Transmigrating as the Female Supporting Character: Dumb with Deep Pockets - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Rumors, Pure Rumors

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Chatting alone was getting a bit boring.

Chen Jia had to remind her once again: “Didn’t we agree not to talk?”

Su Su sheepishly wiped a bubble off the tip of her nose.

“What’s the big deal? Don’t ‘besties’ love to have heart-to-hearts when they’re feeling physically and mentally relaxed like this?”

Speaking of which, her inner gossip-monger began to flare up.

“Do you have someone you like?”

Chen Jia answered without a second thought: “No.”

Su Su didn’t believe her: “Really? No one at all?”

“No.”

The conversation died right there.

Su Su went quiet for a moment, then muttered under her breath, “You’re so no-fun.”

No-fun, yet it still won’t shut you up, Chen Jia thought. She sighed and silently applied her last layer of soap.

Peace lasted less than two minutes before Su Su had another issue: “Oh no!”

Can’t you just stay quiet for a while?

Chen Jia asked helplessly, “What now?”

Su Su’s voice sounded pitiful and laced with panic: “Soap got in my eyes! I can’t open them. Quick, come look at me!”

“…”

If Chen Jia remembered correctly, they were currently in the middle of a shower, completely unclothed. How exactly was she supposed to “look” at her?

Over on the other side, Su Su used her damp, soapy towel to rub her eyes. Instead of getting better, the pain intensified.

“Chen Jia, Chen Jia! I’m going blind!”

“Shut up!”

Showering together was already awkward enough; if she kept shouting like that, Chen Jia really felt like throwing her out.

Su Su pouted and actually went silent.

Knowing the young miss couldn’t wait, Chen Jia didn’t even rinse off her own soap properly. She grabbed her freshly changed clothes and threw them on haphazardly.

“Turn around, let me see.”

Although Chen Jia had been sharp and indifferent earlier—which had annoyed Su Su—her voice was now steady. When she wasn’t being sharp, she was actually quite gentle.

Su Su had very little backbone; she forgot the embarrassment of her naked state and turned around with a head full of suds. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her thick eyelashes trembling and casting shadows on her lower lids.

Chen Jia turned off the showerhead, rinsed the soap off Su Su’s towel, and began to wipe her eyes. “Don’t move.”

“I’m not moving.”

Her hands gripped Chen Jia’s T-shirt, which was now soaked through.

Out of the corner of her eye, Su Su accidentally caught a glimpse of skin that was white with a hint of rosy pink.

A flash of fluster appeared on Chen Jia’s usually calm face, a thin layer of red spreading over her wheat-toned complexion. She stuffed the towel back into Su Su’s hands. “There. Wipe it yourself now.”

“Oh.”

Su Su didn’t think much of it. She wiped her eyes a few times and blinked. The stinging, sour sensation gradually faded, and her vision cleared from blurry to sharp.

Chen Jia stood with her back to her. The long, deep-blue T-shirt reached down to her thighs, leaving only her straight, strong legs visible. Though her skin wasn’t pale, it possessed a different kind of beauty.

Su Su spoke up blankly, “Why are you wearing clothes?”

Actually, what she wanted to say was: How come you got to see everything of me, but you’re all covered up? But saying it out loud made it sound like she was eager to see something. Realizing the ambiguity of her words, her face turned red. “I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Oh.” Chen Jia placed her hands on the hem of her shirt, as if masking something, and said, “Your figure is pretty good.”

Normally, Su Su’s tail would be wagging in the air at such a compliment, but the situation today was too bizarre. She felt like Chen Jia was mocking her.

“I haven’t been watching what I eat lately. I think I’ve put on a little weight.” Her little belly was starting to show.

Chen Jia didn’t know what the standard for “skinny” was, but based on that one glance, she replied earnestly: “No, you haven’t.”

“Who says?”

Perhaps because everything that needed to be seen had been seen, and because Chen Jia’s back was turned, Su Su wasn’t as shy anymore. She stared at Chen Jia’s back, determined to get a look back.

But it was as if Chen Jia had eyes in the back of her head.

“Have you seen enough? If you have, turn back around.”

Su Su was surprised. “How did you know I was looking at you?”

Isn’t it obvious? Chen Jia thought. Su Su still had soap on her head, but she hadn’t turned the water back on for ages. She was almost certainly thinking about something ridiculous.

“Fine, if I can’t look, I won’t look.”

She curled her lip and turned back around. The sound of splashing water resumed.

Even though she had wanted a long soak today, Chen Jia finished up quickly. However, in these double stalls, both people had to finish together; otherwise, if one person left, the other would be exposed.

Chen Jia wiped the water off herself. “Are you done?”

There were no mirrors in the bathhouse to fuss over, which saved them the steps of face masks and skincare. Su Su was almost finished as well.

“Almost! Wait for me a second, I just need to rinse out the conditioner.”

Chen Jia gave a nod of acknowledgment. Worried about the water splashing and wetting her clothes again, she draped a towel over her shoulders, drying her hair while she waited.

The water didn’t stop, but Chen Jia had a very strong premonition. She turned her head; Su Su was rinsing off as if nothing was wrong, but the tips of her snowy-white ears were bright red—a classic case of “protesting too much.”

Anyway, they were both women and built roughly the same. After thirty minutes, Chen Jia had completely loosened up and become immune.

She wrapped her hair in her damp towel, opened the locker, and started packing her toiletries back into her bag one by one. “Don’t dawdle once you’re done. Get dressed so we can go back.”

“Oh.”

Su Su made a show of scrubbing for a bit longer before turning off the faucet and getting ready.

The two of them dressed and opened the door together. The people waiting outside had already cycled through a new batch. As they emerged from the double stall, the onlookers’ stares seemed to be admiring their “bravery.”

Under the weight of so many gazes, both felt a bit awkward, but they maintained a facade of composure and walked out together.

On the way back to the dorm, they passed the cafeteria. Su Su’s stomach made a discordant noise.

“I’m hungry.”

She looked down at the flip-flops on her feet and the tote bag in her hand. Her steps toward the cafeteria faltered.

Chen Jia didn’t care. Having lived through the entire university experience once before, she had zero requirements for her public image. “If you’re hungry, go eat.”

Su Su wasn’t stupid; she knew she should eat if she was hungry, but wasn’t this look a bit… inappropriate?

Chen Jia tilted her chin, gesturing for her to look at the others.

“Don’t worry about people pointing fingers. They don’t know you, and you don’t know them. Besides, you have much more money than they do; you should be more arrogant than them.”

Hearing that, it actually made sense. “Then… let’s go.”

It was dinner time, but because this cafeteria was a bit out of the way, it wasn’t very crowded. Those eating there were either freshmen fresh out of the bathhouse or seniors from the nearby girls’ dorms.

They got their food to go. By the time they reached the dorm, Su Su didn’t seem that hungry anymore. She immediately ducked behind her bed curtains, busying herself with something.

Li Sisi and Sun Yimiao had returned long ago and were halfway through their meals. Sun Yimiao was staring at her phone, giggling uncontrollably.

“Look at this ‘Confessions Wall’ (campus forum), it’s so hilarious!”

Li Sisi leaned over. “Let me see, what is it?” After reading, she started laughing too.

Su Su, hiding behind her curtains, heard them. Driven by curiosity, she poked her head out, her face full of wonder. “What happened? What happened?”

“Someone just posted a complaint on the Confessions Wall saying they heard two girls doing something… ‘indescribable’ in the bathhouse today.”