The group that had snuck out of university was pure male, consisting of the few friends Little Brother Ye had at his dormitory. Ye Shuang actually knew them. During the holidays or when she went to the dormitory to pay her brother a visit, Ye Shuang was prone to seeing their naked bodies. After all, it was not uncommon for boys to walk around naked during summer, and sometimes her timing was so perfect that she arrived when they just came out of the shower.
Ye Shuang was familiar with the number of moles on their bodies, much less their faces. They even followed Ye Feng's lead and called her Sis and her parents Father and Mother but with an additional surname.
One of the reasons Little Brother Ye did not hesitate to call Ye Shuang for help was because everyone was familiar with this relationship already. His friends were practically half-brothers to Ye Shuang.
If this was any other elder in the family, having them take care of so many of his friends would have been embarrassing, but since Ye Feng knew Ye Shuang was familiar with his friends, it was fine. However, when they saw the current Ye Shuang, they were filled with fear and admiration.
In the middle of the night, a tall, handsome man walked toward them with the fuzzy street lights falling around him; the picture was as picturesque as a movie poster. The group of boys who were originally happily chatting at the stall felt weirdly pressured. Anxiety rose within their hearts such that they did not even know where to put their hands anymore. Only Little Brother Ye rose up from his seat and rushed toward her joyfully. "Big brother, you're finally here, did you bring the money? We're full already, but sitting there without ordering anything is a bit embarrassing."
Ye Shuang rolled her eyes before turning to address the stall owner. "Boss, how much does my little brother's table owe?"
While Ye Shuang went to pay the bill, Little Brother Ye was pulled by his friends for interrogation, forcing him to surrender Ye Shuang's history. They had been to the Ye family's home several times for dinner already, so they were familiar with Ye Feng's family members. They knew he had a big sister, but when did he find himself such a handsome big brother‽
Little Brother Ye smiled wickedly. "In any case, his words are more weighty than mine when dealing with my parents. Don't be so shy around him. Just treat him like you would my sister; call him Brother Ye whenever you see him outside."
Little Brother Ye, who had been given an early lesson by Mother Ye, did not create trouble for Ye Shuang by assigning her some ridiculous role. His introduction was vague, and what other people would like to think about Brother Ye was their own business.
The group of boys was not horde of paparazzi. They stopped when they knew that this was a close family friend of Ye Feng's and thus an ally. Therefore, when Ye Shuang came over after paying the bills, the group of boys all surrounded her happily, calling her 'big brother'. It did not feel like this was the first time they had met each other.
"It's only 3 am, what plan do you guys have after this?" Ye Shuang looked at them helplessly.
By then, the door to the dormitories would have been locked already. If she was dealing with Little Brother Ye alone, things would have so easy. Without a second thought, she would have dragged him home by the ears, but the problem was, what should she do about this group of boys? Returning to the internet café was impossible, finding a motel for them to stay might be the solution; after all, Ye Shuang would be worried if she let them loiter around so late at night.
The group of boys shared a look with one another before pushing Little Brother Ye out to grumble, "Big bro… we're feeling sleepy, but hard mattresses are not good for the spine!"
This meant that they wanted to stay at a hotel, preferably one with soft beds.
Ye Shuang smiled kindly. "Sure, have your rest, and when you're all refreshed tomorrow morning, I'll go find you to talk about life."
The group of boys would need one big room or two double rooms; this expense was not much for Ye Shuang. After all, before her apartment was ready, whenever she was in her male form, she would need to stay at the hotel, so she was used to the cost. There were plenty of hotels around the university, but since they stayed in the dormitory, they had not patronized these places before. Following the light, they soon arrived at the place.
Due to the location, most of the customers were family members of students who came to visit them or university couples who were seeking a little adult fun. In any case, they were not high-end hotels but just slightly better than dormitories. The receptionist was already half-asleep at the table, but when she saw Ye Shuang leading the group, she woke up instantly. Her eyes widened, wondering why a man of such caliber would show up there.
Ye Shuang knocked on the counter to get the receptionist's attention as she turned to ask the guys, "Three rooms or two rooms? Assign the room yourself."
"Two is enough; we wouldn't want to waste Brother Ye's money." They still gave him face. Little Brother Ye hugged Ye Shuang's arm and said shyly, "Bro, can I come back to your place to sleep? After all, there's no class tomorrow morning."
