After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Her Gaze Was Hard to Tear Away 

◎ Song Zhi felt it. It was an emotion called concern. ◎

Song Zhi’s eyes curved into crescents. “Isn’t that a great coincidence?”

Shen Ying looked straight ahead and simply said, “A coincidence.”

After she flipped the master switch, the lights in the house were fixed.

This was a bit of a surprise to Shen Ying. She had been prepared to spend the night in the dark. She didn’t expect that Song Zhi, who looked like a pampered young lady, would actually know how to fix a light. But knowing how to fix a light didn’t change some facts, like her being a picky eater.

She looked over at the dining table, where Song Zhi was sitting, listlessly stirring the noodles in her bowl. The noodles were ones she had just heated, and they were still steaming.

The noodles had a light, subtle aroma of wheat. The steam wafted in front of her eyes. Through the mist, she could see the person sitting not far away, back straight, and engrossed in a book.

Song Zhi lowered her head to look at the noodles, and they seemed to smell even better.

She looked at the noodles, no longer thinking about their oily, greasy taste. Her stomach was now rumbling, clamoring for food.

Maybe she could try?

It wasn’t that she was a picky eater; it was that every time she saw food, she would imagine its disgusting appearance, making her unable to eat it. Before, she could only eat some fruits and candies to get the nutrients her body needed.

But looking at the contents of the bowl, she suddenly felt it wasn’t so bad.

Just as she picked up her chopsticks, a cold, pale hand touched her bowl. The hand had long, slender fingers with neatly trimmed, rounded nails, showing that its owner was very meticulous. But…

She looked up blankly, her mouth still full of the noodles she had just put in. She instinctively held onto the bowl.

The noodles were surprisingly delicious. She quickly swallowed them. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Ying looked at her coldly. “The noodles are cold. I’ll get you a fresh bowl.”

Song Zhi blinked. “They’re not cold.”

Shen Ying withdrew her hand. “If they’re not cold, that’s good.”

Song Zhi felt it was strange but still obediently lowered her head and finished her noodles.

To be precise, she ate about half, but for her, that was already a lot.

She looked at the leftover noodles in the bowl, a little full, but she also felt that wasting food might get her kicked out.

Shen Ying must have seen this and walked over. “I’ll do it.”

Song Zhi said, “I can clean up. I just have leftovers.”

Shen Ying didn’t listen to her. She took the bowl from her hand and said calmly, “It’s fine. Do you want to change your clothes?”

Song Zhi looked down at the brown stains on her dress and nodded quickly. “Yes.”

Shen Ying emptied the bowl into the sink and turned on the water, letting it rush over the dish. “I put a set of clothes I don’t wear often on the bed.”

Song Zhi thanked her and went into the room.

The bedroom was small and cramped. The space inside was confined, but thankfully it only had a bed and a student desk, which made the usable area a bit larger.

Right past the door, behind the desk, was the bed, and on it, two pieces of clothing were neatly folded: a pink T-shirt and a thick white jacket. They looked very warm.

Song Zhi wasn’t shy. She took the clothes and changed in the bathroom, which was just big enough for one person.

The clothes were a bit small for her. The sleeves were short and tight on her forearms.

When she came out, she saw the things Shen Ying had been writing and drawing on the desk.

She didn’t mean to look, but the desk was in the way of the only path out. As she squeezed through the gap, she saw the desktop.

It was something that might seem a bit distant to Shen Ying: “The application of artificial intelligence to inclusive financial management, using the VaR model.”

…

Smartphones were just released and, through successive iterations, have now become a common product, but Shen Ying didn’t have such a common item in Song Zhi’s eyes.

Artificial intelligence was still just a conceptual thing. No one knew its viable or non-viable paths. However, Song Zhi had been a bit interested in it before and had invested ten million yuan to support a friend’s project.

Shen Ying said, “What are you looking at?”

Lost in thought, Song Zhi was suddenly startled by Shen Ying standing behind her.

She patted her chest. “You scared me to death.”

Shen Ying walked past her into the room and closed the notebook she was writing in. “Don’t say such things.”

Song Zhi asked, “What?”

She looked at Shen Ying’s somewhat cold expression. Her expression had always been indifferent, as if she didn’t care about anything. But today, for the first time, she showed an expression that was different from that cold nonchalance.

Shen Ying held the notebook and closed the door. “Forbidden words.”

Song Zhi finally understood. Her grandmother used to tell her to avoid certain words, but her grandmother had died, and she had gone abroad, only returning now. Hearing it again, she was a bit slow to understand.

Song Zhi’s eyes curved into crescent moons. “Oh, did your grandmother teach you that? It’s the first time I’ve heard someone our age have such a taboo.”

Shen Ying said faintly, “Yes.”

Song Zhi said, “Then you must have had a very good relationship with her.”

Shen Ying said, “I did.”

Song Zhi, like a hamster, opened her eyes wide with curiosity and asked, “Then where is she?”

“Bang.”

Song Zhi instinctively looked up at the light, but after a moment, she realized the sound had come from Shen Ying’s hand. Shen Ying picked up the notebook, carefully patted it, and stared at it for a while, as if she was looking at something through the book.

After a moment, Shen Ying said, “She died.”

Song Zhi, who had been spacing out, almost blurted out, “How did she die?”

She was thinking about the trust fund her grandmother had left her, which seemed to be due soon.

It was probably in the next few days. A large part of the reason she came back this time was for this, but she had been so busy trying to escape from the Song family that she had forgotten about it.

In her plan, faking her death was the most foolproof method, but she felt a bit unwilling.

Fortunately, Shen Ying didn’t say anything.

The air became terrifyingly silent. Song Zhi hadn’t expected to bring up a painful memory. She had thought that for someone Shen Ying’s age, her grandmother would be retired in the countryside.

