After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: My name is Song Yi

◎ Shen Ying looked up at her. She was smiling with bright eyes, and two small dimples bloomed at the corners of her lips. “The ‘yi’ from ‘ying su yu yi nan qiu’.” ◎

A moment later, Shen Ying picked up the phone from her palm. “For the medicine. I’ll give it back to you when you leave.”

“Clink!”

Just then, a sound echoed, followed by the living room’s fluorescent light flickering twice before completely dying out.

The living room was plunged into darkness. Shen Ying stood up with a whoosh, grabbed a lamp from the table, and strode out. “Are you okay?”

As luck would have it, the moment she picked up the small lamp, the light bulb in the bedroom exploded with a “bang.”

Shen Ying turned back to grab her phone.

The bedroom light bulb was easy to fix; she could do it herself. The living room light had wires inside that needed to be taken apart, and she couldn’t fix it. She had to call someone. The labor plus the cost of the light would be at least a hundred dollars.

With that calculation, the money she had saved during the summer vacation wouldn’t be enough. It was a good thing that seniors at Hong Kong University had more freedom and only needed to complete their final project to graduate, so they didn’t have to attend classes.

And there were still many days left in this month. The salary from her part-time job wouldn’t be paid until next month. Luckily, she didn’t eat much.

So, from any perspective, she couldn’t let this person stay.

Song Zhi looked up at the now-dark light and met eyes with Shen Ying, who was walking toward her with her phone. Shen Ying’s call had not yet gone through. She looked at her and said, “I don’t have the conditions to let you stay here.”

Song Zhi pulled up her sleeve. “It’s just a light, I can fix it.”

Shen Ying: “Don’t trouble yourself. I’ve already called someone.”

The call had already gone through, and after Shen Ying briefly described her needs, a loud voice came from the other end.

“One hundred fifty. No negotiation. Don’t you know how complicated the wires are in your apartment building? And it’s raining now. I have to make a trip just for you, so I have to earn a hardship fee.”

Song Zhi was a keen observer. Although she didn’t deal with money and material things, she was better than anyone at reading people’s minds. So the moment she saw Shen Ying’s frown, she asked for the location of the circuit breaker.

Shen Ying looked up at her, paused for a moment, and then told her.

By the time the person on the phone finished speaking, Song Zhi had already moved the stool into place.

Shen Ying didn’t think Song Zhi looked like the type of person who would do such a thing and was still negotiating with the caller. Song Zhi climbed onto the stool, looked at the light, and then jumped down.

She took the phone from Shen Ying. “You don’t need to. Thank you.”

Then she hung up with a “snap.”

Song Zhi said mysteriously, “You stand here!”

She put her hands on Shen Ying’s shoulders, ready to move her to the right spot.

Shen Ying subconsciously stiffened and shifted her body, causing Song Zhi’s hands to fall empty.

It was a completely subconscious reaction. After she did it, she didn’t think much of it. She really didn’t like being touched by others.

Then she met Song Zhi’s drooping eyes.

Her face was downcast, looking very hurt.

It was as if she had been burned. She immediately looked away.

The expression on Song Zhi’s face at that moment was very similar to that of the hamster she had raised for a long time.

If it weren’t for the fact that she could talk, Shen Ying would have thought she was her hamster transformed into a human.

Shen Ying wanted to speak.

Then she thought, I didn’t do anything wrong. Everyone has different habits. This person can’t force me to be like her.

The next moment, Song Zhi raised a bright smile and pointed to a spot for her. “You stand here, and when you raise your hand, you’ll be able to shine the light on it. I can fix this light.”

After saying that, she shoved the lamp into her hands, as if afraid Shen Ying would refuse.

Shen Ying was bad at accepting kindness from others and good at accepting disrespect, but when a lamp was forcefully shoved into her hands, she was at a loss.

She could only do as Song Zhi said, standing in a small corner under the stool, and silently raising her hand.

She was still thinking.

Song Zhi didn’t waste any more time. She immediately climbed onto the two stacked stools. The distance was just right for her to reach the light above.

But the light was too low.

Song Zhi looked down. “Can you raise the lamp a little?”

Shen Ying: “Okay.”

