After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Shen Ying didn’t flinch: “I accidentally grabbed an extra set. Could you please put it back for me?”

Song Zhi: “Was it really an accident?”

“Mhm.”

Song Zhi stared intently at her: “Then if you ask for my help, shouldn’t I be compensated?”

Shen Ying looked up, meeting Song Zhi’s gaze directly. She met it without fear: “What do you want?”

Song Zhi didn’t answer but asked a question in return: “Do you agree?”

Shen Ying: “You speak first.”

Song Zhi didn’t say anything. She took a step closer to Shen Ying, and one finger predictably wrapped around Shen Ying’s sleeve: “Please, please, please.”

Shen Ying sounded a little helpless: “Song Zhi.”

Song Zhi immediately responded enthusiastically: “Present!”

Shen Ying: “Besides this, what else can you do?”

If anyone else had asked this, Song Zhi would have considered it a provocation, but since it was Shen Ying, she carefully thought it over to give her an absolutely perfect, fully satisfying answer.

Song Zhi: “This is all I know.” Her tone, having been practiced over the past few days, changed quickly, sounding increasingly pitiful: “Do you dislike it now?”

Shen Ying’s mouth twitched. Though she knew Song Zhi was pretending, she was still helpless against her.

Shen Ying: “I’ll agree for now.”

At this moment, she seemed to have been completely drawn into a mental trap by Song Zhi, forgetting the option of simply doing it herself.

At least, that’s how it looked to Song Zhi.

Song Zhi didn’t give her time to react. The moment she agreed, she instantly picked up the extra bowl like a gust of wind and slipped back into the kitchen.

Shen Ying watched her hurried, vibrant figure come and go, finding it amusing.

Song Zhi returned in less than twenty seconds and sat down at the table, her hand behind her back as if she was holding something. Then, she looked at Shen Ying, her eyes curved in a smile, wearing a mysterious expression.

Shen Ying saw her secretive smile and raised an eyebrow: “Then I must trouble Song Zhi to bring back the bowls and chopsticks, because I have a guest to entertain.”

“I’d certainly be honored to do so, but…” Song Zhi pretended to look around, though her peripheral vision was constantly flicking to Shen Ying, observing her reaction: “Is there anyone else here besides me?”

Song Zhi turned her head back dramatically, saying in a regretful tone: “It seems there isn’t. I guess I’ll have to take care of it myself.”

Shen Ying was sure she had only spoken one sentence.

But this Song Zhi was interesting.

Song Zhi, Song Zhi. She repeated the name in her mind. But she is surnamed Song.

Song Guan is her father. The Song family shares the same surname as her.

She couldn’t completely separate Song Zhi from them.

Song Zhi now brought her hand out from behind her back, palm up, holding a palm-sized bowl.

She had been prepared.

Her eyes curved into crescents, like she was asking for praise, yet she asked knowingly: “But who is your guest? Do I know them?”

Shen Ying: “Let me think.”

When she said this, Song Zhi became less confident.

Does Shen Ying really have a guest?

But seeing her mischievous expression, she felt the words weren’t true.

Song Zhi was always straightforward. She felt there was nothing to hide. Aside from the question of whether Shen Ying liked her, which she couldn’t bring herself to ask, all other questions were minor in her eyes.

Therefore, Song Zhi asked directly: “Am I not your guest?”

Shen Ying threw the question back at her. Her voice was soft, her eyelashes lowered gently, but her expression was as cold as frost and ice. The red mole on her eyelid was exposed, carrying an indescribable allure: “Do you want to be?”

That red mole felt like a press on Song Zhi’s heart, hitting her hard. Her gaze couldn’t move away from those beautifully shaped eyes: “But I don’t want to be a guest.”

Shen Ying seemed to find her words a little funny, and her expression shifted slightly. Her time was usually precious. She did everything quickly and decisively, rarely having moments like this that felt like a waste of time. But Song Zhi was, after all, a little different to her. She was patient and willing to spend time on her.

This was the result of a mix of factors. To say it was purely out of love would be giving her too much credit.

It’s just love. Will a person die without it?

Song Zhi was still looking at her with bright eyes, full of expectation.

She looked into Song Zhi’s eyes, clarifying her thoughts clearly once more.

It’s just love. Will a person die without it?

She told herself, no, they won’t.

Compared to her, she wanted more….

Shen Ying’s lips curved slightly, indicating she was in a good mood: “Then what do you want to be?”

Song Zhi had the distinct feeling that she was being teased like a cat or a dog, given that on that night, Shen Ying had extended her finger to lure the kitten in the exact same way.

Offer a sweet reward, then exploit that reward to its maximum potential. This seemed to be Shen Ying’s usual tactic.

Following the hint, she pushed her luck, winking her left eye. Her beautifully shaped eyes flickered like a star: “You guess, too.”

Shen Ying met her sparkling eyes deeply. At this moment, she seemed to know what Song Zhi wanted. Her eyes were too direct and obvious, clearly revealing her desires.

She is always sincere.

She is different from me. Shen Ying recognized this clearly and distinctly once again.

Compared to Song Zhi, her own malice and darkness felt like a rat unable to face the light, suddenly exposed under a huge spotlight, then bewildered and lost out of fear.

Shen Ying wasn’t afraid. Shen Ying stood straight under the intense light, letting it illuminate and obliterate the shadows on her body.

