Chapter 85
The long-awaited dream was about to come true.
Jiang Siyi, finding her scarf bothersome, quickly untied it and tossed it onto her lap, then leaned closer to Shen Shiwu. “Of course it’s me!”
She eagerly declared her ownership. “Besides me, who else is your ex-girlfriend?”
She hummed softly, like a spoiled, pampered house rabbit.
Restricted by her seatbelt, Jiang Siyi could only sit back in her seat, but her mouth kept running. “You said it, no going back on your word.”
“Otherwise,” she pouted unconsciously, her voice softening, “I’ll throw a tantrum.”
The traffic, which had been at a standstill, finally started moving.
Shen Shiwu, gripping the steering wheel, drove off.
Glancing sideways, she saw Jiang Siyi waiting for her answer,
Curled up in her seat, glaring at her seatbelt as if it were her nemesis.
Shen Shiwu reached out and patted her head.
“You’ve thrown plenty of tantrums before,” she said, her lips curving into a smile, “I can handle one more.”
Heh. Jiang Siyi scoffed inwardly.
Listen to her.
She gritted her teeth. “Shen Shiwu, are you messing with me?”
The woman simply smiled, not replying, until they reached the underground parking lot of the shopping mall. “Do I seem like such an irresponsible person?”
Jiang Siyi stared at her for a moment, then blurted out, “Yes.”
“…”
They went inside, took the elevator to the third floor, the food court.
Finding the Japanese restaurant, Jiang Siyi, still annoyed, stubbornly chose a table for one.
Shen Shiwu effortlessly dragged her back and, pressing her into a seat, was about to coax her,
When a waiter approached them, looking at Jiang Siyi carefully. “Oh, it really is you.”
Their conversation interrupted, Shen Shiwu frowned slightly and turned to look at the newcomer.
The waiter was wearing a mask, their face obscured.
But Jiang Siyi quickly recognized her.
“Sister Yu, what are you doing here?”
“Working, of course.”
Jiang Siyi rarely showed such an animated expression to strangers.
Seeing the surprise and excitement in the girl’s eyes, Shen Shiwu put down her phone, which she had been using to browse the menu, and listened quietly to their conversation.
“Long time no see, how have you been?”
Busy making a living, she rarely went online and didn’t know that the little girl from before had become an internationally acclaimed author.
Jiang Siyi smiled faintly. “Pretty good, what about you?”
“As you can see, just like this,” she replied jokingly.
She had wanted to chat more, but a customer at another table called out, “Waiter!”
“Coming, coming,” she replied, then turned to Jiang Siyi, “I have to go now, enjoy your meal.”
Jiang Siyi watched her leave,
Then her vision was suddenly blocked.
Shen Shiwu’s voice came, “Done staring?”
Jiang Siyi, her survival instincts kicking in, quickly explained, “She’s someone I met when I was working part-time in high school, she’s a good person. One time, the store manager withheld my wages, and she helped me get them back.”
Shen Shiwu, not wanting Jiang Siyi to starve, picked up her phone and started ordering. Then she asked, emphasizing the word, “Sister?”
Jiang Siyi didn’t think anything was wrong. “Yes, she’s two years older than me.”
“Mm-hmm,” Shen Shiwu put down her phone, trying to control her movements, but it still made a slight thud, “you have so many ‘sisters’.”
Why so aggressive, even throwing her phone?
Jiang Siyi, who was still annoyed, retorted, “So what? It’s not like I have many ex-girlfriends.”
After a moment of awkward silence, she glanced at Shen Shiwu, seeing that her expression was calm, not a trace of anger,
She relaxed inwardly and continued, adding fuel to the fire,
“She’s very gentle. Back then, I had just turned sixteen, working part-time at a bubble tea shop, I was so slow at cutting fruit, the store manager always complained.”
“She taught me patiently and even comforted me.”
She glanced at Shen Shiwu again.
The woman’s expression remained unchanged.
Jiang Siyi, completely relieved, continued reminiscing about the past.
