Chapter 4
Music blared in the claw machine arcade, mixing with the chatter of the crowd, creating a lively atmosphere.
Xu Yuan wanted to share twenty game tokens with her, but Jiang Siyi waved her hand, insisting, “I’m really only playing five rounds.”
The other girl clicked her tongue and said fine, then went off to play on her own.
Thinking of finishing quickly, Jiang Siyi chose a machine and inserted two tokens.
Claw machines were truly addictive, especially when you were terrible at them and couldn’t catch anything. It only fueled the determination to try again.
And so, Jiang Siyi, failing repeatedly, used up all her precious few tokens.
The arcade was quite large. She was looking around for Xu Yuan, wanting to tell her she was leaving. Just as she turned around, a hand appeared in front of her.
The hand was pale, almost sickly, holding a box of tokens.
Jiang Siyi froze for a moment, a sense of guilt washing over her as she avoided eye contact.
The hand shook, the tokens inside clinking, accompanied by a pleasant female voice, “Not playing anymore?”
Jiang Siyi finally looked up. Feeling like a thief caught red-handed, she cleared her throat, her expression uneasy. “You… you finished buying that fast?”
It had only been a few minutes.
Shen Shiwu didn’t seem angry at all, no trace of annoyance in her eyes, her tone as calm and gentle as usual.
“The staff was quick. I didn’t wait long.”
“Oh…”
Just as she was about to confess her transgression, the bubble tea was presented to her. The other woman didn’t seem to need her to admit her wrongdoing, simply saying, “It’s too hot. Drinking something too cold will upset your stomach.”
“So I didn’t add ice.”
Jiang Siyi sipped through the straw and hummed in response.
“So, really not playing anymore?” Shen Shiwu smoothed a strand of hair from her face. “I still have a lot of tokens.”
Older sister.
The girl sipped her bubble tea, her tongue tingling slightly. Hiss, maybe the staff accidentally dropped a piece of ice in.
She swallowed the coconut jelly and protested, “Who said you could call me ‘little sister’?”
Her only family was her mother.
Besides her, no one else was allowed to act close to her.
Shen Shiwu wasn’t in a hurry. She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned in slightly. “Then let me ask for your permission now.”
“Jiang Siyi, may I be your older sister?”
Perhaps because the other woman was so agreeable, or perhaps because she knew about the inheritance, Jiang Siyi’s rebellious streak resurfaced.
She turned her head away and declared, “I don’t allow it.”
Shen Shiwu feigned distress. “Is that so? What does older sister have to do to make you acknowledge me?”
“…”
“Depends on your performance.” The bubble tea was sweet, and Jiang Siyi’s mood had improved considerably. She became more talkative, even pointing at a machine. “I want that plushie.”
“Alright,” Shen Shiwu chuckled. “Older sister will get it for you.”
She didn’t know how many tokens the other woman had bought, but in the end, Jiang Siyi was holding two large bags of plushies, speechless.
Xu Yuan was also having fun on the other side, but she only managed to catch three. She excitedly turned to look for Jiang Siyi, and her jaw almost dropped when she saw the mountain of plushies.
Something wasn’t right.
And something else was definitely off.
Who was the woman standing next to Jiang Siyi?
Xu Yuan knew about her family situation. Sometimes, when Jiang Siyi didn’t want to talk about it, as a friend, she naturally wouldn’t pry.
She hesitated for a moment before leaving, sending a message to Jiang Siyi saying she had something to do at home.
Jiang Siyi didn’t think much of it and replied with an emoji.
This trip had been quite fruitful. She had left empty-handed and returned home after dinner with seven or eight shopping bags.
Getting out of the car, she watched the other woman carrying three or four bags in each hand. Without hesitation, she went to help.
Shen Shiwu handed her two of the lighter bags.
They were actually quite heavy.
Jiang Siyi looked at the woman’s steady back and clicked her tongue.
She looks slender, but she’s quite strong.
Back home, she was a little tired and sat on the sofa, eating the fried chicken Shen Shiwu had bought. Afraid the other woman had a thing about cleanliness, she ate extra carefully, afraid of dropping crumbs.
“Doesn’t it taste good?” The woman, seeing her eating slowly, leaned closer and asked.
“It’s okay.” Jiang Siyi paused, then turned her head. “Do you want some?”
“You eat. I don’t compete with children for food.”
“…”
She was seventeen! Just a few months away from adulthood, and still a child?
Jiang Siyi gave her a resentful look and said, “I’m almost eighteen. Don’t call me a child.”
Shen Shiwu leaned casually against the sofa and asked, “When’s your birthday?”
“January 3rd.”
The woman nodded. “That’s soon.”
“Which means you’ll be taking the college entrance exam next year, right?”
Jiang Siyi felt the fried chicken in her mouth suddenly lose its flavor.
She tried to change the subject, hoping to shut the other woman up, and dangled the fried food. “You really don’t want any? It’s really good.”
Shen Shiwu never touched these kinds of things, including bubble tea.
But now, looking at the girl’s sparkling eyes, she blurted out, “I’ll have a bite.”
Jiang Siyi’s scheme worked. Seeing the other woman chewing slowly, she asked, “Tastes good, right?”
“Yes, it’s good,” Shen Shiwu nodded, then continued the previous topic. “You’re taking the college entrance exam, right?”
“…”
Seeing that she couldn’t avoid it, the girl could only reply, “Yes.”
Shen Shiwu pondered. Knowing the girl’s grades were poor, she wanted to find a comfortable entry point, at least not to make her feel resistant.
Who knew that the next second, the girl would start chattering, spilling everything—
“The college entrance exam has seven subjects, and we choose three. I chose politics, history, and geography.”
“I’m terrible at math, but my Chinese is okay. I rely on essays to boost my score.”
