Chapter 21: The Three-Way Breakfast War
The next day, 5:45 a.m.
The sky had not fully brightened yet, but inside Room 407, an operation centered entirely on Tessa’s forced awakening and styling makeover was already in full swing.
“Mmm… no…” Tessa opened her eyes in a daze and found herself being held up by Chloe on one side and Iris on the other.
And the culprit, [Chief Stylist] Vanessa Rose, was holding a brand-new workout outfit so aggressively pink it bordered on criminal. She smiled like a demon queen about to lay hands on a lamb.
“My sweet little Tessa, wake up,” Vanessa cooed, shaking the outfit in her hands. Her voice was sultry enough to melt into the bones. “Today’s theme is [The Most Tender Pink Bud of Dawn]. I promise, once that demon coach sees you, she’ll want to pin you down on the athletic field and take a big bite.”
It was a pink workout set made of frighteningly thin fabric. The top was a fitted cropped tank, and the athletic shorts were even more dangerous than yesterday’s death-trap pair.
Tessa’s sleepiness vanished in an instant.
[No! Absolutely not! This pink thing is basically an open invitation for someone to lose their mind! The system shorts are better. They’re short too, but at least they have anti-exposure protection!]
She screamed inside, but in front of her three predatory roommates, every bit of resistance felt pale and powerless.
In the end, she was forcibly changed into the pink set and pushed in front of the mirror.
The girl in the mirror looked even fairer and softer against the pink. The tight fabric perfectly outlined her just-right curves, giving off a pure yet dangerously alluring aura that made her face burn just by looking at it.
“Perfect!” Vanessa clapped in satisfaction.
⸻
At 6:30, on Halewick University’s athletic field.
The moment Riley saw that pink figure slowly walking out of the morning mist, she felt her breath get stolen away.
Today’s Tessa felt completely different from yesterday. She was like a pink rose in the dawn, still wet with dew, tender enough to drip, radiating a sweetness that made the mind wander.
“Ahem! You’re here, so let’s start. Today is Pilates and yoga. Follow me!”
However, once training actually began, Riley discovered that today’s session was not training for Tessa.
It was the ultimate test of Riley’s willpower, far crueler than any extreme weight routine.
During the yoga down dog pose, Tessa folded forward. Her full, rounded hips formed a perfect, blood-heating curve under the pink shorts. With every breath she took, the faint orchid fragrance unique to her drifted through the air like an invisible little hook, scratching again and again at the tip of Riley’s heart.
Riley’s eyes started drifting out of control. Her mind turned into a mess. She nearly misspoke while explaining the movement.
“Focus on… using your… waist… no! Your core. Use your core!”
When they reached a Pilates circle movement that required physical contact for assistance, Riley took a deep breath and forced herself into coach mode. She crouched down, placed one hand against Tessa’s soft waist, and rested the other on her thigh, preparing to guide the motion.
The instant her palm touched that skin, Riley regretted it.
She could clearly feel that the skin beneath her hand was even warmer than yesterday.
That smooth, warm touch, mixed with that sweet fragrance, hit her like a powerful current. It shot up her arm and through her entire body, making her head go hazy. Her palm almost stuck to that soft skin, unwilling to leave.
Fortunately, the recovery session ended quickly.
Tessa had only broken a light sweat. A few clear beads clung to her flushed cheeks, making her look like a flower freshly kissed by rain, tender enough to collapse under a touch.
Riley was extremely satisfied with the results of her new plan. Face red, she awkwardly tossed a sports drink and a paper bag containing a breakfast sandwich into Tessa’s arms.
“F-for you! Energy replenishment!”
After saying that, she turned and ran off as if fleeing for her life. No matter how one looked at her back, it was full of flustered defeat.
Tessa looked down at the breakfast in her hands as the system prompt rang in her mind.
[Ding! Gained [Tsundere Affection] from Riley Summers, +10 points!]
⸻
7:25 a.m.
Following her supposedly perfect plan, Tessa jogged all the way back. At last, within the scheduled time, she changed clothes and hurried downstairs.
Under the giant plane tree outside the dorm, a petite figure in a pale-yellow dress stood holding a pink insulated lunchbox. She kept rising onto her toes and looking toward the dorm entrance.
She looked like a little rabbit waiting for her owner to come home. Her clear eyes were filled with pure anticipation.
“Molly!” Tessa jogged over.
“Tessa!” Molly’s eyes lit up the moment she saw her, and a smile brighter than the morning sun bloomed across her face.
She hurried forward, but when she noticed the moisture still clinging to Tessa’s hairline, she stopped abruptly.