Twenty minutes later, their food arrived.
She said, finishing her story, “Anyway, that’s what happened. After I met you, I didn’t have time for part-time jobs anymore, I had to study every weekend, so we lost contact.”
“Mm-hmm, it’s all my fault,” Shen Shiwu, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
Jiang Siyi paused, sensing something in her tone.
“Preventing you from contacting each other, keeping you two apart,” Shen Shiwu said, nodding slowly, “it’s all my fault.”
Jiang Siyi suddenly found her sweet shrimp less appetizing.
She thought for a moment, then tilted her head and asked, “Shen Shiwu, are you angry?”
“No.”
Seeing her cold, one-word reply, Jiang Siyi was certain she was angry. But she was too hungry, so she said, “Wait, I’ll coax you after I finish eating.”
Shen Shiwu: “…”
After Jiang Siyi had stuffed herself, seeing that Shen Shiwu hadn’t touched her food, she pushed the plate of surf clams towards her. “Eat something.”
“No, thank you, I’m not hungry.”
Seeing the plate being pushed back, Jiang Siyi finally felt ready to coax her—after all, she had rarely done this in her life.
But just as she was about to speak, Shen Shiwu stood up and walked away. Jiang Siyi, startled, quickly followed. “Wait for me!”
What do you do when you make your ex-girlfriend angry right before getting back together?
Inside the car, Jiang Siyi pondered this question, her head buzzing, just like when she used to struggle with math problems.
She called out tentatively, “Shen Shiwu?”
No response.
Tsk, a jealous woman was truly terrifying.
“I wasn’t blaming you, just reminiscing,” Jiang Siyi said, nudging Shen Shiwu’s arm.
“I’m driving, don’t touch me.”
“Oh…”
She reluctantly retracted her hand and buried her face in her thick scarf.
On their way back to the company, they passed by the villa complex, and Jiang Siyi, looking out the window, suddenly said, “Can you drop me off here? I want to go home and lie down for a bit.”
Shen Shiwu didn’t hesitate and pulled over to the side of the road.
“I’m leaving then.”
“Mm-hmm.”
As the car door opened, a gust of cold wind swept in, ruffling Jiang Siyi’s hair.
Shen Shiwu frowned. “Put on your scarf.”
Jiang Siyi had already gotten out of the car, and hearing this, she obediently tried to put on her scarf.
Shen Shiwu, watching her struggle with the thick scarf, her movements clumsy and comical, clicked her tongue and opened the car door.
Jiang Siyi was still battling with her scarf.
Either it got tangled in her hair, or one side was longer than the other, her movements awkward and amusing.
No, this was too embarrassing.
She decided to put it on while walking away, out of Shen Shiwu’s sight.
But just as she was about to say goodbye, the car was already empty.
Footsteps approached.
Besides being in bed, this was the first time Jiang Siyi had truly realized how large Shen Shiwu’s hands were.
The long scarf seemed to shrink in her hands.
A warmth enveloped her neck as Shen Shiwu, her eyelashes lowered, carefully wrapped the scarf around Jiang Siyi, making sure it was secure and protected her from the wind. Then she turned and went back to the car.
Jiang Siyi licked her lips and waved at Shen Shiwu through the car window.
“Bye-bye—”
Dressed in a white padded jacket, she looked like a snowball standing by the roadside. Her movements were still as adorable as ever.
Shen Shiwu’s lips curved into a smile, and although she was still slightly annoyed, she waved back.
Jiang Siyi’s figure gradually receded into the distance.
Shen Shiwu waited until she was out of sight, then drove towards the company.
***
Jiang Siyi had a reason for going home.
Confessions required a sense of ceremony, and getting back together was even more important.
As soon as she entered her apartment, not even bothering to greet the rabbit, she rushed to her bedroom and dragged out the balloons and fake flowers she had prepared earlier, starting to decorate.
Afraid that Shen Shiwu would come home early, Jiang Siyi worked tirelessly for two hours, then collapsed onto the carpet, feeling exhausted.
