Chapter 29
The late spring rain was fine, blown against the window by the wind, making no sound.
Jiang Siyi, wrapped in her blanket, slept soundly.
The room was dim, only a sliver of light coming through the slightly parted curtains by the desk. Shen Shiwu, using the faint light, had already finished copying four classical Chinese texts and was now writing out solutions for her girlfriend’s worksheets.
It wasn’t until a bird chirped outside the villa at noon that the sleeping figure in the bed stirred.
She blinked a few times, then her eyelids drooped again.
Her body ached, and she had no energy.
Half an hour later, Shen Shiwu’s pen paused as she heard a rustling sound from behind. Turning around, she saw the girl, who had just been kicking the blanket, suddenly become still.
It seemed she had fallen asleep again.
She smiled faintly and continued writing.
But less than three seconds later, the same rustling sound came again.
Turning around once more, the girl was still, as if frozen.
Shen Shiwu felt a playful claw scratching at her heart.
She knew Jiang Siyi was teasing her, so she played along, but after several rounds of this, her neck was starting to hurt.
The woman finally put down her pen and stood up.
The girl in the bed was curled up under the blanket, like a ball, fidgeting one moment, then still the next.
Footsteps approached, and Shen Shiwu bent down and pulled the girl out of the blanket. Jiang Siyi looked at her, then quickly hid half her face under the blanket again.
Her voice was muffled. “It’s all your fault.”
Shen Shiwu sat on the edge of the bed and gently touched the girl’s eyes. “Mm, it’s all my fault.”
“…”
“It’s all your fault, I have no energy left, how am I supposed to do my homework?” She waved her fists weakly, pretending to hit her.
The woman leaned closer, as if offering herself up for punishment, then said considerately, “I finished the copying for you.”
Jiang Siyi raised an eyebrow, thinking, That’s more like it.
Her throat was a little hoarse, and speaking was a struggle, so she simply closed her mouth, too lazy to say anything.
After a long while, she finally spoke again. “Then you might as well finish the rest of my homework too.”
Shen Shiwu didn’t answer directly, but said with a smile, “There are forty-two days left until the college entrance exam.”
Little Jiang fell silent.
She gave up struggling and sat up, about to get out of the warm, fragrant blanket, when she was pulled into a familiar embrace.
As her feet left the ground, she remembered last night, being carried to the desk…
“What are you thinking about?” Shen Shiwu asked, seeing the girl’s unusual expression as they stood before the bathroom sink.
The girl quickly replied, “Nothing, nothing.”
She quickly started brushing her teeth and washing her face, not daring to look in the mirror. A few minutes later, tossing the towel aside, the heat in her cheeks subsided, and she started giving orders. “I’m hungry, is there anything to eat?”
And so, she was carried downstairs.
Shen Shiwu’s cooking skills were truly impressive.
“Cough, cough…” She was eating happily when she suddenly started coughing violently, as if remembering something. Shen Shiwu quickly patted her back and poured her a glass of water. “Slow down.”
Jiang Siyi felt like she was doomed—even a simple sentence could trigger inappropriate thoughts.
She composed herself and waved her hand dismissively, but her cheeks flushed even redder. She quickly explained, “I choked.”
Seeing her flustered attempt to cover up, Shen Shiwu hid her smile, not wanting to embarrass her further.
***
As the college entrance exam approached, the pressure intensified, and the school, to improve the enrollment rate, required even day students to attend evening self-study and preferably stay in the dormitory.
During break time, Fu Jing brought up the matter, tapping her pen against the podium. Jiang Siyi put down her pen, unsure what to do.
Staying in the dormitory would indeed be more convenient for a senior student. Although she had Auntie Wang and her girlfriend to drive her, staying at school would allow her to sleep in a little longer.
She hesitated, then called Shen Shiwu during lunch.
As always, the other woman answered quickly.
“Is that so?” Shen Shiwu nodded. “Does Xiao Si want to stay in the dormitory?”
“I don’t want to, but I have no choice.”
The woman simply said, “Okay.”
After hanging up, Jiang Siyi sighed—she was reluctant to stay in the dormitory, but for the sake of her grades, getting into a good university, and closing the distance between her and Shen Shiwu…
The temporary hardship was worth it.
Thinking this, her mood improved slightly. Back in the classroom, she took out her instant noodles and went to the water dispenser.
That evening, twenty minutes before evening self-study, Shen Shiwu came to deliver her bedding.
There was a wind outside, much colder than during the day. Jiang Siyi ran to meet her, her face breaking into a smile as she saw her. “You’re here.”
Shen Shiwu, seeing that she wasn’t even wearing her school uniform jacket, frowned slightly. “Why are you wearing so little? You’ll catch a cold.”
Little Jiang, full of youthful energy, said nonchalantly, “Young people are strong, you wouldn’t understand.”
“So you think I’m not strong?” Shen Shiwu raised an eyebrow.
Jiang Siyi understood the underlying meaning, but pretended not to, innocently changing the subject. “Give me the bedding, it’s getting late, you should go home.”
“Chasing me away on your first day in the dormitory.” Shen Shiwu looked at her intently. “Found a new love interest?”
New love interest my ass.
Jiang Siyi hugged the bedding, her figure completely hidden.
She wanted to chat with Shen Shiwu more, but she was afraid the topic would shift to that night, so she could only say, “Don’t worry, even if the cafeteria lady finds a new love interest, I won’t.”
“I’m going to be late for evening self-study. I’ll go ahead, bye.” She ran for a distance, then stopped and looked back, seeing Shen Shiwu still standing at the school gate, not having left.
She raised her voice. “I’ll call you when I get back to the dormitory!”
