Dating Myself - Chapter 10

Even though Jian Yixi was with her biological parents, it had only been a few days, and she still felt like a guest. She didn’t sleep well and woke up early. Lying in bed, she thought of her adoptive parents, who were miles away. They had always loved her, perhaps more than some biological parents would. When people used to say she was adopted, she never believed them. She loved her adoptive parents, and they were just a normal, happy family of three.

She was happy to be reunited with her biological parents, but she didn’t want to come to Weicheng. The Jian family already had Jian Yihu, while her adoptive parents only had her. But her adoptive parents, being honest and kind people, insisted she go. They felt guilty for having her for so many years and believed it was the right thing to do once her biological parents came to find her. As she left, her adoptive mother tearfully told her to listen to her birth parents and not worry about them, saying they must truly love her for having searched for her for over a decade.

People always told her how pitiful it was that she had been lost as a child. But she never felt sorry for herself. She had the love of her adoptive parents and the devotion of her biological parents who had searched for her for so long. She felt she had double the happiness.

At 6:30 a.m., Jian Yixi finally got up, got ready, and went downstairs with her school bag. Her father, Jian Xiangwei, was sitting on the sofa, watching the news. Just as she was about to greet him, he suddenly yelled without looking up, “Wen Qiaoyun! What time is it? Do you have to take hours to put on makeup? Our meeting is at 8, do you want to be late?!”

The loud voice, like crashing waves, startled Jian Yixi. She touched her chest and told herself, Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Dad isn’t mean, his voice is just loud.

“Good morning, Dad,” she said.

Jian Xiangwei turned and his expression softened a bit. “Up so early? Good. Go eat.”

Breakfast was ready. The nanny, Aunt Chen, was setting the table. Jian Yixi put her bag down by the table and helped her. After the meal was prepared, she went to call her father and mother, but they were already at the front door, putting on their shoes.

“Dad, Mom, aren’t you going to eat first?” she asked.

Wen Qiaoyun smiled at her newly found daughter. “We have to rush to the office. You go eat. Tell Aunt Chen whatever you want, and she’ll make it for you.”

As Jian Xiangwei opened the door, he looked upstairs. “Look at your sister; she’s not even up yet. She must have studied late again. Don’t forget to call her down.”

Jian Yixi watched them leave, then turned to go upstairs. Halfway up, she saw Jian Yihu at the top of the stairs, looking flustered.

“Sister, breakfast is ready.”

Jian Yihu brushed her messy hair aside, nodded, and walked past her without a word. Jian Yixi turned to follow her, and in her peripheral vision, she saw her own bedroom door was open. That was strange; she was sure she had closed it before coming downstairs. She quickly went back up, closed her door, and came down again.

Aunt Chen had already set out the lotus seed porridge. Jian Yihu scooped up a spoonful, glanced at Jian Yixi’s school bag, and said, “Xixi, this is the dining room, not the place for school bags. It’s not appropriate here.”

Before Jian Yixi could reply, Jian Yihu smiled again. “I don’t mean anything by it, I just wanted to tell you. This is basic manners. It’s normal for you not to know since you’re from a small town. As your older sister, it’s my job to remind you.”

So many rules in the big city, Jian Yixi thought. Locking the door is one thing, but now I can’t even leave my bag here.

“I understand. I won’t do it again.”

“No ‘next time.’ Just start from today. Make it a habit so you don’t make mistakes in the future.”

Jian Yihu picked up Jian Yixi’s bag. “You keep eating. I’ll take it out for you.”

Jian Yixi quickly swallowed her mouthful of porridge. “I can do it.”

“No need, I’ve lost my appetite. I’ll take it out for you.”

Jian Yihu put down the bowl of porridge and walked away with the bag.

The dining room and living room were separated by a decorative screen. On one side was the dining table, and on the other was the TV, with the sofa facing it. The screen blocked the view between the two rooms. As soon as Jian Yihu was out of sight, she sped up, unzipped the bag, and checked for anyone watching. She only stopped when she reached the sofa.