“Oh no, your hair still isn’t dry.” Molly immediately took a neatly folded little handkerchief from her bag. It had an adorable strawberry pattern. Rising onto her toes, she carefully wiped the loose strands of hair on Tessa’s forehead. “If you don’t dry your hair properly, you’ll get a headache.”
The gesture was too natural and too intimate.
Tessa smelled that pleasant milk-and-bread fragrance coming from Molly, and for a moment, she felt dazed.
Just then, Molly leaned in a little closer. Her small, perky nose sniffed the air, and she asked with innocent curiosity, “Huh? Tessa, you smell really nice. Is it your body wash?”
This incredibly intimate gesture, along with that innocent question, was seen clearly by two people approaching from different directions.
One was Riley, who had ultimately been too worried to leave it alone and had decided to secretly follow over to check on the situation.
The other was Seraphina, who had just parked a low-key but luxurious black sedan not far away and was now walking over with elegant steps.
Riley’s face instantly darkened.
She felt that the breakfast she had painstakingly fed Tessa that morning probably had not even been digested yet, and now someone else was waiting downstairs with a lunchbox. Was the training result she had worked so hard for about to be destroyed by all these high-calorie foods?
On the other side, the flawless gentle smile on Seraphina’s face also stiffened by a nearly imperceptible amount the moment she saw Molly using her own handkerchief to wipe Tessa’s hair.
Deep in those eyes that always seemed full of spring water, a chilling trace of possessiveness flashed.
A war without smoke began.
“Molly, you came so early. That must have been tiring.”
Seraphina was the first to step forward. As if she had seen no one else at all, she naturally and gracefully hooked her arm around Tessa’s other arm and pulled her subtly toward herself, completely separating her from Molly.
She smiled. Her voice was so gentle it almost dripped, yet it carried the unarguable force of someone used to standing above others. “Tessa just finished exercising, so she probably can’t eat yet. Why don’t I take your breakfast for her first?”
Molly was stunned by Seraphina’s powerful presence and instinctively took half a step back. But when she saw Seraphina’s outstretched hand, she hugged the lunchbox in her arms even tighter.
She lifted her head. Her voice was quiet, but unexpectedly firm. “B-but I made these soup dumplings especially for Tessa. They’re best when they’re still hot…”
“Is that so?” Seraphina’s smile did not change. “How unfortunate. I already reserved a table at Wisteria Pavilion. Their crab soup dumplings are made with freshly flown-in blue crab. I imagine they’ll suit Tessa’s taste better.”
Tessa stared in shock at Seraphina’s sudden appearance, screaming over and over inside her head.
[It’s over. It’s over. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m really dead…]
Just as the two remained locked in a stalemate and the atmosphere froze to the point of ice, a dark shadow carrying the faint scent of sweat and heavy pressure loomed over them.
“You two. Enough.”
Riley strode over with a handsome face sunk into a dark expression. In an extremely domineering move, she grabbed Tessa’s wrist and ruthlessly pulled her out of Seraphina’s arm.
“She just finished recovery training. What she needs right now is professional stretching, relaxation, and rest!” Riley’s voice hit the ground like blocks of ice.
She pulled Tessa behind her in one firm motion, shielding her like a mother hen guarding a chick. Her sharp, oppressive gaze swept back and forth between Seraphina and Molly. “Not to be treated like some thoughtless doll you can fight over!”
Molly had never faced a situation like this. One glare from Riley’s fierce eyes made her shrink back another step, her eyes already turning red.
Seraphina, however, was unmoved. She still maintained that perfect smile and met Riley’s gaze without the slightest fear. Slowly, word by word, she said, “Captain Riley, caring about Tessa is a good thing. But your way of caring only seems to leave her hurt, exhausted, and fainting from hunger by the roadside.”
“You!”
Every word from Seraphina was like a precise knife stabbing directly into the guiltiest part of Riley’s heart.
The air seemed to crackle with invisible sparks.
At Halewick University, the gentle goddess of the Arts Department, the healing angel of the Baking Club, and the volleyball captain of the Athletics Department formed a three-way standoff for the first time on this otherwise ordinary morning, all because of the same girl.
Protected behind Riley, Tessa smelled the strange mix of sunlight and sweat coming from the broad back in front of her. Looking at the intense confrontation between the two “rivals” before her, she felt her mind go blank and her legs turn weak.
Instinctively, she reached out and grabbed Riley’s firm arm, feeling like she was about to lose the strength to stand.
Maybe it was lack of oxygen. Maybe she was just scared out of her mind.
Her brain short-circuited.
Looking at Riley’s back, she spoke in a voice thick with tears.
“U-um… Riley… can I borrow your abs… to lean on? …”