She moved the last stool from the dining table. When she stood on it, she was just below Song Zhi’s shoulder, who was on the stacked stools. She raised her hand, and the light hit Song Zhi’s hands perfectly.

Song Zhi carefully took apart the outer light tube, revealing the tangled green and red wires inside. Just as the caller had said, the wires needed to be connected.

She asked Shen Ying for a tool, connected the wires, and then attached the new light tube. The entire process took less than twenty minutes.

When she finally came down, she looked at Shen Ying, who was holding both the light tube and the lamp. “I’ll go down first. You hand the things to me and then come down.”

After all, she was holding a lot of things and standing high up. It would be inconvenient without a hand to balance herself. Although Shen Ying didn’t want to trouble anyone, she had already caused trouble, so she might as well go all the way.

So she handed down the lamp first. When she handed down the light tube, she was very careful.

It was a fragile item, and she was afraid of hurting someone.

Song Zhi smiled as she took the items from her. The two dimples at the corners of her lips were faintly visible.

Then, the moment Shen Ying let go, she thought of something.

She slightly opened her hand.

Crash!

The light tube grazed her hand, sliding from her palm all the way down to her feet, and then shattered into pieces upon hitting the ground.

Song Zhi didn’t look at her injury. She first looked down at the shattered light on the floor and said in a self-reproaching tone, “I’m sorry, I’ll clean it up now.”

Shen Ying immediately jumped down from the stool. She pursed her lips and said firmly, “Don’t move. I’ll do it.”

Song Zhi tried to grab the broom, but Shen Ying frowned and brushed her hand away. Her tone was serious. “Sit on the sofa.”

Song Zhi had no choice but to limp with difficulty to the sofa.

Under the soft lamplight, Shen Ying immediately noticed something was wrong. “What’s wrong with your foot?”

Song Zhi turned back, her eyes curved in a smile, and waved her hand repeatedly. “It’s nothing, nothing.”

The expression on her face was strange. It was as if she was frowning in pain but was too embarrassed to tell Shen Ying and could only force a reassuring smile.

“Nothing” meant “something,” and it was likely related to what just happened.

Shen Ying quickly walked over, holding the lamp to shine on her foot. The way Song Zhi was walking clearly showed that her foot was hurting.

Under the faint light, a red line was creeping down Song Zhi’s exposed, fair calf.

It was as if she didn’t want to cause Shen Ying any trouble. She immediately pulled her leg back. “It’s nothing, nothing.”

The blood on her leg flowed faster with this movement, instantly reaching her foot.

Shen Ying bent down, grabbed her leg that was pulling back, and said coldly, “Don’t move.”

Her palm was warm, while Song Zhi’s leg, which had been exposed to the outside, was cold. It was suddenly met with a hot object.

This made her stiffen her leg and not dare to move.

Shen Ying squatted on the floor, holding her leg with one hand and the lamp with the other, carefully examining the wound on her fair and delicate leg.

After shining the light on it for a moment, she placed the lamp on the ground. “It’s okay, only a few pieces of glass have been embedded in it. I’ll go get some medicine for you.”

After saying that, she turned and walked into the bedroom.

Song Zhi: “Don’t you need the lamp?”

“I know my way around. I don’t need it.”

Song Zhi watched her walk into the dark room. The lamp was by her side, so she could only see Shen Ying’s slender body outlined by the surrounding darkness.

Her shoulders were thin, her legs were long, and her waist was astonishingly narrow.

And she always had a cold, blank look on her face.

But when Song Zhi turned her head, she saw the faint glow of the lamp beside her.

And she knew how soft this person’s heart was.

She had left the lamp for her, afraid she would be scared alone in the dark.

Shen Ying held her leg firmly, her head lowered, carefully dabbing purple antiseptic on her leg with a cotton swab.

Shen Ying’s movements were very gentle, as if she was afraid of hurting her. After Song Zhi realized this, she became even more uninhibited.

From this angle, Song Zhi saw that her nose bridge was astonishingly high. She also noticed that Shen Ying had a mole on her eyelid.

The mole was hidden in her double eyelid. You couldn’t see it when she looked up, but you could see it when she looked down.

When she squatted under the light, her head lowered to treat the wound, it was as if all the light in the room was gathered on her.