Finally, she concluded as if summarizing a meeting, “Yeah, anyway, the exam is going to be a disaster.”
Shen Shiwu understood. This girl either didn’t speak, or she wouldn’t stop talking.
She chuckled softly and then reassured her, “It’s okay. There’s still time. I’ll teach you slowly.”
At this moment, Jiang Siyi clearly didn’t know how terrifying this sentence was. She even thought Shen Shiwu was a really nice person.
A sense of going above and beyond, of seeing things through to the end.
But only her Chinese essays were decent; the rest were an assault on the teacher’s eyes.
Jiang Siyi thought for a moment and said, “Forget it, I’ve already given up.”
“You’re not planning on going to university?”
“I won’t get in. The score requirements here are too high. It’s better to start working early.” The girl mumbled, the fried chicken now cold. She poked at it for a while before putting it in her mouth.
Shen Shiwu remained silent for a long time.
What, did my self-deprecation piss her off?
Jiang Siyi wondered, wanting to see what the woman looked like when she was angry.
After a while, Shen Shiwu finally spoke.
“If Auntie Jiang were still alive, she definitely wouldn’t want to see you give up on yourself.”
Damn.
Jiang Siyi paused, her eyes reddening slightly.
Bringing up my mom, huh?
She sniffed, her voice defiant. “Who says? She just wants me to be happy.”
Seeing her like this, Shen Shiwu thought she shouldn’t use this tactic again. She moved closer, almost coaxing her. “Okay, let’s not talk about the college entrance exam anymore.”
She glanced at the time. “Do you want to go upstairs and rest?”
Jiang Siyi didn’t reply, simply heading upstairs in silence.
In the living room downstairs, Shen Shiwu stared into space and then sighed softly.
***
In a blink of an eye, the day of the early school start arrived. It was only August, and the poor senior year students had to endure the scorching sun and head back to school.
The shadow of a Mercedes-Benz glided along the camphor tree-lined road.
Jiang Siyi, her sleep schedule completely messed up after half a summer vacation, was catching up on sleep.
“We’re almost at school, Jiang Siyi.”
After spending so much time together, the two had become quite familiar with each other.
At some point, Shen Shiwu had changed the way she addressed her to “Jiang Siyi,” only occasionally calling her “little girl.”
Jiang Siyi opened her eyes resignedly and drowsily looked out the window.
Scan complete.
“I can still sleep for two more minutes.”
With that, she promptly fell back asleep.
Shen Shiwu shook her head helplessly. Following the school staff’s directions, the car drove into the school and all the way to the dormitory building.
Only then did Jiang Siyi fully wake up.
In theory, to prevent traffic congestion, parents weren’t allowed to enter the dormitories. They had to drop off their children and luggage and leave immediately.
But rules were meant to be broken, and people were flexible. Hardly anyone followed this rule.
However, Jiang Siyi, who was constantly getting into trouble, was surprisingly obedient in this regard.
She grabbed her suitcase and bags, like someone going to the city for work, and waved to Shen Shiwu. “Bye.”
The woman raised an eyebrow. “Chasing me away?”
“No, it’s just that I’m used to doing things independently.” Jiang Siyi pulled the new suitcase Shen Shiwu had bought her and started up the stairs.
Oh no, it’s heavy.
She panted, pausing after each step. Finally, she couldn’t help but curse the school inwardly—
Why did you have to build stairs in front of the dormitory?
Shen Shiwu leaned against the car, arms crossed, watching her like she was enjoying a good show. Her striking appearance attracted glances from passersby.
Finally, Jiang Siyi, fanning herself, was feeling the strain.
She hadn’t been this weak before. It must have been from lazing around at Shen Shiwu’s house for a month.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
She said a little awkwardly, “Maybe… maybe you should help me after all.”
Terrifying, this woman is terrifying.
Jiang Siyi watched as Shen Shiwu effortlessly carried her suitcase up to the third floor.
Then she came back down and carried up the large duffel bag filled with blankets and pillows, heavy enough to crush someone.
After all that, she was only slightly breathless, a stark contrast to Jiang Siyi, who felt half-dead.
“Hand me the hook, the one for hanging the mosquito net, yes.” After the initial shock, Jiang Siyi decided to show off her skills.
Everything went smoothly until Shen Shiwu commented, “Did you hang the hook in the wrong place?”
“…”
All her efforts were wasted.
Ugh, what’s going on today? On previous school starting days, she had handled these things with ease.
Well, it must be because of Shen Shiwu.
She had to take it down and rehang it, but then she caught her roommates staring at the woman.
Those burning gazes made her pause.
“What’s wrong? Want me to do it?”
“No.”
The girl’s tone was fierce as she resumed her battle with the mosquito net.
Shen Shiwu, not understanding, looked at her less-than-pleasant expression, thinking she was annoyed, and comforted her, “It’s okay, take your time.”
“I’m here.”
Jiang Siyi responded with an “Oh,” seemingly indifferent, but her movements became gentler.
An hour later, after her roommates had all left, the project was finally complete.
Her arms were too sore to lift. Just as she was about to lie down on the bed to rest, she saw Shen Shiwu slowly walk into the dormitory.
“Our Jiang Siyi is truly remarkable.”
Jiang Siyi genuinely thought she was being praised.
But this sudden comment made her feel a little embarrassed. Just as she was about to wave her hand and say, “It’s just hanging a mosquito net and making a bed, it’s easy,”
She heard the other woman continue, her lips curving slightly,
“Even the dormitory’s disciplinary notice board is filled with your name.”
“I counted,” she leaned in closer, “a total of twenty-seven.”
Although the woman still wore a gentle smile, Jiang Siyi, usually so unrestrained, felt a long-forgotten sense of…
Oppression.
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