Seeing the girl struggling with the bedding, which was bigger than she was, Shen Shiwu’s eyes softened. Hearing her words, she nodded in acknowledgment.
Jiang Siyi was about to complain about her aloofness when a shout came from behind, “Which student is talking?”
It was the head teacher.
She ran off faster than a mouse. Reaching the classroom, she put the bedding on another chair, then thought to herself, It’s not like I’m having a secret affair with Shen Shiwu, why did I run?
A few seconds later, Little Jiang fell into deep thought.
Living in the dormitory did improve her study efficiency, but it greatly hindered her love life.
For example, ten minutes before lights out, she was excitedly heading to another floor to call her girlfriend when she discovered the phone was broken.
Fine, I’ll try another floor.
The front door on the first floor was unlocked, and Jiang Siyi shivered in the cold. Having just showered, she was wearing slippers, now staring at the phone.
All the phones in the entire building are broken?
Jiang Siyi sniffed, then calmly left—Shen Shiwu would understand.
Less than a minute after she returned to the dormitory, the dorm supervisor came to patrol, yelling, “Get into bed, lights out soon!”
“Why are you still drying your hair? Stop it, go back to your room.”
Jiang Siyi climbed into bed, spread out the blanket Shen Shiwu had washed for her, and covered herself with it.
The faint fragrance filled her senses.
Thinking that she had run around several floors but couldn’t even talk to Shen Shiwu on the phone, the usually strong Jiang Siyi felt a pang of sadness, her eyes welling up.
She cried silently for a long time before falling asleep. The next morning, she woke up with slightly swollen eyes.
Xu Yuan, who lived in the opposite dorm, was startled when she opened the door and saw her. She took a few steps back. “Who beat you up?”
Little Jiang was silently distraught.
She asked, “Is it that obvious?”
Xu Yuan nodded. “Yes, it looks like someone punched you in both eyes.”
Remembering that the person she cared about wasn’t at school, Jiang Siyi suddenly felt relieved. Her mood improved, and she urged Xu Yuan, “Let’s go, breakfast.”
Soon, the two girls, forced to live in the dormitory, were squatting in the hallway, eating their porridge.
The first class was Chinese. Fu Jing, holding a stack of papers, said angrily, “You two are late again!”
Jiang Siyi hung her head.
She looked like she was listening attentively, but she was actually half-asleep.
Only when Fu Jing raised her voice again was she jolted awake. When asked why she was late, Jiang Siyi replied honestly, “I’m used to eating leisurely at home, I didn’t pay attention to the time.”
Fu Jing’s face darkened.
But remembering that her guardian was Shen Shiwu, she simply sighed and waved her hand dismissively. “Alright, go inside, pay attention in class.”
When she was a day student, time seemed to fly by, and the weekend would arrive in a blink of an eye. But now, back in the dormitory, Friday seemed like a distant dream.
When Jiang Siyi felt like she had been suffering for an eternity, she checked Xu Yuan’s calendar and realized it was only Wednesday.
Looking at the college entrance exam countdown written on the blackboard, she lowered her eyes, burying her unspoken emotions deep in her heart, then quietly returned to her seat, trying to numb her mind with studies.
The PE teacher was on duty for evening self-study tonight.
She was very lenient, spending most of her time playing on her phone, not caring what the students were doing, leaving as soon as her shift ended.
Jiang Siyi finished all her homework and reviewed the material during the first self-study period.
Staring blankly into space, she suddenly felt a wave of sadness wash over her, her heart feeling heavy and damp.
She opened the window a crack.
She needed some air.
Evening self-study consisted of three periods, ending at nine o’clock. During breaks, the hallway was almost empty, except for the occasional student going to the bathroom.
Only Jiang Siyi stood outside, leaning against the railing. She stared into the darkness, seemingly conflicted.
A few seconds later, as if she had made up her mind, she told Xu Yuan she was leaving and quietly slipped out of the building.
It had rained last night, and the sun hadn’t come out today, so the ground was still wet. The surroundings were dark, and Jiang Siyi, lifting her pants slightly, accidentally stepped in several puddles.
She made her way to the back gate.
The hole in the wall seemed to have been discovered by the school authorities and was now sealed with cement. Jiang Siyi sneered, scaled the not-so-high wall, and landed steadily on the other side.
Her pockets jingled with a few coins.
Fortunately, the last bus on Route 5 ran until midnight. Jiang Siyi found a window seat, her heart still racing.
Strange.
She had done much worse things before, but her heart had never pounded like this.
Getting off the bus half an hour later, Jiang Siyi sneezed several times. She wrapped her school uniform jacket tighter and, using the streetlights, carefully avoided the puddles.
Her pace quickened, eager to see Shen Shiwu.
Click— the streetlight went out.
Jiang Siyi frowned, thinking it was ridiculous that the villa complex didn’t even bother fixing the lights.
Perhaps her complaint worked, as a few seconds later, the light flickered back on.
Jiang Siyi was about to continue walking when she suddenly froze.
Under the light, two figures stood by her front door, talking.
Then, another woman appeared. The figure looked familiar, someone she had just met recently. Jiang Siyi only needed a glance to confirm it was Shen Yun.
She affectionately took the woman beside Shen Shiwu’s hand and led her inside.
At the same time, Jiang Siyi, frozen in place, finally saw the other woman’s face clearly—
It was Yang Yi’s sister.
Yang Yu.
The figures disappeared inside the house.
Leaving her alone outside, feeling lost and confused.
A light rain started to fall.
A chill crept in.
Jiang Siyi lowered her eyes, her head feeling dizzy. She was probably catching a cold.
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