Chapter 26: Blurred Lines and Forbidden Curiosity

Zhou Zhi couldn't let it go.

All morning, he kept glancing at Shi Mo with suspicious eyes, a mischievous grin playing on his lips. Every time he opened his mouth, Shi Mo glared at him before he could speak.

"You've been quiet today," Zhou Zhi finally said, nudging her with his elbow as they walked to class.

"I'm always quiet."

"Quieter than usual."

"Maybe because someone tried to snoop through my belongings yesterday."

"It was a ghost treasure hunt!" he defended. "Not a 'dig through Shi Mo's top-secret drawer' mission."

"You found sanitary pads and got scarred for life."

"Scarred? No. Intrigued? Definitely."

Shi Mo groaned. "Zhou Zhi, let it go."

Zhou Zhi raised his eyebrows. "Just admit it—are you hiding a girlfriend?"

Fu Yunshen, walking slightly ahead, chimed in without turning his head. "You're obsessed."

Zhou Zhi beamed. "Because something's not adding up. Our little Shi Mo is too clean, too calm, too… polite."

"That's suspicious?" Shi Mo asked.

"In this school? Yes."

Back in the dorm that afternoon, Zhou Zhi's curiosity peaked to new levels of absurdity.

"I've made a decision," he announced dramatically, holding a notebook like a detective's log. "I'm going to find out Shi Mo's secret."

Fu Yunshen looked up from his textbook. "You're two days late. The rest of us already know it."

Zhou Zhi blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Shi Mo is secretly a—"

Shi Mo shot him a look that could freeze fire.

Fu Yunshen paused, then casually sipped his tea. "Never mind."

Zhou Zhi frowned. "You two are hiding something."

"Go read a textbook," Shi Mo muttered.

"I'd rather investigate roommates."

Later that evening, Zhou Zhi's antics reached a new level.

Shi Mo stepped out of the shower and entered the dorm wearing a towel on her head and her usual oversized hoodie.

Zhou Zhi stared.

"Shi Mo."

She sighed. "What now?"

"I have a theory."

"I don't want to hear it."

He leaned forward dramatically. "You're too pretty."

Fu Yunshen, from his bed, muttered, "Zhou Zhi, I swear—"

"No, think about it!" Zhou Zhi continued. "The delicate jawline. The smooth skin. The mysterious aura."

Shi Mo walked over and slammed his textbook shut.

"You're dangerously close to death," she said calmly.

Zhou Zhi grinned. "So… not denying it?"

Fu Yunshen rolled over. "If you keep talking, I'll throw you out the window."

Zhou Zhi gasped. "This is a hostile environment!"

"You made it that way," Shi Mo said, climbing into her bed.

Zhou Zhi mumbled, "I'm just saying, if Shi Mo turns out to be a girl, I'd be impressed."

The room fell quiet.

Then Fu Yunshen muttered under his breath, "You're late to that realization too."

Shi Mo blinked—startled.

But Zhou Zhi, thankfully, didn't catch it.

That night, Shi Mo lay under her covers, staring at the ceiling.

The air was thick with unsaid words.

Zhou Zhi's teasing had been childish, sure—but also dangerously close to the truth.

Fu Yunshen's comment, though…

That was something else.

Had he guessed?

Had he known all along?

And if so—why wasn't he saying anything?

Her heart pounded harder than she wanted to admit.

The lines between friendship, secrecy, and something else were starting to blur.

And she wasn't sure she could hold them apart much longer.

[System Notification]Brotherhood Value +30 (Increased Emotional Ambiguity)[Current Total: 725 / 1,000,000]