She knew what she wanted, and she understood what she was doing.

Shen Ying said matter-of-factly: “Rather than guessing, I’d prefer to wait for you to tell me.”

Song Zhi felt helpless. This person was made of bamboo, slippery and round.

Anything she didn’t want to tell you, you wouldn’t get a single word out of her.

Song Zhi cupped her cheeks: “You tell me, and I’ll tell you. That’s fair.”

Shen Ying knew what she wanted to ask, but she played dumb: “What do you want to know?”

She figured Song Zhi would ask that question. But she felt this wasn’t a good time to confess her affection. If she said she liked her, and they rushed into a relationship while Song Zhi’s feelings weren’t strong, their connection wouldn’t be deep. That wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted Song Zhi to love her hopelessly.

She would dissect herself, lay bare the bloody thing called her feelings, and then figure out how to maximize its value.

That was the essence of her.

But now was not the time. If Song Zhi really asked, how should she answer?

This should be the best opportunity to speak, and she didn’t want to miss it, but the timing was all wrong.

Song Zhi: “I want to know what kind of person you like?” After saying it, she added a condition: “I don’t want you to be perfunctory with me.”

Then she looked at her with the expression Shen Ying had grown familiar with since the beginning.

Bright eyes full of expectation and a perfectly curved smile.

Shen Ying hadn’t expected her to ask this. Song Zhi clearly knew that if she had asked that other question right now, Shen Ying would have answered, and their feelings would have been revealed as a matter of course. She wouldn’t have to endure the torment and pain of testing the waters anymore.

But she didn’t ask it. She directed all the potential negative consequences toward herself.

She seemed to know everything, and yet nothing at all, but she was stubbornly moving toward her desired goal in the way she wanted.

Shen Ying: “You go first.”

Song Zhi put on a playful air: “I’ll tell you the day after tomorrow. Is that okay?”

Shen Ying: “Aren’t you leaving the day after tomorrow?”

Song Zhi hadn’t expected her to hear that. Was she saying this because she didn’t want her to leave?

Song Zhi wasn’t sure. She said: “I’ll tell you before I go, okay?”

“Mhm,” Shen Ying said. “Then I’ll tell you the day after tomorrow.”

A Day with Xie Yu

The testing failed once again, but Song Zhi wasn’t discouraged. She was even happy. Song Guan was away on a business trip again, and Song Qin had been quiet recently. She wasn’t short on time.

After finishing lunch, Shen Ying received a call from Xie Yu. A few days ago, one of her thesis data points couldn’t be verified. Xie Yu was in the Computer Science department and had access to a machine that could run the data. However, the machine was expensive, and there was only one in the entire department. Xie Yu had only managed to borrow it today.

After thanking Xie Yu, Shen Ying immediately began organizing the data to avoid rushing when they had to leave that afternoon.

Song Zhi, who had been by her side, also heard the call. She wanted to bring the distance between them closer: “Shen Ying, are you going?”

Song Zhi nodded happily, as if she had received a solemn invitation to a grand banquet.

Being invited to visit her favorite person’s university, with the invitation coming from that person even a normal person would be thrilled, let alone Song Zhi.

Song Zhi’s happiness continued until she met Xie Yu at the university.

Xie Yu had a loud voice. When she saw Shen Ying, she happily exclaimed, “Long time no see!” She cheerfully circled Shen Ying, getting very close, and only then seemed to notice Song Zhi: “Is this your new… friend?”

Shen Ying nodded, giving a simple “mhm.”

Xie Yu looked Song Zhi up and down like a monkey, then happily greeted her.

Xie Yu: “Wow, your temper must be really good. I can’t believe you’ve managed to befriend Shen Ying, with her personality like a rock in a latrine pit.”

She spoke as if her relationship with Shen Ying was incredibly close. Song Zhi’s eyes narrowed on Shen Ying’s left shoulder, where Xie Yu had almost touched her. And Shen Ying had simply stood there, completely trusting, neither dodging nor flinching.

She felt a little unhappy.

But she still curved a beautiful smile onto her face. With that smile, she looked refined and distant: “You seem very good, too.”

Xie Yu laughed and said, “Not really. It’s just that Shen Ying wasn’t so grumpy when she was little. By the time I realized it, it was too late. We’ve known each other for so long.”

They’ve known each other since childhood?

Song Zhi didn’t speak anymore, only smiling and nodding once, the slightly curled ends of her hair near her shoulder moving gently.

But then, something even more upsetting happened.

Xie Yu stood next to Shen Ying, chattering constantly. The two walked extremely fast, as if they were being chased by wolves and tigers.

But there was nothing behind them except for a fuming Song Zhi.

Even though they walked fast, their steps were in sync, shoulder-to-shoulder, the atmosphere harmonious. It seemed impossible for anyone to insert themselves between them.

Song Zhi quickened her pace and walked to Shen Ying’s other side.

Vaguely, she heard footsteps coming from the other side. The sound was like a stiletto heel, lightly tapping the ground. Just as Song Zhi tried to listen closely, the sound suddenly disappeared.

She was wondering if she had imagined it.

Just then, Xie Yu whispered a slight complaint: “Here we go again. So annoying.”

Song Zhi sensed something was wrong in this subtle tone: “Who?”

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