The bag was light, only containing a textbook, a vocabulary book, and a pencil case. High school students usually left their books at school and only took their homework home. The contents were few and easy to see. No phone.

Jian Yihu felt the inner pocket and found the shape of a phone. She quickly unzipped the inner pocket and pulled it out.

She pressed the power button, the screen lit up, and the default system wallpaper appeared. She swiped her finger up, and a nine-point grid appeared. Jian Yihu closed her eyes. Her nine-point pattern was… a vertical hook!

Thank goodness I planned ahead, she thought. Otherwise, I would be stuck here.

A few days ago, when Jian Yixi got a new phone, their mother asked her to teach Jian Yixi how to use it. At the time, she was annoyed and only half-heartedly helped her set a nine-point pattern. She thought to herself, What if I need to secretly check her phone one day? Not knowing the password would be a problem. This wasn’t the first time Jian Yihu had used this trick. She had done the same thing with her mother’s phone to secretly delete bank notifications. Her mother had a lot of money, and if she just deleted the messages, her mother would never find out.

Jian Yihu quickly unlocked the phone and went to the home screen. She listened intently to the sounds from the dining room, quickly opened the browser, searched for the school forum, and clicked the login button. All I have to do is log in with my account, and the blame will be completely on her!

Jian Yihu’s eyes widened, and a tense smile formed on her lips as she nervously moved her finger to the account input field. Just then, the phone’s ringtone blared. The name “An Mu” flashed across the screen.

Jian Yihu’s heart jumped, and she almost dropped the phone. She quickly hung up. On the other side of the screen, Jian Yixi thought she had misheard and continued eating. Jian Yihu took a second to calm herself down and tried to log in again. An Mu called again. Jian Yihu quickly hung up, and before she could even take a breath, another call came in.

Jian Yixi, biting the tip of her chopsticks, heard the phone ring, stop, then ring again. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed. She got up and walked around the screen.

“Was that my phone?” she asked.

Jian Yihu had just put the phone on silent, but when she heard Jian Yixi’s voice, she reflexively tried to hide it behind her back. It was too late. Jian Yixi walked over, and even though the phone was silent, An Mu’s name was still flashing on the screen.

“It is my phone.” Jian Yixi didn’t think much of it and reached for it. Jian Yihu subconsciously gripped it tightly and wouldn’t let go. Jian Yixi tugged twice but couldn’t get it.

“Sister?”

Jian Yihu forced a calm expression. “Let me use it first.”

“But I left mine upstairs.”

“Okay, I’ll give it back to you as soon as I finish this call.” Jian Yihu reluctantly let go.

“Hello? An Mu?” Jian Yixi said into the phone.

“You finally answered! I thought I had offended you; you kept hanging up on me,” An Mu said. Her voice was calm and slightly husky, like a red maple leaf falling on a still lake, creating gentle, alluring ripples.

“I didn’t hang up. I was just eating.”

“Are you done eating?”

“Almost.”

“Don’t. Come find me right now.”

“I was in a car accident. My family isn’t from here, so I didn’t know who else to call.”

“What?!” Jian Yixi wiped her mouth with a napkin, grabbed her bag, and ran for the door. “Are you hurt? Is it serious? Did you call an ambulance? Did you call the police? Where are you? I’ll come find you!”

Jian Yihu quickly followed her. “Where are you going? Uncle Zhou isn’t here yet. No one can take us to school!”

Jian Yixi held the phone to her ear, tucked her bag under her arm, and quickly put on her shoes. She didn’t even stop to brush the hair out of her face. “An Mu was in a car accident near our house. I have to go see her. When Uncle Zhou arrives, you can go to school first!”

“Give me the phone first!” Jian Yihu demanded.

Jian Yixi walked on without turning back. “An Mu is telling me where she is. Go upstairs and get your own phone.”

What am I going to do without the phone?! I haven’t logged in yet! Come back! Come back right now!