Chapter 2523 — The Swap Succeeds

"Oh, Mother of God... Sister Xiaoshu, what on earth is this? How come this water's all black and there's dirt in it too?" Zhong Yongliang asked, his face twisted in misery, looking like a drowned rat.

"Ah, this is to keep out the perverts!" Shen Yushu explained with a helpless grimace of her own. "Yaoyao's sick, so I have to be prepared—fireproof, burglar-proof, and pervert-proof!"

"Fireproof, burglar-proof, and pervert-proof?" Zhong Yongliang blinked. "How? With this one basin of filthy water?"

"Exactly, think about it—water puts out fire, right? And I rigged this basin above the door, so the moment someone pushes it open, the whole thing tips over on them. That takes care of burglars and perverts both!" Shen Yushu explained.

"Are there... even perverts around here? Could a pervert even get in? Isn't this a girls' dorm?" Zhong Yongliang was at a loss for words, privately unsure whether Shen Yushu had set this up on purpose just to prank him—heaven knew she had plenty of precedent for that.

"If it's a girls' dorm, then how did you get in?" Shen Yushu shot back.

"Huh? Well..." Zhong Yongliang thought it over and realized she had a point—hadn't he gotten in himself? Her burglar-proof, pervert-proof measures weren't so hard to understand after all. Still, he couldn't help feeling a bit aggrieved. "But isn't this a trap? You've set me up but good!"

"Xiaoliangzi, that's not fair of you to say. Didn't I tell you not to come? I told you a thousand times, absolutely don't come!" Shen Yushu said with a stern face. "But you ignored the warning and came straight over anyway—so who's there to blame?"

"Even so, if I hadn't come, someone else would have, wouldn't they? What if this filthy water got dumped on someone else's head? That wouldn't be good either!" Zhong Yongliang protested.

"Everyone else knocks first. Who told you to barge in without knocking?" Shen Yushu said, then suddenly blinked and gave him a teasing look. "I say, Xiaoliangzi, you didn't do that on purpose, did you? Hoping to catch a glimpse of something you shouldn't see?"

"Gah!" Zhong Yongliang started as if she'd stepped on a sore spot, and hurriedly shook his head in embarrassment. "How could I? I was just worried about Yaoyao's illness! I'm not that depraved!"

"All right, Xiaoshu, stop tormenting Zhong Yongliang—he's had bad enough luck as it is." Gu Mengyao spoke up at last, softly. "Zhong Yongliang surely isn't a pervert. He knows you're not easy to deal with—how could he possibly play the pervert in front of you?"

"Exactly, exactly—you understand me best, Yaoyao!" Hearing Gu Mengyao speak up in his defense, Zhong Yongliang felt wave after wave of warmth well up in his heart, deeply comforted and delighted, and he took it to mean that Gu Mengyao was beginning to feel some approval of him.

"There now, Zhong Yongliang, your hair's soaked with that filthy water—go take a shower, quick, don't catch a chill. It won't do if you come down with a cold too." Gu Mengyao said to him, "Xiaoshu, why don't you take Zhong Yongliang to the bathroom and let him wash up?"

"Huh? Let Xiaoliangzi shower here? That's not a good idea, is it?" Shen Yushu's expression changed the moment she heard Gu Mengyao's suggestion. "Yaoyao, the bathroom has your sexy little underwear in it!"

Gu Mengyao flushed scarlet and spat, "Xiaoshu, don't talk nonsense—what do you mean, my... Besides, the shower in there is a separate stall—it's not as if he'd be washing out in the open, is it?"

Naturally, it was impossible that Gu Mengyao had left her underwear in the bathroom, but Zhong Yongliang didn't know that. When he heard that Gu Mengyao's underwear was in the bathroom, his heart raced and he nearly spurted blood from his nose, and he said hurriedly, "Sister Xiaoshu, I really am feeling awful—please just let me take a shower! Don't worry, there's no way I'd do anything sordid. If I couldn't even pass this test, how could I ever become the personal bodyguard to you and Yaoyao?"

"Is that so? Then you absolutely mustn't look around or touch anything!" Shen Yushu thought it over and finally agreed. "But you go in and undress first. Once you're in the shower, I'm coming into the bathroom to check and make sure you haven't laid a finger on our underwear! And don't you dare lock the door from the inside!"

"Don't worry!" Zhong Yongliang said the words, though inwardly he felt some regret—he'd originally hoped to jerk off to Gu Mengyao's underwear, but clearly that wish wasn't going to come true. Still, he kept his face perfectly composed. "My standards as a bodyguard are rock solid. You can come check anytime you like!"

"All right then, go take your shower, quick!" Shen Yushu waved her hand in dismissal.

"I'm off, then!" Zhong Yongliang said, and went into the bathroom. Truth be told, he didn't even need a shower—he could have done without one. But if he didn't shower, he'd have to leave, and he wanted to linger at Gu Mengyao's place a while longer!

Once Zhong Yongliang was in the bathroom, Shen Yushu bared her teeth at Gu Mengyao in a furtive grin and flashed a victory sign. "Oh—mission accomplished!"

"Don't get carried away—whatever you do, don't let him catch on!" Gu Mengyao warned.

"Relax, leave it to Xiaoshu." Shen Yushu quickly pulled that set of low-grade Golden Cicada innerwear from her wardrobe, then stood by the bathroom door, listening for any movement inside.

Before long came the sound of Zhong Yongliang opening the shower stall, then the splash of running water—clearly he had already stepped inside.

But to be on the safe side, Shen Yushu decided to wait a little longer, until Zhong Yongliang was lathered all over with soap, before going in.

After a while, judging the time was about right, Shen Yushu slid the bathroom door open and stepped inside.

"Xiaoshu, you've come in to check, have you?" Zhong Yongliang guessed it was her the moment he heard the door, and asked.

The shower stall was walled with frosted glass, so one could only make out a vague silhouette—nothing more—but Shen Yushu was still afraid Zhong Yongliang might notice something, so she said, "After all that, what's there to check? I just came in to pee. Turn around now—no peeking at me!"

"Oh, sure, no problem! Though you can't see a thing through this frosted glass anyway!" Zhong Yongliang said, but he turned around all the same. Who'd want to look at a troublemaker like you? he thought. If I looked at you and then you latched onto me, I'd never live it down for the rest of my life!

Shen Yushu made a show of using the toilet, but her hands were far from idle—she was quickly riffling through the clothes Zhong Yongliang had taken off, and at a single glance she spotted that set of mid-grade Golden Cicada innerwear. To judge by appearances alone, Zhong Yongliang's Golden Cicada innerwear looked extremely similar to her low-grade set—the difference was nearly impossible to detect!

This bore out Shen Yushu's earlier guess, and it made the swap child's play. In no time at all, Shen Yushu completed the substitution!