Chapter 21
Physiological needs.
To put it bluntly, wasn’t that just…
Jiang Siyi’s mind raced. It wasn’t until lunchtime, amidst the noisy crowd in the cafeteria, that she finally regained her composure.
The cafeteria doors were wide open, letting in a gust of cold wind. Jiang Siyi, standing in line, shivered.
Xu Yuan, seeing her finally react, said, “Oh, not thinking about your girlfriend anymore?”
Little Jiang scoffed. “I wasn’t thinking about her.”
After finally buying their lunch, they found a place to sit. Xu Yuan, seeing that Jiang Siyi’s tray was filled with only vegetables, exclaimed, “Are you becoming a vegetarian?”
Jiang Siyi shushed her. “Keep it down.”
She took a bite of cucumber. “I’m on a diet.”
Xu Yuan couldn’t understand. “You’re already as thin as a stick insect, and you’re still dieting?”
“…You’re the stick insect.”
After lunch, they took a detour through a path lined with trees, hoping to find some shelter from the wind.
They inadvertently stumbled upon several couples on secret dates.
“Oh my god, wasn’t that couple from Class 6? Their faces were so close, could they be…?”
Jiang Siyi hadn’t seen clearly, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have recognized them. So, she simply replied to the latter half of the sentence, “Kissing?”
Xu Yuan glanced back, finally confirming, “It really was the couple from Class 6.”
“They must have been kissing. They were acting so suspiciously.”
“Are they adults?” Jiang Siyi touched her nose. “Over eighteen, kissing isn’t a big deal.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Yuan looked at her intently.
As if seeing through her, she asked, “Have you and your girlfriend…?”
Jiang Siyi quickly denied it. “Of course not!”
A few minutes later, sitting on a bench in the small grove of trees, Jiang Siyi covered half her face with her oversized winter uniform sleeve, her voice muffled. “What’s wrong with real couples kissing?”
Xu Yuan, seeing her shy demeanor for the first time, became even more curious. “So, you’re dieting, could it be because…?”
“Shut up!”
She didn’t even deny it.
Xu Yuan gasped, then patted her shoulder. “What’s wrong? We’ve been friends for so many years, why are you so shy?”
Jiang Siyi finally moved her sleeve.
She stared at the withered leaves above, the heat in her cheeks finally subsiding.
After a long moment, she lowered her voice and confided in her friend.
“What if something really happens,” Jiang Siyi fidgeted with the corner of her clothes, “what if I’m too… fleshy?”
“That’s why I’m dieting.”
Xu Yuan facepalmed. “Why are you so insecure about dating?”
“Someone who loves you won’t care about those things.”
Jiang Siyi sighed.
She felt that dating Shen Shiwu was like that grape-flavored hard candy.
Sweet and sour.
And the sourness stemmed from her endless feelings of inadequacy.
***
The cold winter wind blew, and many days passed. As the Lunar New Year approached, so did the winter break.
Two days before the final exams, Shen Shiwu thoughtfully started working from home, going upstairs to supervise her girlfriend’s studies after finishing her online meetings.
Looking at the pile of textbooks and worksheets on her desk, Jiang Siyi groaned, but remembering her improved, yet still not ideal, scores, she diligently started working.
She had to be better.
To be worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with Shen Shiwu.
After Jiang Siyi’s protests—actually shy refusals—Shen Shiwu finally stopped giving her punishments for getting questions wrong.
She seemed to have returned to her usual gentle self.
The day after the final exams was a rare sunny day, not a drop of rain in sight. The warm sunlight felt pleasant on her skin.
Having survived another semester, the classroom was in chaos, someone yelling, “Finally, I can go home for the New Year!”
“Hey, don’t forget to bring your homework back. Sister Bao said we have to check in on the group chat,” a class representative reminded.
“…”
There were too many things to take home, and Jiang Siyi was in a dilemma. She neatly stacked the textbooks and tried to stuff them into her backpack, but with a rip, the zipper broke.
She felt a pang of distress.
Because Shen Shiwu had bought her this backpack.
Jiang Siyi sighed, looking at the gaping backpack, and took a few gulps of water.
Her throat felt better, and she felt less overwhelmed, so she continued packing.
The once youthful and beautiful high school girl had transformed into a pack mule.
Her backpack, with a broken zipper, was slung over her chest, barely containing all the books.
A bag Shen Shiwu had prepared for her that morning hung around her neck, bulging with worksheets and leftover snacks.
She held several cups of instant noodles in her arms, a jump rope (required by the school) wrapped around her arm, and a badminton racket slung over her shoulder.
She gathered her strength, said goodbye to Xu Yuan, and walked out of the classroom.
Parents were allowed to enter the school today, but only for boarding students. As a privileged day student, Jiang Siyi had to fend for herself.
It wasn’t too tiring, after all, she could even fight three people at once, so carrying some books was nothing.
Just as she thought this, the instant noodles in her arms slipped and fell to the ground.
Bending down to pick them up was a bit of a struggle. Jiang Siyi was about to sigh and bend down slowly when she saw someone pick them up.
“Thank you.”
Her arms were full, obstructing her view, so she didn’t know who it was.
The kind stranger didn’t speak, seeming aloof. Jiang Siyi reached out, struggling slightly. “Give them to me.”
The kind stranger still didn’t move.
Not even returning the noodles.
Jiang Siyi wondered—Could they be craving her noodles?
No, not my noodles!
They were seafood-flavored, her favorite.
Just as her thoughts were running wild, someone patted her head.
Shen Shiwu’s voice was laced with amusement. “Don’t recognize me anymore?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Siyi suddenly felt exhausted, her body aching, as if she couldn’t even lift a single worksheet.
