After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The Rival

Xie Yu didn’t answer her, because the person she was talking about emerged from the roadside greenery at the intersection, appearing before the three of them the moment Song Zhi asked her question.

Song Zhi looked over with some curiosity. The newcomer was wearing a white short blouse from brand C and a green skirt, topped with a light green long coat he latest style from brand Z. On her feet were low-saturation green stilettos.

She had beautiful makeup, her forehead was visible, and all her loose hair was pulled back and tied into a neat bun.

She looked fresh and clean, drawing considerable attention.

Upon seeing the two, her expression was excited, and she hurried forward, her heels tapping sharply on the ground.

It was still raining, and the pitted ground was covered in puddles. As she walked, the standing water rippled with shallow waves under her steps.

“Shen Ying.” She smiled and casually flipped her hair: “You’re back?”

Song Zhi’s alarm bells went off instantly.

Shen Ying acknowledged her with a simple “mhm.” Seeming unwilling to speak further, she took a step back, increasing the distance between them, and retreated to Song Zhi’s side. She quietly asked, “Shall we go?”

Song Zhi wasn’t dressed warmly, and the rain had significantly dropped the temperature today. While walking earlier, she had felt a chilly draft on her side, but the moment Shen Ying stood beside her, her empty side was immediately filled.

Shen Ying’s faint scent and warm body temperature reached her, even with a little distance between them.

The two were incredibly close right now.

So she noticed.

Song Zhi’s earlier unhappiness instantly vanished.

Guan Yuan smiled and asked: “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

It wasn’t her style to let Shen Ying walk away after finally meeting her.

She smiled while asking Shen Ying, but her gaze fell on Song Zhi beside her.

A very beautiful girl, also wearing the same short denim jacket from brand Z, paired with light blue pants from brand A and light-colored shoes. The highlight was the green earring hanging from her ear, shaped like a peacock feather with a dark green diamond dangling in the middle.

Small surrounding diamonds dotted the sides like stars. But none of these adornments were as captivating as the aura she herself exuded.

Guan Yuan had a gut feeling. She hadn’t seen this person before. Judging by her attire, she wasn’t likely a childhood playmate. Most importantly, Shen Ying’s attitude was something she had never witnessed.

Shen Ying was 165cm tall, but her body proportions were excellent, with long legs, which usually made her walking speed faster than others. Guan Yuan had never seen her stop to wait for the person walking beside her, not even Xie Yu.

She would only slow down slightly.

She never stopped for anyone else. Through all their interactions, Guan Yuan thought she understood Shen Ying’s character, but she was surprised…

Shen Ying said flatly: “It has nothing to do with you.”

Guan Yuan wasn’t embarrassed by the bluntness. Beauties are naturally a little temperamental.

If all goes well, the two of them should be getting to know each other soon.

Guan Yuan: “Isn’t this your friend?”

Song Zhi frowned nearby. The familiarity this person showed toward Shen Ying made her extremely uncomfortable.

She felt as though her own possession was being coveted.

Shen Ying said plainly: “I have nothing to say to you.”

Guan Yuan: “Oh, don’t be so cold. Even if we can’t be partners, we can still be friends, right? How can you treat your friend like that?”

Shen Ying: “I don’t think we are friends.”

At this point, a normal person would have been enraged by Shen Ying’s words, but this person didn’t care about being rebuffed. Instead, she smiled and extended her hand toward Song Zhi: “Guan Yuan, from Yanjing.”

Song Zhi didn’t know who Guan Yuan was, but that surname, combined with Yanjing, and studying at HKU, pointed only to one family’s daughter. Guan Yuan’s different style of dress suggested she was subtly revealing her identity and giving a warning.

A typical person would have been intimidated. But the person standing before her was Song Zhi.

Song Zhi nodded. She was tall, taller than all three people present. When she nodded, it carried a sense of looking down, something she hadn’t been able to change over the years.

She did not speak or extend her hand.

Song Zhi was not foolish. Guan Yuan’s previous sentence made her immediately understand Guan Yuan’s identity.

This person before her was a Failure.

She, Song Zhi, was the Current Contender.

But this failure was incredibly persistent.

Song Zhi cautiously took a step forward, then stood sideways, seemingly inadvertently, but perfectly blocking the space between Guan Yuan and Shen Ying.

Guan Yuan withdrew her hand: “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself? You’re as aloof as Shen Ying.”

Song Zhi: “What’s it to you?”

She turned to Shen Ying: “I have something to do now, so I’ll leave first. Won’t you say goodbye to me?”

Song Zhi’s heart tightened. She looked at Shen Ying’s pursed lips, the habitual action she took when faced with a difficult question.

Was this question so hard for Shen Ying to answer?

She nervously stretched out one finger and gently hooked it around Shen Ying’s finger.

Shen Ying glanced sideways at her, neither stopping her nor pulling her hand away.

This gave Song Zhi a little confidence. She turned to Guan Yuan, slowly revealing a smile.

Only the incompetent lose their temper.

Shen Ying’s final response was: “We are absolutely impossible.”

Guan Yuan laughed: “How cruel. Is it that you don’t like me, or you don’t like women? Tell me, so I can give up.”

Song Zhi stood in front of her, secretly perking up her ears upon hearing the question.

