Accidentally Becoming a Green Tea Goddess Everyone Loves - Chapter 17

When Shen Shirou stepped inside, the living room lights were already on, their warm glow illuminating the entire space.

Jiang Peixing was leaning against the back of the sofa. The moment Shen Shirou reached the foyer, Jiang Peixing’s gaze shifted toward her.

Their eyes met for a fleeting second before darting away simultaneously. Neither spoke.

The room was shrouded in a heavy silence, broken only by the sparse patter of rain against the window. The atmosphere felt suffocatingly stagnant.

Recalling the plot, Shen Shirou figured it was about time for Jiang Peixing to start lashing out at her with cold, accusatory remarks.

A simple argument? No problem, Shen Shirou thought. If necessary, she could even squeeze out a few tears—it was, after all, part of her professional integrity as an actress.

She began brewing the right emotions, patiently waiting for Jiang Peixing’s interrogation. Finally, as if answering Shen Shirou’s silent wish, Jiang Peixing’s lips moved.

But the question was entirely different from what Shen Shirou had anticipated.

“Where did you go?” Jiang Peixing asked.

Shen Shirou blinked, momentarily stunned. Why hadn’t Jiang Peixing immediately flipped out? Why was she asking about her whereabouts instead?

Or is this just the calm before the storm? Shen Shirou couldn’t quite gauge Jiang Peixing’s intentions.

“I didn’t bring an umbrella,” Shen Shirou replied. “I found a place to wait out the rain along the way.”

It was technically the truth—except for the fact that the “place” was Qi Yan’s house. Naturally, that was a detail she couldn’t share.

“I called you,” Jiang Peixing said, her brow furrowing slightly. “You didn’t answer.”

“I left my phone in the bedroom.” Shen Shirou scrutinized Jiang Peixing’s unreadable expression, trying to find a crack in the armor. “Did you need something, Sister?”

Jiang Peixing never used to care about her schedule. What’s wrong with her today? Shen Shirou wondered.

Now it was Jiang Peixing’s turn to fall silent.

She didn’t actually have a reason to find Shen Shirou. It was just that, seeing the torrential rain outside, she had wanted to ask if Shen Shirou had made it home safely.

But Shen Shirou hadn’t picked up.

An inexplicable restlessness had bubbled up in Jiang Peixing’s heart. Even though she had been looking at the report Rong Yuan brought, she couldn’t focus. She hadn’t even finished the projects she was supposed to handle today.

Instead, she had driven all the way back to the villa.

But Shen Shirou wasn’t there either.

It wasn’t until a minute ago, when she heard the lock turn and saw Shen Shirou with her own eyes, that Jiang Peixing’s heart finally settled.

It was an absurd way to behave—completely unlike her. Jiang Peixing couldn’t even explain the reason herself, so she did her best to ignore the anomaly.

Instead of continuing that line of conversation, Jiang Peixing said in a low voice, “The cake is on the table.”

Shen Shirou was floored.

She turned her head and, sure enough, saw the cake she had made sitting perfectly intact in the center of the table.

Wait, that’s not right. In the novel, Jiang Peixing was supposed to have thrown the cake away on the spot. Why on earth did she bring it home?

Alarm bells rang in Shen Shirou’s head. No, I have to get this plot back on track.

“Don’t you want to try it, Sister?” Shen Shirou asked, walking toward the table. “If you don’t like it, I’ll just throw it away.”

Jiang Peixing straightened up, facing Shen Shirou directly. “You’re not eating it?”

From the tone of her voice, it almost sounded like she had brought the cake back specifically for Shen Shirou to enjoy.

Shen Shirou found the whole thing bizarre. No matter how she looked at it, it was impossible that Jiang Peixing wanted to keep the cake to eat it with her. After all, Jiang Peixing’s loathing for her wasn’t exactly a recent development.

Whatever. It belongs in the trash.

“I made this cake for you, Sister,” Shen Shirou said, putting on a melancholic expression. “If you don’t want it, it loses its reason for existing. So.”

So, let me throw it away for you.

Jiang Peixing’s next sentence sent a second shockwave through Shen Shirou. “I never said I didn’t want it.”

