It was 9:30 at night. Only two figures remained busy in the piano room. Tiny dust particles swirled around the bright beams of light, their long shadows stretching and crossing each other. A few faint sounds collided in the air.
Noah had planned to be the last one out. The faculty housing building had no curfew, so going back late was fine. But when he saw the girl who had taught them piano tidying up the room by herself, he wanted to stay and help her out.
He had no other thoughts—just genuinely wanted to save her some effort. Naturally, he didn't talk much, but she was the one who started the conversation.
"First time here, right?"
"Yeah. I'd never heard the school had a piano room before."
"Hehe, yeah." Sophie smiled. "This is usually where music majors practice. Weekends are open to all students, but hardly anyone comes."
"You're a music major, Sophie?"
"Yeah, and I'm the vice president of the piano club." Sophie neatly laid the white cover back over the piano and glanced at Noah, who was also helping clean up.
She had a good impression of this boy she'd just met. He was handsome and refined without seeming feminine, polite and soft-spoken, and the first newcomer on a weekend to stay behind and help tidy the piano room.
The weekend crowd at the piano room was usually all regulars. New students needing lessons were rare.
That was why she often ended up alone on weekends—opening and closing the room, maintaining it, and occasionally teaching beginners who wanted to learn piano.
"You're the vice president too?" Noah sounded surprised. "No wonder you play so well."
"You could tell I play well from your first time here?"
"Ehehe, just by feeling. It sounded really nice to me."
"Then… would you be interested in joining our piano club?" Sophie's eyes curved, her smile sweet and gentle, adding a touch of softness to her already pretty oval face.
"But I don't know how to play."
"You don't need to. You can learn slowly. As long as you're interested in piano, that's enough."
"Well…" Noah actually did have some interest in piano. When he was little, watching those elegant piano performances at school arts nights and seeing his classmates steal the spotlight had always made him envious.
As a hobby, he really wanted to learn more. Picking up new skills couldn't hurt, and…
At least here he could step slightly outside Evelyn's constant watch. It might loosen the shackles that bound him every moment, even if only a little.
"I'll think about it. Will the room be open tomorrow?"
"It will. You're welcome to come back."
"Thanks for tonight, Sophie. I'll head back now."
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Sophie waved as Noah walked toward the door, then called after him. "Wait, I still don't know your name."
"I'm Noah, sophomore computer science."
"Noah… got it. I'm Sophie, junior finance major."
"See you tomorrow then, Sophie."
Noah turned and left the piano room. As he walked down the dimly lit hallway, he suddenly heard noisy footsteps and conversation coming down the stairwell from above.
A group of people soon poured down the stairs right in front of him. They all looked like professors.
Professors? He realized what was happening and spun around to escape, but his eyes met Evelyn's right in the middle of the crowd. The atmosphere turned awkward instantly.
Evelyn quickly ended her conversation with the female professor beside her, pushed through the group, walked straight over, took Noah's hand, and pulled him toward the other side of the hallway.
Once they were far from the crowd and the surroundings had grown quiet again, she was about to question him when the lights in the classroom next door turned off and Sophie walked out, spotting them.
"You haven't left yet?" Sophie asked.
"I… I had something to take care of."
"Then I'll go first. You…" Sophie noticed their joined hands and smiled meaningfully. "Is this your girlfriend?"
"She's my sister. You go ahead, Sophie. We're heading back too."
Before she could reply, Noah urgently pulled Evelyn toward the other staircase. The second Sophie spoke to him, he had seen his sister's expression darken. If they kept talking, he was afraid he wouldn't sleep tonight.
"Sis, about tonight…"
"Save the explanation for when we get home. It's not convenient for me to handle you here."
"It's really nothing. I was just—"
He tried to continue, but Evelyn whipped her head around and glared at him fiercely. Noah immediately shut his mouth.
The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow on the road. The hazy night wrapped around their figures. Noah could clearly feel Evelyn gripping his hand tighter and tighter. She walked ahead, her long hair swaying gently, revealing her fair earlobe and the line of her profile.
Evelyn didn't say another word the entire way. Only after they entered the stairwell of the faculty housing building did she finally let go of his hand.
Noah fell a few steps behind. When he looked up, he had a perfect view of her full, round, perky ass tightly wrapped in her pants. The curve was flawless, instantly making the tips of his ears burn.
But Evelyn suddenly stopped. Noah quickly halted, almost bumping into her. He looked up to see her completely expressionless face.
"Like what you see?" Evelyn's voice was icy.
"I… I wasn't looking."
"Still lying?"
"No… no." Noah wanted to hold out a little longer, but as Evelyn's expression grew more terrifying, he gave in. "Yeah… it looks good. You look good everywhere, Eve."
"You like your sister's ass that much? Then I'll make sure to spank yours until it's blooming red tonight!"
"It's not like that…"
He wanted to explain, but Evelyn had already sped up the stairs. Noah could only hurry after her.
Once they were inside the room, Evelyn tossed the small notebook from the meeting onto the table, took off her thick coat, and the tight white sweater perfectly outlined her alluring figure. She sat down on the edge of the bed, patted her lap, and ordered, "Lie across my lap, Nate."
"Can't you listen to my explanation first?"
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
When Evelyn switched from calling herself "sister" to using "I," Noah could feel exactly how serious her anger was.
He obediently lay down, positioning his back, waist, and bottom toward her.
What he didn't expect was for Evelyn to immediately pull both his pants and underwear down in one motion, leaving his bare ass exposed to the cold air.
"Sis, don't… it's cold."
Evelyn ignored him and said fiercely, "You have thirty seconds."
"Okay, I did look. You really do look amazing."
"Is that what I told you to explain?"
Noah knew what she meant. He was just trying to play dumb to ease the mood.
After all, she had never minded him looking at or touching any part of her body. Sometimes she even made him lick her.
"I know… Caleb and Ryan said the piano room was open tonight and invited me to go check it out…"
"Didn't I specifically tell you not to go out and to stay here obediently memorizing your vocabulary words?"