So, after seeing who it was, she blinked a few times. “I’m tired.”
“Help me.”
Shen Shiwu, seeing her loaded down with bags, thought she looked like a small animal moving house and, unable to contain her laughter, reached out to take some of the things.
Jiang Siyi felt that Shen Shiwu must be mocking her, thinking she was weak.
So, Little Jiang immediately changed her mind.
She took a few steps back, lifting her chin, finally revealing her face.
“Forget it, as an independent adult, I should do things myself.” The girl declared, as if she had made a firm decision, and walked around Shen Shiwu, heading downstairs.
After a few steps, she realized that the other woman hadn’t followed.
Jiang Siyi was puzzled and turned around to see her girlfriend being stopped.
Hiss, why is Yang Yi there too?
“You’re Jiang Siyi’s older sister, right?” Yang Yi, having met Shen Shiwu at the barbecue before, continued, “This is my older sister.”
“She wants to meet you!”
With that, the girl nudged her sister’s arm, and the latter quickly nodded. “Y-yes.”
Shen Shiwu looked up and saw Jiang Siyi standing not far away, her face dark.
Yang Yi followed her gaze and saw Jiang Siyi holding a pile of things.
The lights in the hallway had been broken for a while, and now, with the sun setting, it was difficult to see Jiang Siyi’s expression clearly.
Yang Yi’s heart skipped a beat. She told the two to chat and turned to run towards Jiang Siyi.
Her voice was soft. “Senior, let me help you.”
Normally, Jiang Siyi would have refused.
But now, looking at the two women facing each other, her heart twisted like crumpled paper.
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“No problem, no problem!”
Yang Yi took the instant noodles from her arms and then took the badminton racket from behind her. “Senior,”
She suddenly lowered her voice, as if sharing a big secret.
“Look, it’s your sister and my sister.”
Jiang Siyi looked away, feigning indifference, even forcing a smile. “Mm, I see.”
“My sister said your sister is her ideal type!”
Yang Yi, oblivious to the tension, even giggled. “If they get together, then we’ll…”
“We’ll be able to see each other every day!”
The lights flickered and then came back on. The students and parents passing by in the hallway were surprised. “Why are the lights so bright now?”
Jiang Siyi’s stiff expression finally caught Shen Shiwu’s attention.
“I have a girlfriend.” Her heart tightened, and she quickly walked towards Jiang Siyi.
“Let’s go.”
Seeing her approaching, Jiang Siyi said softly to Yang Yi, who happily replied, “Okay, let’s go, let’s go.”
But Yang Yi didn’t expect the other girl to take three steps at a time, walking briskly and silently.
She panted. “Senior, wait… wait for me.”
Just as she finished speaking, the things in her hands were effortlessly taken away.
Shen Shiwu looked down at her. “You can go now.”
“Go find your sister.”
Yang Yi was stunned, scratching her head. “Okay… goodbye, older sister.”
***
Jiang Siyi looked at the scattered dark clouds in the sky, sighing at how quickly the winter weather changed.
She sniffed, composed herself, and decided to wait for Shen Shiwu—
The school was too crowded, and she couldn’t find where Shen Shiwu had parked.
Her ability to identify people by their footsteps seemed to have malfunctioned.
Every time Jiang Siyi looked up, the person she saw wasn’t Shen Shiwu, and her heart sank a little.
Yang Yi’s sister was elegant, with long, shiny black hair, fair skin, and large eyes.
Most importantly, Xu Yuan had told her that she was a returnee from overseas and had opened her own law firm after returning to China.
She’s the perfect match for Shen Shiwu in every way.
As for herself, besides the calluses on her hands, the worksheets covered in red marks, and the countless disciplinary actions…
She had nothing else to offer.
Thinking this, she felt utterly defeated and sat down, ignoring the stares, burying her face in her knees.
The sky gradually darkened.
The girl sat in the corner, laden with bags.
After a while, her arms felt lighter. Slowly lifting her head, she saw Shen Shiwu squatting down in front of her, a hint of helplessness in her expression.
She had figured it out.
Whenever this girl was upset, she would run and hide, but she wouldn’t go far, waiting for her to find her.
She also understood that this was a sign of insecurity.
The woman’s eyes softened with distress.
She lowered her voice. “The ground is cold. Let’s get up.”
Jiang Siyi bit her lip, her throat tight with emotion, unable to speak.
Shen Shiwu, afraid she would catch a cold, seeing the girl motionless, adjusted her collar.
Then she lowered her voice:
“Get up yourself or I’ll carry you. Choose one.”
“If you don’t answer, I’ll assume it’s the latter.”
Shen Shiwu’s fingers brushed against her hair, playfully twirling a few strands.
“And no blushing.”
Seeing the woman about to lean closer, Jiang Siyi quickly stood up.
Her head felt dizzy from sitting for so long, and coupled with her bad mood, seeing that no one was around, she buried her face in Shen Shiwu’s embrace.
Her voice was muffled.
“Yang Yi’s sister is amazing.”
Hearing this, Shen Shiwu instantly understood the reason for her unusual behavior.
She gently pinched the back of the girl’s neck, making her shiver slightly.
“What does that have to do with me?” Her lips brushed against the girl’s ear.
“My Xiao Si is amazing too.”
Jiang Siyi’s body tingled, and she almost lost her balance.
The place where Shen Shiwu had touched her felt hot, and she desperately tried to pull away.
But Shen Shiwu held her tighter.
A soft chuckle sounded above her head.
Jiang Siyi heard her slow, deliberate voice:
“What’s the rush?”
“I haven’t settled the score for you running off with that junior.”
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