Shen Shirou nearly thought she was hallucinating. She searched Jiang Peixing’s face and confirmed that she looked serious; she wasn’t just being sarcastic.

Maintaining a calm facade, Shen Shirou looked at Jiang Peixing, her clear dark eyes wide with surprise. “You want to keep the cake?”

Jiang Peixing gave a slight nod.

“But I didn’t do a good job making it,” Shen Shirou said, inventing an excuse on the fly. “How about I go to a bakery and order a proper one for you?”

“No need,” Jiang Peixing refused without hesitation.

Since things had reached this point, it seemed Jiang Peixing wasn’t going to scold her about the cake. Shen Shirou gave up the struggle. She didn’t actually have any sincere desire to celebrate Jiang Peixing’s birthday anyway.

Dropping a smiling “Happy Birthday, Sister,” she prepared to take her leave.

“Wait.” Jiang Peixing called out.

Shen Shirou stopped and turned, waiting for her to continue.

Jiang Peixing looked down, avoiding her gaze. “Thanks.”

Shen Shirou didn’t bother asking if she was thanking her for the cake or the birthday wish. Either way, she didn’t care.

She gave a disingenuous reply: “I’m glad you like it, Sister.”

In the end, not only was the cake not thrown away, but the scripted argument between the two never happened.

[Shen Shirou asked System 888: “Baby, care to explain why the plot is deviating from the novel?”]

[System 888 replied honestly: “I haven’t encountered a situation like this before either.”]

Plot points were supposed to be fixed. Furthermore, the one actively changing the plot wasn’t Shen Shirou, but the character Jiang Peixing herself.

Technically, this couldn’t be counted as Shen Shirou breaking the agreement.

[System 888: “Pay more attention. Try to prevent any more deviations in the next plot points. I’ll report today’s situation to the Main System.”]

[Shen Shirou: “If the plot keeps drifting like this, will there be any consequences?”]

[System 888, still honest: “I don’t know.” It simply hadn’t happened before.]

[Shen Shirou frowned: “Will I still be able to go back?”]

[System 888: “Perhaps.”]

Shen Shirou: “…”

Great. That sounds incredibly unreliable.

With that precedent set, Shen Shirou became more cautious about following the plot. Based on System 888’s tone, if things went south, her return to her original world might be in jeopardy.

Time flowed on, and the story gradually moved into its second phase.

Shen Shirou’s new task was to facilitate a meeting between Jiang Peixing and Lu Yanwei. Not a professional meeting, but a personal introduction—as Shen Shirou’s fiancée and Shen Shirou’s “soulmate/best friend,” respectively.

Shen Shirou drew up a plan and invited Lu Yanwei to the park to view the cherry blossoms. Before setting out, she and Yanwei agreed to meet at a specific intersection.

Lu Yanwei was the first to arrive.

When Shen Shirou spotted Lu Yanwei, she was leaning against a lamppost waiting for her, a bicycle parked by her side.

The moment Lu Yanwei caught sight of Shen Shirou, her eyes seemed to light up.

” Yanwei, am I late?” Shen Shirou asked hesitantly. She had made a point to arrive five minutes early, could she have misremembered the time?

“Not at all.” Lu Yanwei smiled. “I just didn’t want you to have to wait for me, so I came a bit early.”

“There’s something I wanted to ask your permission for first.” Lu Yanwei pressed her hand to her lips and gave a light, nervous cough. In a low voice, she asked, “I was thinking, I could take you to the park on my bike. Would that be alright?”

Lu Yanwei asked tentatively, as if terrified that Shen Shirou might refuse.

“Of course.” Being used to Lu Yanwei’s company, Shen Shirou naturally climbed onto the back of the bicycle.

As she wrapped her arms around Lu Yanwei’s waist, she asked, “But isn’t the park a bit far? Won’t you get tired, Yanwei?”

With Shen Shirou’s soft, warm body pressed against her back, Lu Yanwei felt a twinge of shame for her own selfish motives, yet she couldn’t stop her heart from racing. Even the simple touch of Shen Shirou’s hands around her waist made her face flush a deep crimson.

“It’s not far,” Lu Yanwei whispered.

In truth, she found herself wishing the road would stretch on forever. The longer the journey, the longer she could keep Shen Shirou right there with her.