After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 36

Chapter 36

The Cat and the Confession

Immediately after, a very light, soft meow sounded, very suddenly, right at Song Zhi’s feet.

Song Zhi looked down and met the gaze of the little creature clawing at her leg.

The little one, which only had white fur on its eyes and chin, meowed at her again, rubbing its boneless head against her leg. Then, its fated back of the neck was grabbed by someone.

Shen Ying squatted behind the cat and picked it up for a careful look. The formerly fragile cat instantly bristled, letting out a loud meow and quickly trying to claw forward.

Shen Ying tutted: “Such an ungrateful little thing.”

The cat, hearing the familiar voice, instantly stopped the claw it was preparing to use to teach the person who dared to grab its nape a lesson. Then it let out a soft, weak meow again.

Song Zhi agreed: “Exactly, exactly.”

The majestic cat turned its head in disbelief to look at the woman it had initially tried to “scam.” The woman was nodding in strong agreement.

If it could talk, a deafening cry of wronged would probably echo through the building. But alas, it could only meow hoarsely.

Then it saw the woman who was wronging it take a step back, and a cruel sentence emerged from her mouth.

“So noisy. Is it in heat? Is this cat male or female? Should we get it neutered?”

The poor cat was so frightened that it immediately arched its back and hissed at her.

Shen Ying put the cat back down on the ground and idly stroked its head: “This cat isn’t even two months old; it’s not time for mating yet.”

Song Zhi noticed that Shen Ying hadn’t taken her eyes off the cat’s fluffy head since the beginning, so she suggested: “Why don’t we take it back and raise it?”

Shen Ying’s hand moved away from the cat’s head. She took out a meat sausage from her pocket and peeled it open. The cat immediately trotted up to her slender fingers.

Shen Ying tormented the cat in a very mean way, deliberately moving her finger away when the cat approached. The cat approached again. After several repetitions, the cat finally got to eat the meat sausage it craved.

She gently rubbed the cat’s head: “Good boy.”

Song Zhi blinked, feeling as though her own head had been rubbed.

Shen Ying then withdrew her hand: “No need.”

Song Zhi exclaimed, “Ah, but you like it so much?”

Shen Ying said flatly: “It’s a life. Raising it requires effort. You need to talk to it, play with it. It’s not enough just to give it food and water.”

Song Zhi said “oh”: “But compared to its current state of not eating enough, not being warm, and being chilled outdoors, just having the material needs met is good too. At least it won’t die.”

Shen Ying: “Not all things are fine just as long as they don’t die.”

Song Zhi said earnestly: “But survival is its biggest problem right now.”

Shen Ying remained silent.

Song Zhi suddenly realized that Shen Ying wasn’t soft-hearted at all; on the contrary, she was quite ruthless. She would rather watch a life fade away than have it live a lonely existence.

Shen Ying quietly stroked the kitten’s head twice. The kitten rubbed against her again.

Shen Ying: “So clingy. I thought there was something wrong with your head.”

The cat looked at her with its round, large eyes in confusion.

After eating, the ungrateful kitten licked its paws contentedly and meowed as it walked away.

Shen Ying stood up and walked toward the house. As they reached the stairwell, Song Zhi finally couldn’t hold back and asked, “What did you just say?”

Was it what she thought?

The sound-activated light was awakened by her voice, lazily turning on, overlooking the two people who were hiding their intentions and testing each other.

Shen Ying walked ahead. She turned half her body sideways. The dim yellow light of the stairwell shone on her profile. Her profile was highlighted by the light, looking even fairer: “You want to know?”

Song Zhi nodded eagerly.

Shen Ying slightly curved the corner of her lips, but she didn’t speak. She pushed the door open and turned on the light.

Song Zhi looked at her with pleading eyes: “Is it what I think it is?”

Shen Ying: “Do you really want to know?”

Song Zhi: “Very much.”

Shen Ying smiled lightly, her eyes soft and bright. Song Zhi’s heart leaped into her throat the moment she was about to speak. She looked at Shen Ying nervously.

Shen Ying laughed: “I won’t tell you.”

Song Zhi gasped “Ah.” Her previously bright eyes instantly drooped, looking like a wilting little bok choy.

Shen Ying sighed: “Poor thing.”

Song Zhi grumbled angrily: “Poor me, and you’re still teasing me.”

Shen Ying: “You didn’t see clearly. Is that my fault?”

Song Zhi: “It’s my fault. Then can you say it again? I promise I’ll watch carefully this time.”

Shen Ying: “Depends on my mood.”

Song Zhi immediately reached out and helped her sit by the table: “Please sit.”

She looked at her pleadingly: “Are you in a better mood now?”

Shen Ying: “Do you think this is a bank withdrawal? You have to wait in line for your number even at a bank.”

Song Zhi let out a loud, deeply dissatisfied “oh.”

In the Kitchen

Shen Ying didn’t really want to tease her. She was just suddenly hesitant about the situation. She was scared. Once the words were spoken, they couldn’t be taken back.

Did she really want to do this to Song Zhi? A Song Zhi who was completely sincere. Did she really want to drag her into those troubles for her own sake?

Besides, Song Zhi’s current demeanor was genuinely amusing.

After saying “oh,” Song Zhi realized she had been too loud, because Shen Ying had tilted her head back slightly. She awkwardly rubbed her nose and huffed twice but didn’t speak.