Shen Ying answered very seriously: “I don’t like you.”

Guan Yuan shrugged: “Fine. At least if you like women, I still have a chance.”

Song Zhi sighed in relief along with her, and the hand next to Shen Ying felt a slight tingling.

Xie Yu couldn’t help but speak up: “This is the umpteenth time you’ve said you’re giving up. When are you actually going to follow through?”

Guan Yuan chuckled, looking at the exasperated woman: “Depends on my mood.”

After speaking, she smiled and walked away, seemingly finding the whole situation amusing.

The Revelation

After she left, Xie Yu couldn’t help but say: “Does Guan Yuan have nothing else to do? It seems like she has no other business besides you, all day long.”

Shen Ying gently shook her head: “It’s fine.”

Xie Yu’s anger didn’t subside; it grew, showing a mix of resentment and frustration: “She’s just taking advantage of your good temper! Don’t look so indifferent, you know?”

Shen Ying nodded.

Her reaction left Xie Yu speechless: “When did you start liking women? Why didn’t I know? You don’t need to use that to scare her off, do you?”

Was she implying that Shen Ying didn’t like women before? Song Zhi momentarily forgot everything else, staring directly at Shen Ying with an unconscious look of anticipation in her eyes, waiting for her to speak.

Could it be true? Would she get the answer this time?

Shen Ying said plainly: “A month ago.”

Xie Yu’s voice grew sharp: “A month ago?! Huh?”

Her voice descended along with the booming thunder from the sky. Song Zhi felt as though she had been struck by lightning.

A flash of white light crossed her mind, with only Shen Ying’s faint phrase echoing: A month ago.

The noisy sound of the rain now had a beautiful rhythm in her ears. The ripples she made in the water with her steps were just like the waves churning in her heart at this moment.

She found it difficult to think, even difficult to comprehend Shen Ying’s previous sentence.

Shen Ying offered no explanation, merely nodding flatly: “Didn’t you say the machine could only be borrowed for one afternoon?”

Xie Yu’s brain finally rebooted.

That makes sense. She had thought, how could a friend she grew up with suddenly change her sexual orientation? How could she not have noticed at all?

It happened while she was away. That settled it.

Xie Yu: “Hurry up, let’s go! We’ll miss the time to run the data if we delay any longer.”

She didn’t dwell on the matter anymore and hastily led Shen Ying away.

It was mainly her.

Shen Ying had long legs, two of her steps equaled three of Xie Yu’s. As for Shen Ying’s good friend, Song Zhi, who she estimated was at least 170cm tall and also had long legs, her walking speed was quick too. Only Xie Yu was slow among the three.

Song Zhi was pulled along, her mind blank, until she finally regained some clarity in front of the machine room.

She couldn’t help but repeatedly savor those few words in her mind.

Shen Ying likes women. Suddenly, she felt she truly understood the meaning of those words.

Fireworks instantly burst in her heart.

Shen Ying likes women!

Therefore, the possibility of Shen Ying liking her was very high!

The Machine Room

A large metal lock hung on the door of the machine room. The contents inside were securely fastened.

Seeing this, Xie Yu gave Shen Ying a secret, happy grin.

“Look.” She pulled out a key from her pocket. The silver key glinted in the dim corridor: “What do you think? I went through a lot of trouble for you this time.”

Shen Ying: “Thank you for your effort.”

Xie Yu opened the lock with the key: “It’s not easy, getting a compliment from you.”

The door opened silently before the three of them. Cold air rushed out. Xie Yu turned on the light by the door. In the room full of pristine, factory-default-looking equipment, the most striking item was a massive machine, only slightly shorter than the high ceiling.

It gleamed with a bright silver light under the illumination, looking like a cold giant. There were display screens on top and countless control panels below, connecting this main machine to many smaller ones.

Shen Ying hadn’t studied this field and didn’t understand much about the equipment, but the difficulty in borrowing the machine made her appreciate its considerable value.

Xie Yu cheerfully turned on the machine. To prevent damage, it was always kept plugged in even when not in use.

Xie Yu: “We owe this to you, too, otherwise I wouldn’t have the chance to see this machine again.”

Shen Ying: “You borrowed it. You’re the one who is capable.”

Xie Yu: “I couldn’t have borrowed it just with my name. The professor only agreed when I mentioned it was for you. The last time I saw it was right after the semester started; the professor gave us a look. To keep it cool, the two sides of this room are filled with cold water. It gets a little cold in here. Also, be sure to close the door when entering and exiting, or the machine’s motherboard could burn out.”

While talking, Xie Yu finally finished configuring the machine. She stood nervously in front of the main control panel.

Taking a deep breath, and waiting until her expression finally calmed down, she solemnly flipped the main switch.

Under her anxious watch, after two minutes, the machine slowly flashed a line of white light. After another two minutes, the white light would be replaced by a black screen, at which point the machine would truly be open.

This machine was extremely expensive, technologically advanced, utilizing the latest iteration of smart technology, and unprecedentedly equipped with AI. It was, arguably, a market leader in this industry.

There were only six units in the entire country. Even HKU couldn’t afford one without new funding. Even this one was…

“Who’s in there?!”

A stern shout suddenly echoed, and Xie Yu sharply turned her head toward the doorway.

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