Playing the Mute Transfer Student - Chapter 3

Chen Tianyi did not leave room for refusal.

He dragged me into the bathroom, still smiling as he asked, “How about Brother brushes Xiaoshui’s teeth for him?”

Before I could wrench free of his burning grip, he thrust the toothbrush into my mouth. In the mirror, his face looked grim.

…I could endure this.

But not for much longer.

My tongue was nearly scrubbed raw. In a fit of temper, I knocked the toothbrush away and sent the rinsing cup tumbling with it.

Water splashed over Chen Tianyi.

He lowered his gaze to his soaked shirt and watch, then let out a very soft laugh.

“Why would you make your brother angry?”

Before I could become properly wary, he lifted his eyes.

Without warning, he yanked me toward the bathtub.

It had already been filled with warm water.

Before I could react, a hand forced my head under.

Water flooded my throat. Suffocation seized me at once.

I thrashed desperately, but my resistance made almost no difference.

Just as the water was about to steal the last breath from my lungs, that deathly pale face appeared again.

My heart skipped.

An indescribable force hurled Chen Tianyi backward. I scrambled out of the tub in a wretched heap.

I couldn’t stop coughing. Even my breaths came in broken, ragged fragments.

Chen Tianyi studied my eyes, reddened by the bathwater, then looked thoughtfully at his own hands. He seemed to believe some desperate burst of survival instinct had given me the strength.

Whatever occurred to him dispelled the gloom over his brow.

He smiled at me, once more the perfect older brother.

“Xiaoshui, how did you get yourself all wet?”

“Come here. Brother will help you bathe.”

His gentle tone gave no hint that he had just tried to kill me.

In the tense, silent standoff, a faint smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.

“Why do you look like a cat that fell into the water? All puffed up after being rescued? Don’t be afraid. Brother is here.”

…You being here is exactly what terrifies me, all right?

Considerately, Chen Tianyi closed the door for me. He even remembered to call through it, “Don’t stay in too long. It’ll be time for dinner soon.”

The enormous bathroom fell silent again.

Remembering the face that had appeared at the bottom of the tub, I shuddered. Every hair on my body stood on end.

I didn’t dare go within a step of the bathtub. But after everything that had happened that day, I was drenched in sweat, so I hurriedly showered beneath the spray instead.

I went downstairs distracted, planning to find an excuse to approach the shrine and see what sort of god it housed.

Then I stopped.

The shrine in the corner of the living room was gone. The wall was spotless, as though I had imagined it all.

I looked at Chen Tianyi, seated upright at the dining table.

Pressing my lips together, I walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down.