So she said awkwardly, “Do you have any leads on the model you want to build?”

Shen Ying put the palm-sized notebook into her hoodie pocket. “Not yet.”

Song Zhi said, “Maybe you could borrow the smart trial version from the neighboring school and use an exhaustive simulation.”

Shen Ying said, “They don’t lend them out. Let’s go.”

With that, she was already at the door. Song Zhi turned to look at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 11 p.m.

“Where are you going, so late?”

“To work. I’ll be back in the morning. Don’t wait up for me. The key is in the entryway. Go buy your own toiletries.”

Song Zhi made a playful joke. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll run off with your money?”

Shen Ying said, “The most valuable thing in this house is your phone. And maybe you.”

Song Zhi said, “Doesn’t HKU give subsidies to students with good grades?”

Shen Ying followed her gaze and realized that Song Zhi had guessed it from the HKU notebook on the desk. She said, “It’s too little.”

Song Zhi asked, “What?”

Shen Ying said faintly, “I have to pay off a debt.”

Song Zhi thought about it carefully. She had done some research before entering HKU. “Doesn’t HKU offer a 100,000 yuan scholarship to students who go abroad on exchange?”

Shen Ying said, “I wasn’t selected.”

But that director had told her so confidently that Shen Ying had been selected.

Perhaps there was another plan, Song Zhi thought.

Song Zhi stood next to her, poking her fingers. “Can you take me with you?”

Shen Ying’s expression was a question mark.

Song Zhi looked at her innocently. “I’m broke.”

Shen Ying stepped aside to make room for her, and Song Zhi immediately squeezed past her, standing right next to her.

“Do you know the way back?”

It took a few minutes for Song Zhi to realize that Shen Ying was actually asking her. So, she said without hesitation, “Yes, I do.”

She actually didn’t, but she really felt that given Shen Ying’s personality, she would likely throw her out if she thought she was a hassle. However, after their time together, the possibility of being thrown out had decreased a lot, but it wasn’t zero. It was still better to be careful. In any case, it was just a longer walk.

Shen Ying took Song Zhi to the store, and they quickly got the things she needed.

The rain was still heavy. Song Zhi said she knew the way, so Shen Ying felt comfortable letting her go back on her own, but there was only one road out of the store, so they walked together for a while.

When they reached the intersection, Song Zhi tilted her head, carefully identified the path, and then her eyes curved into a smile. “This is my way. I’m going now.”

Shen Ying gave a slight nod and walked in the opposite direction. Song Zhi stood where she was, watching Shen Ying’s slender figure slowly disappear into the heavy rain.

She was truly thin. Even with a well-fitting hoodie, her waist was empty as she walked.

But there was a certain resilience about her, like grass that, after being burned by fire, still grows back stubbornly.

At that moment, Shen Ying suddenly stopped, and then she slowly crouched down. Song Zhi stood in place with her hands in her pockets, an umbrella swinging carelessly in her hand. Seeing this, she thought Shen Ying was feeling unwell. To leave a good impression, she actively walked forward.

The sky was dim. Only when she got closer did she see what had stopped Shen Ying.

A cat.

A black-and-white cat, incredibly weak and small, looking to be just over a month old. Its eyes were amber yellow, and its two front paws were gripping Shen Ying’s shoe. Hearing Song Zhi’s footsteps approaching, its fluffy ears twitched, but it didn’t turn its head, single-mindedly meowing at Shen Ying in a soft, kittenish voice.

With those tiny claws, it hooked Shen Ying’s foot, making it impossible for her to move. Song Zhi looked at the two and found it a bit amusing. The two creatures stared at each other. At first glance, she felt Shen Ying was just like the cat at her feet: equally frail, equally resilient, and equally, very easily, dead.

Shen Ying reached out and gently stroked the cat’s back. The cat half-closed its eyes, enjoying the touch, and rubbed against her palm before letting out a soft meow. It seemed to be hungry. Shen Ying thought for a moment and said to Song Zhi, “Can you watch it for me here? I’ll go back and get some cat food.”

Song Zhi was first shocked that there was cat food in the house.

Then, from Shen Ying’s long, lowered eyelashes and her compassionate stroking, Song Zhi figured something out.

Shen Ying, in fact, was a soft-hearted person.

Song Zhi said, “With such heavy rain, it came to your feet. This is called ‘good luck.’ Since you’re so destined, why don’t you adopt it? I can just carry it home.”

Shen Ying gently stroked the cat from back to front, reaching the spine. This was its lifeline. And this foolish cat, so trusting, placed its neck, which could be easily broken, into her palm. This made her clearly feel the beating pulse in her hand.

Song Zhi saw Shen Ying’s expression was indifferent, but her hand was stroking the cat nonstop. She felt Shen Ying must have agreed. She took two steps forward, took her hands out of her pockets, and as she neared Shen Ying, she also crouched down, looking obediently at Shen Ying. “Do you want me to take it home?”

Shen Ying said, “No.”

Song Zhi let out a surprised “Ah,” her eyes wide and looking a little dazed.

Shen Ying glanced at her and then looked down at the cat. “‘Good luck’? There’s no such thing for me. I can’t afford to play with that. I just occasionally feed its mother when I pass by here. As for this one, it probably just smelled my scent.”

Song Zhi was broad-minded, as this didn’t concern her. “Since it has a mom, it won’t die easily. Letting it be a stray is fine too.”

Shen Ying’s lips curved slightly. The already dim light from the streetlamp was half-blocked by a lush tree, so even less light fell on Shen Ying. But that little bit of light was just enough for Song Zhi to see the faint curve of her lips and her pale, clean profile.

Her gaze was hard to tear away at that moment.

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