterward, the teacher led the twenty or so students to check into the hotel the school had made reservations at.
"Three people in each room. We will only be staying for one night, so don't unpack too many of your belongings."
After saying so, the teacher started distributing the room keycards. The students participating in the Olympiad were from different grades and classes, so the teacher assigned rooms based on everyone's competition serial number. Of course, it went without saying that boys and girls were assigned to separate rooms.
8, 12.
Those were the numbers written on the sticky note that came with the keycard Tang Yu received, and they represented the serial numbers of her roommates. Then, Tang Yu looked at her competition admission ticket, seeing that her serial number was '6.'
In the meantime, the other students in the lobby started shouting the serial numbers of their respective roommates. Seeing this, Tang Yu decided to stand aside and wait. Once the other students were done finding their roommates, the ones remaining should be her roommates.
It didn't take long for the others to find their roommates. Once everyone had split into groups, Tang Yu noticed a group of two standing amidst the crowd.
After looking at Tang Yu in confusion for a moment, a bespectacled girl approached Tang Yu and said, "You're the only one left without a roommate, so we should belong to the same room."
Tang Yu shuddered when she heard the other party's words, a drop of cold sweat rolling down her forehead. At the same time, she couldn't help but lament that fate was a truly cruel mistress…
Meanwhile, Yin Zhao-an slowly walked up to the bespectacled girl. Then, she waved her competition admission ticket in front of Tang Yu, the number '8' printed on it telling Tang Yu that they had indeed been assigned to the same room.
…
The bespectacled girl wasn't a talkative person. After entering the room, she took out an exercise book from her backpack, occupied the only desk in the room, and disappeared into her own little world.
There was one single bed and one twin bed in the room. Tang Yu subconsciously turned to the sofa in the corner, silently designating it as her sleeping spot for tonight.
Meanwhile, after scanning the room, Yin Zhao-an sat down on the twin bed. Then, in a negotiating tone, she asked the bespectacled girl, "Can you sleep on the smaller bed tonight? I'll sleep with her tonight." After saying so, Yin Zhao-an also gently tapped the bespectacled girl on the shoulder.
The bespectacled girl looked up and nudged her glasses. Then, after seeing that there were only two beds in the room, she nodded and said, "No problem," before burying her head into the exercise book again.
Tang Yu stopped in front of the brightly lit window, from which she could see the continuous flow of traffic. Coincidentally, the room was facing the river that ran through the city, so she should be able to see a gorgeous neon spectacle at night.
Suddenly recalling something, Tang Yu's eyelashes trembled, and her eyes became misted.
While Tang Yu was lost in her thoughts, a hand appeared in her blurred vision to close the open window and draw the curtains, causing the room to grow dark.
The bespectacled girl looked up from her books in confusion. Then, she fumbled around for the light switch by the door and turned it on, causing a pale light to suddenly fill the room.
Yin Zhao-an beamed an apologetic smile at the bespectacled girl and explained, "It was a little chilly, so I closed the windows. Sorry for the interruption."
"It's fine, it's fine." The bespectacled girl could clearly sense the strange atmosphere surrounding Tang Yu and Yin Zhao-an, so she curiously asked, "Do you two know each other?"
Yin Zhao-an did not say anything. However, to avoid making the already awkward situation even more awkward, Tang Yu silently nodded in response to the bespectacled girl. Fortunately, the bespectacled girl was someone who could read the room, so she did not try to pry any further. Otherwise, Tang Yu had no idea how she should explain her relationship with Yin Zhao-an to the girl.
After all, no matter how one looked at it, this awkward atmosphere didn't look like something that would appear among close friends!
Meanwhile, after a moment of hesitation, Yin Zhao-an gently rubbed Tang Yu's head. Then, she leaned into Tang Yu's right ear and whispered, "You'll give me your cold if you catch one now."
The ears were a sensitive place for most people, and Tang Yu was no exception. Yin Zhao-an's hot breath hitting Tang Yu's ear instantly caused a blush to spread across her face and ears. Goosebumps also rose all over her body as she subconsciously shuddered.
Yin Zhao-an caught all of Tang Yu's responses with her eyes. However, not only did she not back away, she even took things a step further, placing her hands on Tang Yu's waist and giving them a gentle squeeze. Then, she nonchalantly returned to the bed, took out a mock exam paper, and started revising the questions.
Tang Yu's mind went into shock. It wasn't until a whole minute had passed did she react to what had just happened to her. Did I just…get taken advantage of?!
"Tang-Tang, come here for a sec."
The corners of Tang Yu's eyes twitched. Do you think I'll come just because you told me to?
However, seemingly having anticipated Tang Yu's indifference, Yin Zhao-an swept back her ear-length hair and began making her way over to Tang Yu.
"I-I'll go to you..." Tang Yu hurriedly extended her hands to stop a certain someone's menacing footsteps. Then, she moved to the edge of the twin bed and sat down, leaving nearly half a meter between her and Yin Zhao-an.
Yin Zhao-an faintly smiled when she saw this, but she didn't force Tang Yu to do anything more. Then, she silently handed the mock paper she held to Tang Yu.
Mock papers?
Tang Yu was stunned when she looked at the mock paper she had just received. Every question on the papers had handwritten notes under them, the notes including a thorough explanation of how to solve them. Some questions had explanations so long that sticky notes were used for additional space.
"These questions might come up, so it's best if you take a look at them," Yin Zhao-an said when she saw Tang Yu looking stunned.
"...Okay." Tang Yu did as told.
In reality, Tang Yu disliked mathematics. However, the mock paper she had just received was the most detailed and well-thought-out she had ever seen, so she couldn't help but be fascinated by it.
While Tang Yu was falling into fascination, she failed to realize that a certain someone had secretly climbed onto the bed and was secretly closing in on her from behind.