Just then, her phone vibrated.
It was a message from her ex-girlfriend: “I have a meeting today, it’ll probably end around eleven. The housekeeper will be coming over for dinner, tell her what you want to eat.”
Eleven o’clock? That late?
Jiang Siyi slapped the floor—If she had known, she wouldn’t have rushed.
At five o’clock, the doorbell rang. It was the housekeeper. She was startled by the decorations and asked, “Is it Ms. Shen’s birthday today?”
She didn’t know about their relationship.
Ever since Auntie Wang had “betrayed” her during the rabbit-napping incident, Jiang Siyi had become more cautious. Afraid that the housekeeper would tell Shen Shiwu, she made up an excuse, her reply vague.
Fortunately, the housekeeper didn’t suspect anything and went to the kitchen to cook. Jiang Siyi, holding Eleven, followed her, “helping” her.
After dinner, she worked on her manuscript for a while, thinking it was already late. But glancing at the clock, it was only eight.
Bored.
With several hours to kill, Jiang Siyi set her alarm, planning on taking a nap. She turned up the volume on her phone and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, the room was dark, even the desk lamp she had forgotten to turn off was no longer lit.
Puzzled, she checked her phone and saw that it was past eleven, only eight minutes left until midnight.
Damn it, why didn’t her alarm go off?
Jiang Siyi quickly jumped out of bed, washed up, and rushed out of her room.
The living room downstairs was also dark.
Jiang Siyi stood at the top of the stairs, not daring to go down—because she hadn’t turned off the lights when she went upstairs…
“Shen Shiwu?”
Her voice echoed through the villa, strangely eerie in the darkness.
Jiang Siyi’s heart pounded, and she was about to run back to her room,
When the door next door opened.
Seeing her panicked expression, Shen Shiwu, her hair still slightly damp from her shower, called her name.
“Jiang Siyi, what are you running from?”
The sudden voice made Jiang Siyi jump.
Turning to see Shen Shiwu, she clutched her chest, her voice still laced with fear. “You didn’t even tell me you were home!”
“I did, you were asleep, you didn’t hear me.”
Jiang Siyi touched her nose guiltily.
She mentally cursed herself, then asked tentatively, “Did you… see it?”
Shen Shiwu, having just showered, must have rushed out when she heard the noise, her pajamas still unbuttoned properly. “See what?” she asked.
“The surprise I prepared for you,” Jiang Siyi said, her voice trailing off, her head down, filled with regret.
She shouldn’t have fallen asleep.
“I saw it,” Shen Shiwu leaned against the doorframe, her voice calm, “so? What do you want to say?”
Sensing the opportunity, Jiang Siyi mustered her courage and apologized first. “I’m sorry, I overslept.”
The woman nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“So…”
Just as she was about to confess, Jiang Siyi hesitated.
Shen Shiwu definitely wouldn’t agree if she just blurted it out like this.
She looked down at the floor, conflicted—should she wait for another chance?
Next time, she wouldn’t just oversleep,
She wouldn’t even feel sleepy.
Seeing her hesitation, Shen Shiwu felt like she was being toyed with. She hummed impatiently. “Well?”
“Forget it, I’ll try again next time,” Jiang Siyi said, bowing slightly like a waiter, and waved goodbye, “bye, good night.”
As she rushed back to her room and was about to close the door, a hand stopped her.
The door slammed against the wall, then bounced back slightly, Shen Shiwu’s body blocking it.
The long-forgotten possessiveness radiated from her, filling the room.
Jiang Siyi swallowed nervously and took a few steps back.
As Shen Shiwu’s hand grasped the back of her neck, a drop of water from her damp hair landed on Jiang Siyi’s collarbone.
The coldness made her shiver, and she didn’t dare to look up.
“One more chance,” Shen Shiwu said, her fingertip gently tracing the outline of Jiang Siyi’s earlobe, then she tilted her chin up.
Her tone was both seductive and threatening.
“What do you want to say?”
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