"No class, or no class that takes attendance?" Ye Shuang had finished university just a few years ago, so she knew about the shenanigans that went on. She smirked before saying happily, "I don't mind, but mom did call this morning to say she'll be coming over tomorrow to help me clean up the place and stock up the pantry, so don't say I didn't warn you when you're caught red-handed tomorrow."
Little Brother Ye instantly shook his head. He would need to lose his mind before he surrendered himself to let Mother Ye know he had skipped class. Sleeping at Ye Shuang's place when it was not a weekend… if that was not truancy, what was?
When the group of guys heard this conversation, they confirmed 'Brother Ye' was not an outsider, so they chimed in rowdily. "Ah Feng can just sleep on the floor in our room. Ignore him, Brother Ye. He'll be playing games throughout the night anyway; there's no need for a bed."
After some argument and discussion, the two double-rooms turned into one large room, which was just nice because they could alternatively use the bed and the computer. If worst came to worst, they could share one bed. In any case, they preferred to stick together, and if they opened two rooms, they might end up running between the two rooms throughout the night.
The receptionist kept sneaking glances at Ye Shuang, so much so that she keyed in the wrong number during the registration process.
With the room keys in hand, Ye Shuang led them up to the rooms. When they reached the third floor, an urgent female voice came from the end of the corridor. "Don't! Don't come in, it's getting late, we want to rest…"
Then a male voice said officiously, following the sound of the door being shoved open, "We just want to chat. What are you thinking about?"
Another female voice seemed to convince the earlier girl. "That's right, we're still coming down from the high of the karaoke. Let them come in for a chat. San San, what are you so afraid of? Brother Du is not a bad person, I'm sure."
The hell he is! The group of boys who overheard this cursed. If he was really a gentleman, this Brother Du would not have forced his way into a girl's room in the middle of the night.
Ye Shuang glanced in the direction of the voices. Listening to the voice, the man was probably in his thirties while the two girls sounded young, like they were in their twenties. In fact, they could have been Little Brother Ye's schoolmates.
Then again, university students today were much more open compared to before. For those who wanted to live a materialistic life, they needed to find themselves a stable source of income. To be fair, there were not too many of those, but there had to be a few. For example, when Ye Shuang was in her third year of university, she heard rumors that a girl had been collecting money for an abortion.
Some would judge them for not taking care of themselves, but such open girls would judge the judges for not being clever enough to make the most of their youth. There were many types of people in this world, and each had their own worldview. Ye Shuang did not align herself with these people and did not want to waste her breath on them. Her advice would fall on deaf ears anyway.
A "huh" from Little Brother Ye pulled Ye Shuang out of her thought. He scratched his head and frowned in thought before turning to ask his friends, "Don't you think that female voice from earlier is quite familiar?"
"Now that you mention it…" The rest felt Little Brother Ye was right. They whispered among themselves.
"What did the other girl call her again?"
"Sounds like San San. Could it be Wang San from our class?"
"That other female voice also sounds quite familiar, sounds like the beauty from the next class."
Just as the group of boys were discussing, the first girl yelled, "Don't come in!"
Then it was the sound of the door being slammed again—it sounded like she was attacked from both inside and outside.
"Big brother‽" Little Brother Ye was a little cheeky at times, but he was still a young man with a heart for justice. Ye Shuang sighed and turned toward the corridor and yelled, "Wang San! Why are you here?"
They did recognize the correct person! The man who was barging into the room halted while a little girl with tears streaming down her face took this opportunity to dash out of the room. When she saw the unfamiliar Ye Shuang, she was stunned. Then Little Brother Ye and his gang rushed over. The hesitant young woman dropped her guard and rushed toward the group of friendly faces. "Ye Feng!"
"Hey!" the man yelled. Two other girls poked their heads out from inside the room. The man challenged, "Who are you people?"
When the two girls saw Ye Shuang, their eyes glowed, but when they saw the group of familiar faces, they turned their faces away and kept their mouths shut. Some things were not meant to be brought up to the surface; it would only be awkward for everyone.
Little Brother Ye roared back, "Who we are has nothing to do with you! If you're not satisfied, come at us!"
The man choked. The other party consisted of five young men and a tall, imposing man. He looked at his own party… a middle-aged man with jiggling fat plus two weak girls.
"This is not over yet!" the man croaked before turning to head back to his own room.