What else could Shen Ying’s mouth shape have meant besides that phrase?

Did she like women or not? If she could just get a clear answer, that would be great. She wasn’t afraid of failing a confession. In decades of life, who succeeds at everything? But this was different from anything else, and with Shen Ying’s personality, she was truly afraid that they wouldn’t even be friends in the end.

Shen Ying seemed completely oblivious to her inner turmoil: “What do you want to eat tonight?”

Song Zhi said weakly: “Don’t want to eat anything.”

Shen Ying: “Then I’ll make a single serving.”

Song Zhi suddenly looked up: “No!”

Shen Ying asked expressionlessly: “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t eat?”

Song Zhi felt that Shen Ying was actually smiling, otherwise, how could she detect a hint of teasing in her tone?

Song Zhi decided it was better not to be manipulated by Shen Ying. If she was so obedient now, what would happen later? So she said: “No.”

Shen Ying said with regret: “Well then, I’ll just have to eat by myself.”

Song Zhi gave an ambiguous huff, noncommittal.

Shen Ying got up and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Song Zhi once again joined her side to cause mischief. Although she only had one free hand, her mouth was not idle.

Song Zhi: “What is this? It looks so green.”

Shen Ying looked up faintly: “This is garlic.”

Song Zhi looked at the green, lush bunch. A familiar string suddenly twanged in her mind.

This is garlic. Then what did she pick last time?

She pondered for a long time but decided not to dwell on it: “What’s that green one?”

Shen Ying: “That’s Chinese cabbage.”

Song Zhi pointed to another green vegetable in confusion: “That’s Chinese cabbage? Then what is this?”

Shen Ying: “This is called bok choy.”

Shen Ying replied a few times like this. The fourth time Song Zhi spoke, seeing the genuine longing in her eyes, she decided to give her a chance.

Shen Ying: “You, smash the garlic.”

Song Zhi nodded with delight: “Okay.”

If two people were living together, the chores had to be shared, otherwise, they would eventually clash due to various external factors.

She felt that Shen Ying’s request was practically an endorsement of her, so she was very happy.

She picked up the garlic: “How do I smash it?”

Shen Ying: “Just use the flat side of the knife.”

Song Zhi readily agreed: “Okay!”

The blunt side was the opposite of the sharp edge.

She flipped the knife over, aimed seriously, and then her remaining good hand slammed it down with sudden force onto the cutting board.

Following a loud bang, Song Zhi frantically covered the garlic, which was now only the size of a fingernail, and the cutting board, which was constantly sliding, threatening to jump off the counter.

Shen Ying looked back and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Song Zhi flashed her a guilty smile: “Ah, well, the cutting board seems to be saying she’s not feeling too well.”

Shen Ying: “…What did she say?”

Song Zhi said seriously: “She said she feels like she was cut in half at the waist.”

Shen Ying: “She died naturally; no one cut her. Don’t cover it with your hand; you’ll get pricked.”

Song Zhi curved her eyes and only then stopped fretting about the board’s survival: “Okay.”

Shen Ying didn’t chase her out but kept her in the kitchen, occasionally asking her to help grab a plate or something else.

Although Song Zhi hadn’t done these things before, her strength lay in her obedience—she hit what was pointed at. If asked to get a plate, she certainly wouldn’t grab a vegetable. For a while, Shen Ying found her quite useful.

And Song Zhi wondered if it was her imagination, but today Shen Ying was letting her do things she was capable of, profoundly and fully indulging Song Zhi’s desire to be attentive.

This made Song Zhi feel that Shen Ying did, in fact, like her a little bit.

Song Zhi thought long and hard. She really couldn’t bear the torment anymore: “Shen Ying.”

Shen Ying hummed faintly, signaling her to speak.

Song Zhi’s mouth felt like it was glued shut with honey. Her upper and lower teeth seemed stuck together. She opened her mouth several times but made no sound. Shen Ying was waiting for her to speak and looked up at her in some confusion.

Meeting her gaze, Song Zhi found it even harder to speak: “I, you.”

Shen Ying: “Me?”

Song Zhi closed her eyes: “What type of person do you like?”

She was just asking, after all, not doing anything else. Surely Shen Ying wouldn’t dislike her for this? Although she usually said whatever was on her mind, at this moment in front of Shen Ying, it was truly difficult to utter the words.

Shen Ying: “Anyone is fine.”

Song Zhi’s emotional state was utterly devastated. All the mental preparation she had just made was crushed by this one phrase, “anyone is fine.”

She didn’t want “anyone is fine.”

Song Zhi: “Don’t say ‘anyone is fine.’ Tall or short, fat or thin, male or female—you must have some idea in mind.”

Shen Ying: “Tall or short is fine, fat or thin is fine, male or female…”

Song Zhi was standing with her back to Shen Ying, pretending to be completely unconcerned, with her ears cocked, but the last few words suddenly trailed off. She turned her head in confusion and instantly held her breath.

She saw Shen Ying standing right behind her. Shen Ying was incredibly close to her. Song Zhi was slightly taller than Shen Ying, her lips were at the level of Shen Ying’s nose, and when she turned around without warning, her lips just grazed the tip of Shen Ying’s nose because of the infinitesimal distance between them.

Shen Ying was startled and quickly took a step back.

Song Zhi opened her mouth, about to speak.

But Shen Ying suddenly took a step forward, and the small distance between them vanished in that instant.

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