Song Zhi watched for a while and couldn’t help but say, “Is that enough?”

Shen Ying: “The wound is a little big, I’ll apply a little more.”

Shen Ying was afraid that this person would not apply the medicine properly if she did it herself.

She had originally wanted this person to do it on their own.

But she had seen the look of disgust on Song Zhi’s face.

In that moment, she knew that Song Zhi would not put on the medicine herself.

As expected, just before she started applying the medicine, this person had asked, “Can we use a different medicine? This one looks a little ugly.”

Shen Ying had no choice but to tell her, “There’s no other medicine at home.”

The air between them was quiet for a moment. Song Zhi had no choice but to make small talk. “Hey, do you know why I can fix lights?”

Shen Ying shook her head.

Song Zhi hadn’t even started speaking yet and she already started laughing. “It’s because of my previous bodyguard. I told her the light was broken and to get someone to fix it. She said it was unsafe to get someone to fix it, and she didn’t know how to do it herself. I stayed in there for a whole night and asked her when she could fix it. Do you know what she said?”

Shen Ying wasn’t curious about this, but this person was injured because of her, and it was to help her. “What did she say?”

Song Zhi pouted, as if she was thinking about the person’s expression at the time. “She said to me, ‘Do you think you’re the president? Why are you so high-maintenance…’ It was really…”

Song Zhi was still speaking when Shen Ying suddenly asked, “You’re afraid of the dark.”

Although it was a question, her tone was very certain.

Song Zhi’s expression froze for a moment, then she said very naturally, “No, why would you think that?”

Shen Ying shook her head and finished applying the medicine to the last spot. “Done.”

Song Zhi lowered her head, shook her foot, and looked at the horrible bruised mess on it. Her tone was low. “Thank you. Can I leave tomorrow? My family doesn’t welcome me, so I’d rather go back a little later.”

Shen Ying looked at her leg.

Fixing a light costs one hundred fifty, rice costs one dollar, and meat costs six dollars. This person seemed to weigh less than a hundred pounds and hadn’t complained of being hungry for two days, so she probably ate very little.

Shen Ying said, “You can fix things?”

Song Zhi nodded. “I know a little bit of everything!”

Shen Ying: “My name is Shen Ying. Fixing things can be considered rent.”

After all, she owed her.

Song Zhi stared at her in a daze.

How much could fixing things be worth? Even Song Zhi, who was so out of touch with reality, had some idea.

She suddenly realized something. This was the third time this name had appeared in front of her. Unlike before, this time the name was accompanied by a pair of long, slender fingers holding a lamp.

Her expression was still the same sad one from before, making her look a little silly. Shen Ying felt a rare sense of comfort, which made her relax a little. “You don’t want to? Then go home.”

Song Zhi snapped out of it and nodded repeatedly. “I can, I can.”

It’s a good thing my leg was hurt. Otherwise, it would have been for nothing.

I really didn’t know a fluorescent light tube could hurt so much when it broke.

Shen Ying: “You can leave when you find a place to live.”

Song Zhi nodded repeatedly, very vigorously. Her eyes were sparkling, and the two dimples at the corners of her lips were shallow.

Shen Ying regretted what she said the moment she said it. She never made decisions she would regret, and this was the first time. She was really not good at socializing with people, and there were also those rumors.

Rather than letting someone hear them and run away in horror, it was better for her to make them leave first.

But when she saw the dimples at her lips and her bright eyes, the regret she had just felt instantly disappeared.

Song Zhi smiled and said, “My name is…”

She suddenly remembered the voice from Shen Ying’s phone call.

And Shen Ying hadn’t refuted anything.

It was difficult to make someone like something they disliked. She didn’t know why Shen Ying disliked her, and it seemed Shen Ying didn’t even know who she was.

If she told Shen Ying that she was Song Zhi, Shen Ying would probably kick her out right now.

Song Zhi: “My name is Song Yi.”

Shen Ying looked up at her. She was smiling with bright eyes, and two small dimples bloomed at the corners of her lips. “The ‘yi’ from ‘ying su yu yi nan qiu’.”

It was as if there was light falling into her eyes. Shen Ying froze for a moment.

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